Chapter 8: Freedom In The Land of Waves!

It had been two days since Naruto ad his sensei arrived at the Land of Waves and five days since team 7's battle with the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi. Kakashi was almost back to full strength, he was finally able to move around without his crutches. His team had spent most of the week training with the tree exercise while Naruto and Yamato would protect the bridge builder while he was building the bridge. Naruto for his part could not understand how a jonin sensei could take his students out on a C-rank mission without even teaching them proper chakra control. Naruto had very few interactions with Kakashi's team. He would only see them at breakfast or dinner, other than that they spent most of their time in the forest training. The Uchiha was especially driven after getting a glimpse of the gap between Naruto and himself. The only female on the team was only in the forest training every day so she could spend more time with the Uchiha leaving Naruto to wonder whether or not the girl had any real goals and aspirations as a kunoichi. Then there was the last member of Team 7, Sai. From the little time Naruto spent around the boy, he could immediately tell that there was more to the boy than he let on. His skills were well beyond Sasuke's but for some reason, he seems to be holding himself back as though he was trying to appear weak on purpose.

It wasn't until his sensei told him that the boy reminded him of one of Danzo's Root agents that Naruto realized what was going on. It appeared as though Danzo either wanted to keep an eye on Sasuke Uchiha or he wanted Sasuke to join his little organization. Before he left the Fire Capital his grandmother and godfather had warned him about the elders of the village, especially the one named Danzo. They explained to him in detail who Danzo was and what his goals were. They told him that Danzo would eventually try to recruit him and if he couldn't recruit him, he would try to control him. Thinking about it all Naruto found it laughable at the thought that he could be controlled by some crippled old fool who has yet to realize that his time has passed.

Naruto was currently sitting on the roof of the house he had built. He had finished having breakfast with everyone a couple of minutes ago was waiting for Tazuna to get ready to head to the bridge. It was his turn to take the morning shift protecting Tazuna while his sensei would get some rest after being up all-night keeping watch. Taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air, Naruto smiled and spoke to himself.

"What a beautiful morning," he said as he exhaled out and closed his eyes, taking in the sounds and feel of nature all around him. It was early in the morning and the sun had not risen as yet and the morning air was still clean. Maybe it was because of his bloodline, but Naruto had always loved the feel of nature. It was the thing that made him enjoy gardening so much.

"Hey brat, are you going to stay up there daydreaming all day?" Tazuna asked from down on the ground interrupting Naruto's nature loving. "Or are you going to do your damn job and protect me?" the man shouted from below causing Naruto's eyebrow to twitch in irritation. He sighed to himself before he hopped off the roof and landed down beside the old man.

"Must you be so loud in the morning," Naruto said with a slight groan.

"You damn brat," Tazuna said with a growl. "Just keep me safe while I'm building my bridge and stop complaining," the man said before he started walking off in the direction of the bridge. Naruto sighed and followed behind him while keeping his guard up. As they were walking to the bridge, Naruto could see a few people already out this early in the morning going to their respected jobs, some of them were wearing construction gear and followed Tazuna and Naruto to the bridge. Naruto could see a few shady individuals lingering in alleyways watching Tazuna as they walked by. Making a note of their appearance, he saw they were all dressed like your common street thugs carrying katanas and short swords on their sides. They were nobody dangerous in Naruto's opinion.

'There doesn't seem to be any shinobi with them,' He noted in his mind as he was paying extreme attention to his surroundings making note of every single person who even looked at Tazuna. 'Seems as though there might be some action on the bridge today,' Naruto thought excitedly as he saw all those shady individuals eyeing Tazuna. It took them fifteen minutes to arrive at the bridge and immediately upon arrival, Tazuna and his men got to work picking up where they left off yesterday. Naruto honestly had nothing to do while he was guarding Tazuna. He didn't know he was going to be spending this much time away from the village on his first C-rank mission, so he did not bring anything to entertain himself. If he had known that they would be taking a detour like they, did he would have brought a few jutsu scrolls with him to keep himself occupied. Sighing to himself he turned to Tazuna and spoke.

"Hey, old man," Naruto called out getting his attention. "You want some help?" he asked.

"Do you know how to build a bridge?" Tazuna asked with one his eyebrows raised.

"Not a clue," Naruto replied with a smile causing the old man to growl slightly. "But I got manpower," he added as he held up the shadow clone hand seal.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted creating a large puff of smoke around. went he smoke disappeared; two hundred copies of Naruto stood there waving at Tazuna with smiles on their faces. Tazuna and his workers stood there gaping at Naruto after seeing what he had done.

"Hahaha! I knew there was a reason I liked you kid," Tazuna replied with a boisterous laugh causing Naruto's eyebrow to twitch. "With this many hands we'll finish this bridge in no time!" he said causing the few workers he had left to cheer. Tazuna then began assigning jobs to the clones while the real Naruto walked over to the corner of the bridge and sat down on a pile of lumber. He couldn't go work with his clones mainly because that would take his attention away from Tazuna. Sighing to himself, Naruto sat down and watched as his clones and Tazuna's workers scramble around the bridge carrying out their jobs.

**6 Hours Later**

It had been six hours since Tazuna and Naruto's clones began working on the bridge. They had stopped for lunch and Naruto had dispelled all of his clones opting to make new ones after lunch. Everyone was scattered all over the bridge in various groups eating their lunches. Naruto was still sitting on the pile of lumber eating a sandwich that Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami made for him. Naruto was enjoying his sandwich when he sensed some people walking on the bridge heading in their direction. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto looked over to his left and saw four men walking towards them with smug looks on their faces. The four men all had swords strapped to their sides, but Naruto sensed that they had little to no chakra.

'These must be Gato's thugs,' Naruto noted as he continued to eat. The men were not a threat worth getting worked up about, but he was interested as to why they were here. Gato had hired a pretty powerful shinobi to kill the old man, there was no way that he would send these common thugs to do the job.

"This is a rather nice-looking bridge," one of the men said getting everyone's attention. It was clear that he was the leader of the small group. "It is a damn shame that it won't be completed," he added with a cocky smirk on his face. Tazuna and his workers all jumped up their feet in fear when they saw the men.

"What the hell are you clowns doing here!?" Tazuna yelled/asked before looking over to Naruto only to see him calmly eating his sandwich without a care in the world.

"Well, obviously we are here to kill you," another one of the thugs said with a chuckle causing his friends to laugh.

"Gato may have hired ninjas to kill you but if we were to do it, we would be rewarded generously," One of the men said with a greedy look on his face. Naruto sighed as he finished his sandwich and stood up.

"So, greed is what brought you here," he said as he reached into his kunai holster and pulled out a single kunai before he began walking in the direction of the four men.

"Who the hell are you brat?" the leader of the four asked clearly angry that the boy in front of him was not scared. "Do you want to die?" he asked as he unsheathed his sword.

"The only people dying here today are you four," Naruto replied as he narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Hahaha! I think it is time someone taught you a lesson kid!" the leader said cockily before signaling one of his friends to go kill Naruto. His friend nodded before he unsheathed his sword and walked towards Naruto with a smug look on his face. Naruto just continued walking towards the group while the builders and Tazuna had a slightly worried look on their faces. When the thug was about five feet away from Naruto, he raised his sword in the air with the intention of slicing the blonde ninja in half. As the sword was descending onto him, Naruto spun on his right leg dodging the sword strike while at the same time he extended his hand with the kunai out and drove it into the side of the man's neck before ripping it out, cleanly severing the man's jugular. Blood gushed out like a fountain from the wound as the man fell face first in a pool of his own blood. The three remaining thugs along with everyone else on the bridge had their eyes after seeing how easily Naruto killed the man.

"Y-you bastard!" The other two thugs yelled as they drew their swords and charged at Naruto in anger leaving their leader behind. Naruto simply shook the blood off the kunai and continued walking towards the two men running towards him. Once again at five feet away from Naruto, both men raised their respected swords in the air to cleave him in half, but Naruto pivoted on his right leg and delivered a brutal spinning heel kick to the thug on the right breaking his neck killing him. As soon his left leg contacted the ground, the kunai flew from his hand and lodged itself into the side of the other thug's head killing. Both of them fell face first behind their already dead friend, a kunai was sticking out of one of their heads while the other's head was facing his back. The leader of the group dropped his sword on the ground and fell on his behind when he saw Naruto turn his attention towards him.

"Y-you monster!" the man said in fear as he watched Naruto slowly approach him. The arrogant attitude he had earlier was completely gone after watching three of his friends effortlessly killed by the boy in front of him. Naruto stopped in front of him and spoke in a chilling voice.

"Run," he said lowly in a voice that sent chills down the man's spine.

"W-what?" the man stuttered out in confusion.

"You head me," Naruto said coldly. "Run," he said. Not need to be told again, the man scrambled to his feet and took off running on the bridge. While he was running away Naruto created a shadow clone and spoke to it. "Follow him," he ordered as he turned to the clone. "Let him lead you to Gato's base then kill him," he ordered causing the clone to nod and take off behind the man. Naruto then created two more clones and ordered them to dispose of the three dead bodies on the bridge while he went back over to the pile of lumber and sat down ignoring the stares of all the workers and Tazuna.

"He just killed three of Gato's men like it was nothing," one of the men working on the bridge whispered to his friend.

"He's just a boy yet he kills so easily," another noted.

"He is a ninja, what did you expect," another man replied getting a nod from those around him.

"Maybe there is still hope for our country yet," one man suggested earning hopeful smiles from everyone around. Naruto heard their conversation but did not have any sort of reaction to it. The rest of the day was uneventful, Naruto spent most of it watching his clones work with Tazuna and his men. He would occasionally do some push-ups and sit-ups to reduce his boredom. The clone he had sent to follow the man had not dispelled as yet. Naruto assumed it must be because it was still scoping out Gato's base. Currently, it was just Tazuna and Naruto's clones working on the bridge. Everyone else had wrapped up for the day except for Tazuna who wanted to get a bit more work done. The sun had already set, and the stars were lighting up the night sky.

"Alright brat, let's go," Tazuna said in his usual gruff tone. Naruto nodded his head and dispelled his clones before the two of them began walking down the bridge towards the village. "By the way, thanks for today," the old man said getting a nod from Naruto.

"Just doing my job," Naruto replied with a smile. The two then continued walking in silence until they reached the village.

"Come on, I need to pick up some things for breakfast tomorrow," Tazuna said to Naruto as they took a detour and walked towards the market. As they walked through the market Naruto could see there were stares and whispered in his direction. Apparently, the workers from the bridge had told their families about what happened on the bridge and words seemed to have spread throughout the village. Naruto ignored it for the most part and focused on looking for any possible threats to Tazuna's life. Tazuna walked into a small shop that had mostly empty shelves. The shelves that did have something on them only had a few vegetables and fruits. Naruto was honestly surprised by how bad things were, he didn't expect that people could not even grow enough vegetables to sustain themselves. Sighing to himself, Naruto turned to Tazuna and spoke.

"Hey, old man," he said getting the old man's attention. "Are there any open spaces or abandoned lots around here?" he asked confusing the old man.

"There is a small empty lot next door," Tazuna replied with one eyebrow raised in the air. "Why?" he asked.

"You'll see," Naruto replied before walking out of the market with Tazuna following behind him. They walked next door and came upon an empty lot with no buildings or structures on it. Naruto then flashed through a few hand seals before he spoke.

"Wood Style: Advent Grove!" he said gaining the attention of everyone around. As the words left Naruto's mouth the ground began to tremble before multiple fruit trees burst up from inside the empty lot all bearing large fruits on them. The entire lot was covered in fruit trees tightly packed together inside of the small space. Naruto smiled to himself seeing one of the techniques he created work perfectly. It was one of the techniques he had developed during his time in the Fire Capital.

"A-amazing!" Tazuna said as he stared at the small grove of fruit trees.

"Mommy, look!" a little girl said while pointing to the trees. "He made trees grow," she said while her mother simply stared in awe. People from all around the market rushed over to see the phenomenon that had just taken place.

"There are fruits on those trees!" an old man yelled out in surprise.

"There should be enough fruits in there for all of you," Naruto said to the group. "Enjoy," he said as he motions them to go and eat. People were stumbling over each other in the dark trying to get to the trees causing Naruto to shake his head and smile. "Don't rush, they will still be there in the morning," he said reassuring them that the trees won't disappear. He then turned to Tazuna only to see the man standing in the spot with a tear running down his face.

"People have been starving in this village since Gato took control of our country, they had all practically lost hope," Tazuna said as he watching his fellow countrymen smile and dine in happiness. "And in a manner of seconds, you not only fed them, but you made them happy and placed some hope back into their lives," he said causing Naruto to blush slightly in embarrassment.

"I did what anyone with my abilities would do," he said in a flustered tone. "People were suffering and I have the ability to ease their pain. Why would I not use it," he added causing the old man to chuckle.

"You are a good kid," he said with a chuckle. Tazuna had very little interaction with Naruto prior to today. Naruto never mingled with the other genin from Kakashi's team, he always kept to himself. After seeing him kill Gato's meant earlier today, Tazuna had thought the boy was one of those cold ninjas he would often hear about, the ones that rarely ever show any emotions and saw themselves above those weaker than them. But Naruto showed him today that he was a rare soul in the shinobi world, he cared about the little guy. "Let's get going, we're going to be late for dinner," he said before the two of them left the villagers and headed home. Arriving in front of his house, Tazuna opened the door and saw everyone was inside already sitting around the table.

"Dad, you're home!" Tsunami said with a relieved look on her face.

"Yeah, I stayed back to do some extra work on the bridge, then I stopped by the market," Tazuna replied as he took off his shoes. "This kid is amazing," he added while pointing to Naruto was walked past him and sat beside his sensei. "Thanks to his clones we got way more work done than we would have," he said with a smile as he moved and sat down at the table next to his grandson.

"You used your clones?" Yamato asked while looking at Naruto with one eyebrow raised.

"I figured the faster we build the bridge the faster the mission is over," Naruto replied with a shrug.

"Anything noteworthy happened?" Yamato asked wanting a report on the day's events.

"Some of Gato's men showed up wanting to kill the old man," he said in a nonchalant tone causing Tsunami and Sakura to gasp. "But I killed them easily," he added with a small wave.

"You did let that one go," Tazuna said causing Naruto to nod.

"I had my clone follow him so he could find out where Gato's base of operation is," Naruto explained causing his sensei to nod.

"Well, at least you're all safe," Tsunami said as he gave her father a hug and started to serve dinner.

"But that isn't even the most amazing part," Tazuna said after taking a sip of his sake. "On our way back, the kid made a bunch of fruit trees with fruits on them grow inside the village," he said surprising everyone at the table. "The villagers are all probably still there eating fruits," he said causing Yamato and everyone else to look at Naruto for an explanation.

"It's not a big deal," Naruto said with a shrug. "I just made some fruit trees grow so the villagers could eat something," he said causing his sensei to smile at him.

"Was it wise to reveal your bloodline like that?" Kakashi asked causing Naruto to shrug with an indifferent look on his face.

"It's not like I been keeping it a secret since I returned to the village," Naruto replied with a shrug. "And regardless of if it was wise or not, I have the ability to ease the suffering of these people, why wouldn't I use it?" he asked rhetorically causing his sensei and Kakashi to smile at him.

"That was nice, Naruto," Sakura said with a smile to which Naruto nodded his head before turning to his meal.

"You can relax tomorrow, Naruto," his sensei said getting his attention. "Kakashi-senpai is back to full strength and his students are finished with their training. So tomorrow they are going to help me protect Tazuna," he said causing Naruto to nod his head.

"Sounds good," Naruto replied as he took a bite of his dinner that Tsunami had made.

"What's the point?" the old man's grandson said in a slightly angry tone getting everyone's attention. "What's the point of all this training and all the fuss," he said as he slammed his hands on the table and stared directly at Naruto with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Gato has an army and will destroy all of you!" he yelled causing everyone except Naruto to stare at the kid with nothing but pity in their eyes. "These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything. No matter what you do, the strong always win and the weak always lose," he said as he continued to stare at Naruto who was simply eating his food while ignoring the kid. "Just looking at you drives me crazy!" he said while looking at Naruto causing the blonde to raise an eyebrow and look up at the kid in confusion. "You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! None of you here know what it's like to truly suffer!" he said causing Naruto to chuckle darkly before he spoke.

"You're right I don't know what it's like to suffer, but neither do," Naruto said causing the kid to clench his fist and grit his teeth. "You call this suffering? Having a mother and grandfather who love and care for you?" Naruto asked before pointing to Sasuke. "He had his entire clan slaughter by his older brother before the same older brother tortured him to a point, he ended up in a coma for three days," Naruto said before he pointed to Kakashi. "He found his father's dead body in his living room and witnessed both of his teammates killed in front of him all before he turned thirteen," Naruto said before moving over to Yamato. "And he was kidnapped as a child and had all sort of things done to him," He finished before turning back to the kid. "You think you know what suffering is, I suggest you grow up and stop acting like a brat," he said before he pushed his plate aside and stood up. "Your father died protecting the things he loved, you're just a coward," Naruto said before he turned and walked out the door leaving everyone in silence.

"Where are you going Naruto?" Sakura asked as she stood up.

"I'm going to sleep," he replied as he walked out the door. Everyone became silent after Naruto left. Tazuna's grandson Inari clenched his fist and began crying even more before he took off running up the stairs.

"Inari!" his mother called out with a worried look on her face as she watches him run up the stairs.

"I apologize on behalf of my student," Yamato said with a bow of her head causing Tsunami to sigh.

"It's okay," Tsunami said with a sigh. "Even though it was harsh, it was what Inari needed to hear," she said before she sat back down at the table. Everyone sat in silence for the rest of the dinner.

**Next Day**

The next day Naruto got up slightly later than usual. The sun was already up when he woke up and Tazuna had already left for the bridge along with his sensei and team 7. Naruto was currently walking out of the wooden house he had built on his way to Tazuna's house for breakfast. As he entered the house, he could hear Tsunami and Inari's voices in the kitchen. Making his way through the living room and into the kitchen he saw Inari sitting at the table while his mother was at the stove.

"Good morning," Naruto said getting their attention.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Tsunami replied with a smile. "Slept well?" she asked to which Naruto nodded and sat down at the table.

"I want to apologize for my behavior last night," Naruto said as he sat down and bowed his head slightly. Tsunami stopped cooking and turned to look at the blonde boy. When she saw him sitting there with an apologetic look on his face and his head slightly bowed, she smiled softly.

"Don't worry about it," Tsunami said as he walked up and place one of her hands on her son's head. "It's my son that should be apologizing," she added while ruffling Inari's hair. The little boy didn't say anything he simply lowered his head and continued to eat. Tsunami shook her head and walked back over to the stove to get some breakfast for Naruto. She placed some eggs and fish on a plate before taking it over to Naruto.

"Thank you," Naruto replied with a grateful smile as he saw Tsunami placed the plate down in front of him. Naruto then began eating his breakfast with a small smile on his face. After he took a few bites of the delicious breakfast that Tsunami had prepared, he was interrupted from his eating by the sound of knocking coming from the front door.

"I'll get it!" Inari said pushing off from the table and sprinting towards the door. Naruto's head shot up in a panic but when he sensed the chakra of those at the door he relaxed. Their chakra capacity was that of ordinary civilians, which mean they had little to no chakra at all. He figured that it was just some villagers here looking for Tsunami or Tazuna.

"AHHHHH!" screamed Inari from the front door causing Naruto to spring to his feet while Tsunami had a dreaded look on her face.

"You and your mother are coming with us, brat!" A man said from the front door. Naruto looked at Tsunami and signaled her to go to Inari while he made his way out to the back door. Once outside, Naruto hopped up into the roof and walked across the house until he was standing directly above the front door. When he looked down, he could see thugs with katanas strapped to their sides standing there. One of them was holding Inari by the scruff of his shirt while the other was looking for Tsunami. Naruto shook his head in disappointment. He had expected Gato to be a bit smarter than this, but now he can see that the man was a fool. Only a fool would send these thugs to kidnap someone in a house protected by shinobis.

"Leave Inari alone!" Tsunami shouted as she ran through the house towards her son.

"Hehe! How nice of you to come to us," one of the thugs said with a crazed smile on his face. "Saves us the trouble of looking for you!" he added as he placed his hand on the hilt of his katana getting ready to draw it. It was at that moment that Naruto decided to make his move. He hopped off of the roof and landed between the two thugs wrapping both of his arms around each of their heads in the process.

"Sorry I'm late," he said with a smile while choking both men. "The hero always likes to make an entrance," he said as he looked down at a weeping Inari who fell on his backside when Naruto grabbed the two men.

"What that!?" one of the men screamed out as he struggled to breathe.

"Who...the...hell...are...you!?" the other asked in a croaked voice as he too struggled to breathe. Naruto wiped the smile from his face and glance down at the two men in his grasp before speaking in a cold and murderous tone.

"It doesn't matter who I am," he said chillingly sending shivers up the men's spine. "You are not going to be alive long enough to remember my name," he added causing all the color to drain from the two thugs' faces. In that exact moment, their entire lives flashed before their eyes. Every good happy memory along with every bad thing they had done. They had relived all of it in a fraction of a second right before Naruto squeezed and jerked both of his hands upwards causing a sickening crunch to be heard as the necks of both men broke. Their bodies went limp causing the blonde to let go allowing their dead bodies to fall face-first on the porch.

"Inari!" Tsunami yelled ignoring the two dead bodies and rushing over to her son. She immediately dropped to her knees and wrapped him in a tight hug as tears began streaming down her face. "Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked.

"No, I'm okay," he replied as he stared up at Naruto in awe.

"Nice work kid," Naruto said as he looked down at the kid and his mother. "You distracted him good enough that they never noticed me on the roof. It allowed me to get the drop on them. You were very brave," he said trying to cheer the kid up. As he said that he saw the kid's bottom lip start to quiver right before the little boy burst out in tears.

"Darn it!" Inari said between sobs. "I promised myself that I wouldn't cry anymore!" he chastised himself casing Naruto to chuckle and ruffle his hair.

"It's okay to cry sometime," Naruto said with a smile. "Especially when you are happy," he added causing Tsunami to smile and nod at her son. Naruto then narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of the bridge.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Tsunami asked seeing the change in the blonde's expression.

"I can sense people fighting on the bridge," Naruto replied before he held up a half ram seal causing two wood clones to emerge out from his back. "Stay here and protect these two, I am going to bridge," he ordered before he turned back to Inari and Tsunami. "I guess I can leave you in charge here now, right Inari?" he asked.

"You go it!" the little bit replied as he wiped the tears away from his face and smiled. Naruto smiled before disappearing from the spot via the body flicker jutsu.

Naruto reappeared in a clearing in the forest before he began running at top speed in the direction of the bridge. At his top speed, it only took about five minutes for him to arrives at the head of the bridge. When he got there, he could barely see the bridge. A thick mist had covered the entire area.

'There is a lot of chakras in the mist,' he noted to himself. 'The hidden mist jutsu,' he thought with a nod. He stood there for a few minutes thinking up a plan and evaluating every advantage and disadvantage that would occur as a result of his actions. After thinking everything through he decided to act.

"Wood Clone Jutsu!" He said under his breath causing five wood clones to emerge out from his back. The five clones then all lined out beside Naruto equally spaced before them along with Naruto began flashing through hand seals ending with the snake hand seal.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" they all shouted before blowing out a devasting gust of wind from their mouths clearing all of the mist in the surrounding area along with knocking a few people on the bridge off their feet. Naruto quickly dispelled the wood clones and began walking towards the bridge.

"Quite the party you all seem to be having," he said loudly while walking with a wide smile on his face as though he was not worried about anything. "Why didn't anyone invite me?" he asked in a carefree tone. While he had a carefree expression on his face, he was observing everything around him carefully. Sakura and Tazuna were the closest to him. Both of them were knocked off their feet by his wind jutsu and were in the process of picking themselves up. On the far side of the bridge, Naruto to clearly see was some sort of dome made up of ice mirrors.

"A bloodline user," Naruto thought to himself as he observed the dome. Peering further into the dome he could see a badly wounded Sasuke and Sai fighting a masked shinobi who seem to be inside of one of the mirrors. "How interesting," he thought. Standing in the middle of the two groups was his sensei, Kakashi, and a masked shinobi wielding a rather large sword. "He must be Zabuza Momochi," Naruto noted in his head. The trio seemed unaffected by Naruto's wind but still looked like they had been fighting for a while now.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled out knocking the blonde out of his thought. "Thank goodness you're here!" she said with a grateful tone causing the blonde to smile at her slightly.

"Just how many of you Leaf brats are there?" Zabuza asked in an annoyed tone. He was clearly annoyed at the fact that there was now one more kid for him to deal with.

"You'll never know," Naruto replied with a grin clearly unbothered by the Jonin.

"Nice work getting rid of the mist, Naruto," Yamato said complimenting his student.

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't have shown up here if it wasn't for two of Gato's guys showing up at the house to kidnap Inari and Tsunami," Naruto said nonchalantly causing Tazuna to go into a panic.

"Are my daughter and grandson, okay?" he asked with a dreaded look on his face as if he was expecting the worse.

"Yeah, they're fine," he replied in a casual tone. "I took care of those guys easily and left a couple of my cones behind to keep them save," he added.

"Oh, thank god," Tazuna said as he let out a sigh of relief. Naruto nodded his head before creating two seal-less shadow clones.

"You two stay here and help guard Tazuna," Naruto said causing the two clones to nod their heads before moving to stand on either side of the bridge builder while Sakura stood in the front. Naruto then began walking towards the ice dome to help Sasuke and Sai. "I'll go help the kids," he said to his sensei and Kakashi.

"You don't think I am just going to allow you to walk by me, do you?" Zabuza asked as he raised his sword in the air ready to cleave Naruto in two. The blonde just continued walking as if he was completely unbothered by the former Hidden Mist Jonin's words. Just as Zabuza was about to bring the sword down onto Naruto he was forced to dodge to the right in order to avoid being hit by multiple wooden beams compliments of Yamato.

"Keep your hands off my student," Yamato said with a growl as his entire right hand-tuned into multiple wooden beams trying to stab Zabuza. The swordsman landed back on the bridge and held his sword up beside him causing all of the wooden beams to slam into the flat side of the blade instead of him. He was however forced to dodge once more thanks to Kakashi joining in the fight.

Turning his attention away from the three jonins, Naruto continued walking to the ice dome. As he got closer to the dome of mirrors, he could better see the condition of both Sasuke and Sai along with getting a better idea of the masked shinobi's abilities and fighting style. Both Sasuke and Sai were covered in senbon needles and bleeding a lot. They were not bleeding that fast due majority of the senbon needles still being stuck inside of them, but it was still a lot of blood.

"This shinobi is pretty skilled," Naruto observed as he looked around at the two wounded leaf shinobis. "Senbons take precision and skill to use, but are not exactly deadly weapons," he thought to himself. "All vital organs were missed which means they have a very good understanding of anatomy. This could mean one of two things. Either they do not want to kill Sasuke and Sai, or they are purposely dragging this out to make it a slow and painful death," Naruto hypothesized inside his head. "They are obviously much more skilled than the two of them and could kill these two at any time but chooses not to do so...how cruel," He added with a shake of his head before stopping directly in front of the dome standing perfectly in between tow mirrors allowing him to peer inside.

"You two, okay?" He asked as he looked down at the two wounded Leaf shinobi. Sai nodded his head slightly while Sasuke who was on all fours breathing heavily glared up at Naruto with two piercing red eyes with one Tomoe in his right eye and two in his left causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"He awakened his Sharingan," Naruto thought to him as he stared at the Uchiha.

"We don't need your help," Sasuke said as he continued to glare at Naruto. It had already hurt his pride that the masked shinobi who appeared to be around the same age as both him and Sai had bested them in combat. The last thing his pride needed was for someone else who was his age to show him up, especially a Senju.

"Well, that's too bad," Naruto replied before spreading both of his arms out wide and channeled chakra into both of his palms.

"It is useless," The masked shinobi said for the first time since Naruto's arrival. "My mirrors are indestructible," they said causing Naruto to chuckle. He then slammed both of his palms on the two mirrors on either side of him releasing the built-up chakra at the exact moment of impact causing both ice mirrors to shatter like glass. Everyone's eyes went wide as dinner plates at what they just saw. Sasuke and Sai had tried on multiple occasions to destroy the mirrors, they had even tried to melt them with fire jutsus, but they couldn't even put a dent into them. Yet here came Naruto who simply slapped the two mirrors and shatter them like they were glass.

"You were saying?" Naruto asked mockingly with a smirk on his face before he stepped into the dome and grabbed both Sasuke and Sai and threw them outside. He then made a sealless shadow clone and gave it orders. "Take those two back to Sakura and heal their wounds," he ordered.

"You got it, boss!" the clone said before walking out of the dome and picking both Sai and Sasuke up, much to the annoyance of the Uchiha and teleporting back towards Sakura and Tazuna via the body flicker technique.

"Now, where were we?" Naruto said as he turned his attention to the masked shinobi in the ice mirror directly in front of him.

"You will have to forgive me but in order for master Zabuza to achieve his goals I must kill you," the Masked shinobi said as he held up three senbon needles in his right hand. "It is nothing personal against you," he added causing Naruto to nod his head in understanding.

"We are shinobis, so I understand," he replied in a casual tone. "But you won't be killing me," he added as he placed his hands in his pockets.

"That may have been true had you stayed on the outside," the shinobi said before he began jumping from mirror to mirror at blinding speed. "But you made the fatal mistake of entering my domain. In here, I am unmatched," he said while jumping from mirrors to mirrors getting ready to launch his attacks at Naruto.

"I have to admit, you are quite fast," Naruto said calmly. "But compared to my grandmother and big sister..." he said before rotating on his left heel while extending his right leg straight out. Timing his rotation perfectly, Naruto delivered a brutal spinning heel kick to the masked shinobi's midsection knocking all the air out of him. "You're pretty slow," he said coldly before retracting his leg causing the shinobi to fall face-first onto the bridge shattering his mask revealing a pretty feminine-looking boy. He laid on the bridge gasping for air as much as he could, but the hit was so devasting that it made it incredibly hard for him to inhale.

"Haku!" shouted a very alarmed Zabuza causing Naruto to turn his head slightly and look behind him. When he turned around, he saw Zabuza staring at the laboring boy, who Naruto now knows is named Haku. Zabuza had a shocked expression on his face, it was quite clear that he did not expect the boy to lose. Due to his sudden shift in attention, however, it provided the right distraction that Yamato needed to capture the missing ninja with his wood jutsu.

"Wood Style: Great Forest Technique!" Yamato yelled out from the right of Zabuza while pointing his right hand towards him. Suddenly Yamato's entire right arm transformed into multiple wooden beams which raced towards Zabuza and bounded each of his arms and legs.

"What the-!" Zabuza yelled out in surprise as the wooden beams captured him and held him up a few inches in the air. Even though he was captured, however, he never let go of his sword.

"You let yourself get distracted too easily," Yamato said as he held Zabuza in place causing the missing ninja to grit his teeth in frustration. Soon everyone on the bridge heard the sound of a flock of birds chirping. Looking past Zabuza Naruto saw Kakashi standing there with his sharigan uncovered while holding his right hand with his left while his right palm was covered in lightning.

"This is the end of the line for you, Zabuza," Kakashi said in a cold tone as he narrowed his eyes at Zabuza. He then began rushing towards Zabuza with his right hand stretched back ready to stab it into the swordsman. Everyone watched as the masked leaf shinobi got closer and closer to Zabuza expecting the leaf shinobi to end the missing ninja's life. When Kakashi was about five feet away from Zabuza, Naruto saw something blur past him heading towards Zabuza causing his eyes to widen in shock as he realized what it was that rushed past him.

"Watch out!" Naruto yelled as he zoned in on the blur to see a wounded Haku rushing towards her master.

"Chidori!" Kakashi yelled as he stepped his lightning-covered palm in the direction of Zabuza's chest. When he was about two feet away the previously masked shinobi appeared in front of Zabuza with a gentle smile on his face causing Kakashi's eyes to widen in shock. It was already too late for him to stop his attack. Everyone could only watch as Kakashi stabbed his hand through the chest of the young who sacrificed himself for Zabuza.

"This will be my final act for you, master Zabuza," Haku said as he coughed up blood before reaching out and grabbing a hold on Kakashi's arm preventing him from moving.

"Hahaha! I truly did raise the perfect tool!" Zabuza said gleefully. In a great show of strength, he then broke free his arm which was holding his sword causing everyone's eyes to widen in horror. He then raised his arm in the air preparing to cut Kakashi in half. As he was about to bring the sword down, everyone had one common thought in their heads.

"He's going to slice right through the boy," they all thought. As the sword was coming down towards Kakashi, Zabuza suddenly froze and coughed up a large amount of blood. Slowly looking down towards his chest he saw a wooden spike sticking out of where his heart is. Turning his head slowly to where he knew Yamato was, he saw the wood user was still standing there holding him in position with his wooden beams. With Yamato still standing where Zabuza remembered he was extremely confused as to who was stabbing him.

"I never got a chance to introduce myself," came the voice of Naruto from behind Zabuza causing the masked swordsman to turn his head backward in order to get a good look. When he turned around, he saw the blonde-haired shinobi standing behind him with his right arm transformed into a wooden spike stabbing through his heart. "My name is Naruto Senju," he said lowly. Zabuza turned back around and let go of his sword before he looked up to the sky and chuckle.

"A Senju wielding the wood release," he said with a chuckle as he looked down and saw Kakashi pulled his hand out of Haku's lifeless body and laid him gently on the ground. "The shinobi world is going to be a lot more interesting from now on," he said while staring at his fallen comrade. "It is shame we won't be around to see it, Haku," he said grimly before coughing up some more blood. Naruto sensing that the sword's will to fight was gone and the fact that the man was on death's door, Naruto pulled his arm out of Zabuza's chest. "Place me beside Haku, kid," Zabuza said to which Naruto obliged as his sensei canceled his wood jutsu holding Zabuza. Laying the man next to his comrade, Kakashi and everyone else came and stood around the two. "You were a lot more than just a tool, Haku," Zabuza said as he reached out the touched the dead boy's face before breathing his last breath. everyone just stood around and stared at the two dead bodies of Zabuza and Haku.

"They're dead," Sakura said in a slightly horrified voice. It was quite clear to Naruto that this was the first time she had faced death or had seen someone's life been taken in front of her. It was much like him on his first C-rank mission.

"Welcome to the life of a shinobi," Naruto said as he let out a sigh and looked around the bridge. The dome previously made of ice mirrors had all shattered the moment Haku died leaving behind only puddles of water in the location where they once stood. Parts of the bridge were destroyed thanks to Yamato's wood release and Zabuza's sword.

"Tazuna is going to have his work cut out for him," Naruto thought as he looked around at the damage.

"Thank god it's finally over," Tazuna said as he let out a sigh of relief.

"We're not done yet," Naruto suddenly said as he stared at the unfinished side of the bridge. "We got company," he added causing everyone to put their guards up.

"Well, well," came the arrogant voice of a man standing on the unfinished side of the bridge with a large number of thugs walking up beside him. "So, this is how it turns out, huh?" the man asked rhetorically as more and more thugs climb up the wooden staircase made by the bridge workers to get down to the river.

"Gato!" Tazuna shouted out as he recognized the man speaking. Gato was a short man with brown shaggy hair and wore a black suit. In Naruto's opinion, the man didn't look like much.

"I suppose I should be thanking you Leaf ninjas for killing Zabuza," Gato said with a dark chuckle. "Saves me the trouble of doing it myself," he added with another chuckle which caused the thug behind him to laugh as well.

"Kill Zabuza?" Sakura asked in confusion. "I thought he was working for you," she asked clearly not understanding what was going on.

"Zabuza was too expensive," Gato explained with an arrogant smirk on his face. "He needed to be cut from the payroll," he said before chuckling to himself once again. "The Demon of Mist! What a joke," Gato mocked while staring at the two corpses on the bridge. "He couldn't even take care of one stinking bridge builder!" he added before looking at Tazuna with a devious smirk on his face. "But you die here today on this bridge of yours, Tazuna," he said causing a shiver to travel up the old man's spine.

"So much for finally getting some rest," Kakashi said as he let out a tired sigh.

"Why don't you two relax," Naruto said as he looked at the two jonin senseis. "I'll handle it," he said before turning towards Gato and the group of thugs.

"Are you sure?" Yamato asked while looking at his student.

"Yeah, I barely broke a sweat fighting that Haku guy so I'm good to go," he said as he cracked his neck before he began walking towards the group of men. Seeing the young Shinobi walking towards them, Gato and the thugs let you a chorus of laughter.

"This brat thinks he can take on all of us by himself!" one of the thugs yelled out while laughing.

"We are going to kill you, then your little friends, and then the old man!" another yelled out causing Naruto to shake his head.

"You are all more than welcome to try," Naruto said with a smirk on his face causing an angry look to appear on the faces of Gato and his thugs.

"Kill the brat and then kill the old man!" Gato ordered causing the group of thugs to rush towards Naruto who continued to walk at a casual pace. Stopping some distance away from the group of thugs, Naruto began flashing through hand signs at blinding speed.

Wood Style: Multiple Wood Spike Jutsu!" Naruto yelled out before slamming both of his palms on the ground. As his palm contacted the ground a small tremor shook the bridge causing all of the thugs to stop their running and looking around to see what was going on. After about one second of shaking, the ground beneath each of the thugs burst open with large tree roots shooting out impaling each one of Gato's men through the midsection and lifted them up five feet in the air.

"AHHHHH!" they all screamed while hanging from the tree roots. Naruto then stood up and looked out in front of him at the scene of about fifty thugs hanging five feet in the air with a large bloody tree root sticking out of their midsection. The scene made him cringe slightly due to him still being new to the whole killing thing. When he killed Zabuza and those goons on the bridge yesterday it did not affect him that much but seeing a large number of people that he just killed in an instant, stirred him slightly.

"He...he just killed all of them," Sakura said as he brought her hands up to her mouth in shock.

"Even though he is still a kid, he has the power to kill all those people," Tazuna said in surprise. "Guess it is true what they say about shinobis, you can't judge them based on appearance alone," he added.

"You okay there, Naruto?" Yamato asked as he saw his student slightly frozen in place.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Naruto replied in a less cheerful tone before shaking his head to come out of his stupor. He then raised his right leg up in the air and slammed his back down on the bridge causing another tremor which was followed by all of the tree roots retracting themselves back into the ground leaving the numerous dead bodies of thugs on the bridge laying in a pool of their own blood. Looking past all of the corpses, everyone on the bridge could see that there was one survivor of the massacre, Gato. The short man was white as a sheet staring at the corpses of his men.

"I-impossible," Gato whispered out in a horrified voice. "This can't be true!" he screamed like a man who had gone crazy. Naruto then slowly started walking towards him with a cold look on his face. "N-no! No! Stay away!" Gato screamed as he took a few steps back. Naruto then flared his chakra and released his killing intent before he spoke.

"Don't move," he said in a chilling tone that froze Gato in place. As Naruto got closer and closer to him the more, he found it harder to breathe. Everything in his body was telling him to run and jump off the side of the bridge and kill himself, but no matter how hard he tried his feet would not move. When Naruto reach him, he stood towering over the man looking down at him with a cold look in his eyes.

"P-please don't kill me," Gato begged as tears started streaming down his face causing Naruto to chuckle. He was about to say something to the short man, but before he could the voice of Inari interrupted him.

"Gato!" Inari shouted getting everyone's attention. "Your days of ruling over this land is over!" he shouted while holding a crossbow in his arms and a mob of villagers all carrying weapons behind him.

"Yeah! We've had enough of your tyranny!" a man yelled.

"We are taking back our country!" a woman yelled.

"Yeah!" came the chorus of the rest of the villagers.

"You guys," Tazuna said with tears in his eyes.

"Sorry, we're late, big bro Naruto!" Inari shouted causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow. "But the hero always likes to make a cool entrance!" the kid said with a grin causing Naruto's eyebrow to twitch slightly after hearing the kid using the same words he used when he rescued him and his mother.

"Damn, brat," Naruto muttered under his breath before turning back to Gato who was still rooted in position. Naruto walked behind him and grabbed him the back of the neck before looking up at his sensei and Kakashi. "I'll be back, he has something I want," Naruto said while looking at the two jonins causing them to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you up to, Naruto?" Yamato asked causing Naruto to grin mischievously at him.

"You'll see when I get back," he said with a grin before disappearing in a swirl of leaves with Gato in tow.

"Where is he going with Gato!?" one of the villagers screamed/asked thirsty for vengeance.

"He'll be back with Gato," Yamato said to villagers trying to calm them down.

"I'm sure you will all get what you are after," Kakashi said before turning to the numerous corpses on the bridge. "But for now, I think we should get rid of all these bodies," he said with a sigh before turning to Yamato. "I'll leave it to you, Yamato," he said with a one-eyed smile causing his fellow jonin to groan.

"Everyone, that boy killed all of Gato's men and freed this country," Tazuna said to the villagers. "I think he has earned some of our trust," he added causing a lot of people in the crowd to nod in agreement.

*Gato's Mansion*

Naruto and Gato arrived in a swirl of leaves in front of Gato's mansion in the middle of the forest. Upon arrival, Naruto shoved him forward in the direction of the mansion causing him to fall down.

"W-where are we?" Gato asked as he looked around trying to get his bearings. Upon seeing his house his eyes widen in shock at the fact that the blonde shinobi knew where he lived and could have killed him at any time.

"Start walking," Naruto commanded before giving him another push. The two of them then started walking to the entrance of the mansion. Naruto was surprised that there were no guards here guarding the place. It would appear that Gato took everyone to the bridge in order to kill Zabuza.

"What do you want?" Gato asked in a scared voice.

"If you give me what I want then I won't kill you," Naruto said using the short man to brighten up slightly.

"Do I have your word that you won't kill me?" Gato asked in a suspicious voice.

"Yes, you have my word," Naruto said with a smirk causing the man to become relieved slightly. The two of them walked into the mansion and headed straight for Gato's office where Naruto finally told Gato what he wanted.

"So, what do you want?" Gato asked while looking at the blonde causing him to smirk mischievously.

"You are going to sign over your company and everything you own over to me," Naruto said causing man's eyes to widen in horror.

"Y-you can't be serious," he stuttered out causing Naruto to chuckle.

"I am," Naruto replied calmly. "But of course, if you wish to sign over your life instead, I could oblige," he added with a smile as he took out a kunai from his pouch and spun it around his finger. Upon seeing the kunai, the images of all the dead bodies on the bridge flashed before his eyes causing him to go ghastly white.

"Fine, fine," Gato said as he walked to the corner of his office and opened a safe. "I do it," he said before taking out a file with a bunch of documents. For the next fifteen minutes, the two of them signed all of the necessary papers that were required for Gato to relinquish control and ownership of his company and all of his assets over to Naruto. Conveniently, Gato also had the papers necessary to change the name of the company which Naruto filled out immediately. Naruto then created a dozen shadow clones and had them search the house for anything of value and take them. When it was all said and done, in a matter of minutes one of the richest men in the entire Elemental Nations was now the poorest man in the entire Elemental nations. "There, all done," Gato said as he handed the last document over to Naruto. The blonde inspected it and nodded before storing everything away in a storage scroll along with everything his clones had gathered to go through at a later date.

"Well then," Naruto said as he stood up. "We should get going," he added confusing Gato. Before the man could react, Naruto grabbed him and teleported out of the house with the body flicker technique.

*Back on the Bridge*

Everyone was still on the bridge waiting or in the case of Kakashi and Yamato, resting. Yamato had used some water jutsus to push all the corpses off the bridge and into the river down below. Team 7 was also resting or more specifically Sasuke and Sai were resting while Sakura was bothering Sasuke. Speaking of the Uchiha, he was sitting on the side of the bridge staring at the multiple holes in the ground left behind by Naruto's technique. There was an obvious look of jealously on his face.

"How is he so powerful?" Sasuke asked himself as he stared at the holes. He was accustomed to being the top genin in his class, he was the one everyone wanted to beat but on his first mission outside the village, he came across two people who were around the same age as him and were much more powerful than him. "What have I been doing all these years!" he screamed in his head. "I have to get stronger!" he thought with conviction written all over his face. Kakashi and Yamato who was sitting across from the genin saw the look on his face and smiled slightly.

"Seems like he found some inspiration," Yamato said causing Kakashi to chuckle and nod. It was at that moment that Naruto arrived back on the bridge with Gato in tow. Similar to when they arrived in front of the mansion, Naruto shoved him forward causing him to fall down. Upon seeing the arrival of Naruto and Gato, everyone swarmed towards them. Seeing the villagers coming towards them, Naruto smiled and grabbed Gato by the back of his neck and shoved him in the direction of the villagers before he spoke.

"He is all yours!" Naruto said with a smile causing the short businessman to look between Naruto and the villagers with a horrified look on his face.

"You said you wouldn't kill me if I gave you what you wanted!" Gato screamed as one of the men from the village grabbed him. "You gave me your word!" he yelled as the villagers surrounded him.

"I did," Naruto replied while walking over to his sensei. "I said that I wouldn't kill you and as you can see, I am not the one who is going to be killing you," the blonde said with a smirk before pointing to the villagers surrounding Gato. "They are," he added with a chuckle as the villagers began beating Gato.

"So, what did you want from Gato?" Yamato asked as Naruto stood beside him and Kakashi. Naruto smiled at the two of them before he spoke.

"Gato Transports is now Senju Enterprise," Naruto said surprising the two men.

"You made him sign over his company to you?" Kakashi asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Not just his company, everything he owned," Naruto said causing Kakashi to chuckle and shake his head.

"Wouldn't that causing some problems when we get back to the village?" Yamato asked causing Naruto to shake his head.

"No, this falls under clan affairs," he said with a smile. "So, it shouldn't cause any issues," he said as the screams from Gato finally died down in the background. "If anything, this will benefit the village by increasing trade," he added causing the two men to nod in understanding. As the trio finished talking Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami walked up to them with smiles on their faces.

"Big bro!" Inari called out getting their attention. "We took down Gato!" he said with a wide smile on his face causing the three shinobi to smile.

"We don't know how we can ever thank all of you for what you have done," Tsunami said with tears streaming down her face.

"This country will be forever indebted to you all," Tazuna said while his grandson and daughter nodded.

"Hey! Don't go getting all mushy on me, old man!" Naruto said causing Tazuna's eyebrow to twitch slightly. "Gato is dead from the looks of it," he said as he looked over the old man's shoulder at the villagers dancing around the beaten and mangled corpse of Gato. "Shouldn't you all be celebrating or something," he added.

"That might be the best thing I have ever heard you say, brat!" Tazuna said with a smile before turning to the villagers. "Everyone! We are free!" he yelled out causing everyone to cheer. "Let's have a party to not only celebrate our renewed freedom but also the bright future of our country!" he shouted causing everyone to shout and cheer in agreement before they all began rushing back to the village to start the celebration while dragging Gato's corpse with them.

"With Gato gone the bridge should be built in no time," Kakashi said as he let out a relieved sigh.

"Hopefully we can get some peaceful days from here on out," Naruto said earning nods from the two jonins.

*Chapter End*

**Author's Note: Something I forgot to mention in the last chapter was that I had completely fucked up the timeline by having Team 7 take the wave mission this early. I'll admit, I got a bit too excited and rushed things. No worries though I'll just add some training arcs and maybe another C-rank mission between now and Chunin exams to rebalance the timeline. Another thing I think I should mention is this story is going to be mainly Naruto centric so I won't be focusing on the battles of other people so much. The only person other than naruto who will get some attention is Ino.

The next thing I should mention is that Yes I did go a bit overboard with Sasuke in the last chapter. I can promise you that it won't be like that throughout the fanfic. THIS IS NOT A BASHING FANFIC! It was completely unintentional! I plan on editing the previous chapter and toning it down. I was not planning on writing him the way I did, it just happened in the flow of writing. And I just really don't like the dude. With all that aside I do promise that it will be better in the future chapters!

That's another chapter in the books! Feels good to finally get this chapter done. I Don't know when the next chapter will be out but I want you all to know that I have not given up on this story or any of my stories for that matter. So stick around and enjoy!

I apologize for the messy end of the chapter. I wrote this over the span of a few months so everything did not flow and smooth as I would have liked! Hope you still enjoyed it though!

Please leave a review!

**