Sasuke's twin sister, But Neji's first love

The Oath of Pain

Sasuke and I landed on our feet while Naruto and Sakura landed with a stumble behind us. Tazuna dropped to his knees, clearly shaken from how close Zabuza had gotten. The clang of metal rang through the air as Kakashi and Zabuza's kunai clashed violently, sparks flying between them.

"Ryuko, stay with Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered sharply, his tone leaving no room for argument.

I gave a quick nod and positioned myself defensively in front of the bridge builder, gripping my kunai tightly. My heart was pounding so loud I could barely hear anything else, but I forced myself to stay focused. Sasuke and Naruto had formed a line in front of us now too—Sakura stood close to Tazuna, trembling but alert.

The mist around us shifted again, swirling unnaturally as Zabuza leapt back, his blade spinning in one hand as if it weighed nothing.

"Kakashi Hatake... let's see how long your reputation holds out."

"And let's see how long you can keep standing," Kakashi replied coldly. His voice was different now—low, steady, dangerous. His visible eye narrowed as the Sharingan glowed from beneath his lifted headband.

Zabuza lunged forward, water beneath his feet barely rippling from the force of his movement. Kakashi met him head-on. The two collided in a blur of movement, clashing jutsu and steel that made it impossible for us to keep up. The sheer power of their strikes made the earth rumble beneath us.

Sasuke clenched his fists, his jaw tight with frustration. "I can't even see what's happening... they're both moving too fast."

"You're not the only one," I muttered beside him, eyes darting through the mist, trying to keep track of any motion that could be a threat. Every now and then I caught flashes of silver hair or Zabuza's massive blade, but they vanished as quickly as they came.

Then, without warning—everything went still.

A violent splash broke the silence. We turned toward the sound and saw Kakashi standing ankle-deep in water, but something was wrong. His body wasn't moving. My eyes widened in horror.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura called out.

I blinked hard. No—it wasn't him. That was a water clone.

"Kakashi!" I spun around—and that's when we saw him.

Trapped.

Behind us, within a prison of swirling water, was Kakashi—his real body. Floating upright in the Water Prison Technique, held captive by another Zabuza clone standing outside the sphere of churning water.

"He's... he's trapped!" Sakura gasped.

Zabuza smirked. "This is the end. Without your Jonin, you brats don't stand a chance."

"Sensei!" Naruto shouted, stepping forward.

"Don't move!" Kakashi yelled from within the water. His voice was strained, but urgent. "That clone only needs one hand to keep me in this prison. If you try anything reckless, you'll all die."

Fear twisted in my chest, but I clenched my fists. "Then what do we do?!"

"There's one option left," Kakashi said, looking at Naruto and Sasuke with a knowing gaze. "You three have to fight. Work together. And protect Tazuna."

"What?! Us?" Naruto's voice cracked.

"No way, we can't fight that guy!" Sakura panicked.

But Sasuke stepped forward, pulling a handful of shuriken from his pouch. "Tch... We don't have a choice."

"Naruto," I said sharply, grabbing his wrist to steady him. "Remember what Sensei said. This guy's in another league, but if we don't do something, he'll kill Tazuna—and maybe all of us."

Naruto's face was pale, but he nodded slowly. "Okay. Okay. I'll do it."

Kakashi's voice rang out again. "Listen! That clone can't move far from the water prison. If you can take it out, I'll be free!"

"Got it!" Sasuke called out.

We all exchanged a look. This was it.

Sasuke took off first, his shuriken flying through the air toward the Zabuza clone. At the same time, Naruto summoned a barrage of shadow clones, surrounding the clone from all sides. I darted around the edge, flanking him from the left with my kunai ready. Sakura stayed with Tazuna, protecting him with her life.

Zabuza's clone snarled, batting away Naruto's clones and dodging Sasuke's attacks. But he was distracted—he hadn't noticed me.

Not until it was too late.

I struck from behind, slicing across his arm just enough to break his concentration. "Now, Sasuke!"

Sasuke's kunai pierced the clone's chest and it burst into a spray of water.

The water prison collapsed instantly, and Kakashi dropped to one knee, gasping but alive.

"You kids... really pulled that off," he said with a proud smirk.

Zabuza's real body narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. Maybe this won't be as easy as I thought."

Kakashi rose to his feet slowly, the Sharingan burning in his eye again.

"No. It won't be," he said coldly.

The real fight was just beginning.