Chapter 21: Fierce Battle
Chapter 21: Fierce Battle
"It seems that unless I take you down, I won't be able to finish off that old man..."
Zabuza gave Kakashi a cold glance, then leaped backward to stand on the surface of the river.
"...Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu...!"
Water vapor slowly rose, turning into a fog so thick it couldn't be dispersed.
Zabuza's voice became ethereal and indistinct, as if coming from a great distance, making it impossible to determine his direction. The thick fog gradually covered his face, then continued to rise, growing denser and denser until one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face!
"To use so much chakra for this...!" Kakashi said gravely.
This was no ordinary mist!
Sakura keenly sensed that the fog contained a faint trace of chakra, which made it impossible to easily dispel with Wind Style. Compared to the thick fog Sakura and Sasuke had created during the exercise, this was on a completely different level!
What was more terrifying was that the thick fog not only obscured their vision but also used the chakra diffused within it to block their own chakra perception! And in this fog where you truly couldn't see your fingers, Zabuza, relying on this chakra, probably had a clear view of their every move!
The battlefield had become one-way transparent in Zabuza's favor!
"Eight places..." Zabuza's icy voice came from all directions. "The throat, the spine..."
"Which one... do you want me to attack?... Hehehehe..."
A feeling of fear, like being targeted by a wild beast with no power to resist, welled up from the bottom of her heart. Sakura felt extremely oppressed and uncomfortable, her body trembling involuntarily!
Is this killing intent...?! Sakura felt that she couldn't move, as if she would be killed the moment she did, becoming like livestock on a chopping block, at the mercy of others! She hadn't experienced this feeling even when fighting Kakashi last time. She never thought killing intent could be so terrifying! This Zabuza fellow must have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people to have such a dense killing intent!
Taking a deep breath and relying on the strong confidence she had in her own abilities, Sakura gradually recovered from her initial extreme fear. She glanced to her sides. Sasuke was still trembling slightly, but the unflappable Naruto had already recovered.
Sakura gently held Sasuke's cold hand and smiled slightly. "Don't be afraid, Sasuke!"
"How arrogant! You brat!"
Zabuza's figure suddenly appeared within their formation, swinging his decapitating carving knife with a whistling sound!
Sakura's expression didn't change. She controlled her ultrapure water to form a shield and block Zabuza's heavy blow. The water shield only dented slightly as it easily stopped the massive blade. However, Sakura felt no joy, instead frowning as she sensed the texture and power of the chakra!
It's a water clone!
Sakura's heart settled slightly. With a sharp flick of her left wrist, she shot out a kunai. Zabuza's water clone didn't even have time to react before it was pierced by the speeding kunai, turning into a pool of clear water in a state of shock!
The water clone's sneak attack was just a prelude. The next moment, another decapitating carving knife swept towards Sakura from the front!
The elite Jonin's combat rhythm was excellent, but the water clone's combat power was still too low for Sakura! Facing the horizontally slashing greatsword, Sakura gathered ultrapure water under her feet. Enhanced by her nin-taijutsu, her left leg delivered a straight kick that struck the blade's edge. Her fair, tender foot actually managed to stomp the several-meter-long greatsword underfoot. She then stood on the blade, turned her body sideways for a sweeping kick, and viciously shattered the second water clone's head!
After dealing with the two water clones, no new enemies appeared. Sakura looked to her sides. Sasuke and Naruto had also dealt with a water clone each. Their current strength was considerably higher than in the original story. Their frequent combat training also prevented Naruto from making the same mistake as in the original story, where he was at a loss in his first battle. After tangling with the water clones for a bit, they both resolved their fights.
It seemed that Zabuza had only sent four water clones. His plan was likely to use three clones to tie up Sakura and the others, while the last clone took the opportunity to finish off Tazuna and complete the mission. However, he had misjudged. The water clones, which could only use taijutsu, were completely countered by the extremely resilient ultrapure water. Coupled with the huge boost nin-taijutsu gave to Sakura's combat power, a water clone couldn't even last a single round against her!
The battle here had stopped. However, on the other side of the mist, just a few meters away, the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza was still ongoing. The image of the battle was shrouded in mist, but the sounds came through faintly.
Sakura couldn't go over to support Kakashi and could only wait anxiously for the result of the battle!
On the other side, Kakashi and Zabuza were also staging a brilliant battle of real and fake clones! However, Kakashi, anxious about the battle on Sakura's side, was eager to provide rescue and lost the initiative. After the clone exchange, it was Kakashi's real body that was exposed first, and he was sent flying by a heavy kick from Zabuza!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kakashi quickly formed hand seals in mid-air, spitting out a giant fireball that shot towards Zabuza!
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Zabuza's hand seal speed was in no way inferior to Kakashi's. A huge amount of river water was drawn up by Zabuza, forming a lifelike giant dragon in the air that charged towards the great fireball with immense momentum!
BOOM! The clash of ninjutsu produced a deafening sound, as if the heavens and earth were cracking apart. Even from dozens of meters away, Sakura could still feel the shockwaves of the aftershock. The scorching airflow even rushed to her face! Most of the water dragon's body was evaporated by the great fireball, turning into a surging hot air current that easily tore through the thick fog like it was tofu, revealing the scene of their battle to Sakura.
This is the power of a Jonin using ninjutsu at full strength! Before Sakura had time to feel emotional, the battle situation changed again. Kakashi took the opportunity to hide in the water, but he was seen through by Zabuza, who trapped him with the Water Prison Technique!
It's been too long since I've been in a life-or-death battle like this. Have my combat senses dulled? Kakashi thought bitterly! The water was Zabuza's home turf to begin with; trying to hide there was a complete failure! Moreover, Zabuza seemed to have been prepared for his presence, never looking into his eyes, rendering the Sharingan's genjutsu ineffective against him... When was the intelligence leaked?
Fortunately, in order to maintain the Water Prison Technique, Zabuza's real body couldn't enter the battle either!
"Kakashi, you can't escape now. Your mission is a failure..." Zabuza said, looking down at Kakashi as he maintained the water sphere with one hand, trapping Kakashi in the water prison. "I'll kill those brats and Tazuna first, then I'll settle the score with you later!"
"Hehe..." To Zabuza's surprise, Kakashi, despite being in a dire situation, actually laughed!
"Don't you underestimate my students! Your water clones alone are no match for them!"
"They're just a few brats...!" Zabuza said coldly, his indifferent eyes looking lifelessly at Sakura and the others. Indeed, the water clone attack just now had not been effective. It seemed the clones had no effect on them; those brats' combat power was unexpectedly strong... But, he had a backup plan!
Zabuza silently performed the Water Clone Jutsu. Five of Zabuza's water clones emerged from the water, surrounding Sakura's group of four!
Five water clones, is it... Sakura smiled faintly. No matter how many water clones there are, it's futile!
"Sasuke, Naruto, leave the water clones to me. You two protect Mr. Tazuna!"
After speaking, Sakura charged towards Zabuza's clones without hesitation!
With a small jump, she dodged the combined attack of two water clones. She controlled her ultrapure water to float in mid-air, forming a water pad. Stepping on the water pad, Sakura could move freely even in the air as if she were on flat ground. She then kicked a water clone's head as if kicking a soccer ball, smashing it to pieces!
The water clones rushed forward one after another, but they were no match for Sakura at all. In terms of speed, strength, and taijutsu skill, Sakura, with her nin-taijutsu activated, completely overwhelmed Zabuza's water clones. Under Sakura's hands, the water clones couldn't even last a single round. No matter how many there were, it was meaningless, just a waste of chakra!
But, watching the water clones being destroyed one by one by Sakura, Zabuza remained unmoved. Sakura became secretly vigilant!
Splash! The second to last water clone also fell under Sakura's kunai. The last water clone, with its empty eyes wide open, fearlessly charged forward to its death!
A meaningless charge! Sakura thought with a cold smile, about to dodge the water clone's attack, but she was stunned to find that the water clone had actually given up its attack and was hugging her! At the same time, Sakura sensed two strange chakras suddenly appear behind her. Her heart tightened. Just as she struggled free from the water clone, she saw a spiked iron chain stained with mottled blood fall from the sky, binding her tightly. It then pulled from the left and right, intending to twist Sakura into a shower of flesh and blood!
"The first one... took the bait!" two ninja wearing underwater breathing masks said coldly, then rushed towards Sasuke and Naruto!
It was the Demon Brothers! And, although they were wearing masks, Kakashi recognized them at first glance. They were the two punks who had bumped into Sakura yesterday. Kakashi suddenly understood. So that was when they had been identified!
Splatter! Behind the Demon Brothers, where they couldn't see, the shower of flesh and blood turned into countless water droplets and scattered on the ground.
The moment she was bound, Sakura, who had long been prepared, used the Substitution Jutsu to swap places with a water clone hidden in the shadows, easily dodging the Demon Brothers' sneak attack. To be fooled by a simple Substitution Jutsu like this, Sakura could tell that these two were clearly self-taught amateurs. They looked bloody and violent, but they didn't even sense that the enemy had used a substitution. A complete pair of rookies!
Against Sasuke and Naruto, they clearly wouldn't fare any better.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto, thinking that Sakura had already died at the hands of the Demon Brothers, shouted angrily, summoning hundreds of shadow clones at once! Then, taking advantage of the clones tying them up, Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance and formed hand seals at the same time!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind-Fire Great Breakthrough!" It was the combination jutsu Sakura had helped them devise!
The fire was fanned by the wind. The wind roared, and the fire exploded! The Great Fireball instantly doubled in size and rushed towards the Demon Brothers with the force of a wildfire, blazing ferociously!