BSWS CH-16 Clashing with Zabuza Part-1

As they waited for Zabuza to attack, the mist steadily got thicker. Sakura wanted to attack, but she recognized that this was a two-way trap. If she moved to attack, Zabuza will instantly attack her with the Silent Killing technique and finish her off instantly. This was not a game in which she would have extra lives.

Yet if she doesn't do anything, Zabuza will keep strengthening the mist to the point that they won't be able to see their own hands, let alone their companions. It was okay for her since she is a chakra sensor which compensates for her lack of sight, but for Naruto and Sasuke it will be a fatal disadvantage.

After thinking for a few seconds, she made a plan. Keeping a watch on Zabuza with her Chakra Sensing, she started steadily molding and sending chakra into the ground. This multiplied her chakra expenditure immediately, but she had no other choice. It was a necessary expense at this point if she wanted them to survive without fail.

"This mist is so damn thick!! I can't see anything!!!!" Naruto complained.

"Zabuza Momochi, he is the ex-leader of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit. He is a master of the Silent Killing Technique!!" Kakashi said grimly.

"Silent?" Naruto asked, a quiver evident in his voice.

"As the name suggests, it's a deadly and swift technique." Kakashi explained "It happens in an instant without any sound or warning. It is so fast that you pass from this life without even realizing what happened."

"Because of the incorporation of the Hidden Mist Jutsu in this technique, the Sharingan is not able to completely neutralize it. Hence be very careful!! Don't lower your guard for even an instant." Kakashi said as he gripped his Kunai tighter.

Suddenly out of the mist, Zabuza's voice echoed like a hungry ghost, "8 points… Larynx… Spine…. Lungs.… Liver.… Jugular…. Sublingual Artery….. Kidneys..… Heart …. Now, Can you guess which will be my kill point?"

With every word, Zabuza's killing intent enveloped them just like the mist he created. Naruto was the owner of a monstrous amount of chakra, which shielded him to a certain extent from this pressure that was created by Killing Intent mixed with Chakra. Similarly, Sakura had the sensibility to use her own chakra to offset this pressure.

However, Sasuke and Tazuna were caught unawares, hence they caught a head-on-blast of this pressure, paralyzing them. As the pressure increased, Sasuke started hallucinating. As an Uchiha, he was sensitive to mental energies to a certain extent, thanks to the passive effects of a Sharingan. However, currently, it was working against him.

Sasuke was pressured to such an extent that he started to get desperate enough to take his own life. However, Sakura was on the lookout for this and she instantly bound his arms with chakra strings she released subtly. She also sent a bit of her chakra mixed with peaceful intent to bring him out of the pressure.

"Relax Sasuke. Take a deep breath. And focus!! We are Shinobi!! We don't get to be afraid when in the middle of a mission." Sakura encouraged him.

With Sakura's chakra countering the pressure slightly and her encouraging words, Sasuke got a hold of himself. Overcoming his fear, his anger and fighting intent exploded. Sasuke was at his best when he was angry, and right now Zabuza had painted a giant bulls-eye on himself as a target for Sasuke's anger.

"He he he…. You will taste true fear soon …" Zabuza's voice echoed again. Sakura focused her Chakra Sensing even more and was able to catch a sliver of his fast-moving form as it circled around them, coming closer and closer. Then suddenly, Zabuza found an opening in their formation and took advantage of it to try and slip into their midst.

However, Zabuza would not have guessed in his wildest dreams that this was a trap by a Genin fresh out of the academy. The moment Zabuza touched down in their midst, Sakura spun swiftly and whipped out with the Shuriken linked chain of her gauntlets. She had even infused them with a portion of her chakra to increase their power.

Zabuza's eyes widened at this sudden unexpected attack, "What??!!!"

His reflexes took over and he blocked the chains with the flat part of his Kubikiribocho. However, this was the second part of Sakura's trap. The chains that initially looked like were about to whip Zabuza, neatly wrapped around the giant sword instead. Sakura's mouth twisted into a slight smirk as she executed the final part of her trap.

"Chakra Soaring Strings!!!!" She uttered. From the ground below her feet, tens of chakra strings were launched upwards with incredible speed, attached to strong chakra needles. The strings rushed towards Zabuza with the ferocity and deadliness of a snake, piercing through various parts of his body in a blink of an eye.

Seeing that the strings had pierced Zabuza, Sakura used her final trap, "Chakra String Stitching!!!".

The strings that had pierced Zabuza swiftly moved like ravenous earthworms, dipping and emerging from his limbs, binding his body parts together haphazardly. This was a vicious application of what was supposed to be a first-aid technique, used in such a way that Zabuza's movement would tear chunks of his body away.

"Kakashi Sensei!!!! Do it now!!!" Sakura screamed, "I can't hold someone of his level of chakra for long!!!"

This entire series of events had barely taken a few seconds to be enacted. The moment Sakura had begun her trap, Kakashi's Sharingan had deciphered her actions. He had instantly used Body Flicker to drag Sasuke, Naruto, and Tazuna away to a little distance away.

When Sakura had called out to him, Kakashi was already preparing his signature Jutsu. However, before he could finish even activating his Jutsu, a set of Senbons flew at incredible speed and severed the Chakra Strings binding Zabuza. Zabuza immediately escaped the difficult position and retreated a certain distance away from Sakura and Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced at the direction the senbons came from and saw a second 'Zabuza' standing on top of the lake. As Zabuza reached the lake, the second 'Zabuza' sunk into the lake.

'A Clone? Maybe water Clone?' Kakashi thought. He had not been able to analyze it with his Sharingan as he had been focused on safely absorbing back the chakra he had activated for his Jutsu.

Meanwhile, Sakura had been observing everything. The moment the senbons severed her strings, she had sensed a deep chill. However, this was not the chill of Zabuza's evil chakra. This was icy and pure, like fresh mountain snow.

She turned towards the lake in time to see the second 'Zabuza' sinking into the water silently. She gathered all her surround chakra particles and sent them to observe in the direction of the lake. Her chakra particles caught the last of the fading chakra of the second 'Zabuza'. This chakra had been left behind where he had been standing on the lake, a chakra that froze the water it interacted with.

'Haku?' Sakura thought 'Was that you?'