The morning sun fell over Tazuna's house, but it brought no warmth. The pale light only served to accentuate the tense silence that had settled in since dawn.

Kakashi Hatake sat on the porch, pretending to read his book with a calm he didn't feel. His ears, trained to catch the whisper of a kunai from a hundred meters away, were fixed on the conversation filtering out from inside the house.

"The plan is too risky, Naruto. You're talking about splitting our forces against an enemy we know almost nothing about."

Sakura's voice was a sharp, precise whisper, that of a strategist evaluating a problem with too many variables.

"I know it's risky," Naruto replied, his voice just as low, but vibrating with a certainty that Kakashi found increasingly unsettling. "But it's our only advantage. Zabuza and Haku expect us to react, to defend ourselves. They don't expect us to be the ones hunting."

There was a pause, marked by the sound of a finger tracing lines across the map on the wooden table.

"Gato is a businessman, not a warrior," Naruto continued. "He hired Zabuza because he was the sharpest tool he could afford. But expensive tools that get damaged become a liability. A wounded rogue ninja hiding in his territory is a loose end. Gato won't take that risk. He'll try to eliminate Zabuza before he recovers and becomes a bigger problem."

"Your logic is sound," Sakura admitted. "If Gato attacks Zabuza, it will create chaos we can exploit. But the part about me facing him... Naruto, my skills are for control, for subtlety. I'm not a frontline fighter."

"I'm not asking you to be one," Naruto countered. "I'm asking you to manipulate the battlefield. Gato will be surrounded by thugs, not elite ninja. They're a group with no clear leader. With your threads, from a safe position, you can control their movements. A trip here, a dropped weapon there. You'll sow panic, and in the middle of the confusion, you'll keep their entire force contained. No one will know where the chaos is coming from. Your mission is to keep them busy and prevent them from reaching us."

"Naruto-kun is right, Sakura-san," Hinata's gentle voice joined in. "Your strength isn't in the final blow, but in creating the perfect opportunity for the main battle to be decided without interruptions."

Kakashi snapped his book shut with a soft click.

Enough.

He stood up and walked into the room. The three genin fell silent instantly, their faces a mixture of surprise and guilt. The map of the region Tazuna had given them was spread out on the table.

"A distraction mission, Naruto," Kakashi said, his voice devoid of its usual laziness. "And coordinated by you. I must admit, I'm impressed. And worried."

Naruto didn't flinch. He stood to face his sensei, his blue eyes locked on Kakashi's single visible eye.

"Sensei, you said it yourself. The future I remember is no longer reliable. Every second we wait, Zabuza recovers and Gato schemes. If we play defensively, we're playing by their rules. We need to be the ones who set them."

"And your plan involves leaving the client and his family protected by a single genin," Kakashi pointed out, crossing his arms. "Even if that genin is an Uchiha."

"Sasuke is enough," Naruto affirmed with unshakable confidence. "Gato will send his main thugs after Zabuza. He won't waste his best men on a threat he thinks is neutralized. He'll send a few stragglers to the house, if he sends anyone at all. Sasuke can handle them. And his presence here is crucial for the rest of the plan to work."

"And how do you plan to convince Sasuke to stay and play babysitter?" Kakashi asked, arching an eyebrow.

A slow, cunning smile spread across Naruto's lips.

"You'll do it, Sensei. You'll give him an order his pride won't let him refuse."

****

Sasuke was standing on the water of the small lake behind the house. He hadn't completely mastered the technique, but the humiliation of being outdone by his teammates was a spur that consumed any hint of fatigue. Every time his feet sank, the image of Hinata disarming Kakashi flashed in his mind, and anger drove him to try again.

"Your control has improved remarkably, Sasuke."

Kakashi's voice from behind didn't startle him. He had sensed his approach.

"It's not enough," Sasuke replied without turning, his eyes fixed on his trembling reflection in the water.

"It never is for an Uchiha, I suppose," Kakashi said with a sigh. He sat on the bank. "I have a mission for you. The most important one we'll undertake today."

Sasuke finally turned, his expression one of cold curiosity.

"Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata are heading out with me. We'll be the decoy. Our mission is to locate and neutralize Zabuza and Haku before they can launch their next attack."

"The decoy?" Sasuke repeated, the venom in his voice palpable. "And what am I? The baggage that gets left behind?"

"You are the last line of defense," Kakashi corrected, his tone turning serious, sharp. "Tsunami has informed us of something. She's received threats. Loyal fishermen have told her that Gato's men have been asking about Tazuna's house, about his daughter and grandson. They believe we are their only shield."

Sasuke clenched his fists.

"And you're leaving me here to protect civilians?"

"No," Kakashi said, his eye locking onto Sasuke's. "I'm leaving you here because you're the only one who can do it. Hinata is our scout; her Byakugan is indispensable for locating a stealth expert like Zabuza. Sakura has become a specialist in area control and analysis; her ability to manipulate the battlefield from a distance is an asset we can't afford to lose. Naruto, despite his stupidity, is the tactical core of that strange unit they've formed. He's unpredictable. I will handle Zabuza."

Kakashi stood up, brushing the dust off.

"That leaves you. The shinobi with the most refined taijutsu and the purest combat instincts. If Gato sends his men here while we're away, it won't be one or two. It'll be a dozen. It won't be a battle of exotic techniques, Sasuke. It will be a close-quarters slaughter. A test of speed, precision, and endurance. A mission that requires an annihilation specialist. And of the four of you, you're the only one qualified for that job."

Sasuke remained silent on the water. Kakashi's words were a brilliant manipulation, one that appealed directly to his wounded pride. He wasn't being sidelined; he was being designated as the specialist, the key element of the defense. The indispensable component whose unique strength was the key to everyone's survival. He was being given the responsibility his ego craved.

"Hn," was his only reply.

He landed on the shore, his feet barely making a sound.

"Don't let the dobe screw everything up. Make sure your decoy makes enough noise so I don't have to worry about an attack from behind."

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, and the smile in his eye was genuine. "Naruto is an expert at making noise."

****

The stench of rotten fish filled Gato's office, an atmosphere as thick as his own greed. The short tyrant paced in front of twenty-odd men: a collection of thugs, ronin, and mercenaries with scars and empty eyes.

"The intel is clear," Gato squawked, waving a jeweled hand. "One of my spies saw Zabuza's androgynous brat carrying his wounded master to an abandoned cabin near the falls. The great 'Demon of the Mist'... pathetic."

One of the mercenaries, a burly man with an axe slung over his back, spat on the floor.

"What are the orders, boss? You want us to go finish him off?"

"I want more than that," Gato said, stopping and turning, his small eyes gleaming with malicious paranoia. "A wounded ninja is a useless ninja. And you throw away useless tools. But he's also a loose end. I don't trust him. And I don't trust those Konoha brats who wounded him either."

He walked up to the mercenary, his breath reeking of expensive sake.

"Today, we end all our problems. Zanto," he said, addressing the man with the axe, "take five of your best men and go to the bridge builder's house. I want Tazuna, his daughter, and that snot-nosed grandson of his dead. Burn it to the ground. I want it to be a message."

Zanto grinned, a hideous sight. "Consider it done."

"The rest of you," Gato continued, addressing the crowd, "are with me. We're going to the cabin. We'll surround Zabuza and his pet, and then we'll wait. Those Konoha ninja are predictable, noble, and stupid. They'll go after Zabuza to finish the job. And when they do, they'll walk right into our trap."

His laugh was a wet, unpleasant sound.

"We'll kill everyone. Zabuza, his apprentice, and the Konoha team. I want their heads on pikes lining the bridge. I want everyone in this country to see what happens to those who dare to dream."

They moved with stealth through the forest. The sun filtered through the dense canopy, creating patterns of light and shadow on the ground. There was no conversation, only the sound of their footsteps and the whisper of the wind

****.

Hinata led the way, her white eyes scanning the landscape with an intensity that transcended normal vision.

"Kakashi-sensei," she said softly, without stopping. "Two hundred yards, to the northeast. I sense two chakra flows. One is large and turbulent, like a raging river; that must be Zabuza. The other is smaller, calm but unstable, as if exhausted; that's Haku."

"Are they moving?" Kakashi asked.

"No. They're stationary, inside a wooden structure."

Sakura, walking just behind Kakashi, closed her eyes for a moment. Her chakra threads, almost imperceptible, spread across the forest floor like a radar.

"I feel vibrations," she confirmed. "Footsteps. Many of them. Not theirs. They're coming from outside the structure. They're heavy, uncoordinated. Not trained ninja."

Naruto clenched the fist of his good arm.

"Gato," he said, and the word sounded like a curse. "He's already here. He's going to betray them."

Kakashi nodded, his expression one of calculated calm.

"It seems your prediction was correct, Naruto. This has turned into a three-way battle."

They stopped at the edge of a rise, hidden among dense ferns. From there, they had a perfect view of the scene: a small, dilapidated wooden cabin stood next to a waterfall that emptied into a pool of crystal-clear water. Surrounding the cabin, deployed in a clumsy but effective circle, were Gato's men. A dozen mercenaries armed to the teeth. And out front, watching the cabin with a sadistic smile, was Gato himself.

"They've saved us the trouble of finding them," Sakura whispered, her analytical mind already processing the layout. "But they've also cornered us. If we attack, we'll alert both Gato and Zabuza."

"Hinata, can you see inside?" Naruto asked.

Hinata pushed her Byakugan to its limit; the veins around her temples bulged visibly.

"Yes. The cabin is old, the wood is thin. I can see inside. Zabuza is lying on a futon. Haku is beside him, apparently healing him with some kind of medical ninjutsu. They haven't noticed the ambush."

Kakashi observed the scene, his jōnin mind processing the variables at lightning speed. The original plan had been to separate Zabuza from Haku. Now, the battlefield had changed.

"Naruto," Kakashi said quietly, "your plan just got a lot more complicated. Or a lot simpler."

Naruto didn't take his eyes off the scene. He saw Gato give a command. He saw the mercenaries tense, their hands on the hilts of their swords and axes. He saw the cabin, which could soon be a wooden coffin. He saw Haku, oblivious to the danger, caring for the only person who had ever given him a purpose.

The course of events had changed. The history he remembered was no longer a reliable guide. This was new. This was real. And everyone's lives hung on the next move.