Zabuza's cold, hoarse voice drifted unpredictably from every direction.
Like the whisper of the Grim Reaper, it sent chills down their spines.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke stood back-to-back in a circle, too tense to even breathe loudly.
Kakashi quietly lifted his forehead protector as well, revealing his scarred left eye, ready to step in and rescue them at any moment.
Yet in the very center of the thick mist, Uchiha Xin merely gave a disdainful sneer.
"Boring tricks." The moment he finished speaking.
Zabuza's massive figure burst out of the thick mist behind Uchiha Xin without warning.
Gripping the Kubikiribōchō in both hands, he wielded terrifying force capable of cleaving mountains and shattering stone.
He slashed viciously down at Uchiha Xin's back.
"Die, brat!"
Whoosh!
The enormous blade split Uchiha Xin in two without resistance.
Yet there was no joy on Zabuza's face.
The sensation transmitted through the blade felt nothing like cutting through flesh and blood.
Splash!
Uchiha Xin's cleaved Water Clone instantly turned into clear water and scattered across the ground.
A Water Clone!
"What? When did he form the hand seals?"
Zabuza's eyes widened.
Before he could react, Uchiha Xin's voice rang out from above and behind him.
"Too slow."
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Uchiha Xin instantly teleported behind Zabuza.
His right leg cleaved down like a battle-axe, the wind howling around it.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Bam!
The powerful kick slammed into Zabuza's neck, sending his entire body flying.
He crashed through a large tree more than ten meters away.
Splash!
The Zabuza who had been kicked away also turned into a puddle of clear water.
Another Water Clone.
"Interesting." Uchiha Xin landed steadily, his gaze still calm.
Just then, the real Zabuza burst out of the ground.
The Kubikiribōchō swept upward toward Uchiha Xin's chin, carrying savage killing intent.
"It's over!"
Facing this lethal surprise attack, Uchiha Xin advanced instead of retreating.
The chakra within his body instantly surged wildly along the pathways of the Eight Gates Released Formation, and his muscles abruptly swelled.
He countered with an incomparably fierce straight punch, smashing it straight into the flat of the Kubikiribōchō.
"Strong Fist Style!"
Boom!
His fist collided violently with the broad flat of the blade, unleashing a deafening metallic roar.
A visible shock wave swept outward from the collision, blowing away a vast swath of the surrounding mist.
Zabuza felt a terrifying, overwhelming force surge through the hilt and into his arms.
The webs of his hands split open instantly, spraying blood.
His entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut.
He rolled more than a dozen times across the ground before barely coming to a stop.
Had he not blocked his chest with the Kubikiribōchō at the last possible moment.
That punch would have been enough to break every one of his ribs.
"Cough, cough..."
Zabuza knelt on one knee and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He stared at Uchiha Xin in the distance, his face filled with disbelief.
"This brat's taijutsu... how can it have such terrifying power?!"
Zabuza was horrified. He, the renowned Demon of the Hidden Mist.
Had actually been utterly overwhelmed by a six-year-old brat in a head-on contest of strength.
Refusing to accept it, he formed hand seals again and merged into the thick mist that had just gathered.
He prepared for a third stealth ambush.
He held his breath and suppressed his killing intent to the utmost.
Like a ghost, he circled around to Uchiha Xin's left.
Just as he was about to swing his blade.
Uchiha Xin turned his head with unerring precision, as though he could foresee the future.
His gaze met Zabuza's directly through the thick mist.
"I told you. Boring tricks."
Uchiha Xin's black pupils instantly turned scarlet.
Three black tomoe spun rapidly within them, radiating an eerie light that made the heart tremble.
"The Sharingan?!"
Zabuza was utterly horrified, his scalp tingling.
"You're a member of the Uchiha Clan!"
No wonder this brat could see through his movements. No wonder Kakashi had dared to let him fight alone.
Zabuza knew that ordinary ambushes hidden in mist were meaningless before the Sharingan.
Gritting his teeth, he immediately used the Mist Body Flicker, pushing his speed to its limit.
The Kubikiribōchō became a streak of light, cleaving straight down at Uchiha Xin's head.
Whoosh!
The massive blade struck its target again, only to pass straight through once more.
It had struck nothing but an afterimage.
"What's going on?"
Zabuza abruptly pulled back his blade, only to discover that the thick mist around him had completely vanished at some point.
The sky had turned an eerie dark red, and the ground beneath his feet had become a barren expanse of scorched earth.
An enormous blood-red full moon hung in the sky, casting an oppressive glow.
The next second, Zabuza discovered to his horror.
His body was bound tightly to a massive cross, unable to move.
"Genjutsu?"
Zabuza reacted immediately, frantically mobilizing the chakra within his body.
"Release! Release, damn it!"
Yet no matter how he sent it surging through his chakra pathways.
The scene before him remained unchanged. He could not dispel the genjutsu at all.
"Don't waste your effort."
Uchiha Xin's figure slowly emerged from the blood-red void.
He stood before the cross, looking down at the horror-stricken Zabuza.
"This is an illusion realm I created by combining the Mangekyō's Tsukuyomi with the unique ocular power of the Limit Sharingan."
Uchiha Xin's voice echoed throughout the space.
"Although it only barely edges into S-rank, its potential far exceeds ordinary genjutsu."
"In this world, time, space, and mass are all under my control."
He paused, then gave a mocking sneer.
"Do you think this is some third-rate genjutsu you can break by simply disrupting your chakra?"
"Before the true Tsukuyomi, or even the higher-dimensional Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"Dreaming of breaking them with chakra is nothing but a fool's fantasy."
Bound firmly to the cross, Zabuza listened to these terms he had never heard before, his face utterly bewildered.
What Mangekyō? What Tsukuyomi? What Infinite Tsukuyomi?
He was one of the esteemed Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, yet he knew nothing of these powers.
But he still refused to believe he had lost just like that.
"You bastard brat! Let me go if you've got the guts, and fight me fair and square!"
Zabuza roared wildly.
Uchiha Xin watched him coldly.
He knew that in the original story, Zabuza would be rescued by the boy named Haku, setting off the subsequent final battle on the sea-crossing bridge.
But Uchiha Xin thought to himself that he absolutely would not wait for Haku to rescue Zabuza.
Much less be so bored that he would fight Zabuza a second time.
For a character like Zabuza, he would never do a second run in this lifetime.
Zabuza's end had been sealed from the moment he stepped into the illusion realm.
The thick mist completely dispersed among the trees.
Sunlight once again fell upon the land of the Land of Waves.
Zabuza's knees slammed heavily into the dirt, his towering body trembling uncontrollably.
He knelt rigidly before Uchiha Xin.
The Demon of the Hidden Mist whose name had shaken the Shinobi World now had unfocused eyes, unconscious murmurs escaping his mouth.