The next day when he woke up in the room at Tazuna's house that he shared with Kakashi and Sasuke, Naruto stayed in bed for some time going over the memories of his clones from the long night before. Glad for the talk he had with Kakashi that helped settle his worrying mind over the lives he had taken the day before, and filled with a different type of purpose he never had before. He wanted to help and be with Haku, something about her beauty and kindness that drew him in, and he continued to think of the plan his clone implanted in his mind after leaving Zabuza's base and dispelling.
Knowing that he could and would never go missing nin, as he loved Konoha, Kakashi, Jiji, his teammates, his classmates, Iruka, and the Ichiraku's too much to ever abandon them, he instead thought about other possible ways to help and get more time with Haku. His clone's plan to create a blood clone to send with the missing nin pair was seemingly a good one, but he was unsure how truly versatile the blood clone could be. Could it behave just like him in every sense, could it train and grow stronger, age, survive long term away from him, have genuine feelings, and was it fair to Haku to only get a cloned version of him.
As he thought about all these things and wrestled with what he wanted to do, he was called by Kakashi to come and join everyone for breakfast, as he had let the blond sleep in long enough after the late night. Breakfast that morning was a lively affair, as Kakashi had already filled in Tazuna, Tsunami, and a stunned Inari that they had successfully killed Gato last night, and bought off the missing nin that was contracted to kill the bridge builder. With the threat to him gone, they would stay on through the completion of the bridge, and would be helping them out even further by re-distributing some of the wealth they confiscated from the short businessman that had been crippling the economy of Wave for too long.
Tazuna was practically in tears as he was told everything, and realized truly how much this small team of ninja had done not only for him and his family, but for all the people of Wave, and was beyond grateful. Tsunami too was beyond relieved that the threat to her father and village was over and done with, just like that and couldn't be happier or prouder of the group of ninjas that arrived from Konoha. Inari was simply confused, and couldn't believe how anybody could stand up to and even defeat Gato, let alone a group of kids not much older than him, and made him decide that it was time to stop whining and start standing up for himself and others.
Sakura was also very relieved to have finished with the mission, and also still terrified to close her eyes, as she spent most of the long and uncomfortable night tossing and turning over her role in the death of several of Gato's mercenaries. She just wasn't completely ready to deal with the realities of being a ninja, and not for the first time, wondered what exactly she was doing and if she really wanted to do this the rest of her probably short life. Even being on a team with her crush, Sasuke, couldn't completely convince her that it was worth it all the time, as being teammates hadn't really seemed to bring any of them all that much closer together.
Although, she would agree that her opinion of Naruto really had changed and had even grown fond of the loud and brash blond, though he rarely acted like that when they were spending time together on missions. She had seen him grow into a strong ninja, surprisingly as good as Sasuke in most ways, though she would never say he was actually better than the "Greatest Man in the World" in her eyes. She just wasn't sure what to think about her own ninja career, but could at least feel relieved that the immediate threat was past and she would have some time to reflect on what she wanted.
Sasuke was somewhat upset that they weren't going to be fighting strong ninjas, even though he was really pleased to get the chance at some real fighting experience in killing many of Gato's thugs. He was hoping to be challenged and prove his superiority over others, and show himself that he was well on his way to avenging his Clan and going after his traitorish brother. He was also thinking about the other day, and fighting the large amount of Naruto clones, and how helpful that was to be able to completely cut loose with no worries of injuring his opponent and wondered if he would be able to convince the blond to do it again.
Naruto finally decided during breakfast that he was at least going to try and create a blood clone that he would send off with Zabuza and Haku, after trying to meet with them later this morning for that promised spar with Haku. He was hoping to run his idea by Kakashi, but was concerned the jounin would order him not to do it, and he thought it might be better to ask for forgiveness than permission in this case. He did realize though, that if he sent a clone with the missing nin, he would have to completely separate that clone from anything that attached it to Konoha or himself, and would therefore need a new identity.
His pranks over the years had at least taught him quite a bit about ways to color your hair on a more lasting scale, and he decided that would be the first step. If he was traveling with Zabuza, he could always ask if he could dress like him, the bandages on the lower half of the face would easily cover his well-known whisker marks and better conceal his identity, though he would probably feel weird not wearing a shirt. Otherwise, he was pretty happy with his plan, as it would give him a way to spend more time with Haku, and possibly even learn more and spread out his clones' influences on the wider shinobi world.
When Kakashi told them all they had the day to themselves, and that he would be watching the bridge and joining Tazuna during work that day, the genin were all quite excited to have the day to themselves as they all had things on their minds. Sakura quickly retreated to her room with the promise of reading over the medical scrolls Kakashi gave her, and Sasuke claimed he was heading out to train leaving Naruto to do his own thing as well. He told his team he too would be out training, but would leave his watch clones guarding the house just in case, and even promised to send Sasuke another group of clones for him to fight as he prepared to go visit Haku and Zabuza for that promised spar.
Naruto quickly made his way to Zabuza's and Haku's cave, where he was soon showing off his clone making capabilities, and causing the two missing nins' jaws to drop at the large amount of clones and the staggering amount of chakra it took. Naruto then sent a good three hundred clones to Sasuke's training ground, and had the rest remain for the spar with Haku, who was suddenly looking much less sure of herself as she saw the area they were in filled to the brim with blond haired and blue eyed Naruto clones. The spar started with taijutsu, and while Haku definitely had the speed and skill advantage, the simply staggering amounts of clones made up for and protected the blond from any damaging hits, and was wearing down Haku much faster than the blond.
WIthin a few minutes, Haku realized she wouldn't be able to stand toe to toe with Naruto clones forever simply using taijutsu, and quickly decided to switch to her Ice Senbon to help clear out some of the nearest clones and then used her one handed seals to call forth her Ice Mirrors. She was then able to jump from mirror to mirror even faster than her usual speed which was quickly overwhelming Naruto, and the maybe two dozen clones that got trapped inside the dome of mirrors with him. Those outside tried testing attacks on the mirrors unsuccessfully, but didn't want to resort to any of the more destructive techniques in case they injured either Haku or the original Naruto inside.
Inside the dome mirrors, Naruto quickly found himself without any of his clones, as Haku's ability to throw a seemingly unlimited supply of senbon at speeds he and his clones couldn't keep up with was beyond anything he had faced yet. He had several senbon in his arms and legs before more than a minute inside the dome, and even sending several waves of shuriken multiplied by the shadow clone variant didn't penetrate the mirrors or stop Haku's assault. On the next wave of senbon, Naruto used a Futon: Great Breakthrough to scatter the senbon away from him and into the mirrors, though they did not stop Haku who only sent out another wave.
A Futon: Cyclone finally managed to prevent the Ice Senbon from penetrating Naruto's defences through more than one wave, and he was able to keep a hold of the technique now for a little over a minute usually. He used the slight break from the wind cyclone protecting him, to spawn a dozen kamikaze clones, who all leapt at the mirrors just as the cyclone was dying down. He followed that up with several shurikens that he multiplied and charged a Futon: Great Breakthrough behind them to increase their speed and power and feed the flames of the exploding clones.
Finally managing to break three of the mirrors, the dome was quickly flooded with the outside waiting clones, and Haku was forced to end her technique and yield to Naruto as she was almost out of chakra. Naruto was really proud of his accomplishment, but also very encouraging to Haku, who he regaled with the details of the fight again, often complimenting and congratulating her. Zabuza was pretty impressed with both of them, having seen Haku's Ice Mirrors before and knew how difficult they were to destroy or damage, the blond kid thought well on his feet and had a good mix of techniques that would serve him well in any fight.
Afterwards, Naruto talked to the missing nin pair about his idea to create a blood clone that could travel with him if they were agreeable, and he went home around lunchtime to prepare as they were going to move on in the next day or so. Lunch at Tazuna's house without Kakashi or Tazuna was a pretty quiet affair, and Naruto mostly talked with Tsunami a bit, and also encountered both of his teammates who seemed to be happier. Sasuke was pleased from his morning workout and training, finding that fighting the many Naruto clones was one of the better training methods he had done, and Sakura seemed to have settled down a bit having spent some time talking with a Kakashi clone about her experiences the day before.
That afternoon, alone in his training ground, Naruto created his sixth blood clone, filling him with the most chakra he ever had as he would become a front line fighter as well, as opposed to the others who mainly worked in safe support roles. He was absolutely knackered by the time he finished, and as he headed back to Tazuna's for dinner, he had the clone cutting and dying his hair to complete the change into someone not recognizable to those who knew him. He had other clones putting together a small travel bag with unmarked spare outfits, his good tent and sleeping bag, spare weapons and training gear, and more storage scrolls than were probably necessary but would most likely come in very handy.
After dinner, he told Kakashi that he was going to say goodbye to Haku and Zabuza, as they were planning to leave the next day, and got a wide smile and ruffling of his hair from the perverted cyclops for having such good taste at his age. He met up with the now short red haired blood clone who he was planning to name Asura, and the pair did a few quick tests to make sure the blood clone could handle getting stabbed in the leg, hit with a chakra technique, and handle some taijutsu abuse before they made their way to Zabuza's base for the final time. Introducing his blood clone to the two missing nin was met with some skepticism and shock, as they asked about Asura's capabilities and limitations, but were satisfied in the end that he would at least prove to be a competent and helpful team member.
That Asura could produce almost 1000 shadow clones every few hours, and other than not having a soul was pretty much just another version of the real Naruto, blew them both away. He also explained that he would still be connected to Asura, and would be able to learn what he learned and hopefully vice versa. His only concern was whether the blood clone would grow older and develop more physically, but figured they could always combat that with his transformation technique and maintain his disguise as a complete unknown.
He showed them Asura's travel pack and the access of storage scrolls, reminding them that his blood clone was a beginning Fuinjutsu user as well so their storage problems should be in the past and his knowledge and skill in that area would only be getting better. Zabuza was plenty pleased with everything, and gave Asura his blessing to join them before leading him into their base and getting his help storing all their supplies away for ease of travel. That left Haku and Naruto a few minutes to say their goodbyes, which was pretty awkward for the two shy teens when it came to relationships.
"Stay safe Haku," spoke Naruto softly, "I'll really miss you."
"Bye Naruto," whispered Haku back as they slowly gravitated towards one another even closer, "and thank you for everything."
Haku then leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Naruto's surprised lips, which he was beyond happy about and quickly returned the favor by placing one on her lips as she backed away with a large blush after her bold move. They then both stood their smiling dopey grins at one another for several moments, neither knowing what to do or wanting the moment to end. Soon they were joined back outside the cave by Zabuza and Asura, and Naruto gave them all heartfelt nods and wished them all good luck, and promised to stay safe and look out for one another.
Then they were gone, the three heading northeast towards the coast as they were leaving Wave for some of the other nearby small islands where they had a few other bases of operation. Naruto watched them go with a sad yet determined eye, knowing he would see them all again, and hoping his clone survived and thrived with the amazing pair and would get the chance to see even more of the world. The slow walk back to Tazuna's house was spent in reflection over the last few days, and thoughts about what direction he wanted to take his continued training were constantly running through his head until he was back with his team and settling down for the night.
Over the next few days, the people of Wave began celebrations in town and at the still uncompleted bridge, as they learned of Gato's death, and the end of his hold over the small island country. Tazuna was treated as the star of the moment, as most in the village now looked to the only person who had really been opposing Gato, as their de facto leader in the absence of anyone else. That he was responsible for bringing about Gato's defeat, was providing the bridge life-line to the mainland, and showed up with small monetary gifts for everyone in Wave made him a shoe in to become it's political and social leader.
The removal of Gato and his hired thugs, also allowed the original bridge workers to return to the jobsite and help speed up construction on the almost completed bridge, and would hasten the completion of this mission which all the Konoha people were very happy for. It had been a real eye opening mission for the genin, who were all excited and eager to return to the comforts or familiarity of home, but pleased that it worked out as well as it did after the shaky start. Naruto had even received some news about Asura, who arrived with Haku and Zabuza at their next base, and were currently trying to get his training up to their standards of speed and strength to increase their mobility.
For almost ten days, the genin watched as the bridge was finally completed while the entire time the people of Wave celebrated and came out to help one another recover from the long ordeal under Gato's control. They spent a lot of their free time training separately, and a few times even training together under Kakashi but mostly worked on their own things. Sasuke was very pleased, as every time he went out to train, Naruto would send along several hundred clones for him to tear through and fight until his heart was content, and returned back to Tazuna's every night pleased that he was making progress.
Naruto was actually starting to enjoy that extra training, as he had picked up several Fire techniques from his Uchiha teammate, and even though he would never be able to perform them to Sasuke's level, with his Wind boosts, he could really cause some serious damage. The biggest benefit though was in his taijutsu training, as the hundreds of clones that he kept sending to Sasuke usually always had a heavy taijutsu fighting component and his blended Hariken style was coming along really well. Sasuke could tell that the fights with the clones were continually getting harder and harder, but he saw that as a challenge to continually improve himself and was pushing the boundaries of what he thought he was capable of almost every day now and really seeing the benefits.
Naruto had even started helping Sakura a little too, though the training she wanted to do was mostly medical, which required the real Naruto as the only one who could bleed and take physical damage without too much long term suffering, and she could then work on healing. She was actually coming along pretty well, and the medical role suited her as she could show off her strong intellect and incredible chakra control, which helped boost her overall confidence. Overall, Kakashi was quite pleased that the down time on their mission, without their usual distractions or separate lives to live, his kids were really starting to come together as a team and grow.
They still had a long way to go, and each of them had holes or things they really needed to keep working on, but overall he was pleased with the progress they were making. He knew he needed to continue training his team in team fighting and strategies, but was pleased for now that all three of them seemed to be trying to improve individually and at least was starting to respect one another's talents, as that was a big step for them. He was a little nervous about Naruto, who had been much quieter since Haku and Zabuza left, but chalked it up to him missing the pretty kunoichi that he had somehow bonded with in the short amount of time he knew her.
Naruto was in fact missing Haku some, but most of his quiet was simply from the amount of information his now tens of thousands of clones were sending him all the time. Clones in Konoha had not slowed down much since he left, using the time with their boss away to study more and refine their chakra control, continue with their growing businesses on the civilian side, and slowly put together dossiers on all the members of the Civilian Council as the Hokage had asked of him. He still had thousands of clones running around Wave and training in various things, Asura was also creating clones regularly to train with Zabuza and Haku, and the staggering amount of information that was almost constantly coming into the original took time to process.
Luckily, he had discovered a way to compartmentalize new information from popping in at inopportune times while fighting or training, but in his spare time had to make an effort to clear that backlog of data he was constantly getting. So far from what he could tell, the Hokage was very pleased with his new secretary Naru, and the clone-pins were working well and doing the job they had been intended for. Already, they had saved the lives of two chunin teams that had run into trouble near the border with Rice Country, where reinforcements could be sent in time to help extract them from further trouble.
With all the influx of information coming in, Naruto was learning more than he ever thought possible, and was constantly having to make decisions for the rest of his clones when something came up that they felt unable to handle or how to handle it. Likewise, he was becoming much more accustomed to taking in facts and giving out orders than he had at any point in his life to date and it was slowly changing how he saw being a ninja. With his clones, he really could become an amazing spy master and information network all by himself, and could really help impact the role Konoha had in many areas because of it.
He was even working on a way to tap into the clone-pins when the people wearing them were training, practicing new techniques, or fighting others, hoping to expand on his arsenal of techniques and discover little things that others did that proved more successful or helpful in his shinobi development. He was still working on finding and isolating individual clone-pins to listen in on what was happening around them, but felt confident that he would be able to pull it off soon. Once he did, he was planning to get another blood clone to dedicate their full attention to listening in and learning from these many sources to help with the processing of more information as he felt he was close to the maximum he could handle.
He talked with Kakashi a bit about the shadow clone technique, and if he had ever experimented with it in any way, as he felt he was taking the technique past it's intended use and was hoping for any hints to help understand things better. Kakashi simply gave him his one-eyed smile and ruffled his hair, saying that nobody he knew had taken that technique as far as Naruto, and that he was probably already the foremost expert on anything shadow clone related. He recommended asking the Hokage, and maybe getting a chance to see if the Second Hokage had left any more details or notes on the technique, but was most likely going to have to discover and experiment on his own.
A few days later of pretty much constant training on Naruto's and Sasuke's part also brought about something neither of them expected, but was a great boon to one of them. Naruto's daily sending of clones to Sasuke had started to really push the dark haired Uchiha to continue improving to stay ahead of the many clones, who despite needing only one good hit to dispel, were becoming much harder to defeat. On that day, Sasuke had gotten overwhelmed by the increased skill of taijutsu, and when he resorted to ninjutsu, quickly found why wind trumps fire in the elemental scale as all his most powerful attacks were instantly turned back on him even hotter.
It was during one such exchange, that Sasuke had to resort to almost completely defensive measures and knew he was stuck with no way to avoid a redoubled fire attack pushed back in his face that time seemed to slow down for him. It slowed enough for him to just escape the backlash, and for the next several moments was experiencing the fight in seeming slow motion, allowing him to turn the tables on the many Naruto clones that had tried to capitalize on their seemingly successful assault. It was as he was tearing through clones with almost ease, seeming to know exactly where each one was and was going to do that a clone right in his face had wide eyes and whispered the word he had been hoping to hear for years …"sharingan."
Sasuke immediately stopped the fight, wondering if his dream of awakening his Clan's famous dojutsu had finally come true, and asked the Naruto clones what they were seeing in his eyes. After they described the red color, and unusual black mark in each eye, he rushed off to a nearby water source and looked intently at his reflection, a large smile soon adorning his face. He had done it, he awoke his sharingan eyes, and in that moment all the training he had been doing, and all the dreams he had, suddenly became worth it and achievable in his mind.
Naruto of course teased him about the eyes, saying that he was pretty enough now that his fan club would stop at nothing to get at him, but even the loud blonde or mentioning his fan club couldn't upset him at that moment. He continued to stare at his newly awakened eyes in wonder and awe before he realized why they finally evolved, he was challenged beyond his capabilities by his "dead last" teammate. From that point on, he made it his goal to get Naruto to continue to provide clones for him to fight, and finally acknowledged that his "dead last" teammate was in fact pretty okay.
By the day the bridge was completed, and Tazuna and Wave were throwing a large celebratory party commemorating the event, Naruto was ready to return home and work on a slight restructuring of his clones' chain of command. He was glad for Tazuna and the people of Wave, and graciously accepted their praise when given, but was also eager to get back to Konoha and have some ramen and return to more normality. During the bridge's dedication, he and his team were again thanked publicly, and somewhat shocked and pleased when the new bridge was named the Great Konoha Wave Bridge.
At the dedication ceremony, Tazuna was also unanimously named the new mayor of Wave, and gave Kakashi a long letter for the Hokage to open up trade with their home village with very beneficial rates for those that saved his island. Kakashi thanked Tazuna, who signed their mission scroll happily, as the people of Wave cheered while the Konoha ninja walked the bridge and left back to their village, their first C-Rank complete. Once clear from the bridge, the ninja took to the trees and set a comfortably fast pace back towards their home, all eager to return except for Kakashi, who wasn't looking forward to having to explain everything that happened.