Under the thick fog, Sasuke couldn't see Zabuza's face.
But the edge of that blade set alarms blaring in his mind.
Yet his body wouldn't obey him.
He finally understood that Uchiha Itachi hadn't shown his true strength before.
Otherwise, this killing intent alone would have robbed him of resistance.
So that guy only meant to torture him, to make him witness his father's death over and over?
"Ah!"
Sasuke roared in fury.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto thought something had happened to him and broke free of the killing intent's hold, forming hand seals.
Multi Shadow Clone Technique!
A dozen Narutos charged toward the sound.
Zabuza was a bit surprised.
A mere genin using such an advanced jutsu.
But he didn't care much.
His sword spun, and all the clones burst in puffs of smoke.
At that moment, lightning flashed.
Even the fog couldn't smother that glow.
Thunder roared through the quiet night.
Zabuza turned and saw dense Lightning chakra concentrated in Sasuke's right hand.
In the next instant, Sasuke charged, face contorted with rage, at shocking speed.
"Nice jutsu. The user's lacking."
Zabuza smiled at the straightforward attack.
Body Flicker: Mist Step!
He moved swiftly through the fog, circling behind, and kicked.
Sasuke flew, slamming into a tree.
Naruto was anxious, but didn't act rashly.
He couldn't see Zabuza, but he could feel the malice.
With Namikaze Minato's guidance within the seal, he quickly locked onto Zabuza's position.
Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!
Naruto exhaled streams of wind projectiles.
Zabuza blocked with his sword.
He now realized these two brats weren't ordinary genin.
But too inexperienced—no real threat.
He narrowed his eyes and flung his sword.
Naruto dodged.
Water Style: Water Prison!
Zabuza thrust out a hand and a sphere of water wrapped the charging Sasuke.
"What?!"
Sasuke's pupils shrank. He hadn't expected such speed.
Even his two-tomoe Sharingan couldn't catch it—he was trapped.
Zabuza caught his returning sword with his left hand and chopped down.
Golden light flashed.
Naruto drove a Rasengan into the blade.
Zabuza's body jolted—he couldn't hold the sword and had to let go.
But he reacted quickly, kicking Naruto hard and sending him sprawling.
"Annoying brat."
Zabuza frowned.
Unwittingly he had wasted so much time on two genin.
Unbelievable.
He glanced at Naruto and moved to finish Sasuke—but the figure on the ground popped out of existence.
A shadow clone.
Zabuza stiffened.
Then pain ripped through his back.
The Rasengan's airflow tore open his black clothes.
An instant later, Zabuza burst into water.
But the Water Prison fell apart.
Sasuke seized the chance to break free.
"Impressive."
Zabuza reappeared, voice cold. "But this is as far as you go."
Hidden Mist: Silent Killing!
Chakra surged off him like a wave, and a deep crimson fog formed.
Blending with the existing mist, it made him even harder to discern.
Sasuke's Sharingan strained, but it was useless.
At the same time, overwhelming killing intent blanketed him, freezing his limbs again.
"Sasuke, follow my calls."
Naruto bumped him with an elbow. "I can barely track him."
Sasuke felt incredulous.
Why aren't you affected by the killing intent?
And you can still track him?
Is the gap between us that big?
His face darkened, and his Sharingan churned.
In the moment they spoke, Zabuza moved.
He was several times faster than before.
Naruto and Sasuke had no time to react and were kicked to the ground.
Zabuza picked up his sword. A rush of air roared.
Only then did the two realize that against a true jonin, no amount of planning would help.
Boom.
The ground split; dirt and dust billowed.
Zabuza's face went cold as he looked at the three people not far away.
"Go help Hinata."
Natsume released Naruto and Sasuke. "You did well. Leave the rest to me."
"No!"
Sasuke was stubborn. "I must defeat him!"
"Sasuke, now's not the time to show off."
Naruto hurried to dissuade him.
In the fight just now, they were already at their limit.
Unless he unleashed the big guy in his gut, Kurama.
Otherwise, beating Zabuza was nearly impossible.
"I…"
Sasuke swallowed the rest of his words.
He stared at Natsume, eyes wide, as if looking at a monster.
Because in the few seconds he and Naruto had spoken, the fight had already ended.
A vast, despairing gap.
Natsume stepped forward and threw a punch.
Plain and ordinary.
Zabuza's face twisted in a feral grin.
Underestimating him, was he?
Even if you're the Hokage, so what?
Zabuza gripped the Executioner's Blade and swung.
The force made the fog roll back with a shriek of air.
Natsume's figure blurred; Flying Thunder God activated, striking Zabuza's back.
"Argh!"
Zabuza shot into the air and crashed down.
Boom—leaving a large crater.
He spat bloody chunks laced with viscera; his bones were nearly shattered.
"S—so fast!"
Naruto only felt a blur before his eyes. When he looked again, Zabuza was down for the count.
So easy, so simple—it made it seem like Natsume had swatted a random chuunin.
But that wasn't true.
He'd felt Zabuza's strength firsthand—he was no pushover.
Minato had briefed him on Zabuza's background.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—the infamous Demon of the Hidden Mist.
At first, he and Sasuke could exchange a couple of moves, but once Zabuza got serious, they were nearly insta-defeated.
Which showed how powerful Natsume was.
"It's Flying Thunder God plus monstrous strength."
Minato couldn't help but sigh. "Natsume's getting scarier."
"And he's still so young."
Kushina knew Natsume had Wood Style and Sage Mode.
Now he had Flying Thunder God too.
He could hit and run—no one in the shinobi world could match him.
Minato invented the Rasengan because he lacked a powerful offensive move to pair with Flying Thunder God.
Even so, he'd still felt lacking.
Natsume was like an enhanced Minato.
Almost no weaknesses.
"What are you two standing there for?"
Natsume smiled.
Naruto and Sasuke snapped out of it and ran to help Hinata.
How to put it?
Natsume had been watching Hinata's fight with Haku the whole time.
The two were evenly matched.
Haku's Ice Release was most troublesome for Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals—
Multiple mirrors form around the enemy.
He can move between them at light speed and attack with senbon.
In the original, Sasuke and Naruto were made miserable by this move.
But Hinata had the Byakugan. No matter how fast he moved, he couldn't confuse her.
Natsume picked up the Executioner's Blade, examined it, and shook his head.
Not much use.
But he could sell it to Mei Terumi.
Including Zabuza and Haku.
That was his plan.
If he killed them, he'd only get a one-time Fate Points reward.
Handing them to Mei might yield multiple payouts.
Besides, letting them go wouldn't affect him at all.
Better to farm the Mizukage's favor.
"Brother Natsume, look out!"
Hinata's anxious voice rang out.
Natsume looked up.
The masked Haku was charging at high speed.
Midair, he formed a one-handed seal. Chakra turned to water, water to senbon, lancing toward Natsume's vital points.
Though Zabuza was nearby, Haku's precise control avoided him entirely.
Natsume thought: what a good bro.
He leapt, instantly appearing before Haku.
Catching Haku as he reflexively tried to retreat, Natsume flicked him down.
Haku hit the ground like Zabuza and lost the strength to resist.
"I'm fine."
Natsume patted Hinata's head. "You did well."
"N-no."
Hinata said guiltily, "I let him slip past me."
"You two are close in strength. It's normal."
Natsume glanced at Sasuke and Naruto.
Neither was satisfied.
The fight had begun with a bang and ended with a whimper.
The credit was all Natsume's; they felt they'd done nothing.
Even against Haku, they'd let him slip the net.
Fortunately, he'd come back to save Zabuza—
Otherwise, he might have escaped.
"Alright, don't be so down."
Natsume clapped his hands. "He's a jonin, and Haku's a special jonin. If you could beat them now, that would be the real problem."
Naruto wasn't surprised because Minato had explained.
But Sasuke and Hinata didn't know. Hearing it suddenly, they were stunned.
If that's the case, their performance today was actually pretty good.
They were only genin, after all.
Hinata sighed in relief—as long as she hadn't disappointed Brother Natsume.
Sasuke, however, grew pensive.
If he could reach the level where Natsume felled a jonin with one punch, could he defeat Uchiha Itachi?
In that moment, he fully acknowledged his teacher.