Н‘¾Ð‘¯Ð‘¬Ð‘Μ Ð‘»Ð‘¯Ð‘¬ Н‘¾Ð‘°Ð‘Μ𝑫 Н‘©Ð‘³Ð‘¶Ð‘¾Ð‘º €¢Ð’Ƒ𝒙Н’Ƒ• The end of Zabuza

Just as they thought that Zabuza was defeated, another one appeared behind Kakashi and the one in front turned into water, again. Zabuza swung his blade at Kakashi and he dodged underneath, but Zabuza stabbed the ground with his blade and pushed off of it, kicking Kakashi away into the water. Akashi quickly jumped to the side, evading Kakashi.

A few moments later, Kakashi slowly rose up from the water, but Zabuza appeared behind him and used a jutsu which trapped Kakashi in a ball of water. “You fell for it, this is a special prison that you can’t escape from”. Zabuza let out a chuckle, clearly satisfied with the outcome. “You give me a hard time when you’re moving”. He sneered at Kakashi. “Now then Kakashi, I’m gonna finish you off later. First I’m gonna get rid of them”. Saying that, Zabuza turned towards the four Genin and Tazuna.

Zabuza used a jutsu and created a Water Clone. “You wear those forehead protectors as if you think you are ninja. A ninja is someone who goes through numerous life and death situations. You can only call yourself ninja when you appear in my bingo book”. Using another jutsu, the mist thickens and he disappears. “You four aren’t ninja”. His voice echoed trough the mist.

Akashi stepped closer to Naruto. “Naruto, focus”. He told him and prepared himself. He couldn’t sense the clone’s chakra since it wasn’t a Shadow Clone, so he needed to be careful. Before he could come up with a plan, the clone appeared and hit Naruto, blasting him away, the forehead protector slipped off from Naruto’s head. Akashi quickly followed after Naruto, catching him before he could hit the ground and settled him down. “You’re just kids”. The clone said.

Kakashi, seeing that the Genin’s were in danger, yelled to them. “Everyone! Get Tazuna and run! You can’t win against him!” He told them that the real one can’t attack them since he is holding Kakashi with the Water Barrier and if they run away, the clone won’t be able to chase after them. “Run for now!” He shouted, desperation clear in his voice. He didn’t want to lose his teammates, not again.

The Genin’s didn’t move. Akashi gritted his teeth, his fingers wrapped tight around the kunai in his hand. “We can’t leave!” He yelled, his voice carried through the mist, making Kakashi’s eyes widen. “We must do this!” Sasuke suddenly yelled and lunged at Zabuza. He threw a couple of shuriken at him, making Zabuza slash through them. He then proceeded to jump up and started descending to Zabuza, kunai in hand. “This is the spot!” He yelled. Zabuza just extended his hand and grabbed him by the throat, throwing him away.

Sakura screamed his name. Naruto, who was on the ground next to Akashi, got up and started running at Zabuza. “Naruto, stop!” “Idiot, stop!” Akashi and Kakashi shouted at the same time. Akashi extended his hand, trying to catch Naruto by the arm, but he slipped past. “No!” But that didn’t stop Naruto. As soon as he got close to Zabuza, he was sent flying away, all the way back to Tazuna.

Naruto stood up, his discarded forehead protector in hand. “Hey, the no-brow there… put this in your Bingo Book, the man who will become Hokage is Uzumaki Naruto!” Naruto proclaimed, tying the forehead protector back where it was. Zabuza was clearly pissed off. “Still pretending to be ninja? When I was your age, my hands were soaked with blood!” He said, a wild look in his eyes, as if he was remembering all that happened in the past.

“The Demon Zabuza”. Kakashi said from within the Water Barrier. “Oh, looks like you’ve heard about me”. Zabuza turned to him, a little surprised. Kakashi then started saying how a long time ago, the Hidden Village of the Mist was known as the Village of the Bloody Mist. Zabuza joined in and said that Kakashi knew about the final test. “The final test?” Naruto asked, interested. Akashi’s brows furrow. It’s probably something very bad. He thought, still on full alert.

Zabuza started chuckling, deep rumbles coming from within. “Hey, what is the final test?” Naruto continued to pry. Naruto, I think you will regret asking that question. Zabuza continued to chuckle and then stopped. He looked straight at the Genin’s. “Students killing each other”. Called it. Akashi thought bitterly as he saw the people around him freeze up. Zabuza continued explaining how they were separated into groups of two and battled to the death. He said that the partners were kids they trained with, kids they grew up with.

Kakashi added that one year, the exam was to be changed because a monster appeared. He said that a boy who still didn’t even have a right to be ninja, killed more than a 100 participants, not hesitating. “That was fun”. Zabuza said, out of nowhere and glared at the Genin’s, which made a shiver go down their spines. Dammit, of course he’s a psychopath. Grimacing, Akashi stepped up to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you”. He reassured the frightened boy.

That caught Zabuza’s interest. The boy doesn’t seem all that frightened at all, how strange. As soon as he finished that thought the clone appeared in front of Sasuke and knocked him to the ground, blood spewing out of his mouth. He then stepped on Sasuke’s ribs, digging his foot deeper and deeper. “Die”. The clone said, its sword resting on its shoulder. “Damn it!” Naruto exclaimed and did a hand-sign, summoning Shadow Clones all around Clone Zabuza.

The clones got out their kunai and jumped at Clone Zabuza. “Here I come!” They all yelled at the same time as they descended from the sky. They covered Clone Zabuza from view and after a moments time, Clone Zabuza managed to throw them all away from himself with a battle cry. The clones all flew back and disappeared, only smoke being left behind. The real Naruto got out a Shadow Shuriken from his bag and threw it to Sasuke.

Sasuke then proceeded to jump up and throw it at the real Zabuza. Zabuza easily caught it with his free hand. But what he didn’t expect was a Shadow Shuriken Clone coming from the other side. Still, he managed to jump over it. Sasuke grinned and the shuriken which he jumped over turned into Naruto. Who would have thought he would get an idea like this! Akashi grinned in victory when Naruto threw a shuriken at Zabuza from behind.

To evade the hit, Zabuza was forced to let go of the Water Barrier he trapped Kakashi in. He swung the Shadow Shuriken he caught earlier and was about to throw it at Naruto, but was stopped by Kakashi, who let the shuriken stab into his arm, effectively rendering it useless. Kakashi hit the shuriken away and he and Zabuza jumped away from each other.

Zabuza started doing hand-signs and Kakashi was quickly copying them. So that’s the power of the Sharingan? Akashi thought as he watched it all, fascinated at what was happening before his very eyes. They finished the jutsu at the same time and two Water Dragons rose up from the water, spinning and wrapping around one another, before they continuously started slamming into each other.

They started biting and ripping the other, but they just regenerated and repeated the process over and over again. While the dragons fought over their heads, Kakashi and Zabuza engaged in combat. Kakashi was holding Zabuza’s blade back with his kunai, both struggling to overpower the other, but it proved futile. Akashi was standing near Sasuke, observing the unbelievable battle in front of him. So that is what a battle between two Jounin’s looks like.

Then, about 15 meters behind him, Akashi sensed a chakra signal. Quickly snapping his head back, towards a tree, he saw nothing. The chakra signal disappeared as soon as it appeared, as if it wasn’t there at all. That’s strange, someone was definitely there… but… maybe I was mistaken? He continued staring at the tree for a few more seconds, before he turned back to the battle.

There, hidden behind a tree, was a person. That boy… he sensed me, I’ll need to be more careful. The mysterious figure thought as it continued to suppress its chakra, making it unable for Akashi to sense it.

Kakashi and Zabuza finally separated, moving in a circle and reclaiming the others previous positions. Zabuza raised his hand in the air and Kakashi mirrored his movements perfectly. “He’s moving just like him, and with perfect timing”. Tazuna exclaimed, confusion written all over his face. “Sasuke what’s going on?” Sakura asked, equally confused. Sasuke remained quiet, purely focusing on the sight before him.

Zabuza started doing different hand-signs again, but Kakashi still copied him perfectly. “Water Release: Grand Waterfall!” Kakashi yelled out the jutsu and a huge wave of water swept Zabuza away. After Zabuza was swept away, he was slammed into a tree and multiple kunai impaled him. “This is the end”. Kakashi repeated the words he said once before, atop the same tree Zabuza was slammed into. The water receded back into the lake.

“Can you see the future?” Zabuza asked, turning his head up to face Kakashi. “Yeah, you’re going to die”. Kakashi declared and raised a kunai in his hand. But before he could deal the death blow, two needles flew from nowhere and stabbed Zabuza in the neck, making him collapse onto the ground, unmoving.

Akashi turned to the person who threw the needles. It’s the same chakra as before. His eyes narrow suspiciously, glaring at the mysterious person. “It’s true. He did die”. The person said. Kakashi jumped down from the tree, next to Zabuza’s body, and checked for a pulse. “He really is dead”. He said and turned to the person. The person bowed down. “Thank you very much, I was looking for a chance to kill Zabuza”. The person exclaimed, head still bowed.

“The mask… if I remember correctly, you must be a hunter-nin from the Hidden Village of the Mist”. Kakashi said, looking at the person. “You are very well informed”. The person said and raised their head. “A hunter-nin?!” Naruto yelled and came up front. Sakura then proceeded to explain that a hunter-nin is a ninja who is sent to assassinate ninja’s who go against the village they were born in and that they do it to conceal any secret of their village.

Naruto got mad and started yelling how it’s not fair that a kid their age killed a man they were struggling to fight against. He said that it made them look like idiots. Kakashi explained how there are kids who are younger than them and stronger than Kakashi himself. Younger and stronger, eh? It’s sad that kids younger than us have to suffer so much to become so strong. Akashi thought bitterly as he looked at the hunter-nin. Just what have you gone through to end up like this?

The hunter-nin got to Zabuza’s body, picked it up and disappeared with the wind.

Tazuna said sorry for everything that happened and invited them to rest at his house. “That seems like a great idea”. Akashi exclaimed and wrapped an arm around Naruto’s shoulders. “Great job, little brother!” Akashi grinned and flicked Naruto’s forehead with his forefinger. Akashi didn’t notice how Sasuke’s teeth gritted together and how his hands clenched at his sides when he saw the exchange between him and Naruto. He didn’t know how much it reminded Sasuke of his own older brother.

“All right, let’s go!” Kakashi said and took a few steps forward, before his eyes widen and his legs start to shake. Akashi noticed the sudden pause and before Kakashi could hit the ground, he dashed and grabbed him by the shoulders. “What? What happened?!” Sakura yelled, running up to the two. “Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked worriedly. Akashi settled Kakashi on the ground, and felt for a pulse. Letting out a sigh of relief, he stands us. “He’s unconscious, let’s hurry and bring him to Tazuna’s house”.

The group then continued onward to Tazuna’s house.