Mind, Magic, and Sword…wait what?
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
This chapter and my others are being Beta-read by RSBCS.
I apologize if some characters come off as OOC here.
Team 7 continued their routine of guarding Tazuna for the next few days, lending their help to the remaining members of Tazuna's crew as they worked to complete the bridge. In fact, with Sasuke's magic and Sakura's ESPer powers, the Team had managed to actually do the work of several men between the four of them, resulting in decent progress being made on the bridge's construction.
It was at the end of these few days that Sasuke and Naruto were working at the bridge site, assisting Tazuna's crew while also keeping an eye out for any unwelcome guests thanks to a detection array Sasuke had erected with his magic. It was because of these wards that the two Konoha Genin realized something was amiss long before a thick bank of mist began to blow in.
"Impossible," said Naruto as he reached for his sword, "he should have drowned, or bled to death from the injuries Tōsei inflicted. There's no way he can be back."
"It seems 'impossible' isn't as absolute as it used to be," mused Sasuke as he quickly crouched down and began drawing glowing runes on the ground.
"Taking care of the mist?" asked Naruto as he slid into a ready position.
"Already done," said Sasuke, "I had time to improve on the previous spell. Best to be prepared I always say. Caeli Clarum Est!"
The young mage pulled out another vial and threw it down onto the runes, causing a bubble of wind to form around them and expand, blowing away the incoming mist and surrounding the bridge in an area of clean air.
"I have to say, I'm getting really tired of that," muttered Zabuza as he leapt onto the bridge, no longer relying on subtlety due to Sasuke undermining his stealthy approach and Kirigakure no Jutsu, "but once I kill you brats, it won't be a problem anymore."
The Kiri Missing-nin looked mostly the same as he had earlier, but it was obvious that he didn't come away from his last confrontation with them unscathed,
"You'll try," said Sasuke, "but you won't succeed."
"Heh," chuckled Zabuza, "you may have some weird tricks, but your friend is the one I want a rematch with, so I can't have you interfering."
Suddenly a blur shot forward, slamming into Sasuke bodily, forcing him away from Naruto's position, the figure revealing himself to be a teenage male wearing a green Haori and hakama with a white porcelain mask covering his face.
"I shall be your opponent," said Haku, his mask obscuring his voice, "you shall not interfere with Zabuza-sama's duel."
"You think you can stop me?" asked Sasuke as he prepared to cast a spell.
"I do," replied Haku as he made a hand-seal, "Hyōton: Hyōgan Dōmu!"
Before Sasuke could make a move or cast a spell, the temperature dropped and a large, thick dome of ice formed around him and his opponent, completely isolating the two of them from the rest of the bridge.
"Interesting trick," said Sasuke, "but it won't be too difficult for me to break free."
"Oh?" inquired Haku with a quirk of his head.
"Indeed," said Sasuke as he drew a glowing rune in the air, "Ignis exiet!"
Haku's eyes widened behind his mask and he dove out of the way as a blast of fire shot from the runes, singing the edge of his robes as they passed through the position he had previously been in, impacting against the dome's wall and dissipating without leaving a trace.
"Impressive technique," said Haku, "but ultimately futile. Mere fire won't melt my ice. Surrender. You are at my mercy here."
"Just because I didn't melt your ice, doesn't mean I'm at a disadvantage," countered Sasuke with a scowl.
In lieu of a retort, Haku whipped his arm forward, throwing several senbon at the Konoha Genin, the needles stabbing into specific points in his left arm, causing the limb to hang limply at his side.
"Ok," muttered Sasuke, "I stand corrected."
"I do not wish to cause you unnecessary harm," said Haku, "so please, give up now."
"You overestimate yourself," said Sasuke before crouching down and using his good hand to draw a quick rune on the ground that he slammed his hand down on, "Harenae captionem!"
The ground beneath Haku's feet suddenly began to glow, causing his eyes to widen behind his mask as he leapt away just as the stone surface he had been standing on was transmuted to a localized quicksand pit.
"I think you'll find me more than capable of fighting you," said Sasuke.
"If you insist," said Haku as he drew more senbon and prepared to throw them.
xXsceneXx
While this was happening, Naruto was dealing with his own share of troubles as, the moment Haku had cast his Jutsu to separate them from the two swordsmen, Zabuza had sprung into action, attacking Naruto with his massive blade and forcing the young blond onto the defensive as he hastily drew Tōsei to deflect and parry the swings of Zabuza's sword.
"C'mon kid?" laughed Zabuza as he delivered a horizontal slash that sent Naruto skidding across the incomplete bridge as he tried to counter, "where's that fire you had in our last bout?"
"You'll forgive me if I seem surprised that an assassin wishes their opponent to provide more of a challenge," quipped Naruto as he flexed his arms in an attempt to alleviate the pain in his arms from tanking the blow.
"Heh," laughed Zabuza, "I may be being paid to assassinate the Bridge Builder, but I haven't met a kid with your skill since we began training the Hōzuki brats, and I'll be damned if I don't get a good fight out of this mission before it's over.
"To put it simply, brat," said Zabuza as he pointed his cleaver-sword at the teen, "we have unfinished business from our last bout. You took me down, but you didn't take me out, so we're going to finish this, and the winner will be the one still breathing at the end."
"Really now?" said Naruto dryly, "I would assume that me splitting my attention between protecting Tazuna and fighting you would hinder my performance in this duel."
"True," replied Zabuza with a nod, "so I'll make this promise. So long as you give me your best, then I'll keep from killing the Bridge Builder until after I win."
"If you win," corrected Naruto as he held his sword in a ready stance.
"There's that fire!" laughed Zabuza as he rushed forward, "show me your strength!"
The two swordsmen rushed at each other, blades ready to attack, but as Zabuza swung his massive cleaver forward, Naruto leapt up and rolled with his opponent's slash, dodging the blow while simultaneously deflecting the force behind it downward into the bridge, causing Zabuza to stumble off balance for just a second as the blond landed on the flat of his blade, swinging his katana at the missing-nin.
It took a good deal of his training in building up his reaction time, but Zabuza was able to dodge the slash that would have removed his head from his shoulders, though he did not escape completely unscathed as his hitai-ate fell to the ground, the strap that held it to his head having been sliced in two.
Giving his sword a mighty swing, Zabuza flipped Naruto off of his weapon before bringing the blade back around to slash at the younger swordsman, an attack that Naruto managed to parry with the edge of his katana, though the force of the blow sent him tumbling across the bridge. Rolling to his feet, he squared his stance and slashed out rapidly with his sword in a single motion that launched several wind blades at the Demon of the Mist.
"Ittoryu: Odoru tsubame!"
"The same old tricks won't take me down!" growled Zabuza as he swung his sword in a powerful arc, kicking up a blast of wind that disrupted Naruto's attack, before rushing forward, swinging his massive blade at the blond's head.
Naruto hastily bent backwards as Zabuza's sword swung over his face, the edge of the sword shaving off several of his golden locks. As the blade finished its pass, Naruto transitioned into a backflip in order to recover, before being forced to bring his blade back up to block a follow up swing from Zabuza that sent him flying across the bridge before he could regain his footing. Just as he collected himself though, he was forced to roll to the side to avoid a downward slash that carved a deep groove into the bridge.
"You're slippery brat," said Zabuza, "looks like I'll need to step up my game. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Several copies of the Demon of the Mist rose up out of the water and leapt onto the bridge where they proceeded to draw their swords in preparation to attack.
"I must say," said Naruto dryly, "C-Rank missions seem to be more difficult than described in the request."
To be continued…