Naruto: Forgotten Prodigy

Chapter 12

They continued clashing against each other, sparks flying each time their blades met. As he saw a diagonal slash from Zabuza, Naruto misjudged the timing of his dodge, Zabuza landing a clean cut on his shoulder. The favor was returned when they collided once more, Naruto angling and pushing his Seigi no Ken off against Kubikiribōchō, managing to land a cut on Zabuza's cheek.

Eventually, Naruto started to slow down, the heavy blows from Zabuza making his arms go more and more numb with each swing. Swinging his sword in overhead in a wide arc, Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō met Naruto's Sword of Justice with a loud clang and explosion of sparks.

Angling his sword again then pushing against Kubikiribōchō once more, Naruto threw Zabuza off balance slightly as he swung towards him but met air as Zabuza ducked under his swing. Spinning around Zabuza swung horizontally to bisect Naruto, but hit his sword instead, sending the blonde flying a short distance from the power of his swing.

Smirking a bit, Zabuza changed his stance as Naruto staggered to his feet, setting up an unstable guard with his Sword of Justice. Setting his feet diagonally shoulder length apart, his right foot outstretched and Kubikiribōchō held in a reverse grip perpendicular to his body behind him, Zabuza performed a move he hasn't used since his time as a part of Kiri's military force.

"Kubikiribōchō: Reisuiwari!"

Naruto barely saw him move as Zabuza appeared behind him, sending him flying from the monstrous power of his attack. Hitting the water and skipping a few feet, he managed to regain his balance and right himself in the air, his eyes widened as he saw the aftereffect of Zabuza's attack; a scar in the water ran from where Zabuza stood to where he was before his attack, at least 7-9ft long, a foot wide and 2ft deep.

Naruto stood up shakily, his stamina beginning to run out. He was covered in cuts, the largest one on being on the back of his right shoulder from misreading the timing of one of his dodges. Compared to him, Zabuza had only superficial cuts, his most major one being on a small cut on his check from getting knocked off balance earlier.

Shooting a quick glance to the side, Naruto could tell his teammate's and sensei's self control were quickly slipping from the glares they were directing at Zabuza. He needed to finish this quickly before they interrupted them. Slipping into a stance similar to Zabuza's before. He got a raised eyebrow from the taller man.

"Looks like you're intending on finishing this huh? Fine brat, I'll humor you." He said, getting into the same stance as before.

"We end things in this final attack alright Zabuza-san? I win, you let us go. You win, you can kill me but let please let my team and Tazuna-san go." Naruto said, staring straight at Zabuza, his eyes hard and narrowed.

"You really think you should be bargaining in your position? I'll think about it, but you have zero chance of winning brat." Zabuza replied, tightening his grip on his sword as he narrowed and focused his eyes on Naruto.

Silence reigned over the lake, as no one dared to take a breath during the tense moment. Finally, as if they were waiting for it, a leaf dropped onto the lake, and the two charged each other.

"Kubikiribōchō: Reisuiwari!"

"Seigi no Ken: Kaiten surasshu"

Faster then their eyes could follow, excluding Anko, the final strikes of Naruto and Zabuza ended. The water between them ripped 3ft across, 5ft deep, and 12ft long; slowly began to fill back in, causing turbulent waves to form.

Naruto's eyes widened as he coughed up blood as a cut appeared from his left shoulder going diagonally downwards, ending near his hip. Dropping his Basutāsōdo, it disappeared in a large wisp of black smoke before hitting the water. His world started to go black as he saw Anko sprinting towards him, he managed to mutter one word before losing consciousness. "How...?"