Fugitive Ninja Zabuza

A few days after the group continued on their way, a massive blade flew out of the forest, heading straight for Tazuna's head!

"Look out!" Kakashi's low shout rang out almost at the same time as the wind from the blade. His body shot toward Tazuna like an arrow loosed from the string, his left arm hooking around Tazuna's waist as he forcibly dragged him back and to the side.

"Shhk—" The great blade almost skimmed Tazuna's scalp as it flew past and buried itself straight into a large tree. A figure landed steadily on the hilt of the blade.

Duanmu recognized him at a glance. It was the rogue ninja from Hidden Mist Village—Zabuza Momochi.

When Naruto saw the enormous Executioner's Blade and the man standing on it, wearing a Hidden Mist ninja forehead protector while bandages covered the lower half of his face, he froze for a moment before bursting out in even stronger anger. "Hey! You're that 'Demon' Zabuza or whatever, right? Those guys just now were sent by you?!"

Sasuke's gaze instantly became razor-sharp. He stared fixedly at Zabuza, gripping his kunai so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Demon... Zabuza Momochi?" he murmured the name, intense fighting spirit and wariness mingling in his eyes. The killing intent radiating from this man was far thicker than that of the masked men from before, making him instinctively feel threatened.

Duanmu's heart clenched hard as well.

He was here! The true powerful enemy had finally appeared! He knew better than anyone how terrifying Zabuza Momochi was.

This was someone who could clash head-on with Kakashi, an existence absolutely incomparable to those small fry from earlier.

He immediately heightened his attention to the limit, focusing completely on Zabuza's every move while quietly reaching toward his ninja tool pouch, ready to respond to any sudden situation at any moment.

"Oh? You actually dodged my sneak attack. Looks like you're the jonin instructor of these brats." Zabuza's voice came through the bandages, hoarse and cold, his gaze landing on Kakashi, sharp as a blade. "Konoha ninja, state your name."

Kakashi shielded Tazuna behind him, his expression grave. He slowly raised his head and looked at Zabuza, not the slightest fear in his eyes. "Konoha, Kakashi Hatake."

"Kakashi Hatake..." Hearing the name, an almost imperceptible ripple flashed through Zabuza's eyes, then he gave a cold laugh. "So it's you, Kakashi of the Sharingan. I really didn't expect to run into a legendary figure here."

He applied the slightest pressure with his feet, leaping down from the hilt and landing steadily on the ground. He casually hefted the enormous Executioner's Blade onto his shoulder, the blade reflecting a chilling gleam. "But your luck's not so good today. That bridge builder—I have to take him with me."

"If you want to take him, you'll have to get past me first." Kakashi's voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable resolve. He slowly raised his right hand and placed it on his forehead protector.

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy, as if even the air had frozen solid.

The three genin of Team 7 all felt the powerful pressure radiating from Zabuza. It was a bloody aura that could only come from surviving countless battles of life and death, making it difficult for them to breathe.

Though Naruto was furious, he also realized how terrifying the enemy before him was. He clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, but he did not recklessly charge forward like before.

Sasuke's gaze became even colder. He gripped his kunai tightly, his body leaning slightly forward as he entered a combat stance, ready to strike at any time.

Duanmu knew that next would be the first head-on clash between Kakashi and Zabuza.

Zabuza looked at Kakashi's hand resting on his forehead protector, the corner of his mouth curling into a cruel smile. "What? Planning to show that Sharingan of yours? Fine by me. I've long wanted to see the power of that eye!" Before his words had even fallen, he suddenly swung the Executioner's Blade on his shoulder forward!

"Water Style: Water Clone Technique!"

With a loud bang, a large amount of water spray appeared out of nowhere, instantly condensing into a water clone identical to Zabuza. Wielding the Executioner's Blade, it charged straight at Kakashi!

Kakashi did not dare be careless. He swiftly turned sideways, narrowly avoiding the water clone's horizontal slash.

The great blade swept past his shoulder with a howling gust, cutting the tree trunk behind him clean in half and sending splinters flying. Kakashi's eyes sharpened, and his left hand formed seals like lightning. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!" The ground suddenly rose into an earthen wall, blocking the space between the water clone and the original body.

Bang! The water clone's blade slammed hard into the earthen wall, kicking up countless broken stones, but failed to completely destroy it.

"Petty tricks." Zabuza snorted coldly. His real body and the water clone exchanged a glance, and both formed seals at the same time.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" In an instant, a massive stream of water surged from Zabuza's mouth and condensed in midair into a huge water dragon. With a deafening roar and overwhelming force, it rushed violently toward Kakashi's position.

Wherever the water dragon passed, the ground was torn open into a deep trench. Amid the spreading mist, it was as if even the air had been crushed apart by the raging current.

"What a powerful Water Style!" Naruto's eyes widened, shock written all over his face. This had already far exceeded his understanding of ninjutsu.

Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly. He could clearly feel the enormous chakra contained within the Water Dragon Bullet.

Facing the roaring water dragon, Kakashi's eyes were unusually calm.

He showed not the slightest panic. His right hand finally moved away from his forehead protector, revealing the eye hidden beneath it—a crimson Sharingan, with three black tomoe slowly rotating and emitting a mysterious, powerful aura.

"Too slow." Kakashi said those words again, just like when he had saved Sakura and Tazuna earlier, but now the words contained a completely different power.

Kakashi's hands formed seals rapidly, so fast they almost left afterimages.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" The same ninjutsu name came from his mouth, its momentum not at all inferior to Zabuza's. A huge water dragon likewise gathered in front of him and crashed thunderously into Zabuza's water dragon!

Boom—!!!

The two water dragons collided fiercely in midair, twisting and tearing at each other with a deafening roar. Violent currents sprayed in every direction, forming massive waves that submerged more than half of the surrounding ground.

The three members of Team 7 hurriedly retreated with Tazuna, avoiding being dragged into this terrifying Water Style duel.

Duanmu looked at the two almost identical water dragons and sighed inwardly.

Kakashi's Sharingan really was incredible. Not only could it see through the hand seals of ninjutsu, it could also perfectly copy and counterattack in such a short time. Was this the Sharingan's "copy" ability?

"What?!" A flash of astonishment crossed Zabuza's eyes. Clearly, he had not expected Kakashi to also know this move, and for its power to be not one bit weaker.

The power of the two water dragons canceled each other out, and in the end both dissolved into water spraying across the sky. Zabuza took advantage of that moment to use the Hidden Mist Technique. Forming seals with both hands, he barked, "Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique!" In an instant, a large amount of dense mist surged from his body and rapidly spread out, enveloping the entire forest.

Visibility instantly dropped to an extremely low level. The surrounding trees and figures became indistinct, leaving only damp mist wrapping around everything, as if it meant to swallow them all.

"Be careful. This is a secret ninjutsu of Hidden Mist Village. It can obscure vision and disrupt perception." Kakashi's voice rang out in the thick fog, warning the students behind him.

His Sharingan flickered faintly in the mist, its crimson light seeming able to pierce through the dense fog as it vigilantly swept the surroundings.

Although the Sharingan could see through the flow of chakra in the mist, in this environment, his field of vision would still be affected considerably. Zabuza had chosen to use the Hidden Mist Technique at this moment, clearly intending to create a battlefield advantageous to himself.