Demon of the Hidden Mist: Part Two

Azula and Naruto conjured pillars of flames towards Zabuza with incredible intensity. The flames blocked his vision, and Naruto and Azula took this opportunity to congregate together with Tenten.

"You alright, Tens?" Naruto asked with worry.

"Yeah, it's no biggie," Tenten nodded, trying to hide the pain through a tough facade. She couldn't let Naruto worry to much about her.

Although her staff was taken away from her, Tenten still had the same dagger with her since she fought Genji. However, to wield it against an oversized sword like The Executioner's Blade was going to be difficult. Especially with an agile opponent like Zabuza.

Zabuza merely gave a look of scorn. Spirals of gold and blue singed his clothes as Zabuza dodged them with incredible precision. He threw a few shurikens as countermeasure, however, golden fans easily blocked them. "Seems like you guys need some help," Suki flashed her friends a small smile. She witnessed the strength of Zabuza for herself after seeing her friends struggle against him.

"You betcha," Naruto said.

Zabuza cracked his neck. Perhaps he was being a bit too playful with these brats. It seems he may have to use a little bit more force against these kids.

"To be able to stand against me is noteworthy in itself, however," Mist spewed forth from his nose and obscured the deck of the ship. "This is where it ends." He said before disappearing into the mist.

"Damn it, where did he go?" Naruto's eyes darted all over the place as he tried to pinpoint where Zabuza might be. Naruto felt sudden danger approaching and immediately ducked down. The blade sliced thin pieces of blonde hair as it swung over Naruto's head.

He could barely track the movements of Zabuza's attack, and the mist was making it difficult for Naruto to do so. The sword quickly disappeared into the mist as it came. Naruto had to thank his sensei for his vigorous combat training. Otherwise, he would have his head lopped off by now. If Naruto finds Jiraiya again, he was going to apologize for the bratty attitude he gave during their training regiments.

"Stay on your toes," Azula said. "He could be anywhere."

Tendrils, formed from water, streaked from the mist as they aimed at all four of them. The tendrils were like cracking whips as they barraged them with attacks.

"Damn..." Suki groaned in pain. Cuts streamed across her clothes and revealed bits of her white undergarments. There were just too many of them to cut down. Suki felt tinges of fury and embarrassment as she sensed Naruto's unwanted gaze directed at her indecent parts. Naruto felt a chill ran down his spine, and he quickly looked away. Suki was definitely going to get him for that, but she needed to get rid of these damn tendrils first.

Suddenly, a water tendril wrapped around her leg and began to drag her into the mist.

"Ah!" Suki let out a helpless cry.

Azula reacted quickly. She launched blue flames at the tendril, turning it into a steaming puddle. Another tendril came for Suki, but she had managed to kick it away this time. More of them flew straight for Azula, but she quickly cut them down with her fire.

"Thanks," Suki said with gratitude.

"Mm," Azula cut down a tendril that aimed for her neck before nodding at her. "Help me with this, will you?"

"Right," Suki came beside Azula, turning those wriggling tendrils into useless puddles.

Naruto was not enjoying this damn situation at all. The stupid mist, these damn water tendrils and that idiotic shinobi. But how was he going to fish that sneaky guy out? That was a million dollar question.

'Honestly, what coward bastard hides behind some stupid cloud?' Naruto thought to himself. 'Should I just blast it away?'

That's it.

"Fuck it! Guys, heads up! I'm gonna blast this whole mist away!" Naruto shouted.

"Are you stupid?" Azula shouted back. "That's not going to do anything!"

Her words fell on deaf ears as golden flames wrapped around Naruto's arm. Azula acted quickly, pulling along Tenten and Suki to hide for cover. Ensuring that the girls were safe and out of sight, Naruto punched the ground and unleashed the full might of his flames. An intense blast of flames expanded outwards, pushing the mist back along with it. The foggy blanket that shrouded the boat now disappeared along with his flames, giving a clear view of the calm river.

"That worked oddly well..." Tenten said with a hint of disbelief.

Zabuza stood by the bow with a grimace on his face. He knew ordinary firebenders wouldn't be able to clear his mist with just fire prowess alone. However, the strength of Naruto's flames were beyond ordinary. How can a brat like him contain such raw power was beyond him. Zabuza had dealt with many fire benders in his life time, but their fire was like a weak flame compared to the giant blaze Naruto produced.

Although Naruto's techniques were rough, but Zabuza could sense the unlimited potential hidden in that boy. Unfortunately, Naruto was his enemy, and Zabuza wouldn't let his enemies walk out alive.

"What is your name, boy?" Zabuza asked with interest. He would give him the honor of a warrior's death. It would be the least he could offer to the boy.

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto..." Zabuza quietly repeated. "I'll remember that."

Zabuza formed a triangle with both hands while the Naruto and the gang prepared for another attack. Suddenly, the boat violently rocked. A swirling vortex of water formed in front of the boat, sucking in water like a black hole.

"Hah!" Zabuza raise a hand to the sky, and a gigantic creature burst out from the vortex with wild fury. It was revealed to be a dragon conjured by the clear crystal of the river.

"What the hell!" Suki cried in shock. "Is that a dragon!" She never seen anything like this before.

An underlying aura of fear wrapped everyone like a constrictor. They understood that Zabuza may be out of their league.

"You are lucky few to be able to witness this," Zabuza said. Droplets fell from the sky, soaking him wet. "Have pride in that."

Azula's danger sensors shot through the roof as she witness this terrifying technique firsthand. She summoned a barrier of fire to shield them for what's to come.

"Naruto, I need your help, hurry!"

Naruto summoned his own fire barrier with the hopes that it would mitigate most of the damage. No, it needed to. Naruto breathed in, putting all of his strength in to hold up the shield.

With a quick motion of his hand, Zabuza commanded the dragon to attack. The beast crashed against the fire barrier like a freight train, pushing back both Azula and Naruto. They struggled to hold on against its overwhelming power.

"Argh, come on!" Little by little, they were forced back. Sweat poured down his face as Naruto grit his teeth. His arms were shaking non-stop and Naruto felt like he was going to collapse. But, he can't. Not now. He had to protect them. Despite his body telling him to stop, Naruto continued to push forward, adding in the last bit of his power into the barrier.

Slowly, the barrier began to falter against the might of the dragon. Azula was already down to one knee. She had used up all of her chi and couldn't keep up anymore. Azula suddenly felt a pair of hands holding her back up.

"Don't give up just yet!" Suki's voice was barely audible against the dragon's roar. Azula slammed her foot down and gave everything she had to push past her limit. She couldn't afford to lose now.

"Useless," Zabuza raised his hand out.

The barrier suddenly shattered.