We all stood in silence, waiting.
"The Sharingan eye!" With those words, the three of us attacked. I used the kunai I was writing on my arm to block one of Zabuza's knives.
"You can sneer all you want about my "lack of finesse", Zabuza. It doesn't change the fact that you're afraid of the Sharingan and of me," Kakashi told him.
"Heh heh heh... a ninja's secret weapon should be employed judiciously, not displayed at random to every foe you face!" Zabuza told him.
"You should feel privileged. No one has ever lived to see the Sharingan a second time. And no one will ever see it thrice!"
"Heh heh... by all means, defeat me, if you can. You still won't have what it take to kill Haru!"
"Maybe not, but there are two of us," I reminded him.
"Since he was a toddler I've beaten his fighting skill into him! Even in the face of unthinkable adversity, he has always prevailed! He's lost all regard for his own life and become a killing machine. A true Shinobi," Zabuza told us. "His skills surpass even my own. And he bears within him the formidable legacy of an inherited Kekkei Genkai! Thus, I have forged and carry with me a weapon of matchless quality and skill entirely unlike the scraps of trash that follow at your heels."
"Is there anything duller than listening to someone else brag?" Kakashi asked him. "It's show time!" Kakashi lifted his headband to show his Sharingan.
"Perhaps you might hold off a moment, now that I've caught my breath. And - to borrow your own idiom - permit me one more boast. You turned a very pretty phrase at our last encounter. Frankly, I've been dying to steal it. Something to the effect of, "Just so you know the same spell won't work on me twice"." Zabuza warned. "Having had a chance to see it in action I now have a thorough understanding of the arcane workings of your mirror eye. There was far more to our previous battle than the apparently humiliating defeat I permitted you to hand me. Haku, who was hiding nearby, observed and studied every aspect of our fight, from beginning to end. Haku is extremely intelligent. For him, to see a technique is to analyze and understand it. And with that understanding, he can develop effective countermeasures." Zabuza used a Jutsu to make the fog a lot thicker so we couldn't see him. Damn! This counts out my Jutsu!
"Sakura! We're counting on you to protect Mr. Tazuna!" Kakashi called back to my sister. The fog was too thick for anyone to see through, so how was Zabuza planning on doing so? Suddenly, we had to block several throwing stars with our kunai.
"You repelled those nicely. No less than I'd expect of Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye and the Demon Sage." We quickly turned and jumped away from Zabuza only to see his eyes were closed before he disappeared again. "However, the next time you see me it will still be the end." With his eyes closed that took out the Sharingan. I started the hand signs for my own Jutsu. "You've overestimated the value of your Sharingan."
"What?"
"Heh heh heh. You pretend it enables you to penetrate all, yet, but you've turned out to be a false prophet, after all, Kakashi. You can neither read my mind nor the future. In other words, your precious Sharingan is just an elaborate hoax. A confidence trick you play in order to psych out your opponents. More precisely, it combines clarity of perception and insight on your own part with the ability to all but hypnotizes those around you! Using those skills in concert, you are able to create your illusions through a combination of mimicry - from movement to thoughts, to the skills of those you fight! Prancing around acting like you can see the future! You analyze my superficial movements, copy them, and use the rapidity of the turnaround to induce fear and insecurity. Once you're certain you understand what's going on in my heart and mind, you calculate just what to say to bend my mind to your will, and then you calculate when my insecurities have reached a fever pitch, and then you lay your trap. You use visual hypnosis to trick me into signalling what technique I'll use and how I'll be using it. And then all you have to do is mimic it! Knowing that it was simple to choose a countermeasure. First, I conceal myself within this thick mist and neutralize your visual acuity." Kakashi was only just barely able to block Zabuza's attack on him, forcing him back. "Heh heh heh. With my own eyes closed, I eliminate the possibility of your hypnotizing me while we're in close proximity."
"But then while I can't use my own eyes, neither can you!" Kakashi pointed out.
"Ah, but you forget..."
"What?!"
"I am trained in silent killing. My genius lies in the ability to hunt by sound alone!" Damn it! Why did we not think of this?! Because we were worried about Naruto and Sasuke. I continued my Jutsu in silence and thought about what he might do. I finished my Jutsu as Kakashi disappeared from beside me.
"Too late!"
"AIEEEEE!"
"Sakura!"