Chapter 35 : Never give up
CRASH!
The deafening shriek of metal on metal rang out, and Zabuza's expression twisted once more.
The force behind the tail sting was immense, far greater than he had anticipated.
"How... how can it be this strong?!" he grunted through clenched teeth.
Even as he strained to hold his ground, the overwhelming power forced him back, sending a jolt of pure shock through his system. He was one of Kirigakure's famed Seven Ninja Swordsmen! To be so thoroughly suppressed by a single puppet was unthinkable.
"Are all puppet masters this monstrous?" he snarled internally, refusing to be cornered. He broke away and his hands flew into a sequence of hand seals. He couldn't let his opponent control the pace of the battle; he had to seize the initiative. He was confident that his ultimate techniques could shatter this damned puppet.
"Adequate reaction," the Scarlet Sand Scorpion's voice rasped from within Hiruko, the praise clinical and detached. "The Uchiha boy reacted on a similar level. However..." The puppet's mask snapped open. "...I have no intention of giving you the chance to finish."
A dense cloud of poisonous needles erupted from its maw. "Poison Mist: Thousand Needle Death!"
The volley was as fast as the tail sting, the air screaming as the needles tore through it. Zabuza's eyes widened. "Damn it! He won't even give me a moment to seal?"
Faced with this lethal hail, he had no choice but to abandon his hand seals, sacrificing technique for raw speed to evade. Not every shinobi could weave signs and dodge simultaneously like the legendary Jiraiya. The process of sealing, channeling chakra, and releasing a jutsu was a vulnerable chain. If interrupted, the technique would fail, or its power would be drastically weakened.
"Lord Zabuza... is being pushed this far?" Haku watched, his heart sinking. He knew the Akatsuki member was powerful, but this was staggering. To suppress a warrior of Zabuza's caliber using only a single puppet...
SWISH!
No sooner had Zabuza dodged the needle storm than the terrifying tail sting was upon him again, its trajectory unerring.
CLANG!
He barely got his sword up in time to block, but the impact sent a fresh wave of agony through his arms. A sickening crack sounded from the blade itself, and a look of pure disbelief flashed across his face. His sword, a masterwork weapon, was fracturing under the assault.
The humiliation was as sharp as the pain. How could he be so utterly dominated?
"The Chakra Metal," Uchiha Naoki observed quietly from the sidelines. "The chakra conduction is faster, more potent. Hiruko's overall performance has been elevated—its speed, its flexibility, and most of all, the piercing power of its tail." The blade in Zabuza's hands was no ordinary tool; for it to be cracking proved how much deadlier Hiruko had become. "Its capabilities have indeed surpassed what I knew of it before."
As Naoki analyzed, Hiruko's mask slid open once more, belching a thick, violet cloud of poison that enveloped Zabuza before he could react.
"Damn it!" he cursed, already feeling a wave of dizziness from the faintest inhalation. He threw himself backward, out of the cloud—lingering meant certain death. But as his feet touched the ground, the relentless tail was already there, a lance of cold death.
"Too slow!" Zabuza gasped, resorting to a hasty Body Flicker to create distance. His only chance now was to get away and use his Hidden Mist Technique to level the playing field.
But the moment he rematerialized, the toxin in his system caused a critical, half-second delay—a fatal lapse in a battle of this caliber.
It was all the opening the puppet needed.
The tail sting darted in like a serpent of light, coiling around Zabuza with impossible speed, lifting him from the ground and holding him fast. He was trapped, utterly powerless.
"It's over," Scorpion's flat, final tone came from within Hiruko. "Your options remain. Admit defeat, or die. You have ten seconds. I do not enjoy waiting."
Haku could only stare, stunned. Lord Zabuza had been defeated without even being able to use his signature Silent Killing technique. "Is this... the one who assassinated the Third Kazekage?" he whispered, fists clenching. "The gap in their strength... is it really this vast?"
Seeing the conclusion, Uchiha Naoki rose from his rock, brushing the dust from his clothes. The outcome was never in doubt. In his previous life's knowledge, Scorpion had effortlessly dismantled a Jonin like Kankuro. Dealing with a Zabuza who lacked the full power of his Executioner's Blade was a manageable task. In the world of shinobi, a single mistake, a single drop of poison, could decide everything. Zabuza had simply run out of chances.
"A pity," Naoki murmured to himself. "I didn't get to see Hiruko's full arsenal. It feels somewhat unsatisfying." Having fought the puppet himself, he knew what other tricks remained unused. Perhaps if Zabuza had possessed the Executioner's Blade, he might have forced Scorpion to reveal more.
"I yield," Zabuza growled, the words tasting like ash. "I accept your... invitation."
Choosing to die here was pointless. Knowing when to submit was a survival skill every rogue ninja had to master.
"A wise decision," Scorpion intoned, releasing him. "Then, on behalf of the organization, I welcome you to Akatsuki."
Meanwhile, in Konoha...
Shimura Danzo stared at the intelligence report from the Third Hokage, his face a mask of cold fear. "So it is true... Uchiha Naoki, in league with the Scarlet Sand Scorpion, was responsible for Orochimaru's death. To think he has already grown to such a height."
He knew Orochimaru's power intimately. The fact that the legendary Sannin had been cornered and killed by this boy and his partner was terrifying. One of the masterminds was a Konoha shinobi, an Uchiha. The threat this posed was incalculable.
"This only makes it more imperative to eliminate him," Danzo whispered, his single eye hardening with resolve. Whether driven by personal ambition or a twisted sense of duty to the village, he could not allow Uchiha Naoki to grow any further.
"The question is... how?" Using Uchiha Itachi had been the plan, but it was clearly no longer viable. Unless, of course, Naoki were to foolishly turn against Akatsuki himself...