"You three, get back and protect the client. This isn't something you can handle," Kakashi commanded.
Zabuza just smirked from behind his mask. "Protect the client? How can you protect him if you're dead?" he asked, as he pulled his sword out of the tree with ease.
Sasuke didn't hesitate; he moved to shield Tazuna, while Naruto and Sakura stood by his side.
They had learned their lesson, and they wouldn't freeze again.
Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai, while Sakura did the same.
Sasuke, on the other hand, didn't move. He just stood there, his Sharingan active, his eyes locked onto Zabuza.
He knew that he was no match for a man like this, but he was fairly confident he could escape, at least if he was willing to sacrifice Tazuna behind him.
Something he had no problem doing. The real problem was that he wasn't sure if he could escape together with Naruto.
Given how important Naruto was to Konoha, Sasuke felt that if he returned alone, he would likely face heavy punishment.
From the corner of his eye, he watched Naruto. He could see the slight trembling in his body, and the fear still clinging to him.
Sasuke didn't blame him. Even though he had frozen under that killing intent for a moment, that wasn't something you could easily handle if you hadn't been trained, and he knew neither Sakura nor Naruto had any such training.
So the fact that they were still able to act at all was already impressive.
But beyond the trembling, he also saw determination in Naruto's eyes. Naruto had no intent to retreat.
Which meant Sasuke also couldn't retreat, at least not on his own.
"Well then, let's see if the legendary Kakashi the Copycat is as good as his reputation says," Zabuza said as he jumped onto the lake, landing on top of the water like it was solid ground.
"Wah!? Is he standing on the water?" Sakura couldn't help but ask, not having seen something like that before.
Sasuke couldn't help but feel somewhat ashamed of his teammates. Here they were, facing down an elite-level Jōnin, and they were shocked by something like water walking, something he had learned years ago.
It really just enforced in him the difference and superiority of clan shinobi over civilian ones.
Zabuza hardly cared about the words of a clueless Genin. It merely told him that those three were fresh graduates and completely worthless, no danger at all.
Well, except the Uchiha.
Those Sharingan weren't to be underestimated, but they were hardly any trouble.
In fact, as long as he killed Kakashi, he wouldn't only be able to complete this job, but also acquire three Sharingan eyes, which would be worth a fortune on the black market.
This was indeed his lucky day.
Next, he took his stance, and the water under his feet was disturbed by his chakra as water droplets slowly started to rise up.
Slowly at first, but he was soon surrounded by swirling layers of water droplets, the movement of them breaking them apart, making them smaller, finer, forming into mist thick with chakra. "Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu."
The clear, bright day seemed to vanish, swallowed by an unnaturally thick fog that rolled across the water's surface and onto the land with eerie speed.
In a matter of seconds, visibility dropped to near zero. The world dissolved into a suffocating wall of gray-white mist. The air grew heavy, damp, and cold, carrying the metallic scent of disturbed lake water and something else... the scent of bloodlust.
"What's going on? I can't see anything!" Naruto shouted, his voice muffled by the dense fog. He spun around, kunai held high, trying to locate the source of the sudden chill that had seeped into his bones.
"Don't panic," Kakashi's calm, steady voice cut through the mist, a beacon of reason in the rising chaos. "This is Zabuza's specialty. He uses the mist to obscure your vision and hunt you down. Stick together and protect Tazuna. Whatever you do, don't let him out of your sight."
Sasuke remained silent, his Sharingan eyes wide and spinning, trying to pierce through the chakra-infused fog. He could make out vague shapes, but the mist was so thick, so full of Zabuza's malice, that even his powerful bloodline struggled to see clearly.
He had heard about this ninjutsu, read about it in the clan texts. It was a nightmare to face for both the Hyūga and Uchiha clans, able to interfere with their dōjutsu.
And now that he was facing it himself, he could see why.
Normally, his Sharingan allowed him to easily see the wings of a mosquito from a great distance, allowing him to throw a shuriken with such precision that he could cut the wings off without hitting the rest of the body.
But now? He could barely see his own hands; he was nearly blinded completely.
Truly, this ninjutsu was a counter to their clan.
Still, he knew this, and he knew that even with this, it wasn't impossible to beat.
His Uchiha clan was the best. They weren't stopped so easily.
He looked around him, seeing the vague silhouettes of Naruto and Sakura. They were terrified, but at least they were not frozen.
Tazuna, on the other hand, was trembling like a leaf in a storm, a useless liability.
"Eight points..." Zabuza's disembodied voice whispered, seeming to come from all directions at once. "The larynx, the spine, the lungs, the liver, the jugular and subclavian veins, the kidneys, and the heart. Now then, which vulnerable spot would be good?"
The sheer precision in his tone was more terrifying than any scream. He wasn't just planning to kill them; he was planning to dismantle them piece by agonizing piece.
Naruto froze, the terror of the demon's words finally getting to him.
Sasuke had to fight back the shiver that ran down his spine.
Then, a new sensation joined the fear: the piercing sting of icy cold on his neck.
He flinched, a gasp escaping his lips as a wave of paralyzing cold washed over him. It wasn't a physical touch; it was pure killing intent, so potent and focused that it felt like a blade of ice against his skin.
Beside him, Naruto and Sakura were not so lucky. Their knees buckled, their bodies trembling uncontrollably as the sheer weight of Zabuza's malicious chakra bore down on them. Their faces were pale, their eyes wide with a primal terror that robbed them of all thought and action.
Zabuza knew what he was doing. With mere words and his killing intent, he had shattered the resolve of the two Genin, making them unable to resist at all.
Easy kills.
No resistance.
Sasuke alone barely managed to resist it, but he still struggled. Damn it, this fog, it's allowing him to make his killing intent appear so much more potent, he quickly saw through what was happening.
Once more, he confirmed where Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna were, and from that, he quickly picked the ninjutsu best suited for the situation.
Not Great Breakthrough, that would blow them away. Gale Palm isn't strong enough. Cutting types won't work either, so be it.
"Wind Release: Raising Clouds!" he quickly worked through the hand signs, then slammed his hands into the ground.
From the point of impact, a ripple seemed to spread, covering the grove they were in, and then, once fully spread, it exploded with a strong upward wind.
Instantly, it blasted the mist upwards and cleared the area, once more letting them see. Even if the sun was still covered, at least now they weren't surrounded by it.
They could now see each other, their client, and their enemy.
Zabuza was lurking nearby, his massive sword in hand, clearly planning how to strike. Yet now he was revealed, ruining his attempt at a sneak attack.
But more than that, the Sharingan allowed both Kakashi and Sasuke to see another Zabuza trying to hide.
A clone.
Had Sasuke been a moment later, the real Zabuza would have been able to hide and use the clone to trick them, but now, that was ruined, though neither of the two revealed that they had caught a glimpse of their enemy's trick.
"Well, well, I haven't seen that ninjutsu since the last war. I had assumed I would never see it again after I heard what happened to the Uchiha clan, but it seems the clan isn't as gone as I thought it was," Zabuza, or rather his clone, said and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Well done, Sasuke!" Sakura said, recovering as the killing intent and the mist both lifted, allowing her to breathe calmly again.
"Wow! Sasuke! That was awesome!" Naruto cheered, clearly impressed.
Sasuke didn't respond to their praise. He wasn't trying to impress them; he was trying to save their worthless hides.
"Indeed, that was well done, Sasuke. You stay here and keep Tazuna safe. I will handle this," Kakashi said, as he suddenly disappeared from where he stood and appeared behind Zabuza, instantly piercing his back with a kunai.
Though no blood appeared. Instead, water leaked from the wound.
"A clone!" Kakashi gasped in surprise. "When!?"
"You will never know," Zabuza said as his Executioner's Blade carved the air.
While it might have seemed like he revealed the sneak attack by talking, in truth, he didn't. The sound of his blade cutting the air would already have given him away, so rather than exposing himself, he used his voice to try and hide the sound of the attack.
"NO!" Both Sakura and Naruto screamed as the blade cut into both Kakashi and Zabuza's water clone.
But just as the blade sliced clean through Kakashi, no blood appeared, only water.
"What!" Zabuza gasped as Kakashi was revealed to also be a water clone.
While the real Kakashi appeared behind him, his sword was still mid-swing, kunai ready to stab into him just as he had stabbed the clone moments before.
Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna were all unable to follow along with the fight. It just changed so quickly. They were happy, then in despair, only for things to turn around again.
They honestly didn't know what to think at all. It all changed too fast.
Only Sasuke, thanks to his Sharingan, was able to keep up with the speed those two moved at, and having known about Zabuza's clone from the beginning, he was able to see through the tricks and deception.
His mind raced, analyzing every movement, every feint. Taking it all in. This was the first time he had seen such a high-level fight, and there were no big ninjutsu, only skill and deception.
The essence of what it meant to be a shinobi.
(End of chapter)
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