Chapter 10

Counterattack: Team Seven Strikes Back!

Sasuke stared at Amari in shock as he began to feel a new tension consume the air around them. The feeling it gave him was incredibly similar to the tension created by Zabuza, the same tension that made the air feel like it was devoid of adequate oxygen as a lingering intent to kill crashed into him like a wave of bloodthirsty hatred attempting to swallow him whole.

What is this? Is this coming from Amari?

Zabuza, the real one, turned his eyes to the young girl with sudden new interest gleaming in his dark eyes."Interesting. You have some potent killing intent, girl. Such anger, such pure hatred…" He smirked behind the bandages on his face. "You have my attention, little girl. Tell me, as your anger boils in your veins, does it make you want to hurt me? Is it screaming at you to attack me until I'm at your mercy?"

His teammate shook her head, but he noticed that her whole body was beginning to shake with contained rage. "No." Sasuke felt his eyes widened as a green hue formed around her, a fully transparent hue that was still trying to take form but failing to. "It makes me want to kill you."

Her voice felt like it was reverberating through a cave and into his ear canal, continuing to echo even after she fell silent. A sudden gust of wind passed over the field carrying with it an unnatural chill. The source? Sasuke could only assume Amari since the green hue shifted into flickering flames matching the fire in her heart; each black tip like a sharpened kunai knife lashing out in all directions.

An unnerved grunt escaped him as gasps left Sakura, Kakashi and the bridge builder at the sight. Zabuza's eyes didn't leave her though, in fact he looked far more intrigued than before and a bit amused.

Is this a genjutsu? Sasuke glanced back to Sakura and Tazuna, finding them both staring in shock at the blue-haired kunoichi's back while Naruto, who was still right next to her, seemed perfectly calm despite the change in the air and the shy aura of their teammate.

No. This isn't a genjutsu. He looked back to Amari. I can feel her emotions. I can sense her anger being pushed at Zabuza, I can feel her need to protect us surrounding me, no doubt the others feel that as well. It must be there to keep us from feeling the effects of this strange energy. But what is this power? Is this just merely her killing intent as that rogue ninja said, or is there more to it?

Where had this even come from in the first place? How was this coming out of Amari of all people? And why was Kakashi actively trying to get her to stay calm? Sasuke furrowed his brow in confusion. Something wasn't adding up here. Was he just worried she'd be reckless, or was it something more?

Sasuke wasn't sure. He was having a hard enough time wrapping his head around the fact that she was surrounded by her green chakra without any apparent strain or handseals. Based on his previous glance, Sakura was in the state of confusion he was in. Yet, if she was feeling even a fragment of what he was, then Amari's determination to rescue their sensei, protect her friends and take this guy down would be prominent.

"Naruto, you've got your headband back now? Good, you earned that. Sasuke." Sasuke made a noise of question as her abnormal voice reached his ears. Where the Amari he had gotten to know was soft spoken and calm in the field, this new Amari was stern, her voice simultaneously commanding and reassuring, her posture straighter than usual filled with a level of confidence she rarely ever showed.

Amari doesn't shy away from fights, but I've never seen her like this before. This…it feels like a different person altogether.

She turned to look over her right shoulder at him, the onyx eye staring back at him was intense, filled with the same killing intent that filled the air…But deeper within he could see her protectiveness over the team and the gears in her mind turning far faster than he could even comprehend. The look in her eye. I haven't seen such an intense look outside of Kakashi…and my brother.

To see it in the usually docile girl left him a bit shaken.

"I have a plan, but it's going to require every single one of us to succeed."

A plan? What plan had she thought of? Frontal assault had been proven faulty both times between himself and Naruto. A new thought bashed his initial question out of the way with extreme force. How far is she ahead of this Jōnin? Has she already gotten Zabuza exactly where she wants him?

"What kind of plan?" he asked hesitantly.

Amari's lips pulled into a sadistic smirk, sending a shudder down his spine, then she turned back to the rogue ninja. He knew that smirk all too well now. He had seen it near the end of their team sparring right before she secured victory. Now Sasuke knew what that twitch of her lips meant—it was a warning to inform the one on the receiving end that she had outplayed them right before their inevitable defeat. The lashing green chakra only made it more sadistic.

Whatever she has planned doesn't bode well for this Jōnin. I don't know if we can take him, but her plan may be the only chance we have at rescuing Kakashi.

"I'll need your fiery personality soon, until then just follow our lead. Naruto, you ready?"

Fiery personality. Sasuke smirked. She means my Fire Ball Jutsu. If we can combine our jutsu together, we'll have a chance to get that Water Clone either out of our way or destroyed completely. Good plan, Amari.

On the other hand if one missed the other would be able to hit the clone or aim straight for the real one.

"Hey you, the freak with no eyebrows." Naruto's voice earned him an annoyed glare from Zabuza. "How 'bout you put this in your bingo book: Shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves…" Naruto tied his headband around his head. "They never back down!"

But why follow their lead? What else is she planning? It was no secret the duo in front of him usually had polar opposite personalities; Naruto was frankly a brash idiot and Amari was as quiet and shy as a tiny mouse, yet it was also no secret they were able to synch up better than anyone the Uchiha boy had seen.

"All right guys, let's go wild," Naruto said.

Does he know what she's planning? What am I missing?

There was something he was missing, there had to be. Even if they synched up perfectly, how could he know her plan without even saying a word to one another. She had hinted at what she wanted from him but not even a single word to the knucklehead of their group.

"Let's take this bastard down," said Amari.

Though he was uncertain of what they were going to do, Sasuke felt no doubt in their ability to actually pull this off. Iruka was right. Amari serves as our balancing point, she knows our skills and how we fight like the back of her hand. If she has a plan…The Uchiha boy smiled, then we have a shot.

"Heh, I admit for a shinobi of the Leaf your killing intent is quite strong, and showing your chakra was a surprise, but big words and cheap tricks won't help you, little girl. Do you really think your plan will actually keep you and your team alive?" Zabuza asked.

Amari chuckled darkly to herself, imitating their enemy's tones of darkness and flipping it right back at him. Zabuza caught the mirror laugh and furrowed his brow. Now she's playing her own set of mind games. Mimicking him, showing her chakra, it is all a part of a grander scheme of plans.

As much as it pained him to admit it, Amari was far more intelligent and competent when it came to tactical analysis than he was. He wasn't too far behind her, no way near as low as the blond idiot of their team, but he wasn't on the same level as Amari either. She was infuriatingly perceptive, picking up on the smallest of details in a fight and turning them to her advantage too quickly for him to react in the few spars they had done.

But that wasn't where her mind stopped. No, that mirror-like eye of hers was like a microscope that could examine her enemy's emotional state and find cracks in their armor to get under their skin when she was outclassed. She had done it to him in their spar after Sakura had taken out Naruto with a trap that tied him to a tree.

Sasuke suppressed his smirk at the memory of seeing Naruto tied to the tree like a complete loser and that of Sakura ending up in the same state because she was too focused on celebrating and not on her other opponent. It was ingenious really. Amari predicted Sakura would gloat over her victory over Naruto, thus taking her eye off of the field of battle and leaving herself open to the trap she set with clones.

After setting the trap and getting tied to the tree next to Naruto, it was down to him and her. They matched each other in taijutsu and she had held her own against his Fire Ball Jutsu by holding it with her own until he had to disengage it to conserve what chakra he had left.

Amari stopped at the same time even though he could tell she could have kept going. During their entire fight she had been planting little thoughts into his head with small jabs at his pride and mimicking his moves like she had her own Sharingan.

His frustration continued to swell up until he just started attacking wildly instead of thinking through his attacks. The Fire Ball Jutsu had been the final straw for him. How was she keeping up with him at every level…No, she wasn't just keeping up at his level, she was lowering herself down to his when she had every opportunity to lay him flat. She was just toying with him, wasn't she?

In a flurry of anger, he rushed at her like an idiot. He was just so angry. How dare she hold back against him like he was a lesser opponent! Like he was on the same level as those losers tied to the tree. No, he would make her regret it. He would show her the true power of an Uchiha!

Losing his focus was the second he lost the fight. He tried to engage her in taijutsu again, but all she did was block and dodge, block and dodge, letting him tire himself out with every angry thrown punch or kick as she conserved her strength. Over the shrill screams of his internal frustration he could hear Sakura and Naruto cheering them on, but he ignored them.

When they neared the trees on the outskirts of the field, he dashed in for a kick. She jumped up onto the trunk of tree and then over him. The moment he saw her go over him he was spinning for another attack, but as soon as her feet hit the floor she paralyzed him with her shadow.

If he hadn't been so blinded by his anger he would have known he had lost. Amari didn't use her Shadow Possession Jutsu without cause and he had missed the intention completely.

I thought I had it all figured out. She couldn't do me harm because she would harm herself. She couldn't hold it long or she would end up draining her chakra.

Amari had given him an out, told him to forfeit willingly or she would have to do something she didn't want to do. In his frustrated arrogance he cited why she hadn't won and she would have to let go soon if she wanted to keep fighting.

"Are you sure about that? Are you certain I have no way of winning?"

"Yes, soon this jutsu will break and I will have you right where I want you," he growled.

A sigh. "When you wake up, just remember I gave you the choice to forfeit."

Then she moved into a back bend quickly, forcing him to do the same and causing his head to crash against the trunk of the tree and knock him out cold.

That was the end of the fight and after he woke up Sasuke couldn't help but understand why she was not only on their team, but why she had been placed above him as the top rookie. She wasn't just smart or strong; Amari was a tactician and a fighter—a dangerous combination.

"Are you trying to talk me to death, Zabuza?" Amari asked, dragging him back into reality.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. I'm just having a little fun before I take you out."

His first mistake. Sasuke smiled inwardly. She's depending on his overconfidence and likely knew he would want to toy with us. However, the longer he waits, the better chance Amari's plan will work. This guy doesn't realize that she is planning hundreds of ways around him as he continues to speak.

Amari could think of plans like they were simple equations, and when one would get closed off another would show itself to her. Using the tree to knock him out had just been one of her plans. If the plan hadn't worked she had another trap waiting for him, and if he dodged that there was a clone waiting up in the tree. She had planned to jump up into it and as he jumped after her, the clone would knock him out of air back to the ground where she would be able to pin him down with a kunai knife to his throat.

No matter what, she would've won.

"Girl, what is it you hide under that bandana? It's no Sharingan, but I know a trick when I see one. There's an eye under there, an eye with power you are hiding from us all."

Instead of defending herself like Sasuke thought she would, Amari snorted at his comment. "You really don't want to know what's under this bandana."

Sasuke found himself staring at the back of his teammate like she had just grown another arm. Is she bluffing?

"Last man who saw it…let's just say he cowered in fear as my eyes burned into his soul."

Eyes? Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Has she been hiding away some power all along? Kakashi said she is a sensory type to a degree. But what power does she have? He had so many questions, yet he knew he would receive no answers on this field of battle.

"You think that scares me, little girl?"

"I wouldn't expect it to, but I'm pretty sure the last guy didn't expect me to nearly kill him either."

"Amari what are you doing?! I told you to run! This fight was over the moment I got caught! Get yourselves out of here! Your mission isn't to prove your bravery; your mission is to save the bridge builder. Stay on mission!" Kakashi yelled from the bubble.

Naruto turned around to Tazuna. "Bridge builder?"

Intelligent as their teacher was, Kakashi wasn't thinking straight from the bubble. Granted he was giving them an order so they'd be safe, but it was a false sense of safety. If they ran away with the bridge builder, they'd be hunted down and slaughtered with ease. Only here and now did they have a fighting chance. With their combined strength dialed in on their enemy plus the plan Amari had set up and whatever secret was under that bandana they had a chance to save him and uphold their mission.

"Well I- I guess this has happened because of me, because of my desire to live. I put you all in this danger when I lied, but I won't stand in your way now." The bridge builder's eyes hardened with determination. "Forget about me and do what you must to save your sensei!"

Sasuke smiled in equal parts appreciation and amusement. His approval was nice, but what he didn't realize was that Amari wasn't going to take anything less. In the mindset she was in she wouldn't retreat and Sasuke didn't want to either. They had a chance here, a real tangible chance.

They couldn't let that go to waste.

"All right, sounds to me like we're ready," Sasuke said.

"Heh, you bet we are!" Naruto agreed.

My strength is flowing! Amari's thoughts were mainly dominated by the overwhelming feeling of strength emanating from her body. Her entire body felt alive, as if it had woken from a deep slumber and now was releasing the chains containing her strength so it could bubble up to the surface and unleash itself.

I didn't even realize I had this strength…but even though this cloak seems to be increasing my strength, I can feel my chakra draining faster and faster maintaining both it and my jutsus. I need to strike soon before I'm completely out of chakra.

Before they could do anything, a dark, rumbling laugh echoed out of Zabuza. It gave her body pause but her mind never once stopped moving. "You four hopeless fools. None of you have learned anything, have you? You're all still playing your little game, pretending to be a shinobi." He cast a long stare to his hand. "When I was your age my hands were already soaked with the blood of my opponents."

"Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist," Kakashi said.

"Ah, so I was in your book, too."

Amari remembered her mother explaining the story to her about Zabuza's legend when she had asked. Long ago, the Village Hidden in the Mist had been known to the rest of the shinobi world as Blood Mist Village. Why? Their final test for graduating shinobi was a kill or be killed fight where the only one who graduated was the last shinobi standing.

That story, it was the reason she was so appalled by Zabuza saying she would fit in well in the Mist. To kill kids she shared her dreams with, ate lunch with or called friend was what was forced upon them…until one day Zabuza showed up, a boy who wasn't even a shinobi who slaughtered over one hundred students.

Such heartless brutality…and somehow he saw that potential in her. Her words, her actions had somehow made him believe she was as heartless as he had been to openly kill people she spent time with. I'm nothing like him, she quietly reassured herself.

Zabuza's point didn't go deaf on her, though. Essentially they were still green as grass Genin who had more or less survived without facing the dark side of the shinobi world. She didn't know if Sasuke had witnessed the massacre, but if he hadn't then she was the only one among her team who had been forced to face the darkness. She was the only one who had held someone she loved in her arms as they died, a moment she could still recall as if it were yesterday.

But compared to Zabuza…

"It- it felt so..." Zabuza's eyes fell into darkness as he looked up at the sky above them. Silence fell over the field, but then his eyes suddenly snapped back onto their team. "Good!"

Zabuza's clone rushed forward and nailed Sasuke with an elbow he had no chance of blocking. The boy was sent tumbling to the ground, but Zabuza was right on him and wasted no time slamming his elbow into his stomach. Sasuke coughed up blood and let out a cry of pain, only to be silence when their enemy stamped his foot on his stomach and left it there.

Not the best start, but Naruto was already moving to correct their course and free their teammate.

"Stop right there! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A large group of Shadow Clones appeared on the battlefield, all ready for a fight. Okay, time for plan kick the crap out of the old man. The group of Naruto's jumped into the air with kunais drawn and landed on top of the clone of the swordsman. He easily knocked them away with a large swing of his sword, but in that time Sasuke was able to scramble out of the way and onto his knees near her.

Amari rushed over to him to initiate the next part of her plan. "Sasuke, can you help?" He grunted in affirmation, bringing an evil smile to her lips she aimed at their enemy. "My turn."

"Bring it on little girl!" Zabuza challenged. The sound of a Transformation Jutsu dispelling earned a startled noise out of the clone of Zabuza, who barely had enough time to turn his head to see a clone of Amari already grabbing his leg from a prone position with a kunai in hand.

"Hehe, I've got your foot!"

"What the?! Argh!" he grunted in pain as the clone stabbed her blade through his foot and into the ground.

Neither Uchiha waited for a better moment to reveal itself. They moved through their handseals in synchronicity. Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!

Together they released large streams of fire, combining their jutsu's to increase the strength. Again her chakra shroud leaked into her jutsu and added green edges to the orange flames that earned surprised looks from the two Jōnin.

Much to Sasuke's despair, the water clone of Zabuza jumped into the air before being engulfed by their powerful combination, dragging the clone with him as he flew into the air. Their flames scorched the area where he had been, unable to go far enough to hit the real one, but that was all a part of her plan.

"We almost had him," Sasuke muttered.

"Good work Sasuke. I leave the rest to you and Naruto after this," Amari complimented. He looked at her strangely. Amari offered him a smile before disappearing in a flash of speed and reappearing in the air. Right where I want you! "Dynamic Entry!"

She landed a kick into his gut and grabbed the hand of her clone. Her clone let go of Zabuza's foot with a knowing smile pulled onto her face. We almost have this. She spun around and fired off her clone headfirst like a cannonball to head-butt the Zabuza clone. The attack didn't do enough damage to dispel him, but Amari was already moving through her handseals as gravity was bringing her into pointblank range.

"Now burn!" Fire Style: Fire Ball— wait move!

A cry of pain echoed across the field as Zabuza's long blade sliced straight through the clone of Amari and cut across Amari's abdomen. The pain was excruciating enough to block out the pain of landing hard on the grassy floor and tumbling back towards her team. "No! Amari!" a voice yelled to her but she could barely comprehend who it was over the searing pain she hadn't felt since her eye had been destroyed.

No…this is far worse than that.

She felt someone grab her and begin dragging her away; a flash of pink hair was the only hint she had as to who it was. In the distance she could hear Zabuza laughing evilly and taunting someone, but to her it sounded as if someone was holding her head underwater while trying to hold a conversation with her. I'm not done yet, just you wait.

Sasuke and Naruto continued to fight, the pair going with the Demon Wind Shuriken attack they worked on in training. Through the fog of pain she watched Sasuke jump into the air and toss it, only for it to soar past the clone. Zabuza caught it with ease when a second Demon Wind Shuriken suddenly appeared out of the shadow of the original.

"Amari stay with me!" Sakura shouted to her.

Amari poked her forehead as Kurenai always poked hers. "I'm going to be okay, Sakura. Don't you worry."

Don't you dare die on me Amari! I still have to pulverize you when I'm stronger!Inner Sakura yelled. Sakura had her hands on her stomach as she tried her hardest to keep her teammate from fading into death right in front of her. The green shroud once covering her body was now gone and her onyx eye was duller in appearance than it should be.

"Just hold on Amari! You're going to be okay."

Now I get why Amari was wishing she knew Medical Ninjutsu when Naruto got injured, she thought in a flurry of panic and trained calm. This is different, though. We had Kakashi-sensei to help then and Naruto managed to get the poison out of himself. She shook her head at the reminder of his idiocy. The knucklehead just had to go and stab himself with a kunai. Seriously, who does that?

"Just promise me you won't be to mad later," Amari said.

"What?" Mad? Why would I be mad unless…Shock filled the kunoichi. Did…did Amari feel herself dying? "No! Stay with me Amari! Don't die. Please…don't die." She felt emotions begin to take hold of her as tears threatened to fall. She had never gotten along great with her back in the Academy, but after being on the same team and actually listening to her, Sakura had begun to respect her skills and knowledge of battlefield tactics.

There was so much this girl knew and she could apply it in the field like it was second nature. A skill Sakura wanted desperately. One of her greatest assets was her intelligence, yet in the stress of this fight was making it nearly impossible to draw forth from the well of knowledge she gained to offer any real help.

Now she was using the cloth of her teammates sliced shirt to stop the blood from pouring out and to keep from accidently getting any dirt or germs into her wound. No matter how hard she tried, though, nothing she did seemed to slow down that much. All she managed to do was coat the entire piece of cloth in her teammate's blood. There had to be something she could do, something she could do to keep Amari from dying.

"…I'm so going to get hit by you. Just watch the fight for me."

Confused, Sakura cautiously looked up from her teammate to see the second shuriken flying straight for Zabuza's chest. The second shuriken is right on target and he can't catch this one. Zabuza suddenly jumped over it without releasing the Water Prison. Huh?! He dodged it!

Her eyes fell down to Amari only to see her smirking. "See you soon, Sakura."

Before she could say anything, Amari's solid mass disappeared in a poof of smoke. A clone? Sakura started looking around in confusion as Tazuna did the same. But then…where is the real Amari?

Now is my chance! The real Amari dispelled out of the second kunai behind the Water Clone of Zabuza, her body shrouded in green and a satisfied smirk on her face. As expected both Zabuza and Kakashi wore shocked expressions. Time to get him to release Sensei! She created a second clone quickly and dashed forward right at their vulnerable enemy. Everything had gone according to plan and now it was time to turn the tables back in their favor. Naruto dispelled out of the shadow shuriken with three kunai in his hand ready to be thrown at the unprepared Zabuza.

"Eat this!" Naruto shouted.

"This is the beginning of the end Zabuza! Don't mess with Team Seven!" The Amari's flashed forward into a jump using the Body Flicker Technique. "Double Dynamic Entry!"

As she and her clone flew at Zabuza's front and Naruto's three kunai came flying at his back, she saw in Zabuza's eyes the moment of realization that he'd either have to take the hit head-on or let go of the Water Prison to escape. There was no other way to escape this unscathed. Seeing his annoyance and anger grow was deeply satisfying.

You've been played, Zabuza. I just hope Kakashi-sensei has enough chakra left to take you down. She felt her smile widen in victory at such a perfectly executed plan. You're finished!

Zabuza let go of the Water Prison to dodge the kunai, one slicing past his face as the others cut through the side of his pants. His free hand then came swinging right at the duo of kunoichi's and batted them both out of air with a hard strike that caught the kunoichi in the face and made her yelp in surprised pain.

That…That hadn't been according to the plan.

Amari landed in the water with a splash with her clone dispelling before she even hit the water. Ow…She touched her cheek and winced. That's going to be an ugly bruise. Lowering her hand, she sighed internally in relief. At least Kakashi-sensei is free.

His freedom was worth the bruise.

Amari let her shroud fade and resurfaced. She heard a clang of metal on metal but she was far too preoccupied with a different fight altogether; the fight with her long, thoroughly soaked blue hair sticking to and covering the entirety of her face. A large set of strands covered her nose and made breathing incredibly difficult while others laid over her eyes and made seeing anything through the blue curtain impossible. Not wanting to get caught off guard by an attack, she quickly scooped up her hair and removed it from her face, allowing her to see and breathe unhampered once more.

Man, my hair is going to be such a pain to deal with later, a distant complaint groaned.

With her vision cleared she found Kakashi on his feet again with a murderous look in his eyes. Matched with his Sharingan eye, the fight was practically won with that single glare. Naruto came afloat across from her, a hopeful look turning into a wide grin when he saw their success.

"Great work guys! That went exactly how I imagined it!" Amari congratulated her team. Except that last hit. No one needed to know that. Her face was already bruised, and secretly her ego was, too.

"Excellent work all of you. Especially you two, Amari and Naruto. You two have really grown a lot, haven't you," their sensei stated with a slight struggle in his voice.

The struggle was caused by the deadlock he was holding Zabuza in. The Demon Wind Shuriken their enemy had caught was folded up and seemed to have been intended to be sent right at her, but Kakashi hadn't let it. The source of the clang became apparent when she noticed the metal plate on the back of his gloved hand holding back the shuriken that probably would have taken her head off. Despite the protection from the plate, blood was dripping from his hand, but a cut was far better than a severed limb.

A severed limb would be a drag.

Naruto beamed at the compliment. "Haha, you bet we have! Beating him with my Shadow Clones would've been impossible, so I decided to use them as distractions. Once I got my headband back I noticed the Amari next to me wasn't the real one. She had purposely formed her clone with her ninja tools on her left leg instead of her right like she always does. That's when I realized she was probably one of the kunais."

Amari nodded in agreement. Creating a faulty clone hadn't been hard and she was surprised the rest of her team and her sensei hadn't caught onto it. "I switched out when you knocked us all out of the way after Zabuza landed right between all of us. While you all were focused on the fight, I created two clones, one to transform into a kunai and one to act as the real me as I transformed myself into a kunai. From there I would always be able to catch Zabuza by complete surprise.

"My clone threw them when he was rushing at you because she knew he'd knock them away without paying any mind to them. With me and my clone set up on the battlefield, we had the perfect position to attack at any moment, but when he captured you and created a clone I knew I couldn't just attack on my own or with her. He'd just knock me away, that's why my clone did everything she could to distract him and get his focus squarely on her. She also knew if Sasuke and her combined their jutsu's, Zabuza would retreat into the air, so my other clone did her best to hold him down."

She could see Sasuke's lips twitch upwards in the distance at the acknowledgement of their combined jutsu. Just don't get a big head, Sasuke. We did it together.

"When my two clones went into the air, she meant to hit Zabuza's clone at pointblank range with her Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu, but his clone reacted too fast. That's when I decided to keep fueling chakra to the one he wounded so it looked like he took me out and he wouldn't suspect the second kunai. Even though she didn't know, Sakura helped out tremendously by trying to stop the clone me from dying."

Zabuza growled in irritation at the group duping him. He had thought they were just lowly Genin but he hadn't expected her ability to plot out an entire scheme to rescue their sensei using clones he hadn't seen her create.

"Thinking he beat Amari left him wide open for me and Sasuke to attack," Naruto continued from where she had left off. "I used one of my clones he hit away to hide behind and transform into the shuriken. When Sasuke caught the shuriken he knew it was me instantly, that's why he spun around and pulled out his own shuriken. Now there were two shurikens—one was real, one was me! I hid in the shadow of the real shuriken and my target was the real Zabuza. Of course I knew that I couldn't fight Zabuza on my own. That wasn't mine or Amari's plan. We just wanted to get close enough to break up his Water Prison. I didn't know his clone would be wrecked too, ha! That was a bonus, you know!"

"Don't brag, you two just lucked out," Sasuke said.

"Wait, the whole thing was just a fluke?!" Tazuna roared.

Amari couldn't help but giggle to herself at their client's outrage at the possibility of their success being a fluke. He didn't need to know how much of her plan relied on luck and the hope to get their sensei out alive or at least die trying.

"Sensei, Sakura, I'm sorry about the scare. I thought you guys would have noticed the change of my ninja tools," she apologized. She hadn't meant to worry them so much, but that was because she was certain they'd notice how the tools changed from her dominate side to her non-dominate side.

"Don't apologize, it was a good plan. Now get yourself out of the water. You're nearly out of chakra from your jutsu's. And make sure you give your eye a rest," Kakashi said calmly as he stared holes through Zabuza.

Yeah, definitely going to pay for all of that chakra once I sit down. Maintaining the shroud alone was taxing, but to use it in conjunction with all the other techniques was downright exhausting. The dōjutsu wielder nodded as she deactivated her Byakugan. As of now she was back to being a liability to her sensei in what was going to be an intense battle between elite shinobi. She and her team had done everything they could in this fight; now it was Kakashi's turn to fight the Demon.

Amari swam as fast as her tiring body could to shore and lumbered back over to Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna. Water poured off of her the whole way, and as soon as she reached the group she allowed her body to give into its exhaustion and fell onto her butt while Kakashi and Zabuza exchanged barbs she couldn't quite hear at this range.

A fist suddenly slammed into the top of her head, earning a yelp of surprise and making her hands shoot up to cover the new pain from further assault.

"Next time you try faking your death in my arms I'm going to pulverize you!" Sakura threatened.

Amari couldn't quite help the laugh that escaped her as she rubbed her head. I can't say I didn't see that coming or that I didn't deserve it. "I said I was sorry. I couldn't ruin the surprise, and I tried to tell you I was fine." Shouldn't that have exempted her from the punch? Plus she didn't die. Didn't that count for anything?

Sakura huffed but didn't argue further.

Nice to know you care Sakura. Even if it is because you want to hurt me yourself. It was an improvement from hating her. She'd take what small victories she could when it came to their relationship.

"Sakura, you know what to do," Sasuke said. She nodded and the pair moved to stand protectively in front of the bridge builder behind her. They were right to stay on guard. There was no telling if danger would be coming their way again in the coming fight. Amari kept her body relaxed but her hand near her ninja tool box so she had quick access to a weapon in case Zabuza attacked them again.

On the water the two elite shinobi were still staring each other down, and Naruto was doing his best to swim to shore without getting caught in the fight. Zabuza's already made a mistake against Kakashi-sensei. Meeting his glare has captured him within Sensei's Sharingan, but that alone isn't enough to win the fight. Sharingan didn't guarantee victory, not against elite opponents at least. What comes next will certainly be a spectacle.

Kakashi flung the shuriken away and the pair jumped away from one another at the same time.

With everyone, except Naruto, behind her, Amari activated her own Sharingan so she wouldn't miss a single move or twitch. These two were in bingo books for a reason. They were the elite of the elite. The kind of shinobi they already told stories about because of the kinds of feats they pulled off in their careers. She didn't want to miss a single second of their battle.

Both shinobi started moving through handseals, and from the look of it Kakashi was copying Zabuza's verbatim. Unlike the jutsus she knew, the jutsu they were preparing for didn't have just three or five handseals to move through. So far she counted at least twelve and they were still going, never once pausing in them.

So many for a single jutsu…This must be one powerful technique and likely water based. Her conclusions came from the amount of chakra she could see building around them and being kneaded into the water below them.

Unfortunately for her, what remained of her chakra was too little for her to continue maintaining the Sharingan for much longer without complications. Her left eye was already hurting from having her Byakugan activated since the beginning of the fight, having a second sore eye wasn't ideal.

Amari deactivated her Sharingan as Kakashi and Zabuza created their last handseal, forty-four in total. A second later the water in front of them began to move upwards and reshape itself into two large Water Dragons, their gold eyes gleaming through the natural mist of the Land of Waves.

The Nara felt her jaw nearly drop off at the sight of their giant forms, and some forgotten part of her beamed in excitement at the sight of dragons. Whoa! That's a huge jutsu!

The dragons clashed with each other, and the result of their duel was a large wave of water far taller she was in her seated position coming slamming onto the shore right at them.

Oh crap. Not only was she about to get wet, she was also about to be taken by the tide.

Before she could even move to scramble onto her feet, Sasuke grabbed her and lifted her off of the ground bridal style…something she didn't even realize until the water crashed passed them.

An awkward silence fell between the two while she remained in his arms, a slight tint of pink coating both of their cheeks. …Awkward…

Sasuke never touched other people unless he was hitting them, and although she was more touchy feely than he was, that was only after knowing someone for a long time. It took her time to get to the stage of allowing people into her personal space, hence the pokes to the foreheads she gave in the place of hugs.

Beyond the awkwardness of their embarrassing situation came the realization of being the envy of every Sasuke fangirl everywhere. How had such a thought even dared to cross her mind? Simply put, there was a hole being bored into the back of her skull by a pair of emerald eyes that made her headache begin to pulse harder.

"Sakura's going to kill me," Amari mumbled morbidly.

Her mumble was enough to snap Sasuke out of his silence and banish his blush for a teasing smile. "You'll be fine."

That was easy for him to say, but he wasn't the one who was going to have to look over his shoulder every day and lock every door and window in her house each night to prevent the horde of fangirls from breaking in with their pitchforks.

The wave returned back to its source, allowing the boy to set her back down on the ground where she had sat initially. She received a pointed stare from her fellow kunoichi, a stare that made Amari tense in preparation of hammer like fists to slam her into the ground like a nail.

The look was dropped when the battle between the two shinobi picked up again. Amari sighed in relief. Phew. I've avoided being pulverized after Sasuke holding me. That has to be a feat worth noting…unless she's still waiting until I least expect it…Hmm. She was going to have to be extra cautious after today to avoid pulverization.

The two Jōnin stood under the clashing dragons with Zabuza trying to push his large blade into Kakashi while the Copy Ninja was holding it back with a kunai knife. Even at this distance, Amari could tell Zabuza was losing his dominate footing in the overall battle. Whatever Kakashi was doing was toying with his mind and making their enemy begin to doubt his own abilities.

Is it a genjutsu doing it or is it because his Sharingan is allowing him to mirror his moves so perfectly that it is throwing him off?

Despite having the Sharingan and studying as much as she could about it—which wasn't very much officially and unofficially Kakashi had told her very little—her knowledge was, you could say, lacking.

At the same time, to read or talk about the Sharingan was one thing, but to see it action was another. On her level she couldn't actually pull off a perfectly copied jutsu in the same way Kakashi was, in fact she couldn't even pull off a less powerful jutsu perfectly. But to see Kakashi immediately start copying Zabuza's technique and use it without even breaking a sweat was, in her eyes, amazing. She couldn't even imagine how much training that it would take her to reach that level, but she was excited for it nonetheless.

The dragons disintegrated above them and created a light rain over the two fighting. Something was different now, though. Zabuza appeared even more startled and thrown off his game than he had been moments before. They backed away from one another and put their tools away. Then Zabuza took off in a run with Kakashi mirroring his exact movement the opposite way. They stopped at the same time and mirrored each other's movements down to the smallest twitches, even into the same handseal Zabuza had used for the Hidden Mist Jutsu.

"Your sensei isn't merely following him…he's moving the exact same way at the same time," Tazuna realized.

"It's like he knows what Zabuza is about to do next but…I don't know. Is the Sharingan able to do that?" Amari asked, looking back to Sasuke for confirmation. He didn't answer her; his eyes remained pinned on the two shinobi.

I suppose he doesn't know either and I can't say anything about it copying movements…but copying movements and knowing what he is about to do are two separate concepts. They were about as different as the sun and moon. Copying was based on seeing it and then repeating it. Knowing meant Kakashi could somehow see into his opponents mind and then copy the movements before Zabuza realized he was thinking them.

If he does know what Zabuza is about to do, then the Sharingan is far more powerful than I've been told. Zabuza's eyes were wide in what seemed to be true fear as they moved in synch. By the look on Zabuza's face, Sensei is really getting to him…But how much longer can Kakashi-sensei keep this up?

From the perspective of everyone around her, Kakashi was turning the tide and was going to put Zabuza down at this rate. Amari, however, was doing her best to hide her growing worry for her sensei. He's had his Sharingan uncovered for a long time now. Copying jutsus plus whatever he's doing now has to be draining his chakra fast. He couldn't keep this up forever. His body and chakra had limitations normally, using his implanted Sharingan only meant those limits would be reached even faster than usual.

Sensei…Amari's hand unconsciously clutched around the edge of her shorts. Please…you need to finish this now.

"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" Kakashi said.

Giant? "Er…Sasuke? Would you mind getting me off the ground? This is going to be bad," Amari lifted her up without debate seconds before the giant vortex of water slammed into Zabuza and tunneled past them towards a tree, the total water and power behind the technique sending raging waves of water in all directions.

Everyone not previously soaked now was drenched in water, and thanks to the current, Naruto was unceremoniously thrown onto the shore. Amari looked down at her drenched clothes and the strands of soaked blue hair draped over her shoulders and frowned. What a drag. The normal wild thick mess was now straight like Sakura's hair, as if the life had been stripped away from her hair never to be seen again. As sad as it was to see, Amari knew the moment it dried it would be wilder than usual and a lot more knotted.

Good thing I packed a brush.

The large vortex dissipated and revealed Zabuza in a weakened state, braced against the tree with what looked like a miniature, knee-high lake sloshing around him. Four kunai thrown by Kakashi cut through the air and pierced into his body—two to his legs above the knees and the other two at his shoulders.

Thankfully the water receded again so she could leave the second awkward silence behind her. Any longer and I think Sakura would have ripped me from his arms. A small glance revealed a vein bulging on her forehead on the verge of bursting. Amari wasn't positive, but she'd be willing bet there were internal shrieks of despair and anger as well as promises made to pulverize her.

Needless to say she was going to be sleeping with one eye open for the next few nights.

Two senbon suddenly embedded themselves into Zabuza's neck from out of seemingly nowhere, garnering a shocked gasp from everyone. Where the hell did that come from? Amari searched around until she found a masked person standing on a nearby tree branch.

The individual seemed to be a teenage boy based on his height and body. Two long black ponytails bound by metal cuffs hung down in the front of his face while the rest appeared to be held by a white bun holder. His mask was mostly white, save a red wavy design in place of his mouth and the Mist Village symbol etched into the top. He wore pinstriped shorts and a green haori with white trimmings and a long brown sash wrapped around his waist twice.

"You were right, it was his last battle," the boy said to Kakashi.

His voice was calm, gentle, soothing even, yet Amari was still stuck on how he managed to not only appear out of nowhere, but also take Zabuza down like it was nothing. Who is this kid? Even without my Byakugan I can sense his strong chakra. He was strong for sure, possibly stronger than Zabuza by the feeling she had.

Kakashi jumped down and checked Zabuza for any vital signs, only to let out a sigh. "He's dead." He wasn't disappointed about their enemy was no longer a threat. Amari bet he was more upset that they hadn't been able to get more information out of him regarding Gatō's forces before he was killed.

Two senbon perfectly thrown to deliver a fatal blow and from the angle he had? No average shinobi could have pulled that off. In fact Amari was willing to go out on a limb and say even some Jōnin wouldn't have been able to land such a precise strike. This kid has to be our age or a little older by the sound of his voice and height. I know there are child prodigies, but he's on another level altogether.

Amari stared at the masked boy in wonder and fascination as he spoke to Kakashi, not so much hearing their conversation over her own thoughts. How had he gotten so strong and so fast? She had been training for two years straight as hard as she possibly could, doing her best to learn everything she could for the inevitable day she fought Kasai…But her strength didn't even seem to come close to matching his.

I wonder if Kasai has advanced as quickly. Even if he hadn't, the possibility of what power he could gain motivated her even further to train harder. If there was even a slight chance that Kasai was close to this kid's strength already then she had to train twice as hard to become stronger. There was no other option.

"I've been hunting Zabuza for quite some time, patiently waiting for my opportunity to eliminate him," the boy informed.

"So you're part of the Tracker Unit," Kakashi noted.

The Mist shinobi dipped his head in a small nod.

He's in a very important role for his village already. No doubt about it, he was not a shinobi to be trifled with.

Naruto slid to a stop with his fists clenched in preparation of a fight. "Oh, so he's a tracker," he said, clearly having no idea what exactly that entailed.

She smiled at the blond. Troublesome boy. So long as they stayed out of this boy's way, he wouldn't bring any harm to them. Then again from what I've picked up of his conversation with Kakashi-sensei, he appears to be very polite. That's not to say he couldn't or wouldn't kill us, but he obviously doesn't want to otherwise he would have already.

Sakura lectured the knucklehead on the importance of trackers. In short, when rogue ninjas left their home villages, they took secrets of their people with them. Because of the dangers that posed for the safety of the village, trackers were specifically trained to hunt down rogue ninjas and kill them so their secrets remained, well, secret.

Even though we ended up making his job easier, this boy was tasked to track down Zabuza. No one would send him if they didn't think he couldn't take him on. Amari let her lips twitch up into a smile. Well, now I have another measuring stick to grow into. If I can become as strong as this kid is, I'll be able to protect my teammates better and take down Kasai.

Naruto, unlike her, wasn't one to admire the strength of the stranger. Where she saw a goal of strength to reach, he saw it as their weakness and was shammed by it. He charged forward a few strides in sheer frustration and clenched his hands into fists. "Who do you think you are?!" The tracker remained silent. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Easy, Naruto. He's not our enemy," Kakashi attempted to soothe.

Unfortunately that wasn't the point Naruto was getting at, which she knew Kakashi was aware of, but Naruto was being too emotional for common sense to reach him. She understood his anger, to a degree. Seeing Zabuza, who had kicked them all around, get taken down with such ease by someone around the same age as him was ego bruising.

But he wasn't alone in it. Next to her Sasuke wore a look of contempt while Sakura clasped her hands together and looked down to the ground where Amari was sitting in disappointment towards herself.

Their minor victory over Zabuza was based far more on luck than purely skill based, where this kid could handle him in a weakened state with only two senbon.

"We don't know anything! How can I accept that?!" Naruto shouted at their sensei.

"Well, you could simply ignore it, I suppose. Still, even if you don't like it, it did happen, Naruto." Kakashi rested his hand on the knucklehead's head in an effort to provide comfort. "In the shinobi world there are kids who are younger than all of you, and yet stronger than me. But don't let that fact discourage you. Use it as a reason to surpass what you think you're capable of."

Amari found herself nodding to the lesson he was giving them. That's exactly how they needed to think of it. They needed to use his ability as a goal to surpass, and in doing so they would surpass their self-imposed limits.

The tracker ninja disappeared within a swirling wind only to appear next to Zabuza. He wrapped an arm of Zabuza's around his neck and lifted his limp body slightly off the ground. "For now your struggle is over. I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body that cannot be allowed to get into the wrong hands. Please excuse me. Farewell."

Once again he disappeared within a swirling wind with Zabuza in tow, an action that set off every suspicion based instinct in Amari's body. Wait a moment…shouldn't he have taken the secrets now? Groaning in sheer exhaustion, she let the thought go. I'm too tired to work this out now.

Naruto ran towards the tree the tracker ninja had been in, trying to find where he went and maybe even put some distance between himself and the others so he could be alone in his emotional frustration. He then fell to his knees and started punching the ground. "What are we doing here? We're nothing!"

Naruto…just because we aren't strong now doesn't mean we won't become strong. Time and training is all we need. Amari let out a sigh. She'd have liked to voice it for all those around her, but she knew her words wouldn't be enough to soothe bruised pride. Her team would have to work themselves through their inferiority on their own.

Kakashi walked over to the boy and snatched his wrist before he could punch the ground again. "Save your anger for the next enemy, Naruto." Her best friend lowered his arms and deflated but offered a small nod of understanding.

Keep moving forward, that's all they could do. It was the only way they'd ever grow to be strong enough to fight battles like this on skill instead of luck. Don't know who our next enemy will be or when they'll be here, but we need to get moving. I'm not in any condition to fight and would be a liability to the team right now.

"Kakashi-sensei, we should get going. We don't want another group of Gatō's thugs attacking us now," Amari said.

"I agree. Besides, we haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge," Kakashi said.

Tazuna let out a hearty laugh. For all the stress they had experienced, right now it was all behind them. Gatō surely had more thugs, but she doubted they were even close in strength compared to Zabuza. "Sorry I caused all this trouble for you, but, ah, you can rest at my house when we get to the village."

"All right, let's get a move on. One of you needs to carry Amari. She's in no shape to walk now."

Sakura knelt down in front of Amari with her back to her before anyone else could move. Probably doesn't want me in "her Sasuke's" arms again and this way she can threaten me. Amari did her best to climb onto her back, wrapping her arms around her neck and letting Sakura brace her legs with her hands. Once he was certain they were ready, Kakashi turned to lead them to the bridge builders home.

Then his entire body suddenly seized up.

Oh no.

Kakashi collapsed face first to the ground, out cold before he even hit the ground. Damn it Sensei, you overdid it.

"Wha- what happened?" Sakura asked, fear and confusion in her tone as the group rushed over to him.

"Chakra exhaustion," Amari stated with a sigh of resignation. Now we really need to get indoors before the next attack. How troublesome. "Sasuke, Naruto, carry Sensei. We need to get to the bridge builders house immediately."

The boys didn't hesitate to move into action, both doing their best to brace Kakashi's weight between them.

"Is it bad?" Tazuna asked.

"Yes, if a ninja exhausts all of their chakra, they die. In my scenario now, the chakra shroud and the amount of chakra I had to continue sending to my wounded clone to keep her active drained me significantly. Because of that my body is extremely weakened right now where I can barely support my own body weight.

"Kakashi-sensei, on the other hand, overused his techniques and expended enough chakra to exhaust his reserve to a few levels above instant death. The result was his body shutting itself down to conserve energy and begin refueling itself," Amari explained. She looked from her unconscious Sensei to the bridge builder. "Lead the way. We must get out of the open."

He nodded understandingly. "Right, follow me. We aren't that far away now."

As a group they moved with Sakura carrying Amari next to Tazuna and Sasuke and Naruto behind them carrying their sensei.

"Is Kakashi-sensei going to be okay Amari?" Sakura asked.

I don't know. He used way too much chakra back there. If he doesn't die then it'll be at least a week before he'll be at full strength again. Amari glanced to her own legs. I should be able to walk tomorrow, but I won't be able to fight at full strength for at least another two or three days due to my overuse of the Byakugan and the chakra shroud.

None of that information would reassure her team, however. Right now they needed her to be optimistic about their chances.

"I think he will be," she answered. "From what little I know of his Sharingan, it drains his chakra significantly, but for most ninja it is nearly impossible to drain all of our chakra. Only powerful jutsu's, stronger than any we have seen thus far, can do that."

"So sensei's Sharingan can't do that?" Sakura asked.

"Not to my knowledge, or lack thereof. Sensei used his Sharingan and its abilities too much, and even after the fight when his chakra was already hitting its low he kept it out."

The problem is we needed him to push himself past his limits because he got trapped in that Water Prison. Had he been able to finish the fight earlier we wouldn't be in this situation.

Amari exhaled a deep sigh. "Another problem is the Sharingan is a dōjutsu in his optic nerve, which is attached to his brain. The optic nerve is one of our cranial nerves and part of our central nervous system. I think by overusing his visual jutsu and exhausting his chakra, he also stressed his optic nerve to the point that the pain helped to knock him out."

"So that's why he was rendered unconscious. Not only was his body shutting down to conserve his energy and start healing, the moment he relaxed and his adrenaline faded, his optic nerves stress was sent directly to his brain," Sakura realized.

"Leaving Kakashi unconscious," Sasuke finished behind them.

"He'll come around. It's just a matter of when," Amari said, trying her best to sound hopeful for the sake of the team.

It just better be soon because if my hunch about that tracker ninja is right then we're going to need Kakashi-sensei at one hundred percent.

Amari glanced to her teammates who had fallen into relative silence.

We may have just angered a Demon who I doubt will take losing to a Copy Ninja lightly.