Tazuna's house was small but well-maintained, a modest structure near the water's edge that spoke of better times before Gato's stranglehold had choked the life from Wave Country.
A woman stood in the doorway as they approached—dark-haired, gentle-faced, with the tired eyes of someone who had spent too long living under fear. She rushed forward when she saw Tazuna, relief flooding her features.
"Father! You made it!"
"Tsunami." Tazuna embraced his daughter tightly. "I'm home. And I brought help."
Tsunami's eyes moved across the group—Kakashi with his masked face and lazy posture, Sakura and Satsuki with their impossible figures and watchful gazes, and Naruto standing apart with his empty expression.
"Thank you," she said, bowing deeply. "Thank you for protecting my father. Please, come inside. You must be exhausted from your journey."
They were ushered into the house, offered food and tea and the simple hospitality of people who had little but gave freely. Naruto observed the home's interior—clean, sparse, with subtle signs of poverty that spoke to Wave's economic devastation.
A small figure watched them from the stairs—a boy, perhaps seven or eight years old, with dark hair and eyes that held far too much bitterness for someone so young.
"Who's that?" Sakura asked softly.
"My grandson, Inari." Tsunami's voice carried a note of sadness. "He's... he's had a difficult time."
The boy descended the stairs slowly, his gaze fixed on the ninja with undisguised hostility. He stopped at the bottom, small hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"You should leave," he said. "Gato will kill you all. Just like he kills everyone who tries to fight him."
"Inari!" Tsunami's voice was sharp with embarrassment. "These people are here to help your grandfather. You can't just—"
"It doesn't matter!" The boy's voice cracked with emotion. "Heroes don't exist! Strong people always win, and Gato is the strongest! You're all going to die, and it won't change anything!"
He turned and ran back up the stairs, a door slamming moments later.
Tsunami bowed apologetically. "I'm so sorry. He wasn't always like this. There was a man—Kaiza—who was like a father to him. He stood up to Gato, tried to inspire the village to resist. Gato captured him. Executed him in front of everyone." Her voice trembled. "Inari saw it happen. He hasn't been the same since."
Sakura's expression had softened with sympathy. "That's terrible. The poor boy..."
"Someone should talk to him," Satsuki suggested. "Let him know that things can get better. That not everyone who stands up gets knocked down."
Both girls turned to look at Naruto, clearly expecting him to volunteer.
He didn't.
"I don't care."
The words fell into the silence like stones into still water.
"What?" Sakura blinked. "Naruto-kun, he's a child who's been traumatized. He needs someone to—"
"I don't care about his trauma. I don't care about his father figure's death. I don't care about his emotional state or his recovery prospects." Naruto's flat voice carried no cruelty, just simple statement of fact. "His beliefs about heroism and power are irrelevant to the mission. Whether he accepts our presence or resents it has no bearing on whether we succeed or fail."
Tsunami's face had gone pale. "That's... that's very cold."
"I'm not cold. I'm empty. There is a distinction." Naruto turned to Kakashi. "We should establish a protection rotation. The enemy will likely attack within the week, once Zabuza has recovered from his injuries. I recommend we use the intervening time for additional training and reconnaissance."
Kakashi studied him for a long moment, something unreadable in his single visible eye.
"Alright," he said finally. "We'll do it your way. For now."
The days passed in a rhythm of vigilance and preparation.
Kakashi maintained a watch rotation, ensuring at least one team member was with Tazuna at all times. The bridge construction continued, workers returning in greater numbers as word spread that ninja were protecting the project. Hope—fragile but real—began to return to Wave.
Naruto trained constantly, shadow clones filling the forest around Tazuna's house. He refined his Gate usage, practiced his elemental techniques, worked through the theoretical framework of the Flying Thunder God. Every waking hour was devoted to becoming stronger.
Sakura and Satsuki trained alongside him when they could, their own skills improving under his indirect guidance. They also took turns watching over him, bringing him food, ensuring he rested even when he didn't want to.
Their devotion remained unwavering. Their figures continued their impossible expansion, though the rate had slowed since leaving Konoha. Naruto noted this without drawing conclusions.
Inari watched them from a distance, his young face twisted with conflicting emotions. Sometimes anger, sometimes fear, sometimes something that looked almost like hope before he crushed it.
Naruto ignored him entirely.
On the third day, the boy approached while Naruto was training alone in the forest.
"You're going to die," Inari said, his voice trying for defiance and landing somewhere closer to desperation. "You're going to die just like Kaiza did. Gato will kill you, and my mom will cry, and grandpa will cry, and nothing will change."
Naruto continued his kata without pausing. "Your assessment may be correct. I may die. That possibility exists."
"Then why are you doing this?! Why are you training so hard if you're just going to die anyway?!"
"Because dying is the default outcome of inaction. Training increases the probability of survival. I prefer existing to not existing. Simple optimization."
Inari stared at him, confusion replacing some of his hostility. "You... you don't even care about us. Do you? About Wave, about grandpa's bridge, about any of it."
"Correct. I don't care about Wave Country. I don't care about the bridge. I don't care about your grandfather or your mother or you." Naruto's movements remained precise, uninterrupted. "I am here because I accepted a mission. I will complete that mission because completing it is what I do. Personal investment is not required."
"That's... that's horrible."
"Perhaps. I lack the capacity to judge."
Inari was silent for a long moment, watching Naruto's training with an expression that shifted through several emotions.
"Kaiza wasn't like you," he said finally, his voice small. "He cared. He cared about everyone. That's why he tried to save us. And that's why he died."
"Caring did not protect him. It motivated him to action, but the action resulted in his death. One could argue that his emotional investment was counterproductive."
"That's not—you can't just—" The boy's voice cracked. "He was a hero!"
"He was a man who died. Whether that makes him a hero is a matter of subjective interpretation." Naruto finally paused in his kata, turning to face the child with empty blue eyes. "I have no opinion on his heroism or lack thereof. I have no opinion on anything. I simply observe, analyze, and act according to optimal outcomes."
"You're a monster."
"I've been called that before. By many people. It means nothing to me."
Inari's face crumpled, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. "How can you be like this? How can you not feel anything? Don't you have any heart at all?"
Naruto considered the question with the same detached analysis he applied to everything.
"I had a heart once," he said. "Or so I'm told. But the village I grew up in—the village I'm sworn to protect—spent twelve years destroying it. They beat me, starved me, isolated me, and told me I was a monster until something inside me simply... stopped."
The boy stared at him, tears still falling. "What... what did they do to you?"
"Many things. None of which are relevant to our current situation." Naruto returned to his kata. "You asked why I train even though I might die. The answer is that training is something to do. Existing requires activity. I have chosen to be strong, not because strength brings me joy, but because weakness invites suffering. I have experienced enough suffering."
"But—"
"This conversation is unproductive. You should return to the house."
Inari stood frozen for another moment, clearly struggling with conflicting impulses. Then, slowly, he turned and walked away.
Naruto watched him go with the same empty observation he applied to everything.
The boy was hurting. That was obvious. His pain was a wound that hadn't healed, festering beneath the surface, poisoning every interaction.
Naruto understood this intellectually.
But he couldn't feel any sympathy for it.
Couldn't feel anything at all.
He returned to his training.
Day Seven
The morning mist hung heavy over the incomplete bridge, obscuring visibility beyond a few dozen meters. Workers had not yet arrived—it was early, the sun barely risen, the world still wrapped in predawn gray.
Team Seven stood in formation around Tazuna, weapons ready, senses alert. They had known this day would come. Had prepared for it. Had waited.
And now, it was here.
"They're coming," Naruto said, his flat voice cutting through the silence.
Two figures emerged from the mist—one massive, muscular, carrying a weapon that was not the legendary blade that had been shattered but was still impressively large. The other slender, feminine, wearing the same hunter-nin mask as before.
Zabuza Momochi. Alive, recovered, and clearly seeking revenge.
And his companion—the one Naruto had allowed to escape.
"Well, well." Zabuza's voice was rougher than before, an edge of pain beneath the menace. "The kid who broke my sword. I've been looking forward to this."
"Your recovery was faster than anticipated," Naruto observed. "Your companion is skilled at medical techniques."
"Haku is skilled at many things." Zabuza's eyes were fixed on Naruto with predatory intensity. "But today, none of that matters. Today, you die."
"You attempted this outcome before. You failed."
"Because I underestimated you. That won't happen again."
Kakashi stepped forward. "Zabuza. This doesn't have to end in death. Walk away. Take your partner and leave Wave Country. You don't owe Gato anything."
"I owe him money. Which he'll only pay if the bridge builder dies." Zabuza's laugh was harsh. "Besides, this isn't about money anymore. This is about pride. That kid humiliated me. Destroyed my sword—a blade that had been with me for twenty years. Do you have any idea what that means?"
"I have no interest in your emotional attachment to your weapon," Naruto said. "Your pride, your revenge, your motivations—all irrelevant. You are an obstacle. I will remove you."
Zabuza's smile was a terrible thing. "Haku."
"Yes, Zabuza-sama."
The masked figure moved, flowing into a combat stance that radiated deadly elegance. "I must thank you for sparing us before. But I cannot allow you to harm Zabuza-sama. He is my precious person. My reason for existing. I will protect him with my life."
"Your devotion is noted." Naruto's empty eyes moved between the two opponents. "It will not save you."
The battle began without preamble.
Zabuza and Haku moved in perfect coordination, their partnership evidently forged through years of fighting together. Haku created mirrors of ice—a bloodline technique, Naruto noted, rare and powerful—while Zabuza pressed the attack directly.
Kakashi moved to intercept Zabuza, the two jonin clashing with tremendous force. Their exchange was brutal, efficient, the combat of two killers who understood exactly how dangerous the other was.
Sakura and Satsuki moved to guard Tazuna, positioning themselves between the bridge builder and any potential attack. Their eyes tracked the battle, bodies tense with readiness.
Naruto faced the ice mirrors alone.
Haku's technique was impressive—a dome of reflective surfaces that allowed the user to move between them at incredible speeds, attacking from multiple angles simultaneously. Senbon needles flew from every direction, each one precisely aimed at vital points.
Naruto didn't dodge.
Instead, he stood motionless as the needles approached—and then moved, so fast that the projectiles seemed to freeze in the air. He plucked them from their trajectories with casual precision, gathering a handful before the barrage even completed.
"Your speed is notable," he observed, tossing the captured needles aside. "But insufficient."
Haku's masked face showed no reaction, but their voice carried a note of surprise. "You caught them. All of them."
"You telegraph your attacks. The mirrors reveal your intended trajectory before you move. I simply intercepted."
"Then I'll move faster."
The assault resumed, Haku's speed increasing dramatically. The masked figure became a blur, bouncing between mirrors so rapidly that even trained eyes struggled to track the movement.
Naruto tracked them anyway.
"First Gate: Gate of Opening—release."
The familiar surge of power flowed through him, his capabilities expanding beyond normal limits. But he didn't stop at one.
"Second Gate: Gate of Healing—release."
"Third Gate: Gate of Life—release."
The ice mirrors began to crack under the pressure of his chakra output. Haku's attacks, which had been approaching overwhelming, suddenly seemed slow. Predictable.
Naruto caught the masked figure mid-transition, his hand closing around their throat before they could complete their mirror jump.
"You're fast," he acknowledged. "But I'm faster."
He slammed Haku into the bridge surface with enough force to shatter the wooden planks beneath them. The ice mirrors collapsed, their creator's concentration broken.
"Haku!" Zabuza's voice was desperate, his attention divided between Kakashi and his fallen partner.
It was a fatal mistake.
Kakashi exploited the opening instantly, a kunai driving toward Zabuza's throat. The Demon of the Mist managed to deflect—barely—but the exchange left him off-balance, vulnerable.
Naruto released Haku—the masked figure was dazed but alive—and turned his attention to the primary threat.
He crossed the distance between them in an instant, appearing at Zabuza's flank with a Rasengan already forming in his palm.
"Wait—!" Haku's voice was desperate, the masked figure struggling to rise. "Please, don't—!"
Naruto didn't hesitate.
The Rasengan drove into Zabuza's side, the spiraling chakra tearing through flesh and bone. The Demon of the Mist was launched across the bridge, his body carving a path of destruction before finally coming to rest against a support pillar.
He didn't move.
Naruto turned to find Haku dragging themselves toward their fallen master, mask cracked and broken, revealing a face that was surprisingly young. Delicate. Beautiful, in a way that transcended gender.
"Zabuza-sama..." The word was a whisper, broken and desperate. "No... no, please..."
"He's dead," Naruto said. "The Rasengan destroyed his internal organs. There's nothing you can do."
Haku didn't seem to hear. They crawled across the bridge, leaving a trail of blood from their own injuries, until they reached Zabuza's body. Trembling hands touched the unmoving face, checking for breath that wasn't there.
"No... no, no, no..." The denial was soft at first, then louder. "ZABUZA-SAMA!"
The scream echoed across the bridge, a sound of pure anguish that would have broken any normal heart.
Naruto observed without reaction.
"You loved him," he said. It wasn't a question.
Haku looked up, their face streaked with tears. "He was everything to me. My purpose. My reason for living. Without him, I..."
"You have no reason to continue existing."
"Yes." The word was barely audible.
Naruto considered this. The scenario was familiar—devotion so absolute that the loss of its object removed all meaning from life. The four girls who followed him had similar devotion, though directed differently.
"What will you do now?" he asked.
Haku's hand moved to a pouch at their waist, withdrawing a senbon needle. "I will join him. That is all I have left."
"You would end your life for someone who can no longer appreciate the gesture."
"I would end my life because without him, I am nothing. I am a tool without a wielder. A weapon without a purpose." The needle rose toward their own throat. "Thank you for answering my question. The one I asked before, about what devotion leads to. Now I know."
Naruto watched the needle's trajectory with analytical detachment.
He could stop it. Could save this person who had fought against him, who had tried to kill his teammates, who was now choosing death over life without purpose.
But why would he?
Haku's choice was their own. Their devotion, their loss, their decision. Naruto had no investment in the outcome.
The needle struck true.
Haku's body collapsed beside Zabuza's, their hand reaching out in death to touch the face of the one they had lived for.
Silence fell across the bridge.
Kakashi approached slowly, his expression invisible behind his mask but his body language heavy with something that might have been sorrow.
"You could have stopped them," he said quietly.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you?"
"Their choice was their own. I had no reason to interfere."
"No reason?" Kakashi's voice carried an edge. "They were a person, Naruto. A living being making a choice to end their own existence. And you just watched."
"Yes."
"That's... I don't know what that is."
Naruto turned to look at his sensei with empty blue eyes. "It is observation. Data collection. I wanted to understand what absolute devotion looked like at its endpoint. Now I know."
"And what did you learn?"
"That devotion to a single person can become so complete that their loss removes all meaning from life. That love, at its most intense, can become indistinguishable from a death sentence."
Kakashi was silent for a long moment.
"Is that how you see the girls who follow you? As people waiting to die if something happens to you?"
"I don't know. I am incapable of understanding their emotional experience. I can only observe its external manifestations."
From across the bridge, Sakura and Satsuki approached. They had witnessed everything—the fight, the deaths, Naruto's conversation with Haku before the end.
Their expressions were complex. Horror mixed with understanding. Fear mixed with acceptance.
"That was... intense," Sakura said softly. "The way they loved each other. The way she—he?—couldn't imagine living without him."
"Devotion," Satsuki murmured, her eyes fixed on Naruto. "That's what real devotion looks like. Love so complete that you can't survive its loss."
"You sound admiring," Kakashi observed.
"I understand it." Satsuki's voice was quiet but certain. "If something happened to Naruto-kun... I don't know what I would do. I don't think I could survive it."
"Satsuki—"
"I'm not being dramatic. I'm being honest." She looked at Naruto with those adoring eyes that had become so familiar. "You're everything to me. Everything to all of us. We exist for you now. I know that might sound unhealthy, but it's the truth."
Naruto observed her declaration without response. Filed it away as additional data.
"The mission is not complete," he said finally. "Gato is still a threat. We should prepare for his likely response to losing his ninja assets."
The moment of emotional intensity passed, replaced by practical considerations. Team Seven gathered themselves, prepared for what came next.
Behind them, two bodies lay on the bridge—a demon and the person who had loved him.
Naruto didn't look back.
There was nothing there that mattered to him.