Chapter 37

"Ack!" I jumped as my foot stepped on something soft and fleshy. Dead body? 

"Mhhh…" groaned the body curled up by the door. 

I sighed. "Naruto! Get up! What are you doing by the door?" 

"Big Sis…" Naruto yawned, "You're back? I was waiting for you…" 

"Okay," I said, "I'm back. What do you want?" 

Naruto grinned, "I had this good idea right? So I was thinking… maybe there's a way to defeat Gato. He seems really mean. So I was thinking…" he trailed off. "Are you smirking?" 

I shook my head and laughed, "Of course not… what's your idea?" 

"Big Sis… what do you know…" asked Naruto. He was so perceptive when he was being smart. 

"Oh," I smiled, "I've already dealt with Gato. Don't worry… he won't bother us anymore." 

Naruto blinked… "What…" 

I smiled, "See? Don't worry about it…" 

"Did you kill him?" asked Naruto. 

I shook my head, "I had someone else do it. Point is, he won't be bothering anyone anymore."

"Huh?" 

I shrugged, "Just go guard the bridge builder already…" 

… 

I shivered. It was cold in the morning. The fog rolled through the half-built bridge. Unlike in canon, the villagers did not abandon Tazuna because none of Gato's goons went to harass them. Probably because they were most likely dead… 

I looked around. Naruto and Sasuke were racing to see who could build a bridge better. The villagers around them laughed and worked. They all looked so happy. Sakura was working while chatting with Tazuna. 

I yawned and picked up a long bar of stone and threw it at the boys. Naruto grinned. With the help of his shadow clones, he grabbed it and placed exactly where it was suppose to be. I grabbed another one and hurled it at Sasuke. Although he struggled a bit more, he too managed to place the heavy bar down. Aww… they were growing up so fast… 

"Ehem!" I jumped and turned around. 

The pink-haired to-be medic-nin glared at me. "Sensei, aren't you suppose to be resting?" 

"Erm…" I stratched my head and smiled, "I am?" 

"Does throwing heavy pieces of concrete count?" she asked sarcastically. 

I sighed, "I'll stop. But, I'm a medic and I can totally diagnose myself." 

"Nope," she said, "You're suppose to rest. That's what your scroll says." she started quoting, "After passing out, it is expected that the patient recieves up to a week of rest. No physical tasks, no over working or exertion." 

"Fine." 

… 

"Tazuna-san!" a man ran towards us from the direction of the village. 

Everyone tensed, worried Gato or some of his thugs where back. After what felt like hours of uncomfortable and rigid silence Tazuna asked, "Whats wrong?" 

The man panted from running. "Huff… huff… Gato… huff…" 

Everyone working froze. Naruto and Sasuke ran to him. "Hey!" Naruto grabbed the man by his shoulders and shook him. The man tried to speak but Naruto's shaking made it incomprehensible. "Baka," Sasuke pulled Naruto away, "Don't shake him. Let him talk." 

"Teme," muttered Naruto but stopped shaking. 

Then, he looked up and his face looked brighter than a thousand splendid suns. "Gato! He's gone!" 

"What?" Naruto turned to stare at me while Sasuke interrogated the man to make sure his information was correct. 

Sakura poked me. "Sensei… what did you do?" 

I smiled, "It wasn't me. It was someone else." 

She shook her head, not believing me. "Gato is dead," said the man, "His place was raided by two ninja's! He'll never bother us again!" 

The people on the bridge began to cheer and celebrate. They hugged and cried. Never again would they starve. They would not be unfairly taxed or forced to slave away for that awful man. They could feed their families and the orphans on the street could have a home. Courage would return to their land and so would their happiness and liveliness. It would take time to recover from what Gato did, but they would. Someday, they would prosper. 

*Sob* *sob* Naruto wiped his tears, watching the bridge builder rejoice. He latched onto Saske and sobbed into his shoulder. "Baka," muttered Sasuke, "You're getting your tears on me…" but he didn't push Naruto away with as much force as usual. 

… 

Dear Rin-sama, 

Thank you so much for your advice. Zabuza-sama and I have defeated Gato. You were right. We found that he had planned to get rid of us after we finished Tazuna-san. We are truly in your debt. We have sent fifty percent of Gato's money to poor villages. We have now joined Mei Terumi's rebellion. They have interesting jutsu's from my clan that I am still learning. The next time we meet, I will be much stronger. Also, Mei sends her thanks and would like to me you someday. When we win, I hope that Kiri and Konoha can set up an alliances. Of course, I would like to be part of that delegation. Before that, I must become an official genin. Zabuza-sama says that I will enjoy clearing out alligator infested sewer pipes. I do believe he is joking. I didn't know he could do that. He seems to be much happier. I have seen him smile and for that, I am grateful. Thank you, Rin-sama, for all that you have doon for me and your master. I wish you well. 

Yours, 

Haku Yuki 

… 

Dear Rin-sama, 

I am Mei Terumi, leader of the rebellion against the Yondaime Mizukage. I must thank you deeply for sending Haku and Zabuza my way. I have heard of your reputation and from what Haku tells me, you are not a demon at all. You seem to be quite warm. I hope that one day our villages will be allies. I hope to meet you some day as friends and not enemies. 

Yours,

Mei Terumi