The Seventh Swordsman

Family

Zabuza and each of the remaining swordsmen alongwith Mei watched in stunned silence as the Commander's hands glowed a very bright green. With precision they had never imagined him to possess, Naruto carefully removed the rock shards embedded into Mangetsu's shoulder before sealing the wound. He didn't just stop there as he even recreated the bone and skin making the entire thing vanish, as if it never existed in the first place.

Haku sobbed in relief when she heard Mangetsu's whisper of peace.

She then looked at the focused man who was doing everything in his power to keep the boy amongst the world of living.

"Why go so far?" she couldn't help but ask in a whisper,

Naruto looked up even as his hands continued to heal the last of the wound and was surprised to see the entire squad having the very same question in their eyes.

He looked back at Mangetsu and thought about the question.

As a spy, he was never supposed to reveal the true extent of his powers. Even if he had not revealed everything, he had crossed a line for the boy currently breathing heavily in his arms.

For a moment, he saw Nagato's face staring back at him which made him smile.

He looked back at his comrades and even if the faces were different now, the feeling in his heart still remained the same and was the one which made him realize the answer.

"Because he's one of us" he answered resolutely,

Haku and Mei truly smiled on hearing him say that but he saw the others who were more battle hardened were yet to comprehend the full extent of his reasoning.

"All of us are different in many ways, but we are a team. We are Kiri's finest warriors entrusted with our nation's future but most importantly all we have right now is each other. We're family" said Naruto, a fierce determination present in his eyes which earned him a soft gaze of understanding from Ameyuri and Jinpachi.

"There's no such thing as family!" refused Zabuza with a growl, remembering all he had been taught in order to survive.

All he had done to survive, including murdering his own classmates in the academy. He couldn't...

"We are now"

He flinched on hearing Naruto's unwavering answer and felt something unfamiliar in his heart on seeing the look in the blonde's fierce gaze.

"Family always betrays" whispered Kisame hesitantly, memories of his own dark past coming back to haunt him.

Naruto lowered his gaze on hearing him say that knowing a part of it was true considering who he was in reality, he had no right to preach about family to the people he was spying on in the first place. But he had seen the way quite a few of them had given up on Mangetsu so easily when things went south, and as Commander he was responsible for the success of the mission.

And it would never succeed unless each member of the squad knew that they could rely on their comrades without a doubt.

"Maybe they will someday" he agreed with Kisame, making the older man look at him with a frown.

"Then why?" he asked seriously,

"You don't give up on family, no matter what" answered Naruto truthfully, as he looked at Mangetsu.

He saw Zabuza and Kisame still didn't agree with his opinion, but they were thinking about what he had said which was more than enough. Even he couldn't undo years of gruesome training these men had undergone in a few moments, but he had shown them a different path through his actions.