I don't own Naruto.
Clang!
The sound of metal hitting metal rung through the battlefield. His eyes narrowed in concentration; carefully observing his masked opponent. The two fought for dominance, his kunai grinding against the sharp senbon held between fingers. With one more push resulting in a draw, the two jumped back in unison, putting some distance between each other.
No sooner had his foot touched the ground did he have to hastily dodge a flurry of sharp needles. He cursed as one grazed the side of his cheek and activated his Sharingan. 'This guy's faster than I expected…!'
"Hn." Haku hummed. He readied more senbon between his fingers and suddenly began spinning, catching Sasuke off guard. He approached him rapidly and struck the Uchiha, their weapons colliding again, but this time much more violent than the last. Sasuke's arms buckled but held his ground.
"With these eyes, I can see you clearly…" Sasuke muttered with a small smirk, causing Haku to frown behind his mask.
"It would appear so."
Sasuke swiped at Haku's feet causing him to jump up. He used the momentum of his kick to spin and launch himself up in pursuit. Haku crossed his arms protectively and blocked his opponent's bicycle kick. Sasuke recovered quickly and kept the offense up, attempting to land a hit on Haku who expertly weaved in between each hit before finding themselves in a weapon bind once more.
"Please give up…I do not wish to kill you." Haku said passively.
"You won't get to." Sasuke replied confidently causing Haku to shake his head in acceptance.
"So be it." Haku raised his free hand and began flying through one-handed hand signs, surprising Sasuke.
'Seals with one hand?!'
'A Thousand Needles of Death!'
Haku stomped his feet on the wet ground, causing water to fly up and form into ice needles. They surrounded the two of them and Sasuke had to quickly jump in the air to avoid the swarm. While airborne, he retrieved a demon wind shuriken from his pouch and snapped it open before throwing it at the Hunter-nin.
Haku leant back, letting the shuriken pass harmlessly over his head. Sasuke smirked and tugged onto nearly invisible wires attached to the metal star, causing it to suddenly veer out of its trajectory and fly back towards Haku.
'What!?' He thought and brought a needle up to block the Shuriken. He struggled as the force pushed him back a little before managing to deflect it out of the way.
'Clever…' Haku thought. He turned and was surprised when Sasuke appeared behind him and quickly defended himself when the Uchiha lashed out with a kunai. Smirking, Sasuke hopped back and threw three shuriken, which Haku easily avoided but wasn't fast enough to dodge the fireball that crashed into him.
Haku flew away and bounced several times before coming to a stop. He slowly pushed himself back to his feet, taking a second to regain his bearings and Sasuke used that moment of calm to catch his breath.
'At this rate…He'll be the one to defeat me.' Haku thought. He made an unknown hand seal and began gathering a large amount of Chakra. Ice began rapidly forming around them, taking shape of 30 ice mirrors. The mirrors surrounded them, formed a barrier around the two, blocking them off from the outside world.
Sasuke watched in amazement as Haku walked into one of the ice structures as if it were an intangible item. Reflections of the hunter nin appeared on each of the mirrors, making the Uchiha look around nervously and bring his guard up.
"Now then…I'll start." Haku spoke softly. "I shall show you…My true speed." He brought up a senbon and threw it at Sasuke, and it was all he could do to barely avoid it at the last possible second. Activating his Sharingan, two tomoes appeared on each of his eyes and he used his enhanced sight and reaction time to deflect two more incoming needles with a kunai.
'This is bad. He's much faster than before.' He stumbled slightly when a senbon grazed his shoulder, making him quickly jump back. All at once, each reflection copied the original and countless senbon rained down upon him. Sasuke tried his best to fend them off but was quickly overwhelmed and forced to cover his head protectively.
"Gaah!" He screamed as he felt the cold needles pierce his skin. This went on for a few more seconds before it finally came to a stop. Sasuke breathed a slow sigh of relief and peeked over his crossed arms, while staring ahead at Haku's reflection.
'The real body is over there…' he thought, readying a kunai as the other reflections disappeared.
"I'm over here."
His eyes widened when he realized that Haku had already re-appeared in a mirror behind him. Again, copies of Haku could be seen on all mirrors, all brandishing a handful of senbon and once more threw a barrage of needles at him.
'I thought he was using clones…But no. I could barely see it with my Sharingan. Whatever these mirrors are, they allow him to travel in between them at near instantaneous speeds.' He protected his face again and carefully peaked over his arm at his surroundings. 'Then if that's the case…'
'Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!'
A large fireball engulfed the mirrors. But much to his consternation, the flames cleared and the mirrors remained unaffected.
"They won't melt with that level of firepower." Haku remarked, the reflections disappearing. He leaned out of one of the ice mirrors and vanished and re-appeared into an opposing mirror within a split second. Sasuke grunted and fell to one knee as he was suddenly cut before he could react.
"Please don't hold it against me…I want to protect the person that is dear to me and make his dream a reality. His dream is mine too. For the sake of that person, I will completely become a Shinobi…And kill you."
"Heh, just try it." Sasuke replied while pushing himself back up. "I have dreams of my own, and I don't intend to give them up now."
Haku remained silent and reluctantly raised his senbon again.
"So be it…I, for the sake of my dream. And you, for the sake of yours…" Haku once more disappeared from his mirror and moved in and out of them at speeds too quick for him to follow. Throwing out a blind kick, he watched Haku jump over it and retreated back into his mirrors.
'He's beginning to acclimate to my speed…I must end this soon.' Shooting out of his mirror once more, Haku swiped twice at Sasuke's guard and jumped high, kicking him in the chest. Sasuke skidded back and clicked his tongue before moving to retaliate, but Haku was already gone. He re-appeared behind him and sent a flying double kick, launching Sasuke in the air where frozen needles were awaiting him before burying themselves into his body.
"Gyaahh!"
Sasuke landed back down on his hands and knees, but had no time to recover when the ground underneath him began turning into ice. Quickly jumping up as ice spikes suddenly formed and attempted to skewer him, he spun and struck Haku's face with the back of his fist when he attempted to materialize behind him.
"Nnh!" Haku lurched back from the blow and quickly regained his footing before retreating back to safety within his mirrors.
"It's impressive that you're able to counter at this speed. Your instincts are truly extraordinary." Haku stated. "But instincts alone won't allow you to win this."
Once more, Haku disappeared from his mirrors and moved in and out of them at superspeed. Sasuke took cover behind his arms and grit his teeth as he tried to withstand the onslaught.
'Come on…Come on…!' Sasuke repeated in his mind, eyes darting around in an attempt to pinpoint his opponent. 'Focus!' The barrage did not let up and only increased in speed. Countless cuts littering his body, Sasuke began to get pushed back as Haku continued to phase all around him.
Suddenly, the world seemed to slow down. His eyes widened and his pupils darted around, now clearly able to follow Haku's movements. He quickly brought out a kunai and blocked Haku's lightning-fast attack, catching the masked nin by surprise. The two struggled for dominance, and Haku's shock grew at what he saw.
"Your eyes…!"
Three tomoes spun hypnotically in Sasuke's eyes. His entire demeanour had changed, his face now focused and confident. Sasuke sent a kick at Haku who dodged out of the way and flew back into one of his mirrors. The Uchiha was quick to run through hand seals and draw in a deep breath.
'If more firepower is what you need, then…'
'Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!'
Sasuke spat out three large consecutive fireballs who took on the shape of a dragon's face and blazed after the hunter-nin. The wall of ice exploded into flames and slowly began melting. He jumped up high before Haku could fix the structure and put all his weight behind a kick. The mirror cracked before violently shattering into tiny shards, forcing Haku to jump out in attempt to flee to another mirror. Sasuke was faster, however and spun in mid-air, throwing a shuriken after him. The metal star collided into the side of Haku's mask, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling to the ground.
Sasuke flipped and landed in a crouch and watched as Haku pushed himself to his feet. He hooked his finger in the ring of the shuriken and yanked it out of his mask, looking down at it in mild confusion.
The Uchiha smirked. "Ready to continue?"
"You should be more worried about your brats, Kakashi. They don't stand a chance." Zabuza remarked, his sword struggling against Kakashi's kunai.
Kakashi seemed unbothered. "I wouldn't write them off so soon. They won't be so easily beaten."
"Che. Kushimaru may not be the most powerful swordsman of the mist, but he's no slouch either. He is one of Kiri's elites. And Haku…" Zabuza seemed to trail off as a chuckle escaped his lips. "I've beaten his fighting skills into him ever since he was a toddler. Even in the face of adversity, he has always prevailed. He's become a killing machine, a true Shinobi. His skills surpass even my own, and he bears within him the formidable legacy of his clan!"
'…Haku's a guy?' Kakashi thought with poorly hidden surprise.
"Yes…It seems you realize how hopeless your situation is. Give up."
"Sorry Zabuza. But I'm not planning on dying just yet." With one final struggle, the two pushed each other away and both skidded back. Zabuza smirked and raised his left arm, forming two one-handed ram seals.
'Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu.'
Kakashi frowned as a thick mist enveloped them, greatly restricting his vision. Pulling his headband up, his Sharingan flared to life in an attempt to survey his surroundings.
'This mist is laced with chakra…I can't see anything even with the Sharingan. Hmm…What to do."
Zabuza seemed to materialize behind him and swung his sword at the copy-nin, but was surprised when Kakashi reacted quickly and blocked the strike with his kunai before retaliating with a kick to his sides. He winced and righted himself in the air, landing in a crouch.
'Did he see me?' He thought, nursing his ribs. 'No, his eyes are closed. Then how…?'
"Are you wondering how I was able to see you?" Kakashi taunted, his eyes remaining shut. "Only a fool would rely on only one sense."
"Tch. Don't get too cocky." Zabuza said before disappearing back into the mist. He appeared at Kakashi's side and swung the sword down, but Kakashi deflected the blow once more and punched him in the face. Zabuza's head lurched back, but he came back with a vengeance and attempted to cleave the man again but he merely raised his hand and blocked the swing with the metal plates on his hands. Blood slowly began to trail down his hand as he slowly opened his eyes, revealing mismatched pupils.
"What!? How…!?"
"Don't you see Zabuza? Even with all this fog, I can still see you clearly."
He swung his massive blade and cleaved Kakashi in two, but frowned in annoyance when the man instead turned into a wooden log. Feeling a presence behind him, he attempted to lop off Kakashi's head off, but the masked man ducked under the swing and came in fast with a kunai in hand. Zabuza used his sword to block the attack but was pushed back.
He protected himself with his sword again when Kakashi came flying forward with a kick. Decapitating blade and kunai met, each trying to overpower the other as they began trading blows. Kakashi came in close and swiped twice with a kunai, but Zabuza blocked both and backflipped away. As he landed, he began using the momentum of his movement to swing his sword but Kakashi easily evaded it and countered with a spinning kick. Zabuza grunted and stabbed his sword into the ground to stop himself from flying back, but Kakashi used that opportunity to his advantage.
'Earth style: Swamp of the underworld!'
The ground beneath Zabuza turned to mud, making him slide and attempt to keep his balance. He hastily brought up his sword as Kakashi came flying at him, kunai drawn. His eyes narrowed and glared back at Kakashi's mismatched eyes, before pushing him back with a mighty swing. While airborne, Kakashi withdrew a handful of kunai from his pouch and launched them all at the swordsman at the same time. Zabuza readied his sword, but was caught off guard when the five kunai suddenly multiplied into fifty. He quickly brought his sword in front of him and used it as a shield as the deadly knives rained down on him. After a few seconds passed, the assault stopped and he began lowering his sword.
Hsssssss.
His eyes widened at the noise and looked down at a single kunai with an explosive tag attached to it. A loud explosion went off, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Zabuza crossed his arms in front of him as the blast sent him flying into the water, his body smoking slightly from the blast.
Zabuza jumped out of the water and flew through a string of hand signs as the mist around them began clearing.
'Ox, monkey, hare, rat, boar, bird, ox, horse, bird, rat, tiger, dog, tiger, snake, ox, ram-'
'Ox, monkey, hare, rat, boar, bird, ox, horse, bird, rat, tiger, dog, tiger, snake, ox, ram-'
Zabuza's eyes bulged in shock when Kakashi perfectly mirrored his movements. Both finished casting the technique and called out at the same time:
"WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON JUTSU!"
The water roiled and churned as two masses took shape within the waves. Twin water dragons, both of equal heights and equally ferocious came to life and roared, coiling around each other before violently crashing against one another.
"Tch." Zabuza ran forward and Kakashi met him head on and both locked themselves into another struggle of blades. 'Just what is going on…? Both Jutsu were set off at the same time. Can this guy really…"
"…See the future?" Kakashi finished.
Zabuza's eyes widened and he quickly backflipped away. Like looking into a mirror, Kakashi mirrored his actions and copied his movements, raising one hand up in preparation for the hidden mist technique right as Zabuza did so as well. This seemed to set off Zabuza as nervous sweat began trailing down his face. Switching his stance, he moved his hands into the bird sign. He grew even more frustrated when again, Kakashi copied him, his Sharingan eye calmly boring into his.
"Y-You-"Quicker than he could react, Kakashi appeared in front of him and swung the back of his fist into his cheek. The metal made his head ring and he was sent flying near the edge of the water, his sword slipping from his grasp. His head spinning, he quickly attempted to get up but froze when he felt the tip of a kunai pointed at his throat.
"It's over Zabuza. You never stood a chance." Kakashi said calmly, his eyes staring into his own. Zabuza frowned in frustration and clenched his fists.
"Curse you…"
An explosion off in the distance drew his attention, and he quickly looked over to see ice mirrors surround Sasuke and Haku, blocking them from view. Almost at the same time, a roar made him look over in the other direction, and he saw Naruto getting swept away by a water dragon.
'Naruto! Sasuke!' Kakashi thought frantically.
'Now!' Zabuza quickly weaved a few hand signs, and formed a water prison around Kakashi. The copy-nin's eyes widened as he began to thrash around in an attempt to free himself, but the water was much too dense to make any form of movement.
"Too bad, Kakashi. Looks like you got distracted." Zabuza said, sticking his hand in the prison to keep it formed. "You're caught…This is a special prison that makes it impossible to escape.
'Dammit. I got careless!'
'Sensei!' Sakura thought anxiously from the sidelines. She took a step forward to assist him, but stopped when she saw Kakashi barely manage to shake his head.
"I-Is your sensei gonna be okay?" She heard Tazuna ask behind her. Clutching her kunai tighter, she frowned and racked her brain, trying to think of a strategy.
"Don't worry. Everything will be just fine." She replied
Zabuza chuckled "I wasn't expecting you to be this strong…But ultimately, I'm the one that came out on top. Don't worry though, I'll allow you to see your students' fates before you die. It's the least I can do for somebody like you.
Kakashi balled his fists as he watched the other fights, his lungs slowly running out of oxygen.
'Don't let up, guys!'
A few moments earlier…
"GYAHAHAHAHAH!"
Naruto clicked his tongue and unsheathed his short blade in preparation. Kushimaru, his one visible eye gleaming viciously, crouched low on his threads and sent a flurry of sharp needles towards the blond. He jumped back once, then backflipped out of the way as the flurry followed his steps. He swung his sword, deflecting a few more and was forced to keep his guard up as Kushimaru shot forward with a vicious jab of his sword. Naruto deflected the blow and swiped at him, but the hunter nin effortlessly evaded the blow and retreated upon his threads once more.
"Hahahah! It's no use, Konoha-nin!" He shouted in glee. He readied two more long senbon and dropped to ground level, prompting Naruto to rush at him with a strike. Kushimaru parried it with his senbon and retaliated with a kick which Naruto blocked. Kushimaru immediately backflipped up onto his threads, using the leverage to bounce up high and came crashing back down with a heavy axe kick. Naruto sidestepped out of the way and threw a wild slash, slightly grazing the man's shoulder in return.
Kushimaru grinned and retreated back onto the strings surrounding them. Like a trained gymnast, he flew around the battlefield using his webs and sent another flurry of senbon, which Naruto deflected. Kushimaru began moving faster, his senbon seeming to gain speed and accuracy causing Naruto to hiss as a few buried themselves into his shoulder. Sheathing his sword, Naruto made the tiger seal and inhaled deeply before blowing out a huge gust of wind.
'Wind style: Great Breakthrough!'
The wind blew the incoming needles away and knocked Kushimaru off balance. He quickly caught one of his threads and attempted to recover, but let out a grunt as a shuriken flew at him and buried itself in his leg. The moment his feet touched the ground, Naruto was already upon him and sent a punch to his face. Kushimaru used his arms to block and was sent flying back, but used the momentum of the hit to bounce off and retreat. Two golden chains shot out from the ground and chased the hunter nin, who constantly jumped and weaved out of reach. He batted one away with his Nuibari and pulled out more senbon, holding them between his fingers like claws.
The two rushed at each other as Kushimaru swiped furiously at the blond, who did his best to deflect the barrage of attacks. Kushimaru spun and delivered a roundhouse kick which Naruto blocked, making him skid backwards. He looked up and noticed the Kiri-nin fly through three hand seals before raising one of his arms high up.
'Ninja Art: Hidden Mi-'
He was interrupted as Naruto threw a kunai at him, forcing him to deflect it. Naruto body flickered forward, using the distraction to follow up and throw a wide slash. Kushimaru attempted to block it, but the force of the blow made him stagger back leaving him wide open. Naruto pointed his sword towards him and shot forward, finally burying the blade deep in his left shoulder.
"Hnng…!" Kushimaru wheezed through gritted teeth. Naruto stared into his one eye filled with madness and insanity. Kushimaru laughed low, a sinister sound coming out from his lips as he placed a shaky hand on the blond's shoulder. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he pushed the blond back, the sword leaving his shoulder as he took that opportunity to jump back on his threads.
"Heheh…Nice try Konoha-nin…" Kushimaru said. Making a hand seal, five water clones appeared next to him and all rushed the surprised blond. The sword master used the distraction to once more fly through three hand signs before raising his shaky left arm up.
'Ninja art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!'
'Shit…' Naruto ducked one of the clone's swipes and jumped back out of reach. Before long, a thick mist rolled in, greatly limiting his vision.
'I can't see anything in this thing!' Naruto thought frantically as the five clones quickly caught up to him. One landed behind him and attempted to stab him in the shoulder. He parried the strike but was unprepared when a second clone suddenly kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying. Two more clones followed him and attempted to skewer him, but the blond was swift to roll out of the way. He quickly recovered and jumped back, sending two chains flying forward. One pierced through a clone, making it explode in a shower of water, but the second clone used his senbon to deflect it and retreat.
He went through a series of hand signs and thrust his palm forward, a large gust of wind disrupting the area. The force of the jutsu cleared some of the fog, before coming back a few seconds later with a vengeance. Naruto cursed when the four remaining clones and the original surrounded him and began throwing a barrage of needles at him. Naruto threw his arms out, a powerful shockwave of wind blowing the senbon back and knocking the clones away, but they simply regained their footing and once again kept up their assault. This time, Naruto could do nothing but cross his arms and protect his face with his arms.
'This is bad…' He thought as he felt more and more needles bury themselves in his arms and torso. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to weather the storm and tried to come up with a strategy. 'How am I supposed to fight him if I can't even see him!?'
"You rely too much on your eyes, Naruto."
His eyes shot open as a memory played through his head.
"Uh…Why am I blindfolded again?" He replied, confused.
Kakashi slowly circled around the blond, making him shift nervously as he tried to pinpoint the masked man's location
"Being attentive is good, but a ninja needs to be able to use all of his senses. There will be times when you won't be able to rely solely on sight." Kakashi stopped pacing and stood a few feet away from him, a long stick held firmly in his hand. "I want you to try and avoid getting hit."
"But I can't see anyth-ow!"
"That's why I'm telling you to use your other senses." Kakashi replied after smacking Naruto on the forehead. "Now relax. I want you to breath slowly and stop trying to find me like you usually would."
A bead of sweat trailed down Naruto's forehead as he took a deep breath and listened for any signs of movement. He could hear the wind rolling around the field, the leaves rustling in the trees, Kakashi's soft footsteps on the grass. He remained still and lowered his head slightly as he attempted to once more pinpoint his location. Suddenly hearing a woosh, Naruto's body swayed to the left as he felt an object coming to his right.
Smack! "Ow!"
Kakashi sighed. "Well, that's not quite it. But at least you moved this time."
'Let's give this one more try.' Naruto thought. Gathering his chakra and concentrating it into his arms, he forced it out once more as he sent out a shockwave of wind. The clones and needles were sent flying away, giving him some temporary breathing room.
Naruto breathed in slowly and closed his eyes, his head tilting down slightly as he attempted to quieten his mind. Hearing movement to his left, he readied himself as a clone ran at him with needles wedged between his knuckles. He heard the sharp objects slice through the air and tilted his body to the side, but still felt one of them graze the side of his neck. It was no use. No matter what he did, he could not silence the voices in his head. He made a hand sign and blew out a powerful gust of wind, this one much larger than the last. He used the brief moment of clarity to rush forward and deliver a brutal strike to one of the water clones' cheeks, who exploded and showered him in droplets.
He turned and threw a shuriken to deflect another senbon and began hearing movement all around him. He suddenly felt the space next to him shift and threw a wide hook, but his attack missed and was countered by a kick to his stomach. He stumbled back and blocked a sword thrust with his tanto and responded with a slash to the neck which the clone parried before disappearing back into the mist.
He quickly brought his arm up and grit his teeth when a senbon buried itself in his forearm, then jumped out of the way when two clones converged on his position. The clones followed him and flew down at the same time, all swinging their weapons down in tandem. Naruto blocked all three strikes, gritting his teeth as they began to push him back, and grunted in effort as he summoned up all his strength to send them all away.
The original landed in front of him and swung his Nuibari which Naruto blocked. The two remained locked into this struggle for dominance, until a clone appeared above them and sent a kick to Naruto's face. Naruto quickly dropped his head, but Kushimaru was prepared. Readying his stance, he took a step back and struck the Jinchūriki in the face, the sharp edge of the stitching sword slicing his mask in half and cutting a deep gash into his forehead. He stumbled back, his head having snapped back from the force of the blow before finally finding his footing.
"Tch. Looks like I missed." Kushimaru scoffed in annoyance. That mask had protected the blond's face, saving him from a potentially fatal wound. The mist thinned out slightly as the effect of the jutsu began to wear off.
Naruto looked down at the two halves of his mask, an unreadable expression marring his features. Blood from his wound began trailing down his forehead and dripped off his chin. Slowly, he brought a hand up and covered his face, his fingertips feeling cold to the touch.
'No…Don't look at me…'
Kushimaru only grinned in response before grabbing a handful of wires. Jumping back up on his threads, he readied his Nuibari and threw it at Naruto like a spear, who made no move to avoid the blow. At the very last second, he raised his hand and caught the sword, the tip just an inch from his face.
"What!?" Kushimaru was shocked when the blond suddenly yanked on it, pulling him off and sending him flying towards him. His eyes widened and suddenly felt a powerful fist crash into his face, completely destroying what remained of his mask. His vision swam as he was sent soaring back and roughly impacted against a tree, before groaning and rubbing his cheek with a shaky hand.
"You…You bastard!" He pulled on the strings, recalling his sword and held it with two hands, anger clearly evident on his face. Running at the blond with fury, he threw an upwards slice before following it up with a downwards slash. Both were parried, causing Kushimaru's frustration to grow. He jumped, throwing two more wild slashes, landed, spun before finishing up with a diagonal cut. The two blades met in a shower of sparks. Naruto shifted his body to the side as Kushimaru came in with a thrust in an attempt to skewer him. He planted his foot on the blade and pinned it to the ground, restricting his movement and kicked the swordsman in the face. Kushimaru lost his grip on his sword and was sent tumbling away.
"Damn you, damn you damn you!" Pushing himself back up, Kushimaru began to see red and took out two more senbon. He ran at Naruto again, but the blond reached into his pouch and threw a handful of black powder in front of him. Before he could react, the powder ignited in a bright flash, temporarily blinding and deafening him.
Naruto quickly came in close and buried his fist in his guts, causing him to hunch forward and cough up blood. Kushimaru threw a blind kick, which missed when the blond hopped back. He came in again at blinding speed with a shunshin and Kushimaru screamed in pain when he was sliced diagonally from the hip to his ribs. Naruto spun, his arm crossing over his face and the sword behind his shoulder, before sending one last vicious cut which completely separated Kushimaru's head from his body.
Naruto's face remained impassive, his hair shadowing his face as Kushimaru's head fell with a meaty thunk and rolled off before coming to a stop. His body stayed standing a few more seconds, until it finally collapsed like a house of cards.
Expelling a shaky breath, he dropped his sword and slowly made his way to where the pieces of his mask laid. He looked at the shattered fragments with a small frown before picking them up and placing them in his pouch.
"…"
—
'Kushimaru lost!? I didn't expect Kakashi's brats to be so strong…' Zabuza thought in dismay. He glanced over to the side where Tazuna stood, Kakashi's kunoichi standing protectively in front of her. 'Things aren't looking too good. I should hurry up and get rid of the bridge builder while I still can.'
Making a half ram seal, a water clone formed next to them. Kakashi's eyes widened when he understood his intentions and his efforts to free himself from the prison grew tenfold.
'Dammit, Sakura!'
"Settle down Kakashi. You can't break out of this prison. It's impossible." The clone vanished from sight and reappeared behind the pair. It raised its sword to cut them down, but had to quickly bring it back down when the girl suddenly turned towards it and crashed her fist against the flat side of its blade.
"Cha!"
'She saw me?' The clone thought in surprise. It sent a kick towards the girl who crossed her arms protectively and flew back before landing a few paces away.
"You may be fast, but compared to Sasuke and Naruto, you might as well be walking in slow motion. Eyebrow-less freak!" Sakura taunted. An angry vein appeared on the clone's forehead before it weaved through hand seals.
'Water style: Water Bullet Jutsu!'
He spat out a pressurised stream at Sakura and Tazuna, prompting her to fly through hand seals of her own.
'Earth Style: Mud Wall!'
A wall made of mud rose up and protected the two from the jet. Quickly grabbing onto Tazuna's wrist, she dragged the surprised bridge builder along with her as she began running away.
"Follow me, sir!"
"A-Ah!"
The clone clicked its tongue in annoyance and took after them, easily crossing the distance much faster than they could, but stopped when it suddenly felt resistance followed by a snap. Looking down, its eyes widened when it noticed the tripwire and felt the ground beneath him cave before promptly falling into a hole. The clone grunted and rubbed its head, opening its eyes, but paled when it saw a number of explosive tags stuck against the walls of the sinkhole.
"Oh. Fu-"
Boom!
'Yes!' Sakura thought happily and stopped running. She was glad that she'd set up that trap in advance now.
Zabuza sighed. "Do I have to do everything myself?" He complained. Turning to look at Kakashi, he raised an eyebrow when he saw the man with his eyes closed while staying perfectly still within the confines of the water sphere.
"What are you-"
The prison suddenly lit up as the water was engulfed in electricity. Zabuza screamed when Kakashi pumped more and more raw lightning energy severely shocking the mist ninja and forcing him to yank his arm out of the water prison. Zabuza clutched his shaking hand, looking down at it before looking back up at the scarecrow with wide eyes.
"Kakashi…! You fool!" He called out 'Is he trying to kill himself!?'
Kakashi stood a few meters away where the water prison previously was. He swayed slightly; his head tilted down as his smoking body attempted to regain its footing. He'd managed to free himself with this risky maneuvre, but by flooding the entire water sphere with as much lightning chakra as possible, he'd done way more damage to himself than he had to Zabuza.
"I'm curious, what's your plan now Kakashi? You aren't in any condition to fight anym-"Before he could finish his sentence, Kakashi appeared before him, a furious look on his face. His fist crashed into his cheek and sent him flying back and he immediately followed it up by flying through hand signs.
'Summoning Jutsu!'
A sealing array formed on the ground, followed by a large puff of smoke. Five shadows jumped from the cloud and dashed at Zabuza, who cursed and dug his sword into the ground to stop himself. He swung the blade at one of the shadows, who jumped out of the way, and the remaining four quickly dog-piled onto him and overwhelmed him. Two shadows bit onto both of his legs and two more bit his hands. The largest of the shadows jumped on his back and bit down onto his neck, completely restricting his movement.
"This is the end, Zabuza." Kakashi said calmly. He held his hand up and braced his wrist by grabbing onto his forearm. Soon, a deafening noise could be heard as electricity began crackling around his fingers.
Sasuke panted softly, his fully evolved Sharingan never leaving Haku's position. Half of the mirrors were gone by now, and this battle had turned into a battle of attrition.
'Even if I can see him, it doesn't mean that I'm able to react in time. He's simply too fast.' He observed Haku who was also hunched over and frowned. 'But it looks like he's at his limits too. That jutsu is probably not easy to sustain.'
The two stared at each other, waiting for one to make a move. Haku suddenly raised his hand, prompting Sasuke to do the same and intercept his senbon with a shuriken. Spears of ice forced Sasuke to jump up and he had to quickly deflect a flurry of ice needles that formed above him. Haku flew back into one of his mirrors before shooting back out at blinding speeds with senbons drawn making Sasuke block the attack and forced him away. Haku vanished once more and appeared behind him, but Sasuke quickly sent a kick in defence. Both were sent away in opposing directions and skidded to a stop, once more finding themselves in the same position they were previously in a few seconds ago.
Sasuke's eyes pulsed in concentration and the tomoes in his pupils began spinning. Haku was suddenly overcome by a wave of dizziness, his mind turning foggy from the sudden action.
'A Genjutsu!?' He thought frantically. He quickly crossed his arms in front of him out of instinct and blocked a kick, but could not see the follow up punch coming. The hit connected, cracking his mask and sent him bouncing onto the hard floor.
"Hnng…" Haku moaned out and pushed himself up again. His fractured mask finally gave way and fell to the ground, revealing his features to the world.
'I've got no more energy left…Zabuza…I can't defeat him. This boy…No, this team truly is remarkable.' He looked at Sasuke with hazy eyes, then over in the distance where he could see the corpse of Kushimaru with the blond Konoha nin, motionlessly standing over him. He winced as the screeching sound of birds could suddenly be heard all around them and a glare caught his attention. Changing his focus towards Zabuza, his eyes widened when he noticed him pinned down by 5 dogs with Kakashi standing near him, a coat of electricity surrounding his hand.
'No…!'
Sasuke's Sharingan caught Haku's movement before it happened, making him quickly weave through hand signs.
'Fire Style: Flame Bullet Jutsu!'
He spat out a number of bullets made of fire, which intercepted Haku before he could reach Zabuza. He gasped as the fire crashed into him and sent him flying back into a wall, badly burning his shoulder and ankle. He grit his teeth while exhaling a breath of pain and could only watch the scene unfold through squinted eyes.
"Guaagh!"
The sickening sound of flesh ripping echoed everywhere and made Haku's heart drop. Frozen, he stared at Kakashi's electrified hand sticking out of Zabuza's chest. The dogs pinning him down finally dispelled and returned to their world, making Zabuza cough and stain his white mask red as blood pooled out of his mouth and fell from his wound like a waterfall. The electricity soon began to fade away, and Kakashi placed his other hand on Zabuza's shoulder before yanking his fist out of his chest.
"You moved at the last moment and managed to make me miss your heart…But nothing can be done for you now. You will die within the next minute." Kakashi said as Zabuza fell down onto his back.
Zabuza coughed some more and struggled to take in raspy breaths. He chuckled and looked up at the sky as his vision started to become fuzzy.
"So…This is how it ends huh…? Hehehe…" His chuckling turned into more coughing. Closing his eyes, he couldn't help but smile pitifully at the state of things.
"You know, they say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes and you are faced with your biggest regrets…" He trailed off, making Kakashi look down at him. "Kakashi…Will you allow me this final request?"
Kakashi stayed silent and looked over to the side where Haku had mustered up the strength to push himself back up again. Sasuke watched him go with an unsure look on his face and glanced over at his teacher, who merely shook his head in response. Looking behind him at the sound of footsteps, he smiled when he saw his blond teammate walking over besides him.
"Looks like you made it."
Naruto nodded but said nothing. Choosing instead to focus his attention on the scene.
Haku stopped in front of Zabuza and fell to his knees, tears falling down his face. "Zabuza…sama…"
"Haku…" Zabuza choked out. Haku placed his hand over his master's chest and applied pressure to the wound in an attempt to stem the flow of blood, but quickly saw that it was useless. Zabuza hissed and placed his hand on top of Haku's, and looked up at him with regret in his eyes.
"You were always at my side…" He spoke. Snow began falling from the sky, almost as if it were crying alongside Haku. "At the very least…I can be with you in the end."
Haku squeezed his eyes shut as sobs attempted to escape his chest. But he tried his best to hold them at bay to look strong in front of his master.
"There is so much…I wish…I could tell you…" Zabuza continued, ignoring the growing numbness in his chest. "I'm sorry…For treating you…The way I have…" He gasped and attempted to catch his breath as his breathing became more and more laboured. "You were always…Much more…Than a weapon…"
Haku began trembling and forced himself to open his eyes as his mentor spoke his final words.
"You were always a kind…And gentle soul…So please…" Zabuza's voice grew weaker. "Live a life…Where you can be happy…And free…"
Zabuza's hand lost the strength to hold on to Haku's and fell to his side. His dying eyes slowly began to fade.
And just like that…Zabuza was gone.
Haku stared at his peaceful face in sorrow. Tears streamed down his face and he shut his eyes tightly, gripping onto the fabric of his dead master's shirt. For 9 years, he had travelled with him, following in his footsteps, obeying his every commands. And now that he was gone, what would he do now? How was he meant to keep going? How was he meant to live without his master guiding him?
He knew how. He had given him his final mission.
"Yes…Master…" Haku replied quietly with a bowed head.
He tried to regain his bearing and did his best to supress the sobs fighting their way up. His grip loosened as he stood up and he wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "I know that you and I are enemies. But please, let me bury him. You may do what you see fit with me after that."
Kakashi, who had been silently standing on the sidelines up until now simply nodded. "Konoha has no need for Zabuza's body. Do what you need to do."
Haku nodded and crouched down to pick up Zabuza. With his corpse over his shoulder and his sword in his hand, he nodded at the team and began to take his leave.
"Naruto, Sasuke, are you both alright?" Sasuke looked over to his side and saw his other teammate standing there along with Tazuna. At some point during that final message, the girl had made her way over to them. "You guys look like pin-cushions."
"I hate needles" was all Sasuke said in reply, making the girl give off a small nervous laugh. Turning their attentions back to Haku's retreating back, they watched as he began to take his leave.
But his feet stopped cold when he heard the distant sound of clapping.
"Well well well. Isn't this a sorry sight?"
Everybody's attention turned to the other end of the bridge. There, standing in front of an army of goons and mercenaries stood a short man wearing shades dressed in a black suit. Haku's face soured at the sight.
"Gato…"
The name made Sakura look at him in surprise. "Th-This is Gato? The guy that hired you?"
"There's been a slight change of plans, at least your plans." Gato continued with a small smirk. "This is what I planned on doing all along anyway. With Zabuza already dead, this makes things much easier."
"You mean…"
"You guessed it. I never intended to pay you! Hahahahah!"
"Oi, human."
Naruto blinked in surprise at the sudden voice that boomed inside his head.
'Kyuubi…? I'm kind of in the middle of something right now.'
"Never you mind that. I've considered your proposition."
'My proposition…' He trailed off as realization dawned on him. 'Oh, so you'll help me?'
"No." Kyuubi answered plainly, making Naruto frown. "I've come to realize that you are too soft. Too kind-hearted. Somebody like you would not be fit to use my power."
'…' Naruto mulled Kyuubi's words over in his mind
"You say that you want my help, not only to free my siblings but also to face the God of Death himself. A boy like you, so un-willing to take a life would never succeed in achieving that goal. You do not have what it takes."
Naruto slowly shook his head in response. 'You're wrong about me, Kyuubi…' The fox scoffed in amusement, prompting him to frown and stare up at his giant red eyes. 'I'll do whatever it takes to reach that goal.'
The fox glared down at him, seemingly sizing him up. After a short while, the corners of his lips pulled into a challenging grin.
"Whatever it takes?" He repeated. "Very well. Then show me your conviction."
And with that, he was back in the real world. He looked around his surroundings and noticed that Gato's mercenaries were getting ready to attack he and his team. Without even thinking, he took a step forward and began making his way towards them.
Kakashi turned to him when he saw him begin advancing. "Naruto, "His voice suddenly stopped short when his gaze fell on him. With his mask gone, his red eyes were visible for all to see.
Never taking his eyes off the mercenaries, he reached out and grabbed Zabuza's sword out of Haku's surprised hands. The mercenaries began laughing loudly as they watched the blond marching towards them.
"Hey, who left their kid here!?"
"Go back home to mommy little guy!"
"Hahahahah!"
Before any of them could react, Naruto raised the sword and threw it forward like a javelin. The blade soared through the air and buried itself to the hilt into one of the mercenary's chests. Naruto appeared on the man, feet planted on his shoulders and jumped off as he ripped the sword out. Blood sprayed from the dead man's wound, painting the ground red, and this seemed to snap the men out of their surprise. All at once, they roared and charged forward, weapon at the ready. Naruto gripped the sword with both hands and planted his foot down before spinning, killing three more men. The tip of the sword fell heavily on the ground, and Naruto heaved it high up once more before crashing it back down, cutting another man in two.
Leaving the sword buried in the ground, he flew forward and ripped a mercenary's face off with his elongated claws. The man dropped to the ground, dead, but Naruto was already gone. He appeared on another man's shoulders and snapped his neck, then caught the scimitar as it dropped from his hands. He sidestepped out of the way as a tall, muscular man swung a giant club at him and cut his arm off at the forearm. The man screamed in pain, but was quickly silenced as his head separated from his shoulders.
"W…Wha…" Sakura stuttered out. The rest of team 7 could only watch in wide eyes at the scene in front of them.
This was a complete bloodbath.
A man wearing a hat and holding a long machete tried to sneak up behind the blond. He began swinging his weapon, but instead got his legs swept from underneath him before he could react. Naruto raised his foot and stomped on his head, crushing it like a watermelon. More people began to run towards him, causing him to fish out a kunai and rush forward, meeting them head on. He ran through the crowd at blinding speed and cut them down one by one. Jumping high up, he sent a brutal kick to one man's face, sending him flying into another and used the same momentum to cut down another goon.
Only 12 men remained. Dodging under a sword strike and putting some distance, he landed a few feet away and raised his hands up, hip level and palms facing down. Golden chains sprouted from the ground and flew forward like tendrils. They skewered one man, two, three, four and continued their path of carnage until all but one man was left alive.
Gatou.
The shipping magnate had begun running away in fear at some point during the massacre. Naruto turned to his retreating form and took out a shuriken from his pouch, which he threw at the short man's left leg. Gatou exclaimed in pain and collapsed onto the hard ground. Naruto slowly walked towards the downed body of the tyrant, picking up a discarded broadsword on his way there.
"W-Wait!" Gatou pleaded as he attempted to push himself back up. "Do you realize who I am!?" His sandal pushed him back down roughly before Naruto stabbed the sword in the back of the man's thigh.
Naruto ignored his screams and pleas, and instead looked up into the distance. From where he stood, he could see a crowd of gathered villagers watching the scene in shock. Some wielded makeshift weapons; pitchforks, torches, kitchen knives. A rebellion, he guessed. Among the crowd, he was able to recognize a few faces. Inari stood near the front, with Tsunami right behind him. And at the back, nearly hidden by the size of everybody else, he could see Isamu; the little girl he'd met earlier. Deciding to leave Gatou's fate to the residents of Wave country, he turned and made his way back to his team.
He could already see from here the alarmed look on Sakura's face and the wide-eyed expression on Sasuke. Keeping his head tilted low, he joined the rest of his team and silently held Zabuza's blade out to Haku, who hesitantly took it back.
"Naruto…? Are you okay?" Kakashi asked slowly. Naruto didn't look up at him, but from his position, he was relieved to see that the frightening eyes of the nine tails were gone, and were instead replaced by a familiar shade of blue.
'How was that…Kyuubi?' Naruto spoke in his mind.
All was silent. And for a moment, Naruto thought that the fox wouldn't answer.
Until…
"Call me Kurama."
A.N: Sorry again for the delay. Fighting scenes have never been my strong point so this was really difficult to finish. Join our Discord server if you wanna stay up to date. It's a fun time in there.
d is cor d. gg /j7 cruw QQ 9E (Copy and paste this into a URL and remove the spaces.)
Please leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter. See you next time!