Flames of Duty

Chapter Four: Declaration of War

An instant flash was the only thing the ANBU could see before being beheaded. Even before the blood could flow from the neck, three other ANBU suffered the same fate and only then did the captain realize that the woman they had attacked had vanished into thin air.

'Where is she...?' as soon as their feet touched the ground, he and the other ANBU gathered around looking for their opponent, ignoring the corpses of their comrades and Naruto who was on the sidelines watching the fight, with no intention of intervening.

"I admit that you are fast..." said a cold female voice shocking all the ANBU, since the voice came exactly from the center of their formation "...but not enough!"

The ANBU captain was the only one to use a Kawarimi no Jutsu in time to replace himself with a rock, which was cut in half horizontally, like all the other ANBU. The man reappeared nearby, his sword in position to attack but, just like before, Haku had vanished.

Before he could even try to locate her, the edge of a blade was placed against the side of his neck, freezing him on the spot.

"Congratulations, I thought I was able to kill you with one slash, but apparently your control over the Shinigami didn't soften you at all."

The ANBU turned his head slowly and was shocked upon recognizing the sword that had killed all his comrades: the Kubikiribōchō, one of the Seven Legendary Swords of Kiri. When he finally managed to see Haku's face, even with his control of emotions, he couldn't control the chills from seeing her blood-thirsty look "Who are you...?"

In response, Haku beheaded him without thinking twice, letting his body fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The woman stood still for several seconds until someone put a hand on her shoulder. Turning slightly, she saw the calm but at the same time worried eyes of Naruto.

"Are you okay?"

Haku smiled at him "Yes, nothing serious."

Instead of letting her go, Naruto slightly tightened his grip on her shoulder "As Haku I hardly knew you, but I know when Retsu Unohana has something that disturbs her."

The woman looked back ahead before sighing "It is the first time in many years that I have felt so...euphoric. If we exclude my confrontation with Zaraki Kenpachi, it's been hundreds of years since I last spilled blood so easily, and if we add the fact that this reminds me of the days when Zabuza was still walking on this earth..."

"You're in conflict with yourself, aren't you?"

"You could say that...if you remember, I never killed anyone as Haku, or as Retsu Unohana..." after a moment of silence, her Zanpakutō returned to its basic form and Haku sheathed it "I'm afraid I may have identity problems."

"Unlikely." said Naruto without missing a beat, surprising Haku "You were and are a strong woman. You have all the qualities that have allowed you to become the captain of two divisions of the Gotei 13 without ever giving way to some challenger and you have always done your duty with dedication and skill. If there's one thing I know, it's that memories won't break your mind."

Haku smiled again, looking back at him "You've always been good with words."

"You can call it experience." snorted Naruto "Now...your Zanpakutō's Shikai is different."

"Yes, I felt a change in my sword the moment I got the memories of my past lives. Did it happen to you too?"

Naruto shook his head "No, Even though I now know who my sword really is, Shikai and Bankai are still the same."

Haku seemed confused by his words, but preferred not to dwell further on the subject and noticed one thing "Those ANBU have been following us since we arrived in Konoha."