The moment the weapons of the two Elite Jonin collided, a heavy killing intent burst forth, almost suffocating everyone present.
Even Naruto felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave thousands of feet deep in an instant. His whole body was frozen stiff, unable to move. After all, this is the first time he felt such intense killing intent.
Sasuke and Sakura were not much better off, as they just stood there in a daze.
A thick mist began to rise around them. Kakashi and Zabuza, locked in a deadly stare-down with their weapons clashing, had no time to pay attention to Naruto and the others.
Warm Chakra flowed gently through Naruto's body, and within a few seconds, he adjusted himself. He turned around and smacked Sasuke and Sakura, slapping each of them on the back of the head.
Almost at the same time, their eyes, which had been dazed, snapped back to focus.
They immediately both gasped for air, as if someone had pushed their mental reset button.
"The killing intent of a Jonin is too terrifying." Sasuke said, his scowl prominent.
At the same time, he also realized that Naruto was the first among them to snap out of it, and that his intervention had helped both him and Sakura break free from their frozen state.
Sakura sat on the ground, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Zabuza's killing intent was not a Genjutsu, but a tangible presence enhanced by his Chakra, causing fear to grip the three Genin of Team 7.
"Sakura." Naruto said with deadly seriousness, "Immediately disrupt the flow of Chakra in your body, just like when you break a Genjutsu."
As soon as these words came out, Sasuke and Sakura reacted immediately and formed a hand seal with their hands. This trick really worked, and the two of them immediately shook off the paralysis.
On the other side, Kakashi and Zabuza had already exchanged several moves in battle. Suddenly, a water clone of Zabuza rose from a nearby puddle like a ghost, then rushed toward Naruto and the others.
A water clone of an Elite Jonin had at least the strength of a Chunin.
"Watch out!" Kakashi caught a glimpse of Zabuza's water clone while fighting the real body, and hurriedly shouted to warn his students.
Logically speaking, Kakashi could have left a shadow clone to protect Team 7. But he needed to preserve his chakra if he was going to last in this battle.
Without Kakashi's reminder, the three of them still saw Zabuza's water clone. Sasuke pulled Tazuna back, while Naruto grabbed Sakura and retreated as well.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, "Quick! Shuriken!"
In response, three shuriken flew at Zabuza in a flash, and Naruto followed right behind them, clearly planning to engage Zabuza's water clone head-on.
"Sakura! Genjutsu!" Naruto commanded as he charged.
Although this was their first team battle and they hadn't discussed a plan, Naruto was now taking the lead, even though it was clear to Zabuza's clone.
Tazuna, who had been boasting about being a bridge-building expert earlier, now stood trembling like a Psyduck, while Sakura and sasuke stood protectively in front of him.
When Sakura heard Naruto's voice, she, though panicked, reacted promptly. The Genjutsu she used had no lasting effect on Zabuza's water clone, but it was enough to momentarily distract him.
And this moment is enough! The mechanical synthesized voice sounded in Naruto's mind!
[Kyubi's chakra currently accessible : 2.21%]
Orange Chakra instantly enveloped Naruto's entire body, his pupils turning blood-red in an instant, and the overwhelming power surging within him.
With a bang, Naruto, who was charging forward, suddenly vanished from his spot.
At the next moment, Naruto's body appeared like a phantom behind Zabuza's water clone, then he delivered a heavy sweep kick that shattered the water clone.
Kyubi is powerful enough to render even the Yondaime Hokage and a group of Elite Jonin helpless. Even though Naruto can only use 2.21% of Kyubi's power, he was already approaching the level of a Tokubetsu Jonin.
Without considering the recent acquisition of his Lava Release, Naruto's reliance on just this little bit of Kyubi's power was enough to let him look down upon all the Chunin in Konoha.
"How could such a tiny brat be so fast?" Tazuna, who was standing in place, watched Naruto decisively deal with the water clone and couldn't help but exclaim.
These words were naturally heard by Sasuke, who was holding a kunai in front of him on guard, and a smirk crept upon his face. Whether it was due to his jab at Naruto's hight or if it was pride in his teammate was left unsaid.
If Naruto was lucky the first time he defeated the two Kirigakure's Shinobi who were ambushing them, then his second time breaking the paralysis and taking down an Elite Jonin's water clone was proof enough that Naruto's strength had increased since his time in the academy. While Sasuke was undoubtedly more skilled in technique Naruto got passed this barrier through the brute force of his strong chakra.
If Naruto had been born into a noble clan, enjoyed the best resources, and trained rigorously every day, Sasuke would not care so much. But he knew well that Naruto had always been the last in the class, boastful with no real ability. Such a person was not worth him wasting time to look at back then. He had never thought of forming a bond with such a person, but…
It seemed that overnight, Naruto had changed. Not only was he able to graduate from the Academy, but he also had an uncanny insight about the villages upper power structure.
Although those secrets weren't huge, for Sasuke, whose clan was wiped out when he was young, and Sakura, who was from a civilian background, this was already considered obscure knowledge.
Whether it was sharing information or enhancing strength, Sasuke quietly wondered, 'Could this guy have been lazing around all along?'
'He's been at the bottom of the class every year, it's too stable.'
'Pretending to be a useless bottom?'
Confused thoughts swirled in Sasuke's mind, while Sakura let out a sigh of relief. She clasped her hands together nervously and thought secretly in her heart, 'Thankfully I have a strong team.'
If Naruto hadn't called her just now, she might have been frozen like a piece of wood again. At least, she had used a Genjutsu, contributing to the team's effort.
After losing a water clone, Zabuza no longer had the chance to create another one. After all, at this moment, he was fighting with Kakashi, and both of them are injured.
Seeing this, Naruto rushed forward without thinking.
At this time, Kakashi had also found a flaw in Zabuza's defense, so he took the initiative to form hand seals, and unleashed a Water Dragon Bullet Technique straight at Zabuza's face.
Zabuza tried to dodged but was still injured. Before he could move again, three senbon suddenly flew out of nowhere and pierced Zabuza's neck directly.
Kakashi immediately became alert, while Naruto relaxed his furrowed brow.
'Is Haku finally going to appear?'
A masked boy suddenly emerged from the thick mist and directly jumped in front of Zabuza, who was lying on the ground.
Naruto's pupils shrank slightly and he prepared to mobilized the Chakra in his body.