Naruto's plotting something again!

Zori's mouth was dry after talking for more than 20 minutes; he had spilt everything he knew about Gato. Their meeting location, the number of mercenaries he had hired, and the location of all his bases. He laid out everything he knew about Gato from following the man for over 3 years.

At this point, Zori even hoped that the ninja would kill Gato. So he wouldn't have to suffer the man's wrath after he inevitably finds out they had betrayed him.

Naruto was satisfied with everything he had learnt and dispelled the clone, receiving an almost identical confession from Zori's partner, Waraji.

After hearing everything he needed, Naruto brought the two samurai together and checked if their ropes were secured.

"What are you doing?! You said you would let us go!" Waraji screamed in anger, while Zori just sighed at his partner, who had muscle for brains.

"What are you saying? I said I wouldn't kill you, but you can't leave just yet. I don't need you disrupting my plans." Naruto smiled after tying the final knot in the rope.

"Plan?" Zori questioned, looking fearful about what the demon in front of him was planning.

Naruto ignored the question and made a clone sign, summoning several shadow clones. "You know what to do?"

""Yes!"" The clones nodded simultaneously as they were enveloped in a puff of smoke. As the smoke dispersed, the samurai noticed that the clones had transformed into the bridge builder's family. But after turning to the left, their hearts were chilled.

"Y…you!" Waraji screamed in fear as he looked at one of the clones, who now looked identical to him. Although, for some reason, the clone looked heavily injured.

Waraji and Zori saw the clone merely grin in response before they felt a sharp pain at the back of their heads as they sunk into unconsciousness.

After knocking both samurai out, Naruto and his disguised clones followed the path the samurai had taken, eventually reaching a small boat by the dock.

Looking into the distance, Naruto could see a thick mist that started to roll toward the incomplete bridge. 'Zabuza.' The blonde thought to himself, hoping his team would be okay until he finished his part of the plan.

Panicking and rushing over would do no help. Even with the past few weeks of training, he couldn't even be considered a fighting force against Zabuza.

…

After transversing the lake, Naruto familiarly navigated the area like the back of his hand, using his Hyperawareness and all the information he received from Zori and Waraji.

As they moved closer to the hidden base, the disguised clones were met with several tents and campfires, surrounded by mercenaries sharpening their weapons.

"Waraji, you're injured! What happened? Did you trip? Hahahaha" A mercenary looked up at the clones' arrival, quickly noticing the blood that stained Waraji's clothes.

"Hmph, the ninja got the drop on me. It was fun listening to his screams as I skinned him for revenge." Waraji looked absentmindedly as if savouring a pleasant memory.

Hearing this, the mercenaries went quiet. Although they had only been working under Gato for the better half of two months, they knew what sort of sick hobbies Waraji had and inwardly prayed for the dead ninja.

"Zori, you managed to bring a nice looking one back. How about letting us brothers experience her?" One of the mercenaries crudely said after eyeing up Naruto's clone disguised as Tsunami.

"Yeah yeah, let us show her what a real man is like!" Another mercenary tooted. If Zori wasn't stronger and of a higher status in Gato's employment than him, he wouldn't even ask and just take her.

"Let's talk about that after the mission. A few things have changed that I need to tell Boss." Zori walked past, not giving the mercenaries a second glance.

Hearing this, the men and women shared a more serious look. Although they were confident in their chances of winning against the ninja, they needed to survive to enjoy the benefits promised by Gato.

…

Naruto and his clones navigated the large building, eventually reaching a rather grand-looking door decorated with exquisite designs and politely knocked on the door. After the faint sound of 'enter' resounded from within, they entered, taking in the sight before them.

The room was rather luxurious, with expensive carpets, marble statues inlaid with gold and gems, and several beautifully made paintings. Gato stood by a wall in the corner with his hands crossed behind his back, seemingly admiring a painting.

However, Naruto knew that Gato wasn't paying attention to said painting but envisioned the safe underneath.

From the information he obtained from the samurai, Naruto knew that Gato was practically defenceless right now. It would be easy to capture the vicious businessman, hold him hostage and stop all of Gato's operations in Wave.

However, if Zabuza isn't presented with hard evidence that Gato was planning on betraying him, Naruto guessed that he would do all he could to kill him. If only to prevent his reputation from being sullied.

'This needs to be planned carefully.'

"What took so long?" Gato asked, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. As he turned around, his eyes widened in shock as he took in the state of his trusted bodyguards.

In front of him, there were a total of 5 people. Zori and Waraji, and what Gato assumed to be the bridge builder's family as he noted that they were tied in a rope. However, what shocked him was that Waraji was injured.

"Sorry, Boss. A ninja was protecting the targets; he managed to get the drop on us before we swiftly killed him." Waraji apologized, looking ashamed for being tricked.

"Hmph, leave this room and get yourself cleaned up. You need not attend today's events." Gato commanded. Waraji obeyed, silently leaving the room.

From an outsider's perspective, it would look like Gato cared for his subordinates. But if you looked closely, you could see the faint disgust that coloured the man's eyes. 'There better not be blood on my carpet.'

Gato turned his attention away from the floor and inspected the hostages, his eyes roaming greedily over Tsunami. "So you are the man's family that has caused me so much trouble. How should I repay you, I wonder?"

Tsunami gave him a glare of disgust but couldn't speak due to her mouth being covered by tape.

"Boss, we also managed to obtain news from the ninja protecting the bridge builder's family that the Konoha Jonin are still injured by Zabuza. Even the backup is seriously ill and essentially put himself on a suicide mission, which confirms the reports about a coughing man guarding the bridge builder.

"Those ninjas are slippery. I advise moving sooner than planned to prevent them sneaking away early when things become unfavourable to them-"Zori suggested.

"Silence. I must think." Gato cut off Zori, sinking into his thoughts. He didn't want to change his plans, but if what Zori was saying was true, it would be the perfect opportunity to wipe all ninjas out.

"Very well, gather everyone, and we'll move out in 5 minutes." Gato's interest in Tsunami had diminished as he waved Zori and the hostages away. Nothing was more important than his conquest of Wave.

While Gato was preparing, Naruto gathered Gato's army, slipping in a few more clones disguised as mercenaries. Due to the sheer number of people present, nobody suspected two new faces they had never seen before.

…

After Gato and the mercenaries had made their way toward the bridge, Waraji's eyes snapped open, and a grin stretched across his face.

Sensing the surrounding area, Waraji noted that it was practically empty except for a few guards that Gato had stationed around. After visually confirming, Waraji dropped his disguise, revealing a blonde in an orange tracksuit, Naruto.

Naruto created several shadow clones, chucking a storage scroll to each one. After catching said scrolls, the clones dispersed. Some snagged valuables in the current base, while others moved towards the other hidden bases.

While Naruto was sneaking around, he was spotted by one of the surrounding guards.

"Who are you-?!" That was all the guard managed to utter before Naruto blurred toward him, unleashing a heavy punch to his chest. Upon contact, the man dropped to the floor, making no movement as Naruto heaved a sigh of relief.

Silently lifting the guard up, Naruto intended to hide the man in a nearby room before he froze. He couldn't feel a heartbeat. The blonde paled in the realization that he had just made his first kill as he barely withheld the urge to vomit.

'This isn't the time… this isn't the time…' Naruto repeated inwardly like a mantra, pushing down all his feelings to the depths of his mind. He only had a set amount of time before his actions would be discovered and had to make the most of it.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto barely calmed down and hid the man's body. He would deal with his feelings later.

…

Meanwhile, at the bridge, two forces were fighting against each other. Kakashi was facing off against Zabuza, doing far better than he was faring in their first fight. Faintly overwhelming the man, 'Thank god I removed some of the rust over the past few weeks,' he thought.

On the other hand, Hayate was in a stalemate against Zabuza's apprentice. He was currently surrounded by ice mirrors which were so durable that it took several hits of his sword to cut through.

However, Hayate quickly noticed that sustaining this technique was taking a toll on the ninja's chakra reserves. Therefore, he opted to deflect the ice senbon thrown at him rather than going on the offensive.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura were diligently guarding Tazuna, surveying the area and paying careful attention to any potential threats.

Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared at the bridge entrance, revealing Naruto. Originally he was planning on appearing right near Tazuna but didn't feel like being on the receiving end of the kunai that both Sasuke and Sakura were holding.

"Naruto, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be guarding Tsunami and Inari?" Sakura warily questioned, unsure whether it was Naruto or an enemy ninja disguised.

"I have left a clone over there. But soon, everything will end, and there will be no need to protect them." Naruto responded, receiving three confused looks in return.

Before he could answer their questions, everyone heard clapping from a distance.

Zabuza and Kakashi stopped fighting and jumped apart, creating distance from each other. Both ninjas looked towards the sound, wondering who was so arrogant to announce their presence while two ninja teams were fighting.

The mist cleared slightly, revealing Gato and his army.

"I must say, this is a very grand bridge. It's almost a shame to destroy it and you. You would have been an excellent talent under my control." Gato smiled while looking around. It was exactly as Zori had told him, one of the ninjas was heavily coughing, and everyone looked worse for wear.

"I thought I told you I would finish the job. What are you doing here, Gato?" Zabuza questioned, not happy that someone had interrupted his fight. However, the man was his employer, so basic respect had to be paid.

"Two of my men took a wonder to a nearby house and retrieved something good, so I thought I would give it as a gift to the man who has been causing me so much trouble." Gato shivered at the threatening tone before a smirk surfaced on his face. He didn't need to be afraid of a soon to be dead man.

Gato waved his hand, and the crowd parted. Two grunts walked out, holding a knife to a woman and child. Due to the mist and distance, it was hard for the ninja to see who they were, but after Zabuza cleared the mist up, they could see the faces of the hostages.

It was Tsunami and Inari.

After identifying the hostages, the faces of the ninja from Konoha morphed into a shocked and angry look. Especially Kakashi, who was inwardly disappointed in Naruto, who couldn't complete the task assigned to him.

Tazuna sent an angry glance toward Naruto. He trusted the boy with his daughter's and grandson's protection, but now they were in the hands of the worst man imaginable.

Zabuza just watched from the sidelines, amused at the sudden development. Of course, it didn't quite make up for Gato interrupting his fight, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Before anybody could say anything, another mercenary walked out, holding a knife to the last hostage. It was… Haruto?!

When Haruto was brought forth, everyone sent a weird look to Naruto, their anger forgotten. Tazuna relaxed, knowing that the blonde was again playing tricks on the enemy.

Unaware of the changes on the ninja's faces, Gato continued his monologue. "I hope you like the gift, bridge builder! After your death, your family's bodies will be hung up in the centre of Wave to show what it means to defy me!"

…

The moment the clone was brought out, Zabuza's smile receded. He remembered that Haruto was one of the ninja's disguised clones. The blonde's, to be precise.

How could he not? That damn clone had haunted several of his dreams over the past 3 weeks. That stupid face had practically been burnt into his memory. After all, that blonde dared to embarrass him in front of everyone!

Although his main job was to kill the bridge builder, that didn't mean he didn't have the added duty of protecting Gato. Zabuza intended to remind the man of such, but before he could open his mouth Naruto leapt forward and shouted, "You say all that, but I bet you also plan to kill Zabuza too!"

Hearing this, Zabuza froze. The number of people Gato had brought with him had admittedly bemused him. Gato wouldn't need as many if he were simply making a display, but he had chalked it up to the man being fearful for his life.

However, upon seeing Gato tense up, Zabuza's suspicions deepened. His nose scrunched in scrutinization as he sensed the mercenaries emitting faint hostility. They might have been able to hide it from an ordinary ninja, but he was highly experienced in the ways of killing. Nobody could hide killing intent in front of him.

Zabuza couldn't help but wonder, 'Is this brat stirring up chaos, or is he telling the truth?'

"What are you talking about, Brat? I-"Gato attempted to defend himself before one of his gang members jumped out.

"Mwahaha! How did you know about Boss' grandiose plan?" the grunt bleated with an almost fake laugh before turning to Gato with an awe-inspiring look. "Boss, look at them! They're weak! Let's ready our weapons and fight!"

"No! I-"Gato was once again cut off by another thug who jumped out in an eerily similar manner.

"Everyone! Ready your weapons. It's time to work for our paycheck! Mwahaha!"

Hearing this, the men began brandishing their weapons, sending menacing looks to the ninja. A few smarter ones hesitated but eventually joined in, being swept up by the crowd.

'These idiot teammates!' Gato sweated in fear, his face turning several shades whiter. It wasn't his plan to strike now; the shinobi weren't tired yet, and he knew what that masked Jonin by Zabuza could do.

Of course, Gato felt that if they attacked when everyone was exhausted, his mercenaries could easily overwhelm them. It had worked on several Chunin he had hired before; a Jonin shouldn't be much different.

Before Gato could stop them, the grunt from before screamed, "Charge!" and the rest rushed forward.

Out of sight of almost everyone except the shinobi, Tsunami, Inari, Haruto, and the thugs who started the chaos winked before poofing out of existence.

'This brat,' Zabuza mused with admiration and annoyance. He was grateful for the blonde ninja that had orchestrated this play, allowing him to discover how Gato planned to betray him.

"Haku! There's no need to fight these Konoha ninjas now. The contract is broken," ordered Zabuza. The only person he would be spilling his violence on was Gato. Nobody betrays him and walks away intact.

"Yes, Zabuza-sama." Without so much as a glance at Hayate, the newly identified masked-nin joined Zabuza in his crusade against Gato's army.

The moment Zabuza took his first swing at the mercenaries, killing several men in a single attack, Naruto felt sick. He had caused this.

Suppose he hadn't stirred up the chaos and made Gato and Zabuza fight early. In that case, there might have been another way to prevent such a massacre. Naruto couldn't help but think that there must've been another way.

However, despite his inner turmoil, Naruto continued to watch, burning everything that was happening into his perfect memory. It didn't matter what his reasoning was, whether he was trying to save his team or not, his actions had gotten 10s of people killed, and 10s more will die.

Despite this, only one thought surfaced in his mind. It was so… easy.

Naruto wondered if the same would happen to him, that he would be played and sacrificed like a chess piece.

It was possible. Thousands of ninjas of varying ranks are sacrificed in each war. Most wars are started by the higher-ups in each village or by the Daimyo in each country.

He wouldn't allow it to happen to him. Naruto once again cemented his will to become so strong that he couldn't be manipulated like a pawn.

…

By this point, if Gato didn't know somebody was setting him up, he wouldn't have been able to create one of the world's biggest business empires from scratch.

'Who? Who is it that is plotting against me?!' Gato inwardly screamed, he had made too many enemies to count, yet very few would even attempt to take his life.

Gato looked to his left, toward Zori, and relaxed. It seems like not everyone on his side are idiots. The moment he got out of this sticky situation, he would find who had orchestrated it. He would make them regret ever being born.

He watched from the sidelines, shaking in fear as Zabuza and his accomplice made quick work of the cannon fodder in front of them, eventually leaving only him and Zori. He wished he had brought Waraji with him. It would at least give him some more time to escape.

Gato frantically attempted to think of an idea to save himself. He knew that Zori wasn't an opponent of the fully healthy Zabuza. The man didn't even stand a chance against Zabuza's accomplice. If only there was some way to get the Konoha team to protect him. Something like a hostage.

Hostages?

A flash of light hit Gato's mind. He quickly scanned the area around him, looking for the bridge builder's family. Zabuza might not care about them, but judging by the Konoha ninjas' reactions, they did. He could bargain for his protection in exchange for their lives.

However, he didn't find a sign of the bridge builder's family or the men who started the chaos anywhere.

'Impossible…' Gato turned his head toward his trusted bodyguard, one that had been guarding him for years. "You… you betrayed me!?"

Zori looked down at him, a vulpine grin like a prank that had succeeded stretched across his face before he was enveloped in a puff of smoke, transforming into one of the enemy ninjas.

"Payback's a bitch!" Naruto smirked as he slugged Gato across the face, sending the man flying toward Zabuza. "I have wanted to do that since I stepped foot here."

After hitting the floor, Gato looked up, disorientated at the surprise attack. But as he saw Zabuza's cold glare and felt his killing intent, he screamed in fear, desperately crawling back to escape from the man.

"W-wait, I have money! I will give you your paycheck!" Gato regretted everything. He shouldn't have tried to kill Zabuza to save money.

"Sorry, all out of mercy." Zabuza grinned, his sword blurred, and Gato's head fell, separated from his body.

Everyone watched this in silence, with only Kakashi and Hayate remaining unperturbed. They had seen much worse after all. As Kakashi studied his students' reactions, he could see that it had hit Naruto the hardest. Which made sense since he had indirectly caused the deaths of everyone present.

"Naruto…" Kakashi started, looking at his student's smirk drop into a sombre face as he looked at the bodies on the floor. If he didn't realize that Gato's early arrival and demise had something to do with his student, he wouldn't have made it into ANBU.

However, he couldn't really say anything to comfort his student. He didn't know how. "Let's talk about this later, eh?" Kakashi patted Naruto on his shoulder, receiving a small smile in return.

"Thanks for all the help, brat," Zabuza said, flicking the blood from his sword onto the bridge.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke instinctively raised their guards as Zabuza turned toward them, expecting the man to once again attack.

"Woah, no need to raise your guards. I have no reason to fight against you now that my employer attempted to betray me," Zabuza grinned ferociously, enjoying the fear wafting from the three Genin.

"Of course, if you spread word of what happened 3 weeks ago, that's a completely different story." Zabuza threatened, giving an evil eye toward Naruto before slowly walking away. He had a couple of bases to raid.

…

After Zabuza and Haku left the bridge, rumour quickly spread throughout Wave that Gato had been killed.

At first, many civilians didn't believe such a thing was possible. But after several influential people had confirmed it, the rumour became truth, and the morale of Wave's citizens was at an all-time high.

Now that Wave's symbol of fear had been removed, more and more civilians volunteered to help build the bridge.

Despite their previous cowardice, Tazuna held no ill will against anyone and accepted their help. He understood that not everyone had the determination to stand up and fight against Gato. Some people had families, and others were just scared. It was natural. They are only human.

With the addition of more volunteers, the original estimated bridge completion date was shortened from one week to three days.

During this time, civilians in Wave treated the ninja from Konoha, especially Naruto, as heroes. They often handed them homemade snacks and gifts, leaving the three Genin feeling flattered.

…

"Thank you for everything, Konoha nin- no. Kakashi-san, Hayate-san, Sasuke, Sakura and… Naruto." Tazuna deeply bowed toward the ninja, tears streaming down his face. The bridge was finally built. Wave was finally free.

Hayate sympathized as he had been the one guarding Tazuna the most. He knew how much blood, sweat and tears the man put into building the bridge.

"No worries, it was an eye-opener for my Genin and me." Kakashi waved Tazuna off. He was inwardly thankful that they had accepted this mission. He had sorted out some of his inadequacies in teaching and with the Sharingan. He doubted it would've happened if they didn't continue after encountering Gozu and Meizu.

Before Tazuna could respond, the group heard sniffling from behind Tsunami. It was Inari.

"Whatcha crying for?" Naruto grinned, once again pushing down Inari's bucket hat until it covered half of his face.

Inari's hands shot up to his hat, pushing it up and sending a teary glare toward Naruto. "I'm not crying!"

"Yeah yeah," Naruto smirked, pulling a scroll from his pocket. "I've got a little leaving present for ya."

After sending some chakra into the scroll, Naruto released a small box filled with puppets, cookware, and a small handwritten certificate.

Inari first picked up the certificate, reading the words aloud. "Ownership of the Helper Shelter…? Inari?!"

"Well… I won't be around to help, and I know that some adults and children still need help. So why not give management of the shelter to you? Of course, if you don't want it I-"

"I do! I do!" Inari cut Naruto off, his sadness forgotten as he stared dreamily at the certificate. Everyone around smiled at the heartwarming scene.

"That's that then. Let's go back to Konoha then." Kakashi ordered after everyone had said their goodbyes, turning around and leading the way.

"I'll come back at some point to check on the shelter, so you better do a good job taking care of it!" Naruto yelled from the distance, dashing away before he could hear Inari's response.

'Stupid dust in my eye making them water.' Naruto rubbed his eyes in his sleeve before joining his team as if nothing had happened.

…

Meanwhile…

Zabuza was standing at the entrance to the last of Gato's hidden bases in Wave. By this point, he had already rummaged through everything but was disappointed with what they had found.

'What did I miss? Why is nothing here? Did Gato secretly move his things again? Impossible!' Zabuza paced up and down inwardly muttering to himself when Naruto, with his cheeky grin, flickered across his mind.

"I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID! I WILL NEVER SHARE THE SAME SKY AS YOU, BRAT!" Zabuza roared to the sky, realizing that Naruto had already explored the bases when he had infiltrated Gato's army.

He had been tricked… AGAIN!

"Should we hunt them down, Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked. He didn't want to since they already had enough for what they needed, but Zabuza's orders were absolute. 'I really don't want to have to fight him…'

Hearing this, Zabuza suddenly calmed down as if he didn't want to kill every blonde he saw. "No. There's no point in chasing after them since they are likely already near Konoha now. We've got enough for what we need, let's head back to Kiri."

"You wait, Yagura…You wait…"

Author's Note: Whaddup, new chapter!

Firstly, I changed the fight scene last chapter. There's a short explanation in the author's note as to why, but people seem to like it better, so that's relieving.

This marks the end of the first Wave arc. Hopefully, the bridge fight was satisfying to read. I think I did a good job of mixing it up a little? If it was a little confusing, I apologize.

Finally, I wonder who 'he' that Haku mentioned at the very end is? Zori and Waraji will also make a brief appearance in the story.

PS: Haruto was the clone in C12, if you guys forgot! He still lives!

Anyways, the next chapter should be out on Sunday. As always, leave a review, comment, PM or whatever. Thanks again, and I hope y'all enjoyed it!