BSWS CH-15 Encountering Zabuza Momochi

As they continued their journey to the Land of the Waves, the bridge builder finally did break down and confessed to the truth about him and Gato. The details didn't change much, except that he painted Gato in the worst light and the land of Waves in the most pitiful light possible.

His drama got the sympathy of Naruto and even Sasuke, who secretly had a soft spot for those with tragic stories. Already having guessed most of it along with Sakura, Kakashi decided to take the mission forward anyway. This mission was a rare chance to train his team with real danger, and if things actually got intense then he would unleash his true capabilities and even the odds.

They finally reached the Land of Waves half a day later. Tazuna showed them the half completed bridge that he was building on their way to his home. After parting ways from the boatswain on the pier, they moved towards Tazuna's village, which was far inwards.

As they reached a forest path on their way, Sakura once again grew cautious and activated her chakra sensor ability. Soon her chakra sensing allowed her to view a certain dense and terrifying chakra full of killing intent around a hundred meters away. The intent was so condensed that it was like an ever present dense mist, shrouding the person and his chakra.

'No wonder he is called the Demon of the Mist. That amount of Malevolence in his chakra is not normal. The amount of blood he has shed must easily be enough to fill a big lake.' Sakura thought grimly.

Sakura fluctuated her chakra to get Kakashi's attention and then made certain coded hand signs to explain him the situation. Kakashi had already begun to suspect her chakra sensing talent during the incident with the demon brothers, but this time it was confirmed. Nodding discreetly, he too started observing the direction in which Sakura sensed the malevolent chakra.

Suddenly, without any previous hint of an intent, they sensed a huge object spinning towards them with great speed and momentum. Already prepared because of Sakura, Kakashi warned them in time and everyone dodged the attack easily. The object revealed itself when it struck a tree and got stuck in it, it was a huge broadsword shaped like an executioner's blade.

Less than a second after the sword got stuck in the tree, a tall man with dark complexion appeared on its long hilt. He only wore long slacks on his lower body and had left the upper body bare. However his lower face was wrapped up in bandages to make it seem like a face mask similar to Kakashi's. most importantly, he wore a headband that had the symbol of the Mist Village.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he recognized this person and his sword. This was Zabuza Momochi, The Demon of the Hidden Mist, part of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and owner of the sword Kubikiribocho. If he was the one here then it was time for Kakashi to stop holding back.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye, Copy Ninja who Copied over a Thousand Jutsu. If you are the one protecting the bridge builder then I guess it is justified that my minions were defeated." Zabuza said in a hoarse voice that chilled Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. His voice, his temperament, his very being was saturated in evil and blood.

"However, I am not here to fight you today, Kakashi. The day for me reaping your head for my Bingo Book is somewhere in the future. Today I have come for the bridge builder, hand him over." Zabuza said.

"You know very well that's not going to happen." Kakashi said "If you are going to fight regardless, then I will be using this."

Kakashi pushed up his headband and reveled the Sharingan in his left eye. The three tomoe spun slowly, giving off a light red glow. Naruto and Sasuke were stunned by this, but Sakura decided to move ahead and protect Tazuna.

"Naruto, Sasuke, we have our target to protect!" Sakura said as she grabbed Tazuna and moved back a dozen steps. Naruto and Sasuke followed her and formed the Manji formation to protect Tazuna.

"Hmm, cute little Genin you have there Kakashi," Zabuza said with a chuckle "But have they been baptized in blood yet?"

"Why don't you come and find out Zabuza?" Kakashi taunted while bringing out a Kunai "Maybe today is the day I get the title of Demon Slayer!"

"Hehehehe" Zabuza chuckled as he disappeared along with the giant blade he was standing on. He appeared on top of the lake nearby in the position to initiate Hidden in the Mist Jutsu. Seeing this, Sakura swiftly gave instructions to UTS.

'Record Everything that happens in this battle. I want every Jutsu and technique used here to be saved and classified in a folder called Hidden Mist Techniques. Transmit that folder to me at a later time when I instruct so.' Sakura said.

[Task Initiated.]

Seeing that dense mist was already forming around them, Sakura activated her chakra sensing. She decided to keep it active constantly at a reduced range. For this battle, she didn't need a radius of a few tens of meters. A dozen meters radius would be more than enough, hence she could save chakra on that.

Immediately as she activated it, the entire scene became clear in her mind. She could sense, Sasuke, Naruto, Tazuna, and Kakashi despite not being able to see them with her eyes. Most importantly, she sensed the Zabuza standing on the surface of the water, and she also sensed the true Zabuza who had dove down below the surface and was saturating the water with his chakra. The chakra he used to create the mist was just a cover for the chakra he was using to dominate the lake water.

"Everyone be ready! He should come after me first," Kakashi said as he moved a few steps away from Tazuna and the Trio. Sakura wished she could warn that he was wrong, but that would just make Zabuza and Kakashi both suspicious. It would be better if she used this knowledge by herself to change the flow of the battle.

Sakura took out the Claw Gauntlet weapons of the demon brothers, which she had stored in a scroll, and swiftly put them on. A hidden mechanism on it immediately linked the Claw Gauntlets to a length of Shuriken linked chain. Ready with her preparations, Sakura waited for the first attack.