Zabuza's voice was a death sentence, slithering through the mist.
"Eight points… Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart… Which point should I show you first?"
Kakashi stood firm, a breakwater against the tide of killing intent. The threat, designed to sow terror, was met with tense silence. The jōnin observed the scene, and his mind flashed back to the conversation that had changed everything, just a few hours before.
(Flashback)
His mind was still a whirlwind, trying to process Naruto's confession. Memories of an unlived future, a power to accelerate the growth of others. It was the most outlandish story he had ever heard, and yet, the evidence was walking beside him. Hinata and Sakura's new and terrifying prowess was irrefutable proof. He had agreed to protect Naruto's secret—a decision that violated every protocol, but one his gut told him was right. It was then, just after Kakashi had given his word, that Naruto approached him again, his face pale but resolute.
"Sensei, I need to tell you something else about Zabuza," Naruto said in a low voice, making sure Sasuke was out of earshot. "Since you trust me, you need to know how he fights."
Kakashi looked at him, his single visible eye now listening with an intensity few had ever seen.
"He doesn't fight head-on," Naruto explained. "He's a master of deception and the Water Clone Jutsu. He'll attack with a clone first, a perfect decoy to gauge your strength and make you lower your guard. When you defeat the clone, the real one will appear at your back to deliver the lethal blow. That's how he takes his opponents by surprise."
The jōnin nodded slowly, absorbing the tactical intelligence. It was a classic attack pattern for an assassin from the Mist, but having it confirmed beforehand was an overwhelming advantage.
"And most importantly," Naruto continued, his voice heavy with desperate urgency, "his most dangerous technique isn't his sword. It's a prison: the Water Prison Jutsu. If he catches you in it, the fight is over for you. To maintain it, Zabuza has to maintain physical contact with the prison, which immobilizes him too. His strategy will always be to get the fight to the water so he can use it."
Naruto finished, almost breathless, having delivered his enemy's instruction manual. Kakashi processed the information, and an idea—a gamble as risky as it was brilliant—took shape in his mind. Naruto's warning wasn't just a way to survive; it was a golden opportunity.
"So that's his trump card..." Kakashi thought, as the plan solidified. "A technique that binds him as much as his victim. How interesting. It's the weapon of an assassin who trusts that his mere presence will paralyze his target's allies. But against this team... a team Naruto has been secretly forging..."
His gaze fell on Sakura and Hinata. The pink-haired girl, whose analytical mind was now a weapon; the Hyuga heiress, whose eyes no longer just saw, but predicted. The potential was there—latent, explosive. But potential without the will to use it under pressure was useless.
"Naruto, you haven't just given me a warning; you've given me the key to this team's true exam," Kakashi concluded internally. "A test that can't be faked. A scenario where my apparent defeat will be their only chance at victory. I have to see if they're capable of flying on their own. I have to know if your faith in them, and mine in you, is justified."
(End Flashback)
"Watch out!" Sakura suddenly shouted, pulling Kakashi from his memory. "He's inside my thread perimeter! Right in the center!"
As if summoned, a silhouette materialized in the heart of their formation: Zabuza.
Following the script he now understood perfectly, Kakashi lunged forward.
"I've got you!"
His kunai pierced the clone, which burst in a geyser of water.
"Sensei, behind you!" Naruto's panicked cry sounded perfectly genuine, selling the trap perfectly.
The real Zabuza appeared, his sword descending. Sasuke and Sakura choked back a gasp of horror, but the Kakashi who was about to be sliced in two also burst into water.
"A Water Clone?" Zabuza hissed, incredulous. "When did you...?"
"The game is over, Zabuza." The real Kakashi's voice sounded from behind him, the cold steel of a kunai pressing against his throat. "I don't need to copy when I can anticipate your moves... with this."
The Sharingan was revealed, a crimson whirlpool that froze the blood in Zabuza's veins.
"The Sharingan..." he whispered. "So the rumors were true. You're Kakashi, the Copy Ninja."
The revelation struck Sasuke like a bolt of lightning. His clan's heritage, shining in a stranger's eye. Rage and envy consumed him.
But Zabuza wouldn't be pinned. With a burst of chakra, he broke free and launched a spinning kick of immense power. Kakashi saw the kick coming; he saw it with the predictive clarity of the Sharingan. He could dodge it. He could block it.
He chose to take it.
He crossed his arms in a deliberately imperfect block, and Zabuza's boot slammed into him with a dull thud. The force of the impact sent him flying through the air, straight toward the pond.
"Sensei, no!" Naruto screamed, his panic now real as he saw his warning seemingly come true. "The water is his trap! Get out of there!"
"Sorry, kids," Kakashi thought as he fell. "Sometimes, the only way to teach chicks to fly is to shove them out of the nest. It's time to see if you can use all that potential Naruto told me about."
SPLASH!
Kakashi sank. Zabuza, triumphant, landed on the water and performed the hand seals.
"Water Prison Jutsu!"
The sphere of water formed around him, trapping him. Inside, Kakashi didn't struggle. His eye, calm and sharp, was fixed on his four students on the shore.
"The board is set," he thought, feeling the pressure of the water. "You've given me the rules of the game, Naruto. Now, show me how you're going to win."
Zabuza, holding the prison with one hand, turned around. His laugh was a cruel sound in the mist.
"The sensei is out of the game, and this is an important lesson, kids: no matter how strong you are, there's a cage for every bird."
His gaze fell upon them, cold and lethal.
"Now that the lesson is over, it's time for your execution."
The weight of the mission and their very lives fell upon the four genin's shoulders all at once. They were alone. The true test—their sensei's gamble—had just begun.