Fake Death

Sasuke froze, but his body's instincts made him act at once.

He turned, driving the kunai in his hand viciously toward that seemingly empty spot.

"Clang!"

The crisp ring of metal colliding exploded through the mist.

Zabuza's figure flashed past, his single visible eye filled with shock.

How was that possible? How did he find me?

"Sakura, three o'clock below your feet. Detonate it." Naruto's command followed immediately.

Sakura did not hesitate in the slightest and promptly formed hand seals.

"Boom!"

The blast wave temporarily blew away the thick mist in a small area, revealing Zabuza, who had just dodged there.

Though it had not injured him, it once again disrupted his assassination rhythm.

"You... what exactly are you?"

Zabuza's voice came from deep within the mist, carrying a trace of dread for the first time.

Kakashi stared at Naruto in shock as well.

Are you the teacher, or am I?

The mist was a killer's curtain, but also a prisoner's cage.

For the first time, Zabuza found the thick fog he relied upon for survival so obstructive.

"Sasuke, five meters ahead to the right. Three Explosive Tags. Throw them in a fan formation."

The instant Sasuke heard the order, his body reacted. Humiliation and exhilaration, two utterly opposite emotions, collided violently within his chest.

Like a puppet following a programmed command, he swung his arm with textbook precision.

Three Explosive Tags tore through the white mist, shooting in a triangular formation toward an empty patch of air.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The chain of explosions scattered a patch of mist, revealing Zabuza's awkwardly dodging figure.

The spot where he had just landed was the very center of the explosions.

"Sakura, maintain vigilance."

Naruto's voice sounded again, giving no one any time to think.

"If any chakra fluctuation comes within ten meters of Tazuna, detonate the preset traps immediately. No need to ask for permission."

"Yes!"

Sakura's response was sharp and brief, her fear tightly bound by shackles called discipline.

She was no longer the girl who would scream. She was a sentry, a living trap trigger.

Zabuza moved through the mist at high speed, like prey trapped in a corner.

For the first time, his prized assassination techniques had become utterly ridiculous.

That boy with his eyes closed was an invisible net cast across the heavens.

"Interesting! This is far too interesting, Kakashi Hatake!"

Zabuza's laughter came from every direction, twisted into something inhuman by the thick mist.

"Where did you find a monster like this?"

Kakashi's Sharingan locked tightly onto the lingering traces of chakra, yet he was always one step too slow.

Naruto's perception surpassed vision.

"Sasuke, three meters behind you. Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Covering attack."

Sasuke's chest heaved violently. The chakra expenditure left him dizzy.

But he still formed hand seals.

Clusters of small fireballs sprayed into the dense mist behind him like buckshot.

"Puff, puff, puff..."

The fireballs vanished into the mist, with no solid sensation of impact.

"Naive!"

Zabuza's voice suddenly exploded beside Sasuke's ear!

He slipped through the gaps between the fireballs, his massive Kubikiribōchō chopping down at Sasuke's head!

The scent of death rushed toward him.

Sasuke's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

"Shift half a step left. Slash upward with the kunai. Target his wrist."

Naruto's order arrived almost at the same moment as Zabuza's attack.

There was no time to think, no time to judge.

Trust, or death.

Sasuke's body made the choice.

Almost instinctively, he took that tiny step to the left.

"Clang!"

The side of the Kubikiribōchō came down almost grazing the tip of his nose, smashing into the ground and scattering shards of stone.

Meanwhile, the kunai in his hand precisely knocked aside the hand gripping the blade.

The tremendous force split the web between his thumb and forefinger, blood running down the kunai's handle.

But he had survived.

Having missed with one strike, Zabuza immediately retreated and melted back into the thick mist.

"Did you see that, Uchiha brat?"

There was a cruel mockery in his voice.

"Your pride, your bloodline, are worthless before that guy. You're just a blade in his hand. Once you become dull, he'll throw you away."

Sasuke's teeth ground together.

He could not refute it.

Because the feeling of being controlled was so clear.

Yet at the same time, the sense of security brought by the positive results of following orders again and again was equally solid.

Naruto's voice remained steady.

"Emotions are the greatest enemy in battle. Sasuke, regulate your breathing. Your heartbeat is too fast, and your muscles are stiffening."

He was not comforting him. He was pointing out an error that needed correcting.

Kakashi's Sharingan had been fixed on the battlefield the entire time.

He watched Naruto use Sasuke and Sakura, those two "components," with the mastery of a battlefield commander. He watched the renowned Momochi Zabuza struggle like a moth trapped in a spiderweb, every attempt at resistance futile.

Their styles are clearly completely different, yet he gives me the same sense of reassurance as my teacher. How strange.

Kakashi focused even more intently as his hands began forming seals at high speed.

Boar—Dog—Bird—Monkey—Ram—Horse—Snake—Dragon—Rabbit—Tiger—Ox...

The children were so capable that he did not need to pressure Zabuza himself. He could focus entirely on intercepting him.

Just then, he caught an opening.

Another round of Sasuke's thrown weapons forced Zabuza into a wide evasive movement to the left, leaving his body briefly rigid.

Enough!

Kakashi did not hesitate any longer. His scarlet Sharingan spun rapidly as his hands began forming seals too quickly for the eye to follow.

Vast, surging chakra gathered before him. Moisture in the air was violently drawn out, forming a massive vortex.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

With this strike, he intended to end the battle completely—and show his students that their teacher was quite capable too.

The immense current transformed into a roaring beast, breaking through the thick mist and crashing toward the briefly rigid figure.

However, just as the surging water was about to swallow Zabuza—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several slender metal needles shot from the mist on the other side with sharp piercing cries, moving even faster than the water.

Their aim was terrifyingly precise. Every one of them struck a vital point in Zabuza's neck.

"Urgh..."

Zabuza's body stiffened abruptly. A flash of astonishment passed through his eyes, and then his entire body collapsed backward as if its bones had been pulled out. The massive Kubikiribōchō slipped from his hand and crashed to the ground with a clang.

The wave struck nothing, slamming heavily into the distant ground.

A small figure silently emerged from the mist.

The person wore the white mask of the Kirigakure Hunter-nin and landed soundlessly beside Zabuza.

"Target confirmed. Kirigakure rogue ninja, Momochi Zabuza."

A clear voice rang out, impossible to identify as male or female.

"Thank you for driving him into a corner. It made my mission easier."

Kakashi frowned. He stepped forward, watching this suddenly appeared hunter-nin warily.

"You are... Kirigakure ANBU?"

"Correct."

The masked ninja crouched down and extended two fingers toward Zabuza's neck.

"Death confirmed."

Kakashi walked over as well and checked personally.

The pulse had stopped.

The flow of chakra had completely vanished too.

Zabuza was dead.

"By regulation, I must dispose of this corpse immediately."

As the masked ninja spoke, he easily hoisted Zabuza's large body onto his shoulder.

"He carries many secrets concerning Kirigakure in his brain. They must not fall into outsiders' hands."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his figure flashed away, vanishing into the gradually dispersing mist with Zabuza's corpse.

Everything was over.

So quickly that no one could process it.

Sasuke could no longer hold on. He dropped to one knee, panting heavily.

Sakura relaxed as well, her legs giving out as she collapsed beside Tazuna.

Only Naruto remained standing where he was.

He slowly opened his eyes. In those blue pupils, there was no joy of victory, nor any relief at surviving disaster.

There was only unfathomable calm.

He walked over to Kakashi's side and lowered his head to look at the puddle on the ground.

"Teacher."

He spoke.

"Hunter-nin usually prioritize destroying the brain and heart to ensure the target is completely dead."

"Not using Senbon to create a state of fake death."