[Forest Near Gatō's Hideout — Late Night]
Naruto crouched beneath the tangled shadows of the trees, breath slow, mind racing.
The cold earth beneath his feet steadied him. The damp scent of moss and salt hung in the air.
He had seen enough.
Three dozen armed men. A dozen terrified women.One false move — and it would all collapse.
I can't fight them all. Not with the women trapped behind me. Not without risking them first.
His fists tightened against the bark of a low branch.
And yet... to wait? To leave them there one more night?To let them suffer — knowing what that meant?Knowing every hour could bring another cruelty, another scar?
His stomach twisted.
That wasn't a choice he could live with.
Not anymore.
He forced his breath calm, running through possibilities.
A full frontal attack was suicide.
Sneaking them out one by one? Too many guards. Too many eyes.
Think, Naruto. Think.
Another plan — clone diversions? Maybe. But too chaotic. Too dangerous with the women caged.
What about sealing the guards in somehow?No — he neither have the tools nor enough knowledge about it.
A grim silence pressed against him.He could almost hear the faint echoes of laughter from the compound behind the trees.
Then — a flicker.
A faint shift of air behind him.
Naruto stilled — breath even, posture relaxed but ready.
The seal etched into his right wrist waited.A single pulse of intent was all it would take.
At his will, his chokutō would appear in his grasp — no wasted motion.
But no threat struck.
Instead — a voice, soft as wind through leaves:
"You think too loudly."
Naruto's gaze snapped back — sharp, wary.
A slender figure stood among the tangled branches, half-shadowed beneath the moonlight.
Long black hair flowed down a slight frame, still and silent.A pale hunter's mask — blank, elegant — covered the face beneath, empty eyes gleaming faintly in the dark.
Haku.
Naruto kept his stance loose — ready, but not summoning steel. Not yet.
"You've been watching me."
A slight nod.
"Since you left the builder's house."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Zabuza's order?"
A faint shake of the head.
"No. He knows nothing of this." A pause. "I... wished to see what you would do."
Naruto frowned — weighing the words. "Why?"
Haku tilted his head slightly.
"You are a good shinobi," he said softly. "Strong... and kind. Not many hold both. I was curious."
Silence stretched — neither cold nor warm.
Then Haku's gaze flicked toward the compound beyond the trees.
"I saw where you went. Saw what you found."
Naruto exhaled — slow and quiet.
"I can't fight through three dozen men with a dozen terrified women behind me. I won't risk it."
"No," Haku agreed. "You cannot."
"I can't leave them."
Haku gave a small nod.
"Nor should you."
After a pause, Haku continued:
"You know their number?"
Naruto nodded.
"Three dozen. Loose. Greedy. Not well-trained. Cage in the back. One exit."
Haku's voice was a low hum:
"I counted the same."
Another breath — quiet tension between them.
Naruto's voice stayed low, precise:
"I saw the money. Locked inside."
Haku's eyes gleamed faintly behind the mask.
"My master fights for coin," he said simply. "But he would not mourn Gatō."
Naruto's gaze sharpened.
"He wants payment. I want those women safe."
A moment passed — cool night wind rustling the branches.
"Then we may both have what we seek," Haku replied.His tone softened — a hint of something beneath the mask:"You are more dangerous than I thought."
Naruto's right wrist felt warm — the seal ready.
"And tonight," he murmured, "I need to be."
[Forest Near Gatō's Hideout — Midnight]
The moon hung high and cold, silvered light breaking faint through the dense canopy. The ground was damp beneath their feet, layered with old leaves and moss.
Two shinobi stood beneath the trees — both young, both lethal — bound for the same goal.
Naruto knelt by the base of a thick trunk, breath steady. His eyes were sharp with thought — mind spinning through plans, discarding them as fast as they came.
Too many guards.Too many lives at stake.And time running thin.
Haku crouched across from him, masked face unreadable beneath long black hair that spilled past his shoulders. The faintest frost clung to his sleeves — as though even the night itself bowed to his will.
They moved lower — into a hollow beneath tangled brush, shielded from stray eyes. The shadows wrapped them in silence.
Naruto's voice came first — low, deliberate.
"I'll need to reach the cage fast. The guards nearby — they die first. No warning. No noise."
Haku tilted his head — gaze narrowing behind the pale mask.
"I can create a diversion — force the outer guards toward the gate. The inner room will thin. You will have your opening."
Naruto's eyes flicked to the trees.
"Your Ice Release?"
A faint nod.
"Enough to trap. Enough to frighten. Zabuza will not question it if I claim the guards were too slow to match Konoha shinobi."
A pause hung between them — brief, weighted.
Then Naruto nodded once.
"Good. When they're drawn out, I strike."
He tapped his right wrist lightly — where the sealing array waited beneath cloth and skin. No sheath at his side — only will and chakra would summon the blade.
A long breath passed between them.
Naruto's tone lowered further — each word precise.
"Once I'm there — I break the lock. I will create clones. They'll escort the women back to the village."
He hesitated — then added, eyes darkening:
"And I'm taking all of Gatō's money. If it keeps funding more of this filth — we gain nothing."
For the first time, something shifted behind Haku's mask — a flicker of approval. Of shared understanding.
"Zabuza was promised five million ryō," he said softly, voice colder now. "Yet what you saw... Gatō hoards far more."
Naruto's jaw set.
"Ten million. Yours. For this help. No strings."
A breathless pause.
Two shinobi weighed one another in silence.
Then — at last — Haku inclined his head.
"So be it. I accept."
Their eyes met beneath the stars — not as enemies, not tonight, maybe never.
As comrades bound by a shared purpose.
They lingered but a moment more — the weight of the task clear between them.
Then Naruto's lips curved faintly — grim, resolute.
"Let's end this."
Haku's voice, cold as the ice he shaped:
"For their sake — yes."
And with no further word, the two figures vanished into the darkness — one trailing a ripple of frost, the other a shadow waiting to strike — their plan set, blades sharp, resolve colder than the night itself.