Water Release vs. Water Release! Zabuza Attacks!

Early the next morning, at the Konoha Gate.

"Whoa-! Sakura, why are you dressed like that? Are you okay?"

Bang! A lump of something once known as Naruto Uzumaki appeared on the ground. That was what happened when you said the wrong thing!

"I didn't want to dress like this either. It's all my mom's fault. Sigh, she probably thinks I'm going on a trip instead of leaving the village on a mission." Actually, it was partly my fault too. To keep her from worrying, I'd deliberately made the mission sound easy.

"So now I look like this." I tugged at the gorgeous kimono I was wearing. My hair was pinned up, and the pretty wooden sandals made my feet look delicate. "None of it matches my style! But it is pretty, really~ I hardly ever dress up, so it's nice to change my equipment for once."

"Sasuke?" I tilted my head toward him, puckered my lips, and blew him a kiss. "Am I pretty?"

For once, Sasuke blushed. "Tch!" He turned his head away with a haughty look!

"Haha! Sasuke's embarrassed!"

"Um, Sakura..." Kakashi interrupted me awkwardly. "I have to say it looks nice, but this is a rank mission. You don't exactly look like a ninja dressed like that!"

"It's fine, I thought of that ages ago. Transformation Technique, release!" After a puff of white smoke, the kimono and wooden sandals turned into a light blue sailor blouse and a short purple skirt. My footwear changed into pretty leather shoes too.

"Ahaha, sorry. I used the Transformation Technique several times to try on clothes..." I laughed awkwardly. "I'll undo them all at once this time!"

After undoing the Transformation Technique, I still had a new look. My formerly shoulder-length hair was tied into a cool high ponytail, and my usual Genin uniform had been replaced with a regular girl's short-sleeved top and knee-length pants.

The village didn't actually require us to wear uniforms. It was just that most of the Jonin had come straight from the battlefield, so they preferred clothes that were uniform, simple, and practical. As for me, I was too lazy to dress up. No matter how much a child dressed up, the best they could be called was cute.

"Sakura, I never thought you'd dress up cute like an ordinary girl!" Kakashi teased me, and even Sasuke nodded along.

"Hey, hey, that's going too far! I can manage this much dressing up! I'm doing it to maintain the good image of us Konoha Ninja outside the village!" As I grew older, my features were gradually developing. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was slowly beginning to resemble one of those beauties in manga. But appearance reflected the heart. Sakura in the original story had a gentle, delicate air, while I hadn't learned to carry myself like that in all my time since transmigrating. If anything, I probably had a rather heroic air! If the two of us were really placed side by side, even though we looked very much alike, no one would ever mistake one of us for the other!

Since graduating from the Ninja Academy, I'd also gradually noticed signs that my body was developing...

Ahem, it definitely wasn't my period, whatever you might be thinking. Rather, the growth of my chakra had suddenly accelerated, which meant my physical development had begun to speed up. Soon I'd enter the stage when a ninja's strength grew fastest: puberty! And physically, the change in the distribution of fat was gradually giving me curves...

So, for once, I was paying a little attention to my appearance.

Besides, I glanced at Kakashi's changing expression. He'd noticed too. Perhaps he was the only one there who had noticed that my Transformation Technique had fooled even him just now... Lately, I'd learned a thing or two from Naruto as well. My ninjutsu was growing far faster than my body!

In the Land of Fire, on the road near the border of the Land of Waves.

The Demon Brothers descended and tore Kakashi into a mass of shredded flesh with lightning speed!

"The first one... took the bait!"

Next, the Demon Brothers charged behind me. "-You're the second!" An iron chain covered in barbs swiftly wrapped around me, and with a sharp tug from the Demon Brothers, my body burst into a spray of blood!

Tap! Kakashi, who was hiding in a tree, stared speechlessly at me as I landed beside him. "Aren't you going to help?"

"Aren't you hiding too, Kakashi-sensei?" I looked at Kakashi, who was ready to kick me into the battle. "All right, let me see how they work together without me first."

Last time, Kakashi and the others had worked together to defeat his Shadow Clone. I'd been wanting to see their combination attacks ever since!

Down below, Naruto and the Demon Brothers hadn't noticed that my severed limbs and Kakashi's had turned into wood chips and splashes of water after hitting the ground-

"Kakashi-sensei! Sakura!" Naruto roared in anger. "I'll flatten you!"

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

He summoned over a thousand Shadow Clones in one go! While the Shadow Clones kept them occupied, Sasuke and Naruto formed hand seals at the same time!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Wind and Fire Great Breakthrough!"

Fanned by the wind, the Great Fireball instantly doubled in size and blazed toward the Demon Brothers!

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A thick wall of water rose out of nowhere, firmly blocking the oversized Great Fireball! They seemed to be ninjutsu specialists. No wonder Sasuke, a mere Genin, had been able to suppress them with taijutsu in the original story!

One of the Demon Brothers took the opportunity to circle around Sasuke and Naruto and charge at the man we were protecting, Tazuna!

As if I'd let you succeed! My hands swiftly formed seals-

"Water Release: Super Water Arrow Technique!"

A thin stream of water pierced his heart with ease. He staggered forward another two steps before clutching his chest and falling to the ground, disbelief written across his face. A ninjutsu that even a Jonin couldn't withstand head-on had easily claimed the life of a mere Chunin.

On the other side, Kakashi had also captured the other attacker with ease-

"Mr. Tazuna, I didn't expect ninja to be after you. This is no ordinary rank mission anymore. A mission with ninja as enemies is at least B-rank or higher...! Mr. Tazuna, you're hiding something from us, aren't you?"

"...That's right." Mr. Tazuna lowered his head. After a long while, he finally spoke. "As you can see, I'm a master bridge builder from the Land of Waves. Recently, a terrifying person set his sights on our country..."

Mr. Tazuna began pouring out his troubles. "...So they'll definitely keep sending ninja to hunt down a bridge engineer like me! If you don't keep protecting me, I'm as good as dead. But that's nothing! You don't have to take it to heart... Sigh, of course, none of this is your fault!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. This old man was a real headache!

As soon as Naruto heard there were more ninja to fight, he shouted excitedly, "Kakashi-sensei, let's keep doing this mission! Didn't you say we shouldn't give up on a mission halfway through?"

"I agree too."

"I agree. I hope the next opponents won't be such pushovers!" Oh, Sasuke, you'd only managed to suppress the Demon Brothers. Were you getting cocky already?!

"All right, since you all say so, the mission continues!" Kakashi nodded indifferently. "Oh, right. Sasuke, you did well in that fight!"

"And Naruto, you've improved a great deal too!"

"Does that mean you think I did a lousy job, Kakashi-sensei?!" I was devastated!

"I never said that!"

After dealing with the Demon Brothers, we set off again. After a day's travel, we finally reached the vicinity of the border. We rested for the night, and early the next morning, we took a boat into the Land of Waves under cover of the mist.

"Kakashi-sensei, if word gets back that those two Mist Ninja failed their mission, the next attacker will probably be a Jonin, right?" I asked as we walked.

"That's right. It's quite possible..."

"So don't overestimate yourselves and try to join the next fight. Follow every order, understood?" I'd just been about to act cute and ask Kakashi to let me fight, but he saw through me immediately.

"Tch, opponents at the Chunin level are already beneath my notice!" One failed attempt at acting cute didn't matter. The important thing was to keep at it, so I pouted and continued trying to charm him...!

"Don't think that hurting me that time means you can fight a Jonin. Jonin aren't as simple as you imagine-" Kakashi was about to continue lecturing me when he suddenly stopped. "Wait, something's wrong-"

Before he finished speaking, a huge sword came spinning toward us!

"Get down! Sakura, don't push yourself!" Kakashi grabbed Tazuna and pushed him to the ground, shouting at me!

A layer of azure water shimmered faintly over my hand. With absolute confidence in my Azure Water Release, I stopped Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō without hesitation!

"So it's Kakashi of the Sharingan!" A tall, thin figure appeared in a tree. "And you, kid, could I trouble you... to give me back my sword?"

Before he finished speaking, the figure in the tree vanished. Zabuza suddenly appeared behind me, thrusting a kunai at my head!

I turned sideways and tilted my head to dodge Zabuza's sneak attack, then drove a vicious spinning elbow into him. Splash!! Zabuza's body burst apart in a spray of water!

"Whoosh-" Another Zabuza snatched up the Kubikiribōchō and swung it, cutting me in two!

-Splash! My severed limbs also turned into a pool of clear water.

At the moment the Kubikiribōchō had launched its sneak attack, I'd quietly created a Water Clone. As soon as I saw my attack miss, I'd immediately used the Substitution Technique to swap places with it!

Kakashi followed up with a powerful kick, sending Zabuza and his sword flying more than ten meters! His forehead protector was already pulled up, revealing a crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

Zabuza spat out a mouthful of blood and leaped backward, landing on the surface of the water.

"Looks like I can't finish off that old man without taking you down first..."

Water vapor slowly rose, turning into a thick, impenetrable fog.

"...Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique..."

Zabuza's voice sounded as if it were coming from far away, faint and impossible to locate. Before the fog covered his face, I distinctly saw him glance at me!

The mist grew thicker and denser. I could sense that this was no ordinary fog. It contained a great deal of chakra and couldn't easily be dispersed with Wind Release. It was much stronger than the thick fog we'd made during our exercise! In this fog, where we truly couldn't see our hands in front of our faces, Zabuza could probably use that chakra to keep track of our every move!

"Eight places..." Zabuza's voice rang out in the air. "The throat, the spine..."

"Which one... would you like me to attack?... Hehehehe..."

A fear of being watched by a beast, powerless to resist, welled up inside me. Was this killing intent...?! It was unbearably oppressive, unbearably unpleasant, as though the slightest movement would get me killed... In my previous life, whenever I read about killing intent, it had always seemed fake and insubstantial. I hadn't experienced this feeling when I fought Kakashi last time either. I never imagined killing intent could be so terrifying! Zabuza must have killed hundreds or thousands of people to have such dense killing intent!

I took a deep breath and gradually suppressed the feeling with my strong confidence in my Water Release. An environment filled with water vapor couldn't have been more favorable for a Water Release ninja like me. I'd try copying the hand seals Zabuza had used for the Hidden Mist Technique just now...

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique..."

I infused the mist within ten meters of me with my own chakra. A wondrous sensation came over me; through that chakra, I seemed able to perceive many things... If I could learn the complete Hidden Mist Technique, the sensation would probably be even clearer!

Sensing that Sasuke seemed to be trembling slightly, I hurriedly took his icy hand and smiled at him. "Don't worry, Sasuke!"

"I'll protect you all!" Kakashi also turned back to reassure us. "And good work, Sakura!" Kakashi had sensed what I'd done too.

I was about to reply when I suddenly sensed Zabuza charging at me!

"Pretty cocky, aren't you, kid?!" The Kubikiribōchō whistled toward me! A shield made of chakra water shimmered faintly over my right hand, and the Kubikiribōchō cut only halfway through before getting stuck in it. That texture and strength! It was a Water Clone!

I blocked and countered in one motion, driving my left hand into the center line. With Nintaijutsu enhancing it, a vicious knife-hand strike smashed the Water Clone in front of me into a spray of water! The next moment, another Kubikiribōchō swept toward my waist!

I hopped up to dodge the blow. The water beneath my feet let me move through the air as freely as I could on the ground, and I landed a front kick that smashed the second Zabuza's head to pieces! Fighting here might endanger Tazuna, so I changed direction in midair and jumped to the side!

"Sasuke, Naruto, protect Mr. Tazuna!"

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Zabuza were engaged in a spectacular battle of originals and clones! Before I could watch any more, I landed and found myself surrounded by five of Zabuza's Water Clones!

"This is trouble..." Cold sweat ran down my face. These clones were nothing like the ones Sasuke had defeated in an instant in the original story. Zabuza had put a great deal of chakra into them. Though they couldn't use ninjutsu, their taijutsu alone was above Chunin level, and there were five of them... If I'd still been the person I was right after graduation, I might really have been killed.

But now-

I pulled out several shuriken with my left hand and sent them flying at high speed with chakra water! While the shuriken held the Water Clones on either side off for a moment, I burst forward and threw a straight punch with my right hand. The unstoppable blow smashed the Water Clone in front of me, who had raised his greatsword to block, to pieces along with his blade! A layer of azure water shimmered faintly over my fist!

As soon as the blow landed, I leaped into the air. Behind me, the four Water Clones jumped after me, surrounding me in midair and swinging their four greatswords down at once!

I was even more agile in the air than on the ground! I easily dodged the four clones' combined attack, stepped on chakra water to change direction twice in quick succession, then landed a side kick that smashed one Water Clone who couldn't change direction in midair!

"That leaves... three!" A person-sized, egg-shaped water shield [note] rose around me. The clones landed and swung their three greatswords down from different directions, but they only sent layers of water splashing! I spoke coldly as I watched the three Water Clones, their attack thwarted, take positions together where they could support one another! Standing together might look like it would let them help each other resist my taijutsu, but in reality, it would only get them killed faster!

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!" Two streams of water shot from between my fingers, blasting two clones who hadn't reacted at all apart onto the ground. The remaining Water Clone launched a futile, desperate charge...

I easily caught the Water Clone's greatsword!

"Hmph-" The corners of my mouth lifted slightly, and I gave the last clone a cruel smile. Then I drove a headbutt into Zabuza's clone. Splash-

Wearing an expression of disbelief, the Water Clone turned into a pool of clear water at my feet!

On the other side, perhaps because he'd used too many Water Clones against me, Zabuza hadn't gained the upper hand as he had in the original story. After exchanging powerful kicks with Kakashi, he used the momentum to jump onto the water, brought his hands together, and swiftly formed seals-

"Ox, monkey, rabbit, rat, boar, rooster, ox, horse, rooster, rat, tiger, dog, tiger, snake, ox, ram, snake, boar, ram, rat, water, monkey, rooster, dragon, rooster, ox, horse, ram, tiger, snake, rat, monkey, rabbit, boar, dragon, ram, rat, ox, monkey, rooster, water, rat, boar, rooster!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" Two voices rang out at once! Using the Sharingan's copying ability, Kakashi completed the ninjutsu at the same time as Zabuza, and two water dragons roared up into the air!

At the same time-

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

A stream of water easily sliced Zabuza's Water Dragon Bullet into several pieces. Kakashi's water dragon smashed the remaining fragments apart and crashed down hard on Zabuza's head!

Zabuza couldn't escape this calamity!

Note: This made use of the thin-shell principle. A common example is an egg: if you hold one in your hand, it's difficult to crush it. That's because the curved structure of the eggshell distributes the pressure it receives very effectively. Therefore, even though the shell is thin, it can still resist external impacts well! The biomimetic concept derived from this is the thin-shell principle. In other words, the best shape for a protective shield isn't a perfect sphere, but an egg.

[PS: I'll take this opportunity to explain why people sometimes shout the names of their ninjutsu in battle. It's actually a matter of personal style, just like Bruce Lee liked to make strange cries. Sometimes it can put pressure on the enemy, boost one's own morale, or even give the enemy false information. Of course, ninja decide whether or not to do it depending on the circumstances. Naturally, they won't shout when they need to remain hidden! Also, some people don't like shouting like that, but I'll still write it out. First, it helps me meet the word count! Second, writing battles this way makes them more exciting. Of course, that doesn't mean the person actually shouted it... That's the author shouting! In this book, the protagonist likes to shout the names... But that last move was actually the Super Water Gun Technique. She deliberately shouted the wrong name to mislead Zabuza. Oh, and the author doesn't like the idea of spewing ninjutsu out of the mouth. It's dirty, isn't it?! Mm-hmm, that's how it is.]

[PS: I've noticed everyone's really enthusiastic. My book review section is much livelier than those of other books, hehe! Oh, and I don't know why the pictures in the image section are like that, and the proportions are wrong too! The originals look really good-]