Chapter 21: Final Battle Approaches
Morning came, and it was the day of the final battle with Zabuza and Haku. The others didn't realize it, but Kakashi was sure that they were going to attack today, using the general timeline and bridge completion to estimate the day of the battle.
Old man Tazuna was excited that everyone was following him to the bridge. He was worried that the workers would become more at risk, since the bridge was almost completed.
Tsunami and Inari had waved at him when he was leaving the house, and he felt grateful to Kakashi and the rest of the Konoha Ninja genins. He felt safe and protected.
Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke walked in front of old man Tazuna and Kakashi, chatting away happily. The previous night, when Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura returned from training, Sasuke had announced to them that he had successfully mastered the art of climbing trees. Kakashi had chuckled, not really surprised at his actions. He knew Sasuke would do it eventually, but he must've gotten enlightenment or a boost of motivation due to the Sharingan.
They arrived at the bridge, and an unpleasant surprise was waiting for them.
Naruto and Sasuke had stopped talking immediately, while Old man Tazuna and
Sakura gasped. Sakura put her hands on her mouth.
The workers lay on the ground, badly beaten and battered. Some were bleeding from different parts of their bodies.
There's some divergence from the story, Kakashi thought, looking around with his eyes, searching for Zabuza and Haku. He knew they were already there, somewhere on the bridge.
"What is going on? What's happened here?" As if jolted out of a daze, old man Tazuna let out a horrified scream at the sight before him. His eyes widened in disbelief as he took in the beaten and broken bodies of his workers.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura looked on, surprise still written on their faces.
Almost immediately, a thin, white mist filled the air. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke's faces dawned in realization. Zabuza was here.
"Yeah, let's get this shit done with," Kakashi muttered under his breath and logged into his system shop storage and removed the weapons. He gave Naruto and Sakura their respective guns.
"And Sasuke," Kakashi said, handing him a flash bomb with a pin attached to it. "If you happen to lose your fight, close your eyes, pull the pin, throw it, and duck. If you can't, you're dead."
Sasuke looked on like he was daft and gave a very confused facial expression.
"Sasuke-kun, you will see later," Naruto said with a one sided grin. Kakashi had already filled him in on the plan beforehand… and he felt like it was going to be fun to go along with Kakashi's plan.
"To your positions!!." Kakashi yelled.
Everyone gathered and formed a circle which had their backs to each other, as they waited for their assailants to appear.
A deep loud voice rang out in the mist.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Kakashi,"
Kakashi chuckled. Here we go, He said in his mind and grinned.
Zabuza continued. "I can see you still have your brats with you,"
"Come out here and show yourself," Kakashi hollered, and Sakura and Naruto cocked their guns and raised it to their chests.
Sasuke flashed out a kunai and held it tightly, taking an attack stance. His hands were shaking.
"He's still trembling, poor thing." said Zabuza, as five water clones of Zabuza appeared before them.
'I'm trembling not with fear but with…excitement!!!" Sasuke said as his face slowly slid up into a confident smirk. He activated his sharingan immediately.
Kakashi grinned before calling out: "Go, Sasuke! I choose you!"
He wanted to just sit back and watch.
Sasuke nodded and smiled, as he jumped towards the clones. The mist wasn't that thick yet, so his Sharingan still gave him a massive advantage.
I can see, he thought calmly as he slashed through each of the water clones with a kunai knife, with each clone turning back to mass of water after each attack.
Zabuza and Haku finally approached Kakashi and the others in line of sight. As he did so, he muttered, "Well well, so he could see the water clones, eh? That brat has grown quite a bit, he even has the Sharingan. Could he possibly be…"
Sasuke grinned, while Naruto was annoyed that Sasuke was taking all the fun for the moment.
"This means a new rival has emerged, Haku." Zabuza continued, unsheathing his sword from his back.
"Yes, even though those clones have only 1/10 the strength of their original. To think he went that well." said Haku, preparing his stance to attack Sasuke.
"However, you made the preemptive move," said Zabuza as Haku put his left leg forward and consequently his right leg, twisting like a fast tornado towards Sasuke.
He's fast, Sasuke thought, a bit taken aback by Haku's speed. He adjusted his eyes and feet and smiled a bit, clashing his kunai against Haku's incoming senbons.
"Good luck, Sasuke!," yelled Kakashi, inwardly pleased that his plan was working. Zabuza is currently a little too over confident in Haku's abilities.
"Sakura and Naruto, be on standby next to Tazuna." He continued.
"Yes sir!" Yelled Sakura and Naruto as they planted their feet firmly on the ground, and pointed the gun at Zabuza, ready to shoot if he made a move towards them.
"I'll leave this to you just once," Naruto said to Sasuke, carrying his gun on his shoulder and standing leisurely. Kakashi grinned in his mind and waited. He knew where the turning point in this battle would be determined.
Sasuke and Haku released themselves, and almost simultaneously, Sasuke copied Haku's moves, only to clash his kunai against Haku's senbon again.
Haku was surprised that his senbons were being countered, but his reaction was hidden behind the mask. The two of them began struggling for dominance.
"I don't want to have to kill you…I'd like for you to back down," said Haku, in a hoarse voice.
"Nonsense," said Sasuke grinning.
"Way to go!! Sasuke!!," Yelled Naruto, his hands and gun up in the air.
Sasuke cursed at the idiot for being so loud.
"I knew it... but you won't be able to keep up with my speed. After all, I have already made two preemptive moves." said Haku, grinning behind his mask.
"Two preemptive moves?" asked Sasuke, a crease forming on his eyebrows.
Haku's tone of voice changed, becoming more certain.
Sasuke felt a sudden rush of panic settling over him. His grip on his kunai faltered and Haku leaned in more to grab Sasuke's hands.
"The first one is the scattered water of the water clones. The second one was blocking one of your hands," said Haku, raising his free hand to his face.
Sasuke gulped.
"Therefore, you won't be able to defend my attack!!" Haku screamed, before weaving hand signs with his free hand.
A one-handed sign? Was that even possible?, thought Sasuke, as he tried to come up with a possible solution.
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