Chapter 22 (Patreon)

Dozens of shadow clones shouted in unison, their voices ringing across the water.

Once again, their combined ninjutsu took shape. Streams of wind twisted through the water, drawing it into a rapidly spinning torrent that rushed straight toward Zabuza’s water clone.

The clone’s expression shifted in surprise. There was more to this blond brat than he had expected.

“Still not enough, brat. Killing talented kids happens to be something I enjoy!”

With a sneer, the water clone formed a series of hand signs.

“Water Style: Water Wall!”

A wall of water surged upward, intercepting Naruto’s whirling torrent.

Naruto wasn’t surprised. Blocking Zabuza’s view had been the point of that attack all along.

By the time the water wall subsided, ten shadow clones had already used Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu to slip underground and get past the water clone. They emerged behind it and hurled ten Fūma Shuriken toward the real Zabuza a short distance away.

The huge shuriken whistled through the air.

“Damn it!”

Zabuza’s expression darkened. Keeping his right hand in the Water Prison, he swung the Executioner’s Blade with his left, knocking aside the two shuriken flying directly toward him.

The other eight sailed wide.

“You can’t even throw a weapon properly, and you call yourselves ninja?” he sneered. “Has the Leaf really fallen that far?”

“Oh, yeah?”

Eight identical voices answered from behind him.

“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”

Zabuza whipped his head around. The eight shuriken that had missed him had transformed back into Naruto’s shadow clones, and eight powerful gusts were already rushing toward him!

“Damn you!”

He had no choice. Pulling his right hand free, he abandoned the Water Prison and leaped away from the incoming attack.

“Nice work, Naruto!”

Freed from the prison, Kakashi looked at Naruto with clear approval. Every part of that attack had led neatly into the next. He was beginning to regret turning down Naruto’s request for individual instruction.

The boy really did have talent.

Kakashi immediately went on the offensive. He had accomplished what he wanted by giving his three students a chance to act. Now it was his turn to take care of Zabuza.

After a brief exchange at close range, the two jōnin sprang apart, putting roughly ten meters between them. Their hands began moving through seals.

Zabuza was preparing his Great Waterfall Jutsu, while Kakashi watched him through the Sharingan, copying his movements precisely.

Meanwhile, Naruto’s shadow clones worked with Sasuke to take down the remaining water clone.

With that threat dealt with, the real Naruto watched Kakashi and Zabuza from a safe distance. A fight between two elite jōnin was still beyond him.

Besides, he had no intention of getting involved just yet. He could wait until Kakashi had done the hard part, then find an opening to finish Zabuza himself.

Zabuza changed his approach, choosing one of his strongest techniques to settle the fight in a single attack.

“Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!”

But he had underestimated what it meant to face Kakashi the Copy Ninja.

Kakashi completed the same hand signs and called out the same jutsu at almost exactly the same moment.

Two enormous water dragons rose from the lake and surged into the air. They crashed together, their jaws tearing into one another before both collapsed into a shower of water.

As soon as the jutsu ended, Kakashi closed in again, forcing Zabuza into another exchange of taijutsu.

Kakashi’s relentless imitation had unsettled him. Even his movements were being read.

Zabuza leaped back once more. Refusing to accept what was happening, he began forming the seals for his Great Waterfall Jutsu again.

This time, Kakashi copied everything.

Every hand sign. Every movement. Even the words leaving Zabuza’s mouth.

Cold sweat gathered on Zabuza’s forehead. His composure began to crumble.

He finished the seals, but before he could release his jutsu, Kakashi was already moving ahead of him.

“Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!”

The water churned into a violently spinning vortex and surged toward Zabuza. It struck him head-on, swept him away, and slammed him against a tree.

He slumped beneath it, too weak to get back up.

How is this possible? I was the one preparing that jutsu! How did he cast it before me?

The shock remained in his eyes. The Water Style techniques he took such pride in had been turned against him, and he still couldn’t understand how Kakashi had gotten ahead of him.

The pressure of having every action anticipated had shattered his concentration. Combined with the force of that last attack, it left him unable to stand, much less defend himself.

Kakashi had won.

Naruto, however, wasn’t particularly impressed by the way he had used the Sharingan.

There had been several openings where Kakashi could have used genjutsu to end the fight sooner. Instead, he had chosen an elaborate display of copied ninjutsu, using up far too much of his already limited chakra.

“It’s over.”

Kakashi drew a kunai and was about to approach Zabuza to finish him off when two senbon suddenly flew in from the side.

They pierced Zabuza’s neck.

His body toppled to the ground, and his breathing stopped.

Everyone turned toward the newcomer, immediately on guard.

Naruto scoffed inwardly.

The masked figure wore wooden sandals and stood on a nearby tree branch. It was Haku, who had been hiding nearby the entire time.

“So... he’s dead?”

Haku looked down at Zabuza’s motionless body, a faint, satisfied smile hidden behind his mask.

Keeping an eye on the newcomer, Kakashi crouched beside Zabuza and checked his body himself.

As far as he could tell, Zabuza was dead.

Naruto rolled his eyes, then walked over and pressed his fingers against Zabuza’s neck, apparently checking for a pulse as well.

What no one noticed was the Flying Thunder God mark he left there.

It was like the mark the Fourth Hokage had placed on Obito during the Nine-Tails’ attack in the original story. The mark wasn’t visible, and only the ninja who had placed it could sense it.

Obito had carried that mark for more than ten years without even knowing it was there.

“Thank you.” Haku bowed politely to Kakashi. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to kill Zabuza.”

Kakashi studied the mask.

“Judging by that mask, you’re a hunter-nin from the Hidden Mist.”

“I’m impressed. You recognized it right away.”

Kakashi stepped away from Zabuza’s body, leaving room for Haku to retrieve it.

Under normal circumstances, letting a hunter-nin recover a rogue ninja’s remains was the sensible choice. Kakashi had no desire to cause an unnecessary dispute between the Leaf and the Mist.

He hadn’t yet realized that the masked boy was an impostor—and Zabuza’s accomplice.

Haku appeared beside the supposedly dead swordsman and reached down to take him away.

Two kunai whistled toward Zabuza’s body.

Haku immediately drew a long senbon and knocked them both aside.

“Naruto! What are you doing?” Sakura demanded.

Kakashi and Sasuke also turned toward him in surprise.

“Hey, you with the mask!” Naruto called, smiling as his hands began forming seals. “Those kunai were meant to finish Zabuza off. You saw they weren’t aimed at you, didn’t you? So why did you stop them?”

Haku couldn’t answer immediately. He hurried to think of an explanation.

Kakashi finally realized something was wrong.

His grip tightened around his kunai as he turned a wary eye on Haku.