Mission to the Land of Waves - 6

Haku made up a strategy on the spot, and although he was certain that it was doomed to fail, he decided that with some improvisation it may help them survive against the jounin at least for a short while.

"Gaara-kun, you need stay with Tazuna-san," Haku said quietly, "Naruto-kun and I can take him."

Naruto couldn't help but grin at Gaara's alarmed face, "Yeah, stay with the old man, Gaara-kun!" On cue, he turned to the dark haired boy, "So, uh, what's the plan?"

It was rather simple, "...shadow clones...lots of them."

The blonde nodded, "Roger!"

Gaara scowled as his foolish (suicidal) friends ran ahead towards the lake, leaving him to ensure Tazuna's safety, and hearing the distant shout of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" along the way.

"Do they do this often?" Tazuna inquired, stunned by their actions.

Gaara wore a resigned expression, "Always."

The old man smiled slightly.

Zabuza's water clone waited on shore while he held the Water Prison Jutsu containing Anko firmly with his right arm. He glared at the approaching genin, 'What are those idiots up to?'

The kid in the orange jumpsuit created a dozen shadow clones, all of which dove at the Mist nin's clone, with Haku in toe, senbon at the ready. As Naruto and his clones tackled the nukenin, Haku pulled back, as if to wait for something.

With one swipe of his sword, Zabuza destroyed half of the shadow clones crowding him, and continued onward, much to the terror of the real Naruto, and Gaara who stood watching from afar. Haku stumbled backwards, not expecting the jounin to switch targets so abruptly.

"Haku!" Naruto's voice reached a shockingly high pitch.

The zanbato hacked through Haku's mid-section and Anko was about ready to scream a string of profanities at her captor until she witnessed what she had believed to be Haku splash into a puddle of water.

"A water clone," Zabuza grunted, and then smirked as if he were entertained, "I thought so."

He turned back, raising the blade, and cleaved through the remainder of the shadow clones. Naruto and Haku (who had transformed himself into his blonde friend) immediately leapt away. Noting that it was senseless to stay in disguise, Haku released his jutsu and continued on, preparing to attack the real Zabuza.

The Mist nin avoided Naruto who had intended to plunge his kunai into his opponent's arm, and planted a solid kick to the young genin's back, sending him crashing painfully to the ground. Although his mind screamed in protest, Gaara did not leave Tazuna's side, aware that it might mean the man's death if he did so to help Haku, who was now on his own.

Haku could feel the separate chakra of the water clone that chased after him. Even if he had been able to ignore his growing fear and attempt to save his substitute jounin instructor, he knew there was little chance he could escape his pursuer.

'I've got to destroy that water clone...my senbon can only do that if I hit the clone's weak points...' And he was aware he was asking much of himself while running as fast as he could at the enemy ninja holding Anko prisoner.

'I've got to try!' Haku leapt up, gluing his feet to the side of a tree and twisting himself around to get a clear view of the water clone. His eyes went straight to the zanbato that was raised, and he did his best to aim for the neck and chest regions of the replication.

The dark haired boy abandoned the tree shortly after and cursed himself after Zabuza's water clone easily deflected the projectiles without slowing down, 'If he gets any closer I'm done for!'

He kept moving, twisting and diving through the lofty tree branches with great speed. He listened to the nearing crashes that echoed behind him as the water clone devastated the spots he had lingered in only seconds before.

What was worse, he realized, was that his purser had efficiently prevented him from getting any closer to Anko, who wore a horrified look as she watched him weave through the tree tops with a huge zanbato at his heels.

'I can't do this; he's wearing me out...' Haku could indistinctly hear Naruto calling to him, not far behind, 'I have to get rid of this clone and I can only do it if...'

He paused, and tumbled away as the horse-slaying sword came hurtling down next to him, showering him in splinters and leaves. Haku felt his sandals connect with the ground and he pelted back into the open, closer to Anko now, but he had allowed the clone to get too close, 'I have no choice...'

The dark haired boy made eye contact with the Kyuubi container, who was a short distance off, creating another batch of shadow clones.

He pivoted and faced the clone, feeling his stomach turn over, and raced through a good number of seals as the false Mist nin closed in on him, ready to finish him off.

"Gaara! Can you give me a hand maybe?" Naruto hollered, sending his kamikaze shadow clones barreling into the water clone, mere steps away from Haku.

The blonde grinned as a cloud of sand joined the fray, attempting to encase the water clone, but the young genin were still overwhelmed as Naruto's shadow clones were sliced apart and Gaara was just too far away to pose a notable threat.

Their distraction, which had granted a few precious seconds, allowed Haku to finish his sealing, "Suiton: Water Dragon Blast!"

Anko and her captor glanced behind them as a large current of water rose up into the air, spiraling and coiling, dragon-like in shape. It dove downward and circled once around Haku as Zabuza's water clone leapt back to avoid it. Anko grinned openly as the current shot forward again and completely blew away the once-perilous water clone and the remainder of Naruto's shadow clones.

The kunoichi was totally flummoxed as Haku raised his hand, not forming any kind of seals at all, and redirected the current back at the real Zabuza. Naruto staggered to his feet and watched wide-eyed as the Mist nukenin pulled his arm out of the sphere containing Anko and avoided the attack that would have surely ended the battle.

Anko spat out a mouthful of water in disdain after being released from the jutsu and watched guardedly as Zabuza settled himself on dry land near Haku, zanbato in hand.

Haku stood close to the pond's edge, ready to use water jutsu if the Mist shinobi decided to attack again. Curiously enough, he didn't. Zabuza merely stood wearing a thoughtful yet mocking sort of expression.

His growl-like voice shook Haku to the core, "So...it is you. I thought so."

Naruto stood frozen, not understanding at all what the nukenin was talking about, and quickly glanced back at Gaara who still had his sand shield surrounding Tazuna, also listening.

The dark haired boy clenched his fists tightly around his senbon, "What are you talking about?"

The swordsman's amused chuckle was dark, "You think I don't remember you? The beggar kid from the Water Country, all those years ago? Hn...I'm impressed you're still alive."

Haku gritted his teeth, 'How does he remember me? One look at me and after all the time that's passed...'

"You're wasting your time in Leaf, kid. You're from 'that' clan; it's obvious from your abilities..." Zabuza smirked as Haku suddenly became all ears, "You possess the Hyoton, a Kekkei Genkai which controls water and wind to create ice...it's not something I haven't seen before."

'The Hyoton? There are others like me?' Haku felt compelled to ask these questions aloud but knew it was foolish enough to let his guard down, let alone listen to the (possibly deceptive) words of an enemy nukenin, 'But he can't be lying...he knows about my Kekkei Genkai.'

"There's no way you'll fully master your ability in the Fire Country, kid," Zabuza snorted, resting his zanbato leisurely on his shoulder, "Real training for people like you resides in Kirigakure, there's no way two ways about it."

"What are you saying?" Naruto barked, "Haku's a Leaf ninja! No way he'd go to the Mist Village for something as stupid as that!"

"Oh really?" Zabuza glared at Naruto, who was about ready to pounce in a mix of confusion and anger.

Without even looking over his shoulder for confirmation, Zabuza side-stepped the shadow snakes that Anko had aimed at the back of his head, and gave a lasting stare to Haku, "This isn't over."

Anko cursed loudly as the Mist nin disappeared, presumably to regroup. Gaara and Tazuna were cautiously crossing the field to where Naruto stood and considered Haku, who appeared to have taken Zabuza's words very seriously.