"Looks like I was right," Kakashi said as the five of us stared them down. "Our mysterious masked friend is playing on Zabuza's team."
"He has some nerve, showing up like this!" Sakura said getting angry. I placed a hand on her shoulder and felt her curious eyes stare up at me as I stared down the pair.
"This one's mine," Sasuke told us. "That was quite a show you put on before, but we're on to you now and I hate ham actors!"
"Sasuke's so cool!" I shook my head at her. Suddenly, the kid next to Zabuza spun and came quickly to attack Sasuke. Sasuke saw this and locked his senbon with a kunai just in time. The pair continued to attack and block each other's moves as we watched on.
"Sakura! We have to cover Mr. Tazuna. Take that side, and stay close! Sage-"
"I'm on it," I told him before moving off to the side and getting into position as he did the same.
"Let Sasuke handle Haku."
"Yes, sir!" Sakura moved in front of Tazuna.
"I don't want to have to kill you, but you probably won't leave quietly, will you?" I heard Haku ask Sasuke.
"Don't be stupid."
"Just as I thought... however, you won't be able to match my speed for long, and I've laid the groundwork for two attacks."
"Two attacks?"
"Firstly, there's the water splashed all around us. Secondly, I've trapped one of your hands with parrying this move which leaves you only one hand free to defend yourself from my attacks!" Haku raised his hand in a half a hand sign and my eyes widened as he continued to make signs! What the hell was this kid?!
"Secret art of water! The Thousand stinging needles of death!" Haku stomped his foot on the ground and the water around the pair. I've never known anyone who could make hand signs with only one hand before!
"Sasuke!" I watched as Sasuke made a hand sign of his own before the water attacked him. Haku had jumped back in time not to be hurt by it.
"Where did he...?!" Haku didn't have time to finish his question before he had to jump out of the way of the four ninja stars about to hit him.
"You're not that fast," Sasuke said from behind the boy. "Now you're the one who has to worry about defending yourself from my attacks." Sasuke moved to attack him and the boy blocked with a senbon before having to dodge the kunai Sasuke threw at him, but he couldn't dodge the kick that sent him back to Zabuza's feet. "You're fast. I'm faster."
"You had that coming," Kakashi told Zabuza and Haku. "For underestimating my team and for namecalling. He may not look like much, but Sasuke here is the top-rated rookie from all of Konohagakure Village. And Sakura here is our sharpest mind, and last but not least, let's not forget our own comedy ninja - the maverick show-stopper, the one, and only Naruto!" Zabuza only seemed to laugh at the small introduction to the Genin on the team.
"Haku, do you understand, if this goes on, you could end up dying at the hands of the very person you sought to spare?"
"Yes, I do," Haku said rising to his feet. "What a pity." Haku made a new hand sign and the water around Sasuke began to lift into the air and take shape. "Secret art of water ice crystals magic mirror technique!" Kakashi and I shared a look and I shook my head. We'd never heard of this technique. Haku walked up to the mirrors and stepped inside one before suddenly appearing in all of them.
"Wha...?" Sakura asked throwing me a confused look.
"I don't know," I admitted to her.
"Blast!" Kakashi moved to be able to help Sasuke, but Zabuza stood in his way.
"Let's not forget I'm your enemy," Zabuza reminded him. "Our children can play together, while my boy kills yours." I moved to try and pass Zabuza from behind him and help Sasuke and Zabuza pulled his sword from his back and held it at my neck. "Where do you think you're running off too?" I glared at Zabuza and could almost feel them under my skin begging to be released. Suddenly, Sasuke screamed and I turned to see him being attacked from multiple angles.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted in worry.
"Any sudden moves and I'll kill those other two!" Zabuza warned us.
"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted as Sasuke continued to scream. Sakura ran and jumped into the air before throwing a kunai at the dome of mirrors but Haku popped halfway out of one of the mirrors and caught it. Suddenly, a ninja star came out of nowhere and hit Haku's mask, knocking him out of the mirror and onto the ground. "Who...?" We all stared, as a large cloud of smoke appeared and I sighed as it started to dissipate.
"Naruto Uzumaki! At your service! Here I am, to save the day. You know how the story goes, things look bleak till the hero arrives, and then - POW - bye-bye bad guys!"
"Naruto!" Sakura called out happily while, in my mind, I slapped my forehead. Hasn't he learned anything from Kakashi and Iruka? While we were all focused on Naruto, Zabuza took advantage and threw ninja stars at the boy, but they were stopped by senbon. I stared at the pair in front of me in shock.
"Haku, what are you doing"
"Zabuza, sir, please let me have this boy. I want to fight him in my own way," Haku told him.
"So, you want me to keep my hands off him, eh, Haku?" Zabuza asked him. "How charmingly naive of you, as usual." I couldn't help but feel the same as Zabuza did. Why would Haku want to fight against Naruto so badly that he saved him from being attacked by his partner? I glanced at Sasuke who was still recovering from being attacked by Haku trapped in the mirrors. This wasn't good. This was way beyond any Genin's training level. Sakura would be safe but only as long as Kakashi and I kept Zabuza at this point, but then the boys were left wide open. If I moved, would Kakashi be able to fend him off long enough for me to help Naruto get Sasuke out of those mirrors and defeat Haku?
"You doofus!" I looked inside the mirrors and internally sighed. Naruto was now inside the mirror dome with Sasuke! Well... there went that plan.
"The technique I'm using is part of the art of teleportation, and the only tool I need to perform it is the mirrors that hold my image," Haku explained after two failed attempts to destroy the mirrors. "I move so quickly, the pair of you might as well be standing still!"
"But all those techniques..." disappeared when the families died out!
"I never imagined that anyone could master such a technique at so young an age!" Kakashi said to Zabuza who started laughing again.
"Such a technique...?" Sakura asked confused.
"It's a Kekkei Genkai a skill that can be passed from one generation to the next!" Kakashi explained to her.
"It's a genetic trait that runs through the bloodlines of certain clan families, normally the ones who hold all the power in a village."
"You mean..."
"Precisely, it's of the same order of skill as my Sharingan mirror eye, but even my Sharingan can't copy, mimic, or break the boy's Kekkei Genkai!" Kakashi told her.
"SASUKE! NARUTO! DON'T YOU DARE LOSE TO A PERSON LIKE HIM!" Sakura shouted to the boys.
"Stop encouraging them, Sakura!" Kakashi ordered which only confused the poor girl. "Even if we knew of a way to counter his technique, your teammates still wouldn't be up to the task of defeating that boy."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Sakura asked confused.
"Those two haven't yet developed the psychological strength to turn their hearts to ice and take a human life," Zabuza pointed out. While I hated to admit it, he was right. "That boy has lived with the kind of emotional anguish that prepares him to be a try Shinobi. No true Shinobi could ever be born of a place like your village, a place of weakness... of peace. You don't live with death, or grow up needing to kill to ensure your own survival. In you those skills - and the mindset they require - die stillborn!"
"Kakashi-Sensei, what can we do?" Sakura asked him, but he didn't answer her. "Sage?" I didn't answer as Kakashi reached for his headband.
"You'll forgive me if I put an end to this!"
"Going to use the Sharingan?" Zabuza chuckled. "What a vulgar maneuver. So obvious, so lacking in finesse!"
"Good thing he won't be alone then," I said taking a Kunai and writing on my arm with it.