The battlefield lay heavy with silence, broken only by the occasional rasp of breath and the drip of blood into the soaked earth. For a moment, the mist and the suffocating darkness seemed endless.
Andrew, who had been observing from his vantage point, narrowed his eyes. "It's almost over. If this keeps dragging on, Zabuza will collapse under the weight of these brats' teamwork."
Yet Andrew wasn't ready to let things end here. His goals stretched beyond this fight. He wanted Zabuza alive, at least for now. A living tool could still be turned against Gatō, the corrupt merchant who had enslaved the Land of Waves.
With a subtle gesture, Andrew invoked his forbidden art—Time Stop. It wasn't full paralysis of the world; instead, he froze reality for only a millisecond. But even that fleeting instant was enough. The threads of chakra that sustained both Sasuke's Darkness Technique and Zabuza's Mist jutsu unraveled like loose strings.
The blackness and fog melted away.
It wasn't just disruption. Time Stop attacked chakra itself, unraveling the flow that made jutsu possible. Fire, water, illusions, even explosive tags—any technique fueled by chakra could be interrupted. Taijutsu alone resisted, yet even physical strikes lost momentum, the inertia bled away when time stuttered.
The world blinked back into motion. Sight returned.
For a heartbeat, everyone—Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura, even Zabuza—stood dumbfounded. To go from blindness to full vision in an instant shook them all. But battle-hardened shinobi adapted quickly.
Kakashi charged first, finally taking the offensive. Naruto and Sasuke surged after him, their earlier momentum now doubled.
Zabuza staggered under the assault. He had already been battered, slashed, and scorched by the two Genin. Now Kakashi pressed him with lethal precision. His massive Decapitating Blade shuddered under the strain of blocking blow after blow.
"Damn brats…" Zabuza hissed as Kakashi's kick drove him back, tearing the ground beneath his heels. His chest heaved, his breaths ragged. The predator who once terrified nations now looked like prey cornered by wolves.
And then—
Three sharp whistles split the air.
Thin needles glinted before sinking into Zabuza's throat. His eyes widened, blood bubbling at his lips. The Demon of the Hidden Mist collapsed, his great sword clattering beside him.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Team 7 froze, staring at the fallen body.
On a branch above them, a masked figure crouched, porcelain features expressionless. His eyes behind the mask betrayed neither hostility nor relief.
"The timing is just right," the figure said in a calm, almost androgynous voice. "He should be dead this time."
Kakashi's gaze hardened. He crouched by Zabuza, fingers pressing lightly at the man's neck. No pulse. No breath. Yet Kakashi's instincts screamed that things weren't so simple.
Rising, he fixed the masked shinobi with a sharp look. "You're not Mist ANBU… are you?"
The stranger inclined his head slightly. "As expected of Kakashi-senpai. Sharp as ever. Still, I owe you. Without your fight, I couldn't have finished Zabuza. Now, as his pursuer… allow me to take the body."
Haku—though they did not yet know his name—requested Zabuza's corpse.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Ninja corpses were dangerous treasures, filled with secrets of techniques, bloodlines, and hidden knowledge. Yet such requests were not unheard of between villages. And in this case… well, Konoha and the Mist weren't at war.
Naruto frowned but said nothing. Sakura glanced nervously between teacher and masked shinobi. Sasuke's Sharingan swirled faintly, but he withheld comment.
Kakashi exhaled slowly. "Take him."
Haku nodded once, leaping down to shoulder Zabuza's body. Without another word, he vanished into the misty treeline.
Only when the presence was fully gone did Naruto speak, his brows furrowed. "Sensei… that person… something feels off. Zabuza's chakra… it didn't completely disappear."
Kakashi glanced at the boy, mildly surprised. "Sharp. Yes… I suspect we'll see Zabuza again soon."
Sasuke's lips curled faintly. "So it was an act. That wasn't death. That was… suspended animation."
Sakura's face paled. "W-What? But you checked him, Kakashi-sensei! You said he was dead!"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, looking weary. "I'm no medical ninja, Sakura. I checked, but with senbon needles, the results can be… misleading. It's possible they targeted specific points to fake death. Zabuza may just be incapacitated."
Naruto clenched his fists. "So the masked one saved him… meaning this isn't over."
Sasuke's gaze hardened. "Good. That means I'll get another chance to test myself."
Kakashi studied the two boys and sighed inwardly. His students were growing faster than he could guide them. Sakura struggled to keep up, Naruto's potential as a sensor was terrifying, and Sasuke wielded the Sharingan like a weapon honed through countless lifetimes.
How is a teacher supposed to handle students like these? he wondered grimly.
Tazuna, who had been trembling through the battle, finally dared to speak. "Th-then… we're still in danger?"
Naruto grinned, scratching his head. "Don't worry, old man. You saw how we handled Zabuza. If Gatō sends more thugs like him, we'll be fine. Honestly, that might have been his ace already."
Tazuna's lips twitched. Easy for the boy to say. To him, Zabuza was a nightmare.
Up in the trees, Andrew folded his arms, eyes thoughtful. He alone had seen everything clearly. Naruto's Ashura chakra burned brightly, pushing him forward, shaping his actions. Yet Andrew couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
"Naruto's growth has twisted the story so far from its path… and still he manages to be foolish in the same ways. Outrageous."
The mist carried his words away, unheard.
For now, the fight was done. Zabuza retreated, wounded but alive, carried by the loyalty of his masked companion. Team 7 had survived, but their teacher knew the truth: this battle wasn't over.
The Demon of the Hidden Mist would return.
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