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"Rah!" Naruto let out, his hand moved to the front of his face, blocking it from the needle.
Shiii!
The needle stabs into his palm and stops right in front of his eyes. Staring at it unblinkingly, Naruto kicks back and pushes the Hunter away from him and lands on all fours.
"Grr..." His back arched up as he stared right at the Hunter, who narrowed his eyes and weaved through signs.
"Ahhh..." The Hunter breaths in and his stomach fills up with water chakra. Closing his mouth, it moves up and his cheeks puff up while he looks down before he spits it out.
Splash!
The water falls on the ground, creating a puddle underneath him. Snapping his head back up, he spots Naruto dashing at him. Flicking a few needles at the feral boy, he uses his free hand to go through some seals.
Clang
Naruto slaps the needles away with his hand and jumps up into the air while water needles shoot from underneath the Hunter.
Taking a deep breath in, Naruto looks at the needles coming towards him, freezing as they traveled. "Rah!" He yells out, the sheer force blowing the needles away as he falls on top of the Hunter.
Both of them stumble to the ground, but Naruto was relentless. He stayed on top of the Hunter and raised both his arms.
Bang!
His right hand crashed against the Hunter's head.
Crack!
His left hand crushed the Hunter's mask. Blow after blow, Naruto's eyes fluttered. Bloodshot. He ignored the blood splattered against his face. He only focused on the Hunter below him. 'He killed Sasuke.' He thought, hitting him again. 'He killed Kakashi...' He hits him. 'He wanted to kill me.'
"What the..."
Someone spoke from behind Naruto and he whips his head around. "Grr..." He jumps off of the Hunter and lands on all fours, glaring at the newcomer. He narrowed his eyes.
a Person stood a few feet away from him, clad in red armor.
---
"Naruto..?" Sasuke mutters to himself, seeing Naruto glaring at him before his eyes suddenly widen and he lifts his katana.
Bang!
Claws struggle against the katana for a bit as Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto in front of him. "What ar-!" He couldn't finish as Naruto swung his other arm, hitting Sasuke's hip and sends him stumbling to the ground.
With grit teeth, Sasuke flips his body midair and lands on both feet, weaving seals during. "Fire Style." He muttered and spat a fireball at Naruto, who came rushing at him.
Sending chakra to his eyes, everything slowed down for him and he gripped his katana tightly, staring at the fireball moving forward.
Fwwoh!
Naruto swiped his claws, barreling straight through the fireball, his eyes never leaving Sasuke's form.
Lifting his katana, he twisted the hilt barely and places his left hand against the side of the blade before Naruto's fist crashed against it.
Sasuke skids back a few feet. "Naru-!"
Another fist slams the blade and he bites his tongue. Using the momentum, he plants his back foot into the ground and lifts his front leg, twisting his body sideways, causing Naruto to stumble next to him.
Lifting his hilt, Sasuke brings it down and bunt's Naruto's neck with the bottom of it, using all his strength.
"Ugh!" Naruto grunts, falling to the floor.
"Naruto!" Sasuke speaks up. "What are you doing?!" As he yells, he lifts his sword, ready to continue the battle if it come to it. "Get a hold of yourself!"
Naruto's eyes shoot wide, wavering slightly. "Sasuke..?" a Deep voice escapes his lips. Turning his head around, he looks at the armored man standing above him, but he saw now resemblance of his teammate.
Seeing his wary look, Sasuke unequipped the helmet as quick as he could and opened his free hand in a placating manner. "Yeah." He speaks one word as slow as possible. He had felt the strength Naruto had thrown at him, and he wasn't confident enough to endure more of it... At all.
Naruto's eyes shake slightly, losing some of it's red tint. "You're alive..." He mutters, unsure of his words.
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. I never died..." As he spoke, he sheathed his katana and put out his hand towards Naruto, who took it. Sasuke helped the blonde boy up, inspecting the feral features slowly fade away, being replaced by visible fatigue.
"What happened..." Naruto asked, lifting his head to look Sasuke in his eyes.
Sasuke breathed out through his nose. "I..."
"NOOOOO!"
Both the boys snapped their heads towards the sound, grimacing at what they saw.
a Bloody trail... Moving towards a pool of blood. a Man with broad shoulders kneeled over the frail body of the Hunter Naruto had killed.
"Zabuza..." Naruto's eyes widened. "He's not dead." He whispered to Sasuke, not wanting to attract the Jonin's attention.
"No..." Zabuza muttered. His hand moved to the cracked and broken mask covering the Hunter's face. "Haku..." He spoke, memories flooding him. Of when he picked the boy up.
He removed the mask, revealing Haku's face, seemingly peaceful. As if asleep. Zabuza wiped the blood under Haku's mouth, glancing at the boy's caved in head.
Memories of him beating the boy to near death came to him. He had trained the boy since he found him, wanting to have someone strong by his side. Trained him harshly, for weakness doesn't belong next to him. But the boy never complained.
He endured.
The days of Zabuza's lonely travels had faded ever since he found the boy. Zabuza clenched his jaw, trying but failing to drive the memories away. He didn't want to admit it...
The boy had grown on him.
---
Sasuke and Naruto hunched down with Tazuna. "Shhh..." Sasuke put a finger to his lips, staring into the older man's eyes. "We need to move. Quickly." He whispered, nodding his head to the left.
Tazuna nodded and took the fainted Sakura into his arms while Sasuke carried an unconscious Kakashi on his back. Turning to his side, he looks at the silently panting Naruto.
Blinking rapidly, Naruto tried to chase away the drowsiness. "Ready..." He looked at Sasuke and smiled weakly.
"Let's go..." Sasuke stood up, his legs trembling a bit at the weight but he ignored it and started walking off with the others.
"Where are you?!"
Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the air.
"I'll fucking kill you!"
His voice sounded... Broken.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, seeing the boy's eyes turn misty. 'He feels guilty...' He thought and hesitated to talk. After a few seconds, Sasuke turned his head back and focused on the road ahead. 'There's no time for weakness.'