Zabuza's Death and Recovery

Kakashi then carried Zabuza over and laid him beside Haku's body.

Haku's body lay quietly on the bridge's cold stone slabs.

His delicate face was covered in blood and dust, and his long black hair stirred in the wind, gently brushing across his tightly shut eyelids.

If not for the horrifying wound through his chest, he would have looked as though he were merely asleep.

Zabuza lay beside Haku and stared at him for a long time.

No one knew what he saw in that face.

The ferocity in his eyes gave way to numbness, then to something that had shattered beyond repair.

Then Zabuza slowly closed his eyes.

Kakashi stood to one side and did not say a word from beginning to end.

Naruto watched the scene from afar.

He did not go over, nor did he say anything.

Just then, Sakura's delighted cry broke the silence.

"Sasuke?"

Sakura had been staying by Sasuke's side, holding one of his hands while continuously wiping the tears from her face with the other.

Just moments ago, she had felt the hand in her palm twitch.

She abruptly lowered her head and met Sasuke's slowly opening eyes.

Sasuke was awake.

His consciousness was clearly still in a confused state.

His blurred gaze wavered a few times. The first thing he saw was a head of pink hair, then Sakura's tear-streaked face, and finally the gray, overcast sky above.

Sasuke tried to move, but every Senbon wound across his body erupted with sharp pain at once. He let out a muffled groan, his brows drawing tightly together.

"Sasuke, you're awake! Don't move, you're covered in injuries..."

Before Sakura could finish speaking, her body moved ahead of her mind.

She threw herself onto him, wrapping both arms tightly around Sasuke's neck and burying her face in the hollow of his shoulder. Her tears poured out as though a dam had burst.

She held him so tightly, as if she wanted to drag Sasuke back from death's doorstep.

Every wound on Sasuke's body protested under the hug, making him grimace in pain.

"Sakura, let go first. It hurts..."

He forced out the words in a hoarse voice.

In an instant, Sakura cried even louder.

Seeing Sasuke awaken, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The sunlight over the bridge finally pierced through the last layer of mist.

The sea shimmered with rippling light. Flocks of seagulls rose from the reefs, circling the bridge pillars as they cried.

Along the distant coastline of the Land of Waves, townspeople had already begun gathering toward the bridge. Carrying tools and materials, they could not wait to finish the bridge that connected them to hope.

Kakashi slung Zabuza and Haku's bodies over his shoulders. "I'll find a place to bury them..."

With that, Kakashi vanished in a Body Flicker toward the woods at the end of the bridge.

Naruto withdrew his gaze and walked toward Sasuke and Sakura.

He lowered his head to assess Sasuke's condition. Sakura had carefully removed most of the Senbon embedded in him, and his wounds had been simply bandaged to stop the bleeding. His face was still frighteningly pale, but his breathing had become much steadier.

"Can you move?"

Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, something complicated lingering in his eyes.

He remembered the last thing he had seen before losing consciousness: that terrifying red chakra erupting from Naruto's body.

And Naruto had been so calm then, like a different person. The usual restlessness and noise had vanished from his eyes, replaced by a steadiness Sasuke had never seen before.

"Stupid question..."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke braced himself against the ground with his uninjured arm and tried to stand on his own.

Sakura hurriedly supported his other shoulder and draped his arm over hers.

"Let's go back to Tazuna's house and rest first."

"In your condition, forget fighting. You can barely stand."

Sasuke wanted to argue, but his body truly refused to cooperate. In the end, with a dark expression, he could only let Sakura support him as they limped toward Tazuna's house.

Along the way, Sasuke and Sakura kept glancing at Naruto.

Was this really the Naruto they knew?

The old Naruto always walked with a bounce in his step, constantly chattering about nonsense like how he was going to become Hokage. His expressions were always exaggerated enough to make people want to punch him. He was either grinning foolishly or shouting at the top of his lungs, and if he stayed quiet for more than three minutes, he would get restless all over.

But Naruto, walking ahead of them now, moved at an unhurried pace with his back straight. His golden hair swayed lightly with the rhythm of his steps beneath the sunlight, like a quiet flame.

He did not speak or turn around. When they passed a rough stretch of road, he instinctively walked around it, then slightly tilted his head to glance back. Only after confirming Sasuke was keeping up did he continue forward.

That small gesture made Sasuke's frown deepen.

It was not as though he had never seen Naruto act serious before. In battle, this dead last occasionally displayed a surprising level of focus.

But that focus was completely different from his current calmness.

His seriousness in battle was a burning state, like gunpowder set alight.

This calmness, however, was more like bottomless water—still on the surface, with something unseen hidden beneath.

Sakura's feelings were even more direct.

As she supported Sasuke along the way, she secretly looked at Naruto more than ten times.

Naruto, who had always hovered around her and constantly shouted things like, "Sakura, I like you!" had not looked directly at her even once since earlier.

It did not feel as if he were deliberately ignoring her. It was more like he was looking at someone he knew, but was not close to.

That feeling made Sakura a little uneasy, though she could not explain why.

Naruto offered no explanation. When they looked over at him again, he merely gave them a slight smile.

Then he turned back and continued walking.

With neither Gato nor Zabuza left to obstruct them, Tazuna led the town's workers into the bridge construction at full force the next day.

The sounds of hammers striking nails, saws cutting wood, and workers chanting as they hauled stones carried from the town's docks in the distance. Blended with the sea breeze and rolling waves, they sounded like a lively work song.

Everyone wore smiles they had not seen in a long time. They had protected this bridge with their own hands and courage.

Kakashi returned to Tazuna's house that evening.

Deep in the woods, he found a quiet place with its back against a cliff and facing the sea. He personally dug two graves and buried Zabuza and Haku together.

"Naruto, Sakura, I'll leave Tazuna's protection to you two for now..."

After saying that, Kakashi walked to a corner, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began restoring his chakra.

The repeated clashes with Zabuza, the use of Lightning Blade and the Sharingan, and the strain of consecutive battles had pushed Kakashi's chakra reserves close to the limit his body could bear.

The Sharingan had long since been covered again by his forehead protector. Saving even a little chakra was worthwhile.

Kakashi entrusted Naruto and Sakura with protecting Tazuna and overseeing the bridge construction, having them take turns standing watch to ensure that no fool tried to take advantage of their weakness.