Zabuza felt the shockwave ripple through him and his jutsu … Kakashi took immediate advantage of the brief moment where Zabuza's control of the jutsu slipped due to the explosion …
The rebound left Zabuza sluggish and using a powerful jutsu left his chakra network needing a moment to recover.
But time wasn't something Zabuza had … he forced his chakra to flow, feeling the burning strain on his body as he molded just enough chakra into his legs so he could jump …
***
Kakashi, for better or for worse, was a Ninjutsu expert. He was one of the few ninjas of Konoha capable of using all five elements with proficiency.
Aided by the Sharingan, Kakashi was able to copy and train with quite a collection of jutsus, you could say he was some sort of expert at the art. While not quite at the level of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi was in fact a prodigy …
While Zabuza's jutsu had some uniqueness to it, as most jutsus coming from experts had … the Basic framework wasn't that complicated.
Most jutsus weren't when you got the hang of it, Zabuza's devouring wave for all its complexity, was, at the end of the day, a mass of water saturated with chakra and controlled like one would do with chakra threads … the finicky part was making sure the water behaved like a sticky glue that would drag opponents inside and not let them out … the devouring part of the jutsu …
Kakashi wasn't a true expert in water release, and taking control of another person's jutsu wasn't something easy to do … so Kakashi's stolen devouring wave didn't pack quite the same umph … but it didn't need to, after all, Zabuza let himself open by overcommitting …
Kakashi forced the jutsu to pursue Zabuza into the air, water rising out of the ocean like a waterspout … Kakashi wasn't confident he would score a fight ending hit, but it was sure to stack the odds in his favor … Kakashi was still feeling the wounds he had to cauterize after all …
Kakashi smirked slightly as the water wave came closer and closer to the airborne Zabuza …
[Kakashi] “Strain your chakra some more demon of the mist …”
The killer hound of Konoha was smelling blood in the water …
Kakashi was already prepping his chakra for a finishing blow … lighting slowly sparkling in his hand as he primed himself to perform another Chidori …
***
Haku almost saw in slow motion as a water jutsu engulfed his master …
Zabuza tried cleaving the jutsu with his sword but it wasn't enough, the water swallowed him …
Haku was frantically jumping between planes of ice in an effort to arrive on time as soon as he heard the explosion, unconcerned by the other explosion that almost took his own life …
Ice froze the blood oozing out of the shrapnel embedded in his flesh, Haku strained his chakra, hands blurring in seals … Haku could see the bright flash of lightning and the scream of a thousand birds rising up through the air in the direction of her master …
With no time for half measures, Haku dug deep, body and chakra screaming in protest, but Haku had only one thought on his mind …
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[Haku] “ I won't let my master die before me … “
***
Zabuza lost his sense of direction as the current made his body spin in every other direction … the crushing pressure made it hard to move, much less make handseals …
Zabuza could only grind his teeth, hold his breath and keep a dead grip on his sword because he could feel it … he could feel the danger coming … that instinct that those who lived long in the profession had …
Even spinning around like he was, Zabuza could still track his opponent, the bright blur moving up the waterspout like a bolt of lightning …
Time slowed to a crawl as Zabuza saw another figure approaching … his weapon … his apprentice … his surrogate son … Haku had blood seeping out of frozen wounds and a look of pure desperation as he burned through his chakra with abandon … Zabuza could see the backlash on Haku's body, that telling reddish hue of someone pushing past a limit they weren't supposed to …
Kubikiribocho could be remade, blood, chakra and a few pieces was all it needed to reform … Haku took years to train, and to find another weapon like him … between both weapons the choice was clear …
Zabuza focused chakra through his sword, forcing the sword to give him what it took from others … the metal made of corpses and slaughter, fractured … pieces flaked off like the metal was discarding the bodies it consumed, finally releasing that life force for a purpose …
Like flower petals floating over a mass grave, Zabuza felt each piece of the sword turning to rust as the legendary sword released its ace … years of life taken from others now coursed through Zabuza's veins …
Blood red chakra engulfed Zabuza, his muscles swelling with borrowed power …
Kakashi's hand was already through his chest, but Zabuza had Undying strength and resilience … the gore drinker finally releasing the power of a thousand deaths … to keep a single life …
The trick that made Zabuza almost succeed in killing the mizukage and freeing Kirigakure from his grip … the trick he was supposed to use to aid in the revolution after he got the funds for their war …
Zabuza released the demon of the mist …
***
Kakashi could feel another figure approaching, but it was of no concern, it would arrive too late … Kakashi's chidori would find its target first …
And after successfully piercing Zabuza's chest with his hand … Kakashi almost smirked, prideful of his clean-ish victory over a wielder of one of the legendary swords of the mist …
But, as with most things on his line of work, Kakashi knew something was wrong … he tried to remove his hand and take distance, but Zabuza's chest swelled, the wound healing in moments and making his hand get stuck in the ribcage …
Kakashi could feel the beat of a heart that was gone moments before …
Like any good ninja should, Kakashi wrested his hand back, chakra and muscles pulling with enough power to tear something as Kakashi was still recovering from the chidori’s blowback …
And to make matters worse, the approaching figure who wasn't a concern before, was now already in range …
***
Haku felt his blood turn to ice as Konoha's killer hound punched through his master’s chest with his jutsu, the overwhelming noise of birds finally stopping …
The bloody arm being yanked back was everything Haku could see …
The beating of his own heart was the only thing he could hear …
Haku would avenge his master …
The jutsu Haku was preparing was released with everything he got … a wave of ice chakra, colder than cold flowed through the air like a deadly invisible breeze … water froze instantly as it passed through, Haku made sure the jutsu passed around his master before catching up to Hatake Kakashi …
Haku could feel his own body freezing over because of the blow back, but he didn't care … a weapon with no master was simply useless …
***
Kakashi felt the wave of ice release closing in, he could see the water of his own jutsu flash freezing in a mere instant, there wasn't anywhere to run … unless …
Thinking on his feet, Kakashi made a reckless gamble … an explosive tag was tossed in front of him and immediately detonated before the freezing chakra overwhelmed the seal script …
The explosion was far from enough to stop the jutsu but it was enough to propel Kakashi backwards and out of the way … not at all unscathed … but better have some internal bruising and ringing ears than to become an ice block …
***
Zabuza felt Haku's chakra waning, the boy used everything, even the fumes … the blowback from his jutsu and the fall would be fatal if Zabuza did nothing … but if Zabuza saved Haku, he would let Kakashi escape and lose the funds Kiri’s revolution needed …
The decision barely needed considering … Zabuza grabbed the boy in his arms and focused some of the life-force pouring into him right into Haku, bracing for the fall back towards the sea they were in … the fight was over …
*** *** ***
Kakashi crashed back into the water, the speed making hitting the water surface almost as bad as hitting solid ground … Kakashi got lucky, really lucky that Zabuza decided to save his companion instead of finishing the job … but he wasn't out of danger yet …
Zabuza crashed into the water moments later, companion cradled in his arms …
The mist and the reddish hue that reminded Kakashi of Guy with a few gates opened, made Zabuza look like a true demon in the mist …
Kakashi's hands were shaking as his body and chakra screamed for rest … Kakashi didn't let up, a soldier pill quickly found its way into Kakashi's mouth … the bitter medicinal pill filled with narcotic boosters brought forward energy that Kakashi was sorely missing …
He would suffer the crash later, it is better than being dead …
Kakashi's mind quickly turned towards his cute little genins … Kakashi tried to feel for their chakra and he could feel Jay's approaching … good, Kakashi would need a little help …
There was a moment of silence between Zabuza and Kakashi, both jounins that just finished dancing on the razor edge of death were now considering what to do next …
Only for a small voice cut through the silence …
[Jay] - Hello again Zabuza … I can see that your companion is out of commission … and you know how your first fight against Kakashi and us went … so how about we cut a deal ? -
Jay's voice was filled with certainty and Kakashi could see a hint of hesitation in Zabuza as his eyes drifted the tiniest bit towards the person in his arms …
Good … Zabuza truly cared for his companion … They would have good leverage then …
***
