Chapter 16
Land of Waves
"You're men failed."
"Hmm, so it would seem."
Gatou was a small man with an appearance both gruff and slightly overweight, signs of a man who lived the good life, who probably never had to work a day in his life. His attire seemed more likely to be worn to conduct a business meeting rather than conversing with the hired help, a smart business suit, shining leather shoes, white buttoned shirt and tie.
Zabuza watched him carefully, seasoned eyes checking every twitch of a muscle on not just him but his two Samurai guards as well. The two men flanking him seemed more like common thugs with second hand katana. They didn't hold themselves like Samurai. In fact if a proper Samurai even saw them he would probably kill them for their insolence. He considered they would last no longer than three seconds the moment he raised his Kubikiribōchō, five if they were lucky. That is if he even needed to raise his sword, Haku could probably kill them with their own weapons.
"Listen to me Zabuza," the little mouse snarled angrily. "I paid you to kill the bridge builder. If you're not up to the job then perhaps I should find someone more capable."
A flash of motion and the businessman was starring at the tip of his Kubikiribōchō. All meter and a half of the carver's knife was held almost idly in his right hand as if it were no heavier than a paperweight. "Don't push your luck Gatou."
"I'm just worried is all," the businessman kept himself calm, which was quite a feat. "I expected a former Swordsman of the Mist to be more competent than this."
Zabuza chuckled before leaning forward, bringing the sword within a millimetre of Gatou's nose. "This is only the first move of a long game. The foe is not some simpleton you can simply assassinate or buy off."
Gatou backed off a few steps. His men's hands were on the hilts of their katana, ready to draw at a moment's notice. When the business man replied it was with a decent attempt at remaining calm. "Then what are you going to do about him?"
"I will deal with it personally," Zabuza said with a trace of mirth as he rose to his feet, his carvers knife returned to the leather straps on his back as he began to walk right past Gatou and his associates. He made it to the door before stopping in his tracks and turning around. "Haku, we're leaving."
The masked Ninja's words permeated the air from right behind Gatou and his enforcers, making them jump back in surprise, "Yes, Zabuza-sama."
The two of them left the room with silent, unheard steps, which was impressive considering how heavy the Kubikiribōchō sheathed to the swordsman's back was. Gatou waited until the door closed with a click before rounding on his subordinates, face a mask of irritation and borderline rage.
"Idiots, morons, what am I paying you for!"
"I apologise sir," the man on the left stated, Gatou realised that he didn't know the man's name, and he also realised that he didn't really care. "He came out of nowhere."
The businessman ground his teeth till it almost became an audible scraping sound. "I don't give a damn. The two of you are supposed to be former gods damned Samurai, aren't you supposed to be trained to be able to sense a Shinobi or something!"
Haku and Zabuza continued down the corridor, but they heard the outburst loud and clear. It appeared the businessman forgot that timber walls were pretty thin. "If those two are really Samurai then the standards in the Land of Iron have really dropped."
"Mm," Haku responded with a nod.
"So the Demon Brothers were defeated huh?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Haku replied. "And if the information is to be trusted they were defeated quickly."
"Is there anything on who they sent to protect the old geezer?"
"According to description she is described as a tall female, uniform of an elite Jonin, blonde hair tied in a braid, pale skin, was able to defeat the brothers in almost five seconds, proof that she knows at least basic Raiton Jutsu."
"Blonde hair, braid, pale..." Zabuza tapped his chin with his index finger for a moment before a smug look just barely creased the bandages covering the lower half of his face. "Ah, so they sent her did they?"
"Zabuza-sama?"
"Think back Haku, four years ago, kidnapping mission which went south."
Haku thought for a moment, before recognition slowly showed. "Oh."
"Yes, so it seemed she is now an elite Jonin." He threw his head back and chuckled. "This might be fun. I finally get my chance for a rematch against the Azure Cat."
"She appears to be travelling with another woman, at least Chūnin level, and three Genin." Haku added, now suddenly looking even more serious than before.
"So she is either a sensei now or the woman with her is." Zabuza muttered. "Green Genin on the field may give us an advantage. Did our spy say how well they performed?"
"He did," Haku replied. "Very well for Genin was his summary."
"I will take care of the adults," Zabuza stated, looking over at Haku with a calculating eye. "We cannot afford to be fancy when the numbers are stacked. I will take the adults on, and you will deal with the Genin."
Haku nodded in agreement.
The two of them were already outside the compound, and almost as if reading each other's mind took off into the forest undergrowth at the same time with almost blurring speed. No more words were spoken. There was no need for words at this point. The mission was stated clear as day. Kill the Shinobi, dispose of the bridge builder, get their money and keep moving.
They were too close to Kiri for Zabuza's liking.
The kids were restless and she didn't blame them. Yugito sighed as she walked a little ahead of the group, eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. They had arrived to the land of waves via a small boat, and the entire journey had been undertaken in complete silence so as not to draw any attention. The boat driver had been jittery and nervous the entire way and his state of mind didn't help her three students at all.
The thick mist, coupled with the darkness of the landmass which was the small island nation gave the small country as a whole a very unwelcome feeling, like an unknown ominous presence had descended on her shoulders. They had made it through the early morning mist and got off at the river mouth though, which was good, and the mist cleared as they began their walk down a rarely used side path that the bridge builder pointed out.
The enemy would make their move, and they would make it soon. When exactly she wasn't sure, but she guessed it would be some point on this path. It was a wide dirt track, with thick underbrush and trees on either side. Ambushers could hide themselves in the brush very effectively and wait for the moment to strike, and besides that brief encounter some years ago she knew what the Demon of the Mist was capable of, a master assassin. The silent kill was his specialty.
She took a glance back at her Genin team. Sasuke tried to look aloof and uncaring, but his dark eyes darted right and left, searching the forest on either side for the slightest hint of a threat. Kiba was the complete opposite, completely alert, his head craning from side to side and his hand close by his kunai pouch, where he looked his pet puppy covered his blind spot. Sakura looked nervous, sensing the tense situation and remaining quiet.
Anko was bored.
She looked impatient as she walked at the back of the formation, absently twirling a kunai idly in her left hand as she walked. Her friend looked left and right, back and front, and every so often she would release a grunt or a grown to show just how frustrated she was. The snake mistress wanted to fight someone, and her patience was running a little low.
It was barely a few days travel to the Land of Waves, considering it was just off the coast of the Land of Fire, and in that time Anko had achieved her goal of making the Genin as scared shitless of her as humanly possible. Her friend was sadistic that way, probably why Ibika-san was considering making her the instructor for the next Chūnin exams. She had Kiba and Sakura scared shitless by putting snakes in their sleeping bags, harmless garter snakes mind, but snakes none the less. Even Sasuke was a little fearful of the snake mistress, considering he checked his own bed roll before he went to bed every night.
Yugito even summoned Kuro to guard her sleeping roll every time they laid camp. The first night he had caught three garter snakes attempting to slither into her backpack and had eaten all three, Anko stopped after that, but she still summoned him the second night just in case.
He made the perfect bed warmer.
Tazuna had explained the whole situation to them on the rest of the journey, and it was information that Yugito and Anko had been given beforehand so they pretty much tuned him out. Her students listened though and Tazuna's own account pretty much coincided with the information their spies had gathered. Their mission remained unchanged. Protect the bridge builder and his work crews until they completed the bridge.
Suddenly Kiba acted, drawing a kunai and throwing it into the brush to his left. There was a thwack as it imbedded itself into a tree and a squeak of panic. Kiba was already moving though, another kunai drawn as he rushed into the undergrowth. Yugito remained where she was, tense and frowning.
It was a moment later that the Inuzuka came out of the forest, holding a dead rabbit by its hind legs. "Sorry guys, false alarm."
There was a collective sigh of relief from the Genin and Builder, and then the shouting began. Sakura rushed right up to him and bonked him on the head. "You idiot, don't scare me like that!"
"Ouch, what the hell!"
"You nearly gave me a heart attack you little shit!" Tazuna shouted angrily.
"Well at least he got a head start on dinner." Anko said ruefully as she stood beside Yugito. The two of them watched the heated argument between Sakura and Kiba for a moment before the snake mistress leaned in. "See a problem with that rabbit?"
"Mm," Yugito replied, narrowing her eyes. "Wrong species for this climate, rabbits this far south have brown fur not white."
"An escaped pet you think?"
"No," Yugito replied, already moving towards the bridge builder at a run. She could already hear it, the sounds of a swishing blade. The bridge builder gave a surprised yelp as she tackled him to the ground, "Everybody down!"
They complied before she finished and Yugito felt something cut through a few strands of her hair as the huge carver's knife spun overhead, flying across the clearing and imbedding itself well within the trunk of a tree at the other side. Yugito and Anko were up in a flash, kunai in hand from their wrist holsters. Sasuke, Kiba and Sakura were slightly slower, but they moved as they were told, surrounding the dazed bridge builder and producing their own knives.
Yugito took one look at the huge sword. "I knew it."
A blurring figure landed on the blade, his weight not even causing the weapon to bend, and looked down at the small group. He looked exactly the same as Yugito remembered, same uniform, same bandages covering the lower half his face, same tanned skin and same hatai-ite. Zabuza Momoichi looked down at her and she could swear that he grinned the moment their eyes met.
"Well, it's been a long time." He said, and she knew that was as close to a greeting as she was going to get from him. "How are you Azure Cat?"
"Just fine Demon of the Mist," she replied, ignoring the surprised looks from her Genin.
"And how's the brat?"
"Don't call him a brat." She said tersely. "And he's doing fine. How's that little ice user of yours, gotten tired of you yet?"
Zabuza chuckled before setting her with an unmoving gaze. "So you did join Konoha after all."
"Did the headband give me away?" Yugito asked with a slight tinge of mocking in her voice. "I've been looking forward to the day where we'd meet again."
"Really now," Zabuza looked amused.
"I have been waiting for the day when I'd be able to beat you to a bloody pulp."
"Sounds tempting, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass. I'm here on business, and the bridge builder has to die. Hand him over."
"Not going to happen." Yugito growled as she in turn fell into a combat stance, Anko copying her a scant millisecond later.
"What a shame." Zabuza replied before placing his hands together in a seal, "Kirigakure no Jutsu."
Yugito spun to her Genin even as Anko released a kunai at him, but the mist had formed before her thrown projectile could even make it halfway to the target. The mist he created from the technique was a thick one as well, so thick that Yugito could barely see Anko five meters away.
"Manji formation, now," she had schooled them well enough to know her commands and she had faith that they would perform the order without question, "Anko, back to back!"
She felt Anko press her back to hers, and for a moment the two of them stood like that in silence, eyes and ears alert. Yugito took it further, delving into the Nibi's reserves and using them to augment her senses, namely her sense of hearing and smell to almost five times that of normal humans, at this height she could hear a pin drop from a hundred yards and she would be able to smell her opponent from almost a kilometre away.
She caught his scent straight away, musty and salty. Her eyes widened when she pinpointed the direction, right where her team was. Yugito moved with blurring speed, ignoring Anko's surprised squawk as she flew through the air, landed in front of Kiba and was just able to block the huge blade of his Kubikiribōchō before it tore the Inuzuka in half.
Steel scrapped against steel as the two Shinobi held their ground, and then Zabuza peered forward. "What lovely eyes you have."
He was probably referring to the glowing cat eyes which morphed from her usual brown. The eyes of the Nibi were so strong that the light they emitted could pierce through almost any mist, making her a target, but she had no choice. Strengthening her senses of smell and hearing meant she was also strengthening her other three by default. She could only do this for so long though, the human senses weren't meant to be this sharp and burning them out was a danger.
Yugito smirked. "Good enough to find you."
Two kunai exploded from the mist, stabbing into Zabuza's side and shoulder. Her grunted, flinched and then imploded in a mass of water. Yugito cursed under her breath, a Mizu Bunshin, a water clone. The mist cleared slowly as Yugito spun around, another kunai joining the one in her right hand.
"Anko, duck!" she yelled as she threw the projectiles, trusting in her sense of hearing and smell to pinpoint where he was going to strike next, and he was going to hit Anko. She knew that smell, the mixture of alcohol and blueberries was rife in the air. There was a pop and a splash, followed by a curse from her friend.
"Thanks cat, but this one was a clone too!"
Yugito was about to answer, but a sense of danger clouded her senses and with lightning quickness her right hand flashed, catching a projectile in midair. It was a senbon, pointed at a twenty degree angle. Her ears caught the sound mere seconds before they fell and turning around she shouted at her Genin team.
"Scatter!"
They did, just as a rain of senbon needles fell upon them, dozens of them. Sasuke moved with expert grace, darting back and forth, blocking one or two with his kunai. Kiba was nowhere near as graceful, cursing as he and Akamaru split up, rolling and jumping out of the path of the falling weapons. Tazuna wasn't nearly as fast, and she rushed over to the fifty something year old, just making it to him before the needles stopped. He was lucky. His backpack had taken the hits for him.
A scream made her blood run cold and she turned to see Sakura on her hands and knees. Three senbon had hit her, two on the calf muscles of her left leg, and another just above her Achilles heel.
"Protect Tazuna!" she yelled to Sasuke and Kiba, who nodded.
Yugito rushed to her side, noticing an umbrella softly hit the ground. She ignored it and was by the terrified girl's side in an instant. The Jōnin didn't stop, grabbing Sakura as she rushed by and diving into the forest. She set the pink haired teen against a tree trunk, immediately pulling out the needles and sniffed them for poison. No poison, but there was a common paralysis coating the tips.
"Sensei," she looked the girl in her emerald eyes. She was terrified and she was looking straight at her. "Your eyes, what's wrong with them?"
Yugito crushed her worry and managed a rueful smile. "Just a little Jutsu I picked up."
She seemed to accept it quite easily, probably because Sakura had other worries. "I can't feel my leg. Am I going to die?"
"No, it's okay. Just stay here and wait for me." She was about to rush back out, but a pale hand grabbed hers just as she was about to turn. Sakura looked shaken and scared out of her mind. Yugito knew why. She was scared that they were going to leave her behind.
"Please don't leave me here." She pleaded.
Yugito took her hand and set it on the girls lap. "I'm not going to leave you here, Sakura. Just stay here and stay quiet and we'll come get you when the battle is over."
She hesitantly nodded. "Okay."
Yugito gave her a smile. "What, do you think I'd leave one of my precious students behind?"
She was away before Sakura could answer, bursting from the brush back onto the battlefield. Anko was fighting Zabuza close up, and looked like she needed help. Kiba and Sasuke were also in the middle of a fight against a feminine looking opponent wearing a dull grey and white short kimono over a sweater and split armoured skirt, long hair tied in a white bun. It could be his younger accomplice, just about the right body shape if one took into account four years of growth.
Then Kiba and Akamaru rushed in, obviously using their mimicry technique and the three went down in a mass of flailing limbs.
Sasuke growled as he threw a kunai at the masked Shinobi, only to see him perform a twirl in midair, missing the blade by millimetres before retaliating with a trio of senbon. He jumped away, watching as they imbedded themselves into the ground where he once stood.
The senbon user was fast, agile and capable of performing moves which seemed to limber and flexible for any man he had ever seen. But he was definitely not a close combat fighter. Rather the new Shinobi was keeping a distance between him and Kiba, out of reach and firing projectiles at them constantly. Either he or Kiba got tired and one of them, namely the loser, slipped up, or their opponent ran out of weapons.
His mind returned to Sakura for a brief moment, but he immediately crushed it down to a small corner of his mind and viciously locked it away. Yugito-sensei had gotten to her. She would be fine, and she was better off out of the way anyway. He didn't need an annoying, useless fan-girl getting hurt and becoming a liability.
He put it aside and grabbing a few more shuriken threw them at the masked Ninja, watching in annoyance as he effortlessly dodged every one of them. Then he saw it, and his eyes widened. He recognised a hand seal when he saw one, kept close to their assailant's chest as he spun in midair, back several feet from the soil.
"Sensatsu Suishō!"
Needles appeared in the very air, using the mist to gather water and solidify it into a deadly weapon as sharp as a well kept senbon needle. Sasuke just barely saw it, and only because of the glint they made when what little rays of sunshine caught them.
They were everywhere.
"Kiba," he called, gaining the Inuzuka's attention. No time for any petty insults now, they're lives were at stake. "Run!"
A single motion of his enemy's right middle finger sent the water needles rushing into action. Sasuke saw Kiba hit several times, crying out in pain before he attempted to dodge. Sasuke managed for a handful of seconds before one hit him just under his left shoulder blade. He gritted his teeth against a surge of hot pain and kept moving, weaving back and forth. By the time the barrage had ended he and Kiba were doubled over, gritting their teeth against the pain and taking in huge gulps of air at the same time.
"This really sucks," Kiba grunted before groaning in pain.
"Yeah," Sasuke replied, mind working overtime to try and come up with something, anything that would help. Where was Sakura when you needed her? The Shinobi was bent into some kind of stance, at least three senbon protruding from his knuckles as his arm leaned back. He wasn't firing though.
He was waiting for them to make the first move.
"How long can it take you to do that beast mimicry?" Sasuke asked. They needed to get in close and engage him in a fistfight. He doubted this masked Shinobi was much of a close range fighter with the way he'd been dancing around and out of their reach.
"A couple of seconds," Kiba replied, giving Sasuke a funny look.
"I'll give you those few seconds," the Uchiha replied, ignoring his quizzical stare. "Then you and the mutt give me some time to toast this asshole."
Kiba looked mildly affronted that he would call Akamaru a mutt, but clicked his mouth shut and nodded his head. "Alright I'm in."
Sasuke nodded in return, "On three."
There was a moment of silence, no count.
"Three!"
Sasuke took off, charging their opponent with one of his last kunai drawn as Kiba jumped back and whistled for Akamaru. The little white puppy was by his side in an instant, and immediately knew what his owner was going to do. They had practised at home for months. Kiba made a simple concentration seal, flaring his chakra before activating his Shikyaku no Jutsu. He fell on all fours, features becoming feral, nails morphing into claws, canines in his jaw enlarging. Akamaru moved precisely, performing a Jūjin Bunshin to turn himself into an exact clone of Kiba. The two were now entirely identical.
They finished their move without a moment to spare, Sasuke had seen them and jumped back, entrusting them to take over. Kiba and Akamaru moved with precision born from months and months of training, rushing forward on all-fours, completely identical to each other in movements. The combination of Jutsu drastically increased Kiba's speed and fighting ability, making him almost as fast as Akamaru.
They were on the masked Shinobi before he knew what hit him, clawing and biting. The three fell over in a heap of flailing limbs and flickering fangs. Then the enemy just fell away, becoming nothing more than a pool of water, a water clone. Sasuke cursed under his breath, getting back to his feet and looking around in high alert.
"Damn it where did he go."
They didn't notice until it was too late. The receding mist helped, keeping their vision obscured until their opponent completed his trap. Mirrors appeared all around them, showing the three of them their reflections. Sasuke looked around, confused. There were a total of twenty one mirrors, forming together into what looked like a dome all around them. It took him barely a moment to realise that they were trapped.
The enemy had them.
"Makyō Hyōshō!"
They were trapped, Sasuke realised. They had thought that they had him snared, only to find that he had been planning the perfect counter to their little attempt, and now he had them right where he wanted them. His image appeared on the mirror right before the three of them. It was difficult to tell with the mask but Sasuke knew he must have been smug.
"I'm sorry," the Shinobi stated, and the voice made the Uchiha pause. There was compassion in the voice, sympathy. It made him growl. He did not need nor did he want his enemy's sympathy. "But I can't play around with you anymore."
More images appeared; perfect carbon copies on every mirror which made up the dome, each one holding a handful of senbon in its hand. They threw them in unison, and a rain of needles fell upon them. Sasuke tried to dodge, seeing Kiba and Akamaru attempt to do the same. The puppy was hit first, yelping in pain as his transformation came undone. Kiba was next, crying out for his pup before he was assailed by dozens of needles. He coughed, choked and fell to the ground, unmoving. Sasuke made it an additional few moments after Kiba went lifeless before several needles pierced him. He ground his teeth against the dozens of pinpricks and the numbness that followed but he refused to fall. He remained on his feet, blood trickling from dozens of wounds, limbs losing all feeling, but he remained upright. He will meet his death with his head held high.
The senbon stopped and the copies vanished from the mirrors, only one retained its image of the masked Shinobi. He looked at him for a moment. "You're still up, I applaud you're stubbornness."
Sasuke spat out a small gob of blood, "You bastard."
"I am sorry." The Shinobi responded, almost as if he didn't hear him. Then he raised his right hand, another three senbon needles protruding from the knuckles.
There was an explosion, and the upper right group of mirrors shattered like glass. Sasuke looked up in time to see something he would never forget. A phoenix was his first thought, but the shape was all wrong. It didn't look like a bird, but a cat. The animal dived down, its form seemingly entirely compassed by deep, dark blue flames, flickering with an unnatural tenacity. The Uchiha could feel the heat, so hot that the ice of the mirrors began to melt.
The masked Shinobi was forced to jump out from his mirror, looking up in awe and horror as the two tailed creature, about the size of an adult fell towards them. Then the flames fell away, extinguishing themselves on their own accord to reveal his sensei. Yugito-sensei uncurled herself, arms up to shield her face and upper body.
He threw his senbon, stabbing into her arms, but it didn't stop her descent nor halt her plan of attack. Sasuke saw a glint of ebony claws on her fingers, lengthened canines and feral eyes before she drew back her fist. To his knowledge only the Inuzuka could perform such beast mimicry transformations. Was she a distant relative? She didn't look like your common place Inuzuka. Her bestial features didn't even look canine, if he would guess he'd say they were more feline.
The punch hit the masked Shinobi square in the face. The mask shattered under the impact. It didn't crack. It shattered. The force sent their enemy flying, slamming into one of the last ice mirrors which shattered on impact. He flew another few feet before hitting the ground hard and rolling to an awkward stop.
He didn't get up again.
Darkness was on the edges of Sasuke's vision, but he remained awake through pure stubborn will. She turned to him, eyes back to normal, canines retracting and claws vanishing. She was breathing heavily. He could make out sweat on her brow. Whatever she had used had taxed her a great deal. Yugito-sensei looked over at him and began to run to him, but he had reached the end of his willpower. He saw her outstretched hand and worried face before falling to unconsciousness, hearing her voice before all went silent.
"Sasuke!"
Anko threw another kunai knife, watching as it struck off the carving knife and spun away. Zabuza came at her in a heartbeat, swinging his sword in a sweeping horizontal arc meant to slice her in two at the waist. The snake mistress was just able to jump over it and onto the flat side of the huge blade. Her added weight didn't even phase his hold on the carver's sword.
She traversed across its length and aimed a kick for his head, only it went wide. He moved his head to the side at the last second, and with a flick of his wrist rotated the Kubikiribōchō by ninety degrees, forcing her to jump off. Anko backpedalled a few steps, ducked another swing and using her wrist launcher to give her a final kunai she stabbed out, aiming for his abdomen.
The attack only grazed him, and once again she was forced to jump back, watching the tip of the blade nick her nose before it crashed into the ground in an explosion of dirt. It left an impressive groove. She ran up a small crop of rocks, tossed her kunai at him and jumped just high enough to dodge his next horizontal thrust.
Anko drew her hand back, shaping it into a claw and brought it down on his head. The infamous kill-shot of her Hebi fighting style, the so called snake bite, would end this fight. He was too fast though and dropping his blade to give himself extra ability sidestepped her attack. Anko landed on her feet, a missed opportunity, but a smirk curved her lips when she saw him drop his sword.
"Lost your sword." She cooed.
"Who needs it," he replied and it was only then that she noticed his hands placed together in a hand seal. It was only then that Anko realised how close to the lake they were. "Suiton: Suigadan!"
Spikes of water exploded from the once pristine surface of the lake, swirling like miniature whirlpools in reverse as they attempted to skewer her, and Anko knew that these spikes could kill her as thoroughly as their earth based cousin technique. She had no choice. She jumped away with a chakra propelled leap, getting away from the water attack but allowing him enough time to retrieve his sword.
He picked it up and pointed the tip right at her. She couldn't continue like this, a few more Jutsu was all she could perform before her chakra reserves dropped to the dangerous level. He was a level or two above her in the league. He was about to go onto the offensive once again, but then something happened.
An explosion;
It made him pause.
"What the hell was that!"
Anko took the Demon of the Mists hesitation to her advantage and jumped back, using the moment to get her bearings and catch her breath. She had heard the explosion several meters away from them, the exact area where the Genin and Tazuna were. No, she couldn't worry about them now. Yugito was there, she would protect them.
With a shake of her head she brought her attention back to the Demon. He was strong, strong enough that he had definitely earned the title of one of the almost mythical Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. His Kenjutsu was superb and beyond the bar of a mere professional. The reach of that monster sword stopped her from attempting to get close enough to attack him.
She couldn't attack. She could only dodge. That was what she had been doing this entire time, and she getting tired. He was fast, accurate, his water clones kept her guessing and the amount of moisture in the air gave him a huge advantage in water Jutsu, his specialty.
But she had a trick or two left in her bag.
She bit her finger hard enough to draw blood, coating her other digits in it before bringing them together in a quiet clap. She had retreated a few more steps while he was distracted, just a second or two, but it was enough. By the time he noticed she had already made it to the fifth hand seal of the ram and slammed her hand onto the dirt.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
The explosion of smoke made the Demon of the Mist hesitate and jump back, and she was grateful for it. The sudden hiss and the sound of something crawling along the ground, something big, brought more gratitude. When the smoke cleared she saw the snake she had summoned, a large boa constrictor, forest green skin with yellow stripes, one of Manda's fourth brood if she remembered. It raised its neck and head, easily twice as tall as she was once fully erect. It looked at her for a moment, then at Zabuza, and hissed angrily.
There was a moment of silence as the boa leaned back and then struck with blinding speed, but not fast enough. Zabuza jumped high with a chakra propelled leap just as it launched its attack and raising his infamous Kubikiribōchō over his head brought it down upon the poor serpent's neck. Anko watched in horror as it cut right through like a knife through warm butter, severing the head from the boa constrictor in one cut.
The head hit the ground and rolled into the mist. The body hit the ground, a geyser of blood exploding from the wound as it flailed, which turned to spasms before going still. Zabuza walked past the headless body as it was in its final death throes, uncaring with his sword leaning against his shoulders.
"I suppose I'll find out for myself then," Zabuza asked before raising his sword over his head for a final cut.
Anko attempted to fight back, throwing a kunai and gaining a grim satisfaction in knowing that she at least cut him before he killed her. Zabuza noticed the deep cut on his left cheek, but ignored it and brought the blade down. Anko closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable.
There was a clang of steel against steel.
Anko opened her eyes in time to see Yugito standing between her and Zabuza, putting everything she had into the kunai as she kept his blade from going down any further. Anko grinned and was about to thank her, but something was off. Her body was shaking, she could hear the blonde's breaths, gasping and constant and she even saw the swordsman's Kubikiribōchō descend another inch as Yugito's strength seemed to momentarily fail her.
Anko's eyes widened when she saw the needles still imbedded in Yugito's arms, the torn and partially burned state of her clothes and the obvious after effects of a Jinchūriki transformation. She was tired, and the needles obviously had something in them, whether it be poison or whatever it was definitely affecting her system.
"Anko," her voice brought her back. "My Genin need help, go to them. I'll take care of this guy."
"Are you sure?" she asked."
"Yes," she replied with nothing but steel in her voice. "I got this."
Anko hesitated for a moment longer before taking off further inland, heading towards the area where she last remembered they were. Yugito waited until she was out of sight in the receding mist before turning her full attention to her opponent.
"You look a little tired, Yugito-san." He said simply.
"So do you." Yugito bit back. It was a bluff. He looked to be in better condition than she was.
He said nothing, just forced her back with his strength and swung his sword in a horizontal arc with impressive speed. She was just able to duck, then with a kunai in hand she pounced forward with enhanced speed, digging it into his abdomen which bled.
It bled water.
He fell away, form imploding into yet another water clone. Yugito tiredly wondered when he was able to caste one when fighting Anko before she looked out to the lake and saw him, standing in the middle, hands placed in the seal for the bird. The entire lake seemed to convulse and heave and at that moment Yugito knew what was coming.
The water dragon was large, its head dipping through the choppy water, followed by a long neck which raised it high above her. This must have used up a lot of his chakra, meaning that he was desperate to end this fight against her quickly. The water dragon looked down at her, and Yugito could swear that it was a sentient entity.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"
Yugito was already moving, hands unconsciously going over the seals for the tiger, hare, boar and dog before she slammed them to the ground and cried out the incantation. "Doton: Doryūheki!"
A wall of solid earth rose up between her and the dragon mere moments before it struck, but it didn't hold for more than a handful of seconds. It was more powerful than the one Kakashi used against her while training. It barely registered to her mind that he had been going easy on her all along from that first test spar four years ago until recently. This was the true power of a Suiryūdan no Jutsu.
She channelled the chakra into her legs and jumped high just as the wall crumbled, she missed all of the debris but hit the surf at the top of the wave. It threw her through the air; landing on a tree top hard enough for her ribs to crack. Yugito coughed up blood before spitting it out and slowly rising to her feet, barely able to keep her footing.
She had one last chance to finish him. The dragon bullet had thrown water everywhere, including all over him and her. This was going to hurt a great deal. She took a breath, gathered the last of her natural chakra reserve and began going through a trio of hand seals. This was her strongest lightning based technique.
"Hey Zabuza," She got his attention. "I have a question for you. What happens when lightning meets water."
"It conducts!"
She grinned, lightning permeating the air around her. "Bingo!"
She jumped, and Zabuza didn't realise what she was going to do until it was too late. How could he. She was a lightning user true and he was soaking wet from his water dragon bullet technique, but she was also soaking and lightning conducting everything touched by water without restraint. He didn't think she would try an attack which would hurt her almost as much as him.
He was wrong.
The lightning took the form of a huge feline creature, almost as sentient in appearance as his water dragon. It opened its mouth and roared, crackling electricity adding to its vicious charge. She dredged her arms back, almost as if she were holding a sword and brought it down with all of her strength. The animal made of lightning charged right at him. The last thing he heard before thousands of volts coursed through his veins was the name, screamed from her hoarse lips as she took the same amount of punishment as him.
"Raijū Hashiri no Jutsu!"
Lightning Beast Technique
A fine name
The mist dissipated completely at last. Anko set the Uchiha in line beside his Inuzuka friend and his puppy. The three of them weren't in any real danger. The senbon needles had injected them with paralysis venom of some type, nothing more. They probably wouldn't be able to move for a day or two, that was all. The girl, Sakura, was of the same condition. Once again the needles had nothing in them but paralysis venom, non-life threatening.
She left Tazuna to watch over the Genin. The old man was perfectly fine except for being in a mild state of shock from the fight. The sight of his protectors unconscious probably scared the poor man to death. Anko didn't really care. She had something abundantly more important to do in her book than calm down a shell shocked old man.
She saw that last strike, and was unnerved by how quiet it had been in the aftermath. The pure voltage of Yugito's attack had given rise to a mist like cloud of evaporated water from the surface. That was her strongest technique and with how drained she looked when she faced Zabuza the snake mistress was worried about her, really worried.
She found Yugito looking over the lake, standing up, hair come undone from their confines and blowing in a sudden wind which was weakening the smoke. Anko grinned as she approached. She was alright. She worried over nothing. The idea blew up when she got closer and saw her friend up close.
Yugito was barely able to stand. She collapsed just before Anko could get into her. The blondes sudden weight forcing the tired snake mistress to her knees. She looked down at her face and gasped. Yugito's face was red and her body was covered in a mixture of first and superficial second degree burns. Her clothes were torn and ripped. Her right arm was placed at a funny angle, broken probably.
"Wake up," she said through a hoarse throat, lightly slapping her friend and immediately regretting it. "Hey, Yu-chan. Wake up!"
She did. Her eyes opened ever so slightly and she managed a weak smile. "Anko, did I get him?"
She looked over, just noticing the lifeless body several meters away from her. Wasn't he in the centre of the lake when she launched that technique? Did she drag him out of the lake? "Yeah, Yu-chan. You got him."
"Good," she said wistfully and then smiled. "I won."
Her eyes closed and her body went limp.
Long Over
The sun was setting on the horizon and an eight year old Naruto Uzumaki looked on as his three friends went home, their mothers leading the way. It had been fun playing with them. He had made fast friends with Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru. Their parents weren't like most adults he had met in the village either. They didn't look at him with hate in their eyes.
But now they were gone, leaving him in the park all by himself. He looked around. The area full of laughing and playful children during the day was now devoid of all life besides him and him alone.
He was on his own.
Then he saw it, tied by worn rope under a strong looking branch. The swing hadn't changed at all from what he remembered. A seat of worn wood, paint chipped away by years of age and neglect. The ropes which connected the seat to its restraints were worn but still strong.
Just looking at the swing hurt;
The thought alone brought back painful memories for him, memories of him alone and feeling that he was without a friend in the world. Naruto liked to make people believe that he was an impregnable shield, but even the greatest of walls can crumble with time. He had been so close to crumbling.
A shadow fell upon him then, and it wasn't a shadow of a building in the way of the setting sun. It was a person's shadow. One he had gotten to know very well. Her voice was like that of an angel, as corny as that sounds. An angel who did something not even Jiji and Ero-Sennin was able to do, although they had tried in different ways.
She had saved him.
He turned to smile at her, which she returned it brightly. "Hey cub, sorry I'm late."
Naruto rushed over and hugged her, and after a moment of surprised hesitation she returned it with a worried look. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
He shook his head. "I just needed a hug, mom."
Those days on that lonely swing were long over.
Long over.
Weapons Glossary
Kubikiribōchō – Decapitating Carving Knife
The chosen sword of Zabuza Momoichi it is a massive broadsword shaped like a giantbutcher knife, passed down from generation to generation amongst theSeven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. It has a circle cut out of the top and a semicircle near the handle which seem to fit the sword's purpose of decapitation aptly.
Like all other swords passed down in the organisation the weapon has its own unique ability. This being its ability to reform itself using the iron harvested from its victims' blood. This regenerative process takes place almost instantly, and is capable of bringing the weapon back to its original perfect condition no matter how severe the damage is, from a simple chip or a nick to a completely missing half of the blade.
Jutsu Glossary
Doton: Doryūheki – Earth Release: Earth Style Wall
Jūjin Bunshin – Beast Clone
Kirigakure no Jutsu – Hidden Mist Technique
Kuchiyose no Jutsu – Summoning Technique
Makyō Hyōshō – Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors
Mizu Bunshin – Water Clone
Raijū Hashiri no Jutsu – Lightning Beast Technique
Sensatsu Suishō – Thousand Water Needles of Death
Shinkyaku no Jutsu – All-Fours Technique
Suiton: Suigadan – Water Release: Water Fang Bullet
Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu – Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique
Author's Note 1: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, sadly lol, I make no profit from publishing this story.
Author's Note 2: I had a day to myself and nothing better to do, so I decided to begin the next chapter of this story. I had a cola in one hand and the keyboard in the other. I just finished it and for the first time in a while I am happy with a chapter I have done for this story. I feel as if my muse has returned for a while, as it were.
Author's Note 3: This may feel a little rushed and now that I think about it I may have overpowered Zabuza a little bit here. But remember that Kakashi had an advantage over the guy because of the Sharingan which foresaw and copied the Demons every move. Yugito doesn't have a Sharingan, and as said in the sourcebook she is not a perfected Jinchūriki like Killer B. The Nibi isn't nearly as powerful as the Hachibi or the Kyubi either, so to me this is quite realistic. But that's just me. Let me know if you disagree.