Chapter 7: Underneath the Underneath
The aftermath of the spar settled over Team 7 like a physical weight. For Sasuke, it was a suffocating shroud.
That night, he didn't train. He simply stood in the center of the Uchiha compound, the empty houses like silent accusers in the moonlight. The silence of the place, once a solemn reminder of his goal, now felt like a hollow echo of his own inadequacy. Before, his hatred for Itachi was a singular, pure flame that fueled him. Now, a new, more complicated poison had seeped into his veins: jealousy.
Naruto's power was a mocking phantom that stood between him and his revenge. It was a chasm he couldn't comprehend, let alone cross. How could he ever hope to defeat a man like Itachi when he couldn't even touch the dead-last from his own team? The hatred for his brother and the bitter jealousy he felt for his teammate began to merge, twisting into a single, desperate obsession for a power that felt impossibly far away. He stood there until dawn, the cold seeping into his bones, his face a mask of grim determination. He would get stronger. No matter the cost.
Kakashi, a keen observer of his students' psyches, knew the team was at a tipping point. The next day, he began a new, individualized training regimen.
He took Sakura to the Konoha Hospital. "Your greatest strength is your precise chakra control," he told her, leading her to the medical wing. "It's a rare talent. We're going to build on it." He introduced her to a senior medic-nin, arranging for her to learn the basics of medical ninjutsu, starting with the Mystic Palm Technique. It was a perfect fit, giving her a vital role that capitalized on her natural abilities.
With Sasuke, the training was more direct, and far more brutal. They spent hours in intense taijutsu spars. Kakashi didn't just polish the Uchiha's already impressive style; he actively worked to break his composure. He would taunt him, exploit his anger, and force Sasuke to fight not with rage, but with a cold, clear mind. "Your emotions are a weapon your enemy will use against you," Kakashi would say, effortlessly dodging another of Sasuke's furious strikes. "Control them, or they will get you killed."
To all three of them, he drilled one lesson above all else. "A shinobi must be alert. Cautious. You must take in your surroundings, every detail. Look for anomalies. Question everything. Be prepared for anything. In this world, you must learn to look underneath the underneath."
Naruto, as usual, was left to his own devices. Kakashi knew he couldn't teach the boy anything about his own strange powers. So while his team trained, Naruto would retreat to the Forest of Death, pushing himself, wrestling with the chaotic, hungry phantom within, striving to grasp and control the terrifying power of the mask.
A month of this intense regimen passed.
The Land of Waves
The mission was simple on paper: escort a bridge builder, Tazuna, back to his home. As Team 7 and their client walked along the path, the mood was light, with Tazuna boasting and Naruto making a few lazy jokes. But the air of casualness was a facade.
They all saw it at the same time. A puddle, shimmering in the middle of the path.
It hasn't rained in weeks, was the single, simultaneous thought that passed through the minds of all four shinobi.
Kakashi's visible eye didn't even flicker, but he was instantly on high alert. Amateurs.
Sakura's heart began to pound, but she remembered her training. Anomaly. Be prepared. She subtly moved closer to protect Tazuna.
Sasuke's hand drifted towards his kunai pouch, a sharp, predatory glint in his eyes. Finally. A real fight.
Naruto just mentally cringed. Seriously? A puddle? That's the best they could come up with? This is just sad.
They played dumb, walking past the puddle as if nothing was wrong. The moment Tazuna's foot cleared the water, two figures erupted from it, their movements a blur of speed. The Demon Brothers.
"The first one's the jounin!" one of them hissed.
A chain shot out, wrapping around Kakashi and, with a brutal pull, tearing him to what looked like bloody shreds.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed in genuine panic.
The two chunin didn't even have a moment to savor their victory. They turned to face the "scared little genin."
"Now, it's your turn—"
They never finished the sentence.
The brothers had focused so intently on Kakashi that they had lost track of the two boys. A fatal mistake. In the split second it took them to turn, Sasuke and Naruto had already moved. They weren't in front anymore; they had flanked them, appearing on either side of the duo with silent, practiced speed.
"Too slow," they both said, their voices a calm, chilling unison.
Two fists, one glowing with a steady, flickering blue chakra, the other with a vibrant, swirling mix of blue and pink, slammed into the Demon Brothers' sides with explosive force. The chunin didn't even have time to scream. Their eyes bulged, the air was driven from their lungs in a single, violent gasp, and they were sent flying in opposite directions, crashing unconscious into the trees.
It was over in less than two seconds. A perfect, coordinated takedown.
From the trees, the "shredded" Kakashi emerged, completely unharmed. It had been a substitution. He looked down at the unconscious forms of the Demon Brothers, then at his two students, now standing back-to-back in the middle of the road. A flicker of genuine pride showed in his eye.
His lesson had been learned. They had looked underneath the underneath.
Chapter 7.2: Demon, Prodigy, and Phantom
The truth, when it finally came, was a pathetic, desperate confession from a broken old man. Tazuna, with tears in his eyes, told them of Gatō, the shipping magnate who had a stranglehold on his country, and how the bridge was their only hope. He couldn't afford a B-rank mission, so he had lied.
Sakura was indignant. Sasuke was impassive. Kakashi was calculating. But Naruto, after a moment of silence, just let out a lazy sigh. "Well, that complicates things. Guess we're seein' this through, then." And just like that, the decision was made.
They continued on, the mood now thick with the tension of a B-rank reality. It didn't take long for that reality to manifest.
A heavy mist began to roll in, unnaturally thick and cold. Visibility dropped to near zero. From the center of the oppressive silence, a voice, cold and sharp as honed steel, echoed.
"Well, well. Kakashi of the Sharingan. And a bunch of snot-nosed brats."
A figure materialized from the fog, tall and broad-shouldered, with a sword the size of a tombstone resting on his shoulder. His face was covered in bandages, his eyes dark and predatory. Zabuza Momochi. The air grew heavy, saturated with a Killing Intent so potent it felt like a physical pressure, a cold hand squeezing the life from them.
Sakura's breath hitched, her body trembling uncontrollably. Even Sasuke, for all his pride, felt a cold knot of fear tighten in his stomach. This was a world away from the controlled environment of a spar. This was a killer.
Kakashi's hand was already on his headband. "Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist. This is a little above your pay grade, kids. Stay back and protect the client."
"Nah," a calm voice cut through the tension.
Everyone, including Zabuza, turned to look at Naruto. He stood perfectly relaxed, hands in his pockets, his expression one of mild annoyance rather than fear.
"We'll handle this," Naruto stated simply.
Kakashi's eye widened. "Naruto, this is not the time for jokes. That's—"
"A test," Naruto finished for him, his gaze fixed on Zabuza. He turned his head slightly to look at his terrified teammates. "This is what a real shinobi looks like. This is the height we have to reach. Scared?" They both were, and it showed. "Good. Use that." He then looked at Kakashi. "Don't worry, sensei. I'll watch their backs. But this is necessary. For them to grow."
There it was again. That unnerving, captain-like authority. Kakashi hesitated, his mind screaming that this was insane. But the memory of the bell test, of Naruto's complete control, made him hold back. He nodded slowly, a silent, wary trust.
Zabuza let out a harsh, grating laugh. "You'll handle me? Three little genin? You've got guts, kid. I'll enjoy tearing them out."
"Sasuke, you're the striker," Naruto ordered, ignoring the taunt. "Sakura, full defensive position around Tazuna. Analyze everything. Let's go."
Sasuke, despite the fear, felt a surge of adrenaline. This was it. A real fight. He got into his stance. Sakura, shaking, drew a kunai and stood firmly in front of Tazuna.
"Begin," Naruto said, and the world exploded.
Zabuza moved, a blur of motion. The massive Kubikiribōchō came down in a crushing vertical slash aimed at Naruto. Sasuke shot forward from the side, a chakra-infused fist aimed at Zabuza's exposed flank.
Naruto didn't move. Not until the last possible second. He took a single, short step to the side. The colossal blade slammed into the ground where he'd been standing, shattering the earth. At the same time, Zabuza, without even looking, swung the flat of his blade backward, intercepting Sasuke's punch with a deafening CLANG. Sasuke was sent stumbling back, his arm numb.
"Pathetic," Zabuza grunted, ripping his sword from the ground.
Sakura threw a volley of kunai. Zabuza deflected them with a casual flick of his sword, the metal screeching as they were sent flying into the trees.
The fight fell into a brutal rhythm. Sasuke would charge in, a whirlwind of precise kicks and punches, only to be effortlessly blocked by the sheer mass of the Kubikiribōchō. Zabuza wasn't even using kenjutsu; he was just using the sword as an unbreakable shield. Sakura provided support, her shuriken and kunai expertly aimed to distract, but Zabuza ignored them.
And Naruto? He just dodged. He never attacked. He'd weave under a horizontal slash, step back from a thrust, his movements minimal and infuriatingly effective.
"Naruto, what are you doing?!" Sakura screamed, her frustration boiling over. "Help him!"
Sasuke was panting, his chakra flickering around his bruised knuckles. "I don't need his help!" he snarled, but the desperation was clear in his voice. They were being completely, hopelessly outclassed.
Zabuza brought his sword up, blocking another of Sasuke's combos. "Is this all you've got, Uchiha? Your clan was more impressive when they were being slaughtered."
The taunt hit its mark. Sasuke roared in fury and charged recklessly. Zabuza sidestepped and slammed the flat of his blade into Sasuke's back, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Get up," Naruto's voice cut in, cold and hard. Sasuke looked over to see Naruto hadn't moved to help, his expression unreadable. "You can't always rely on me, or on Kakashi. Are you just gonna lie there? Is this the power you think will be enough to kill him?"
Every word was a perfectly aimed needle, piercing Sasuke's pride, his shame, his ultimate motivation. Itachi. The image of his brother flashed in his mind. He pushed himself up, his body aching, his mind racing. He was weak. He was being toyed with. He needed more. More power.
The memory of the training session surfaced. Kakashi's words. Control it. The feeling of the chakra infusion. The raw power of Naruto's blue-and-pink fist. He had the chakra. He had the control. What if… what if he didn't just coat his skin? What if he made the chakra an extension of the attack itself?
Zabuza, bored, decided to end it. He formed a hand seal. "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu." A clone of water rose beside him and shot towards the downed Sasuke.
"It's over," Zabuza declared.
Sasuke looked up at the incoming clone, and in that moment of desperation, something clicked. He didn't just channel chakra to his fist. He focused his Fire Nature into it, a desperate, incandescent rage.
"Get… AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed.
He punched the ground. It wasn't just a chakra-infused strike. A violent burst of orange-red energy erupted from his knuckles. It wasn't a fireball; it was pure, kinetic heat. The air in front of him shimmered and hissed. He pushed off the ground, no longer just a shinobi, but a living projectile of heat and fury.
The ground beneath his feet sizzled, each step leaving a trail of superheated steam as he closed the distance in a single, scorching blur. The water clone reached him and threw a punch. Sasuke met it head-on. His fist, now glowing like a hot coal, didn't just connect; it vaporized the clone's arm on contact. With a roar, he drove his other fist into the clone's chest. An explosive hiss of steam erupted, and the water clone detonated into a cloud of scalding vapor.
Zabuza's eyes widened in genuine shock. Nintaijutsu? A fire-type? From a genin?
Sasuke didn't stop. He was now a blur of black and orange, his body wreathed in a faint, shimmering aura of heat. He appeared in front of Zabuza, his taijutsu amplified to a terrifying new level. Every punch sizzled. Every kick left a trail of burning air. Zabuza was forced back, the sword's hilt smoking where he blocked the heat-infused blows.
This wasn't the Uchiha style anymore. This was a desperate, self-made style, born of pure ingenuity and rage. A Burning Fist.
"HAH!" Sasuke roared, finding his opening. He ducked under a wild swing from Zabuza and drove his glowing fist upward in a powerful uppercut, aiming for the jaw.
He poured every last ounce of his chakra, his hate, his jealousy into that single strike.
The impact was immense. A contained explosion of fire and force. Zabuza's head snapped back, his body lifting from the ground before dissolving into a torrent of water.
It was a clone. The real one had substituted out during Sasuke's charge.
But it didn't matter. Sasuke stood there, panting, his entire body trembling with exhaustion, the fiery aura fading from his limbs. His chakra was almost completely gone, but he was standing. He had won.
A slow clap echoed from a nearby tree. The real Zabuza stood on a branch, his expression no longer bored, but one of genuine, predatory interest. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all. To create a new form of Nintaijutsu in the middle of a fight… you Uchiha truly are a fascinating clan."
Sasuke scowled, but the fatigue was overwhelming him. He swayed on his feet.
Suddenly, a hand was on his shoulder, steadying him. He looked over to see Naruto standing beside him. For the first time, the lazy, mocking smirk was gone. In its place was a small, genuine smile.
"Good work, Sasuke," Naruto said, his voice quiet and sincere.
In that moment, for the first time, the bitter, suffocating jealousy in Sasuke's chest faded away, replaced by a flicker of something else. Acknowledgment. Naruto, the impossible wall he could never surmount, was looking at him as an equal.
Sasuke just grunted, turning his head away to hide his expression. "Hn." But inside, the validation was a cool balm on his burning pride.
"Get some rest," Naruto said, his gaze shifting to the real Zabuza. "I'll handle this."
Sasuke took a shaky step back. "Dobe… Don't you dare lose."
Naruto's familiar, toothy grin returned, sharp and full of unnerving confidence. He didn't even look at Sasuke. His eyes were locked on the Demon of the Hidden Mist.
"To who?"