Chapter 9

Pushed to the Limit: The Demon of the Hidden Mist Strikes!

"We are nearly at the bridge now. The Land of Waves is just ahead," their boat captained informed in a whisper.

How this boat captain can see anything without something like my Byakugan is beyond me. They were deep in a thick mist that made seeing two feet in front of her without her dōjutsu impossible. Traveling these waters consistently probably had a hand in his ability to paddle his motorboat with confidence, but Amari was still impressed. Talk about a great natural defense. Anyone unfamiliar with these waters could get lost or crash their ship if they aren't careful.

Ever since they entered the mist she had remained utterly silent, refusing to speak unless spoken to so she could put forth her entire focus to searching for strong chakra signatures with her Byakugan. We must be ready for any attack. Our next opponent, or opponents, will be tougher than the last two.

Their first enemies were to test the waters of those protecting the bridge builder, or at least that was what she believed. It was wholly possible the first group was actually meant to handle it without issue, but their failure would not go unnoticed. Whoever wanted the bridge builder dead would send more, and this time it would either be in a vast amount of enemies or one or two extremely powerful shinobi.

As they coasted across the water, a large, yet unfinished, bridge came into view through the fog, looming over them like a manmade mountain waiting to be completed.

So that's the bridge. That was what was going to change the lives of the people in the Land of Waves. This structure, for Tazuna, was worth lying to shinobi and risking his life for his people.

This bridge was what they had to protect.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Naruto all but shouted at the top of his lungs in amazement.

Took the words out of my mouth, Naruto. The bridge stood tall and defiant through the mist even in its incomplete state. If all went well it would become a beacon of hope among a people who had none; the commerce it would bring would change everything for these people.

The boat captain immediately started scolding the boy in a hissed whisper for forgetting the rule about no noise. The reason the captain was paddling instead of using his motor and traveling through the dense fog was because they were trying to remain hidden from…well, they still didn't know exactly who they were hiding from yet. All they knew was whoever it was caused Tazuna and this boat captain to fear reprisal of being caught in the open as they were.

Finally, Amari decided to speak without taking her gaze off the horizon ahead. "Who has imparted such fear onto you two? Who are we hiding from?"

Tazuna remained silent. Although they all knew he had lied to get them here, he still hadn't been forthcoming with who exactly they were dealing with. But his time of silence was at an end. They needed answers now. If he refused to give them the truth…they'd be given no choice but to abandon him.

"Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi's voice was calm, yet firm when he spoke. "Before we reach the pier you need to tell us why there are men coming after you. If you don't tell us I'm afraid I will have to end this mission when we drop you ashore."

The time for keeping secrets was over. If he wanted help he needed to tell them exactly who they were dealing with, otherwise they'd have no idea what kind of danger they should anticipate. Currently they were here voluntarily, and they could leave just as easily.

Tazuna stared at the wooden floor of the boat for a silent moment or two before exhaling a deep sigh. "The man who seeks my life is a short man who casts a very long and deadly shadow."

A long and deadly shadow?

"He's one of the wealthiest men in the world, a shipping magnet. His name is Gatō."

Gatō was a well-known business leader, according to Tazuna and Kakashi, but apparently below the surface he sold drugs and contraband using gangs and ninja. One part that stuck out for Amari was his use of others to do his dirty work. Obviously without them he lacked any strength or ability to get what he wanted through threats.

The more Tazuna explained, the more her hatred for Gatō grew within her heart. Profiting off of fear instilled in those who can't fight back because you have your lackeys slaughter them as examples. This guy needs to go down. Amari looked to the bridge. We won't fail this mission. We can't for their sake.

The bridge was the only thing that would break his control and Tazuna was the only one standing in the way. Without him the workers would cower away and Gatō would remain in power.

"That means those guys we fought in the forest were working for Gatō," Sasuke pointed out.

Right, and now we've taken them out. That means he'll send in the heavy hitters soon. Amari deactivated her Byakugan. I need to conserve my chakra then and give my eye a break. I need it at its full potential for the next fight.

No one was going to attack them on the water, that much was obvious. Whoever was going to strike next was waiting for them somewhere on the shore where they already had a place scouted out for their battle.

Unknown land with an unknown opponent…We're walking into a trap. Figuring out how to turn the trap against them or at the least counter it so we can create a new tactic will prove to be difficult.

Amari fell deep into her thoughts to strategize over how to counteract the coming trap. At the same time she vaguely heard their client attempting to guilt them to stay by mentioning how his grandson would cry forever and his daughter would condemn the Leaf Village shinobi. It was quite humorous, in a way, that he would stoop to guilt tripping them, but the Nara could see the double meaning behind it without a dōjutsu.

He was desperate; the whole island was.

Team Seven was their only hope of becoming free of Gatō's control.

What they were going headfirst into was dangerous. They were Genin on a B- or A-ranked mission with little to no real combat experience. Thinking about the odds of success and possible injury made heading back to the village sound like a better idea overall, but now they were committed and she wasn't going to back down from a fight.

We'll be fine. We have Kakashi-sensei and his Sharingan to fall back on if we need to.

As they were approaching the shore, after crossing under a different bridge, the fog dissipated to reveal a sunnier and lively looking village. It was a definite change from the foggy grey they had just been paddling though, and with luck maybe after they finished their mission all of the Land of Waves would look this way.

What a contrast of colors. Amari's appreciation died in a heartbeat when her eye adjusted to the lights, allowing her to see far clearer exactly what kind of state the village was in. The houses were weathered and looked like they hadn't seen a new coat of paint or maintenance in years. If the young ninja had to guess, the people who lived in them would be mirror images. Weathered, broken down, rotting at their foundations until they would one day just topple over, unable to continue supporting their own weight.

Gatō has sucked them all dry of their very will to live.

Each thought added onto her already rising temper. The audacity of Gatō to keep people in such a state by using thugs and fear to rule over them like some kind of twisted lord. And the people are just sitting there taking it. They could stand up and fight. Even if they died at least they tried to make a difference. At least they wouldn't be cowering in fear being herded like cattle as they live their lives suffering each day.

"Amari, you're thinking too much." Kakashi's voice was light and calm, but what was underneath his words snapped the Nara out of the dark place she was heading to. She unclenched her hand from the boat that she hadn't realized she had gripped tightly in anger.

We'll help these people.

They exited the boat after docking at the nearest pier. With their feet back on solid land they'd need to get back on high alert for any danger lurking ahead in the shadows. Amari was already scanning the area with her right eye, just doing a quick observation while the bridge builder thanked the boat captain. If an attack was coming soon she needed to be aware constantly to prevent any harm from coming to her team or Tazuna.

Once again the group set off on their journey to Tazuna's home. Amari found herself walking next to Kakashi, both sensei and student unknowingly in deep thought over the same matter. Next up will be Jōnin, elite ninjas like sensei which means we'll be about as useful as a wooden shuriken against any real enemy.

"Amari, keep your eye open for anything out of the ordinary. We'll need all the advantages we can get now," Kakashi whispered to her.

She nodded faintly. An ambush was inevitable, they both knew that. And whoever was preparing it would have picked a location where they had the greatest advantage against any enemy. They wouldn't be as arrogant as the first two to give away their location against them too early. If their next enemy was on the level of Kakashi, Team Seven would have a brief window of opportunity to counter the ambush and prepare for defense.

They'd need any and all advantages they could make use of to keep counter the first attack and regroup. Her eye was just one of those advantages.

Naruto suddenly rushed forward and threw a kunai for some strange reason. Amari let her only visible eyebrow quirk up, unimpressed by his sudden action. Trying to show Sasuke up no doubt. That or appear super cool. She rolled her eye. Naruto, you can be so troublesome sometimes. Now wasn't the time to act like a kid. They needed to be thinking like shinobi in preparation of a dangerous fight, not playing around or trying to show someone up because of a bruised ego.

The others, exception of Sasuke and Amari, jumped to scolding the boy for different reasons. Amari wasn't sure if he was right or not about his first throw, but a sudden strong chakra signature jolted through her senses, snapping her attention straight to the area where Naruto threw his next kunai.

That wasn't a rodent… That chakra signature was powerful…and full of darkness she was hesitant to even believe was possible. Kakashi must have sensed it too because instead of scolding Naruto again he went to check where the kunai knife landed.

Amari quickly activated her Byakugan and scanned the area in front of her first and then behind her…There he is. She could see him and the chakra signature clearly in a nearby tree with a giant sword in his hands.

Even at a distance she could feel his cold and dark chakra, like all he saw and believed in was to kill all those who he saw unworthy of him. Just by feel that was everyone he was staring at right now. Immense strength irradiated off of him, the likes of which she had only ever felt in shinobi like Kakashi.

He suddenly took a backswing with his sword. "Everyone, get down now!" she shouted. She wasn't going to wait for her order to register just in case they had a moment of hesitation. One second of hesitation would be a death sentence today. Amari launched her shadow across the ground and attached it to the others, with the exception of Kakashi who was out of reach.

"Look out!" he yelled a second after her. The sword was huge; a blade of at least several arm lengths long and about her body in width, maybe even a bit more since she was small. Yet it whirled through the air like a tornado, seeking to eviscerate them and douse their blood all across the grassy floor.

Thankfully no one was struggling to move, making her forced dive to the ground a whole lot easier with four people attached to her. She dived down chest first, forcing her teammates and Tazuna to mirror her exact movements so they too were chest first in the grass.

The sword flew overhead, barely missing them all if the sound of air being cut right above her head was anything to go by. Once it passed she let her shadow recede back to her to let the others gain control of their bodies once again.

Too close. Far too close for her tastes anyway. But their new fight hadn't even begun yet. The flying sword was but a warning shot to again test their abilities and see if they were worth any effort whatsoever.

If I can sense his strength right, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and I aren't going to be fighting this fight. This guy is in an entirely different league compared to us.

Good news was they had survived the initial ambush. Now they just had to keep that up.

His sword impaled itself into a tree, almost cutting it in half from the single throw. Not a second later the man behind the attack appeared from a body flicker standing on the hilt of his blade. He wore bandages covering the lower half of his face with his ninja headband tied around the side of his head. The symbol etched into the metal part of his headband marked him as a shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Mist.

The color of his skin was a greyish color, ghoulish in a way. His black hair was spiky; his eyes were brown in color, yet colder than any winter storm and almost as piercing as the Sharingan. He didn't wear a shirt but he did wear blue pants with black and white sleeves that matched his shoes.

Strength and evil chakra rolled off of him in waves. Shivers made their way across Amari's body as she tried to regain her courage in the face of such foul chakra. This guy blows those other two out of the water in strength and killing intent.

"Well well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist," Kakashi said as took a few steps towards the man to be between them and him.

The mention of his name made a light bulb flash on in her brain and her eye widen. So that's who he is, the rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist who tried to assassinate the Mizukage. He was in mom's bingo book. She cast a worried glance towards her teammates. The others are crazy if they think we stand a chance against him.

Naruto suddenly rushed forward only for Kakashi to put his arm out, stopping him in his tracks. "You're in the way. Get back," he ordered sternly.

"But why?!" Naruto questioned.

Amari walked in front of Naruto but still behind Kakashi's hand. This was not the time for arguments. This was a time to heed their sensei's words instead of trying to prove they were courageous. "Naruto, this guy is way out of our league. If you want to help then we need to stay out of the way. Trust me."

He looked upset, and she could see there was an argument on the tip of his tongue. She shot him a meaningful look, stealing any argument he might have given before it could form.

"Fine," he conceded, still clearly displeased about the decision.

He had an undying will for sure, but trying to fight this guy without a plan would be suicide. They needed a strategy and the resident Nara was working hard to make one.

"Amari keep a calm mind and see through deception."

The last half was code for her Byakugan, but why had he told her to remain calm? I'm usually always calm in a fight…Why was everyone so worried about her anger?

An understanding then dawned on the young ninja. The green chakra showed when I was angry in the fight with Mizuki and whatever it means or is obviously is still a worry amongst everyone. Is it just the color of my chakra or are they worried I'll lose my mind or something?

Questions for later. Now wasn't the time to start trying to understand why her anger made everyone worried.

"If he's our opponent, I'll need this." Kakashi brought his hand to his headband and lifted it up partly without revealing his eye.

"If you need that then this is worse than I thought," Amari muttered.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. Did I get that right?" the rogue ninja asked curiously, his voice deep and gruff.

If he knows of the eye and isn't showing any sign of worry then we're in trouble, Amari thought worriedly. Sharingan is essentially his trump card and this guy doesn't even look concerned about facing it.

"It's too bad, huh. But you'll have to hand over the old man."

She couldn't suppress her snort of amusement. She tried, she really did, but it just slipped out. Although this guy was a whole lot stronger than she was, his belief that he could just waltz in and kill Tazuna without them giving him a fight was cute. "Right, like that'll happen."

The rogue ninja's eyes flicked over to her without showing any sign of emotion. His cold gaze pierced straight through her body, into her soul then out of her body like she was completely transparent. It was…unnerving, to say the least. But she kept a calm mind. He would not succeed, not while Kakashi was fighting and not while she drew breath.

"Be careful, Sensei," she whispered.

He grunted in affirmation to what she meant.

There was a huge difference between her Sharingan and his, other than his being stronger. While the Sharingan normally did not drain a significant amount of chakra on an Uchiha, when it was implanted into a non-Uchiha like Kakashi the drain on his chakra was significant. It was the reason he kept it under his headband and kept his eye closed. Because he was a non-Uchiha, he could not deactivate the dōjutsu like she could, which meant the only way for him to conserve chakra was to keep it covered at all times.

A long drawn out fight would be disastrous for us, she analyzed. Kakashi-sensei knows he can't use his Sharingan without consequence. For him to be pulling it out at the start of the fight is telling to how dangerous Zabuza is. Kakashi wouldn't use his Sharingan for an enemy he didn't need it for, and he certainly wouldn't reveal it at the beginning of a fight if his enemy wasn't dangerous.

The consequence of that decision wouldn't be felt if he could end the fight within a few minutes. But if Zabuza could draw out the fight long enough, if he could evade any deadly or incapacitating blows and force Kakashi to overuse his Sharingan, they'd be doomed.

I can't allow that to happen, Amari decided with fiery determination. If I see an opening where I can help Kakashi-sensei and not get hurt, I am going to take it.

"Now quick, Manji Formation. Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight. I taught you teamwork, now is the time to use it."

Teamwork was about the only thing that would stop Zabuza from taking them down quickly while the formation would allow them to watch all sides. The Manji Formation would have the four Genin with their backs facing each other so they were protecting their center, which would hold the bridge builder. While usually the only blind spot would be the center, with Amari's Byakugan that was no longer the case.

Their only blind spot would be hers.

Kakashi lifted his headband up the remaining way with everyone, including Zabuza, watching intently to see what it looked like. As he opened his eyelid his red eye with three tomoe was shown, and Amari couldn't help but dream of the day hers looked like that. Can't focus on that now, but at least when I do mature it the eye will look a lot cooler.

"I'm ready."

"Well…looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is an honor," Zabuza said. He sounded honored, oddly enough, though it was somewhat understandable. With the Uchiha Clan gone the Sharingan was all but extinct. The only person who wielded it aside from Kakashi was Amari, and while Sasuke didn't wield it at the moment his lineage made the Sharingan his inheritance just as it did his female counterpart.

Naruto turned to Kakashi and the others with confusion on his face "Everyone keeps saying 'Sharingan' 'Sharingan.' Will someone please tell me what Sharingan is?"

It would have been a pleasure to explain the dōjutsu to her friend so he wasn't so in the dark on what was going on, but letting on that she knew more than any normal ninja her age should know would create even more suspicion in the others. Their suspicion would hurt the dynamics of the team and force her to come clean earlier than she wanted to.

So far their team had only been together for two full weeks, which was just enough time for them to figure out how they worked together. Telling Sasuke 'hey I have the Sharingan and I'm part Uchiha' would splinter the last two weeks of work like a bolt of lightning splintering a tree.

She needed to keep biding her time until she was certain Sasuke wouldn't totally freak out about her hiding her heritage or the Sharingan from him. Until that time, she would keep her Sharingan a secret and refrain from using it in battle unless it became absolutely necessary to the survival of her team or her own life.

Besides those perfectly valid reasons to not explain anything about the Sharingan, she couldn't bring herself explain it because her own knowledge on the subject was very mundane and basic. For all the studying she did on her own heritage, the amount of information she was permitted to read wasn't exactly a full well of knowledge. It was more like an empty well with a few drops of water left to salvage.

Frankly, she was left in the darkness when it came to her Uchiha heritage. Maybe it was for good reason, but that didn't sate her need for answers about her past. Even though she had a new family she cherished, she still had a lot of questions about the family she lost. She wanted to know about them, even if it was just a little bit of information like how strong they were…or if they'd be proud of her.

The latter was a personal question that may never be answered if no one currently alive knew them…but that wasn't the point. She just wanted to know something about them. Was that too much to ask?

"The Sharingan is a rare power," their resident full-blooded Uchiha spoke. "It resides in the eyes. The user of this visual jutsu, or dōjutsu, can instantly see and comprehend any genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu and reflect the attack back on the attacker. However there is more to the Sharingan than that. A lot more."

"Hmph, you've only scratched the surface, boy. The Sharingan can analyze an opponent's technique and then copy it to the smallest detail."

Not just a technique, it can copy mere movements, Amari added mentally. Mind games should be added to the list of techniques that can be used.

Copying your enemy's movements to the smallest of twitches would throw any ninja off, if seeing the red eye staring right through you wasn't enough to make your confidence waver. From there seeing your every move copied perfectly like the wielder knew what you were going to do before you did would just cement in the mind game. Throwing an opponent off balance would then allow the wielder to capitalize and defeat their opponent, or that was Amari's theory anyway.

A cold rush of air swept across the battlefield, bringing a thick fog rolling in with it.

"As for you, Kakashi, in the Assassination Unit of the Hidden Mist we had a standing order to destroy you on sight. Your profile was in our bingo book; it called you 'the man who copied over a thousand jutsu.' Kakashi, The Copy Ninja."

Amari stole a glance back at Sasuke in the silence that fell over the field as the two elite shinobi stared each other down. He failed to mention that the Sharingan only formed in the Uchiha clan, our clan. Why would he leave that out? Embarrassed that he hasn't unlocked the ability to use it? Certainly would match his prideful nature, but seeing Kakashi-sensei with it might have confused him since he doesn't hold the Uchiha name.

She mentally pursed her lips in thought and returned her eye back to their enemy. Though there is also the distinct possibility he doesn't want to risk letting this guy know he is of the Uchiha Clan. Zabuza could target him specifically and kill him just to kill off who he assumed was the last Uchiha in the world. Either way, deception is part of being a ninja and letting your enemy know more about you than they need to know only hurts your own chances.

It would be like explaining your jutsu's to the enemy so they knew exactly what handseals to watch out for. You would hinder your chances of success dramatically.

One huge bonus of neither holding the Uchiha name or the crest on her person was the immediate advantage when the time came for her to finally use the Sharingan in battle. No one would suspect it; they may even believe it was a trick thus making them vulnerable to her attacks. Even keeping her Byakugan hidden would almost always put her ahead of her opponent.

So long as I use it properly, that is. Special abilities meant nothing if she couldn't or didn't use them the right way.

"Enough talking. It's time for me to exterminate the old man!"

Without further conversation all four Genin rushed over to Tazuna with Sasuke at the front of the formation, Sakura at the right side, Naruto on the left and Amari covering his back. She kept the rogue ninja in her Byakugan sight, but his current position was too close to her one and only blind spot to give her full view of him.

As long as I can keep part of him in sight, he won't be able to surprise us.

"Looks like I'll have to eliminate you first, eh Kakashi? So be it."

Their sensei remained silent as Zabuza moved to the water and stood on the surface of it, taking on a stance as he kneaded his chakra into the mist around them.

I really wish I would have learned that technique before coming here…

Now only Kakashi would be able to fight him and give him chase if he used the water as the staging ground of all of his attacks.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Barely a second later the natural mist from before grew thicker and thicker until visibility of anything a few feet in front of her face was impossible. Man, this is going to be such a pain. Her right eye was useless now, and if the chakra threaded into the mist she could see in her Byakugan was anything to go by then her and her sensei's Sharingan would be useless.

The Byakugan's ability to see chakra was far above that of the Sharingan and could not be tricked by simple mist, no matter how much chakra was kneaded into it. But the Sharingan was a different story. It could see the chakra of others to a lesser degree, meaning in this thick mist all her sensei could see was the chakra of Zabuza all around him and not the man himself.

I'm the only one who can see him now, she realized nervously. No one except her would be able to track their opponent, not unless Kakashi had the precise chakra sensing abilities of her mother or a spare Byakugan on hand he could transplant himself. Everyone was blind to their enemy while he could move through it without fear.

This was a worst case scenario coming to life. Stay calm. I have…I have to stay calm. Amari inhaled deeply and exhaled to keep her nerves from overpowering her. If she lost her cool now Tazuna and her teammates would die. They needed her now more than ever, even if they didn't know it.

She had to give credit where credit was due though; Zabuza had really planned this out to the tiniest of details. He picked the perfect ambush area where he could not only make the most of his jutsu, but also turn it into his hunting ground without any resistance should they not have any sensory shinobi among them.

"Sensei?" Sakura's worried voice quivered in the foreboding silence that fell upon the battlefield.

"He'll come after me first."

Maybe. Tactically speaking it would be wise for him to eliminate Kakashi first. He was really the only threat here to the success of his mission. With him gone he'd stomp through the four Genin with ease, definitely if he kept this mist actively blinding them.

Yet there was always a chance he'd go straight for the bridge builder by using the mist to cover his tracks. By attacking the bridge builder first and eliminating him he'd be able to get paid and leave them all to deal with failure to protect their client. With Tazuna dead they'd have no reason to stay because their mission could no longer continue without him.

Zabuza would escape into the mist and never be seen again by them…if he didn't kill them as well.

The rogue ninja hadn't even moved yet, however. He remained on the water, watching carefully through the mist, likely deciding on his plan of action. Or is he playing mind games with the mist? All were possibilities that couldn't be underestimated. This shinobi was dangerous and knew they were all inexperienced Genin just by looking at them. Mind games would certainly work and would help to form a break in their defense.

"But who is he?" Sakura asked.

"Zabuza Momochi, the ex-leader of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit. He's a master of the Silent Killing Technique."

"S-s-silent?" Naruto asked, fear for the name of the technique causing him to stutter.

"As the name suggests it happens in an instant without sound or warning of any kind. The attack happens so fast, you pass from this life without realizing what has happened. The Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so keep your guard up and your senses open."

The use of the mist now made even more tactical sense than it had previously just with that little bit of information. Although the mist helped to conceal his movements and effectively sent fear through the group with one of their main senses becoming useless, it also gave him the advantage for his special technique. Without sight the team was stuck relying on their sense of hearing—a completely useless sense when dealing with a shinobi who could move silently.

Zabuza had the advantage here and he knew it.

Amari could hear her team let out sighs mixed between fear and resignation of the situation as she continued to track the rogue ninja. The only flaw to his plan was her Byakugan sight. He didn't know she could see perfectly through this mist, and that advantage would likely be the only thing keeping her team and Tazuna from witnessing firsthand the Silent Killing Technique.

"Well, if we fail we only lose our lives."

Kakashi's rather lax way of talking about their death actually made Amari break into a short giggle. Oh yes, just our lives. At least if he did use the Silent Killing Technique we wouldn't know. "Of course, no big deal there, Sensei. It's only our lives we'll lose," she retorted wryly.

"How can you two say that?" Sakura asked, her voice hot with anger.

Coping mechanism? Humor was a great way to remain calm under such stressful circumstances, even if it was dry morbid humor. Laughing or at least smiling would ease the nerves and allow you to remain focused on the task at hand. Explaining that in detail in the middle of this situation, however, wouldn't do her any favors. It'd only let Zabuza know he was successfully making her feel fear, and she wouldn't give him the pleasure.

The mist continued to roll in thicker and thicker, taking their already terrible visibility and making it impossible for her to even see her hand in front of her face.

It was the perfect opportunity to strike.

Behind her, she could hear Tazuna explaining to Naruto how the mists in the Land of Waves were a common occurrence. Even if they were, this was not the same mist the Land of Waves was used to. This mist was created by a shinobi for one reason and one reason alone…

To kill anyone caught in it.

"This is no ordinary mist, Mr. Tazuna. This mist was created to conceal the movement of our enemy, and give him the battlefield advantage to use his technique," she informed passively, her eye remaining locked on their enemy.

"Smart girl," Zabuza drawled dryly.

"Amari, are you…" Sakura stopped short of finishing her question.

"I've got your backs. And your fronts. Oh and your sides covered as well."

Their enemy was overconfident in his abilities because of their rank as Genin's, but just like countless others his overconfidence would blind him while her eyes remained clear.

There were sounds of surprise amongst her team as their sensei disappeared among the heavy mist. Amari wasn't sure what Kakashi's plan was, but she hoped it was a good one. Although her eyes would remain clear, that didn't change the fact Zabuza was physically stronger than she was and could probably move quicker than her.

She didn't fool herself into believing that just because she could track him meant she could stop him by herself. Even with the help of her teammates she doubted they could take this guy and win. At the most they'd maybe be able to stall him long enough for Kakashi to beat him, maybe, but to physically beat him was impossible.

He's moving in.

"Eight points. Larynx. Spine. Lungs. Liver. Jugular. Subclavian artery. Kidneys. Heart. Now which will be my kill point?" His voice remained level, almost casual if it weren't for the sadistic tone underneath it all.

Two years ago she would have been quivering in fear as the chill of possible death hovered in the air around them. Today she could only snort humorously at his childish scare tactic.

"You're a weird one, girl. You find your death funny?"

"No, I find your poor scare tactics and belief that no one can see you funny." Taunting and hinting at her ability probably wasn't the best tactic from a logical standpoint, but Amari wasn't attacking this situation from a purely analytical position. She couldn't, not when the rest of her team was falling into their fears. They needed her watching out for them with her Byakugan, and they didn't need Zabuza targeting them first until they could get a grasp on their fear.

If taunting and hinting at her abilities made him focus on her and her voice rather than her teammates or sensei it'd give Kakashi a distraction to work off of and find the rogue ninja within the mist. At the same time it'd keep a giant target on her instead of her team and the bridge builder, and if it did succeed in keeping their enemy focused on her then it would be a good plan.

If he killed her with his Silent Killing Technique before she could react then it would pretty much fail.

"I see. So that power I felt in you really is there, huh."

Is that why he stared at me originally? Either my natural strength caught his attention, or by some means he is able to sense my Byakugan. She hoped for the former, to be honest.

"I must say I am impressed you are as strong as you are…for a lowly Genin that is."

"Oh, you got some bark, old man, but is your bite any good?" she shot back.

The rogue ninja chuckled darkly within the mist. "I think I'm starting to like you, girl. Even in the face of death you haven't even flinched. Not like that dark-haired boy at all." Amari hazarded shifting her Byakugan gaze away from Zabuza to Sasuke, nervous of what she'd find. Her fears were confirmed by the sight of trembling hands that were barely able to maintain hold of the kunai in his hands. "How pathetic. Not even worthy to be called a shinobi or the death of one. You, however, may yet earn the death of a shinobi, but I won't get my hopes up."

Sasuke was shaking so badly Amari could hear his ninja tools clattering around in their pouch. He couldn't get a grip on himself at all. Come on Sasuke, you need to get a grip and stay focused, she pleaded mentally. At the rate he was breathing, he was going to send himself into a panic attack before the real fight even began.

Another problem was her glance to Sasuke gave Zabuza the opportunity to escape out of her immediate sight. Although the Byakugan allowed her to see three hundred and sixty degrees around herself, to find a shinobi actively hiding himself from her—an elite shinobi from an assassination unit at that—made it impossible to just glance and see her enemy. She was going to have to seek him out now with all of her focus, but she also couldn't just fall silent and leave her team to quiver in fear in the mist.

This mist needs to go. It isn't a genjutsu so I can't just release it, unfortunately. But enough chakra released from my chakra points in a controlled surge may force the mist to recede so we can at the least see one another again.

Without hesitation, Amari brought her hands up into Tiger seal and focused on summoning her chakra around her body as if it were a tornado. A green circle of chakra seemed to ignite around her feet, swirling around her rapidly with a few strings of chakra arcing up and over her to connect to the circle again. As the chakra arced around her, her blue hair began to shift and whip in response to the waves of energy cascading off of her.

"Interesting," Zabuza said with the least bit of interest in his voice.

A second surge of blue chakra burst to life from their sensei, far stronger than hers was and with far more control than she could muster. Together their surges created enough wind movement to clear the mist just enough for them to see Kakashi once more.

Amari lowered her hands back into a defensive stance and extinguished her chakra output. One problem more or less solved, now it was time to attack the next problem.

"Sasuke, I need you to focus on my voice," Amari said. The boy let out a startled grunt of understanding. "Remember that day we trained when it was you and Sakura fighting me and Naruto?"

"Is this a time for reminiscing?" Sakura questioned, her voice shaking with fear rather than the disbelief she meant to relay.

"Focus on my voice both of you, you too Naruto. Think about the day we trained. Remember the calm mindset you were in. Remember the sounds, the smells, the sights." The three remained silent but the jittering was becoming quieter.

Just like I planned. They were all too focused on the possibility of dying and fearing for their own safety rather than what they needed to focus on: staying calm so they could prepare for an attack and not die.

To get them out of that she was just going to have to take their minds on a quick detour, remind them of their training, of everything they had done to get this far so they would regain their courage and be prepared for anything. Being filled with fear would only cause them to make stupid mistakes and get themselves killed, and she wouldn't stand for that.

"Now remember a moment of triumph. Naruto remember when you got Sasuke down. Sakura remember the trap you sprang that caught him. Sasuke remember your fight with me. Go to that moment and think of all the feelings you had."

The jitters began to quell until there was only a slight shake left. Still not enough. They needed another push, another stronger reassurance to keep them from losing their regained calm. Amari just wasn't sure she could give that push. Her practice of mediation and training with her mother was the only reason she could stay so calm right now in the face of what would be certain death if they failed.

Her teammates didn't have that same training. They were still fresh out of the Academy training, which was good training, but in theory and in practice were different continents in the grand scheme of things. As far as she knew, this was their first real brush with an enemy of such overwhelming strength. The fact he used to lead the Assassination Unit didn't help them at all.

"Using your mind to overcome the fear," Zabuza drawled from his hiding spot, which she still hadn't found.

Damn it he's going to ruin it all. He was the source of their fear to begin with. Knowing what her tactic was would make it easy for him to break it apart.

"An interesting technique, girl. Not many Genin have the ability to keep the fear of death at bay as you do, as your team has shown you, and even fewer under the influence of fear would be able to come up with such a simple tactic to forget that their deaths are only moments away."

"I do not fear death," Amari responded calmly. "And I'm not going to die until I kill the person responsible for my pain."

"Hmph. You'd have done well in the Mist years ago. A shame you were born to such a soft Village. We'd have honed you to be a real shinobi."

His words made Amari shudder. She had heard once of the Mist Village graduation exam they put their aspiring shinobi through. She knew what kind of pain they had to endure, and now thanks to Zabuza and his unending waves of killing intent she knew what kind of monster it could turn her into…What he believed was a real shinobi.

And he thinks I would fit in there…

Maybe he thought it an honor, all she felt was disgusted that he saw that kind of person in her.

"Still, your tactic isn't enough to spare your teammates from their fear because this fear isn't something so easily forgotten."

He was unfortunately right. So long as Zabuza remained an active threat to their lives, her team wouldn't be able to calm their fears with such a simple technique. They needed a real push, a real reassurance that they'd make it out of this alive…They wanted something she couldn't give them.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi's firm voice cut through the tense air like a sharpened sword. "Calm down. I will protect all of you with my life. I will not allow my comrades to die." He turned to face them with his signature eye smile and a real one beneath his mask. "Trust me."

That finally did it for the entire team. That was the real push they needed from someone who Amari had no doubt would back up his words with action. Amari herself felt even calmer just hearing his promise, she even smiled a little in the mist.

Kakashi-sensei…

Her mentor was the best.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

The rogue ninja was fast, and only by the grace of her Byakugan—and probably a lot of luck—was Amari able to see his sudden appearance in front of Tazuna and in-between all of her teammates.

"So slow, are you sure you're a Jōnin?" Amari snarked once more while channeling her chakra through her body in preparation of using the Body Flicker.

"It's over, little girl."

"Not while I'm still breathing."

Before the young ninja could initiate her attack, Kakashi dashed in, knocking away everyone so it was just him and Zabuza in the center of their grounded forms. Had she not been able to strike he probably would have saved all of their lives from being cut by that huge sword. How the rogue ninja was able to use it efficiently piqued her curiosity, honestly. Just the sheer size and its bulk made it clear it wasn't meant to be used as a dueling sword, and judging on its size it was probably heavier than all four Genin put together. The length of the blade was definitely an asset. With one circular swing he could have cut all the Genin and the bridge builder and be done.

My turn.

Quickly, while her team and enemy were distracted, she put into action a new plan, one she was certain would get her past the guard of their enemy should her assistance be needed. Her preparations would be necessary if Zabuza's next move was anything to go by.

The clone of Zabuza splashed to the ground into a puddle. Not a second later Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. "Die!" he shouted as he swung his large sword at their sensei.

The sword cleaved him in half, yet to the surprise of all his body turned to water just as Zabuza's clone had. Whoa. He already copied the jutsu. Even in this mist he was able to see through it and copy the jutsu…A sprout of giddiness jumped in her heart. I can't wait until I can do that too!

Kakashi appeared behind their enemy with a kunai to his throat. "Don't move." Zabuza lowered his sword. "Now it's over. You're finished."

His definitive statement was met by a deep, dark, unnerving chuckle. That's not a good sign. People didn't laugh when they failed. Is he just another clone? Amari tried searching around in her Byakugan but didn't see any other sign of Zabuza anywhere. I don't like this. If he isn't taking the kunai to the throat seriously then he must have an idea or something of that sort. I need to be ready.

"Finished? Ha! You really don't get it, do you? Your Water Clone is nothing but a crass imitation. A cheap trick. I'll never be defeated by a mere copycat ninja like you." Another low, disturbing deep chuckle. "I'll admit, Kakashi, you impressed me. You already copied my Water Clone Jutsu when you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed. You had your clone make a little speech as a distraction while you hid within the mist, waiting for me to strike. A good plan, but not good enough! "

Zabuza, the real one, appeared right behind Kakashi out of seemingly thin air. Amari hadn't even been able to see where he had come from with her Byakugan or sense his chakra normally. How did he do that?

Kakashi's face, or his eye really, contorted into shock as the clone in front of him dispelled. Zabuza swung his sword again, another attempt to cut their sensei in half, but all he met was air when Kakashi ducked under the strike. The heavy blade slammed and impaled itself into the ground.

He swings it around like it weighs nothing.

Zabuza spun his hand on the blades hilt, using it as leverage as he turned his body and aimed a kick right at Kakashi. He could have dodged it, or at least Amari believed he could have, but instead he took it and was sent flying into the water.

The rogue ninja darted after him without hesitation. He's not just physically strong enough to swing that sword around like it weighs the same as a feather, he's fast and agile too, Amari analyzed in both appreciation of his skills and fear for the coming fight.

They needed an advantage and they needed one right now.

Grabbing two kunais from the ninja tool box on her left leg, she quickly threw them at Zabuza on the hope it'd either hit him or distract him even a little. Zabuza knocked them into the ground without even having to glance back in her direction. She narrowed her eye at his back and watched him closely while her mind continued to work two moves ahead, seeing the battlefield as a shogi board rather than the ground.

Pieces were set in motion already, pieces Zabuza couldn't see yet. She just had to keep him blind to her real intentions and then strike when he least expected it.

Their sensei surfaced after remaining underwater for a few seconds, but he was staring at the water around him and the water dripping off his body as if it was the strangest thing he had ever seen. Zabuza appeared behind him standing on the water with his hands speeding through handseals.

Amari didn't know what jutsu he was planning, but by the humorous laugh he gave made it clear he had bad intentions for Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, get out of there!" she shouted.

"Water Prison Jutsu." A sphere of water formed around their sensei and captured him within it, leaving him to hover helplessly within the prison at the mercy of their enemy.

Today was looking to be one of the worsts they all had since becoming a team.

Wait a minute. Amari honed her focus in on the jutsu and began examining it with an analytical eye. His hand is still within the water prison and that hand has a focused chakra fueling the prisons strength or its form…Which must mean he can't leave the spot he's in.

She glanced to her teammates to gauge where they were at mentally to further her awareness of the situation so she could continue moving her shogi pieces intelligently. Each of them were in varying states of shock, even Sasuke though he was far calmer than he had been moments before. His level head would be handy, as would his strength.

The problem is he can create a Water Clone still and wipe the floor with us. She shot her eye back to Zabuza. Our best chance at victory and survival is to force him to release the jutsu by any means necessary. The jutsu takes chakra to hold it, so each second we take to get sensei out is also taking its toll on Zabuza's chakra.

Leaving their sensei in there to drain the rogue ninja's chakra wasn't ideal. The chakra she could sense in the jutsu wasn't going to drain his chakra in a few minutes. They'd have to hold out against Zabuza's assault for far longer than they were capable in that scenario.

Amari tossed that idea to the side and started working on a new plan centered on getting his arm out of the sphere as quickly as possible.

"So this is how the great Kakashi Hatake falls, eh?" Zabuza taunted, smirking behind his bandages at their sensei's misfortune. "I'll take my time finishing you off later. I want you to see your little friends be eliminated first." He brought up his other hand in a handseal. "Water Clone Jutsu."

A clone began to form out of the water. She still hadn't put all her moves together though, but she hadn't stopped thinking for an instant or analyzing her enemy. The Water Clone only holds one-tenth of his real strength, so that's good. She mentally sighed. Unfortunately we still aren't strong enough to even take that on. A frontal assault is no good. We just have to outmaneuver him.

Their biggest hope right now was that he would underestimate them and decide to toy with them. She knew it was a cruel thing to wish upon her teammates and herself, yet being toyed with would allow her time to formulate a better plan to get Kakashi out. Bruises and cuts would heal; as long as they weren't fatal they would be okay.

"Tell me, do you brats think wearing that headband really makes you a shinobi?" Dark laughter rumbled from him. "Don't be ridiculous. When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you then you may be called a shinobi. When you've become so deadly your profile is entered into my bingo book then you may have earned the title of shinobi. But to call upstarts like you shinobi is a bad joke."

The mist started rolling in again and as it did the Water Clone dashed in right at Naruto. A hard kick slammed into her teammates jaw before any of them could even flinch in reaction to the clones charge, knocking his headband off and sending him flying through the air. Amari's instincts kicked into gear, her muscles jolted her forward and into the air to catch her friend before he crashed hard into the dirt.

Anger brimmed within her heart, but Amari kept it at bay as she checked on Naruto. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." The blood trailing down the side of his face and the wince of pain he couldn't conceal begged to differ.

Keep a calm mind. We just have to out play him. Try as she might, Amari couldn't shake her anger building up. Keep calm. Getting angry won't help us here…or will it.

"You four are just brats!" Zabuza said as he stamped on the headband.

Yes, that's it. I know what I have to do. She could see the plan clearly in her mind, how it would give them an opening to free Kakashi and keep her friends safe. So she let her anger begin to blossom, let it course through her veins as if it was her very life essence as she fed more fuel to the building inferno she was going to let loose.

No one is going to hurt my friends and get away with it. I don't care how tough he is!

"Listen, get the bridge builder and run!" their sensei shouted from his prison. "You four won't be able to win this fight. He's using all his power to keep me in this prison so he can only fight you with his water clone, but the clone can't go far from his real body. If you get away from him he can't follow! Now run!"

A sound tactic under normal circumstances against a weaker opponent who didn't have someone she cared about captured. As far as Amari was concerned, running was no longer an option.

The moment you were caught, Kakashi-sensei, our chance to run was taken from us, but more than that I will not leave you to this fate. Amari looked to her teammates and met Sasuke's eyes with her one. Zabuza will just track us down and kill us with ease. The Manji Formation is easy for him to get around and on our own we are all screwed. Our only chance is if we use all our power to free you.

Sasuke shared a curt nod of understanding. They were on the same wavelength.

"We've got to do it."

The Uchiha boy charged in throwing shurikens as he went as quickly as he could. Just like her, though, Zabuza deflected them away with ease using his sword. Sasuke jumped into the air and dropped down with a kunai in hand only to be caught by the rogue ninja in a chokehold.

Like I thought, the frontal approach is useless against him. We might as well be moving in slow motion. We have to take him by surprise. Amari glanced to Sakura and Naruto. I'll need their help to achieve that. Instead of breaking his neck, Zabuza tossed the boy to the side like he was trash.

Again she let her hatred and anger for Zabuza thrive within her heart. She almost had just enough fuel to create the explosion of anger she needed.

Instead of revealing her anger outwardly, the young ninja felt a light chuckle come on as she thought back to all the struggles she faced in becoming the ninja she was today. All the training and all the studying, the nightmares, the tears of sorrow and of happiness. She had worked so hard to finally gain the strength Ryu believed she had, and now it was all going to come down to this fight.

A life and death battle between her team and a Jōnin.

"What's so funny girl? Has madness finally gripped you?"

"No, not madness. Clarity." She let out another soft chuckle. "You have no idea who you're messing with." Naruto stood up next to her, clenching his left taped hand into a fist. Internally she felt all of her anger reaching its boiling point.

The explosion was coming.

"You speak to us like trash because of your strength, but I have something far more powerful than your strength within me that will help me to succeed where you will always fail."

"Amari, you have to remain calm!" Kakashi shouted.

"Come on, Kakashi, let the girl humor me," Zabuza chastised his fellow shinobi. "This girl is actually gaining my attention for a change. So girl, what is it you hold within you?"

What power did she hold that made his strength obsolete? What ability sealed this battle in her favor before it began?

"What I have within me is a burning fire that cannot be doused by the likes of you, a fire given to me by having people precious to me. So long as they still live, I will fight to protect their dreams."

She spoke with conviction that kept Zabuza from retorting. He simply stared at her like he was seeing something in her that he had seen before somewhere.

Amari's anger was near its peak. It was getting to the point her hands were beginning to shake from the remaining restraints on the swelling emotion, but this was the only way she knew how to channel her green chakra shroud and the killing intent that frightened Mizuki so much.

Right now they needed that person she became to protect Iruka and Naruto. The one who would have killed the traitor given the chance. Her fiery will needed to burn bright, the flames needed to coat her in a hue of green and let her anger flood off her at their enemy and her will to protect her allies keep them safe.

She realized how she became that fearless warrior. It wasn't born out of pure anger, but born of the wish to protect her friends with her own life. To not fail them as she failed Ryu. For now her anger was the only way she knew how to channel it, but she would do her best to learn better later.

Right now her team and sensei needed the intelligence and furious strength of Amaririsu Yūhi at her full potential.

Naruto charged in with a war cry but Amari remained still as her team and sensei freaked out about him running in like an idiot. Stupid as the plan seemed, and was, she knew the reasoning behind this one and it was a good one. He was kicked back like he was nothing, like he was just a tin can on the side of the road to kick away.

The flames exploded.

"Lay one more finger on my friends…and you're dead!" Her voice was a calm and deadly whisper that cut across the field.

"Amari stay calm! You can't lose your temper now. Stay focused and get yourselves out of here!"

He was too late. The warrior within was awakened.