After that small detour, Team 7 continued forward—yet the air felt far heavier than before.
Kakashi kept Shinju's warning in mind, senses stretched taut in every direction.
When they crossed a lake shrouded in thick mist by boat, Kakashi's eye suddenly tightened.
"Everyone, down!"
He shouted, shoving Tazuna and Sakura flat into the hull.
Naruto and Sasuke reacted at once, bodies dropping instinctively.
Whoosh!
An enormous beheading sword whistled over their heads and slammed into a tree ahead with a dull boom.
A tall man appeared like a specter atop the sword's hilt—bandages masking his face, a Hidden Mist forehead protector hanging at his neck.
"The Demon of the Mist, Zabuza."
Kakashi stood up, lifting his forehead protector with his left hand to reveal a scarlet, three-tomoe Sharingan.
The tomoe spun—already fully awakened. It would drain chakra, but this was no time to hold back.
"Didn't expect you to still be alive, Zabuza."
Zabuza snorted at the sight of the Sharingan. "Copy Ninja Kakashi, huh? I've heard the name. I'll take your head—along with that old man's—and present them when I return to the Mist. A fitting greeting gift."
His words barely fell before his figure vanished.
"Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique)!"
Dense fog swallowed the entire lake. Visibility dropped to less than a meter.
Time, place, and terrain—all in Zabuza's favor. On the water, a Hidden Mist demon adept at water techniques had every advantage. Team 7 was at a severe disadvantage.
"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura! Triangle formation—protect Tazuna! Leave the rest to me!" Kakashi ordered.
The three closed in back-to-back, shielding Tazuna at the center, eyes tense on the blank wall of mist.
"Eight points," Zabuza's voice drifted from every direction, playful and murderous. "Throat, spine, lungs, liver, carotid, subclavian artery, kidney, heart. Which one should I start with?"
Sasuke's body trembled—his first time facing an enemy whose killing intent felt so tangible it burned the skin.
Kakashi appeared at his side, palm resting on his shoulder.
"Relax. I won't let my comrades die."
With that, Kakashi flashed into the fog.
Clang—clang—clang!
Metal clashed, chakra roared. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura could only listen—seeing nothing.
A heavy crash burst from the mist.
Kakashi's body flew out, skidding across the lake.
Zabuza followed, hands blurring through seals.
"Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Lock Jutsu)!"
A huge sphere of water snapped shut around Kakashi. He struggled—only to find his body locked tight by the water's crushing grip.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gasped.
"It's over, Kakashi." With one hand maintaining the lock, Zabuza formed more seals with the other. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique)!"
A perfect copy rose from the lake, kunai in hand, striding toward the three genin.
"Now then… your turn, brats."
Crisis.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a look.
No words—but the tacit understanding forged under Shinju's training clicked instantly into place.
"Dead last, don't drag me down," Sasuke sniffed, hands already weaving seals.
"You're the dead last! I've been outperforming you lately—if I'm the dead last then you're the 'last-dead'! Watch me!" Naruto snapped back, fingers flying as well.
Sasuke attacked first.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
He didn't aim for the clone. Instead, the massive fireball roared straight at the Water Lock gripping Kakashi.
Blazing heat smashed into freezing water—steam exploded outward in billowing sheets. The already thick fog became truly impenetrable.
Zabuza's vision was completely scrambled.
In the instant his attention shifted to the steam—
"Naruto's" attack landed.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Dozens of Narutos surged in from all directions. They didn't rush in blindly; they used numbers to harry and disrupt.
Some hurled shuriken, some dug at the water's edge, others simply latched onto the clone's legs and arms.
Zabuza's clone was impressive—but against a fearless, well-coordinated swarm, it faltered under the chaos.
"Nice one, Naruto."
Sasuke's eyes flashed with approval. The opening was here.
He formed seals again—this time focusing chakra into his eyes.
"Sharingan."
Black pupils bled scarlet, a single tomoe beginning to revolve.
Under battle pressure, his single-tomoe Sharingan awakened.
The instant it opened, the world's flow slowed in his vision. He could see it clearly—the weak nexus in Zabuza's chakra where he maintained the Water Lock.
"Naruto! Now! Hit his right hand—the real body!"
"Got it!"
Hidden among the clones, the real Naruto had held back from striking. Now, guided by the most precise callout, he burst from the melee, right hand raised high.
A surge of blue chakra spiraled into his palm.
"Rasengan!"
A perfect Rasengan bloomed—yet Naruto didn't rush in. He remembered Shinju-nii's teaching:
"The essence of Rasengan is extreme shape transformation. If you can fuse nature transformation into it, the power will leap."
Naruto tried to feed the wind nature chakra in his body into the spinning sphere.
Harder than he'd ever imagined.
Two different natures repelled each other. With no prior footsteps to follow, he had only trial and error. The sphere writhed in his palm, close to bursting.
But he refused to quit. With iron control, he forced the two to marry.
Vmmm—
At last, the Rasengan's shape changed.
The smooth blue surface grew a collar of tiny, high-speed white air blades—like a miniature shuriken halo.
A compact "Wind Style: Rasengan" took form in that instant.
"Break!"
Naruto roared, driving the cutting sphere straight at Zabuza's right hand—the one sustaining the lock.
Zabuza felt the mortal threat at his back. He couldn't afford to be hit—no matter how unimpressive it looked. He wanted to dodge, but his right hand had to maintain the technique—he couldn't move.
Helpless, he watched the blue sphere ringed with wind blades swell in his pupils.
Boom!
The Wind Style: Rasengan smashed into his arm.
The Water Lock shattered.
Kakashi burst free, flickering to Naruto's side with Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique).
Zabuza was blasted away, his forearm carved with a gash so deep the bone showed, blood pouring out.
He stared at the wound, then at the panting blond brat—disbelief twisting into fury.
"How… how is a genin breaking my Water Lock…?"
Freed, Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sasuke, shock mixing with relief.
These two brats—their coordination and real ability had already blown far past his expectations.
(End of Chapter)
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