Zabuza restrained Sasuke with one hand, resting his Kubikiribocho on his shoulder. "Your student is impressive," he said, a grudging respect in his voice. "To be able to push me this far. He has incredible power for someone so young. I'd wager he's one of your village's prized genin, isn't he?"
He paused, his gaze cold. "A shame his combat experience is still lacking." Zabuza's tone shifted. "Hand over the old man, and I'll let the boy live. You wouldn't want to see your prized student die here, would you, Kakashi?"
This wasn't a fight he wanted. A real battle between shinobi of their caliber would mean one of them leaving dead or crippled. Even if he won, the cost would be steep for a rogue ninja on the run. If the Kiri's hunter-nin caught wind of him being seriously injured, they wouldn't hesitate to close in. It wasn't fear, just a damned inconvenience.
He still couldn't figure it out. Why would an ordinary bridge builder like Tazuna warrant a guard of Kakashi's level? 'Are the people in the Land of Waves really this wealthy?' he wondered. 'No wonder Gato wants to control this place.'
"My student won't so easily killed, Zabuza."
Kakashi met his gaze without a hint of concern, his visible eye impassive as he slowly lowered his headband to cover the Sharingan.
Zabuza's grip tightened on Sasuke. "Since you don't care if this brat lives or dies," he snarled, his patience finally snapping, "I'll kill him first and deal with your other brats after."
Kakashi's voice was eerily calm. "Are you sure you've caught my student?"
"What?"
Zabuza instinctively glanced toward the Water Prison he'd been maintaining on Kakashi. In that moment, the Sasuke in his grip dissolved into a cloud of white smoke with a soft *poof*.
"Damn it!" Zabuza released the Water Prison, whirling around with his Kubikiribocho held ready. His eyes scanned the mist, wary of another attack from behind.
The exchange with the black-haired boy had already put him on edge. The kid was good, but he was still just a kid. A little green. 'He's already put a surprising amount of pressure on me,' he thought, a grudging respect forming. 'Just a bit more experience, and he'd be truly dangerous.'
As the ball of water collapsed, a single shuriken clattered unnoticed to the ground.
Not three seconds later, Zabuza sensed a rush of air behind his head. 'He's behind me?'
He barely had time to raise an arm before Sasuke's axe kick crashed down on it.
'Incredible strength.' A strong jolt shot through him, and his entire arm went numb, like his arm had collided with a steel plate. He could already feel it starting to swell, the bone likely twisted out of place. The Kubikiribocho swung late, cutting through empty air where Sasuke had been a moment ago. The boy had already vanished.
'How did he get behind me that fast?' Zabuza thought, his mind racing. 'Unless...'
His eyes shot to Kakashi, who met his glare with a look that was almost smug. 'The real one?'
Zabuza finally understood. He had been played. The one trapped in his Water Prison hadn't been a clone at all, the real Kakashi had been inside the entire time.
His arm throbbed, swelling to nearly twice its normal size. A sharp, intense pain shot through it with the slightest movement. He wouldn't be able to use it for now, and losing an arm was a critical blow to his fighting strength.
"Hmph."
Zabuza was not one to be so easily disabled. He placed his good hand on the injured arm, gritted his teeth, and pulled. With a painful *snap*, he forced the bone back into its socket. The immediate relief would allow him to fight, but he knew the long-term consequences would be severe without proper treatment.
Shaking feeling back into his hand, he fixed Sasuke with a look of pure killing intent.
"I underestimated you, brat," he growled. "With the next strike, I will end your life."
Zabuza stared him down as he slowly backed away, his form melting into the rapidly thickening fog. A demonic, dark red chakra began to bleed from his body, and the mist around them grew impossibly thick, reducing visibility to less than two meters.
This was the true mastery of his Silent Killing Technique.
As if the world fell silent. Not just quiet, but a unnatural stillness. Zabuza was no longer toying with them. This was the full power of one of the former member of Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
He became a phantom in the fog, moving at blinding speed. He employed his Body Flicker to his utmost.
Sasuke seemed to sense him, appearing suddenly at his back, but by the time he turned, Zabuza was gone again.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Shuriken Jutsu!"
Sasuke unleashed a volley of shuriken, his hands blurring through seals to complete the jutsu in a fraction of a second. Flames erupted from his mouth, clinging to the spinning metal and scattering a rain of fire across the clearing. The attack covered a wide area, but it found nothing. Zabuza was a ghost, leaving no trace.
As Sasuke scanned the silent woods, Zabuza reappeared behind him again. He raised the Kubikiribocho high, bringing it down in a silent, lethal arc aimed straight for Sasuke's neck. The enormous blade swung through the air without a whisper. This was the core aspect of the Silent Killing Technique.
But just as the blade was about to find its mark, Sasuke spun around to face him, his movements impossibly precise.
"Fire Release: Heavenly Prison Fire Sword!"
A searing, red Katana of pure flame materialized in Sasuke's hands, meeting Zabuza's executioner's blade with a solid clang.
Zabuza froze, his lethal strike blocked. In that moment of shock, his gaze locked with Sasuke's.
"You won't be able to hide any of your movements from these eyes, Zabuza."
The three tomoe in Sasuke's pupils began to spin rapidly.
'Is that a Sharingan? The Uchiha Clan! Damn it!'
Zabuza tried to shut his eyes, to look away, but it was already too late.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
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Trivia:
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kakashi said to the other former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, "None of you are as good as Zabuza."
The official databooks state that he was the core offensive and defensive member of the second generation of Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Kisame had referred to Zabuza as a brat, but told Suigetsu that Zabuza was the true best master of the Kubikiribocho. Kisame had met Juzo Biwa, the Kubikiribocho's first owner, so his words indirectly acknowledged Zabuza's strength.
Being able to escape unscathed after failing to assassinate the Mizukage proved his strength.
Most fanfics criticize Zabuza. As the first boss to appear, he certainly had a disadvantage. Story wasn't fully fleshed out at that point along with how much value to put into hand seals. One of my personal theory is that, the large number of hand seals for large jutsu's was pushed for by editors. So that if this became an anime, then it would be easier to pad out the time. As during those days it was weekly release of episodes and they needed to make sure not to push ahead of the manga chapters.
But excluding the god-level battles that came later, Zabuza was still at the peak of ordinary ninja. He would've been able to take on most Elite Jonin.
Besides his intelligence being a bit low (still higher than the Obito and Naruto), and his Genjutsu resistance being a bit weak, his other stats all hovered around 4 to 4.5 (total 30.5 out of 35) in databook, he was truly not weak.
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