Chapter 18
Battle of the elites: demon vs copycat
Zabuza watched in amusement and disgust as the fangirls fawned over the kid with the duck butt haircut. He looked at the rabbit in his hands "if he dies Haku is not gonna be happy" he thought as he debated whether he should release the mammal as a distraction. Finally he shrugged "I'll just get him a new one" he thought before setting it down at a base of a tree not far from where he was.
Not long after he returned to his tree. The group passed the tree where he left the bunny. "I hear something over there!" one of the fangirls shouted before throwing a kunai into the bushes.
Zabuza's amusement grew when he heard the other girl scream "Ami! Stop trying to show off in front of Sasuke! Everyone can see through your stupid act! It's so obvious it's embarrassing!"
"Ami! Those are kunai knives! They are dangerous!" Kakashi chided.
"Stop trying to scare me you sloppy little girl!" Tazuna screamed, holding his heart.
"But…But... I heard something!" the girl tried to argue before turning around and throwing another kunai, this time by where Zabuza left Haku's pet. "Over there!"
"That's enough Ami!" the pink haired fangirl screamed before stomping over and attempting to hit her.
"Enough Sakura." Kakashi said before wadding through the bushes.
Zabuza winced upon seeing the bunny scared half to death with the kunai missing it by less than an inch. "Haku's not gonna be happy" he thought again seeing the bunny twitch in fear. Seeing Kakashi spot something, the fangirls walked to him, leaving the other males in the middle of the road.
"Ami! Look what you did!" Sakura screamed.
"Nooooo! I'm sorry little rabbit! I'm sorry!" Ami cried as she ran over to hug it.
"All this fuss over a rodent?" Tazuna deadpanned.
Zabuza smirked seeing the gears in Kakashi's head turning. "Guess the gig's up" he thought before heaving his blade and throwing it.
"It's a snow rabbit, usually found in the land of Iron or Snow. Its fur is only white during winter where there's little sunlight. This rabbit was raised indoors which can only be for one purpose..." Kakashi thought before looking into the trees. He heard a faint sound of leaves rustling. "Look out!" he shouted before ducking just in time to avoid being decapitated by a large butcher blade
Zabuza was slightly disappointed upon seeing none of them got killed but none the less leapt from his cover and landed on the handle of his blade that was stuck to a tree.
"Well, well if it isn't Zabuza Momochi. A missing-nin from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi stated. The kid with the duck butt haircut got a gleam in his eyes as he started charging forward… only to be stopped by Kakashi's hand.
"Sasuke, You're in the way. Stay back" he said
"What! You dare say I, an Uchiha is getting in the way!" he fumed.
"Yes, now stay back. Zabuza isn't like the ninja you saw earlier. He's in a whole other league."
Zabuza watched in amusement but couldn't help but adding in his thoughts "alone yes, neither Naruto nor Fu could beat me- even if they team up. But once Naruto and Fu team up with Haku, even I have trouble keeping up at times… not that I would tell them that."
"If he's our opponent," Kakashi said as he lifted his hand towards his headband "then I will need this"
"Kakashi of the Sharingan. Right? It's too bad, but you'll have to hand over the bridge builder." Zabuza stated turning his body around.
"Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight" Kakashi commanded "I taught you teamwork. Now use it."
The team of genin watched as he lifted his headband. Frist they saw a scar going vertically down his left eye, when he opened it, they saw his eye was red with a black dot in the middle and 3 tomoe circling it. "I'm ready" he said.
"Well, I guess I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is an honor" he mocked.
"Kakashi-sensei what's a Sharingan?" the pink haired girl asked.
"Sharingan. A rare power that resides in the eyes of the Uchiha. This dojutsu allows us to instantly comprehend any ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu and reflect the attack back on the attacker." Sasuke muttered.
"That's right boy. And judging from that insignia on your back, you're an Uchiha aren't you?" Zabuza asked.
"Yeah! He is the last survivor of the great Uchiha clan!" Ami screeched. "And my soon to be husband!" she continued, looking at the Uchiha with hearts in her eyes.
"In your dreams Ami! He's gonna be my husband!" the pink haired one screeched back. Zabuza grew tired of his ears ringing and half-heartedly threw a kunai at both of them.
"Fangirls, can't stand them" he muttered before turning to the Uchiha, "I heard about the killing of all the Uchiha a few years back, by some guy named Itachi correct? Well it seems he missed one." He sneered.
"And you Kakashi Hatake. In Mist, we had standing orders to kill you on sight. Your profile was in our Bingo book. They called you "copy-ninja Kakashi Hatake the man who copied over a thousand jutsu". But that's enough talking. My mission is to kill the bridge builder, not sit around and chat." Hearing this, the genin quickly moved to protect the bridge builder, Ami to his left, the pink haired one to his right and the Uchiha to his front.
"So, in order to kill him, you'll need to die first." Zabuza's eyes narrowed as he quickly pulled his blade off the tree and jumped onto the water. He put his left hand above his head and his right in front of his face in the tiger seal. "Ninja art: hidden mist jutsu" he whispered as a heavy mist appeared covering the area.
"He vanished!" Ami cried.
Kakashi stepped forward "he'll come after me first"
"But who is he?" the pink haired one asked.
"Zabuza Momochi, the ex-leader of the hidden Mist assassination unit. A master of the silent killing."
"S-silent killing" Ami gulped.
"Yes, as the name suggests, it happens in an instant, without sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast, you die before realizing you are killed. Even my sharingan cannot fully counter it, so don't lower your guard."
"Eight points…" Zabuza whispered through the mist, his voice echoing everywhere making it hard to pinpoint his location. "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys and heart. Now, which will be my kill point?" he asked before focusing his killing intent on the group. Kakashi formed the tiger seal and focusing his chakra, he was able to partially clear some of the mist surrounding him.
"What an intense killing intent! It feels like even a single movement is enough to bring on instant death! A clash of two jonin with intent to kill! I've never felt anything like it!" Sasuke thought before bringing the kunai in his hand to his throat, ready to kill himself to get rid of the pressure.
"Sasuke! Calm down!" Kakashi's voice was like a blade cutting through his suicidal thoughts. "I'll protect you with my life. All of you. I won't allow my comrades to die!"
"I wouldn't be so sure" Zabuza whispered from the middle of the group, blade poised to slice. "It's over." He said before swinging his sword. Kakashi's eyes widened as he made a mad dash towards the group, arriving just in time to stop Zabuza from unleashing the blade. He pushed everyone out the way before impaling Zabuza in the stomach. But something seemed wrong. Instead of blood, water poured out.
Zabuza appeared behind him mid-swing "Die!" he shouted before he cut the copycat ninja in half. Zabuza's eyes widened as "Kakashi" revealed to be just a water clone. "A water clone! He copied me through the mist!"
"Don't move" Kakashi said putting a kunai by Zabuza's throat. "Now it's over"
Zabuza merely laughed, "your technique is nothing but an imitation, I'll never be defeated by a copycat like you. Though I admit, I am surprised that you managed to copy my water clone jutsu while still making your speech. But it's not like you are the first one to do it." He said, thinking about the many times Naruto did the same trick with many different entries and follow ups in their team spars. Zabuza appeared behind the copycat ninja "and I'm not that easy to fool."
Kakashi's eyes widened before he sliced his kunai across the throat of the Zabuza in front of him. His suspicions were only confirmed when Zabuza only exploded in a shower of water. The sharingan user's danger senses warned him of oncoming danger. Trusting his honed instincts he ducked just in time to avoid being decapitated by the large blade.
Zabuza smirked. He swung his blade down and using its momentum, he jumped over and kicked Kakashi into the lake before dashing after him. Before he took more than a step Zabuza saw black dots on the ground. "Traps!" his eyes widened before he smirked. "Good try in slowing me down, but not good enough." He thought as he simply jumped over and into the lake.
"Sensei!" the genin cried.
Finally the Leaf jonin surfaced from the lake. "This water. It's dense. Too dense" he thought.
"Fool. Water style: water prison jutsu" Zabuza called behind him.
Kakashi barely had enough time to react before he was trapped inside a sphere of water. "No!" he thought in alarm. "It was a rookie mistake to escape into the water" he snarled to himself before looking towards Zabuza.
"This prison may be made of water, but its stronger than steel" Zabuza chuckled. "Can't do anything now can you? So much for the great Kakashi Hatake. I'll finish you off later- I will get a decent amount from your head." 'And it would make a good gift for when I get back to the rebellion.' He added in his head. "But for now, it's time for the bridge builder to die! Water clone jutsu!" instantly a clone of his rose out of the lake.
"You may think that just by wearing a headband makes you a ninja. When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't faze you, then you may be called a ninja." He said. "When you've become so deadly, your profile has entered into my Bingo book, then you may have earned the title "ninja". But to call brats and fangirls ninja, Leaf's standards must have fallen from the times of the Yellow Flash and White Fang." He continued before disappearing in a burst of speed.
"He disappeared!" the pink haired girl cried before Zabuza appeared behind her and kicked her 5 meters away. "Weak" he snarled.
"Sakura!" Ami cried in alarm.
"You're just brats" he continued, stepping on her fallen headband.
Kakashi looked on in horror from the water prison "Get the bridge builder and run!" he shouted "he can't move while keeping me in the prison and the water clone can't go far from him! If you get away, he can't follow!"
"Run away? No way! Uchiha don't run!" Sasuke snarled "fire style: fireball jutsu" he said as he breathed a ball of fire twice his size towards Zabuza and Kakashi.
"hmm, so your brat is willing to hit you if it means to damage me? Too bad that won't work" Zabuza said casually as the water clone moved to intercept.
"tch" the Uchiha frowned. The clone was destroyed, but it served its purpose in stopping the fireball.
"I won't let you try that again" Zabuza said "water clone jutsu" like before clones formed from the water of the lake, but unlike before, there were nine as opposed to the one. Sasuke looked at the clones before closing his eyes.
"in, out, in, out" he counted his breaths as his hand slowly crept towards his weapon pouch. "Just like in training…" his eyes snapped open and he flung the 5 shuriken in his hands towards the clones. 2 found their mark while others simply bounced off the clones' large blades. Undeterred, he grabbed more in each hand and flung them towards the clones again, but this time, he used the shuriken in his right to ricochet the shuriken to different targets, successfully managing to surprise five of the clones.
Zabuza looked on in slight amusement at the show of shuriken and just slightly tilted his head to the side to avoid one that flew towards him. He never saw the smirk on the Uchiha's face. "Now!" Sasuke screamed to himself as he pulled the wire attached to the shuriken and sending it towards Zabuza from behind.
The rouge shinobi snarled as he was forced to release the water prison or risk having a shuriken in his arm. His clones were about to move to recapture the Leaf jonin when the fangirls decided to interfere through the only way they could- by making a noise. "Go Sasuke!"
"You're so cool!" And just as what happened to the shadow clones earlier on, Zabuza's water clones dispelled through the pitch of their screech.
"Now I know what Naruto and Fu meant when they said the fangirl's screech dispelled their clones. I didn't even know human voices could reach such a high pitch!" Zabuza grumbled but was forced out of his thoughts by Kakashi.
"It's time to end this Zabuza." He said rising from the water, his gravity defying hair drooping from the water of the prison that trapped him.
"It is" Zabuza agreed before starting to weave a long chain of handseals which the copy nin promptly,well... copied.
"Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Dragon, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Rabbit, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Rat, Boar, Bird" they chanted in unison. "Water style: water dragon jutsu!" simultaneously two dragons with yellow glowing eyes made of water emerged from the lake and battled for dominance. But in the end they were evenly matched and cancelled each other out.
Both jonin dashed towards each other and ensured a sword on kunai battle. "How! How is a copycat like you able to match my water dragon!" Zabuza raged.
Kakashi sweated. Zabuza's rage sped up and enhanced all his blows and cracks started to appear on the copycat's kunai. "Soon I won't be able to keep up with his speed!" Kakashi realized, the battle and use of the Sharingan taking its toll on him. With this in mind Kakashi looked Zabuza in the eye with his Sharingan and planted a small reaction delay genjutsu and jumped away.
With his rage, Zabuza never noticed the difference. "I'll end this now!" he shouted and started another sequence of complex handseals which again Kakashi mimicked.
But due to the genjutsu Kakashi placed, Zabuza was a second too late. And in the ninja world, a second was all that was needed. "Water style: water vortex jutsu!" Kakashi announced just as Zabuza was about to make the last seal.
"No!" he shouted as the vortex descended on him, washing him away and slamming him against multiple trees. His last thoughts before he felt two needles enter his neck was 'I grew too careless' before he blacked out.
AN: Yeah, half of this was greatly inspired from the canon fight ^.^ll.
Largest chapter I have ever written!
Wow! Ladies and gentlemen! With the last chapter, we have officially hit 109 reviews! A huge milestone for me! Thank you all!
Now, without further ado…
The winner (well only one person suggested so far…) for this chapter's title is…. (Drumroll) MiseryWolf97! (Loud applause) Well done!
Of course this doesn't mean you don't have a chance to enter! Now that you've seen the chapter, you have the chance to come up with a better name!
Reviews:
Guest: thanks, I usually update once a week, sometimes I won't be able to update, occasionally I update twice
MiseryWolf97: well done!
Hikari Nova: *snickers* I thought so too, so here's another!
Noahendless: thanks for the suggestions and the compliment.
BlackDragonShinigami: thank you *bows* I try =D Well here's the next chap!
Comethazel: thank you! I will! (ps. I figured about as much)
DragoFae24: don't sweat it! thanks, though I do believe I'm not the first to do them working together. I did take a lot of liberty with Zabuza's backstory since as you have said, it was never really elaborated on. I tried my best to make it seem believable- glad to see it worked =D. Here's the next chap!
GoodOldInstinct: hehe, yup!
DarkEzra: thanks, I will!
CGpyro: thanks. Random thought… is it even possible to laugh seriously?
Lostxinxthexdarkness: I'm not going to reveal too much except… was I really that obvious in some of the things that I may had planned? Anyways here's the next chapter and thanks for the vote of confidence!
Jacklvmage12: I'm sure you already know the answers of those challenges by now so I'll just skip them (if not, they're in the chapter after the one I posted). Now, in order- soo is you point he couldn't or could run for an hour? If not, keep in mind he is very fit from being in constant battle because of Orochimaru. I'm sure over 3 years (don't forget shadow clones) of teamwork training would make them pretty much in tune with each other. Yes, Fu is the holder of Chomei* still in this story. And finally, I checked out your story and left a review with what I think. Feel free to PM me if you want more help with stuff and I'll see what I can do. (I forgot to say this, but ZV is on fanfiction leave so he probably won't have time to take a look at your story.)