Sasuke's voice wasn't loud, but the figures opposite him—Zabuza Momochi and Haku—heard it clearly.
Haku remained silent, but a flash of anger flickered across his androgynous face.
Zabuza, however, was more direct. With a single hand, he swung his massive blade—the Executioner's Blade—effortlessly to chest level and barked:
"You're not from the hunter-nin squad!"
Naruto calmly stepped to the side and replied:
"Of course not. I simply wanted my comrade to meet your impressive subordinate."
Zabuza's eyes turned cold.
"You've got a death wish!"
In the blink of an eye, he vanished—reappearing behind Naruto, Executioner's Blade slicing through the air in a wide arc aimed straight at Naruto's waist.
CLANG!
The shriek of metal-on-metal rang out.
Naruto, at some point, had drawn a thin longsword no wider than two fingers—and was now holding it single-handedly against Zabuza's massive blade.
Despite the disparity in size, the clash of steel sent sparks flying.
Zabuza's pupils shrank.
A full-force blow—stopped with one hand? Without budging an inch?
Even as that thought passed through his mind, lightning suddenly exploded from Naruto's blade—crackling arcs racing up the Executioner's Blade.
Zabuza's body seized up from the shock—just as a hand wreathed in steam surged toward his face.
CRACK!
In the next instant, Naruto's lightning-infused blade sliced straight into the Executioner's Blade.
CLANG!
A third of the blade sheared clean off.
Zabuza's eye twitched. He immediately released the weapon and threw a punch.
Their fists met mid-air—flesh against flesh—but Naruto's strike carried so much force that Zabuza staggered back several steps.
As he steadied himself, Zabuza realized the masked enemy had vanished. All that remained was the broken Executioner's Blade lying on the ground.
"Zabuza-san, behind you!"
Haku's warning came just in time—for Zabuza to realize the enemy was now standing right in front of him, barely a meter away. The same distance Zabuza had earlier used to close in on Naruto.
But this time, Naruto's blade was leveled at his throat.
Naruto tilted his head slightly and said:
"Impressive reflexes, Zabuza. That Water Clone Technique was perfectly timed."
"But for someone known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, wasting ten percent of your chakra like that... seems careless."
With that, Naruto thrust his blade forward.
SPLASH.
The clone dissolved into water.
Simultaneously, the real Zabuza reappeared at the spot where the original clash had taken place—his hand already gripping the hilt of his damaged sword.
"Who the hell are you people?!"
His gaze fell on Naruto's mask—smooth and unmarked—and unease began to creep in.
Not far away, Sasuke tightened his grip on his sword. Even with his Sharingan active, he hadn't been able to track how Naruto had appeared before the Water Clone so suddenly.
Naruto gave his blade a casual swing and said:
"Relax. We're not anyone you know."
"But rushing to reclaim your weapon? That was a mistake."
"What?!"
Zabuza instinctively tried to release the sword—but his body wouldn't respond. Looking down at the arm holding the hilt, his eyes widened as he saw black curse marks creeping up his skin.
"No… this is a Binding Seal!"
Panicking, Zabuza desperately surged his chakra. Slowly, purple chakra vapors began to leak from his body.
"Oh? So this is that infamous Demonic Chakra of yours…"
Naruto raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Then, in a flash, he appeared before Zabuza and slapped a glowing palm on his shoulder.
"Chakra Seal: Activate. You'll behave now."
The seal marks intensified, spreading over Zabuza's body. The dark chakra evaporated instantly, as if suppressed by an overwhelming force.
Zabuza stiffened.
"This kind of sealing jutsu… What are you trying to do?!"
Naruto replied flatly:
"Like I said—I just wanted my teammate to spar with your subordinate. Of course, that's only one of the reasons we're here."
"But your attitude's making things difficult. Maybe I should just—hmm?"
Before he could finish, wisps of white fog began swirling around them.
"So… Haku knows the Hidden Mist Technique, too."
Naruto remained unfazed. As Zabuza stared in disbelief, Naruto's hands blurred through a sequence of hand signs.
WHUMMM!
In an instant, gales of wind erupted from Naruto's feet, centered around him and Zabuza. The high-speed gusts quickly formed a tornado over ten meters in diameter.
In seconds, the mist blanketing the rooftop was blown away—completely dispersed.
Watching from a distance, Haku's face turned grim.
Under his mask, Sasuke's expression darkened as well.
Naruto said this fight was mine… and I let her get away right under my nose.
He stepped forward and declared:
"If you want him to live, you'll have to beat me first."
Haku's expression turned cold. With a flick of her wrist, a kunai appeared in hand—and in a blur, she vanished.
Sasuke's Sharingan flickered. He immediately spun around and slashed upward.
His blade met no resistance—cutting cleanly through Haku's neck.
"A clone? Wait… is it snowing?"
CRRRK!
As the water clone collapsed, the air around them shifted.
An eerie sound echoed as Haku formed an unfamiliar hand sign. Cold air erupted from her body, and floating ice mirrors began forming in a circle around Sasuke.
He tensed.
"So this is the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai Naruto warned me about…"
Each mirror reflected an image of Haku—surrounding him completely.
Sasuke stabbed his blade into the ground and began forming seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Blazing fire shot out in three directions—forward, left, and right—slamming into the surrounding ice mirrors.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rang out as shards of ice shattered.
Seeing an opening, Sasuke leapt forward, blade ready—only to hear a voice above him.
"It's useless! These mirrors regenerate as long as I wish it. You've already lost!"
He looked up.
The ice mirrors floated overhead now, and each one reflected an image of Haku—ready to strike from any direction.
Damn… this jutsu is even trickier than I thought.
Sharpening his gaze, Sasuke stabbed his sword into the ground once more. This time, he drew several kunai instead.
ZAP!
With precision, he infused each kunai with Lightning Release chakra.
End of Chapter
PS 1:
Zabuza Momochi, the "Demon of the Hidden Mist," is a notorious rogue ninja from Kirigakure and the first major antagonist Team 7 faces in Naruto, known for his immense skill, his giant executioner's blade (Kubikiribōchō)
PS 2: I've been consistently releasing chapters for many days now, and If you want to support my work and read the complete fic (all chapters ), you can check out my P@treon. -> patreon.com/FinalArcHero789
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