Chapter 36: Haku
Next Day,
Everyone was ready to face off against their enemies on the bridge. As they reached the bridge, they saw a heavy mist covering the surroundings.
"So, you finally came. So, what's your plan, brat?" Zabuza asked from the mist, making other Genin shiver.
The entire mist was covered with Killing Intent so it was hard for them to simply walk into it.
"Come on, don't be so rude!"
[Wind Style- Great Breakthrough]
Naruto immediately used several hand signs and released a massive gust of wind. It blasted away the mist and two figures appeared on top of the bridge.
"Naruto, are you sure?" Kurenai looked at Naruto and asked. She knew that Naruto was going to face off against Zabuza so she was a bit worried.
After all, Zabuza was the missing-nin.
"Don't worry, Kurenai Sensei!" Naruto smiled as he replied. He turned to Kakashi's team and pointed at Haku.
"She is Zabuza's sidekick. I want my team to face her but I know that you won't agree. So, you can fight her. Don't worry, she won't kill you."
Hearing his words, Kiba growled.
"It's not like she can kill us."
"Haku, give it a go!" Zabuza stared at Naruto for a moment and spoke.
"Yes, Zabuza-san!" Haku nodded her head and disappeared instantly and appeared in the middle.
"Heh! I will defeat you. Right, Akamaru?" Kiba smirked and jumped forward. He put his palms on the ground and released his Chakra into his legs and palms.
[Four Legs Technique]
Kiba smirked and dashed toward her. His hand moved forward and tried to scratch her mask but Haku simply disappeared in front of him and appeared behind him.
Bang!
She kicked him on the back and he fell several meters away.
"Damn! Akamaru, I need you." Kiba quickly got up and Akamaru ran towards him. He didn't want to get embarrassed, especially in front of others.
[Beast Human Clone]
Akamaru transformed into Kiba and two of them tried to attack Haku from two different areas. But, Haku was too fast on his feet, constantly dodging his attacks and attacking him from the sides and back.
"Enough is enough!"
[Fang Passing Fang]
Kiba and Akamaru began to spin their bodies at a great speed and moved toward Haku. As they moved, they almost destroyed the surface of the bridge.
"It seems like you are not weak."
Haku muttered upon seeing the destructive power of Kiba's attack.
"Haku, don't waste time!" Zabuza shouted from behind with some irritation.
"Yes, Zabuza-san!" Haku nodded his head and the water around them began to rise. It started swirling around Haku.
Whoosh!
When Kiba and Akamaru got near him, Haku transformed that water into water needles and struck them.
[Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death]
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Several of those needles pierced Kiba and Akamaru, causing them to instantly stop their attack. Akamaru couldn't hold his transformation and returned to his original form.
"H-how?" Kiba looked at her with confusion and fell to the ground.
"Kiba!" Sakura screamed and rushed toward him on her instinct.
"Let me!" Hinata quickly appeared next to him with Body Flicker and put her hand above Kiba and Akamaru. A green glow appeared on her palm as she began to heal them.
"You taught her Healing Jutsu?" Kakashi looked at Kurenai with surprise and asked.
"Nope! She learned it on her own." Kurenai shook her head and continued.
"She has near-perfect Chakra Control thanks to her Byakugan."
"Sakura also has perfect Chakra Control. You should have taught her, Mr. Kakashi!" Naruto spoke and then looked at Sasuke.
"You want to try?"
"Of course!" A smirk appeared on his face as Sasuke walked toward Haku.
"So brat, what about me? Who is going to fight me?" Zabuza moved his head toward Naruto and asked.
"Me!" Naruto pointed at himself and suddenly, Sasuke paused his footsteps.
"Man, you are such a drag. Trying to take on an Elite Jonin. You won't stand a chance without its power." Shikamaru couldn't help but slap Naruto on the back of his head.
"Hehe! You got some guts, brat. Are you sure you won't lose yourself and kill others?" Zabuza smirked and asked.
This caused Kakashi and Kurenai to look at him with some concern.
"Nope! Its chakra will only boost my Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. I won't enter Version 2 against you. But, let's wait until Haku's fight is over." Naruto shook his head.
"Okay!" Shikamaru nodded his head.
After quite a lot of discussion, he understood how Jinchuriki's power works.
First, there was a Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak. It wasn't even the first state because it only required him to draw Nine Tails' Chakra around his body.
Because the amount of Chakra doesn't reach One Tail's worth of Chakra, it is a lot less dense and weaker but even it gives quite a lot of boost in strength, speed, recovery, and Chakra.
Second, there was a Version One Cloak. In this state, he will absorb enough Chakra to create a Chakra Cloak around him and gain the Chakra version of a tail.
This boost gives him much more power because he can continuously increase the number of tails required in the battle. By increasing the tails, he can get access to more of its Chakra.
Finally, there was a Version Two cloak where his entire body was covered with Tailed Beast Chakra. It completely starts eroding his skin and the Chakra is so much dense that even powerful attacks can't harm him.
But, it has a major downside. He can't use any Ninjutsu and needs to rely on pure Taijutsu for any kind of battle. More importantly, there was a risk of losing his mind because of the hatred of that Chakra.
Since he wasn't going to use Version Two Cloak, Shikamaru wasn't afraid of Naruto losing control.
His reply caught Kakashi off guard. He looked at Kurenai and asked.
"Do you know about this?"
Kurenai shook her head and said.
"I don't know a lot about it. Naruto only trains Nine Tails Chakra with a person called Tenzo."
"Oh, him?" Kakashi immediately recognized that person and nodded. He wasn't sure if he could trust Naruto on this but he had no other choice.
At this moment, Sasuke and Haku started their Taijutsu battle. It was clear that they were similar in Taijutsu, neither getting an edge until Haku began to increase her speed.
She was constantly using her senbon to inflict damage on Sasuke and he was unable to dodge any of those attacks.
Unable to dodge those attacks, Sasuke was constantly looking for a way to deflect them with his Kunai.
As he fought further, he began to manifest his bloodline. It was awakened when he found out about the cause of the Nine-Tails incident. But, it was only now that it began to manifest.
Two Tomie on his right eye and one Tomie on his left eye.
"I see, you have a bloodline." Haku saw his eyes and stopped for a moment. Without any hesitation, she began to do a one-handed seal and created water needles around him.
[Fire Release- Grand Fireball Technique]
Sasuke kicked the ground and retreated several meters away from her. Haku's water needles began to move toward him when he released a massive ball of fire toward her.
Bang!
Water and flame collided, creating a massive mist in the middle.
"Since you are using your bloodline, then I shall use mine." A voice came from the mist and suddenly, large blocks of ice began to emerge around Sasuke.
[Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystal]
"What is this?" Sasuke looked around inside the dome. There were several ice blocks and Haku was in one of them.
"Kekkei Genkai!" Kakashi's pupils shrunk as he tried to dash forward but Naruto stopped him.
"Mr. Kakashi, if you interfere right now, Sasuke will only resent you. Haku won't kill him. At worst, he will get incapacitated."
Kakashi paused for a moment and asked.
"Are you sure you can trust him?"
Naruto chuckled and looked at Zabuza.
"What do you think?"
"Humph! Even if you were my enemy, Haku wouldn't kill you that easily. She is too soft for a ninja." Zabuza put his arms in front of his chest and snorted.
"I didn't think she would have an Ice Release. Was she born with it or did she develop it?" Naruto asked.
"She was born with it. That's why she is with me." Zabuza spoke with a cold tone but there was sadness hidden in his tone.
"Is that so? So, she is another victim of the Bloodline Purge." Naruto clenched his fist, his hatred and anger radiating out of his body.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata walked next to him and caught his palm. Naruto's anger slowly died down while Zabuza asked.
"Why are you so angry brat? Is it because of that person?"
"Yes!" Naruto replied and looked at Hinata with a smile.
"Thanks, Hinata!"
"It's okay, Naruto-kun." Hinata shook her head and gently spoke.
"Is there something I am missing?" Kakashi asked from the side.
"Yes, something very important."