Sasuke Uchiha stared in disbelief at Naruto, who was trying to stay behind and hold off the enemy alone.
His fists clenched. "What the hell is that idiot talking about?!"
The image of Naruto's goofy, sunny grin from that night's dream flashed through his mind. Furious, he tightened his grip on his kunai.
There he went again. That idiot Naruto was putting himself in front of Sasuke again.
In Sasuke's world, strength was everything. Surviving and taking revenge on Konoha were his only goals.
But Naruto's almost foolish "sacrifice" drove into his closed-off heart like a thorn, loosening convictions he had always held firm.
"Why would you go this far for us? Staying alive and getting stronger are what matter most, aren't they? You colossal idiot!"
"No! Naruto, don't!" Tears sprang to Haruno Sakura's eyes at the sight.
Looking at Naruto, she understood for the first time just how much courage and resolve lay within the teammate who was always causing trouble, the one she called an "idiot."
Haku carried the barely conscious Zabuza on his back and began edging away.
Naruto's words struck a deep chord with his own willingness to die for Zabuza.
But there was a difference. Haku had been willing to sacrifice himself as a tool. Naruto had chosen to stay as a person in his own right, to protect the companions who mattered to him.
That light burned hotter and purer than any feeling Haku had ever understood.
Barely conscious, Zabuza Momochi heard those words. He forced his eyes open a crack and looked at the kid he had once scoffed at.
All his life, he had believed in hard realities and self-interest, treating emotion as a weakness.
Yet Naruto's actions, utterly foolish as they seemed to him, shone into his cold, dark view of