Chapter 474 - 28

Chapter 23

The evening came quickly over the bridge builder's home, as both ninja and civilians alike returned from their busy day of either physical labor or harsh training. I had to stop myself from looking at the people around us as we moved through the streets filled with poor beggars and malnourished looking children, each and every one of them trying their best to keep themselves alive through any means necessary.

You should probably keep a closer hold on our scrolls and ninja tools. We don't want to get pickpocketed.

Okay, that's actually a really good point.

See? I'm not that stupid, otherwise there'd be no point in having me around.

I'm still putting you on watch.

Fraud watch?

That would imply you were ever a "real one" to begin with.

Harsh, but fair.

When the two of us – plus one very annoying mental clone of mine – entered the house, I saw that Kakashi was standing nearby the door with a more serious expression on his face than normal. Which was enough to immediately put bot me and my clone on edge.

"Ami, a quick word." He beckoned me over before addressing Tazuna. "It's nothing serious, just need to talk to the girl about a sudden change in schedule."

Well this probably won't be good.

You're telling me?

"What did you need to tell me, Kakashi-san?" I asked him, putting my arms behind my back to stop myself from crossing them over my chest. Doing that would have made me look unprofessional.

"Well I'm not one to sugarcoat things." The man narrowed his eye slightly and lulled his head a bit. "Since Sakura has been a little bit difficult during the course of the mission, I decided it would be a reasonable way to stamp it out to put her directly under your command."

…FUUUUUUUUU-

"I don't think that's a very good idea." I admitted, ignoring the internal screaming of my clone that I wanted to copy so badly. "She has several years worth of reasons why should wouldn't want to be around me. I don't think we should try to force it."

-UUUUUUUUUCK!

"She needs to learn how to work with people she isn't a fan of." Kakashi shook his head at my protest. "You're both ninja, and she needs to act like it. If she causes you any problems tomorrow, let me know and I'll handle it."

It was pretty easy to see that this wasn't negotiable, so I didn't protest him any further. It wasn't worth trying to protest against a superior officer over something like this, and I could at the very least understand where he was coming from here.

He's still a stupid wet dog.

Yes, Shrimpy. He's a stupid wet dog.

Yeah, we should totally- SHRIMPY?!

Well I had to come up with something to call you, right?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! DON'T FUCKING CALL ME SHRIMPY!

Cry about it, Shrimpy.

After a little bit of time mentally discussing how exactly I would handle how to deal with our upcoming doom, I heard the call from Tsunami that dinner was ready for us. I rolled my shoulder while going down the stairs, sitting down in the same place as yesterday and ignoring the glances from Naruto, Sakura, and the more infrequent ones from Sasuke. I made sure to subtly slip some mushed up food pills into the meal that we had been given, due to the fact that as it was it still wouldn't be enough to fill me up.

You know, we should probably ask Naruto how his training went. We haven't really been able to have a normal conversation with him for a couple of days now.

I mentally agreed with my clone and turned my attention outwards at the blond boy.

"Hey Naruto, how'd your training go today?" The question seemed to spur some excitement from him as he smiled brightly.

"It went great, Ami-chan!" He said proudly, being pretty loud with his words as our conversation quickly became the focus at the table. "I got really far up the tree, way further than even Sasuke!"

"Don't lie about your progress, Naruto." Sasuke entered the discussion with a small smirk. "You were behind my progress the whole time. I'm pretty sure I even heard you yelling at me to slow down."

"That's not true!" The only actual friend I had at this table denied his teammate's claims as he straightened up in his chair. "I was totally not behind you! Hell, I was the one ahead of you today!"

"Yeah right."

"Why you!"

"Well either way I'm just glad to hear that you guys are making progress." I felt a small smile spread across my face at the sight of their little argument. While both of them didn't really seem to consider each other actual friends just yet, there was clearly some signs of respect from them if they valued beating the other at something as simple as tree walking. In a way it reminded me of the anime's depiction of Kakashi and Gai's own rivalry.

Hey, you two should kiss!

Absolutely fucking not!

Just kidding~!

"With the rate you're going, I wouldn't be surprised if you made it to the top of the trees in a couple more days." I stated, ignoring the continued joking of my clone easily enough. "Having the extra chakra control will give you guys a really big boost in your strength and speed if another group of Gato's hired henchmen come strolling up."

Before anyone else could follow up on my praise and claims, a small sound of a fist slamming down against the table echoed through everyone's ears. I hadn't even realized that Inari was there – I would have thought he would be wallowing in his room right now or something – and he was giving me the harshest glare he could.

…Meh, Dad gave us worse at Mom's funeral.

Not now, Shrimpy…

Oh my God, you're actually calling me that.

"Do you think this is some sort of game?" He asked, quietly at first. His head was tilted downwards in an attempt to hide his eyes. "You don't even know what kind of person you're dealing with."

"A wannabe dictator with a tub of lard gut, a god complex, and enough money to wipe his ass with and not feel the burn? Yep, he's a dime a dozen piece of shit." I huffed a little bit, getting annoyed by how much of my past self I was seeing in him. "But it's not anything that the world hasn't seen before. We'll be fine as long as we aren't stupid."

"Shut up!" He yelled, standing up in his chair. "Gato's too strong! He's got hundreds of men, and kills everyone who tries to stop him! You can't beat him no matter how much you try! He'll just send more and more people until you die!"

Inari slammed his hand on the table again as he continued.

"You shouldn't even be trying. You'll only get yourselves killed just like everyone else!"

He stopped after that, taking in heavy breaths in and out as everyone watched him.

I didn't say anything at first, letting him wind down from his little cynic speech.

"You little brat! Don't act like you know anything about what you're talking about!" Naruto yelled, shooting out of his own seat to scold him. "You think you're special because your dad died? Everyone has dead people!"

He went to leave, but I grabbed the back of his jacket.

"…Sit down." I said calmly.

Yeah, it's best if Naruto doesn't leave. We know he's just going to burn himself out forcing progress on the tree walking stuff. And with how differently the first fight with Zabuza went, we shouldn't be taking any risks with him being out alone.

I waited until Naruto sat back down with a still upset expression on his face.

"You're a selfish little shit, aren't you?" I started, pausing for a moment to see if Kakashi or another person would try to stop me from ripping into this kid. "You have a mother and grandfather who would do anything they could and more just to make sure you're okay, and instead of going to them when you're feeling sad you lock yourself up in your room like some sort of shut in. Grow up you fucking pansy."

Inari flinched slightly, almost like I had physically slapped him.

"Do you have any idea how much I would give up to have my dad give even a quarter as much of a damn about me as your mom does about you alone?" I asked him. "Cause I'd give up a fucking shit ton of stuff. And here you are acting like you're all alone in the world when there are plenty of people around you willing to help you back up."

This guy's main reason for suffering is that he's refusing the love and help that's literally right fucking there!

"Kaiza may be gone, but the strength he had is only gone if you refuse to inherit it." I muttered. "And you use that strength to protect the precious people you still have left. Tazuna knows that; it's why he's working so hard to build that damn bridge. You're being selfish, being the only one to reject your damned father's legacy because you're scared."

I stood up, feeling absolutely pissed off beyond reason.

"You are not alone, so stop acting like it."

I didn't exactly know where I was supposed to go after that. A part of me wanted to wander into the woods, but I knew that wasn't a good idea. I had just made sure that Naruto wasn't going to run off, so doing that exact same thing would just be stupid. Yet at the same time I couldn't stand the idea of staying in that damn house.

As such, I ended up just sitting on the nearby peer with my legs hanging over the side.

You know, I don't know if there's much of a difference between me being here right now or you literally just being alone with your own thoughts.

Does it even matter at this point? At the very least I don't feel alone.

Well of course you don't feel alone. Kakashi just sat down next to us.

Huh?

"Sage's shit, Kakashi. Don't sneak up on me like that." I hissed at the Jonin as I acknowledged his quiet arrival. "…Don't tell me you're gonna lecture me about that little spat I had in there with that kid."

"Nah, I think you get what I think of that." He said.

Fuck them kids?

Shrimpy, not now.

Don't call me Shrimpy.

"If that's the case, why are you here then?"

"Seemed like you needed someone around." He stated. "…You mentioned your father earlier? Everything going alright there?"

"I mean, he's not abusing me if that's what you're asking me." I told him casually. "It's more… neglect? He hasn't talked to me since the day of my mom's funeral, which was almost six or so years ago now."

"Sounds like neglect to me, yeah." He agreed with a hum. "Not that I would know, my dad loved me."

…

…

…

…pfff-

"PHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

I know I probably should have been pissed off at that, but I couldn't help but laugh at Kakashi's casual, almost juvenile feeling insult. My arms clenched around my stomach as my eyes watered from the heaving laughter.

"He ha ha! Th-that's only because you have a face that not even a mother could love~!" I giggled as I shot back. "That's what the point of the mask is! HA HA HA!"

Kakashi seemed to find by returning insult funny too, given his own uproarious chuckling.

"You think you'll be okay?" He asked once the both of us had relaxed some.

"Yeah, I think so. Just needed a bit of space." I explained. "…Thanks for showing up. Been a while since someone's done that for me."

The Jonin nodded, standing up and putting his crutches back under his arms.

"It's no problem. Just be careful with what you say around mission clients once they get to higher ranks, don't want to get in trouble because you called out some rich noble, do you?"

"That just means I should insult every client while they still can't say shit about it~" I teased, to which I got an eye smile.

"Exactly."

I looked back out at the moonlit water as Kakashi left, as silent as he had appeared.

…He's still a wet dog, though.

Oh yeah, definitely.

"Should we attack at dawn?" The mercenary asked, looking over the rather basic plan. "There's not going to be fog until the end of the week, so if we don't have some sort of visual cover, they'll see us coming from a mile away."

"And have to get up early to get out onto that humid ass water? Hell no!" Gato yelled at the man as he tossed a stack of coins to the side. "I should have you killed for even suggesting that! We go at noon when they're laxing and eating their damn food. That's when we'll finally kill that damn bridge builder."

The groups of mercenaries and other hired guns watched as their boss continued to stack cash and coins back up, some of which had just been knocked over.

"…You're the boss, I guess." The mercenary muttered. "Besides, it's just a bunch of old men, and there's gonna be at least a hundred of us and what? Thirty of them? Even if they fight back we ain't losing."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." The rich tyrant chuckled as he finished a stack. "Soon all of this bridge talk will be behind us, and everyone can get their paycheck, unlike a certain pair of stupid mist ninja we know~"

Gato would make sure that old drunk would see his family one last time before he died, too! That would be the dessert to this already great five star meal!

…Damn it all, now he wanted lobster!

"CHEEEEEF!"

Chapter 24

The next morning was an awkward one to say the least.

First thing was that apparently Shrimpy hadn't run out of chakra yet, which had been more than enough time for me to give her a refill on her reserves. In fact, when I had woken up she just had to inform me that she was somehow able to open my eyes during the night, allowing her to quite literally have me sleep with my eyes wide open.

I'm honestly just glad she had remembered to blink.

I could feel them getting dry while I was the one controlling them.

Like I said, glad you still blinked. Having my eyes open without blinking for that long would have been a bitch.

The whole thing harkened back to that priority lineup that I had compared the whole thing to before. When I was trying to do something with any part of my body, Shrimpy couldn't do anything to counter or do something else with it without my allowance. However, when I wasn't using it, it was far easier for her to get control.

Hence, the sleeping with my eyes open.

"Alright, I guess we're doing this today." I whispered to myself before stepping outside, adjusting my gear and taking a look at both Tazuna and Sakura as they waited for me. "Let's get going before the sun gets too high up. I'm sure you want to make some progress, drunkard?"

"Yeah yeah, ya little glutton. Why don't you go get more of those weird ass sandwiches?"

"Why don't I crack you over the head with one of your precious bottles of whisky?"

Tazuna, for his part, just laughed at my only partly jesting threat. He slapped his hat onto his head and began making his way out. Sakura trailed behind us as I took up the front, seemingly trying to put as much distance between us as possible without actually breaking proper protocol.

How long do you think it'll be before she starts causing problems for us?

I hope that it doesn't come to that. I don't like being angry like I am when she's been bitchy at me.

I don't like seeing you be angry at her, so I'm gonna have to second that opinion.

As we continued walking up towards the bridge, I made it a point to avoid looking at the people around us. I know that they were innocent civilians going through desperate times, but that desperation can definitely still turn towards sudden aggression if you catch their attention in a bad way. As such, it was better to just avoid all of them.

Sakura's probably having a version of that moment where she's seeing just how shitty these guys have it.

"T-Tazuna-san?" The girl in question asked the old man with a waver in her voice. "Everyone here looks… awful."

"O'course they do kiddo. It's called being shit poor." The bridge builder confirmed without any sort of shame nor avoidance. "You gotta understand we weren't even a wealthy people before that tyrant moved into the area, so with him taking away the few sources of income we had left…"

"This is what struggle looks like." I stated casually. "And once someone gets to this kind of point, it's really hard to lift yourself out of it. One of the reasons why what Tazuna's doing is so important. It'll break open new opportunities for everyone here."

"One's that'll be outside of Gato's control." The older man nodded in agreement.

You know, unless Gato tries to seize the bridge.

He could do that, but at the same time I question his ability to maintain control over it as well as all the rest of the island. This bridge is fucking huge you know.

Of course I know, but that doesn't mean it couldn't still happen.

We'll make sure it doesn't.

It thankfully wasn't too much longer before we at least managed to get out of the actual town itself and get up onto the bridge, a lot of the same guys from yesterday hanging out with either a bored expression or were already doing some of the prep work on either the supplies or their tools.

"Alright you cheeky bastards!" He announced to the crowd of workers. "Let's get to work. Wanna add at least another good foot or so before break time, you got that?"

"Go fuck yourself you drunken asshole!"

"Hey, you're a drunken asshole too! You drunken asshole!"

"You're god damn right about that!" The guy who had spoken up confirmed without a hint of shame, his face slightly flush. "Hell, I'm drunk right now!"

"Yeah, I think everyone here can tell that much." I muttered before speaking up. "Alright chuckle fucks. Remember what we did yesterday. Ears and eyes peeled. If you see even so much as a puddle on the bridge where it should be, you tell everyone and run immediately. Don't be a fucking hero, got it?"

There were a couple of grunts of acknowledgement, some yelling that sounded along the lines of "God damn it we know" or something similar, and even a few that just did the polite thing and gave a simple nod.

"You gonna nap today too, brat?" Tazuna asked, only partly joking as he got to work. His comment getting me a look from Sakura as she seemed to take it at face value.

She's lucky I'm not the one with control over our mouth right now.

Yeah right, you wouldn't say shit if you were in my position. Because I know you.

Of course you know me, you are me.

No, you're me.

What difference does it even make?

Shaking my head out of the inner conversation – which really only lasted a brief couple of microseconds, speed of thought for the win – I turned towards Tazuna and addressed his concern.

"First of all, yesterday I was practicing a new technique, which required me to do a lot of meditation type stuff." I told him while pulling out a kunai, twirling it in my hand casually. "Don't worry, I haven't taken my attention away from protecting you should it come time to do it. And at the very least Sakura has more skills and strength than the average shitty merc."

At least, I hope she does. It would be really embarrassing to know I lost out on being kunoichi of the year to a girl who legitimately was weaker than what was basically a civilian with a sword.

Is it weird that I don't want to put bets on her.

No, and that's terrifying.

"Well whatever, I guess. Just as long as you actually protect me." The bridge builder got to work, joining all the people around him in what would likely be another day of harsh labor. Sounds of hammering, measuring, talking about both work and leisure, and even the rumbling of construction machinery started up around us like a slow marching song of a people's hope.

It wasn't the strongest thing in the world, but it was something that brought people together to work towards a common goal, and that seemed to be quite a bit more powerful than the feat that Gato had been trying to instill in them.

The pink one is watching us again.

"…Sakura, if you keep watching me like that I'll start assuming you're not actually interested in Sasuke." I chuckled a bit as she turned redder than an apple. "Just kidding~"

You know, she does have pretty hair.

And? That doesn't mean we have to like her.

No, but that nice hair on someone else? Maybe even one of those muscular girl types~

Hm… yeah, I can definitely see that. It could even- wait a minute, we're getting distracted.

Oh, right. Sorry.

I focused back on the mission, basically taking the task of doing a basic patrol around the bridge and looking out on the water. While I could have done this same thing yesterday, my priority was the bridge builder, and with no backup I needed to prioritize protecting him over the other members of the crew. With Sakura now here and being closer to the man, I felt a little bit more secure in the idea of keeping the rest of the men here safe.

It was actually kind of a nice sight getting a look at what everyone was up to-

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT GUY DOING?! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT GUY DOING?!

"YOU!" I pointed down to a guy about to hit a nail down with a hammer while yelling. "PUT THAT THING DOWN RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

I bolted over and grabbed the tool out of the man's hand, much to his loud protest. It actually got a bunch attention from the other people working on the bridge.

"Kid, what are you-"

"Are you trying to ruin your fucking hand?!" I asked him with a growl in my voice as I gestured to the partially bent nail as it stuck out. "You're holding it perpendicular to your wrist like a moron, when you should be holding it with your thumb parallel to the handle and running down the length of the hammer!"

I slammed the hammer down onto the nail, putting it all the way into the material like all of the other nails before it.

"Don't just hit it a bunch of times like a pansy either. You hit it too many times and you're bending it more than you're driving it in!"

Before the man hand a chance to say anything, I forced the tool back into his hand and corrected his grip.

"Now do it right." I ordered him before walking away, allowing myself to cool off a bit from the sudden lesson I had hammered into a man who was way too old to be making that kind of mistake.

"Huh, I didn't know you can use a hammer." Tazuna muttered my way as I walked up and past him.

"Rookie ninja get a lot of general labor jobs." I answered him with a similar mutter. "A lot of mine were actually related to construction, and the guys there were willing to tell me how to use the tools at the very least."

"Ah." The man chuckled a bit. "Guess I should have asked for ninjas to build the bridge for me, eh~?"

I stared at him.

Pendejo.

Knock it off. We're not using Spanish words in a world where there's nobody who speaks it.

Good, cause I only know the curse words.

You would.

Chingados.

Okay, not you're just being silly.

Ignoring Shrimpy's commentary, the work continued at a consistent pace. Occasionally I would catch Sakura glancing my directions as I kept an eye out on the water, but thankfully it was only for a couple of moments when I was walking by. She didn't say anything, and her focus seemed to be more on the people building to the bridge.

By the time that noon rolled around, many of the guys started to just take the chance to relax and eat a meal with whatever they or their families could piece together the previous night. Some of their food even seemed to contain wild plants that had been mixed in to provide some form of nutrients.

After a bit of time watching them shoot the breeze and eat, I was about to get out one of my own prepackaged meals. But then I heard someone yell.

"HOLY SHIT!"

I was, as anyone would in a situation like this, immediately on guard. That wasn't the yell of someone who got surprised or anything like that; rather, it was the sound of a man happening across something that was out to kill them, like a bear or a moose.

"Who said that?" I asked, turning around and spotting a man looking out at the water with terror etched onto his face. "What is it?"

"LOOK!" He yelled again, pointing in the direction of the waters down the coast.

I squinted my eyes to see what the man was looking at, only for them to widen just moments later.

"Oh fuck…" I whirled around to everyone who had previously been, if not enjoying themselves, then at least feeling like they were closer to taking back their livelihoods. "He's here! Gato's men are coming!"

That got everyone scrambling, people moving to run away or gather up their few belongings as they all made tracks down the bridge back to dry land.

Shit, there have to be at least a hundred men there! We can't let them get any further than the bridge!

What do you mean?

If they get here, and see that the bridge builder isn't here, where do you think they'll go next? They'll slaughter the townspeople until they find him.

Shit, you're right. They're committing to an all-out assault.

But we can't fight them all by ourselves! We'll die!

Send Sakura back to get the rest of Team 7 then! We can't win in a straight up fight, but we can at least be annoying and stall them.

The plan now formed in my head, I looked over to Sakura as she seemed to freeze up.

"Sakura Haruno, if you're ever going to listen to me then now's the time to do it." I tell her as I land my hands on her shoulders. "I need you to take Tazuna, go back to Kakashi-san, and get the rest of your team back here as fast as you can."

The girl, of course, was panicking. I didn't blame her; both Shrimpy and I were panicking ourselves, but I couldn't let it show on the outside. Lives literally depended on us keeping our cool.

"B-But what about you?! Where are you going to go?!"

"I'm staying here to hold them off. If they get here and see that Tazuna's already gone, then they'll hunt him through the town until someone gives him up. And who knows how many people they'll kill? If they slaughter the whole of Wave, then it doesn't even matter if Tazuna lives or not!"

"B-But-"

"Sakura, where should you be going?"

"T-To get my tea-

"TO GET YOUR TEAM!" I yelled, physically pushing her as I saw the bridge builder finish gathering all his supplies and begin running faster than a man his age would be going on any normal day.

Do you think that they'll get here in time?

God, I hope so. I don't want to die.

Me neither…

A sigh escaped me as I looked around the empty bridge.

"This would be so much easier if I had pulled a Shikamaru and packed a fuck ton of explosive tags." I hissed. "Guess I'll need to fight them the old-fashioned way."

I pulled out a kunai.

"I may not be a demon from the mist… but at least I can still use my arms." I tightened my wrappings around my hands, feeling sweat building up on my palms between the callouses. "So… in case I don't make it… to the fuckers I get to send to hell today?"

When those real life demons open their maws to greet you?

A breath entered my lungs, steeling my heart for what would undoubtably be a nightmare day.

"…Tell them it was us who sent you."

Chapter 25

The midday sun was hot, and the ocean made it humid. It was a feeling that all of the mercenaries as well as their employer hated with a burning passion. A couple of the younger, less experienced ones even briefly considered going back home and calling it a day, but the promise of a paycheck kept them on board as they prepared to climb up the wooden and rope ladders they swung up to attach to the sides of the bridge.

Modified fishing boats swayed under the light waves as the first few men – the most eager to make their cash – began making their way up towards the bridge. Their relatively more robust strength allowed them to strong arm the few older or weaker members of the mercenary militia out of the way, making their way up to where the incomplete bridge awaited them.

When they got their way to the top, they were all surprised to see that there was nobody there. It was as if they had all disappeared right in the middle of their work, not even a hat or nail to be seen of anyone that they'd expect to be there.

Hence, all of them were able to immediately see the single purple haired child staring them down like she was somehow going to make a difference.

When Gato stepped off the ladder and saw the situation, he could only laugh. His action sparking a similar reaction from many of his own men, guffawing and chuckling at the short stack before them.

"Now what exactly do we have here?" Gato asked as he rested his cane on the solid surface of the bridge, a wide smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes – though none of his men could tell that much given the fact that he was wearing those sunglasses. "One of the village brats thinking she can be some sort of little hero?"

The kid didn't say anything, continuing to just stare them down with a seemingly blank expression. A breeze from the ocean causing her shoulder length purple hair to sway a bit.

"He he, thing must be so scared she's outright petrified~" He continued laughing, but eventually exchanged that jolly attitude for one of intimidation. "I don't have time for any of this so I'll only ask you this once. Where is the bridge builder? If you don't tell us, then I'll have to get… creative, with my methods."

To emphasize the threat made by the man, many of the mercenaries brandished their weapons towards the one standing across from them. Some of them even mad a show of licking their weapons in an attempt to further unnerve the girl.

Yet still, she remained completely mute. Her silence starting to get on the nerves of Wave's unofficial dictator.

"You see, this is why I hate children." He stated, gesturing in front of him and past all of his men. "Even after you give them a chance to do something smart, they completely refuse because of something stupid like 'oh you hurt my mommy and daddy' and crying."

Gato snapped his fingers, and pointed her way.

"Boys? Show this little shit what happens when they don't know their place."

A couple more laughs were had as the near small-army sized group of men began walking her way, casually and without any sort of discipline. Why should they? It was just a little kid after all.

There shouldn't be anything they would have to worry abou-

A shiny several things flew through the air before anyone had time to blink, and wet, slicing impacts were heard across the group as everything immediately came to a halt. One of the men at the front of the line felt something wet dripping down his neck, reaching up and touching it with his hand.

When it came away, he saw that his hand was covered in a deep, hellish red.

Moments later, he – along with several others – fell to the ground, shuriken sticking out from their necks, chests, and heads. The bridge underneath them was already starting to become dotted with the puddles of blood that pooled around their bodies.

Eyes stared down at the rapidly cooling bodies, then at the girl who held her arm outreached. The Konoha headband proudly gleaming around her neck – only now becoming obvious to everyone who was now watching her with a hint of fear.

"It's a fucking Konoha ninja!" Gato yelled, realizing that this was one of those stupid brats that somehow managed to make Zabuza turn tail and run. He waved his cane in the air as he yelled at his hired guns. "She's one of the little shits that's supposed to be protecting the bridge builder! Whoever kills her will get ten times their promised pay!"

That seemed to motivate the previously jubilant, now hesitant men to charge at her. Their weapons now raised to protect them as they all rushed at her, the bodies of their comrades ignored in favor of being the first to strike down the brat.

Shuriken continued to fly into the air as the girl threw them, striking several of the men. A couple ended up being in crucial places to either disable or outright kill them. One unfortunate man was unlucky enough to have his eye gouged out by one of the flying pieces of sharpened metal, his screams deafening to everyone close enough to hear his screams.

Not all of them were unskilled, though. A couple of the slightly older, more grizzled men were able to block or outright avoid the throwing stars as they continued to close the distance to their new targets. Their steps growing stronger and faster as they saw the beads of sweat beginning to form on the girl's face.

A sign of fear, which they knew was an opportunity to take her down. Already some of them were planning what they would do with their bonus after the little violent purple gremlin was dead.

But yet again, they were unprepared for the level of brutal but efficient violence as the small ninja swapped the shuriken out in favor of a kunai, stopping the first mercenary's melee attack outright, before grabbing his wrists and slashing him across the jugular.

Oh god I think I'm gonna be sick.

Shut up! We can't afford to be human right now!

I released the mercenary from my grasp as he fell to the ground, desperately trying to stem the bleeding from his neck and stay alive. There wasn't enough time or medical technology to save him, and I had about ninety-two other reasons why I couldn't just drop everything and rush the man to a hospital.

Right now, I was too busy fighting for my life.

Duck!

Squatting down low, I avoided a long blade from my peripherals that was coming straight for my chest. If I hadn't dodged it, that muscled brute could have cleaved me right in two.

I returned the favor by stabbing the kunai straight into his nose with all the strength I could muster, straight through his skull and up into his brain. Then violently ripped it out with the hopes of absolutely destroying everything that was inside.

My confidence in my ability to beat a hundred men wasn't high; the only way I could think of to actually make up for it is through sheer brutality and hope that it would scare them into running.

Question is, will you be able to do that without scaring yourself?

I'm not sure, but I have to try. Right now, I'm the only thing standing between them and all of those innocent people.

I sent a harsh Strong Style kick straight into the knee of a man who had his sword raised above his head, knocking over just enough for me to follow it up with a jabbing of the kunai straight into his neck. Then I repeated the stabbing a second time when he still tried to swing down on me.

Roll left, then kick straight up between the legs.

Following the speedy mental advice of Shrimpy, I managed to avoid a strike from a mace like weapon and hit another mine right where it hurt the most. The impact seemed to nearly knock him over instantly, allowing me to take his short wakizashi from him and cut him deep across the back with it, putting him down for the count.

With a blade now sitting in both hands, I charged straight underneath the group. Using the gaps in their legs to weave through and out of their striking range, I cut several of them across the backs of their knees as well as in their Achilles tendons. Many of them fell to the ground, their legs no longer capable of supporting their bodies.

A few still stayed standing, and their motivations were clearly starting to shift. They could see now that this wasn't just some sort of hunt for a higher paycheck. We were both sides fighting for our very survival, and they were up against someone all to willing to put them down in permanent fashion.

Regardless if you live or die, you're not making it out of this okay.

And you will?

No, but I feel like you'll definitely have it worse. You're the one piloting everything.

I didn't waste any more time discussing the topic with my clone, jumping back to make some more distance. In the process, I just barely got grazed in the arm by someone wielding a katana wannabe. The cut was enough to draw some blood, flowing down my arms to my hands and mixing with the blood of their comrades.

Pure melee was risky, I need to take the distance as an opportunity to reduce their numbers safely. Throwing the very much dulled wakizashi and kunai, pulling out a few of the sharp throwing weapons instead, sending them screaming in the direction of Gato's men.

Be careful. You're already running out of shuriken.

My hand went down to the pouch as I threw about five more of the things directly into the crowd, killing two more and injuring three.

I felt nothing in the pouch.

Fuck.

I was completely out of the fucking shuriken already. And with how many of them there were, I was at serious risk of getting got if I just ran in there with only kunai. My brain tried to wrack itself for an answer as I jumped back a few times to buy a bit more room.

Wait, what about that?

What do you mean? What's that?

The shit we got from the Demon Brothers!

…That could certainly work.

Reaching back around and pulling out a particular scroll that was near the back end of my belt, I watched a poof of smoked appear as I dodged around the corner of a massive construction crane. The brief moment of obscuring giving me just enough time to shove my arms into the weapons that had been literally hiding in my back pocket this whole time.

The bladed gauntlets and the half-broken chains – which had been carefully spooled up around the wrists and forearms into what was essentially barbed wire armor around my whole hand and arm.

I wouldn't be able to use the chains well enough to wrap someone up, but they could certainly be used as whips.

The smoke created by the storage scroll was starting to dissipate, so I used the last of the distraction to loop around the far side of the crane and getting to the side of the crowd, who seemed to be waiting outside the smoke for me.

They were smart to not go into an area of dense smoke. Too bad you aren't using it.

I sprinted straight into the unprotected side of the group, the claws shining in the light of the sun as I entered the nearly eighty or more men that remained of Gato's army.

But even as I felt the claws cleave straight through flesh like a blowtorch through warm butter, I knew I couldn't let my guard down. The wound on my arms still throbbed acting as a reminder that it only takes one lucky shot from these fuckers to take me down.

But if that happens, god damn it I'm taking every one of these sons of bitches down with me! But if that happens, god damn it I'm taking every one of these sons of bitches down with me!

"So, this is where the bridge builder lives~?" The sword wielding mercenary asked with a smirk as he and his compatriot walked up the pier. "Gotta say, it's actually pretty nice. After he's dead, you think Gato will let us take this place as our own hangout?"

"Pretty sure the bossman wants us to burn the place down after we take the brat and the woman." The other mercenary stated with disappointment as he took out his own weapon. "Sorry man."

"Aw damn." The blade wielder mutter in annoyance. "I was already thinking I could buy a bear skin rug or something."

"I mean, that does sound pretty cool." The other confirmed.

"You know what else would be pretty cool?" A third voice asked them.

"What?"

"Giving up before I have to kill you both." Kakashi answered, his face turning from casual to a deadly glare in an instant.

"Shi- Oopmh!"

Kakashi – even in his still greatly weakened state – was able to easily knock out the first man with a quick punch to the face. The strength of his hit likely also causing a concussion in addition to knocking the man out and onto his ass.

"And then there was one." He muttered as he faced down the other mercenary, who had taken the chance to create distance between him and the Jonin. "Maybe you should just give up and tell me where Gato i-"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" A foot showed up and smashed into the other mercenary's face. If Kakashi's attack caused a concussion, this one likely cracked the skull outright. Gai landed on the ground right after, a bright grin on his face. "I AM HERE!"

"…Hey Gai."

"KAKASHI!" The fellow Jonin greeted him with excitement. "I came as quickly as I could, but Ningame was having some trouble showing off his youthful swimming."

There was a beat of silence.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Gah! You and your hip, cool attitude!" The green beast lamented Kakashi's nonchalant attitude, but recovered easily enough. "Anyways, updates on mission circumstances?"

"Well these two are mercenaries sent by Gato, the main guy after our client." The still very much unrecovered Jonin explained quickly. "If they're here, then there's not a zero percent chance that they're going to attack the bridge too."

"I see." Gai nodded, his normally loud demeanor quieting down to a more serious stance, almost resembling what would be considered 'proper' for a Jonin. "Shall we go."

"I'll only slow you down right now. Go ahead, I'll get Naruto and Sasuke – catch up with you at the bridge."

"Right." The other man nodded and turned to leave, but paused. "Uh… where's the bridge exactly."

"Straight that way." Kakashi answered while pointing.

"Very well!" Gai shot off at speeds far greater than a normal Genin. Already, he was blazing through the countryside towards where his eternal rival had pointed. "Time to show off my- oh? What's this?"

He landed just a minute later, seeing both an old man – who he assumed to be the bridge builder he had read about – and the young Sakura running in the direction of the house.

"What's going on here?" He asked with a light tone as he touched down from the trees, surprising both of them.

"W-Who are you?" Sakura asked, pulling out a kunai hesitantly. "Y-You're wearing a Konoha headband… but you could also be a spy! Who are you?"

"Aha~! I just so happen to be your sensei, Kakashi's rival!" He explained, as if that wasn't at all suspicious. "And if you're thinking I might be a spy… Rule 3-A of the shinobi handbook."

The pink one was his rival's studious team member, if he remembered their conversation correctly.

"Huh? O-Oh, that." She murmured quietly, before her expression became more guarded again. "W-Where do leaves grow from?"

Ah, a good choice on her part, if a little too by the books to ask of more knowledgeable enemies.

"They grow upwards from the roots!" He answered the standard question.

"T-Then you're really a…" Sakura shook her head as her panic seemed to reassert itself. "You need to help Ami! S-She stayed behind to hold off Gato's men! T-There has to be like- a hundred of them!"

…Suddenly, Gai felt like his flames of youth were going to be put to the ultimate test.

"I see…" He clenched his fist as he remembered the face of the young girl – though not his student, the way her eyes brightened when she had pulled off a proper Strong Style punch for the first time reminded him of Lee's enthusiasm – and realized just how dangerous it was for a Genin like her to go against a force like that on her own.

"Find Kakashi, and back him up to help out your fellow shinobi."

He didn't give her a chance to reply or confirm his order as he ran back off towards the bridge. Hopefully he'd make it in time, before something serious happened to the little youthful Genin that he had taken that small liking to.

Gai couldn't let those flames be put out before they ever had a chance to bloom.

Chapter 26

Blood was flying everywhere as I ripped and tore through everyone in my path, not standing still for even a moment as I ripped through another mercenary. His torso ripping right open as chunks and drops of red flew all over the place. A splash of it landed across my face, thankfully not getting into my eyes as I closed them for the briefest moment.

Block right!

I raised my right arm, stopping a blade from striking me in the shoulder. The guy who had tried to cut me down flinched when my attention turned to him, trying to step back even as his fellow mercenaries were attempting to push him further into me.

Clenching my other hand into a fist, I drove it right into his guts. Even with the sharp side of the claws not hitting him, so much metal and weight burying into him at those speeds left his ribcage caving in as he flew back. Blood seeming to explode out of his mouth as he went flying back into the rest of the crowd.

Jump!

I leaped into the air, flipping upside down to see that a spear and mace wielder had just tried to hit me from both sides. With me no longer down there, they were left with clacking their weapons against one another with confused expressions. My hands unclenched as I began falling back down towards them, the sensation of the gauntlets around my hands making them feel less like hands, and more like the claws of some sort of monster.

Hey, focus up! Cut them down before you just splat on the ground!

My vision cleared up as my arms slashed downwards, hard. The force combined with the already downwards motion cut clean through their heads, their eyes, noses, and mouths being separated like slices of extremely thick sashimi and flopping onto the ground.

The brutal deaths of their fellow fighters actually seemed to finally give the rest of the men a moment of pause, as they looked down at the wide-open eyes and exposed brain matter that was now spread out across the ground. The entire area around us seemingly being stained red as all the blood pooled under our feet.

I didn't stop though, not to give them another moment to think or possibly come up with a strategy. Not only that, but I couldn't let that adrenaline fade, and let the thoughts sink in of everything I've just done.

I couldn't afford to think right now, lest it leave me defenseless.

My legs burned as I jumped towards another man, an almost animalistic roar ripping through my throat as I jammed my hand directly into his jugular vein. Even more red lifeblood splashed outwards like a sprinkler going haywire, splattering all over the faces of the men who were still standing, some still injured but alive from my previous attacks.

By this point, I've probably killed at least thirty-five of them.

Still couldn't stop, not until it was done.

Had to keep… ripping and tearing. Until there's none of them left to stop, or until ever last drop of blood has left my body.

"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" My voice cracked whilst I jumped towards an older looking man, his face immediately turning terrified as he tried to swing at me with his short sword. A deep cut was slashed across my forehead and down towards my cheek, thankfully too far to the right to hit my eye.

He wasn't so lucky when the bladed claws dug into his stomach, and it proceeded to fly up his body with the ease of a hot knife through butter. His entire stomach area up to his ribcage being opened like a zipper. I could even feel which of his organs being cut through as my hand sliced upwards.

Small intestine, large intestine, stomach, liver.

A gasp escaped my throat as I felt something else piloting my face. There wasn't any time nor reason for me to question what was happening, so I just allowed it to happen.

"…You're down to only half your original force." I could tell it was Shrimpy who was talking, not me. My own voice had become too hard for me to grasp onto at this point. My focus was entirely on just staying alive. "I wonder how many more it will take before you start thinking with your brains and not with your wallets~? Ehe he~!"

Those words only seemed to further unnerve those that remained, staring at me with even further mounting horror. Blood and sweat felt down my whole body, staining every piece of clothing and even seeming to recolor parts of my hair. My own body was now covered in cuts and bruises that had been made by men who were now part of the growing field of corpses scattered across the bridge. The slash on my arm had since become four, my other arm having two to match. My left leg throbbed from a place where someone wilding a hammer had hit me some time ago – most likely bruised, maybe even cracked bone – and my back had at least ten different minor cuts and slashes. The fact that they were all so minor - I was even still standing up at all – was a miracle and a half.

Still, I couldn't take much more punishment, and both of us knew that.

Shrimpy had stretched my mouth into the biggest, toothiest smile she could possibly muster. I could feel the disgusting metal tang of all that blood beginning to drip off of my lips and into my mouth, but even then I didn't dare take back control as I stood on the edge of the horde of men.

"W-What the hell are you all doing?!" I heard a voice yell out at them, clearly both frustrated and afraid. "How can you all be so pathetic?! It's just one stupid little girl! Kill her already! Rush her!"

It was Gato, who hadn't moved from his spot from where he was standing at the start of the fight. A position that I now found… that I was closer to than the horde of men who were at one point standing between me and him.

He was exposed, weak… vulnerable.

It was a chance to end it, right here and now, with just one more kill.

Before anyone else could respond to Gato's pathetic screeches, I disengaged from the group to charge straight at Gato, Shrimpy's terrifying smile still stretched across my face as I targeted him instead of his pathetic little meat shields.

"W-WHAT?! NO! STAY AWAY!" He dropped his cane as he took a few fearful steps back. "Y-YOU SHOULD BE FIGHTING THEM! NOT ME! NO! NOOOOOOOO!"

He tried to turn around and run, but there were more than a few problems with that.

First of all, he was a civilian – and even that was stretching the limits of what his strength could be stated at. It was obvious from anyone who saw him for even half a second that he was a fat pig of a man who hadn't worked a day in his entire life, and was entirely reliant on other people to do the heavy lifting for him at every possible opportunity. He was a soft, weak tub of lard, who couldn't run for even a solid four seconds if he really pushed himself.

As such, I caught up to him almost instantly, and slashed him all the way across his back. Fat-soaked tissues cleanly sliced through as he was sent down to the ground.

"No! PLEASE!" He begged in a pathetic manner as he tried to continue scooting away from me. "HAVE MERCY!"

Shrimpy was the one who gave a response instead of me.

"Someone who's never given mercy… gets none back." The words were flat, even if they slipped from the forced smile. "Time to die~!"

"HEAAAAAAAAAH!"

I didn't waste anymore time, my clawed arms balling into fists as I unleashed a flurry of heavy punches directly into his fat fucking head. Each one let out a loud clanging of metal on the bone of his skull, which then started squelching as it started to cave fully under the wave of my attacks. At some point, the details of the sights and the sounds all seemed to fade away. In my head I just knew that I had to keep punching, that if I stopped attacking I would die.

Hard bone gave way to mushy red, then to stained concrete. I wasn't even sure how long it was going on for, I just kept going because I knew I had to.

Attack.

Attack.

Attack.

FUCKING STOP ALREADY! YOU GOT HIM!

Atta-

STOOOOOOOOOOOP!

It was like my brain had finally been plugged back in, a reset that allowed me to start thinking again. Everything was… quiet – too quiet for there to still be people around. All that reached my ears was faint dripping sounds and the distant crashing of waves.

What happened? Where did all of Gato's men go?

They… they booked it back to their boats while you were giving Gato a permanent bloody makeover…

I did what?

Uh… well whatever you do, don't look down.

I, of course, immediately looked down. And God, I don't think I've ever felt so ill – or feel so much disgust ever again.

It didn't even look like there had ever been a head in the first place. Everything had been reduced to a faint smear mixed with concrete rubble. Everything had been destroyed beyond any potential point of recognition – aside from maybe a few faint hairs.

And it was all because of me… I did that.

My hands lifted up into my vision, seeing that the claws were fully coated in what almost looked like overly wet red paint. But I knew that it wasn't paint.

"…What have- What have I done?" I hissed, feeling burning hot tears start to fall down from my eyes. It burned as it hit a cut on my cheek, but I couldn't even stop it. It felt like my body had stopped responding.

I was just left sitting there, among the aftermath of my own rampage. Deep down, I knew that there were no other options other than to kill…

But somehow, that didn't make me feel any better.

"M-Mom…" A whisper left me breathlessly. "H… help me…"

I… It'll be okay. I'm sure help will get here soon.

Maito Gai was a lot of things. Youthful, a Taijutsu specialist, and a man who loved to bring out the youthful energy in his students and others around him. Everyone who knew him as a comrade knew that – even if he was a little boisterous and overeager – he was someone who could be relied on to help someone out of a funk.

After all, if it worked on Kakashi of all people, then who couldn't it work on?

Still, Gai was a shinobi of high rank, and one who was involved in fighting the Third Great Shinobi War. He knew all too well the kinds of violent slaughters and destruction that could be wrought by enemies and comrades alike should they see the need for it.

And when he touched down on the incomplete bridge? The green beast couldn't help but compare it to the days of that awful, bloody war – at least a little bit.

The first thing he did was instinctually count up how many bodies there were. At least fifty-six, all male and with of varying ages and statures. His count of weapons indicated that they weren't civilians, or at the very least weren't the same as the workers for the bridge that he had previously been informed of.

Mercenaries.

The severity of their injuries were also quite brutal. Many had slashes across their heads and throats, but others seemed to have their entire torsos turned inside out. But all of that was brushed to the side for the time being. He wasn't here to get scope of the enemies.

Gai was here to help Ami.

He almost didn't even realize it was her when he looked that way, her hair having red caked all over, hiding her normal vibrant purple. Her hands and forearms were encased in a pair of massive bladed gauntlets, which dripped with still fresh blood. Her head was tilted down, kneeling in front of a headless body.

The Jonin still didn't hesitate to run over and attend to her.

"Ami." He said quietly in greeting, bending down next to her to get a closer look. Already he could see a multitude of injuries on her face, arms, and back. Yet even then, she seemed to be unresponsive. "I'm here to help you, alright?"

He would need to be delicate with this, if what he's suspecting here actually happened.

The girl's red, swollen wet eyes slowly turned towards him.

"G-Gai-san?" She whispered, her tone somehow flat and afraid at the same time. "…I-I wanna go home."

The Jonin let his shoulders loosen the slightest bit as he looked her over in more detail.

"We will, soon. Just… let's get you cleaned up and those wounds treated." He said in a soft tone whilst lifting her up onto his shoulder. He could feel the gauntlets wrapping around his back, tight yet careful not to do any harm. Ami latched onto him like a scared Koala – a creature he had read about as a young boy. "Everything will be alright. Soon enough you'll be able to show off your youth to the world with a bright smile!"

That promise seemed to, if nothing else, act as a faintly familiar comfort for the blood-soaked girl. She was very clearly in a vulnerable state, so it was crucial that she be around safe faces and shown that everything would be okay.

She may not be his actual student… but when had that stopped Konoha's green beast before?

Chapter 27

Naruto could feel a sense of unease as he and the rest of Team 7 jumped from tree to tree, approaching the location of the bridge with worried expression. It was unnerving how quiet the team was being, most of all surprisingly himself. Though naturally, he wasn't to be truly deterred by something so simple as an awkward silence; he's always found something to say or comment even in the worst of times, like during one of the academy lectures on the policies introduced by the second Hokage.

That was probably the most boring section of his entire time at school. He could definitely think of something to say here.

"Heh, Gato's stupid punks don't stand a chance against Sakura and Ami. I bet by the time we get there they'll have already run off!"

He was truly a genius, but it didn't seem like the other two were fully convinced.

"Sakura… I don't know if she's really strong enough to hold off any more than a couple of those lackies at a time, and definitely not for very long." Sasuke's expression was tight and controlled, but there seemed to be the slightest bits of concern peeking through as his brow furrowed. "She doesn't have that much endurance or stamina compared to the rest of us, so if she's not careful, she could get herself hurt, or worse."

Naruto was about to speak up to defend his teammate's abilities, but he didn't get the chance to before another voice cut through.

"Focus, you two." Kakashi stated almost lazily, but there was the briefest edge to his tone that actually got the two boys to shut their mouths before everything could devolve into bickering once more. "Seems you won't have to worry about Sakura after all. I see her heading right towards us right now, and Tazuna's with her."

Both of the Genin looked towards the trees in front of them to see a small head of pink hair coming to a stop on the road away from the town, shaking slightly as they saw Sakura panting slightly. Her eyes were wide with both relief and exhaustion as she saw her team approach, with Tazuna right with her – though he too looked like he was in a pretty exhausted shape from running.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She cried out before her knees seemed to bend slightly. The girl tried to say something more, but seemed to simply be completely out of breath.

The Jonin moved without word to look her over, checking her for any signs of injuries whilst also making sure she was properly standing on her feet. When he came to the conclusion that she was unharmed, he finally went to say something.

"What's going on, Sakura?" He asked seriously, seeing that she had a chance to catch her breath. "Where's Ami and Gai?"

"If Gai is that weird bowl-cut guy in green, he passed by and made his way towards the bridge." Tazuna explained as he leaned against a nearby tree himself. "But the purple kid, sh-she stayed behind to hold them all off by herself. Got no idea how long she's actually gonna last. If she don't get any help sometime soon…"

Kakashi looked up to the bridge builder, nodding with his one visible eye narrowed in focus.

"We'll head up there and support them; you head back to your home and have every entrance and window boarded up until I personally come to tell you its safe. No one enters or leaves until then, and you do everything you can to make the place look like its abandoned. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Ya don't have to tell me twice, I'm getting the hell outta here." The bridge builder wasted almost zero extra time waiting, as he went down the road and towards his home. Within moments of him leaving earshot, the group started moving again towards the bridge, even faster than before.

Well, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto were running at their full speed. Sakura on the other hand ended up being picked up by the back of her dress by Kakashi and unceremoniously dropped onto his back. The pinkette let out a surprised yelp at the unannounced piggyback ride, but took advantage of the time to start getting her strength back.

"You know, when this is all over, you're going to need some serious stamina training." Kakashi briefly looked back at the girl, though there wasn't any actual anger in his tone – it was merely as though hew were stating a simple fact about the weather. "But that's for later. How many of Gato's people were you able to count? Were there any shinobi?"

Sakura looked over the Jonin's shoulder, recounting everything that she could think to explain as quickly as she could.

"We saw them approaching on boats while the builders were evacuating. Maybe around a hundred of them, but Ami and I couldn't get an exact number from that far away." She told the older man with a twitch, still a little shaky from the rather long run. "I don't think there was anyone who would have been a shinobi, but from that far away it was hard to tell."

"Any signs of Zabuza or his associate?" Kakashi prodded further.

"No." Sakura confirmed without much need to think, shaking her head. "I didn't see either of them, and I don't think Ami would have told me to run back here without her if she thought they were there…"

"Ami-chan stayed behind?!" Naruto shouted, sounding panicked.

"She wasn't here when we found Sakura and the bridge builder. Do the math, Naruto." Sasuke huffed, hiding the slowly growing tenseness in his shoulders, knowing all to well what the odds were of the purple ninja facing down so many enemies. Even if they were weaker, it still wasn't a good sign. Still, he covered it up with his typical dry snark. "Maybe you need a remediable course with Iruka-sensei."

"What the hell did you just say?" Naruto practically growled back.

Sasuke didn't say anything else, focusing his attention ahead on the approaching village. Even though they had just come out of the forests and out into the open, they could still feel that silent tension in the air that seemed to just be wafting off of the town and buildings. There was none of the previous bustling, begging, or other activity that had been rampant just a few hours prior.

Kakashi and Sasuke took no real notice of the tone, but both Naruto and Sakura could certainly feel the fear that was present. This wasn't just some quiet seaside town, it was a place hiding within itself in fear, hoping desperately not to become the targets of whatever cruel act they felt was coming for them next.

"All of the windows are covered." Sakura muttered quietly, holding on tight as they dropped down to the street level. Once there, she hopped down from Kakashi's back and timidly joined the rest of her team. "…Not. A. Word."

"A word of what?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Exactly." Sakura clarified nothing as the group began the final stretch of distance to the bridge.

Naruto ended up hesitating and was now slightly lagging behind the rest of the group.

"Exactly what?!" He tried to ask again, but this time got ignored.

The town streets were unnaturally clean and barren, practically looking like it had been freshly abandoned as the gentle ocean breeze kicked dust and dirt into the air. There were no clothes left out in the open, no signs of any struggles or harm being brought to the residents of the village – not even any of the few pieces of produce or food was left out in the markets, as if they had been bagged up and taken to the hills along with the residents.

"There's no one here… that's good, at least." Kakashi noted out loud, more for his team's sake than for his own. "That means that whoever Gato sent didn't end up getting into this part of the village. And I doubt that those kinds of mercenaries would be able to hold themselves back from doing some sort of raid had they been given the freedom to do so."

"That means that they must all still be at the bridge, fighting..." Sakura reasoned, wiping her hands on her dress as she felt them become slightly slick with sweat. "W-We need to get over there."

It didn't take much longer for them to come up on the bridge, seeing it almost as soon as they made their way back to leaping across the rooftops. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he saw that there was an unmistakable, massive red blotch that was practically dripping off the sides of the bridge, taking up a large portion of its surface.

Old, intentionally suppressed ANBU harshness began to resurface as he started running through ideas in his head for what was going on, and how he needed to respond. The battle had clearly turned bloody, and it was probable that someone had been killed, likely several. It would be a hard pill for his Genin to swallow, so perhaps it would be for the best for them to be told to hold back?

Considering that Naruto was on his team, it wouldn't even matter. If Ami was there, the blond would basically drag the other two there regardless of what anyone said. The boy clearly considered the purple haired shrimp to be a friend, and those seemed to be a valued commodity to the Uzumaki brat.

Kakashi had to just hold his breath, and hope that he wouldn't be heartbroken by whatever scene they come across next.

And as for Sasuke…

Hopefully it wouldn't evoke too many memories for him.

"This smell…" The Uchiha was the first one to comment on it out loud. "It smells like iron."

Naruto sniffed the air, and frowned.

"Yeah? But what's that supposed to mean?" He asked Sakura. "What does smelling iron mean?"

"Didn't you pay attention in school?" She asked him as they finally landed on the start of the bridge, walking besides her teammates. "It's caused by… blood."

Her eyes flicked to Sasuke, seeing that he's frozen in place. His own eyes were wide with shock, his teeth clenched as he seemed to shake slightly. Looking closer, a hint of green and pale seemed to mix on his face in a way that made him look like the sickest man the world had ever seen.

Naruto and Sakura turned their heads towards the scene, and they too started to turn similar pale shades of sickly green.

Halfway down the bridge, there was a pool of blood that seemed at least a centimeter deep or more, staining the walkway of the bridge red as it was backed under the midday sun. Bodies laid there in ruined heaps and dismembered pieces; some of the corpses were cut from mouth to leg by massive bladed edges.

And in the middle of it all, was Gai holding on to a small girl, her entire body red as it had been coated with the sprayed blood. Around her arms were a pair of bladed gauntlets, the same ones that had been used by the Demon Brothers just a short while ago to try and kill the bridge builder.

"Ami…" Sasuke stared at the girl, eyes remaining unblinking as he looked at the other Genin.

"What happened here, Gai?" Kakashi asked the other teacher, doing his best to try and project the calm towards his students. He even went as far as to use his Intent to guide them towards at least not puking in front of his rival. "Was she responsible for this… mess."

"…The battle was already over when I arrived, Kakashi." The Green Beast explained as he stood up, holding onto the soaked girl easily as she clung to him like a lifeline, not saying a word. "She's been mostly quiet since I first got here."

It wasn't a good sign.

"Ami-chan… did all of this?" Naruto asked with bewilderment, the first real sentence spoken by any of the team since they first laid their eyes on the scene. "But… why?"

Kakashi turned his attention to the boy even as Gai started to walk past with the purple, now red Genin in tow.

"There are unfortunately times where you will have to kill or be killed in the line of duty, just trying to stay alive." The Sharingan user walked over to one of the bodies, confirming from the gear they were using that they were certainly a mercenary, but not a shinobi of any high level. Something that seemed to be the case with every other body laid out on the bridge. "In the academy and on our D-rank missions, there were safety nets in place to make sure you could afford to make mistakes without real consequences, not having to face enemies that truly wanted to hurt or kill you…"

"Here, they did." Sasuke eventually uttered, not tearing his eyes away from the death for even a moment. Kakashi wondered for a moment if this would cause some sort of flashback to the boy's previous incident, but instead he seemed to become even more quiet than before. "What do we do now, sensei?"

Kakashi considered his options, his resources, and the mental states of everyone in the mission. It didn't take long for him to come to a conclusion.

"…For now, we'll head back to the bridge builder's home and regroup. Hopefully we can wait out any potential future attacks, and we can get Ami to recount everything that happened here." Kakashi turned around, pushing his students gently away from the scene as he did so. "But either one will take some time."

He counted around fifty-six bodies…

More than likely, he'll need to tell the Hokage to send her for a post mission evaluation. And possibly some more for his students, while he was at it.

Chapter 28

I pretty much just felt like a blob for the next long while, just existing without much thinking. Trying to create a blank space in my head so that I didn't have to think about what had just happened. Not a very descriptive thing to say - it might even sound a bit stupid to some people - but I think it gets across my feelings very well. Absolute shit is what that felt like, and the longer I stewed in it, the worse I felt. Hours or days, I wasn't really paying attention to it. I just avoided doing, saying, or in all seriousness just thinking of anything.

It's been about three hours, but who's keeping track at this rate?

Hmm...

Any amount of thinking would only bring me closer to actually having to confront what had happened. I'd have to think about all of those attacks, and cuts, and the faces of those dead mercenaries that I had brought to a brutal end.

Was I being a bit emo right now? A little bit too edgy? The answer was probably yes, but at this point I was beyond caring. I just wanted to…

Well, I just wanted to not, if that makes any sense.

...Hey Rico, let's go bowling!

What? Why the fuck are you bringing up bowling right now?!

I don't even know, just trying to distract you from beating yourself up by shit that you can't control. It was literally a you or them scenario, and if they chose to stay and try to fight you, then they were the ones who got themselves killed, not you.

I know that, but it's not the same to just know something logically and then having to actually kill people until they just... stopped coming. Do you even know how it feels?

Is it weird for me to say that I don't?

My body twitches a bit, a small bit of confusion seeping in beneath all of the attempts to make a void of myself.

Yeah, actually. How do you not get that...?

I think it... might have something to do with the fact that I wasn't physically present, really just watching everything from behind your eyes rather than through them. Maybe there's more to this jutsu than we originally thought there was, if we're mentally starting to grow apart like this. I clearly don't feel the same way or have the same experience on the bridge as you do.

Are you actually going to get to a point with this, or are you just going to monologue all of your bullshit exposition to me?

Well at least our trademark fucking snark is starting to come back.

What I'm trying to get to is that I think as long as the jutsu is active, the further and further we're going to mentally change as we experience things differently. I was slightly separated from the bridge, and while I'm definitely not going to be able to sleep tonight, I at least have some ability to function unlike you. You're trying to shut yourself down, and I'm trying to get you out of this and active again before this becomes more permanent. The more stew in your guilt and horror like this in the early hours, the worse it's going to haunt you in the long run. Remember the whole Tetris Effect thing we learned about?

Where playing Tetris right after a traumatic experience- oh.

Yeah. And I think I remember there being some sort of makeshift miniature bowling set in the Tazuna's house. Maybe playing a couple of rounds will help get you feeling right?

Not really sure if it would work, but also not having anything I could think to do at this point, I forced myself to sit up from the floor and finally start perceiving the world again. When I did, I realized that not only was I actually already in the house in question, but that I was already cleaned up of all the blood that had been coating me. At least on my head, and my clothes had been covered up by some sort of blanket, which undoubtedly would be permanently ruined after the fact.

Yeah no, you're changing.

But I-

Now! Unless you want to keep siting in the clothes literally soaked in the blood of your enemies... actually, just take a damn bath while we're at it. Chop chop, no excuses!

My hand reached out on its own to push me off the floor, which I could tell was actually Shrimpy's doing rather than my own actions. It put at least enough wind in my sails to at least start getting me moving, the moment I did I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

"Uch-Uchiha-san..." I mumbled Sasuke's family name, feeling a combination of both terror and dread. When I couldn't think of anything else to say, I felt words form themselves on my lips. "What are you doing here? Where's the rest of your team, or Gai-san?"

Sasuke didn't say anything at first, just watching me with a blank expression on his face. It was as if he was trying to look for a sign of something, something specific. When it seemed like he didn't see what he was looking for, he let out a small hum and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Kakashi-sensei wanted to make sure you weren't by yourself while he and Gai-san dealt with the... bridge, and the villagers that might have seen what happened there." He explained, seeming to at least be trying to be tactful, even as it seemed to make him a little green in the face. "Naruto and Sakura are watching out to make sure that none of Gato's mercenaries will try to follow you back here and try to get some sort of revenge, and I volunteered to keep an eye on you..."

"Is that so..." I managed to say, feeling a pang of disappointment that neither of the Jonins were here right now.

They'll be here as soon as they can. You know that they wouldn't just leave you out to dry, right?

Yeah. Yeah, I know.

"You obviously have something you want to say." I muttered to the other ninja, not looking him in the eyes. "So whatever it is you have to say, then just go ahead and say it."

He's definitely going to compare me to Itachi, I just know it. He probably hates me now-

Hey, none of that! Not on the carpet!

"...I don't think you're as bad of a person as you seem to believe you are." Was what I heard instead.

I couldn't help but blink in surprise, and looked up to see that Sasuke was looking at me with an intense gaze in his eyes.

A pair of Sharingan eyes...

"How..."

"Does it really matter right now?" The Uchiha asked seriously. "You saved a lot of people's lives, and... had to make a hard choice to make sure they were safe. It... reminded me of someone that I used to... look up to."

Oh... damn. Is this actually happening right now?

I don't know. Maybe I should pinch myself?

Don't.

"I... thank you, I guess." My hand tightened around the covers that at least made me look decently like a real person and not some sort of fairytale creature made out of blood. "Actually, do you mind if I ask you for a favor?"

"Hn." The boy nodded.

"Do you mind getting a set of clothes out of one of my spare scrolls?" I asked, gesturing in the direction of my sleeping set up with my head.

When the boy nodded again, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." I said before turning around, making my way out of the room and down the hall to the washroom. I paused and turned around. "Actually, bring the scroll labeled with a little soap icon too!"

Lemon and seltzer water for blood. I'm glad that I remembered to pack that.

Good job past me.

Thanks.

...Oh fuck off.

It took an ungodly amount of time of me silently scrubbing and rubbing at both my skin and my clothes in order to get it all out again, to the point where I think that Tazuna's probably either going to have to get an exorcism or invest in a new bathtub. It was pretty much stained permanently pink by the time I was through with it all.

My skin felt raw, my hair was wet and heavy on my head, but at the very least I was finally clean.

Now that I was presentable, I made my way towards the outside of the house to look for the bowling miniatures that Shrimpy had pointed out to me before. Moving around to the side of the building, I could see a set of seven pins and a pair of wood carved balls. They were too small to have holes drilled into them for fingers, one fitting into the palm of my hand and the other only being a slight bit larger. I wiped off the dust and cobwebs from them and went about finding a place to set them up.

All the while, Sasuke was watching me nearby.

"Are you just gonna keep watching, or are you gonna join in?" I asked him, my voice having a bit of dry sarcasm starting to bleed in. I held up the smaller of the two bowling balls to him, which he eventually took without a word. "Thinking we'll do ten rounds of this, two throws a round unless you get them all in one go, and then count the total number of pins knocked over to see who wins? No Chakra since that would make it too easy, though."

Sasuke looked at the setup, then me, then the wooden ball in his hand.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked seriously, thankfully no longer displaying the infamous eyes of his clan like he had been doing earlier. "You were just..."

"I don't think I'm going to be okay after today." I started, before throwing my own ball into a roll, and knocking over five of the pins in one go. The last two were paired up, so that would make it easy to finish them off once I retrieved the bowling ball. "But I remember reading somewhere that playing certain kinds of games within the first six hours or so after some big, traumatic incident can help to minimize all of the messy emotional stuff after the fact."

"And you think it'll work?"

"Don't know, but it's at least worth a try." When I got back to the starting position, I rolled the ball into the last two pins. Not really a spare since there were only seven pins instead of the usual ten, but it was close enough. "It was either this or doing nothing but being alone with my own thoughts, and that wasn't working at all. I'm sure you'd understand how that feels?"

Sasuke's lip twitched downwards, not saying anything for a moment. Then, he stepped up and began to reset the pins. Once that was done, he went back and threw his own ball at them.

A strike, smashing straight through all the pins and continuing on for a bit before stopping.

"I do." He confirmed. "That means we're tied for seven each, right?"

I felt my own lip starting to twitch upwards a bit, and gave a quiet nod.

"You fucking cheated. I don't care what you have to say about it." I complained whilst resetting the pins for the next game, determined to win the next one. "How did you roll a perfect game the first time you ever played? it doesn't even make any sense!"

"I'm a prodigy." Was the last Uchiha's reply, the slightest bit of a smirk sitting smugly on his face.

"You're a cheating fucking bastard, that's what you are." I grumbled as we started over again. This time I didn't hold back - I still didn't use any Chakra, instead just going all out on my throws - and knocked all the pins down in one go with a strike. "How about for this one we have a bit of a wager? Whoever loses has to pay for a meal from the winner's favorite restaurant?"

"No. I'd rather like to not have my clan's account's drained just so you can gorge yourself on ramen."

"Are you saying you'll lose?"

"I didn't say that." Sasuke grunted as he got ready for his own turn. "I'm just not a fan of gambling. Maybe you can trick Naruto into funding your addiction instead."

"...You really are a bastard, aren't you."

"I'll have you know that my parents were very much faithful to each other, thank you very much."

Since when the hell was Sasuke such a sassy bitch?!

A/N: Delayed post again, sorry for the wait. I think I'm finally starting to get back into my Naruto muse again, so hopefully that means that I'll start posting this more frequently.

On a related note, I think this will be the first part of a three parter where Ami will spend some time with each of the Team 7 Genin before we finally head back to Konoha. Sort of to just explore the way that they're taking what happened. Because of that, the next part will be Ami and Naruto!

Sakura's last, since I think that one's going to be the biggest doozy.

Have a good one!