Metal clashed, sparks flew, and jutsus were flying between the three-way clash. All pairs were enraged in their battles without worrying about their teammates, putting all their belief in their team.
So far, the fight was mostly deadlocks from all sides. At first, Sukuna was enjoying it, but it was obvious that this fight was going nowhere.
Naruto and Suigetsu were the biggest deadlock, then Sasuke and Kimimaro, as neither had a quick way to defeat each other. Lastly, the only fight where Sukuna could see a decisive outcome was from Sakura and Karin vs. Haku; however, that entirely depended on whether Sakura could understand her instincts and catch Haku off guard.
Sukuna had to say that this Sakura was miles ahead of what the anime provided us; however, expecting her to learn what Maki needed—a specialized domain and a teacher who had a strange obsession with sumo wrestling—would be naive, to say the least.
And that was Awakened Maki. This Sakura, while much better than pre-awakened Maki, was still not as good.
Ultimately, Sukuna only saw the outcome depending on the last fight that was taking place—one which he wasn't very optimistic about.
Due to Zabuza's mist, the fight between him and Kakashi was obscure; however, if the anime held any sway even after so many changes, then Kakashi's chances weren't looking very good.
And sure enough, soon the mist lifted from the area ahead on top of the lake. Sukuna saw Kakashi being captured in a water sphere by Zabuza.
"At last, it seems that your fame didn't justify your skill after all, Kakashi the Copy Ninja. Such pity," Zabuza said, panting. Surely, their fight had been dangerous until now.
The mask hid it well, but Sukuna could see the tense features of Kakashi's face. It wasn't looking very good; he was tense and looking worse for wear.
'Sigh, peace really does dull the edge hardened in wartime,' Sukuna shook his head, recalling what Kakashi was able to do in the Fourth Great Shinobi War and comparing that to his current self.
He could only think what Kakashi would have been in the Third Shinobi War—technically his peak. Not in terms of power, as he was much more powerful by Naruto's ending, all thanks to the double Mangekyo he'd gotten from Obito, but in terms of his skills and how dangerous of a killing edge he had built by then.
"Sukuna, quickly gather the others and get out of here." Kakashi didn't even acknowledge Zabuza's mockery. It was his fault for falling into Zabuza's trap; there was no excuse. Without a way out, he was done for.
However, he would not let his team meet the same fate. Once noticing that all the other students of his were busy in their fights, he called out for Sukuna, the only ideal one standing.
The urgency in his tone was obvious; however, even he knew that Zabuza wouldn't let that happen.
And sure enough, just as Kakashi called out to Sukuna, Zabuza's eyes landed on the pink-haired boy, who was the only one guarding his target. Tazuna, by now, was sweating bullets seeing the leading Jonin ninja he'd hired captured by the enemy.
'I'm done for,' was his mind screaming to himself out loud.
"Forget it, Kakashi-sensei. Both of us know they wouldn't let us off that easily," Sukuna waved his hand in dismissal and then looked around; the others were still fighting.
This gave him a headache.
Zabuza too, seeing none of his students were available, decided to handle the Genin in front of him by himself. Before even Kakashi knew it, several water clones of Zabuza appeared around him, holding replicas of the beheading blade, moving swiftly toward Sukuna.
"Watch out!" Kakashi called out in a hurry. He flared his chakra; however, no matter what he did, the hold of the water jutsu on him was unwavering.
Sukuna didn't even move, watching the clones coming his way. He slowly lowered his glasses, only to the point that his eyes were partially revealed to Zabuza, who happened to be looking toward him.
And then extended his hand forward with two fingers outward, pointing toward Zabuza and the incoming clones.
Splash
And just as his hand was extended outward, the incoming water clones blasted and turned into water.
Zabuza's eyes narrowed, not because his clones lost, but because he himself didn't even see what hit them.
But that was just the start. The next second, he felt a fleeting feeling—a flesh-cutting sound resonated beside him—and by the side of his eyes, he saw his hand, which was embedded into the water sphere that was holding Kakashi, get cut off.
Blood splashed before his vision. His earlier narrowed eyes, made out of suspicion and confusion, widened like saucers into disbelief.
'Did… did I just lose my arm? B-but how?'
He almost lost his balance at the sudden loss of a limb and quickly jumped back, holding his bleeding arm and astonished expression.
He landed not too far away, his eyes darting toward Sukuna, who slowly lifted his glasses back to their original position.
Cold sweat broke out down his back seeing the boy so nonchalant.
'What happened? I saw nothing. How the fuck did he attack me?' His eyes darted around, looking for a third person or a hidden trap, but found nothing.
Without Zabuza holding the water sphere, Kakashi broke out of it easily enough—completely soaked but not any less bewildered than Zabuza. He looked at his opponent, who suddenly, for some reason, let him go and now was glaring toward Sukuna like his life depended on it.
Kakashi didn't get it—what just happened? Why did Zabuza let him go? Did Sukuna do something?
His mind had many questions; however, years of training calmed his thoughts. He suppressed all questions for later and first jumped back to his feet. Now that he was free, he wouldn't let what just happened occur again.
"I believe now you can handle him, Kakashi-sensei," Sukuna called out from his position, hands going back into his pockets like he did nothing.
Kakashi looked at the boy with contemplation. The question alone meant that Sukuna indeed did something—but what?
"Yes, thank you, Sukuna. Now leave the rest to me," Kakashi nodded, once again focusing on the real threat. Questions could be answered later.
Zabuza, who saw the boy wasn't going to fight, sighed in relief for some reason; he felt danger from that boy.
However, with just one hand, fighting Kakashi…
His thoughts were halted midway as he looked back at his cut-off hand, which wasn't there anymore. No blood lingered on the water or the floating limb. His eyes unconsciously darted back to his own hand, only to find it wasn't cut off.
It was there, just as it always was.
The earlier bewildered look returned with revenge; however, this time around, he knew what had taken place.
"Genjutsu." Zabuza had no idea, but this much was enough to know what happened.
"But when and how? He didn't even make any hand sign." Zabuza's grip tightened around his beheading blade.
What was more abnormal was the proficiency of the Genjutsu—even to the point that when the Genjutsu ended, he couldn't figure out that he was in one.
But if it was Genjutsu, then how come he took out my water clones?
Another mystery about the boy.
What he didn't realize was that Sukuna didn't only use Genjutsu with his Sharingan but also used his Dismantle.
Zabuza, of course, couldn't see them. As for why Kakashi couldn't see them even with his Sharingan—it was because Sukuna waited until the clones themselves were at his line of sight to cover up the attack.
Dismantle was an extremely fast attack to begin with, only visible to those who had some sort of dōjutsu—and that too for a heartbeat, in the form of a shadow.
Kakashi just missed it; Sukuna, of course, did it intentionally. And with this, the fight was back in action.
...
A/N : How strong Sukuna is right now, any guess?
xxx
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