After destroying Zabuza's water clone, Arata turned his gaze toward the battlefield.
"Kakashi-sensei, focus on his real body! I'll handle things here!"
Kakashi's visible eye curved slightly behind his mask — a proud smirk.
"Bringing you along was the smartest thing I've done in weeks."
He meant it.
From the moment they'd left the village, Arata had exceeded every expectation.
First, he had single-handedly obliterated two Chūnin.
Then, he'd eliminated Zabuza's clone before anyone else could react — all without using a single jutsu.
Even now, Arata's calm stance radiated the quiet confidence of someone far beyond a genin.
He's grown again, Kakashi thought. Even his movements… smoother, faster than before.
If he'd been like this when I first tested him, I wouldn't have won so easily.
And this was someone who had never formally trained in taijutsu.
Pure instinct, raw awareness, and terrifying potential — that was Arata.
If he actually learned the foundations of taijutsu, he'd be unstoppable.
Across the lake, Zabuza's expression hardened.
"Tch. That brat's becoming a problem."
He could already tell — as long as Arata was alive, reaching Tazuna would be impossible.
A one-on-one against Kakashi was manageable.
He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, an elite jōnin — he'd faced worse.
But now?
A jōnin and a prodigy moving like a shadow beside him?
It was a deathtrap.
Still, he had a mission to complete.
As Kakashi lunged forward, Zabuza's massive blade met his kunai mid-swing.
Sparks scattered across the lake's surface.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two elites clashed with blinding speed — steel on steel, muscle on muscle.
The sound of their fight echoed across the misty water like thunder.
On the shore, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood frozen in awe.
Sasuke's eyes tracked their movements desperately, but his Sharingan couldn't follow.
"So this… this is the level of a jōnin…" he whispered.
"Arata was right. Kakashi-sensei really is that strong."
Naruto clenched his fists.
"Damn it… I can't even see them! How am I supposed to help if I can't keep up?"
Sakura stayed by Tazuna's side, trembling slightly.
Even she knew — if she got within ten meters of that fight, she'd be dead before she could blink.
Her gaze drifted toward Arata.
From the beginning of this mission, he had been the one saving them — calmly, decisively.
She couldn't tell if she admired him or feared him more.
Arata's eyes stayed on the battle.
Watching two elite jōnin fight was… enlightening.
Every exchange was a lesson — every step, every pivot, a form of discipline and killing intent refined through years of combat.
He wasn't just watching.
He was learning.
His mind broke down their patterns — their breathing, their timing, the microshifts of chakra beneath the surface.
And in that moment, something inside him clicked.
So that's how taijutsu really works.
Zabuza growled, frustration building.
No matter how much force he put behind his swings, Kakashi matched him perfectly — strike for strike, step for step.
If this dragged on, he'd lose his advantage.
He needed distance.
With a sudden burst of strength, Zabuza swung his massive sword, sending Kakashi sliding back across the lake.
Then, leaping backward, he began to form hand signs — fast, precise, lethal.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
SHOOM!
The lake exploded.
Columns of water spiraled into the air, merging into a single enormous dragon that roared to life.
The sound shook the ground — a deep, animalistic bellow that rolled through the mist.
The water dragon lunged forward — straight toward Arata and the others.
Kakashi's eye widened.
"Damn! Arata doesn't know ninjutsu yet—!"
Too late.
The massive dragon was already upon them, its mouth wide, its body made of thousands of tons of swirling water.
Zabuza smirked.
"Let's see you block this, brat!"
Arata didn't move at first.
He simply watched the incoming beast — his golden eyes calm.
"…Impressive jutsu," he murmured. "Then let's see if I can do it too."
His hands blurred.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
CRASH—!!!
The air shook.
Droplets rose from the earth, from the lake, from the air itself — swirling around Arata like glittering fragments of light.
The chakra within him pulsed once — and the droplets formed scales.
Wings.
A dragon.
A second water dragon erupted upward, its roar drowning out Zabuza's.
This one was massive — twice the size of the first, glowing faintly with chakra-infused water.
The two dragons collided midair.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion tore across the lake, sending shockwaves through the forest.
Trees bent, earth cracked, and walls of water crashed in every direction.
Zabuza's dragon shattered into mist — completely overpowered.
But Arata's remained.
Alive. Moving. Roaring.
Like a summoned beast, it twisted its body midair and dove straight for Zabuza.
For the first time in years, the Demon of the Hidden Mist felt a flicker of fear.
"That's impossible…!"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"He copied my jutsu… in seconds?!"
He'd been fighting long enough to know — mastering the Water Dragon Bullet took years of control and chakra refinement.
And yet, Arata had done it after seeing it once.
Not only that — he'd done it without drawing water from the lake.
The jutsu had formed out of thin air, his chakra alone summoning the element.
"No water source… and that much chakra? He's not human…"
The giant dragon crashed down, its gaping maw snapping toward him.
Zabuza barely managed to perform a Body Flicker Technique, vanishing an instant before impact.
BOOM—!!!
The dragon slammed into the lake, detonating a geyser that sent waves several meters high rolling outward.
Zabuza reappeared dozens of meters away, drenched and breathing hard.
Even for him — one of the Seven Swordsmen — his heart was pounding.
He glanced at the roaring waters and muttered under his breath.
"That… that power. That's no ordinary jutsu. That kid's a damn monster."
If that dragon had hit him, he wouldn't have had a body left to bury.
Back on shore, Kakashi stared in stunned silence.
His eye flicked between the dissipating water and Arata's calm figure.
"…Did he just—"
His voice trailed off.
He didn't need to finish.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were staring too, speechless.
Arata stood in the spray of mist, water dripping from his hair, breathing evenly — as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
Kakashi murmured to himself, half in awe, half in disbelief.
"He… copied the Water Dragon Bullet… by watching it once."
And then another realization struck him — sharp, cold.
"No… not just copied. He improved it."
Even he couldn't have produced a Water Dragon like that without preparation.
He exhaled slowly.
"This kid… he's beyond terrifying."
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