The ashes of the bloody mist.

Nobody — outside of a select few people — was supposed to know about who Naruto was.

And yet, this man, who he was certain he had never met — because how could you even forget that kind of monster?

Something was wrong here.

And not just the rolling mist, full of the man's chakra, that prevented him from seeing anything.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said, instead of any of the thoughts that were currently warring inside his mind.

Was he even a Mist ninja?

The man snorted. "Oh, please. Spare me the bullshit."

"Sakura." He whispered. "Got any way out?"

"No." She muttered back. "I set both portals down here during the last fight."

"Ah." There was no time to channel for ten uninterrupted seconds. They'd likely have to fight, then.

"Is he alone?"

"I can't sense anything in this mist." He replied. "I think-"

Zabuza disappeared in the mist.

"From above! Watch out!" Sakura screamed.

Naruto rolled to the side, and managed to avoid being cleaved in two by the huge block of steel the man called a sword.

How could she tell…?

Zabuza continued his onslaught, spinning his blade as though it weighed nothing.

Sakura was somewhere close by, which would prevent him from using Lightning style to turn the mist in a static trap, as he had originally planned.

He summoned a sword, conducted Lightning through it to parry Zabuza's sweeping strike.

Naruto grunted. Zabuza's sword pushed him back some. Then he had to block an overhead blow.

And another. And another.

God. Was he trying to club him to death? Wasn't this guy supposed to be a swordsman or something?

His blade was not holding up too well, even though it was enhanced by his chakra nature. Lightning was better suited for offense, in this case.

He had to act.

Lightning focused through his leg, and he delivered a sharp knee strike to the man's hip, hearing a satisfying crack.

A hand made of chakra appeared out of the floor, trying to wrap itself around Zabuza's leg.

The man stomped his foot, and water slapped both Naruto and Sakura's chakra hand away. While he was leaping backwards, Naruto summoned three daggers that he threw, once he was done channeling Wind chakra in them.

Zabuza ducked under them, weaving through hand seals quickly.

"Water Style: Raging Pillars."

Sakura was not the only one who could put the humid atmosphere to good use, apparently. Four columns of water formed and rose around Naruto. He decided to stay in the middle of them, instead.

'Ah. Shit. That's the trap.' He realized a bit too late.

A fifth — larger — pillar of water exploded up from under him, shredding his clothing and lifting him up in the air.

He stepped on the water, and pushed off, going through another column rather than risk getting shredded in the main one.

Zabuza probably didn't expect that, from his surprised face. Naruto rushed him, with a diagonal wind slash that bisected him.

Then Zabuza melted into water.

Naruto dodged the falling sword by rolling to the left again.

Before he could even regain his footing, Zabuza kicked at him.

Naruto grabbed his foot, shocked him with a burst of unfocused Lightning, before delivering a shallow sword slash across his torso.

This one, too, melted into water.

'God damn. No wonder everybody hates fighting my clones.'

Zabuza tried to catch him with some water prison technique.

Well, no. He did. And with his other hand, he readied himself to cut Naruto in two.

Naruto gave him the most unimpressed look he could manage.

Then he let Lightning chakra flow through his body, at the maximum intensity he himself could tolerate in the water.

Zabuza cursed, leaping back with an arm that seemed half-fried. Served him right.

This should at least make it a bit harder for him to use Water techniques. Hopefully. Maybe the man realized this, because he went right back into melee range, with an upward swing.

Naruto summoned a new blade, the previous one having been damaged by the butcher's blade smashing into it repeatedly.

He parried Zabuza's blade. With his other hand, he grabbed on to the dull side of the sword, holding it into place. He was stronger physically than the man.

Zabuza grunted. He couldn't channel water through his sword because he'd fry himself, as he had finally noticed.

Sakura appeared from nowhere, eyes cold, a chakra blade already formed around her fingers, aimed at Zabuza's neck.

He had to let go of his sword to dodge, and Sakura's blade ripped through some of the bandages he had around his face instead of his throat.

Zabuza kicked at Sakura's ribs, and Naruto winced as she flew away.

He wasn't about to let the man hide in the mist again. Naruto weaved several hand signs, before slapping his hand on the floor.

"Wind Style: Path Clearer."

A dome of chakra built around him, before expanding in every direction, clearing the mist away. He could see Zabuza clearly, and Sakura too, who was wincing. Maybe the kick had broken a rib, then.

There was no way he was allowing the man to recover this blade. He dug for a sealing scroll, and proceeded to store the sword in it. He wouldn't use it himself, of course, but it removed a dangerous variable from the fight.

'Ah.'

Maybe that had not been the best thing to do. The man looked downright furious. The sharp teeth really brought out his angry eyes, Naruto mused.

"Give it back." He grunted.

"Ah, come on, this is just a fucking sword." He complained. "Get another one."

Zabuza held the Dog sign in answer.

The mist returned, thicker than before, and even wind jutsu only chased it away for a few instants. The humidity was too much, and Zabuza was likely not expending much chakra to keep the mist up.

Naruto created four clones, and each of them left in different directions.

One of them was dispelled almost instantly, allowing Naruto to pinpoint Zabuza's position. He and the rest of his clones rushed there.

Apparently, Zabuza wouldn't fall for this kind of straightforward trick, because he was already gone by the time Naruto got there.

Or maybe he was also good with ranged weapons, as well. He couldn't sense him anywhere close anymore, so he ran toward the last place he had seen Sakura.

Damn, but he really hated fighting blind. And he had never been as good with long-distance jutsu as he was with close-range. Maybe he'd have to do something about that. It was not the first time he experienced something just like this. Not that it would be really useful now, with Sakura so close by.

Naruto ran for what felt like hours, when he knew it had not even been minutes. The mist seemed never-ending.

At least, he knew Sakura would likely be safe, since she apparently could feel when Zabuza was close. And she had her portals, too.

Another of his clones got attacked, this time in melee range, and Zabuza got slashed across the chest by a blade made out of water for his troubles. Sakura, then.

He and his clones headed there. One of the clones started using Wind chakra, drawing Zabuza's attention away.

Naruto picked a limping Sakura up.

There was a shift in the mist, and she opened a portal right under them, shifting them in space. They reappeared further away, in a place where the mist was just a bit lighter.

"Can we just leave?" Sakura asked.

"I think he's going to notice and stop us before we manage to finish the jump."

His mist might help him sense chakra building up, so he wouldn't try it this close.

Sakura was exhausted, Naruto noticed. There was no way she would be able to fight on for much longer.

He started healing her, keeping his chakra output as low as he could, in case Zabuza could find them this way.

His remaining clones dispelled, hit by something unseen. That was weird. As far as he knew, Zabuza was not this fast.

"I guess I will take Kubikuribocho off your corpse, then." The mist echoed.

"The fuck is a Kubikuribocho in the first place?" Naruto whispered.

Zabuza was trying to find them, by goading them into talking.

"The sword. It's one of Mist's Legendary Swords." Sakura answered.

"This big butcher knife…? Is there even anything peculiar about it…?" Naruto snorted. Even then, he was focusing on healing her.

"I'm not sure." She whispered back. "Thanks for the healing." Sakura nodded in gratitude.

"Ah, come on. This is nothing." He mumbled back. "You'd do the same for me."

"Except I don't know shit about this. I'm better at killing, anyway." She said, amused.

He said nothing.

"Can you stand?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah… Somewhat. Fighting might still be a bit difficult, though."

"Escape, then?"

"I think it's for the best." She nodded.

Zabuza's voice echoed in the mist again, and they both ignored it.

"He's close." Sakura said.

"How can you tell?"

She chuckled. She didn't seem really amused, though. "He's spreading his own water chakra in the air to keep the mist so dense. I don't need to be a sensor to notice the difference in feeling. Wherever the mist is too… off for me to use… That's where he is."

Naruto nodded.

"Ready to go?" He mouthed.

She nodded too.

Zabuza appeared. Sakura released a high-pressure water stream from her mouth, twisting her head around, and forcing him to dodge.

Naruto's subsequent Wind Cutter did more to temporarily lift the mist than anything else.

He noticed that Zabuza was now using a regular long sword, that he must have gotten out a some point when Naruto couldn't see him.

Zabuza came to a halt.

The Kaguya band's leader leaped out of the mist, bone-sword in hand, flying after Zabuza.

"Die, die, die!" He screamed, jubilant.

"You're way worse at this than Kimimaro! Come on, then!" Zabuza shot back.

They clashed swords, both of them grinning with sharp teeth, as though this were just a spar.

"These Mist guys really have a fucking problem." Naruto said. "Let's go. Now."

Sakura nodded at him. "You're faster than I am, right?"

Naruto nodded. "Got it."

He picked her up, bridal style, and dashed off, while Zabuza and the other man were both distracted. In one leap, he covered as much distance as he could with Sakura in his arms. The wind rushed to their ears.

Naruto heard Zabuza shout something.

He was almost out of the mist-

Something hit him in his side, at full speed. He barely managed to shield Sakura from the fall.

"What was that…?" Naruto grunted, slowly standing up from the ground.

Sakura groaned, trying to sit up. She couldn't recover as quickly as he usually did.

"How did they manage to attack us through the chakra mist…?" Naruto wondered.

The only way he could manage to even navigate in the chakra dense parts of it was his sense of hearing. Which he was not so good with.

There was someone standing in front of them, in a yukata.

Man, woman, Sakura couldn't say for sure. Their face was hidden entirely behind a white mask, and they had long, black hair worn loose.

A man, most likely, they were a bit too tall, and the shoulders a bit too broad. How many more surprises did this day have for them in reserve?

She was a bit out of it, by now. Her stamina had never been the greatest, so extended battle against strong ninja was the exact kind of situation she tended to avoid.

Using portals for offense was a double-edged sword. If it succeeded, she had a good chance of ending a battle in one single move, using the effect of surprise.

If she missed her chance… Well, in that case, she didn't have any way to escape anymore.

She knew herself to be decently strong, but that was it, to her.

Monsters like Naruto aside, and even Karin, to a lesser degree, it was highly abnormal to rise to Elite Jōnin level in such a short amount of time.

Zabuza, on his own, they could likely manage just fine. Naruto could even pull a win off by himself, she thought. But two people at around this level… When she was already on the ropes…?

Fuck no.

This kind of shinobi were the kind of monsters you needed to be wary of.

You knew it when you saw them. You knew it when you saw them. You knew it when you felt them.

They simply filled the space wherever they went. When they fought, you didn't really bother drawing comparisons to usual shinobi battles.

These were the outliers.

The kind that would kill you with a single look, follow you around the world with a single touch. Cripple your body or mind before you even noticed anything was wrong.

The Kage were some of these people.

Orochimaru was one of them. Anko, despite her casual manner, was one of them.

Naruto was getting there. Zabuza was one of them. This guy likely was, too.

Sakura was feeling hopelessly outclassed here. What could she even do…?

She felt again like the little girl, daughter to two very average shinobi, doing her best to keep up with the clan kids.

She-

"Alright. If it's a fight you want… Bring it, asshole!" Naruto shouted, thunder shifting into a sword in his hand.

Sakura stifled a laugh. What was she doing, moping around? They had a fight to win.

Okay.

Maybe that had been easier said than done. They were lucky Zabuza was busy with the lunatic, because this masked ninja was a real pain in the ass to fight.

He could seemingly locate her as though there was no mist at all, and he threw his weapon with deadly accuracy. He was at least as good with Water jutsu as she was, and he could counter any of her moves.

The masked man was not getting in close-range, either, satisfied to keep them away from himself. Was he afraid of getting up close and personal… or?

She had the hunch he was leading them somewhere. Likely to Zabuza… or another ally.

"Naruto." She whispered.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking around in the mist for any sign of the man.

"I think he might be trying to trap us."

"Ah." He nodded. "I was wondering. It seems as though we're going toward the South-West, more and more."

"Yes. No matter why that is, we should probably avoid doing that."

"Unless he's trying to make us do exactly that. He was somewhat obvious about it." Naruto countered.

Sakura hesitated.

"He might be trying to goad me into fighting him in melee range, too." Naruto continued. "Unfortunately, that's what I'm best at, anyway." He shrugged.

"So… let's go in?" She asked, and he nodded. "I'll run straight at him, cover me." Sakura finished. The reverse combination might be more dangerous to both of them.

Plus they had mostly practiced it this way.

Blue lightning covered his legs and arms. A pair of swords appeared in his hands.

Sakura dashed forward, headed straight to where the man had last been.

Soon enough, a volley of kunai flew at her, from a spot that was more to her right than she had expected.

She grunted, her spectral hand blinking into existence, and she used it to grab a tree branch to propel her up and forward even faster. She was almost flying, by now.

She threw her chakra hand forward.

More weapons came at her, wreathed in a watery serrated edge. It was not something she had really seen before, but she would remember this.

They came at her too fast for her to dodge, aimed at her face.

She ignored them, continuing to extend her spectral hand, trying to grab the man. He dodged, moving as little as he needed to.

The thrown weapons came closer and closer to her face.

Naruto appeared, fast as lightning, his swords a mere blur to her. He deflected the weapons in the instant he passed her.

Sakura held on to the ground with her ghost hand. With the other, she created a water platform, facing forward, just behind Naruto.

She could almost feel the masked man's surprise.

Naruto summoned wind chakra to his legs, lightening himself. He pushed against the water glyph, and rocketed forward like a cannonball.

Despite his aversion to killing, the cross slash he aimed at their opponent's face definitely did not feel as though he was just trying to knock him out.

Instead of the man dropping dead, something else happened.

Yellow lightning chakra exploded out of his tenketsu, and he managed to dodge the attack.

Mostly.

His mask fell off, cut in four. There was surprise — likely that he actually had gotten hit — on his face.

Surprise that was also mirrored on her own, she was sure.

Naruto only paused. He definitely had become better at hiding his emotions than most people gave him credit for.

"That's… Neji…?" She wondered out loud. He apparently had been a sore subject to Hinata. No wonder.

And now that he stood still, she finally noticed the red ring he was wearing around his finger. Something Naruto had told her meant one single thing.

Hyūga Neji was apparently a member of Akatsuki's top brass.