Kakashi stood on the tree branch looking down at the demon of the Mist with his Sharingan eye, glaring at him.
"You really followed me all the way here..." Zabuza said, seeing Kakashi's ninja hounds around him, noting that he was also an excellent tracker.
"Seems your reputation precedes you," Zabuza said, resting his sword on his good shoulder.
"I won't let you get away so easily... Especially since you killed so many of my men and then thought you could just run away before I got a chance to finish you off." Kakashi said, looking at the wound he had inflicted on Zabuza with his lightning blade.
"Haha..." Zabuza laughed out loud.
"If you really came all this way just to finish things with me, then be my guest. But you won't be leaving this place alive." Zabuza then said with a more serious voice.
"We will see about that," Kakashi said, maintaining his position on the tree branch having the high ground.
Suddenly two of Kakashi's ninja hounds burst free from the water that Zabuza had been standing on sinking their teeth into his arms, holding him in place and stopping him from using his sword before Bull, the largest of the Ninken jumped on his back and bite into Zabuza's neck.
"Arghh... That's a dirty trick!" Zabuza yelled while struggling to try and get free of the dog's jaws, finding that they were much stronger than they looked.
"Lightning blade!" Kakashi yelled, not wasting any time before he thrust his hand through Zabuza's chest once again, this time wanting to finish him off as quickly as possible.
However, Zabuza's body burst into water revealing he was a clone, taking Kakashi off guard having not seen it even with his Sharingan.
"Over there!" Pakkun yelled, using his strong sense of smell to locate the real Zabuza.
Kakashi turned around with the rest of his ninja hounds, getting ready to attack Zabuza as he emerged from the water taking form.
"Nice pups you got there," Zabuza said, insulting the ninja hounds and causing them to snarl at him.
"Maybe I should even the playing field, what do you say!" Zabuza yelled before he swiped his thumb across his chest getting some blood on it in order to make the hand signs.
"Summoning jutsu!" Zabuza said, placing his hand onto the water he was standing on, activating the jutsu and creating a small burst of smoke.
Kakashi waited and watched to see what kind of creature Zabuza would summon, using his Sharingan to keep an eye on the situation as he tried to formulate and come up with a plan.
"Well, what do we have here..." A deep voice said as the owner appeared from the smoke.
"It's been a while since you summoned us, Zabuza..." Another one said, also stepping into Kakashi's line of sight.
Zabuza had summoned two what looked to be Otters. However, these were no ordinary Otters. Each of them looked battle-hardened with scars on their faces and bodies. One had an eye patch covering its left eye with a blue sleeveless torn jacket and a belt donning the hidden Mist symbol on it, holding two knives in its hands twirling them with skill.
The other seemed older with deeper scars wearing nothing but a belt with the mist emblem and a tattered red scarf that blew in the gentle breeze, having but a single blade in a sheath on its hip.
"Yeah well, I might actually need your help this time," Zabuza said while standing to his full height, hating to admit that to them.
Both of the Otters looked over at Kakashi and his ninja hounds who had joined him on the water in formation, keeping their guard up, waiting for Kakashi's order to attack.
"I don't like the look of those two," Pakkun said as he landed on Kakashi's shoulder, also assessing the situation with Kakashi agreeing.
"I guess it's been a while since we have been able to let loose." The Otter with the red cloak said, placing a hand on the hilt of its knife.
"Keep those mutts out of my way and Leave Kakashi to me," Zabuza said, giving his orders to the two of them.
"Leave it to us." The one with the eye patch said, spinning its knives around in his hands, holding them in a reverse grip getting ready to charge.
"Here we go!" Kakashi said, seeing that the fight was about to begin.
Both of the Otters dashed forward across the water, moving with grace and speed seeming to glide along the water as if it wasn't there to begin with.
"Watch out!" Kakashi shouted, ducking under the one with the eye patches attack and then blocking the other's thrust with a kunai before he deflected it and pushed the Otter off of him watching as it flipped over his head.
However, their attacks were only a diversion before they dashed passed him and attacked the ninja hounds, attacking them before Zabuza charged in with his sword raised, taking a big swing at Kakashi while his focus was on the ninja Otters.
Kakashi wasn't able to dodge the attack and instead had to block it with his kunai, holding the small blade with both hands close to his chest in an attempt to try and absorb as much force as he could, feeling the kunai chip a little.
Kakashi was still flung into the air from the force of Zabuza's attack, forcing Kakashi to flip around and backwards before he landed on the bank of the small lake in a perfect squat position.
Zabuza didn't waste any time as he appeared behind Kakashi getting ready to attack again with another powerful swing of his sword, chopping down with an overhead swipe.
Kakashi dashed to the right, sliding on his knees and avoiding the attack as the sword stuck into the soft ground, splitting it in two and getting wedged in the earth, giving Kakashi time to spin around and take a swipe at Zabuza's neck with his Kunai, forcing Zabuza to let go of the hilt of his sword, not having time to pull it from the ground to use.
Kakashi pressed on the attack, swiping left, right up and down with his kunai, using great skill with the knife as he aimed from the vital points around Zabuza's neck and arms.
Zabuza dodged the attacks, stepping backwards as he ducked and weaved under the attacks before blocking the last one with a strike to Kakashi's wrist, forcing Kakashi to drop the kunai from his hand due to having the pressure points in his wrist struck.
However, Kakashi was quick and grabbed it with his other hand, slicing at Zabuza's stomach with a low stance, almost gutting him with the attack.
However, Zabuza clapped his hands together and caught the kunai at the last second, keeping it wedged in between his hands to Kakashi's surprise before he kicked Kakashi's legs from under him, dropping him to the ground and taking the kunai from him before stabbing down at him.
Kakashi quickly rolled along the ground to avoid the thrust before hooking his foot around Zabuza's ankle and using his other leg to kick out his knee, dropping Zabuza to the ground with an excellent sweep.
Now that both of them were on the ground they both leaned back before flipping up using their legs to spring up into the air with Zabuza thrusting the kunai at Kakashi who was able to grab his wrist to stop the blade only a few centimetres away from his eye.
"I've got you now!" Zabuza yelled, pushing harder as he tried to impale Kakashi's Sharingan eye, using all of his strength.
Kakashi could feel himself losing the contest of strength, feeling his arms giving way as he tried to push harder, taking a quick breath.
Genjutsu was also out of the question, with him noticing that Zabuza was making sure not to look into his eye, instead focusing on his chin so he wouldn't get caught or taken off guard.
Darn, it... He already figured out my plan. Kakashi thought, knowing he had no other choice.
First gate... Gate of opening, open! Kakashi said in his mind. Allowing himself to open one of the 8 gates to increase his strength, giving him a sudden increase in power after taking away one of his body's limiters.
"What in the!" Zabuza said, feeling himself being the one who was getting pushed back all of a sudden, not understanding where Kakashi had found this extra strength from.
"This isn't over yet!" Kakashi yelled, pulling Zabuza toward him all of a sudden, using his strength against him and taking him off guard while he twisted his wrist a little, disarming him before taking the kunai and slashing down across his face, landing a clean blow along the side of his cheek.
"Arghh!" Zabuza cried out in anger before he threw a back kick, hitting Kakashi right in the chest and sending him into the air from the force of it.
Kakashi had been able to block the attack with his arms, knowing that blow would have broken his ribs if not.
However, Kakashi wasn't finished yet as he placed his hands together, making some hand signs, taking advantage of the fact he had been able to get some distance.
"Fire style, fireball jutsu!" He said, shooting out a ball of fire toward Zabuza, using it for cover more than anything else.
Zabuza could feel the blood pouring from the deep cut on his face, watching as Kakashi shot the fireball out of his mouth.
"You bastard!" Zabuza yelled.
Quickly he dashed over to his sword and pulled it from the ground, using it to slash through the fire style, letting it pass by him without a scratch.
"Now's my chance!" Kakashi yelled, having appeared directly under Zabuza with blinding speed, taking him by surprise before he pushed off of the ground and slammed an upward kick right into his jaw, sending him flying into the air.
Sorry Guy, but I'm stealing this one from you. Kakashi thought before he jumped off of the ground appearing behind Zabuza while the two of them flew through the air.
"W-What the hell is this!" Zabuza yelled out, watching as Kakashi wrapped him up in bandages before he was able to recover from the kick to the face, keeping him trapped.
"This is the end for you, Zabuza!" Kakashi said starting to spin him faster and faster while the two of them fell toward the ground together.
"NOOO!!!" Zabuza yelled, knowing he couldn't get out of this one, struggling and fighting with all of his strength, not able to do a thing.
"Primary lotus!" Kakashi yelled as he slammed Zabuza into the ground head first, kicking up dust from the impact with the ground exploding from the force while Kakashi flipped out and landed in a rough crouching position, feeling the strain on his body from using the technique.
Meanwhile...
Both of the Otters that Zabuza had summoned seemed to prove their worth as they battled against all seven of Kakashi's ninja hounds at the same time, more than holding their own against all of them.
Pakkun had retreated to a safer spot, knowing that he wasn't suited for such a battle, leaving it to the other seven of his pack, watching from a distance.
The Otter with the eye patch and blue jacket was flipping around as it fought against four of the smaller dogs, blocking all of their attacks and counter-attacking at the same time, proving it was incredibly fast and nimble while it ran along the water as if it were nothing.
The other with the red scarf was fighting against Bull, who was the largest and strongest of the ninja hounds, as well as two others who were providing support, holding kunai in their mouths using them to attack and defend.
However, the Otter was proving difficult to handle as it danced around their attack with great speed and skill, slashing and catching both of the ninja hounds bad enough for them to burst into smoke having their summoning reverted due to their injuries, leaving only Bull left.
"Stop playing around and finish them already, Gobo!" The Otter with the red scarf barked, blocking another powerful attack from Bull, holding the large mastiff dog back with ease, using its dagger to price its mouth open.
Gobo, the other Otter sighed as it blocked another barrage of attacks before it jumped and flipped in the air to avoid another.
"What! Why would I when I'm having so much fun!" It yelled, pushing back another of the dogs as it tried to slice the Otter in half.
"Fine, suit yourself! The one with the red scarf said before pulling its knife free from Bull's mouth and stabbing the large dog in the face, causing it to cry out in pain before bursting into a cloud of smoke.
The Otter with the red scarf had made light work of Kakashi's ninja hounds, proving to be more deadly than Pakkun had first thought while he watched from the trees.
"This isn't good... These guys are very skilled." Pakkun said, knowing they didn't stand a chance.
The Otter quickly turned its attention toward its master, seeing that Zabuza looked to be in a bind as he got kicked up into the air before getting wrapped up like a mummy.
"Do I have to do everything around here?" It said to itself, clearly not happy before it placed its hands together.
"Water style, liquid ground jutsu!" Is said while finishing its hand signs just in time as he watched Kakashi smash Zabuza into the ground.
Kakashi was feeling the strain on his body now, having opened the first gate and used the primary lotus technique, putting a lot of strain on his body with the high-demanding Taijutsu move.
"Man... That was some impressive Taijutsu there, I thought it was over for a second." Zabuza's voice said from inside the dust that covered Kakashi's vision.
"No way!" Kakashi said, knowing that he should not have been able to survive that.
Zabuza picked up his sword from the ground before he started to wipe some of the mud off of his shoulders, stepping into Kakashi's field of vision.
The ground... It's soft? Kakashi said to himself, seeing that something wasn't right with it.
Suddenly the Otter with the red scarf landed next to Zabuza with a scowl on its face.
"I didn't think I would see you in such a bind that I would have to save you." It said, not seeming happy about it.
"Shut up. I didn't need your help." Zabuza said, clearly lying to himself about the situation.
His summon... It was able to cast a jutsu of its own and stop his fall. Kakashi worked out, keeping an eye on the two of them while trying to see what had happened to his ninja hounds.
This isn't good... That thing was able to take out my Ninken by itself outnumbered too. Kakashi thought, knowing that it must be quite strong.
"Whatever, I'll take care of this fool since you clearly can't handle it." The Otter said, bearing its teeth at Zabuza.
"Be my guest, Zorkai," Zabuza said, not seeming to care.
Zorkai dashed forward as it charged at Kakashi, moving like the wind before jumping into the air using its knife to slash at his face.
Kakashi jumped back, avoiding the first attack and then using his right forearm to block the Otters tail as it flipped and tried to smash it over his head.
This thing is fast! Kakashi thought, blocking the Otter's attacks one after the other with sparks flying in the air as their blades clashed, dancing around with perfect footwork to try and match the Otter's speed and attacks.
Kakashi was forced to duck under another attack with Zorkai landing on his shoulder, clawing its way around his body while attacking at the same time, making it almost impossible to shake the thing off before it stabbed Kakashi in the chest, landing a direct blow.
However, Kakashi's body burst into mud revealing it was a substitution, causing the Otter to growl as it waited to see where the real one was.
Gobo had also finished wrapping things up on its end, taking care of the last dog who was bleeding badly from the wound on its body.
"Time to die, dog!" Gobo yelled going for the finishing blow, only to watch as it burst into smoke not being able to hold its summon any longer.
"Argh, no fun!" Gobo yelled, turning around to see that Zorkai was fighting Kakashi, and then at Pakkun who was still watching from the tree line.
"Your turn," Gobo said with a snarl.
"Sorry Kakashi, but this is too much for us to handle..." Pakkun said, having no choice but to release its summon before it burst into smoke.
Kakashi quickly grabbed the Otters foot from under the ground taking it by surprise before he pulled it under, trapping it in the ground and causing it to yelled out in anger.
"Head hunter jutsu."
Kakashi burst free from the ground and was about to go for the killing blow, only to have his attacked stopped by Gobo who blocked his kunai with his own knife.
"You can't have all the fun, Zorkai!" It said, keeping Kakashi at bay for the time being.
So strong... Kakashi thought, feeling that the small animal was able to hold him back like this.
"Shut it!" Zorkai said while freeing itself with Gobo pushing Kakashi back.
Zabuza couldn't help but laugh as he walked forward, standing with his summons all staring down at Kakashi.
"Things aren't looking good for you, copy ninja," Zabuza said.
Kakashi knew he was right. He had no backup, his ninken had been defeated by these crazy strong Otters and Zabuza was still fresh while he was feeling his chakra levels having taken a dive from all of the fighting.
I might not have a choice with this one... Kakashi said, thinking he would have to open the second gate, knowing if he didn't his chakra reserves would run out before the end of this fight.
"Alright you two, time to use that jutsu," Zabuza said, causing both of his Otters to grin and bare their teeth.
"With pleasure," Zorkai said, not being able to wait to kill Kakashi.
Kakashi could see they were about to attack again, knowing it was now or never.
Second gate... Gate of healing open. Kakashi said in his mind, feeling the second gate that was located in the brain's right hemisphere open, giving his body a refreshing burst of chakra and increase to his strength.
"Deadly water dance of the demon..." Zabuza said, taking a low stance as the two Otters jumped onto his shoulders, clapping their hands together as they readied some kind of jutsu, covering their bodies in water.
Suddenly Zabuza took his sword in both hands, swinging it like a baseball bat as both of the Otters jumped onto the flat edge of it, getting ready to be launched forwards.
Zabuza swung his sword with all of his might, sending both of the Otters flying toward Kakashi like bullets with each of them being covered in water acting like a jet and giving them increased piercing power.
Kakashi flipped to the right with a well-executed cartwheel dodging Gobo and then pushed hard off of the ground, flipping backwards into the air as Zorkai flew under him, knowing full well that the Otters would have ripped right through his body if they had hit, seeing as they crashed right through a tree each.
However, before Kakashi could even land on the ground, his Sharingan caught Zabuza who was already on him with his sword raised behind him ready to deliver a powerful slash with his demon aura out on full display using all of his power for this last attack.
"Demon slash!"
Kakashi didn't have any time to do anything other than channel lighting style through the kunai and his hands, hoping he would be able to stop or at least weaken the impact of Zabuza's attack.
"Boom!"
Zabuza sliced through Kakashi with such power that Kakashi was sent flying back at incredible speed before he smashed into the forest, implanting in the trunk of one of the larger trees, splintering the wood with his body.
Zabuza's attack was so strong that he had broken Kakashi's lightning-enhanced Kunai with his sword before slicing into his jacket and sending him flying.
"Too shallow," Zabuza said, seeing the blood on his sword, knowing that it wasn't deep enough to kill.
Somehow Kakashi was still conscious, his vision hazy with black dots coming and going from the corners of his eyes with his head spinning.
His body hurt like hell and he coughed up blood, feeling that his ribs had been broken and his shoulder dislocated from the force of Zabuza's attack.
Both of the Otters landed back by Zabuza's feet, knowing that he would want to be the one to finish him off.
"We got him," Gobo said, snickering to himself while twirling its daggers around.
"I would say our work is done here, but I want to watch you kill this one," Zorkai said, clearly holding a grudge against Kakashi as it crossed his arms over its chest.
Kakashi couldn't move, feeling that his body was broken while he coughed more blood out onto the ground, still wedged in the trunk of the tree.
I think one of my ribs has pierced my lung... Kakashi thought, trying to fight off the darkness that was creeping upon him while gasping for breath.
"You sure caused me a lot of trouble... Kakashi." Zabuza said as he lifted his sword and placed it on his shoulder, feeling the wound on his chest bleeding again, along with the large slice down the side of his face.
Zabuza walked over toward where he had sent Kakashi flying, dropping his sword onto the ground while he dragged it feeling the strength in his shoulder go due to his wound.
"But this round goes to me..." Zabuza said, taking a moment to look at Kakashi, feeling somewhat disappointed that their fight had to end here.
Kakashi could just about make out Zabuza as he tried to lift his head, feeling the pain it caused his body.
"Time to put an end to this," Zabuza said, struggling to lift his blade with his bad arm.
So this is the end... Kakashi thought, feeling the last of his strength failing him.
There is nothing I can do anymore... Father... I will see you soon.
-------------------------
That's the end of this chapter!
I hope you enjoyed it.
Massive cliff hanger I know! More coming soon! I hope you all have a great weekend.