Momochi Zabuza did not care for how his fight was turning out. He'd had the advantage for a while, he'd thought. He'd managed to make the Copy Ninja bleed. If he could drag the fight out the Copy Ninja might even bleed out from the hit he got in when Mei's little light show ignited over the bridge.

But just when he was feeling confident dogs, not wolves, fucking dogs, burst out of the ground and fixed him in place with jaws that bit down to bone. The dogs could easily kill him from their positions, numerous important veins were inches from ivory jaws of the six dogs latched onto his body. It would be a bloody and painful way to go.

Kakashi showed himself to be either very thorough or too softhearted to have a man be ripped limb from limb. The Konoha ninja was gathering chakra in his hand, so much that Zabuza could see it with the naked eye. Then light began to spark and scream.

He was out of tricks. He was going to die. There was no way that Kakashi would be able to miss and there was no way an attack of that power wouldn't kill him.

He would die, and he couldn't help but be surprised on what his last thoughts were turning towards. Not past regrets. Not how his ambitions would go unfulfilled. Not even a last compliment to his opponent.

All he could think was that it was good that Mei and Orochitama would probably pick up Haku after he died.

Then an ice mirror manifested beside him.

His tool, his apprentice, didn't get a chance to touch the ground before hand wreathed in lighting punched straight through Haku.

Blood splattered against Zabuza's face, even as the hounds holding him disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The attack missed Zabuza entirely, but he felt it pierce his heart. Haku would die. A wound like that couldn't be fixed, too many vital organs were in the chest. Haku would die. For him.

He buried his emotion.

"Well done Haku." He congratulated, hoping his apprentice could hear it.

Then he swung his sword to cut through both Kakashi and Haku. The Copy Nin leaped back, cradling the limp body in his arms as he did so. A meaningless gesture to a corpse.

"Wait!" Kakashi called. "He isn't-"

"Save me your platitudes Hatake." Zabuza shook his head and took a step forward. His body screamed at him. The muscles responsible for moving his legs had been mauled by the mutts from before. Walking, much less running, would be painful for a while.

"Demon of the Mist?" A voice mocked from the mist before Gato and more than three dozen thugs walked forward. "I see your reputation was undeserved."

Gato was here? Why? He should be hiding somewhere so the snake slithering around didn't get him.

Then again, it's not like he could hide anywhere on the island that would keep him safe. But arriving at the site of a ninja battle with thugs didn't seem like his thing. He only cared about power and money.

"Why are you here Gato? This is my fight."

"Ha! A fight you are losing." Gato stated as he walked forward, strolling towards where Kakashi had placed Haku's body. Ill intent towards the corpse.

Just because Haku had...humiliated Gato and almost broke his wrist.

Fuck. Gato was here to kill them all because of his wounded pride. He didn't want to kill the moron. No, that wasn't correct. He really wanted to kill him, but his goals mandated that he not. The Mist rebellion would still have use for him.

"Leave Gato. I'll still give you the bridge builder's head."

"No. I'm going to clean up your mess. And take out all you bleeding and tired ninja in one go." The man sneered.

Well if he was that stupid, no saving him now.

"Ara ara, you really haven't been paying attention, Gato-san." Zabuza turned and watched as Orochitama approached, a pale and twitching Mei thrown over her shoulder with all the care of a bag of rice. The answer to how that fight went apparent, as Tama appeared to be untouched minus some frizzy hair.

"Who the fuck are you?" Gato asked in surprise, though the man seemed to realize that he might actually be in some trouble, because he began to slowly step back.

"Why Gato! I'm the one who just took your empire."

The business tycoon looked confused.

Then the sound a flute split the air and giant oni of bulging muscle with a blindfold landed on the bridge. A meter wide safe sat under the thing's arm like a kid holding a soccer ball.

"Is that-" Gato started.

"Your own personal safe where you've stored all your liquid cash and valuable items? Why yes it is." The Sannin says as she dumps Mei's body and examines her fingernails.

Then another Orochitama appeared, a solid clone of some sort. More importantly was what this copy was holding. Under her arm, wriggling like an unruly sack of potatoes, was Haku. His apprentice was alive.

"What? How did-" he had seen and smelled blood. He wasn't aware of any clones that allowed for that.

Zabuza glanced to the body from before. It rested in a pool of blood. Too much blood. Kakashi should have pierced it through the heart, which should have stopped most of the bleeding.

"Oh that? Just a Blood Clone. Terribly messy things without much use. They require blood equal to their mass to be made. A local boar donated to the cause." Orochitama stated, Haku still under her arm and hanging his head in embarrassment.

All his energy seemed to leave him at once. He was tired. He was sore. He had no reason to fight anymore, and the only person in the world he gave half a damn about was alive.

This job sucked. He was over Wave.

"Where the hell did you get my safe? You think some illusion will scare me!" Gato shouted.

"Ara ara! Of course I don't expect that to scare you." The snake woman said as she released Haku. The woman took slow, deliberate steps towards the shipping tycoon. A smile that would look kind, if not for her cold eyes. "I plan on handling that part myself."

Oh yeah. Him. Well, it wasn't his problem anymore.

----

His fight ended abruptly, in a way he half expected, and one of the most powerful ninja to ever turn traitor was threatening a group of civilian thugs. There was a lot there Kakashi figured he should care about. The major thing capturing his attention was the unconscious woman tied up on the Sanin's shoulder.

Terumi Mei. One of Mist's few S-ranked ninjas. One that was still a part of Mist and absolutely shouldn't have be cavorting with one her villages worst traitors. Meaning there was either a new S-ranked traitor about, Zabuza was just a deniable asset, or this was about the rumors he'd been hearing about a budding rebellion in Mist. None of these options were good and had the possibility of breaking the tenuous balance between the various hidden villages.

This was well out of his paygrade, much less his student's paygrade.

"You think I'm gonna get scared off by a pair of tits and some illusions?" Gato sneered.

It was refreshing to see some constants though. Some people were just too dumb to live.

"Oh Gato, you flatterer." Orochitama said in a far too complimentary voice. "While they do inspire awe, they are hardly the important things at the moment. The first is the song of the people."

Kakashi heard it as soon as it was pointed out. People. Lots of them, moving down the bridge. He had an idea of who it was, but he didn't live this long as a ninja without being cautious. He half turned, so he could watch both Orochitama and the oncoming noise. The beating of metal, the stomping of feet, and wood striking the ground grew louder as the people of Wave stepped through the mist, a rhythmic cry keeping them going. The cry was less a song, and more the sound of a people collectively releasing frustration all at once. At the head of the mob stood Tsunami, with a bloodstained apron and a katana held forward to direct the people.

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Tazuna looked at his daughter in wonder and fear, as his eyes fixed on the blood stains in her hair and on her hands. Kakashi felt a similar feeling. Tsunami was impressive, and was deserving of awe right then; she was a hero and mother after all. He had apparently made one of his clients defend themselves, and someone almost certainly died. He just hoped the only people to die were Gato's men.

Kakashi did a quick check on his students. Sakura was bleeding. Badly. He'd need to give her medical assistance immediately. Sasuke looked like a deer just as it stumbled on a predator. His fight ended abruptly and with no closure for him and he appeared to be struggling with that. Naruto on the other hand. Well.

"Rah! Lets get him!" The boy shouted, heedless of the needles sticking out his body as he marched in time with everyone else.

Kakashi quickly motioned for his sole female student to come over to him before flopping down onto the ground next to Zabuza. The two of them were exhausted, and Gato's group wouldn't be a threat for long, considering the Sannin and the crossbows that were being leveled by the mob that he was sure had been delivered to them by a mysterious snake themed benefactor.

Zabuza beckoned his own charge over to him.

"Are you hurt?" The Demon of the Mist asked.

"No, Zabuza-sama."

The former Mist ninja sagged in relief.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted as her face went through a look of relief and apprehension over the fact that her teacher was both ignoring the threat still present on the bridge and sitting down next to the man that had been trying to kill them moments before.

"Sakura. Come over here. We need to stop that bleeding." Kakashi slightly pulled the girl to sit down in front of him to allow better access to the wound. The wound was shallow, but wide, blood loss and infection were the only concerns. He handed his student a blood replenishing pill.

"You- you peasants! You think you can take me out! You're just sheep! You can't stand up to-"

"Oh, Gato." Orochitama said. She didn't shout, but her voice was smooth as silk, but sharp as steel and instantly silenced the man. "That's the thing about lambs. When you aren't paying attention, they suddenly become lions."

The bridge echoed with the sound of crossbows clanking into firing position.

Gato grew pale. "P-protect me or you're all fired!" He yelled as he ran back into his crowd of thugs.

Sakura, realizing what was about to happen, looked away.

"No." Kakashi said, as kindly as he could. "Don't look away. This is happening because of our actions. Even good causes are paid for in blood."

At least the girl would learn the lesson from these thugs dying, and not her friends and family. The girl hesitated a moment before following his order. Kakashi caught a brief glimpse of someone jumping into the thugs back line, but he didn't manage to see what it was.

Then a single volley of bolts ended the fight. Well, a single volley of bolts followed by a snake the size of a covered wagon appearing.

The rest of Gatos men quickly gave up and the battle ended as the Free People of Wave captured the former employees of Gato's Shipping Corporation.

In the distance, a flare was launched into the air. Then a second. A third. Again and again until a dozen flares sparkled in the air in the direction of the shore of the mainland.

Kakashi glanced to Zabuza who gave him an inquisitive look back.

If it wasn't Zabuza, then it was Orochitama setting it up? It certainly wouldn't have been Konoha reinforcments, there's no way they'd have arrived yet. Even at best estimates there would be another twelve hours before they arrived.

He turned his questioning gaze to Orochitama.

She smiled in response and said simply, "Gato has twelve docks where he stores all his goods and ships."

Oh.

Oh shit.

Orochitama just became one of the richest people on the continent. She just stole all of Gato's business assets in the span of a few hours. Meaning Orochitama was working with other ninja. He knew she probably had at least a few minions, but the scale of this? That would take hundreds of ninja.

Unless... She was working for someone else? Now that was a terrifying thought. Who could possibly offer the kind of power to get Snake Sannin to work for them?

"Well, that went about as well as could be expected." Orochitama said as she looked around before turning to Zabuza. "So, would you say that your contract is finished and you are available for another one?"

Wait. What? She was trying to hire Zabuza? Now!? What could she possibly need from the Mist Ninja? Zabuza seemed to find her timing about as ridiculous as Kakashi did, as the man looked at her as if she had just grown a second head and put on a pink tutu.

Though when it came to the mad whirlwind of madness Orochitama, Kakashi probably shouldn't be that surprised if that exact scenario happened. Clearly the woman lived to do things for shock value.

"I see you need some time still." The woman chirped, "I'll let you stew on it for a bit. I'm going to help them with the prisoners and take care of Mei."

"Take care of her?" Zabuza asked meaningfully.

"Oh no. Nothing so grim. I'm just going to wake her up, give her a gift, and send her on her away whole and healthy. Well, healthy minus the bruises and aches from our wild time together." The woman said with a saucy wink.

Kakashi shuddered. He could not wait to get that woman out of his life and put this mission behind him.

Awkward silence descended over them. What do you say to the guy who was just trying to kill you? "Hey you were pretty good at almost killing me. Don't do it again." It didn't exactly flow off the tongue. Sakura also sat very still and quiet too. Though that might the pain pills catching up with her now that the adrenaline was gone. Either way, he sat about retying the bandages on his student, this time with some ointments to help healing and avoid infection.

"Is your kid okay?" Kakashi asked mildly.

"Haku is a good tool. He'd inform me if something was wrong."

A frown fell over Kakashi's face like a funeral shroud. Oh his history with that sentiment. It took him forever to realize he didn't actually believe it, but his stubborn desire to stick to it wrote checks that those around him had to cash.

"You know." Kakashi said as he gently slid the bandage into place. "You know how you tell the difference between a tool and a person?"

"Spare me your bleeding heart speech Hatake."

Kakashi ignored him and continued. "When I find my kunai to be undamaged I don't feel relief." The words slapped Zabuza in the face and the man sat up straighter.

"Come on Sakura, lets find you a place to lie down." Kakashi said as he stood.

Sakura stood and followed him. "Oh. I could use the sleep now." She said distantly.

"Me too, Sakura. Me too."

----

"And you're sure you didn't give her a double dose of poison?" I asked my little summon.

"Yes. The antidote you gave her should be enough to save her pathetic existence." Azuma responded.

I gave a sigh of relief. Mei needed to be able to become the new Mizukage eventually. The Mist rebels would really need her. She had injured Kidomaru. Hell, she pulled off one of his arms, but I couldn't hold it against her. She was just doing her job. Doing what she thought was right.

She was just doing what the shinobi world had set her up to do.

Mei gave a groan of pain. It seemed she was waking up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Mei-chan!"

The woman's eyes shot open and she attempted to stand up, and instead stumbled and fell to the ground.

"I wouldn't do that. Neurotoxin's can be quite troublesome! You should be fine a few days though."

"You! You set me up!" She said drunkenly.

Not the first line I was expecting, but I could deal with it.

"Ara ara. I knew you couldn't resist the appeal of my box." I teased. The box of exploding tags was not an insignificant value; even half full the crate would have been worth tens of millions of ryo. Something a ragtag rebellion wouldn't be able to recoup easily.

Combine that with the looming timetable of having to worry about me running back to kill Zabuza, and she had to make a snap decision. In the end she trusted her senses when they told her there was no trap. Azuma was a sneaky bastard.

Mei glared up at me hatefully. "Why am I still alive?"

"Because we're done. Gato has been taken care of. I've taken all of the companies assets, including forty-five of his fifty ships. I have all of his bank accounts. I've grabbed all his contracts. Zabuza lost his fight. It's over. You have no reason to be here any longer, and I imagine whatever cover you are using to stay here is getting thin, so you would need to be on your way."

"That doesn't explain why I'm alive." She growled again.

"Sure it does. We aren't enemies anymore, and I sympathize with your cause. Yagura is a monster."

Mei continued to glare.

"Such a scary look!" I tut. "It's the truth. Look, I'm even giving you all the remaining exploding tags back."

Mei looked in surprise to the crate she had been leaning against.

"You expect me to believe that you'll just give this to us out of the kindness of your heart?"

I place a hand on my chest. "Mei-chan! Of course I would! In fact I'll go even better. I'll help you take down Yagura when you are ready to move against him."

Mei's entire demeanor changed.

My help against Yagura and his forces greatly enhanced the probability the coup going off successfully. Few things in life were a guarantee but my participation put their chances somewhere close to that.

"And what would you want in exchange?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I've been building this brand new village. A quaint little thing. I would just ask for new and reformed Mist to give us a mutual defense pact." I said, knowing full well such a pact was also a boon for them. Having a Sannin to call in would a great deterrent to anyone looking at a Mist that was fresh out of a civil war.

"How do we know you aren't just going to jump in on Yagura's side?"

I came prepared for just that question.

"I happen to have just acquired quite the windfall! I thought Wave would be a wonderful place to find some business partners!" I pull out a small stack of papers, already turned to one of the pages. "I am turning those assets into a shipping business. I will own one third of the company, a third will be owned by the people of Wave, and a third will be owned by this really misguided but hot-"

"Me!? You're giving me a third of the company?" She stated in shock as she stared at the paper.

"Of course! I feel regular trade with the Land of Water could greatly benefit us both."

Mei slightly poured over the contract, looking for loopholes. It was a damn fine deal, and I was basically just giving her hundreds of millions of ryo.

"I- this is-" She struggled for a bit longer before finally settling on a question. "Why is it called the Pink Canoe?"

"No reason." I say quickly. "You in? This is a limited time offer."

"For now. Yes." She said.

"Wonderful! We'll have to have a girls night and discuss the details! We'll have dinner. A drink. Sexy lingerie. A pillow fight. Overthrow a military dictatorship. It'll be great."

"...Maybe I'm not in." She hesitated.

"Nonsense, Mei-chan. This will be great."

I'll wait till later to tell her that our slogan is going to be "Taking your load."