"A rogue ninja?"
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata exchanged glances, their curiosity piqued. This was the first time they had ever seen a rogue shinobi from another country.
What they didn't know was that the men they had killed earlier, Kurosuki Raiga and his companion, were also defected ninja. But before those rogues could even introduce themselves, they had already fallen before Naruto's team.
Now, a thick mist began to roll across the battlefield, creeping in like a living thing.
From within the fog came a deep voice, cold and amused.
"When I served in the Hidden Mist's Anbu assassination squad, I carried a handbook that recorded information on targets of interest. Among them… the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake. The man who copied over a thousand jutsu."
Naruto whistled low and gave Kakashi a thumbs up.
"Impressive, Kakashi-sensei. Your reputation has spread even outside the Land of Fire!"
Kakashi raised a hand dismissively, his single visible eye curving.
"Just a little fame. Nothing worth bragging about."
He was never one for arrogance.
But the rogue standing in the mist was less amused.
"Are you mocking me?" Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist, snarled as he stepped forward. His pride bristled at the sight of Naruto's casual attitude. He was a notorious missing-nin, feared across nations, yet these children treated him like an afterthought.
Yes, the blond brat had shown skill earlier, even enough to defeat Kurosuki Raiga, but in the end, a child was still a child. Konoha's graduation system was laughable compared to the Mist's brutal traditions. In Zabuza's time, one only graduated by slaughtering their fellow students. He himself had killed his entire class with his own hands.
And these brats thought they could measure up to him?
Naruto turned away from Zabuza, completely unconcerned, and addressed Sasuke instead.
"Sasuke, want to test your strength against him?"
Sasuke's lips curved faintly. His eyes narrowed, and when they opened again, the scarlet glow of the three-tomoe Sharingan spun into existence.
"Fine by me."
The sight wiped the smirk from Zabuza's face.
He knew those eyes.
The Uchiha name carried weight across the entire shinobi world, and Zabuza had fought enough battles to understand the terror behind it. During the Third Great Ninja War, he had seen the Uchiha clan in action. Each member with a three-tomoe Sharingan was considered an elite jonin, dangerous enough that even veterans were warned never to fight them alone. Their illusions could ensnare you in an instant, and unless you had a comrade to break the genjutsu, you were as good as dead.
The alarm bells rang loudly in Zabuza's head. He moved first.
The fog thickened, curling heavy and suffocating around the battlefield.
Kakashi shifted instantly, one hand tightening protectively on Tazuna's shoulder while his other dangled casually at his side. But his body was taut, muscles coiled like a spring.
Naruto hefted the massive Decapitating Blade he had seized earlier, the weapon resting easily on his shoulder as he studied the fight with bright interest. Hinata's pale eyes activated, her Byakugan piercing through the mist as she kept track of the enemy's movements.
And Sasuke, eyes glowing scarlet, stood calmly in the haze.
The first strike came swift and silent.
Zabuza appeared behind Tazuna, kunai gleaming as it arced toward the bridge-builder's throat. He had no intention of entertaining a duel with some cocky Uchiha brat. The mission came first. Kill the client, then withdraw.
He had no desire to tangle with Kakashi, let alone this strange team that possessed the Sharingan, the Byakugan, and a boy who could wield his own stolen sword.
But the kunai never found its mark.
"Back off!"
Naruto's voice cut through the mist as the giant blade in his hands swept forward, forcing Zabuza to retreat.
The rogue ninja's eyes flicked to the weapon. His weapon. The humiliation burned in his chest. If he hadn't tried to show off earlier, that boy would never have taken it from him. Now, watching the blond swing his own sword so casually, Zabuza's frustration mounted.
Before he could adjust, Sasuke moved.
"Lightning Style: Shunshin!"
Blue sparks exploded around him. His body blurred, twisting into a streak of living lightning. This was no ordinary Body Flicker. Sasuke had refined it, fusing lightning chakra into his very cells, pushing his speed beyond normal human perception.
Zabuza's instincts screamed. He twisted and slashed behind him, but his blade only caught a fading afterimage, leaving a sharp trail of electricity that stung his fingertips.
The real attack came from above.
"Fire Style: Majestic Dragon Flame!"
A colossal dragon-shaped inferno roared downward. The heat alone forced Tazuna to crouch and shield his face, while the fog evaporated in an instant.
"Water Style: Water Encampment Wall!"
Zabuza's hands blurred through signs. A towering wall of water surged upward, meeting the dragon head-on.
The collision was deafening. Fire and water clashed, creating an explosion of steam that swallowed the battlefield. The scalding mist seared exposed skin, and Zabuza hissed as angry blisters bubbled across his arm.
Through the haze, he felt it.
Eyes. Red, unblinking, merciless eyes.
"Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes!"
Illusory spikes of black flame erupted around him, impaling his limbs and locking him in place. The pain was unreal but vivid, freezing his body with phantom agony.
Zabuza's mind strained, recognizing the technique. But recognition meant little when the Uchiha's power was so overwhelming.
Sasuke's body flickered, reappearing in front of him. Lightning spiraled down his arm, compressing into the form of a jagged spear, sharper than steel and thrumming with killing intent.
The Thunder Spear. A technique that pierced all defenses.
It drove straight for Zabuza's chest.
He twisted desperately, battle-honed instincts saving his life by a hair's breadth. The spear ripped through his side instead, searing flesh and muscle as a gaping wound opened beneath his ribs.
Blood splattered across the ground, sizzling where sparks touched it. The stench of iron and burned flesh filled the air.
Zabuza staggered, teeth gritted against the pain. He stared at the boy before him, disbelief burning in his eyes.
"An Uchiha… with this level of power? At your age? Impossible…"
But the Sharingan's crimson glow only deepened.
Sasuke's voice was like winter's edge, cold and sharp.
"Whatever tricks you use, whatever jutsu you hide… in these eyes, they are nothing but shadows in the fog."
The mist thinned under the rising heat. Naruto shifted the Decapitating Blade in his grip, smirking. Hinata's gaze tracked Zabuza's chakra flow, seeing how wildly it faltered under the strain.
The outcome was already decided.
But Zabuza Momochi was not a man who yielded.
He leapt backward, feet skimming across the river. Mist coiled once more around him, thicker than before.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
The river roared as an enormous wave surged upward, towering like a wall of liquid mountains ready to crash down and obliterate everything on shore.
Sasuke only smiled faintly. He pressed his hands together, forming a single sign.
The Sharingan spun faster. He could see it all the wave's motion, its weak points, the way chakra rippled through every crest.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation."
From his lungs poured an ocean of fire. Unlike the dragon earlier, this was a sea of scarlet-gold flames, expanding outward in a sweeping arc.
Water met fire in a catastrophic clash. The impact shook the riverbank, creating a shockwave that ripped trees from the earth. Steam exploded skyward, blanketing the battlefield in a white-hot storm.
But the flames carved through.
The tsunami collapsed, boiled away by the inferno. Zabuza's body was thrown back, battered and burned, crashing against a charred tree trunk. Blood sprayed from his lips as he struggled to stay conscious.
"This power… at such a young age…" His voice was hoarse, edged with disbelief and fury.
Sasuke stepped from the smoke, wreathed in firelight. His cloak whipped in the hot wind, his Sharingan gleaming brighter than the blaze around him.
"Your water jutsu is strong," he said coldly, lightning sparking at his fingertips once more, "but before the fire of the Uchiha, it is nothing but fuel."
The mist had vanished. The battlefield belonged to him.
And Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, finally felt the weight of defeat pressing down on his chest.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to leave a comment, drop a power stone, or add it to your collection your support keeps the journey going!