The difference she made

"So Naruto-sempai, what are we going to do?" Sakura asked as the trio of genin sat at Tazuna's table over a small meal.

"Isn't it obvious Sakura? At the moment Zabuza is out of commission but his accomplice isn't, so the smartest option would be to launch a pre-emptive strike and eliminate Gato before he can hire more ninja," Naruto stated with his eyes lacking any of their usual warmth.

"So how are we going to do it?" the pinkette asked.

"Sakura, you will stay here and ensure Tazuna and Tsunami's safety, while me and Sasuke deal with Gato and his thugs."

"That's not possible, Gato has an army at his disposal, you won't stand a chance!" Tsunami shouted upon hearing the basics of the plan.

"Don't worry too much Tsunami, for one thing, killing Zabuza and Gato will be up to Sasuke, while I'll deal with the thugs and trust me when I say this but a group of thugs don't stand a chance against an incomplete Hiraishin," the blond said calmly.

"But what about the hunter-nin? Who'll kill him?" the least experienced genin asked in concern.

"No one will kill the hunter-nin… I'll restrain him," Sasuke stated calmly.

"Huh? Why are you planning on restraining the enemy?" Tazuna asked in confusion.

"Tazuna, we are ninja, it is our job to do what is best for our village and at the moment, capturing the hunter-nin is at the top of that list," Naruto informed him.

"Huh? What's so special about that hunter-nin?" the youngest girl asked.

"They possessed the Hyōton Kekkei Genkai… a bloodline that is believed to be extinct, if we successfully capture them and take them to Konoha, they can be used to start a new clan and increase Konoha's power," the blond explained.

"What if they don't want to start a clan in Konoha?" Tsunami asked.

"They won't have a choice."

"…"

"What do you mean they won't have a choice?" the old bridge builder asked nervously.

"They will either start a clan willingly… or be used as breeding stock."

"WHAT! That's horrible! Why are you even considering something like that?" the provider of the meal asked in outrage.

"Because we are ninja. No matter which village you go to, it is the same, if a bloodline comes into possession of the village it will either be exterminated or exploited. As ninja we have to put aside our personal opinions on the matter and deal with it in a cold and ruthless manner, I don't expect you to understand Tsunami-san," Naruto stated coldly, shocking the woman yet again, "what about you Sakura?"

"I… I don't like it, but being a ninja, there will be many things I don't like so I'll just have to put up with it."

"That's exactly how it should be."

"But you don't have to capture the hunter-nin, you could easily just kill them and pretend they never had a bloodline in the first place," Tazuna said hoping that the duo would change their mind.

"We could, but our top priority is making sure that Konoha remains the strongest village on the continent, which a new bloodline WILL help towards," the blond verified.

"Kaasan, I'm home," came a call from the front door as a short boy wearing a bucket over his head walked into the room.

"Inari, I'm back with some super ninja!" the drunken bridge builder shouted upon hearing the call, causing the child to look at the trio of genin.

"You'll die," came the deadpanned statement of the bucket wearing brat.

"Then we'll die… it's sort of in the job description," Naruto deadpanned to the young child.

"…"

"…"

"Anyway, I'll send some Kage bunshin to scope out the area. We'll make our move tomorrow night," the blond leader said seriously before standing up from his seat and walking out of the front door.

"Where is he going?" Tsunami asked with concern lacing her voice.

"Oh, he's just making a few Kage bunshin," came the answer from the dark haired genin.

"Is that a few, or a few hundred?" Sakura asked, fully aware of how many the blond could make without so much as breaking a sweat.

"A few hundred."

"What's so special about Kage bunshin?" Tazuna asked unaware of the ninja technique.

"It is a technique that splits a ninja's chakra into equal sized portions and uses those portions to create a perfect replica of the original. When the fakes are destroyed or dispersed everything they learned during their life is transferred to the original, meaning he's going to use them to scout the area and find Gato's hideout," Sasuke explained, just before the blond returned.

"Alright, I'm keeping some bunshins back to keep watch, so for now let's just get an early night, we need to be ready for tomorrow," Naruto decided, earning no complaints from his teammates.

"Oh, I've prepared a couple of rooms for you upstairs," Tsunami told them, before being thanked as the trio proceeded towards their rooms.

"So what do you think Tsunami?" Tazuna asked the young woman as Inari listened on.

"They seem so… cold and ruthless, I can't believe they're just children," came the reply.

"I know… on the way here we were ambushed by a pair of ninja… I thought I was a goner, but those boys killed them before they could react, then another guy, much bigger and incredibly strong showed up… and the dark haired one beat this guy one on one… would've killed him too if another one showed up and saved him," Tazuna told his daughter, shocking both her and the child, "those two might be young… but they're both really strong and merciless killers… and to think I complained about being given children as bodyguards."

"It doesn't matter, Gato will kill them. He's too strong," Inari claimed before heading upstairs and to his room.

XXX

"Alright team, Gato's hideout is located approximately fifteen miles south-east of here, this is where he and the majority of his forces are located. However there is an adjustment required to our original plan. Zabuza, his accomplice and a token force are located approximately ten miles west of the main hideout, obviously Zabuza and Gato don't trust each other enough to stay in the same area as the other," Naruto informed the other members of team 7, "so now the plan is this, I'll sneak into Gato's main base of operations and take his head and anything of importance. Once I've sealed everything away, I'll proceed to demolish the base before killing any remaining units. Sasuke will take out Zabuza's base and capture the hunter-nin. Once the hunter-nin has been neutralized, then you'll finish off Zabuza, we don't know how loyal the accomplice is so I don't want to risk them dying to protect the swordsman."

"Understood," came the reply from the dark haired genin as Sakura remained silent.

"What's the point? You'll just die," the youngest occupant of the house asked in irritation.

"The point is that it's our job to make sure your grandfather survives… this is the most effective plan we have and as such, we will attempt to complete it regardless of the consequences," Naruto stated calmly, angering the young child.

"If you think you're being heroic then,"

"Heroic? We're ninja, we're not heroic, we simply do our job and that's it. If you think we're trying to be heroes then you're just being stupid," the leader of team 7 practically laughed out.

"But why? Why are you trying so hard?"

"Because despite the fact that we accept that we could die any day, we don't want to die, so we try our hardest to make sure we survive, so that we can return to our loved ones and continue to enjoy life," the whiskered genin told the child, shocking the child, "now if you don't mind, we have to prepare for our parts in the mission."

With that said the trio of genin proceeded to stand from their chairs and start their preparations for their parts of the job.

XXX

By the end of the day, Tazuna's house was completely surrounded in traps courtesy of Sakura taking her responsibility over the clients safety seriously, while both Naruto and Sasuke had proceeded to ensure that they were fully stocked on the appropriate equipment, such as high power explosive notes for Naruto and a fully sharpened blade for Sasuke.

The trio had also ensured that they had warmed up for the operation to ensure that they were at optimal fighting prowess for when they entered open conflict.

"Alright, from here, we're on our own with only our headsets to pass on the operation success, so make sure you don't take any unnecessary risks… alright, lets' go!" and with that short pep talk from Naruto, the boys proceeded to leave towards their targets.

"I hope they'll be okay," Tsunami said quietly as Sakura began to focus on her job.

"Don't worry… if there is one thing I know, it is that they won't die against simple thugs," Sakura said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know them, if something does go wrong, they're skilled enough to adapt and overcome… that's just the way they are."

"I hope you're right, for their sakes."

XXX

Naruto had arrived at Gato's main hideout approximately fifteen minutes ago and to no great surprise, he had already succeeded in setting his high level explosive tags at the foundations of the building, when he was ready, he would set off the explosives destroying the buildings support, effectively forcing it to collapse on itself.

However, he had to ensure he got Gato's head first, so with that in mind, he proceeded to ascend the large building in search of the man he had heard was a midget.

Easily avoiding all the untrained guards, Naruto eventually came across a far more decorative door than the others in the building, easily realizing that it led to his target due to the pair of guards standing in front of it.

Placing a single piece of paper to the ceiling he was currently sticking to, the young blond proceeded to jump between the stunned guards, before all three of them vanished in a puff of smoke.

The guards were too stunned to do anything when they suddenly found themselves in the woods outside the base… they didn't stay stunned for long when Naruto used a simple Kunai to slice their throats open, sending a fine spray of blood across the trees surrounding them.

"(sigh) it might not be complete, but it's more than enough to deal with simple thugs," the blond muttered before focusing on the piece of paper he left outside Gato's office, before suddenly appearing in the hall with a puff of smoke.

Walking up to the decorative door, Naruto proceeded to place a henge of one of the guards he killed over himself before opening the door.

"Gato-sama, there is someone here demanding to speak with you," the henged blond stated, earning a sharp glare off the short 'businessman'.

"What have I told you about disturbing me like this?" the vertically challenged tyrant shouted at the ninja, before his eyes widened in shock as a kunai embedded itself in his forehead, causing the tiny terror to slump over his table.

"I don't really care," Naruto said before releasing his henge and removing the kunai from his victims head and using it to saw through the smartly dressed mans neck.

XXX

"Tch… that was easier than I expected," Sasuke muttered as he watched the last of the thugs guarding Zabuza fall to the floor courtesy of a missing head. Quickly activating his sharingan, the young Uchiha proceeded to search out any remaining chakra signatures, eventually finding a faint glow within the base.

Proceeding to make his way through the short corridors, it didn't take long for him to find a large room with the familiar Kiri nin laying on a bed in the middle of the room and standing protectively in front of him was the hunter-nin, with several senbon in hand.

"I will not allow you to harm Zabuza-sama," the individual stated coldly.

"There's nothing you can do about it," was Sasuke's simple reply, before his opponent began to spasm and fall to the ground.

"W-what?" was all that the hunter nin could sputter out, before the raven haired genin fazed out of existence and appeared with his sword impaling the incapacitated nuke-nin's heart, "NO! Zabuza-sama!"

"Quiet," was Sasuke's order, before making eye contact with the young hunter, who immediately lost consciousness.

"This is hawkeye, I've secured the target and neutralized all threats," the last Uchiha stated into his headset before sealing Zabuza's body and blade into a scroll and binding the hunters limbs before slinging them over his shoulder and walking back to Tazuna's residence.

XXX

Naruto had to admit that Gato wasn't exactly the best when it came to securing his assets, when the blond easily managed to use what he found within the office to crack his safe and accounts, sealing away everything of value before vanishing in a puff of smoke and appearing in the same place he had taken the guards.

Lifting a single hand in a half tora seal, he muttered a simple "Katsu."

Immediately there was a large explosion as the large mansion Gato had been using as his base of operations collapsed in on itself, crushing everyone left inside it and in the surrounding area.

Throwing a single kunai into the unaffected area, he focused his chakra and muttered a simple, "kunai kage bunshin," before the knife multiplied into several hundred, skewering dozens of surviving bandits, before the final survivors were eliminated in a puff of smoke when the blond used a reverse summoning seal located on the handles to appear too quickly for the untrained thugs to react.

"KMO here, assets secure and all threats have been neutralized, heading back now," and with that said the blond proceeded to leave the area and make his way back to Tazuna's residence with a couple of new scrolls attached to his belt.

XXX

"That's good news, both have completed their parts of the mission," Sakura informed the family as they sat at the table.

"What? That's impossible, Gato is invincible!" Inari shouted in outrage at the claim.

"You make it sound like you don't want Gato to die," the pinkette said quietly.

"What? Of course I want him dead, but he's too strong!" the young child answered angrily.

"When Naruto-sempai gets back, you can see the proof for yourself," the young girl told him before they proceeded to wait for the rest of the teams return.

XXX

It came as a surprise to the civilians when the duo arrived back at the same time, one carrying a pair of scrolls, while the other carried a scroll and a young person.

"Alright, this should make the mission simpler," Naruto stated as he proceeded to unseal the severed head of the crime lord as proof of the kill.

"W-w-what? B-but that's impossible, Gato is invincible," the bucket wearing child stuttered out in shock upon seeing the face of the person that brought down their country.

"Do you want to know something Inari, Gato was dead before he even knew what was happening, that is what a ninja does. They rarely face their opponents head on, they kill them when they least expect it, that is why we succeeded, because our enemies weren't prepared for us, because we took the initiative and neutralised the threat they posed before they could do anything," the blond leader explained to the shocked child.

"So this means that, we can finally finish the bridge without having to worry about Gato," Tsunami said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"That's not all, this is for Nami," Naruto stated as he passed the other scroll to the bridge builder, "I've already removed the appropriate funding for an A-rank mission, so you won't owe Konoha anything from this," he informed them before unsealing the fortune that Gato had amassed.

"A-amazing, you truly deserve to be called heroes for this," Tazuna said joyfully.

"No, we don't deserve to be called heroes for the simple fact that this is our job, we would be heroes if we did this for nothing, but we didn't, so it isn't right to call us a name like that," the blond told the old man seriously.

"But you've saved our country!"

"Because we're getting paid for it."

"But I requested this as a C-rank when it was really an A-rank!"

"And we continued because we realised that you would repay the difference when you could."

"Why do I get the impression that you just don't like the idea of being called a hero?" Tsunami asked him.

"Because we're ninja, ninja aren't supposed to be heroes, they are supposed to be shadows, ruthless killers that would slit a baby's throat for the right price," Naruto stated coldly, slightly scaring the mother with his brutal honesty.

"Yo, where am I to put this?" Sasuke asked, motioning to the body that was still slumped over his shoulder.

"Put it in our bedroom, I don't want it to be unsupervised at any point in time," Naruto ordered his raven haired partner, who with a curt nod, proceeded to take the captive up the stairs.

"Anyway, I'll be taking this," the blond said as he picked up the severed head and proceeded to walk towards the front door.

"Wait, where are you going?" the single mother asked.

"Let's just put it this way, tomorrow morning, the residents of Nami will be partying," and with that said, the whiskered genin left the building.

XXX

The next morning was just as the blond had predicted. Tsunami was amazed when the normally empty streets were so filled with celebrating civilians that she could barely move.

Upon reaching the centre of the town, she discovered the reason for the joyful mood… Gato's head had been mounted in the most visible area of the town, it was obvious that the message had spread like the plague, but then again, with something as big as that, it was no surprise.

XXX

Tazuna couldn't believe it. Just yesterday, he had to beg people to stay, but now everyone was coming to help with the bridges construction, each one claiming that they no longer had to worry about their families.

The aged bridge builder might not have known exactly why they had arrived, but he had a pretty good idea of what probably happened.

Then again he was just happy that the bridge of freedom would be completed before schedule.

XXX

"Alright Sakura, since Tazuna is no longer in any danger, me and Sasuke will take it in turns to teach you, that is unless you have something you are practicing already," Naruto stated as he and the pinkette stood in the middle of a small clearing in the woods.

"Hai Sempai, at the moment I'm beginning to learn the basics of nature manipulation… my affinity is Katon," she informed him militaristically.

"Heh, you don't need to be so formal anymore, has Kakashi-sempai explained the basic exercise to you yet?"

"Yes and I'm just proceeding to practice it right now."

"Well then, I guess I'll leave you to it then, if you need help Sasuke's the one to ask," the leader stated before leaving the other genin to practice her exercise.

XXX

Sasuke didn't really know what to do.

The hunter nin had asked to go to the toilet, however, as a captive he couldn't let them out of his sight… which is where the problem arose. The nin claimed to be a girl… and he didn't want to be accused of being a pervert… that would just make it harder for him to get rid of his fangirls if it ever got out.

Then it hit him.

"Tsunami-san!" he shouted.

"…"

"…"

"Tsunami-san!"

"…"

"…"

"Shit! She must have gone out… shit!" was all that Sasuke could say as he tried to think of some other way that he could keep the captive in his sights without actually watching them go to the toilet.

"What's the problem Sasuke?" came the familiar call of the blond genin on their team.

"(sigh) hunter-san here wants to go to the toilet… and also claims to be a girl."

"So? She's a captive, if she needs to go to the toilet then she'll have to either go under watch or agree to cooperate with us," the whiskered blond said while casting a cold glare at the captive, "so which will it be?"

"I don't have anything left to live for… I'll cooperate," the bound individual stated sadly.

"Name."

"Haku."

"Age."

"Fifteen."

"Rank."

"Civilian."

After a couple of minutes, the blond proceeded to remove the bindings on the young girls limbs, before leading her to the toilet.

"Sasuke, sharingan."

"Hai," came the calm response from the raven haired boy as he proceeded to activate his eyes and watch the chakra signature of the captive beyond the wall.

After several minutes, the one called Haku proceeded to leave the toilet and sit in a corner in the boys room, where she remained all the time except to go to the toilet.

XXX

One week. That was how long it took for the bridge to be completed and once it was complete, team seven proceeded to leave the town without informing anyone except Tazuna and his family. They never stayed to here the name of the bridge, instead proceeding to 'escort' their captive to Konoha where Naruto was certain they would face a scolding from the Hokage for continuing the mission despite their rank.