The mist was suffocating. Every breath Naruto took felt heavy, like swallowing water. His eyes darted around, searching for even the faintest outline of movement, but the fog swallowed everything.
Tazuna clutched his cloak tightly, trembling. "I–is he still out there?"
Sasuke's jaw was tight, his hand gripping a kunai so hard his knuckles turned white. "He's moving in the mist. I can feel it. But where…?"
Then, a whisper — low, taunting, and everywhere at once.
"Eight… seven… six…"
Naruto stiffened. The voice came from nowhere and everywhere, seeping into his bones.
"Five… four…"
Sakura froze, her hands trembling as she pulled Tazuna closer. "Wh–what is he counting?!"
"Three…"
Kakashi's voice cut through the fog, sharp and commanding. "Don't move! Stay alert. That's his jutsu — Silent Killing. One strike, and you're dead before you realize it."
"Two…"
Naruto's heart pounded so hard it felt like his chest would explode. His palms were sweaty, his throat dry. For a moment, the fear threatened to swallow him whole.
"One."
Steel flashed. A massive blade cut through the mist with a sound like thunder.
But instead of blood, there was the clash of metal — Kakashi had intercepted the strike. Sparks lit up the fog for a heartbeat, and in that brief glow, Naruto saw it: Kakashi's eye, narrowed with deadly focus, and Zabuza's towering form, grinning beneath his mask.
"Run," Zabuza hissed, his strength pressing down against Kakashi's kunai. "Tell me… how long can you protect them?"
Naruto's fists trembled. He wanted to charge in, to help, but his legs wouldn't move. He hated it — hated feeling useless.
The clash broke apart, and the mist swallowed the figures again.
Sasuke grit his teeth, sweat running down his brow. "Tch… this killing intent… it's crushing me. My body won't listen."
Naruto shot him a sideways glance. Sasuke, the genius who always acted cool and untouchable, was shaking. So I'm not the only one scared out of my mind.
But unlike Sasuke, Naruto's fear didn't make him retreat. It stoked something hotter. Anger.
He thought of Iruka-sensei, of the villagers who looked at him with hate, of the promise he made to himself: I'll become Hokage. I'll prove them all wrong. I'll protect people who believe in me.
His nails dug into his palms. "No… I'm not gonna just sit here and do nothing!"
Before Sasuke or Sakura could stop him, Naruto bit his thumb, smeared blood across his palm, and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu—!"
There was a puff of smoke, but instead of a mighty beast, a small, fat toad appeared, croaking in confusion.
Naruto blinked. "Eh?!"
Sasuke almost choked. "You idiot…!"
The toad stared at the mist, then at Naruto, then hopped away uselessly.
Naruto's face burned red. "D-damn it! Wrong jutsu!"
Sakura grabbed his sleeve. "Naruto, stop fooling around! This isn't the time!"
But the moment of levity was cut short when Kakashi's voice suddenly rang out — strained, urgent.
"Get down!"
Naruto barely ducked before Zabuza's cleaver whooshed over his head, slicing a tree trunk clean in half. The sound of wood splitting thundered through the marsh.
Naruto's heart leapt to his throat. If he'd been a second slower, he'd be in pieces.
Zabuza's eyes glinted through the fog. "Tch. Lucky brat."
Kakashi appeared in a blur, kunai clashing against Zabuza's sword again. The ground trembled under their power.
But then — water surged. A clone of Zabuza formed from the mist itself, lunging toward the genin and Tazuna.
Sasuke cursed under his breath and leapt forward, kunai flashing. He slashed through the clone, only for it to reform instantly.
"Damn it!"
Naruto's instincts screamed. Without thinking, he pulled out shuriken and hurled them, his aim clumsy but desperate. They cut through the clone, dispersing it — but two more emerged.
Sakura screamed. "There's too many!"
Kakashi, locked in combat, shouted, "Naruto, Sasuke — don't panic! They're water clones, weaker than the original! You can destroy them if you fight smart!"
Naruto's breath hitched. Weaker. He could fight them.
His eyes hardened. "Alright then… let's go!"
He charged forward, his fear drowned out by raw determination. A clone swung a kunai at him, but Naruto ducked and drove his fist into its stomach. Water splashed as the clone dissolved.
Sasuke followed suit, his movements sharper, faster. He cut down another clone with precise strikes, his Sharingan-less eyes burning with focus.
The two boys stood back-to-back, panting but alive, protecting Tazuna and Sakura. For the first time, they weren't just dead weight — they were fighting.
Zabuza's voice chuckled darkly through the mist. "Interesting… they're not completely useless."
But Kakashi's voice rang back, steady and cold. "Don't underestimate my students."
Then, the mist shifted. For a fleeting second, Naruto saw it — Kakashi lifting his headband, revealing the scarred eye beneath. The Sharingan.
Even through the fog, Zabuza froze, his grip tightening on the sword. "…So, the rumors were true."
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Zabuza… this ends now."
The mist thickened once more, and their deadly duel resumed, steel clashing like thunder in a storm.
Naruto stood his ground beside Sasuke, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his face. His body trembled, but this time it wasn't from fear. It was adrenaline.
For the first time, he felt it — the spark of what it meant to be a ninja.
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✨ End of Chapter 6 ✨