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Dialogue
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 25: The Water Prison
"What are you doing? Kill him!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi. He did not understand why his teacher hesitated after getting the upper hand.
"Hehe, you have at least one decent student. But don't misunderstand, boy," Zabuza glanced at Naruto for a moment.
"This is far from over."
Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi.
"I am not that easy to kill."
As the clone in front dissolved, the one behind Kakashi made a vertical swing with his sword.
Their teacher was quick enough to react and avoid the worst, but was then hit by a powerful kick that sent him right into the lake.
"Oh no, Kakashi got knocked down!" Sakura said.
"That kick was not normal. He is also a master in taijutsu?" Sasuke observed Zabuza.
"Damn! He fell right into his trap!" Naruto took off running. He could not let their teacher get killed now, or they would all soon follow him.
Kakashi had just gotten his head out of the water when Zabuza surprised him, holding his hand over him.
"Water Prison!"
A sphere made of water formed around Kakashi, trapping him inside.
"Hehe, the moment you fall into the water against a ninja from the Mist, you are in for a very bad time. There is no escaping my prison!"
"Tsk, how do you walk on water?!" Naruto arrived at the shore but was hesitant to jump in. He would be left at the mercy of that man.
"What a brave student. But you won't be able to save anyone." Zabuza glanced at Naruto before using his free hand to form a water clone next to him.
"That will be enough to kill your students and finish the job…you can watch as you drown, Kakashi."
"Hmph, wearing a forehead protector and acting like ninjas," the clone spoke in Zabuza's voice.
"Only someone who has survived numerous encounters with death can be considered a real ninja. Once you are good enough to be listed in my handbook, you can consider yourself a ninja…you kids should have stayed home. You are not ninjas!" The clone twisted its body and sent a kick towards Naruto's head.
Naruto blocked it but was sent flying away by the force of the impact.
"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I'm fine…" Naruto stood back up. "I'm not getting beaten by a clone…"
"Hehe, I like the eyes on this one…how did Konoha breed a ninja like this?" The clone asked.
"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke! Take Tazuna and go! You have no chance of beating him. But as long as he keeps me trapped here, he can't move. And his clones can't go too far away from him. You won't get a better opportunity to escape!" Kakashi shouted.
"What? We can't just leave you here!" Sakura said.
"I am not running away!" Sasuke added.
"Save your breath. Besides, we are still three days away from Konoha. If we run away and leave you here to die, it is almost guaranteed that this guy will be able to catch up to us. What do you think will happen next?" Naruto explained.
Kakashi was surprised at how cold Naruto's reasoning was. He was not trying to save him out of a sense of duty or responsibility. It was just because it gave him the best chance of surviving.
"Ha! I like this kid." Zabuza's clone smiled. "Too bad I have to kill you."
"Sakura, stay close to the client. Sasuke, come over here and attack the real Zabuza while I fight this annoying clone," Naruto told them.
"Who put you in charge, Naruto?!" Sakura complained.
"Do you want to fight the clone of an enemy jonin who will not hesitate to kill you instead of me, Sakura?. Just step forward." Naruto offered.
She kept quiet after that.
"Do you have a plan?" Sasuke asked.
"Sure…that was my plan." Naruto noticed the harsh stare coming from the black-haired boy.
"Look, as Kakashi said, the real body of Zabuza cannot move from that spot. That's why he created this clone." As Naruto said this, the clone attacked again, and he was forced to move away.
"I think that if you can make Zabuza move from his position, that water prison of his…will break."
Sasuke got closer to the shore of the lake.
"Fine…I can do that."
"Good! Go on then!" Naruto had chosen Sasuke for that task because he had some long-distance techniques and he was also much better than him at throwing weapons.
At this point, Naruto did not have many options to fight at long distance and their teacher never taught them how to walk on water.
The massive sword came down on him, and he had to use a substitution to avoid it.
"How annoying…" The clone probably only had a fraction of Zabuza's real power, but even that was enough to give him trouble at this time.
He felt humiliated and angry. He wanted to show this arrogant ninja what he could truly do…but any real techniques would break this fragile body like a twig.
'Wait…maybe I can use 'that one'…it only needs a bit of yang energy. But I haven't been practicing it at all.'
"Haha, come on! At least try to fight back!" The clone mocked him again.
"Okay, that's it…" He saw the ridiculously big sword come down again and moved just enough to avoid being cleaved in half and then placed his hand on the blade for a second.
As Zabuza's clone pulled his sword back and prepared for another attack, he was surprised to see Naruto jump backward and create distance between them.
"Oh? Getting scared now?" The clone smiled.
"Of course…I don't want to get burned." Naruto said before snapping his fingers.
"What? What are you talking ab—" The clone was interrupted when his sword blew up.
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