Chapter 42. Where lightning meets the sea.
Asuma grunted as the oversized blade slammed into his chakra blades. He should have known it was a bad idea, and the throbbing in his hands will be a constant reminder. The swordsman brute-forced his way through the attack and sent Asuma flying.
Gracefully, Asuma landed in front of his students, that was currently protecting their client. He should have never fallen for the old man's sob story. Though, no one could have predicted that The Zabuza of the seven swordsmen would come after them.
"You're not half bad," Zabuza muttered past his mask of bandage. His dark eyes looked down at the crack in his sword from where they clashed. Though Asuma's trench knives, in the form of a jagged brass knuckle, were made from chakra steel. After channeling wind chakra through them, they had scary cutting power.
Zabuza eyed the bearded man and his small blades. He had underestimated the team of kinds and a laid-back man. He caught them off guard and almost killed them all in one attack. If not for the odd butterflies around them – that somehow blocked his sword – they would already be dead.
Zabuza leaped back onto the surface of the water to avoid the dark shadow that reached towards him. He eyes the black hair boy with suspicion. That kid was the most relaxed when they arrived, yet he was the second threat.
Zabuza wasn't familiar with the shadow that reached for him, but he wasn't going to stop to find out. The shadow stopped before reaching the water. It was likely a case where shadow couldn't travel on water's surface, or there was a limit to how far the shadow could go.
"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered, recalling his shadow. He didn't expect the mission to be such a drag. He had a bad feeling after getting attacked by the rogues. Asuma had taken care of them, and he thought that was it, but then came the giant sword.
Shikamaru was frozen; even as Ino screamed and Asuma moved, he knew they wouldn't make it in time. He eyed the butterflies that were franticly circling them. How had those small things block such an attack? Was that why they followed them all this time, to protect them?
"Hand over the Oldman, and I might let you live," Zabuza declared. He swang and his sword and rested it on his shoulder. His movements were fuelled and effortless, not at all struggling with the blade. Was that what it meant to be a swordsman?
"No can do," Asuma took a battle stance. "My mission is to protect him. So if you could step aside, I'd greatly appreciate it." A mist rolled in suddenly as Zabuza received Asuma's reply.
"Heh," the deep voice came from behind. "No can do."
Asuma and his team looked back to find the swordsman in their midst. Zabuza turned, aiming for Tazuna, when Asuma buried his blades in Zabuza's stomach. Liquid poured out, sounding like a pipe.
"Shit!" Asuma swore as Zabuza turned into a puddle of water. Blade cut through the mist, alerting Asuma to the sneak attack from behind. Zabuza's attack and body froze suddenly, leaving Asuma confused before he saw the shadow leading back to Shikamaru.
"Shadow possession complete," Shikamaru announced. He would only have hold of Zabuza for a limited time, but it was enough for Asuma to finish the job.
"Nice one, Shikamaru," Ino cheered. Choji sighed in relief. Asuma readied his blade. He didn't want to do this in front of the kids, but he couldn't allow such a threat to escape.
"Is that all it does?"
Chills ran down the Nara's spine as he looked behind him, his captive doing the same.
Zabuza stood behind him, his weapon casually on his shoulder.
"And here I was thinking you were a threat."
"Shikamaru!" he heard his name from several people, but he couldn't look away. Faintly he felt his jutsu lose hold of its captive that turned into a puddle. Shikamaru was conscious of three things. Zabuza swung his blade, his team moved towards him, and a flash of pink in the corner of his eyes.
Mere inches from his eyes, the large sword stopped, unable to move forward.
"Damn bugs," Zabuza growled as the butterflies stopped his attack yet again. He didn't know how these small creatures could match his strength, but it annoyed him to no end. Asuma reached Shikamaru first, forcing Zabuza to retreat.
"You okay, Shikamaru?" Asuma asked, standing in front of the boy. Before Shikamaru could reply, Ino screamed.
"Look out!"
They looked back but were too slow to counter Zabuza's clone. The clone swung his blade, forcing Asuma to block it clumsily. He staggered, and Zabuza used that moment of weakness to kick Asuma out onto the water and into the waiting hands of the real Zabuza.
"Water style, Water prison."
A spere of water wrapped around Asuma, making him immobile and unable to breathe. While shinobi could hold their breaths longer than a civilian, being unable to move meant his genins were in danger.
"Asuma-sensei!" Choji cried as he witnessed this teacher's capture. Asuma, being the teacher, was naturally stronger than them; if he couldn't beat Zabuza, what chance did they have? The clone that kicked Asuma into the water, lifted his blade and eyed Shikamaru once more.
Out of all the genin here, Shikamaru was the only one to attack, giving Zabuza the impression he was the only one with combat experience. Once he killed the kid, he could dispatch the others without a fuss.
Shikamaru leaped back, but Zabuza was faster. Seeming to vanish, the swordsman appeared behind Shikamaru. The Nara froze, whether it was from the bloodlust of the swordsman or the fear of death he didn't know. He couldn't move, couldn't dodge.
Butterflies covered with cracks flew towards him. Shikamaru wasn't foolish enough to think they could block his attack a third time. He closed his eyes and waited for death.
"What a drag."
Crack!
A flash lit the area like a shot light. Lightning crashed into the sea, and the ground shook from the resounding boom. Just as sudden as the lighting, a wall of water reached for the sky. A tsunami arced over the trees and crashed towards them.
Zabuza moved away from the disastrous water, leaving the genins to its mercy.
Shhhh, Crash! The water crashed into the area, washing away the screams of Team Asuma.
The Sarutobi looked on in horror as the tsunami uprooted trees and turned the area into a swamp. His students nowhere to be seen. The wave rose the water level by 4 meters pushing him and Zabuza further away from what was once shore but otherwise left them unharmed. This small mercy did nothing for his grief.
"Noooo!" he screamed, his voice swallowed by the water. He couldn't lose his students here, not like this!
"I guess nature can truly be cruel," Zabuza taunted. The tsunami came from nowhere, but this was nothing new in the land of waves. "This takes away the fun of killing them myself, but I suppose it's fine."
If his body could move, Asuma would be banging on the walls of his prison. As it was, he was helpless and could only watch. That's why he saw it before Zabuza.
Amidst the chaos, two giant beasts walked atop the water, carrying his team. Chojo and Tazuna on the back of a Black wolf along with Kakashi? What was Kakshi doing here? He looked up when he saw a shadow from above; a hawk was carrying Naruto, the Uchiha, and Ino. That left Shikamaru, who was on the back of the white car with the Sakura.
Asuma's sigh of pure relief alerted Zabuza to the situation. Asuma wasn't paying attention, but the swordsman was monologing. He looked at the former shoreline and spotted the new arrivals; a devious grin spread across his face.
"Looks like I'll have my fun after all."
Shikamaru stared wide-eyed at the pink hair the swayed in front of him. Pink butterflies fluttered around her as though happy to see her. In that moment, he foolishly thought she looked like a Yosei.
Why was Sakura in the land of waves, and why did she arrive so timely riding a tsunami? The cracked butterflies that defended him before landed on her fingers; their cracks faded before they vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Summons!?" he exclaimed. He should have known. Had he given it a bit of thought, he might have figured it out. But the, had she used her summons to protect them.
"My energy is draining just being around you. How can you live like that, in a constant state of apathy without a care in the world?" she looked back at him with blank eyes. "It's depressing."
Before Shikamaru could retort, Zabuza's water clone attacked. Leaping into the air, the swordsman was aiming for Sakura. He didn't make it far.
"Nyah!" the giant cat roared, the force of which turned the clone back into a puddle.
"Tsk," Zabuza voiced his displeasure.
He wasn't in a favorable situation. One jonin and a bunch of snot-nose genins he could handle, he would struggle against two jonin, but he wouldn't lose. The problem came from the three six new unknown variables; the three new kids and their summons.
The sky darkened, and Zabuza looked up alarmed. There, where the sky had once been, was now an army of Naruto's raining down.
"Shit," he cursed.
The first clone received a kick to the face, the other a backhand fist. Careful not to release his hostage, Zabuza engaged in one-hand combat. He punched and kicked the clones as they attacked him.
Even as the swordsman was stationary, he never felt overwhelmed by the clones that poofed from one hit. With each clone he defeated, he gained false confidence. Was this the best they had?
"Why aren't you attacking him at once?" Choji asked from behind Kakashi.
"I'm waiting on Sakura's signal," the jonin informed him.
"Sakura's signal?" Ino repeated, having asked Sasuke the same question.
"This guy isn't working alone," Sasuke informed her, keeping his eyes on the battlefield. "Sakura is currently searching for his accomplice."
"But she's not doing anything!" Ino pointed to the pink hair that was watching the fight without moving.
"You're annoying," Sasuke sighed. "Just shut up and watch."
No sooner had he said it, what was left of the forest began to rumble. As the waves did before, a swarm of pink cut through the forest, shredding anything that got in it's way. The rumble captured the attention of those in the clearing. They looked toward what was left of the treeline in time to see a small figure leap from the branches chased by a dragon made of pink flower petals, no. Those were butterflies.
Team Asuma watched in horror as the very intimidating pink beast crashed into the water after the masked person. Zabuza, recognizing his partner, didn't hesitate to release his hostage and charged to their side.
As Zabura reached his target, he swang at the beast that shied away from him. He shielded his partner and held his sword toward the beast that seemed to watch him curiously.
"You okay?" Zabuza asked.
"I'm sorry, Lord Zabuza." His partner said, lowering their head. "I wasn't expecting to get attacked. I let my guard down."
"Its fine," Zabuza gruntd. "These tree huggers are not what I expected."
"Anytime now, Oldman," Sakura muttered, making Shikamaru jump.
The black wolf began to growl, lighting sparkles dancing around him.
"What?" Shikamaru muttered in confusion before their mount leaped into the air. He looked to Sakura for an explanation, but she offered none. Kakashi didn't follow them, remaining on the water as the giant car stepped on air.
"Cover your ears," the cat warned. And before Shikamaru could freak out about the fact that it talked, the wolf moved.
"Awooooo!" the wolf howled. The howl was so loud Shikamaru thought he would go deaf, but then he saw lightning. From the wolf's mouth, a lightning path of destruction was created. The waters lit up with electricity as the lightning moved towards Zabuza. The butterflies scattered as the blasted reached them.
There was nowhere to run.
Clap!
BoOoM!
Ripples became waves and tore through the remaining tree. Steam rose from the heated water that still buzzed with electricity, blocking their vision. The water became a death trap. All sea creatures that found themselves in the range of the blast died instantly, most of them floating the surface of the water once the flash cleared.
Asuma looked down at the water in horror as the giant hawk held him in their talons.
"We need to get out of the water," was all Naruto told him when he was freed. Had the hawk not grabbed him and flew away, he might have engaged Zabuza and die in that attack. Zabuza was dead for sure; no one could survive that.
Asuma looked over to where Kakashi and his summon were, the only ones still on the water. Electricity licked at the wolf's paw, but the beast looked unaffected. Sakura and her cat were flying. Or standing on air? Shikamaru looked as confused as Asuma felt.
Was there something he missed? Sure these brats were in the middle of the Uchiha incident, and he didn't expect them to be normal but, what the hell was wrong with Kakashi's students?
"It's not over," Sasuke said, his Sharingan activated. "They're not dead yet." Ino gasped as the steam from the vaporized water cleared. In the epicenter of destruction, Zabuza and his masked partner stood in an ice dome.
Zabuza's partner seemed to be the one to create it as they fell to their knees a second later. The ice platform they stood on remained the only barrier against the deadly waters.
They could no longer fight, not in these conditions. Zabuza couldn't fight on this small playing field, not while protecting his partner. He would have to retreat.
Zabuza's hands flashed through the seals. Mist closed in around him, covering his actions.
"He's planing something!" Asuma warned.
"Water style, water dragon jutsu."
A dragon made of water overflowing with electricity flew toward the hawk. The wolf would be unaffected, and the cat was too far back, leaving the hawk his only option.
"Fire style great fireball just!" Sasuke's fireball hit the water dragon, heating and turning it to steam. Water rained down as the mist cleared, revealing Zabuza's empty ice platform.
"He got away," Asuma muttered, disappointed. They were suddenly swarmed by pink butterflies, one of which landed on Sasuke's finger.
"I'm fine," he spoke to the creature. "His attack didn't reach us."
"You got him right, Sakura?" Naruto who was quiet in the other talon of the hawk, spoke up.
"Yes," the illusion of a voice entered their minds. "They will lead us right to their base."
A smile too terrifying to my call a smirk crept onto Naruto and Sasuke's face. Asuma looked at them in horror as they chuckled in glee. Once again wondering, "what the hell was wrong with Kakashi's students?"
Next chapter October 13.
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