"Heh, fool," Zabuza chuckled as he appeared performing hand signs behind the resurfacing Kakashi. "Heh heh heh, now I have you in an inescapable prison!" He informed as a sphere of water engulfed the silver haired jounin. "Now Kakashi, we can finish things later. First I'll take care of them," he said darkly as he preformed another hand sign and a doppelganger rose from a puddle of water.

"Heh heh, wearing those hitai-ates and acting like ninjas," the clone chuckled. "A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Only when you're good enough to be listed in my handbook can you start calling yourself a ninja. You are not ninjas," he accused before disappearing for a moment and then kicking Naruto away and knocking off his hitai-ate in the process.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura yelled in worry.

"Just brats," the real Zabuza scoffed.

"Take Tazuna-san and run!" Kakashi ordered from his prison, "You have no chance of beating him! As long as he's keeping me trapped in this prison he can't move! The water clone can't go very far from his real body. Just run away now!"

Jizouko thought about it for a moment before adjusting her grip on her kunai and moving to stand between the bridge builder and the water clone. "I can cover you as you make a run for it," she said softly, sparing a glance behind her.

Naruto on the other hand did the exact opposite and charged the doppelganger.

"Naruto-kun what are you thinking?" Sakura shrieked.

"Bah, idiot!" The clone scoffed before knocking the kid back as if he was nothing.

"What are you doing attacking him all by yourself?" Sakura reprimanded, "We genin have no chance against him!"

Jizouko was about to join in the scolding when she spotted his fallen hitai-ate clutched tightly in his grasp.

The blonde boy stood up shakily as a shadow fell over his eyes. "Hey, you eyebrow less freak," he started, "put this in your handbook. The man who will one day become Hokage, Konoha ninja Uzumaki Naruto!" He finished as he tied his hitai-ate securely around his forehead.

Jizouko smirked at this change in attitude; maybe he would make it in the ninja world after all…

"Sasuke-kun! Listen!" He called out to his comrade.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"I have a plan," Naruto grinned.

Is that so? Jizouko thought as she arched an eyebrow.

"Pft, teamwork from you?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Now let's get wild," Naruto suggested as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand.

"A lot of arrogance but, do you stand a chance?" The Zabuza clone asked doubtfully.

"What are you doing? Run away!" Kakashi tried to reason, "This fight was over the moment I was caught! Our duty is to protect Tazuna-san! Did you forget that?"

"Old man…" Naruto trailed off as he turned to look at the bridge builder.

"Well," Tazuna started, "I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to now say that I desire to live so much that I'd stop you. I'm sorry guys, fight as much as you want," he gave permission with a grin.

The group next turned to look at Jizouko. "Not my sensei, I don't have to listen to him," she shrugged with a grin in answer to their unasked question.

"You hear that?" Sasuke asked to no one in particular.

"Are you ready?" Naruto grinned.

The Zabuza clone started laughing loudly, "You guys will never grow up!" He declared after his laughing fit ended. "Going to keep playing ninja, eh? When I was about your age these hands were already dyed red with blood."

"Devil Zabuza," Kakashi said, looking from the corner of his eye.

"Ah, so you've heard a little about it," Zabuza acknowledged.

Jizouko narrowed her eyes slightly; she remembered being told about the Devil Zabuza when she was younger. "He killed over 100 students of the graduating class that he wasn't even a part of," a dark haired woman said as she took the small book out of a young Jizouko's hands. "If you ever see him or anyone else in this book you should run, they're bad news."

She looked into the bloodthirsty gaze of the doppelganger; no doubt it was even scarier from the real Zabuza. Sorry aneki, but I don't run away, she thought as she raised her kunai slightly in a silent challenge.

The clone accepted the challenge and in a flash he had rammed his elbow into her gut, she had managed to direct it away from her vulnerable rib cage. He then slammed his fist down where he had hit her with his elbow, pinning her to the ground. Jizouko felt the all the air leave her lungs and there was a slight coppery taste in her mouth as she gasped in pain.

"Jizouko-chan!" Naruto yelled in worry.

"Die," the clone ordered as he began putting pressure on her ribs.

She struggled weakly as she tried to regain her breath and managed to stab the clone in the leg, though it appeared to be ineffective. There was a poof sound all around her prone figure, at least 100 Naurtos appearing, and the clone removed his foot from her chest, much to her relief.

"Ah, shadow clones, and a large amount," the clone said as he reached for his sword.

"Here I come!" The Narutos yelled in unison before charging in.

Jizouko got up coughing blood onto the ground and holding her ribs yet again. "Kick his ass!" She cheered on as she gasped for air.

The clone easily batted the shadow clones away with his sword, sending them flying in various directions. So much for that plan, Jizouko winced at the beating.

One of the Narutos reached into his bag as he skidded along the ground and threw a weapon to Sasuke. The rave haired boy jumped to catch it and rolled on the ground when he landed. He snapped the weapon open to reveal it was a giant shiruken of sorts.

"Demon Wind Shiruken," he said as he held up the weapon, "Windmill of Shadows."

"A shiruken won't work against me!" Zabuza's clone scoffed as Sasuke jumped up to throw the shiruken.

The black metal weapon's path took it around the clone, seeming like a miss. Oh, I see, Jizouko thought as the shiruken continued towards the water.

"I see you're aiming it at the real me. But," the real Zabuza started, "that's not enough!" He declared as he caught the projectile, only to find another one whizzing towards him. "Another one in the shiruken's shadow?" He gaped. "But, still not enough!" He chuckled as he jumped over it.

Are you serious? Jizouko groaned internally as the shiruken continued on unhindered. Then the shiruken transformed into Naruto who threw a kunai at Zabuza's back. Not a bad plan, she congratulated silently when she realized that was the goal all along.

Zabuza was forced to jump away to dodge, breaking his control over the sphere of water containing Kakashi, but the knife still gave him a scratch across his cheek. Zabuza spun the windmill shiruken that he had caught in his hand angrily as he ran toward Naruto. Uh oh! Jizouko thought as she looked on unable to help the blonde.

Right before Zabuza could bring the weapon down on the defenseless boy Kakashi stepped in and caught the blade on the metal plate covering the back of his hand.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called out in relief at the sight of her freed teacher.

"Naruto-kun, great plan," Kakashi congratulated his student. "You guys have grown up."

Naruto giggled proudly before he began explaining his strategy. Are you kidding me? Jizouko thought angrily, You never under any circumstances tell the enemy your plan, even if you already executed it! He'll see right through it if you ever use it again on him!

"I got distracted and released the justu," Zabuza said, refusing to admit he had been outwitted by a kid.

"Wrong!" Kakashi contested, "You didn't release it. You were forced to release it. I'll tell you that I don't fall for the same jutsu twice. What will you do?" He asked his opponent before both of them jumped away and started performing hand seals. The two executed the same jutsu and two large dragons made out of water clashed together.

Jizouko watched in awe with the others still on dry land, That's amazing! She gasped internally before a wave of water crashed onto the group and almost knocked her over. The water dragons crashed back onto the water, sending a spray to cover the already drenched spectators. In the middle of the deluge Kakashi blocked Zabuza's sword with a kunai before jumbling back a few meters. He continued to mimic Zabuza's movements and hand seals, even finishing his unsaid sentences.

"Freaky eye is pissing me off! Right?" Kakashi asked as he stared at his opponent unblinkingly.

"Heh, all you're doing is copying me," Zabuza started. "You can't beat me you monkey bastard!" Kakashi finished with him.

"Damn you!" Zabuza grunted as he began performing more hand seals, "I'll make it so you can never open that mouth again!"

Kakashi copied them perfectly and even went on to finish the string of hand seals before his opponent.

"What? That's impossible!" Zabuza shouted as Kakashi sent a giant wave of water towards him, throwing him against a tree. Kakashi threw four kunai into his limbs, rendering him immobile.

"It's over," he declared coolly as he landed on a branch of the tree.

"How?" Zabuza asked shakily, "Can you see the future?"

"Yeah," Kakashi confirmed as he held up a kunai, "I foresee your death."

Two senbon needles came flying out of the surrounding trees and pierced Zabuza in the neck.

"Heh heh, you're right. He's dead," a new voice said from a nearby tree branch. The group looked up to see a figure wearing a painted mask. A hunter-nin from Kirigakure? Jizouko recognized the mask.

Kakashi jumped down to check Zabuza's pulse and then looked at the figure out of the corner of his eye.

"Thank you very much," the figure, which Jizouko was guessing to be male, bowed his head slightly. "I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

"That mask," Kakashi started, "you're a Kirigakure hunter-nin."

"Impressive. You are correct," the figure confirmed.

"Hunter-nin?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Yes, my duty is to hunt down missing-nins," the figure explained, "I'm a member of Kirigakure's hunter-nin team."

Jizouko stared at the figure for a long moment, He can't be much older than me yet he's so strong… It's unusual to see someone like that now, she thought with a slight frown as she thought of all the stories she had heard about young children who had quickly climbed the shinobi ladder, The last one from Konoha was Uchiha Itachi if I remember correctly…

"What the Hell?" Naruto exploded as he pointed a finger at the hunter-nin, "Who are you?"

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, he's not an enemy," Kakashi placated as he stood up.

"I'm not asking that!" Naruto yelled back "That Zabuza… That Zabuza was killed! A guy that strong… A guy that strong was killed by a kid! By a kid not much different from me! We look stupid! How can I understand that?"

Well, I know how you feel, but this is also the truth," Kakashi started as he placed a hand on Naruto's head. "In this world, there exists kids younger than you yet stronger than me."

The hunter-nin jumped down to the ground and pulled one of Zabuza's arms over his shoulder. "Your battle is now over," he said, "and now I must dispose of this body. Since it seems to be a body with many secrets. Farewell," he said before he disappeared from view.

Aren't they supposed to destroy the body on sight? Jizouko thought and then shrugged it off; Maybe they changed the protocol or something…

Kakashi sighed tiredly as he pulled his hitai-ate down to cover his Sharingan. "Now we have to get Tazuna-san back home," he announced. "Let's go!"

"Ha ha ha!" Tazuna laughed heartily, "Thanks a lot, guys! Come over to my house and relax for a while!"

Kakashi fell to the ground in exhaustion shortly after the old man gave his initiation. The group of genin shouted in worry for their mentor's health.

Great, Jizouko sighed mentally, now we're going to have to carry him!