Alright, let's pit these legends of the Hidden Mist against one another!

The fight scene is more interesting to read with the tracks 'Bad Situation', 'Strong and Strike' and 'Turn Over' (all Naruto OST) playing in the background.

Not many sights this world has to offer would strike Itachi Uchiha as 'humbling'. However, seeing the two former swordsmen of the mist pull out all the stops and go after each other gave him pause. The display of raw power coming from the two men in the distance was almost unbelievable. They were miles away, yet their chakra was so thick in the air that his sharingan eyes had no difficulty picking up on them, deteriorated sight or not.

Even the boy seemed to pick up on it, as he cast a nervous look at the massive water twister that had formed in the distance. Poor kid must be fearing for his master's well-being; against Kisame, the fear is justified. Fighting against the monster of the hidden mist was akin to going against a force of nature, there was simply no way around him. You either went through the man, or you went down. It's that unparalleled might, along with the man's sympathetic personality that led the Uchiha to thinking of him as his only remaining friend in the world.

In reality, Haku was nervous because he couldn't fight at Zabuza's side. The lightning blade had crippled him for life, battles like the one playing out in front of his eyes were forever out of his league. Yet still the boy remembered the feeling of fulfillment whenever his actions as a shinobi made his mentor's life easier, if only a little. Even though he was pure of heart, the way of ninja was already ingrained into him, taking roots that he will never truly let go of. Perhaps one day he could go back to being a weapon for Zabuza...

"Do you think they're going to be alright? Those jutsu look really dangerous." Started the boy, half expecting the Uchiha to ignore him like he always did. He knew not what kind of pain the man was suffering if the only way to deal with it was to numb himself to the very core.

Surprisingly enough, the Akatsuki answered. "Your master... He is a formidable shinobi. Perhaps Kisame was wrong about his chances." He turned to the boy, staring at him with blood-red sharingan eyes. "Why do you follow him? Men like us walk only towards death. Would you follow him that far?"

The boy answered immediately, turning his attention back to the raging fight. "I already have. Your brother's sensei had almost killed me trying to get to Zabuza. Fortunately, my actions managed to change the dynamic of the fight..." He wanted to add that he believed that they would have both probably died anyway, but the Akatsuki didn't need to know that.

Even now, weeks after their encounter with the ninja team from Konoha and the showdown on the bridge, Haku still wondered what led them to spare the lives of two missing ninja. Maybe it was Naruto? The boy's strange charm, his determination and view of the world... they influenced them both, Haku more than Zabuza.

It got him to think... think about what would happen if Zabuza was to actually die. Would he just give up and take his own life, having failed to protect him? Is that something Zabuza would want? Or should he perhaps go on, pick up the sword his mentor had carried and walk the steps he intended to walk? Is his destiny to realize Zabuza's ambitions if the swordsman himself couldn't? And what would happen after that? Pursue his own dream? His dream was always to be at Zabuza's side...

"Foolish." Muttered the Uchiha, turning his eyes to the fight as well. Far away in the distance, far enough that only sharingan eyes could see, the shoreline was visible. The voyage they shared would soon be over. The next day, they would part ways for good, heading to Kumo and awaiting news of which demon died in the Village hidden in the Mist. While he wasn't all too fond of the man, Itachi would prefer Zabuza to walk away the victor; an enemy you know is far easier to defeat than one you do not.

A stray flock of seagulls flew overhead, desperately trying to place as much distance between themselves and the two monsters that clashed on the sea. The usually clear blue water was now restless and dark, shaken up by the bladesmen's battle. The civilian passengers had retreated into their cabins, their captain shouting for everyone to take shelter from the approaching storm.

There was panic and confusion in their eyes and faces. They ran around pointlessly, trying to explain how a twister simply appeared out of thin air. Their theories were cut short when the first wave hit. The two shinobi had already subconsciously channeled chakra to their feet, sticking them to the surface of the ship and preventing them from getting washed away by the water. Some civilians weren't so capable, and ended up being thrown all over. The boy did his best to help them all, but one or two were lost in the raging seas.

Itachi closed his eyes and spun towards the cabins. He had seen enough.

"Irrelevant. There is only one thing that matters..." silent words that left his lips, lost in the howl of the sea and the screams of men. The Akatsuki member moved into his room, easily sidestepping the man that went tumbling towards him as yet another wave hit the ship.

He was one of the three remaining Uchiha in the world, everyone else was dead, by his hand, or by Danzo's. He had protected the leaf Village, the same village that had failed to protect his clan from themselves. The Sarutobi was an old man, a relic from a bygone era, just like the warhawk. Yet old men like them are who shape the world, who make the decisions that define the lives of their children and grandchildren. He would be the martyr who would take the weight of their sins onto himself...not only theirs, but the sins of every power-drunk Uchiha and Konoha shinobi. He would be the one who would make sure that his clan's name would be cleansed through his younger brother.

He was Itachi Uchiha, he was a martyr.

As one of the seven ninja swordsmen of the hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi was accustomed to varying amounts of killing intent from his earliest days. Very few men could exert the kind of pressure that he would notice. Yet as he stood now, a mad grin hidden under his bandages, Zabuza was sure that the junior swordsman was one of those men. The bloodlust in the air was palpable, and his sword almost itched to be sated. Licking his lips, the demon charged at his foe with his blade at the ready.

A battle to prepare him for Yagura, for his ultimate goal. Yes, the Akatsuki was a worthy opponent in every possible way. Gone were his meaningless jokes and perpetual grin; the shark-man's eyes were narrowed, and his mouth was a thin line. The sharkskin danced in his arms, cutting air, water and chakra. It too craved blood, yet its' hunger was far more ravenous and uncontrolled than the one of the Kubikiribocho.

Kisame's heart was pumping. He didn't remember the last time that had happened. He giddily threw himself at the approaching swordsman, blade poised to take his arm off. As expected, the attack was avoided and followed by a counterattack, but that only made things more interesting. Scales ground against steel, the shrill scrape lost in the sound of the raging waters.

"Hah...haha...hahaha!" The monster's laugh became uncontrollable. "You've been holding back, I see! Come, give me your best shot!" With that, he slid under a horizontal slash, moving across water as easily as he would across land. He made a sign with one hand and swung his sword with the other, forcing the demon to take to the air or risk losing his legs; with the opening created, he let loose with the Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu, sending his foe crashing into the twister and disappearing into the water.

Of course, that wouldn't do the demon in...no, that was far too weak a jutsu to hurt him, even with the twister. The real pain was yet to begin. Kisame began chaining hand signs.

"Water Style: Five Feeding Sharks!" He shouted as he shoved his hand into the water, letting chakra flow out and take the form of the namesake sharks. The beasts were not all that durable or long-lasting, but they were ideal for cranking up the pressure when needed. If he wanted to, he could even make them detonate, a trick he developed after watching fellow Akatsuki Deidara in action one time.

With the pressure on, Kisame took a deep breath, licked his lips, and extended his senses. Zabuza didn't have the time to pop a water breathing jutsu, so he had to come up for air sooner or later. Perhaps he had hit something underwater? Sometimes good shinobi have bad luck...

Before he could entertain the idea further, Kisame had to dive into the water, only barely dodging the Kubikiribocho that spun through the air like a shuriken, intending to take his head off in one hit. He dispelled the sharks, realizing in a split second that the pressure was indeed on, but on him.

Zabuza grabbed the blade he had his clone throw, landing squarely in the center of the twister. Kisame took to the water, and Samehada's users hardly ever released their blade. That could only mean one thing... Zabuza spun around, deflecting the tip of the Sharkskin as it tried to bite into him from the back. "Heh, nice try. It'll take more than that to bring me down!" The boast was completely pointless and unnecessary, but both shinobi knew the reason it was spoken anyway. It was an informal way of saying. 'My turn now.'

Kisame popped up on the side, swinging wide and across, trying to catch Zabuza with an unorthodox attack pattern. While he did manage to block or avoid all the attacks, the demon couldn't really take the offensive due to the difficult assault. He cursed under his breath and began molding chakra internally. The moment Kisame's movements slowed down, he was on the attack, swinging the executioners blade, cutting up robes and the twister's watery walls. No matter how much water sprayed, none of it ever reached the shinobi's eyes.

"Will you stop dodging already!? RAAAH!" He swung down, shoving a massive amount of water down with his chakra, creating a vortex right underneath the twister. The monster of the mist only grinned at him, looking as confident as ever. He pushed the Samehada into the twister's wall, draining it of chakra and energy rapidly. Soon enough, they stood on the open but disturbed waters, glaring at each other from either side of the small vortex in between them.

"Oh, but we've only just started, Zabuza." Kisame spoke in a low voice, once again working through a set of hand signs. "Water Style: Great Colliding Wave!"

"Water Style: Great Colliding Wave!"

The two waves roared from either side of the metaphorical field, colliding just as their names implied. The surge of water shook the very sea itself, sending a colossal wave towards the unsteady ship a few miles off in the distance. As the drops cleared, the two bladesmen had only a moment's time to analyze the battlefield before coming into arm's reach of each other. Blade against blade, they struck at each other, every hit perfectly dodged or blocked. It wasn't long before they tried kicking or even headbutting their foe, still keeping the pace that would make lesser shinobi stare in awe. As Zabuza spun around to deliver a powerful side slash, Kisame brought his blade up, taking the blow and sliding a good twenty feet across the water's surface.

"Is that all you've got? Here I though you intended to kill the Mizukage..." Before he could continue his provocations, Kisame rolled to the side, losing the last chunk of his robe to the Kubikiribocho. Knowing that he had a spare, he ripped the tattered thing off, tossing it into the water. His pale blue skin glistened in the sun, body as perfectly honed as expected of a S-rank shinobi. He casually brushed some water off of himself before going in for another exchange with the demon.

Perhaps master Zabuza really could slay the child Mizukage. It's been a while since someone could push him this hard without any unfair advantages like kekkei genkai. He didn't particularly hate bloodline users, but he had to admit that sometimes their abilities made them harder to kill than necessary. If you are weak, you should simply die the moment you let your guard down. On the other hand, ever since their battle started, Zabuza had never once let down his guard, something Kisame applauded him on.

Fighting that man was really not that unlike fighting demons. Being an S-rank shinobi, Kisame had the occasional run in with demons and other lesser chakra entities. It wouldn't quite measure up to the beasts he would soon be hunting, but the general principal was the same: entities didn't like facing the Samehada, and Samehada loved eating entities.

"You know, you're not half bad with that sword of yours, master Zabuza." Quipped the shark-man as he landed a heavy strike at the man's elbow, finally getting some semblance of an advantage. He couldn't really capitalize on it though, as the demon immediately retaliated by driving a knee into the Akatsuki's chest. Before he could swing down with his unhurt arm and end the battle right quick, Kisame rolled backwards, getting back into stance.

Zabuza could only smirk, switching the sword back into his apparently injured arm. An intense sensation flooded the air, chakra forming into an image of a purple demon hovering just above the sworsman. It looked at Kisame hungrily, snarling and grinning with an evil look in its eyes. The Demon of the hidden Mist was through playing around.

"Ready for round two, Kisame?"

Haku was worried, seriously worried. The civilians and Itachi had long since cleared out, so that wasn't the issue; the issue was that Zabuza had allowed the chakra to shape into the demon. He only ever did that when the fight was serious. Just how dangerous are these Akatsuki?

He had heard bits and pieces of their stories, and had even managed to figure out that Kakuzu the Undying was among their ranks, but that was about it. Their purpose, their funding, their members...all of it was a mystery. Mysteries were a very dangerous thing in the world of shinobi; words that Zabuza very quickly drilled into the bloodline bearer's head.

"I...I should help..." But he couldn't, not with his injuries. A foe like Kisame would tear him apart before he could use a single jutsu. He was no longer a weapon...now he had to find different ways of helping the man who gave meaning to his life. He didn't know where to start, but he knew that he could not allow himself to fall too far behind. If only there was a way he could fight once again...

Haku sighed, then leapt off of the boat, landing onto the somewhat calmed waters. He slowly began gathering chakra, intent on taking the first steps towards re-enabling himself to fight. As the last bearer of Hyoton, he needed to push his ability to its very limit, to reestablish himself as the shinobi Zabuza had always needed him to be.

Ice slowly began forming on the water beneath his feet, and Haku closed his eyes. He could feel the edgy and cool sensation of the Ice chakra flowing through his body. It was vastly different compared to the smooth feel of water, or even the sharp rushing of air; Ice chakra was a third state, created from the two others. As it was in nature, so was with chakra. Haku understood that, and hoped it would help him realize his desire sooner.

By the time they reached the hidden Mist, Haku would make sure he could help his most important person in the fight against the Yondaime Mizukage.

Kisame skidded back across the water, the force of Zabuza's blows having somehow quintupled. Chakra theory long since knew of different types of chakra, the most obvious classification being by elemental affinity. With what little more he picked up over the years, the shark-man also knew that every individual had a chakra expression, a style, jutsu or form that made it function optimally. That was part of the reason shinobi across the lands specialized in different fields. Some were simply more attuned to forms of genjutsu or ninjutsu than the body-enhancing forms of kenjutsu and taijutsu. Some took the idea even further, and specialized in a specific natural phenomenon, which created shinobi such as the second Mizukage, who was the embodiment of charisma and illusions, or the third Raikage, a man who gave new meaning to physical power. It appeared that Zabuza's almost demonic chakra was simply part of who he was, not a bloodline or jutsu, just simply giving in to your inner nature.

This was why Kisame couldn't stop himself from grinning. The thrill of battle simply never grew old to him; every fight was life and death, and every fight was a rush that kept him going in this world of falsehoods. Only in battle could a man show his very soul, and only in battle did men communicate without lies. The common saying of 'communicating through one's fists' was close to the truth, as far as Kisame was concerned.

"You've been holding all of that back this whole time?" Spoke the Akatsuki, eyes gleaming with excitement, "Then I guess it's only fair I stop messing around either!" With that, the Samehada started giving off a visible stream of chakra that seemed to be absorbed into Kisame himself. In the end, despite the weapon's limited sentience, it knew the difference between swordsman and sword. The man's chakra flared, the little fatigue his body had accumulated disappearing as if it was never there.

"Here I come!" He yelled as he rushed for the man with the purplish demon hovering over him.

Two blades clashed once more, strikes even more powerful and fast than before. Unless the observerhad a sharingan, they would have trouble keeping up, regardless of their skill as a shinobi. At some point in the battle, Zabuza torn off the bandages that normally covered his mouth, flashing a sharp grin that rivaled the one of his opponent. Every strike flowed seamlessly into the next one, the Kubikiribocho actively seeking an opening through which it could end the battle.

They clashed repeatedly, neither gaining the advantage no matter how skilled their moves were. Zabuza's pulling on the unnatural property of his chakra seemed to give him additional speed, as he wielded the massive Kubikiribocho as if it was a simple wooden training sword. Kisame was no slouch either, doing much of the same with his own greatsword, taking part in a battle of speed with weapons so clearly meant for power.

"Why? Why can't I get a hit on you, dammit!" Roared the demon as he tried once more to rid Kisame of his head with a deceptively fast sideways swing. All he cut was air, but he would follow up the failed strike by jumping into the air and flipping using the sword's weight. Having shifted his center of weight far enough up his arm, he brought the sword down, parting the water considerably with the blow. Kisame only whistled in response.

Taking his turn, the monster of the mist went in for a low slash, shoving a copious amount of chakra into his lower body in order to quickly turn around and continue the assault with no loss in momentum. Zabuza jumped over the low, parried the mid, and ducked under the high attack, trying to knock the wind out of Kisame with the handle of his blade, only to see that the attack did squat to his foe.

Failing a stab, Zabuza drove his blade into the water, using it as a pivot from which he could flip over and try and hit Kisame from above. The monster of the mist saw the move coming, though, so he placed his sword between himself and the incoming blade, blocking it with a loud scraping noise. Not waiting for his foe to recover, he leapt up, delivering a swift punch to the demon's chest, sending him stumbling back. With the advantage, Kisame began making hand signs, readying his signature jutsu.

"Water Style: Shark Bomb Jutsu! It's over!"

On cue, a slightly larger than average water shark leapt from the small stretch of water between the two men, crashing into Zabuza with more kinetic force than such a small construct should have. Even as they sunk into the water, the jutsu kept going, only living up to the 'bomb' aspect when it neared the end of its' short lifespan. The underwater explosion send Zabuza tumbling down to the seafloor, the air blasted from his lungs.

Kisame looked down in triumph, only to twitch and duck as his instincts screamed at him to move. Briefly losing his balance, the Akatsuki stumbled forward, casting a glance behind him and seeing a watery clone of Zabuza dispersing. He braced for whatever the demon had in store for him, only to realize that the man in question was nowhere to be found. He slowly got up to his feet, double checking for another nasty surprise.

"Heh, I guess the clone was meant to blindside me during your aerial assault. Guess you messed up the timing, master Zabuza." He spoke, signs of renewed exhaustion obvious.

Dozens of meters below the surface, Zabuza watched in irritation as he finally regained enough strength to dislodge himself from the seafloor. He quickly floated upwards, dragging himself out onto the surface of the water. He had one more trick, and then it would be the end of the match. He raised his head, locking eyes with the Akatsuki.

"You think this is over...just give me... a moment." He somehow spat out, his breath uncomfortably short.

Kisame shook his head, slinging his blade over the shoulder, letting the tip drag across the water's surface. He slowly started walking towards the exhausted Zabuza, knowing full well that he could have kept fighting for about as much as he did up until that point. "If you're not going to admit defeat, I guess I'll just have to draw blood and end it the official way." He grinned, already planning to tear up the better part of the man's arm with the Sharkskin.

However, not two steps after he started, he noticed the smug look on Zabuza's face, turning his head around on sheer instinct. Behind him, a fair distance away, stood another water clone, looking as if he was barely held together, but that wasn't important. It had already done what it intended to; the Kubikiribocho was flying towards Kisame like an oversized shuriken, covering vast amounts of space with each passing moment. There was no way he could dodge.

Instead, the shark-man spun in place, keeping his sword's flat facing the incoming weapon, and subsequently flooded the blade with chakra, forcing it to expand and swell, looking like an oversized, scaly club, rather than a sword. It did the job, however, as the Kubikiribocho got lodged between the scales, all of its' momentum dissipating immediately.

"A desperation move, hmm? It won't work on me, but against Yagura...who knows? If you had more chakra to work with, you could perhaps handle him." Offered the monster of the mist, slowly dislodging his opponent's blade from his own.

"Do kill the guy. That way you can come after me again and we take a shot at each other for real." He smirked, knowing full well that Zabuza killing the Mizukage would almost definitely restart the relentless assaults by ANBU and hunter ninja. However, he looked forward to it; things were dreary ever since those occasional bouts of excitement had stopped.

Zabuza got up with a grunt, taking back his sword and casting a look into the distant outline of their ship. He could fight on the level, but he couldn't fight long enough. More training was required, and it was only a matter of time until they reached the Land of Sea. As convenient as the little reunion between swordsmen was, it put him on edge. The implication of an organization made solely of S-Rank criminals was clear to him.

When the time came, he would have to find a way to strike against these 'Akatsuki', but for now, he only wanted to head back to the ship and pass out from exhaustion.

"I don't intend to die in the village. I will kill him, and I will kill you when the time comes." He growled, not bothering to conceal the obvious threat.

"I can hardly wait." Answered the other swordsman briskly, starting towards the faraway boat with a slow, walking pace.

I hope you drop a review, as they're the only things telling me if I'm doing things right or wrong. (And they're addictive as all hell, so I need my fix) :D

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter!