𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 | 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐨 [HEAVY EDITING]

𝟏𝟖 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭: 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

"Gatō?" Zabuza drops his now useless arms to his sides, thanks to Kakashi-sensei. "I don't understand. What is all this? Why are you here? And who are these thugs you brought with you?!"

The short man with the glasses standing at the front of the group of armed men chuckles, wearing a malicious grin. Even if I hadn't heard his name, there would be no doubt in my mind that this truly is Gatō.

"Well, you see, there's been a small change in plans," Gatō calls our way, jabbing the end of his staff against the cement bridge beneath it. "According to the new plan, you'll die right here on this bridge, Zabuza."

My eyes instantly widen with shock. "What did you say?" Zabuza says, his own eyes locked on the man.

"Since hiring a regular Shinobi's too expensive, I've decided to take you out of the payroll. Of course, even these "thugs" I brought with me cost somethin', so if you could manage to slaughter a few of them before they take you down, I'd appreciate it. Think you can manage that, "Demon Ninja of the Mist"?" Gatō laughs again, "Look at ya – you look about as demonic as a wet kitten!"

The other men join in.

"Sorry, Kakashi," Zabuza says lowly. "Our fight ends here. As long as my reason to take down Tazuna is gone, there's no reason to fight you, either."

"Yeah. I suppose you're right." Instinctively, I reach out to grab Naruto's arm to steady myself, watching nervously as Gatō stalks toward us, only to stop in front of Haku's body.

"That reminds me!" When he ends up placing his shoe against his face, I end up grimacing, my fingers tightening around Naruto's sleeve. He, himself, tenses up. "You little brat; you squeezed my arm until it broke! I've been meaning to repay you for that."

My eyes shutter close before I can see his foot connect with the side of Haku's head, but the sound of the impact alerts me that it's still been done.

"I only wish you were alive to feel that," Gatō adds.

"Get away from him!" Naruto suddenly screams from beside me, pulling himself from my grip and running forward. "What do you think you're doing, huh?!" I'd rushed forward to stop him, but Kakashi-sensei beats me to it, thankfully.

"Use your head!" he hisses at him, Naruto, still struggling against our Sensei's grip. Finally he stops, looking up to Zabuza.

"You say something, too!" Naruto yells. "He was your comrade! You gonna just let him do that?!"

"Be quiet, fool," Zabuza snaps back at him. "Haku is dead; what does it matter?"

"What?!" Naruto growls at him. "Don't you feel anything watching him do that? Weren't you with Haku for a long time?!"

"Just as Gatō used me... I was simply using Haku," he answers. "I thought I'd told you – we Shinobi are merely tools. What I wanted was Haku's skills, not Haku, himself. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strength and skill, yes – that means something to me. But the boy... nothing."