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High School DxD elements.
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Nitenryū – Chapter 3
Sasuke studied the man standing on top of the sword stuck to the tree critically; his bloody red eyes gleaming as the two sets of tomoe within spun at a slow tense pace, looking, probing for even the tiniest twitch that came from the man's body.
It has only been a few hours at most since their encounter with the last couple of dark mages and Sasuke didn't know if they were that desperate to kill the old bridge builder or if this guy just worked fast but he couldn't help but curse silently to himself. Their timing couldn't have been worse. Both Natsu and Erza weren't strong enough to take this guy on while he and Naruto both had lost a good chunk of their stamina from the long hours of traveling and not to mention from the insufferable motion sickness which left Divine Dividing and Boost nearly ineffective.
Well, perhaps that wasn't really the right way to put it. Although, he said 'nearly ineffective', it did not render Divine Dividing nor Boost unusable but rather the toll they took on their bodies increased significantly. (1)
The both of them may be in possession of powerful magic, but one could say that that was also their undoing as their very own bodies weren't strong enough to completely handle that power.
Casting a look at Naruto, Sasuke noticed that he was also studying the man; his body tense with his jaw locked in place.
"Naruto." Sasuke addressed, silently conveying his thoughts.
"Yeah…" Naruto trailed off without turning to Sasuke as his eyes narrowed further before he continued. "This guy's bad news."
The man simply reeked of blood. The blood of countless men that were slain by the very sword under his feet.
And that was not counting the great levels of magic energy he boasted.
"Oh, trust me when I say, he is more than just bad news."
Hearing Erza speak out of nowhere, the both of them then turned towards her to find her with an expression of something akin to fear on her face as she looked at the man in alarm.
"What are you talking about Erza?" Naruto asked, getting the feeling that he was not going to like what she was going to tell them.
Even though he had only known her for about two days, Erza had always come off as a strong girl to him and to see her with such an expression of fear and alarm, instantly made him realize that the situation might be worse than what he and Sasuke had at first thought.
"Zabuza Momochi." Erza started after a while without taking her eyes off of the man. "Widely known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist. He is an S-class Dark Mage who also happens to be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."
"Hidden Mist?"
"Seven Swordsmen?"
Naruto and Sasuke asked respectively – choosing to disregard the demon part, knowing that it was most likely some sort of title to the man – as they both eyed Erza in slight curiosity while the man, Zabuza Momochi didn't seem to have the intention of interrupting their little information sharing time.
"The Hidden Mist used to be one of the most prominent as well as one of the most powerful Dark Guilds in the whole continent! While the Seven Swordsmen were a group of seven S-class Dark Mages belonging to the guild, each of whom wielded one of the Seven Blades of Mist. However, some time ago a large scale internal conflict broke out within the guild which ultimately resulted in the Guild's destruction from the inside." Erza finished her explanation earning near incredulous looks from the two.
So they were up against someone who used to a part of an elite group of S-class mages from one of the continent's best? And wasn't Fairy Tail only just the best in Fiore country?
That's… what a sobering thought indeed.
Naruto casted another look at Zabuza to find that he still has yet to even make a move. Well, he certainly looked like he didn't feel threatened by them in the least. He then once more turned to Erza when he heard her continue.
"As one of the Seven Swordsmen, he wields the Executioner's Blade," Erza started again as her gaze drifted off towards the sword the man was standing on. "Kubikiribōchō." Her gaze then once more trailed back to the man and she couldn't help but gulp, unnerved by the impassive look he was giving her. "However, what is the most unnerving thing about this man is what he did to get into the guild."
"What he did…?" Sasuke trailed off as he raised an eyebrow at Erza.
"Yes." Erza nodded as she recalled reading about the incident when she had been researching about famous and powerful swordsmen. "You see, Hidden Mist used to have this… special entrance exam for those who wanted to get into it." Erza spoke as she nearly spat out the 'special entrance exam' part like it was some kind of abomination that should have never existed.
Naruto almost didn't want to ask but couldn't help himself. "Um, what was this… entrance exam?"
Erza looked at Naruto before answering distastefully. "In order to get into the Hidden Mist you had to kill and then bring them the head of a mage from the guild you used to be a part of which was also how the guild earned its other name, the Bloody Mist." Erza then continued as she turned her attention back towards Zabuza. "But what makes his situation different than the rest is that when he was about our age and not yet a mage, he went and killed over a hundred others his age who had been accepted as potential new guild members which caused him to be immediately accepted into the guild as an apprentice to eventually succeed as a member of the Seven Swordsmen."
Silence washed over the group as Erza finished her explanation before they all – save for Erza who was already looking at Zabuza in disgust, turned their wide eyes to Zabuza, each being unable to comprehend what it would be like to take the life of someone from your own guild and then taking their heads over to a group of psychos just to get into their guild. They knew one thing though, that they certainly wouldn't be able to do something like that – much less massacre over a hundred young lives.
"If you are done with the small talk," Zabuza began to say in a gruff voice once the group fell silent as he then pointed a finger at the bridge builder. "Then why don't you hand over the bridge builder and you can avoid a lot trouble."
Getting over their shock, Naruto and Sasuke tensed, both preparing for the inevitable.
"Thank you for your generous offer." Sasuke started with sarcasm lacing his voice which caused Naruto to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He didn't know Sasuke was even capable of sarcasm. "But you know we can't do that. Handing over the bridge builder would defeat the purpose of this quest and not to mention shame the Fairy Tail name."
Hearing Sasuke's response, Zabuza's eyes winded a small fraction. "I see. So you brats are from the Fairy Tail guild. That would explain how the Demon Brothers could have lost."
"For some reason I didn't expect you to say that." Naruto muttered under his breath in a deadpan voice.
Zabuza casted a brief glance at Naruto before saying. "I did encounter a Fairy Tail mage once …and a monster is what I would call that man." He stated, earning surprise from the group before Zabuza looked at the sword under his feet. "He is the only one who has broken Kubikiribōchō – well, more like snapped it like a toothpick with his bare hands."
"I see." Erza's eyebrow gave a single twitch as she said this. "So you have encountered Gildarts before."
"Gildarts?" Naruto, Sasuke and Natsu looked at Erza questioningly. They certainly hadn't met a Gildarts just yet.
Though before Erza could say anything to them, Zabuza interrupted. "Enough talk, if you won't hand over the bridge builder than I'll just have to kill you brats first!" Zabuza stated as he crouched down before gripping the handle of the sword with his right hand.
All four of them immediately became on guard just as they heard Zabuza say that.
"Erza, Natsu! Protect the bridge builder! And don't even think of interfering!" Sasuke commanded without taking his eyes off of Zabuza.
While Naruto turned to look at an unusually silent Natsu to find that he had scrunched up his nose with sweat tickling down his face as he looked at Zabuza, unsettled. He didn't even need to guess what Natsu was so unnerved about. Considering he was a dragon slayer too, Natsu could also smell the disturbingly intense odor of blood coming from man and from all over the sword and while he and Sasuke could deal with it as the experience wasn't exactly new to them, Natsu on the other hand was still just a kid and definitely not used to the unpleasant odor of decayed blood.
Meanwhile, Erza nodded her head in agreement as she went and stood protectively in front of the bridge builder as she drew her sword with Natsu following after her. Gulping once, he raised his fists, ready to ignite them at a moment's notice.
On the other hand Sasuke and Naruto also took their stances a few meters in front of the group before Naruto muttered a quite 'boost' to himself which was only heard by Sasuke who turned his Sharingan eyes over to him and took notice of the slight pulse that came from Naruto's red magical aura that was only visible to his eyes alone.
"Don't push yourself Naruto." Sasuke commented once he took notice of Naruto using his 'Boost' right before even the fight began.
"You know we can't take it easy Sasuke. Not with this one." Naruto replied back seriously as he mentally kept track of the countdown till his next boost. He knew he had to be careful though. "Besides, as long as we don't overdo it, it should be fine."
Sasuke didn't say anything back but that was exactly what he was afraid of. He knew that if they were to make it out of this situation with their lives, they were going to have to 'overdo' it. He resisted the urge to sigh. He was not going to like his condition tomorrow – forget that, he knew he was not going to like his condition when this fight was over.
Though he did not get to ponder on the subject anymore when Naruto spoke out again. "Here he comes!" Naruto tensed as he took notice of Zabuza about to make his move while Naruto mentally called out Boost once his ten seconds were up.
However, despite being on full alert, neither Naruto nor Sasuke could even react when Zabuza did make his move because… he simply disappeared along with his sword.
When he reappeared instantly afterwards, right within the space between Erza and Natsu and the bridge builder, Zabuza slowly stood up straight and brought up his sword, ready to strike Natsu and Erza down, both of whom only just realizing what had happened, slowly and shakily turned their heads towards Zabuza as beads of sweat rolled down their faces.
Meanwhile, 'What the hell!' was the thought that ran through both Naruto and Sasuke's heads as they immediately turned towards Zabuza.
'Shunshin!?' Sasuke thought as in a flash of white, his dragon wings sprouted out from his back. 'He was so fast, I can't tell if that was a Shunshin or just his natural speed!' Gritting his teeth in urgency, he immediately disappeared in a Shunshin of his own.
Zabuza looked down at Erza and Natsu impassively before bringing down his sword – almost leisurely. Though instead of flesh, the blade came into contact with a hard surface that it couldn't cut through.
Zabuza had a slightly surprised look on his bandaged face as he looked at Sasuke blocking his Kubikiribōchō with his left dragon like wing which he surprisingly couldn't cut through though before anything could be said to done, Naruto appeared in a Shunshin right above Sasuke with a hand firmly planted over Sasuke's right shoulder as he raised his right leg before kicking Zabuza in the chest.
The force of the kick was enough to send him back quite a distance before Zabuza felt his feet leave the ground and come to a stop above the surface of water though instead of sinking, he merely stood there on top of the surface of lake.
"Not bad." Zabuza commented, not even fazed. "For mere brats, I'll admit you two aren't half bad. And that was a nice kick." He made the last comment while briefly turning his gaze over to Naruto as he dusted his chest causing Naruto to grit his teeth. "But you two are still just that. A couple of snot-nosed brats!" After saying this he raised the index and middle fingers of both hands as he then raised his right arm over his head and positioned his left hand right in the middle of his chest.
Naruto and Sasuke both tensed into their guards as they took notice of the glowing light blue magic circle that appeared right under Zabuza's feet and on top of the water before in a flash it extended all over the surface of the lake and disappeared.
At first nothing seemed to happen before the two perked up as they noticed the mist that started to form all around the area and in no time covered the entire area like a thick veil – completely obscuring Zabuza from their senses.
"What in the…" Naruto started as he relaxed into his guard a bit and brought his arms nearer while his eyes darted around, looking for any sign of Zabuza.
"The mist is getting thicker and thicker! I can't smell him anymore!" Natsu commented for the first time as he looked at the mist in wonder while also glad to be able to breathe again without the suffocating odor of blood.
"The island of Nami is surrounded by the ocean; the swirling mists are ever present." Tazuna replied as he turned to Natsu.
"Be careful you two! Zabuza is a master of silent killing and he will definitely use this mist to his advantage!" Erza exclaimed to the two as she tightened her stance in front of Tazuna.
"That's not it! This is no natural mist!" Sasuke stated as the tomoe of his eyes spun at a fast pace. "Don't let your guard down Naruto, this mist seems to have some sort of blocking effect."
"I know that much." Naruto replied – despite the situation – almost tauntingly. "Even with your pink eyes, I am the better sensor between the two of us! I can tell that this mist is Zabuza's spell and not a natural one." Naruto finished as he gripped his left wrist with his right hand before from the palm of his left hand a long and slightly thick stick with a pointy end came out.
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched but refrained from saying anything in return. Knowing that it wasn't the time. Although, despite his slight ire, he was grateful for Naruto's witty remark as he felt some of the tension leave his body.
"Eight points." Suddenly, Zabuza's voice rang from all around them before they all felt the chilling feeling of blood lust wash over them all. "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart, now which shall be my attack point?"
'This – Killing Intent!' Naruto thought as he felt the familiar feeling of blood lust. 'Not good! Sasuke and I are fine because of Sasuke's Light of Purification and my Mokuton, a Life Magic with the aura of life negating the intent of death while Sasuke's Light of Purification generally provides him immunity to anything that is 'impure' but…' Naruto turned to look at the other three to find them all frozen up. 'The others aren't doing so good, especially,' Naruto turned to a completely shaken up Erza whose sword appeared to be inching towards her own throat.
"Erza!" Naruto called out causing her to freeze momentarily before slowly looking towards him. Brown orbs filled with fear met pools of bright blue filled with warmth before Naruto closed his eyes as he smiled brightly at her. "Don't be afraid! I won't let anything happen to you!" He stated with conviction as the aura of life from his Mokuton spread all over to the other three and covered them like a blanket.
Gasping as the grip on her sword promptly loosened with the tip hitting the ground while she took fast, uneven breaths – finally regaining the ability to breathe again.
"Are you alright?" Naruto inquired as he gave her a slightly worried frown.
"Yes." Erza finally managed as she took a deep breath before offering Naruto a small, grateful smile. "I'm fine. Thank you, Naruto."
Naruto gave her another grin in response before turning to Sasuke and his face turned serious again. Nodding to each other, they immediately released simultaneous bursts of their magic energies which blew away the mist surrounding them.
However, the moment it cleared, Zabuza appeared directed behind Naruto. "A bold claim! I'd like to see you follow through with it!" With that he swung his sword at Naruto.
Spinning on the heel of his right foot to face Zabuza, Naruto leaned back to avoid the swing. 'Slow! Which means!' Closing the distance between them in one leap Naruto stabbed Zabuza with the stick in his hand. "Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu!" He called out before branches, the size of Zabuza's arms sprouted out from all over his upper torso. Although instead of blood, water dripped from his wounds before 'Zabuza' burst into water.
"Sorry but," Naruto stared as he dropped the stick that had split into multiple branches. "Cloning techniques are one of my specialties. You can't fool me with them." Just as he said this, another Zabuza appeared behind him and unlike before, this time, he noticed him a little too late.
This Zabuza didn't say anything as he swung his sword at Naruto who didn't have the time to dodge. However, it appeared that he didn't need to as before the sword could strike down Naruto, a thick beam of white light pierced Zabuza's chest from behind, once more reducing him to a puddle of water.
"You didn't forget that you are facing two of us, did you?" Sasuke commented as he lowered his arm.
In that moment, the real Zabuza dropped down between Naruto and Sasuke and faster than either of them could react, punched Naruto on the right cheek which sent him crashing away with his head hitting the ground a couple of times.
"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed as he watched his brother take a nasty punch to the face, though that appeared to be a mistake as he before he knew what had happened, he felt the wind knocked out of him by Zabuza who, using his sword as a support had spun and kicked him right in the gut.
The force of the kick was such that it sent Sasuke crashing to the other side of the clearing before he smashed right into a tree which broke upon contact as he spat out a mixture of blood and saliva.
Wasting no time, Zabuza then crouched for a bit before jumping back on top of the surface of the lake. He then proceeded to make a sign with his hands and another light blue magic circle appeared on top of the lake before the water began to swirl into a vortex then starting to rise.
Coughing out the blood in his mouth, Naruto started to recover as he gritted his teeth from the throbbing pain in his right cheek. No doubt, it was going to leave a nasty bruise later on.
Slowly standing up straight, his eyes widened when he came face to face with the towering form of a dragon made entirely out of water with glowing yellow eyes and a mouth full of long, sharp fangs also made out of water glaring down at him.
He didn't get to admire the sight before him though as the dragon let loose a loud roar before charging straight at him and the others standing right behind him.
Seeing that he couldn't dodge or risk the others getting hit by the destructive spell, Naruto immediately started to draw in a deep breath. "Sekiryū no Hōkō!" Calling out, Naruto released a huge beam of blackish-red energy that clashed head on with the dragon of water.
Within a few seconds of the clash between the two forces, Naruto's eyes widened when he took notice of the fact that his Roar was unable to overtake the dragon made of nothing but water and slowly but surely, his spell was getting pushed back. Thankfully though, he was saved from making another attempt when he heard a familiar voice call out. (2)
"Divide!"
Just as that one word rang around them, the dragon shrank to half of its size as well as lost half of its power. However, Sasuke wasn't done just yet as he immediately followed after the Divide.
"Hakuryū no Hōkō!"
A beam of brilliant white light, the same size as Naruto's pillar of dark-red energy also crashed into the dragon and after a few moments of fighting for dominance, the dragon was overtaken and destroyed by the combined forces of Power of Destruction and Light of Purification.
Naruto watched with a blank look as the dragon burst into water and rained down on the lake and the ground.
"Say Sasuke…" Naruto started once Sasuke landed right beside him.
"Un?" Sasuke gave Naruto a side-way glance, wondering what was up with him now.
"You remember that lesson from Saru-jiji?" Naruto asked as he turned to Sasuke. "You know about how a battle between two mages is always a battle between their magic energies?"
"Yeah, so?" Sasuke couldn't help but wonder exactly where was Naruto going with this?
"Of course, I didn't believe him at first as I thought that in a fight, the mage with the coolest magic wins but…" Naruto trailed off as he looked towards where the water dragon previous stood and thought back to how his Power of Destruction was stopped by something other than the Light of Purification. "I think now I understand what he meant."
"Un!" Sasuke grunted. "Of course. No matter what magic you possess if your own magic energy is weaker than your opponent's then no matter what spell you use, it will fall short and don't forget we're up against an S-class mage whose experience along amounts to the years you and I have been alive. Don't let it bother you!" Even though he said this, Sasuke did understood where Naruto was coming from.
Both of them took great pride in their magic as well as their position as the Nitenryū and to see their prided magic fall short against simple water was a harsh blow to their prides. Although he understood. It wasn't that their magic was weaker than Zabuza's, no…
They themselves were weak!
And that was enforced by that fact that had he not taken the opportunity to touch Zabuza when he had been kicked – which had in turn allowed him to use Divide to cut the spell's power and speed in half – he wasn't certain that even with their combined Roars they would have been able to destroy the water dragon so easily.
Sasuke gritted his teeth as Zabuza came to view, still standing over the lake, completely unfazed. Yes, they were weak – still far too weak!
"Anyways," Sasuke started again. "Now is not the time to be worrying about this. All we have to do is make sure we live then we can train even more to get stronger!" He stated as he threw Naruto a sideway smirk.
"You got that right!" Naruto replied, returning Sasuke's smirk with a grin of his own.
"Hah! Don't fall behind!" Sasuke exclaimed one last time before with a flap if his wings, he flew towards Zabuza.
"As if!" Naruto commented before a set of large dragon wings, almost completely identical to that of Sasuke's burst out form his back. The only difference between their wings was the coloring whereas the lower transparent light blue scales were a transparent light red with dark crimson upper scales in contrast to the pure white upper scales of Sasuke's wings.
Wasting no time, he immediately followed after Sasuke.
"Hakuryū no Hōkō!" Sasuke called out as he once more used his breath though instead of releasing a huge pillar of blinding white light, he released his breath in the form of a laser, using which he nearly cleaved Zabuza in half if not for the fact that the Demon of the Hidden Mist was far too experienced of a mage to let something like this hit him.
"Sekiryū no Hōken!"
Leaping away as he dodging the laser beam with expert ease, Zabuza immediately brought up his sword and using the flat side of the blade, blocked the destructive punch aimed at the back of his head before following up by spin–kicking Naruto at the back of the head, sending him crashing into the water.
Wasting no time and hoping to grab Zabuza's attention to give Naruto the time to recover, Sasuke immediately brought both of his hands to his side and charged up his next spell before he once more brought his hands in front of him and released the ball of light into a number of scattering white beams. "Holy Ray!"
Not moving out of the way of the trajectory of the attack nor blocking it, Zabuza instead rushed into the attack head on as he danced through the relentless barrage of white beams before just as he neared Sasuke, he disappeared once more.
Reading the path he took thanks to his Sharingan, Sasuke stopped his attack and immediately started to turn around just as Zabuza rose behind him and from out of the water.
Just as Sasuke fully turned to Zabuza, he wasted no time in positioning his left wing over his left side as a shield once he took notice of Zabuza swinging at him however, what he failed to realize was that against a mage of Zabuza's caliber, the same move will never work twice and this was proven when just as the blade was inches away from making contact with Sasuke's wing, Zabuza flicked his wrist, turning the edge of the blade to the opposite direction before doing a complete spin around and coming at Sasuke from his exposed right side.
Thanks to his Sharingan, Sasuke was able to see the sword coming at him but he was in no way fast enough to dodge or block the attack. He could then do nothing but watch as the blade closed in on him almost agonizingly slow. Thankfully though, before the blade could cleave him in half, Sasuke felt someone grab the back of his collar before he was yanked backwards as the blade whizzed harmlessly in front of him, only grazing the front of his shirt in the process.
Leaping back a safe distance away from Zabuza, Sasuke turned to the completely drenched Naruto standing beside him. "Thanks." He thanked, taking deep breaths. That… was too close.
"Yeah, don't worry about!" Naruto replied, giving Sasuke a grin as he too took deep breaths.
"Are you sure you want to be standing over those very spots?"
Their heads snapped back towards Zabuza to see him standing there before he raised his index finger and then pointing downwards.
Confused but following Zabuza's finger and looking down at their feet, their eyes widened when they was a light blue magic circle right under both their feet. Before they could take higher into the air, water shot out from the circles and enveloped them into spheres.
Zabuza then also appeared behind them and stood by the space between the two spheres. Strapping his sword behind his back, Zabuza then thrusted both of his hands into the spheres and like locks clicking into place, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves completely imprisoned within the spheres of water.
'What in the –'
'– I can't move!'
Seeing the two of them trapped, Natsu and Erza immediately shouted out to them in worry.
"Naruto-nii! Sasuke-nii!"
"Naruto! Sasuke!"
"No! Stay away!" Naruto wasted no time in shouting out when he noticed Natsu and Erza about to jump into the fight.
"But –"
"Don't worry! We're fine! Just stay there and protect the bridge builder!" Naruto once more exclaimed, cutting Erza who looked about ready to argue.
Hearing what Naruto said, Zabuza scoffed. "And you still talk big but that's fine." Zabuza commented before looking at the other three and smirking under his bandages. "With you two trapped, even a clone should be enough to take care of the other three!" He stated just as another magic circle appeared on the lake in front of them before water rose and formed another Zabuza. "Now why don't you two sit tight and watch as I kill the bridge builder and your two little friends!"
"Hah! Sorry but that's not going to happen!" Naruto commented as he shot Zabuza a sideway smirk before turning to Sasuke. "Now Sasuke!"
"Un!" Sasuke grunted in response before calling out. "Divide!"
Head snapping to Sasuke, Zabuza's eyes widened when he felt the density of the water suddenly reduced by half. 'There it is again! Just like with the Suiryūdan, the power of my spell is once more cut in half! What did he do!?' He was soon broken out of his thoughts though when he heard Naruto call out.
"Mokuton: Daisōju!"
At first nothing seemed to happen following Naruto's exclamation before suddenly a number of thick three roots erupted from ground right before the Zabuza clone who didn't get the time to even react before the three roots tore through him without even slowing down and heading straight for a wide-eyed Zabuza who had no choice but to release his hold on the spheres and jump away.
Just as the spheres of water broke apart, Sasuke and Naruto immediately flapped their wings and flew back to the ground.
Coughing out the water, Naruto took fast, deep breaths. "Sasuke." He addressed without taking his eyes off of Zabuza.
Sasuke for his part turned to Naruto, also taking fast and deep breaths but didn't say anything and just waited for him to continue.
"I think we are going to have to break one of the rules set by Ddraig and Albion and use That forbidden technique if we want to beat this guy!" Naruto suggested while not clarifying as to what he was talking about. He knew he didn't need to.
Sasuke looked at Naruto for a bit before also turning to Zabuza. "Yeah."
Naruto blinked when he heard Sasuke agree just like that. "What? No arguing that we shouldn't use a technique that is strictly forbidden or something?" Naruto question confusedly as he turned to Sasuke.
"Normally I would. But," Sasuke agreed without turning to Naruto as his eyes narrowed at Zabuza. "That guy is barely winded while you are I are hanging by threads here. If we dong do something then all of us are going to end up dead here." Sasuke finished before he raised his left fist over to Naruto.
Understanding what Sasuke was getting at, Naruto grinned before bumping his right fist with Sasuke's left.
Closing their eyes, both of them simultaneously inhaled deeply before exhaling. As they started to focus their respective Dragon Slayer Magic, the certain memory of Ddraig and Albion forbidding them from ever using this particular technique ever again after they had discovered or rather invented it for the first time.
"Naruto, Sasuke. Keep in mind to never use this technique ever again!" Ddraig stated firmly as he towered over the two eleven-year olds along with Albion. "While it is true that using this particular technique grants you a tremendous boost in power for a short while; through the use of this technique, you will also –"
""Unison Raid.""
Both of them said quietly to themselves as their magical auras exploded all around them in a brilliant show of white and red before their eyes once more snapped open as Ddraig's final words regarding the topic rang within their heads.
"– temporarily lose the use of Divine Dividing and Boost!"
""Divine Booster!""
Following their exclamation, their magic energies suddenly skyrocketed.
"What the hell?!" Zabuza said to himself as he felt the sudden rise in Naruto and Sasuke's power. "Where is this sudden burst of magic coming form!?" He knew he should be stopping them but as things stood, the magic energies were far too intense for him to get anywhere near the two.
It didn't matter though. While he wouldn't let down his guard, he was still up against a couple of brats and not high level mages that he couldn't deal with.
'Still… I can't dismiss these two as just another couple of ordinary brats either!' Zabuza thought to himself, covering the upper half of his face with his forearm as his eyes narrowed at the sight. 'That red-eyed brat has the ability to cut the power of magic by half and the blonde brat! …At first I thought he was using Maker Magic but that Hand Seal and aura when he used the last spell were unmistakable! The brat is using Living Magic! And that's not even the extent of their magical prowess!'
Lowering his arm as the magic energies started to die down before Naruto and Sasuke once more came to view and his eyes once more widened when he took notice of the smoky red and white auras surrounding Naruto and Sasuke respectively. 'The air around the two has changed completely!' His eyes once more narrowed before he heard them speak.
"Vanishing Drive."
"Destruction Drive."
Sasuke and Naruto spoke respectively and almost blankly if one doesn't count the no-nonsense looks that adorned their faces.
What happened next was Naruto disappearing in a Shunshin so fast that Zabuza almost lost track of him but as it stood, even if barely he was still able to follow him as he immediately brought up his sword to block the punch aimed at the side of his face.
However, what he didn't prepare for was for the punch to explode the moment it made contact with Kubikiribōchō.
Jumping out of the blast and leaping to the air, Zabuza couldn't help but curse to himself. 'That was the exact punch he threw the last time! So where the hell did this explosion come form!?' His eyes widened as he turned to Sasuke who had appeared right behind in a flash of white.
"Hakuryū Senbi." Sasuke said before swinging his glowing right leg upwards, releasing a large vertical arc of Light of Purification at Zabuza who maneuvered his body in mid-air at the last moment, completely dodging the attack. Though, having already expected such a reaction, Sasuke immediately followed after by swinging his left leg in a linear direction. "Hakuryū Senbi: Zekku!"
This time however, Zabuza was in no position to dodge the wide horizontal arc of white light as it slammed into his mid-section, sending him crashing back onto the lake.
Recovering almost immediately, Zabuza stood up to his feet and made a hand seal as a magic circle then formed over the water before once more the water started to rise and morph into the form of a large dragon with glowing yellow eyes. "Suiton: Suiryūdan!" He called out as the enormous dragon rushed towards its two prey with its mouth wide open.
Naruto, instantly appearing in the dragon's path, raised his right index finger as red magic energy started to concentrate at the tip into a small orb. "Dragon Shot!" He called out as the orb was then released into a huge beam that crashed into the dragon head on. Though instead on either attack overtaking the other, the two started to cancel each other out as Naruto's Dragon Shot vaporized the dragon of water from head to tail but in the end also got completely eaten in turn.
Lowering his arm as the two attacks disappeared, Naruto's eyes widened in alarm as he turned his head to Zabuza who had appeared right behind with his sword raised before swinging at Naruto but got intercepted by Sasuke who blocked the sword with what appeared to be a javelin made out of pure white light.
Naruto then followed up by raising his right leg and going for a kick aimed at the side of Zabuza's head causing Sasuke to jump back so as to not get caught up in the aftereffect. Though, just as Sasuke leaped away, Zabuza raised his left arm and blocked the kick but was still blown away by the following explosion.
Flipping over in mid-air, Zabuza landed on his feet and made a hand seal. "Suiton: Suidan!" Calling out he spewed a large torrent of high pressured water at the duo coming at him.
Responding accordingly, Sasuke met the stream of water with his light-javelin, splitting it cleanly in two in the process before clashing his javelin with Zabuza's sword and immediately Naruto followed after by coming at Zabuza with a kick aimed at his face who dodged by moving his body to the side which caused Sasuke to stumble and Naruto to pass harmlessly over them before Zabuza followed up by kneeing Sasuke clean at the side of his face.
Recovering, Naruto and Sasuke immediately went for Zabuza again as Sasuke raised his javelin to spear Zabuza in the stomach while Naruto once more focused power in his right fist to deliver another one of his exploding punches to Zabuza's back.
Not even fazed by the quick response, Zabuza expertly deflected Sasuke's thrust with his sword before delivering a devastating kick to Sasuke's stomach – this one much stronger than the previous one, which resulted in Sasuke getting sent crashing away before Zabuza wasted no time in deflecting Naruto blow with his forearm then maneuvering his arm and elbowing Naruto in the face, almost shattering his nose in the process and also sending him crashing away.
Gritting their teeth, the two quickly came to realize that even in Drive, Zabuza was still far superior in close quarter combat.
Deciding it best to keep their distance, the two leaped away as Sasuke threw his javelin at Zabuza who blocked with his sword which proved to be a mistake when the Javelin detonated into a dome of blinding white light that engulfed Zabuza.
Standing a safe distance away, the two then watched as the light died down before Zabuza's form once more came to view and for the first time since the fight began, he appeared to be breathing hard.
Taking a deep breath, Zabuza straightened up and turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "Why don't we put an end to this little charade already?" He offered, having grown sick of this dancing around that they have been doing – even though he won't admit it out loud, it has been fun while it lasted.
Both Naruto and Sasuke turned to each other before nodding at the same time – already knowing the answer – before they once more turned to Zabuza.
"Yes." Sasuke agreed. "Our thoughts exactly."
"Let's just put an end to it already." Naruto commented almost impatiently.
Both of them had long since passed their limits and even their time in Drive was coming to an end so as such they had to choice but to end or they'll be in deep trouble.
"Hmph!" Zabuza grunted before making another hand seal and his magic energy flared. "That's what I thought!" He already knew they were at their limit and was also aware that if he dragged out the fight a little longer, they would be easy pickings but considering how well the two have fought up to this point, his pride will never allow him to dishonor opponents he has come to acknowledge!
The magic circle that formed then was unlike the previous ones as it almost covered the entire lake before shrinking into itself and disappearing.
At first nothing seemed to happen before the water from the entire lake began to shake violently and soon the water from the entire lake started to extend over a large scale as it surged and rose up to several dozens of meters into the air.
"Suiton: Daibakufu!" Zabuza exclaimed and like following an unsaid command, the water streamed down to the ground in one big cascade, much like a gigantic waterfall.
Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened as he mouths hanged open at the sheer magnitude of the attack.
Recovering from his momentary shock, Sasuke immediately extended his palm in front of the incoming vortex of water. "Divide!" However, nothing happened and Sasuke eyes once more widened in alarm. 'I have lost the use of Divine Dividing already!?'
"Sasuke!"
Turning his attention over to Naruto, he took notice of him biting into his right index and middle finger enough to draw blood.
"After this, no doubt, I am going to be out for the count so this will be my last attack!" Naruto stated, pointing his index and middle fingers at the incoming force as he gripped his right wrist with his left hand. "I'm leaving you to deliver the finish blow then!"
Sasuke's eyes widened when he took notice of the blood-red energy that merged with Naruto's blood and started to morph and spin like a razor surrounding Naruto's fingers. "Naruto… don't tell me you are going to use that spell?" Was he really going to use one of his Secret yet Forbidden techniques?
"Hah!" Naruto merely grinned in response. He knew he wasn't supposed to be using this technique until he was ready – heck, he couldn't even use this technique normally but with the current situation, there really was no choice.
The grip on his wrist then tightened as the condensed energy at his fingertips grew to almost the same size as himself and he knew it was time to release it. "Metsuryū Ōgi!" He called out before discharging the attack.
"Gran Rey Cero!"
The resulting attack was one that was not unlike a Dragon Shot and yet at the same time it could be considered completely 'different' than Dragon Shot for the speed, power and intensity of this attack were such that an ordinary Dragon Shot paled in comparison to.
However, Naruto soon came to learn why he shouldn't be using a forbidden technique prematurely.
Just as the Gran Rey Cero collided with the Suiton: Daibakufu, it started to show signs of instability and instead of vaporizing the cascade of water like Naruto had hoped, it detonated in itself into a resounding explosion of water and blood red energy that all of them got caught into.
Leaping out of the blast and to a safe distance into the air, Sasuke cursed to himself. He should have known it was a stupid idea to let Naruto use a Gran Rey Cero even if he was in Drive! Fortunately, the screw up of a spell had also destroyed Zabuza's spell with Zabuza himself have been caught up in the explosion and he knew that not even someone of Zabuza's caliber can escape a blast of this magnitude unscathed which, provided him with the golden opportunity of taking out Zabuza while he was still recovering.
Looking around at the water gathering into the lake once more, he searched for any sign for Naruto and Zabuza. It wasn't long before he found Zabuza and immediately turned to his direction. Gritting his teeth with clenched fists, he wasted no time in moving towards Zabuza.
Naruto wouldn't die. Dragon Slayers were immune to their own elements so the blast won't have much of an effect on him. The only thing that Naruto would have to worry about was the water but he was resourceful enough to survive this. And… he couldn't waste the opportunity that Naruto created. If he let Zabuza make his comeback, they won't be able to do anything. So all he could do was to have faith in Naruto while doing what he can do at this moment.
Clenching his fists tighter, Sasuke face hardened before he disappeared in a flash of white.
Meanwhile, coughing out the water, Zabuza started to recover as he slowly got away from the tree he had crashed into. What the hell had just happened? He had not expected for the brats to use a blast that could disperse his spell. Heck the blast had not only been powerful enough to destroy his spell but also completely rattle even him!
Shaking his head to rid himself of the pointless thoughts. Zabuza, using his sword as a support, started to get up and that was when he heard the cry from above him.
"Hakuryū Senga!"
Head snapping upwards, all Zabuza saw was a blinding flash of pure white before he felt – what he thought was a beam – hit him right on the chest. The force of the attack was enough for Zabuza to lose his footing and smash back onto the ground.
Zabuza gritted his teeth. The intense feeling of scorching heat made him feeling like his skin and bones themselves were melting though strangely, it did nothing to his skin but rather the heat felt like it was burning away his strength; the feeling was completely different than having the power of his magic cut in half.
The whole thing last for about fifteen seconds before it finally came to a stop.
Mustering up the strength to look up, Zabuza saw Sasuke drop a couple of meters away from him as his wings disappeared in a flash of white.
It was at that moment that Naruto also appeared from out of the water as he clutched onto his steaming pink right hand while muttering something along the lines of never using a forbidden technique without being ready ever again before he came to stop right beside Sasuke who gave a barely noticeable sigh of relief.
The two then once more turned to Zabuza who started to shakily move his hand towards his sword until suddenly his hand stopped right before it reached the handle of the sword.
'What is the world is this!?' Zabuza thought as he suddenly found his movements completely restricted while he eyed the glowing white mark that was slowing forming on his abdomen.
"Claw of the White Dragon."
Hearing the voice, Zabuza turned his eyes to Sasuke standing over him.
"It is the brand of the White Dragon that takes away the movements of those branded with it." Sasuke started as he raised his index finger at Zabuza. "While normally, this will never work on a mage of your power but with me in Drive and you still recovering from the previous attack, it will take even you a little over a minute to break free …and that's more than enough time for me to deal a finishing blow!" Just as he finished, rays of white light started to gather around Sasuke index finger.
Looking at the now fully formed mark, Zabuza chuckled in response before looking at both Naruto and Sasuke fearlessly in the eyes before speaking. "At the very least tell me your names."
Hearing the unusual request, Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other questioningly, wondering whether they should tell him or not. A moment of staring later, Naruto shrugged. He was no reason to not tell his name to an opponent before Sasuke nodded in return and both of them turned back to Zabuza.
"Senju Naruto." Naruto said simply.
"Uchiha Sasuke. And now Zabuza Momochi," Sasuke addressed as the glow at his fingertip grew ever brighter. "This is the end." Just as he prepared to release his attack, out of nowhere three Senbon needles struck Zabuza at the side of his neck.
Eyes widening for a moment before they lost their light and slowly closed shut, Zabuza abruptly dropped to the ground, lifelessly.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke looked at the sight before them in shock. Neither knowing what had just happened.
"You are right. It is the end for him."
Heads snapping towards the sudden voice, they saw the figure standing on top of the branch of the tree right in front of them – judging by the scent a male and only about a couple of years older than themselves.
He was of average height with a slender build and was dressed in a pinstriped outfit which stopped at his knees. Over this he wore a green haori with white rims, along with a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice. He also wore light-brown sandals with straps in the same color as his kimono and nail polish on his fingernails and toenails in matching blue green color.
He had long hair that was gathered in a white bun-holder, with two bangs framing his face, bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. While his face was hidden by a white mask with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth, as well as some kind of symbol etched at the top.
Silently studying figure, both Naruto and Sasuke narrowed their eyes while the same thought ran through their heads. ''Where did he come from?''
Putting that aside for now and seeing as how the figure didn't seem to mean them any harm, Sasuke stopped studying him and went over to Zabuza's unmoving body. He could already tell from the disappearance of his mark that Zabuza was out of it.
"Naruto-nii! Sasuke-nii!"
Hearing Natsu's sudden voice accompanied by rapid footsteps, both of them turned to see Natsu, Erza and Tazuna running towards them before promptly coming to a stop when they saw Sasuke crouched down beside Zabuza's downed form.
There was silence for a moment before Erza asked a bit shakily. "Is he…?"
Sasuke gazed at her for a bit before once more turning his attention to Zabuza's body and putting his fingers on Zabuza's wrist and answering. "I can't feel a pulse."
Hearing this all three had their eyes widened before Erza gulped and once more asked. "Did you…?"
Sasuke shook his head before opening his mouth to respond when he got cut off by Natsu.
"Hey! Who the hell are you!?"
Hearing Natsu's sudden outburst, Erza as well as Tazuna turned to see him looking up at a tree along with Sasuke and Naruto too looking at the same spot. Following their gazes, Erza's eyes widened while Tazuna got a confused look.
"Who's that?" Tazuna asked, confused. Who was this new character?
"That's!" Erza's started, recognizing the figure instantly. "A Hunter Mage!"
Her claim earned her confused looks from the rest.
"What's a Hunter Mage?" Naruto asked confused as he scratched his head. "I've heard of Hunters before, you know the not-mages who go hunting for treasures and the like but I've never heard of a Hunter Mage before."
Erza turned to Naruto before answer. "It is as it sounds like. A Hunter Mage is a mage that hunts other mages, well, Dark Mages to be precise."
Her response, if anything earned her even more confused looks form Naruto, Sasuke, Natsu and even Tazuna.
Seeing the looks she was getting, Erza sighed before deciding to elaborate. "Normally, killing is outlawed by the Magic Council so as such legal guild mages are strictly forbidden from ever taking another life and if they break this law… well, there will be dire consequences." Erza stated, speaking of the last part with utmost seriousness. "But there are exceptions to even this law. Those exceptions being the Hunter Mages."
The others blinked at her response before Natsu opened his mouth to speak when Erza didn't give him the chance.
"However!" She exclaimed, not wanting for Natsu to interrupt her before she can finish. "There are restrictions and conditions placed upon them by the council. Firstly, a Hunter Mage approved by the council has to break their ties to the guild they used to be a part of and swear their allegiance to the Magic Council – meaning, they fall under the direct command of the council. Second, they are only to… eliminate the Dark Mages considered far too dangerous to be left alive – which are basically the S-class Dark Mages while the rest are left on the legal guilds to restrain before being taken into custody by the Rune Knights."
While Natsu and Tazuna were still trying to digest the sudden load of information, Naruto and Sasuke narrowed their eyes at the figure.
"You are correct miss." The Hunter Mage spoke as he regarded the group before him, or more precisely, Naruto and Sasuke. "I have been chasing after Zabuza for a while now but as you probably can guess, there was no way I could have taken him out alone but fortunately, while once more chasing after him, I came upon your fight and decided to take this chance to take him out once and for all."
Standing up before backing away from Zabuza's body, Sasuke too regarded the Hunter Mage. "And so you waited for the chance to get while he was too focused on us?" Sasuke stated more than asked as he continued to regard him cautiously.
"Correct again." The Hunter Mage commented before dropping beside Zabuza's body. "Now if you will excuse me." He said one last time before gathering Zabuza's body as well as Kubikiribōchō and disappearing without a warning.
"What was that all about?" Natsu was the first one to comment after they disappeared, still pretty much confused as to what had just happened.
"Natsu…" Erza shook her head lightly, though before she could say anything a soft thud drew her attention.
Turning her head towards the source along with Natsu and Tazuna, Erza noticed Naruto laying on the ground on his back with his eyes closed as he panted hard and though she hadn't noticed it before due to Naruto being completely soaked, he also seemed to be sweating pretty hard too.
Turning her head towards the other one, she took notice that Naruto wasn't the only one as Sasuke too was in the same condition as he sat there on the ground with his head hung low and eyes closed as he too panted pretty badly while sweating all over.
She immediately got worried. They seemed fine just moments ago so what was going on and she wasn't the only one as Natsu wasted no time in going over to his brothers and inquired if they were alright but got no response in return as the two just continued to take ragged breaths.
Walking over to the two with Tazuna in tow, she inquired of the two in concern. "Are you two alright?"
For a moment neither said anything before turned his head slightly and opened one of his eyes, and she could clearly see the tiredness reflected with that single crystal-like orb. Mouth curling into a grin almost painfully, Naruto replied simply. "Nope."
Erza couldn't help but blink once at the rather blunt answer. "You seemed fine just now." She couldn't help but ask as the two really did appear fine just a few minutes ago.
This time though, it was Sasuke who answered as he opened his eyes to reveal two coal-black orbs. "We weren't fine –"
"– We were just acting tough!" Naruto finished after Sasuke as he gave Erza a shaky thumbs-up with his hand immediately dropping afterwards.
"Huh?" Hearing this Natsu tilted his head to the side. What did they mean by acting tough?
It seemed that Erza was thing along the same lines when she worded Natsu's unasked question. "What do you mean by 'acting tough'?"
"Truth is," Sasuke started as he turned his head upwards while still breathing hard. "Our Boost and Divine Dividing have some pretty unpleasant effects on our bodies if we overdo things and with this fight – well, 'overdoing it' is really putting it lightly."
His answer earned him confused looks from both Natsu and Tazuna. Natsu because this was the first time he was hearing about the 'bad-effects' of his brothers' Dragon Slayer Magic and Tazuna was plain confused as he understood pretty much nothing about magic.
Meanwhile Erza had a curious look on her face at this. Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to think that magic like Divine Dividing and Boost would come without sever drawbacks and to actually be hearing about them got her curious. "What do you mean by–?"
"Erza-chan!" Naruto called out, cutting Erza as he slowly sat up and offered her a tired smile. "I know you have questions but let's answer then another time. We're tired and Zabuza did a number on us, heck, it hurts to even stay awake! So let's talk about this some other time, ok!"
Erza, caught slightly off-guard by the sudden suffix added to her name, nodded in return.
Beside Naruto, Sasuke turned his head away from him before scoffing. "The one who did a number on us more than Zabuza was you with that last stunt you pulled."
Naruto opened his mouth to retort but closed it a minute later before sighing. "You know what? I'm too tired to even argue! So let's just forget it." He said then turning and addressing Tazuna. "Old-man, how much longer till we reach your house?"
"Ah?" Tazuna started as the attention was shifted to him. "It's close. I chose this path for a reason actually. Just a short walk more and we'll be there." He said, moving towards the direction they had been going on before Zabuza had appeared.
"Alright then…" Naruto drawled out as he started to get up – patting Natsu on the head in the process – along with Sasuke before both of them draped an arm over the other's shoulder, using each other a support.
"Lead the way old-man."
(A while later: Tazuna's house.)
True to Tazuna's word, it hadn't taken the group long – at most maybe about a ten minute walk – before they had reached Tazuna's house.
Naruto and Sasuke didn't agree.
The walk had been long, painfully long! Although, that may be the pain speaking.
And on top of that, here they were still waiting for like forever while Tazuna knocked on the front door – never mind the fact that they have only been waiting for two minutes.
"Tsunami!" Tazuna called out as he once more knocked on the door before a few moments later the group hared foot-steps gradually getting louder till they came to a stop all together before the door finally opened.
Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help the sigh of relief that came from them.
When the door fully opened, it revealed a woman with long blue colored hair and black eyes, dressed in a knee-length blue skirt and a pink T-shirt with red outlines.
The woman seemed to be cautious at first before her face immediately lit up when she saw Tazuna. "Father!" Calling out, she hugged Tazuna. "I'm so relieved! You're back!"
"Yep! I'm back safe and sound!" Tazuna replied, sounding pretty relieved himself. "And it's all thanks to these young mages!" Letting go of his daughter, Tazuna turned to the others.
Breaking out of the hug, she immediately bowed to the mages. "Thank you so very much for protecting my father! I am Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. It's very nice to meet you." She introduced, getting similar responses from the group before Tazuna intervened.
"Now, now Tsunami. We don't want to keep them waiting outside. As you can see they are not in a very good condition." Tazuna spoke as he pointed to Naruto and Sasuke.
"Oh!" Tsunami started, bringing a hand to her mouth as she finally took notice of the injured duo leaning on each other. "I'm so sorry for my rudeness! Please come in!" She invited them in as she stepped aside and the group of mages wasted no time entering.
The moment they stepped into the moderate house however, another voice caught their attention.
"Grandpa."
Turning towards the source, the group saw a little boy with black hair and black eyes, no older than Natsu standing there, looking at Tazuna while outright disregarding them.
"Inari!" Tazuna exclaimed as his face lit up in happiness with the boy making his way over to him.
"Welcome home, grandpa." The now named, Inari greeted as he hugged Tazuna.
"Hehe…" Tazuna returned the hug and ruffled his grandson's hair before gesturing towards the mages. "Now Inari, say hi to these people. They're the mages who protected grandpa!"
Instead of doing what his grandfather asked him of, Inari looked at the group for a moment before saying rather bluntly. "But grandpa, they are just going to die anyway."
"Ha?" Naruto, Sasuke and Erza all deadpanned at that. The boy spoke as if he already knew they were going to be dead by the next morning.
"What was that?" Natsu wasn't too happy about what he just heard as evidenced by the fact that he was turning red while being close to bursting into an inferno. Who the hell does this spoiled brat thinks he is to say they were going to die! His big brother totally kicked Zabuza's ass and this brat has the nerve to say they are going to die? Just who does he think he is kidding!
Natsu's eyebrow twitched violently when he saw the brat rudely leaving the room even ignoring his mother's reprimanding voice. Oh, there was no way he was going to let this one slide! "Come back here and say that to my face, I dare you!" Natsu demanded heatedly, ready to jump the boy.
Though before he could take after the boy who just ignored Natsu like he wasn't there, Erza grabbed Natsu by the scarf before pulling him backwards and over to her then bonking him on the head. "Behave Natsu." Reprimanding Natsu, Erza glared at him.
Seeing that he couldn't go after the brat to beat him up, Natsu settled for crossing his arms and pouting.
"Well," Naruto stared with the same deadpan look before stating sarcastically as he watched Inari's back disappear. "Isn't he just a ball of sunshine."
Shaking her head at her son's rudeness, Tsunami bowed to the group. "I am so sorry abou –"
"Tsunami-san!" Sasuke addressed, cutting her off. "Please don't worry about it. Instead we would like it if you would show us to a room where we can rest."
"Oh, but of course. Right this way." Tsunami said before leading the group upstairs and into a room there. She then went and took out two futon before rolling them out in the center of the room.
Nodding at Tsunami in gratitude, the two let go of each other and walked over to the futon. "Now if you will excuse us." Naruto muttered before promptly dropping on the futon on his back and just like that the two were out like lights.
Being the mother that she was, Tsunami couldn't help but shake her head before moving over to properly tuck the two in bed. However, just as she was about to pull the blanket over Sasuke's sleeping form, she paused earning confused looks from Natsu and Erza.
"What's the matter Tsunami-san?" Erza inquired, wondering if something was wrong.
Tsunami was silent for a moment before gently putting the blanket down around Sasuke's waist. "Their injuries are worse than I thought." She said before moving Sasuke's kimono top to reveal the ugly bruise that was on his abdomen. And that wasn't all. There was also another bruise on his right cheek as well as both of his hands along with the fingers were bruised, as if he had gripped something hard to the point of nearly drawing blood. There were also a number of large pink spots on his body and arms like he had been sprayed with scorching hot water.
Looking to the other, she took notice that Naruto wasn't in a better condition either. His right hand up to a little over his wrist was a purplish-pink as his index and middle fingers bled ever so slowly. Then there was the bruise on his right cheek along with signs of a fractured though not broken nose. He also had a bruise on his left shoulder and looking closely, one could tell that he had hit his head multiple times too.
And those were the injuries only visible to the eyes. They didn't know of any internal damages that the two had undoubtedly suffered.
"These injuries aren't life-threatening or anything but they aren't light by any means." Tsunami said more to herself though was heard by the others. "I am going to get the medical kit. We should dress these wounds as soon as possible." She said to Erza before getting up from her sitting position.
"That would be helpful." Erza said as she smiled at the kind woman gratefully.
Tsunami instead of replying, smiled at Erza before starting to make her way out of the room. It was fortunate that her father's job as a bridge builder came with risks of injuries so she always had to make sure they had the necessary medical supplies.
Watching Tsunami disappear, Erza gave a small sigh before taking a seat beside Natsu who was looking at his brothers' injuries with a grimace. Not that she could blame him though. Looking at the two injured boys, she couldn't help her own grimace. She should have known that they would be injured at very least to this extent.
After all, it would have been far too easy if they had come out with just fatigue after taking on someone like Zabuza Momochi.
(Meanwhile: Somewhere within the forests with Hunter Mage.)
Currently, after laying Zabuza's lifeless body on the ground and sticking Kubikiribōchō in the ground beside the body, the Hunter Mage seemed to be examining Zabuza's body before making a move to remove the bandages covering the mouth.
It was at that moment that Zabuza's eyes snapped open as his hand shot forward before grabbing a hold of the Hunter Mage's outstretched arm. "That's enough!" Zabuza stated in the same gruff voice as he glared at the Hunter Mage. "I can do the rest myself!" He said before letting go of the arm and moving his hand to move aside the bandages covering the bottom half of his face to reveal rows of jagged-teeth.
Zabuza then slowly and with a great deal of effort sat up. Moving his hand towards his neck, he carelessly plucked out the Senbon needles before throwing them aside. "You're brutal Haku!" Zabuza commented as he grunted in pain.
"You're the one who is brutal here. If you take them out so carelessly, you really will be dead." The now named, Haku replied in slight amusement as he eyed the blood covered needles.
Zabuza scoffed before leveling the Hunter Mage with another glare or to be more precise, he glared at the mask Haku was wearing. "How long are you going to wear that mask? Take it off!" He commanded distastefully.
"My apologies." Haku started, moving a hand to the mask covering his face. "But you see, I like wearing this mask." He said before taking the mask off to reveal a rather feminine face with pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes.
"Forget about that!" Zabuza said before eyeing Haku expectantly. "Tell me what did you learn from observing the fight?"
"Ah, yes." Haku began, almost delightfully. "It seems we are up against Dragon Slayers and the Nitenryū no less."
To be continued…
(1) For those of you who thought that Divine Diving and Boost made Naruto and Sasuke invincible, you are wrong! Divine Dividing and Boost have a pretty nasty drawback which being the backlash they have to the hosts body.
In particularly, the stamina and the limit of the hosts themselves are very crucial for them to be able to properly utilize the divided/boosted energy. If not and they divide/boost past their limits or if their stamina has run out, then it severely damages their own bodies.
Vali Lucifer found a way around this by releasing the excessive energy from his wings which left his power at the highest output while Issei Hyoudou released the excessive energy through a Boost: Explosion which resets his power and allows him to boost again.
These are the two biggest weakness of Divine Diving and Boosted Gear aside from Dragon-slaying magic, swords and curses. And considering the fact that Naruto and Sasuke are still about 13 year old kids, the drawbacks are much heavier on them.
(2) The Power of Destruction is not absolute either. The power of this magic is extremely reliant of the experience and power of the wielder themselves. This was shown when it failed to do little to no damage at all against superior enemies such as Kokabiel who in fact swatted it aside with his bare hand.
Translations:
Nitenryū: Two Heavenly Dragons
Kubikiribōchō: Decapitating Carving Knife
Shunshin: Body Flicker Technique
Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu: Wood Release: Cutting Technique
Sekiryū no Hōkō: Red Dragon's Roar
Hakuryū no Hōkō: White Dragon's Roar
Sekiryū no Hōken: Red Dragon'sDemolition Fist
Mokuton: Daisōju: Wood Release: Great Spear Tree
Hakuryū Senbi: WhiteDragon Swirling Tail – Zekku: Void Sever
Suiton: Suiryūdan: Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet
Suiton: Suidan: Water Release: Water Bullet Technique
Suiton: Daibakufu: Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique
Metsuryū Ōgi: Dragon Slayer's Secret Art
Gran Rey Cero: Royal Hollow Flash
Hakuryū Senga: White Dragon Flash Fang
AN: Well, this was long overdue. Originally, this was supposed to be posted last month but I got so lazy that I couldn't make progress but still leaving that aside, what did you guys thought of the fight?
This fight was honestly hard for me to figure out as no matter how much I thought it over, there really was just no way for the two to beat Zabuza at their current levels so after a lot of pondering, I decided to go with a traditional manga 'Convenient Power-up' which came in the form of the 'Divine Booster'.
Well, there really isn't much to say so how did you guys like Naruto and Sasuke at their best? They gave everything they had in this fight and I honestly can't help but think that things escalated really quickly.
Anyways, be sure to leave a nice long REVIEW to let me know your thoughts, questions, suggestions etc. and also be sure to check my fb page after a day to see the replies to your reviews.
Well, ciao!
- El Emperador