"What the hell is that?"
Zabuza Momochi squinted into the thick mist, trying to make sense of the deafening noise that had just rattled the entire bridge.
Through the fog, he could barely make out several figures.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Something had just fallen from the sky, causing the entire bridge to tremble. And if his eyes weren't deceiving him, those figures over there... were people?
Who could do such a thing?
Zabuza's grip tightened around the handle of his beheading sword.
The three figures seemed to have moved. They raised their arms and pointed in different directions.
Boom!
A powerful gust of wind burst forth from the palms of their strange armor, blowing away the thick mist that had enveloped the entire bridge.
In an instant, the battlefield was clear.
"This... what is this?"
Kakashi Hatake's eyes widened behind his mask, his mind momentarily blank.
The three figures stood there, humanoid in appearance but encased in bizarre, futuristic armor.
Armor? That couldn't be right. How could armor create that much power?
And what kind of armor could allow them to fly and land from the sky like that?
Who were these people?
From Kakashi's stunned expression, it was clear they weren't from Zabuza's side.
But if not... then what were they doing here?
"Well, isn't this interesting."
The man in black armor, who looked like Kakashi but wasn't, eyed the white-haired man wearing a mask on the opposite side. There was no mistaking it.
This was his counterpart in this parallel ninja world.
"It looks like we interrupted something."
Menma glanced around, his gaze falling on various figures.
A pink-haired girl—Haruno Sakura, probably. An old man standing nervously behind her, clearly a civilian.
On the other side, the masked man with silver hair and two others wearing forehead protectors with the Kirigakure symbol.
And then his eyes landed on a boy who looked just like him.
Menma's eyes widened with a hint of curiosity.
"So, that's me in this world..."
But—
He's so short!
Still, it was better than not existing at all.
"Who are you people?!"
The local Kakashi demanded, stepping forward to shield his students. His voice was stern, eyes sharp.
He could tell that these mysterious figures weren't aligned with Zabuza.
"It seems like something interesting happened here," Menma said, ignoring the tension in the air as he walked towards a body lying on the bridge.
The kid lying there, pierced by needles like a pincushion, had to be Sasuke from this world.
"You bastard! What are you trying to do?!"
Naruto shouted, his emotions boiling over. His rage stirred the Nine Tails' chakra, causing a red, ominous aura to seep from his body.
With the demonic chakra's boost, Naruto's speed and strength surged to new heights.
Whoosh!
Naruto lunged at Menma, aiming a punch straight for his head.
"Calm down. I'm not here to cause trouble."
Menma's voice was calm as he raised his hand, effortlessly catching Naruto's punch.
No matter how hard Naruto struggled, or how much he called upon the Nine Tails' chakra, it was useless.
In fact, the crimson chakra wrapping around Naruto was being drawn into Menma's armor, as if sucked away by some invisible force.
"Damn it!"
Naruto growled, feeling his newfound strength slip away, replaced by a sense of helplessness.
"Don't be so hasty," Menma said as he pushed Naruto to the ground with little effort. "I'm here to save Sasuke. You don't want him to die, do you?"
"You... what?"
Naruto's anger briefly turned to confusion.
Who was this guy? And how did he know Sasuke?
"Tsk, you're really in bad shape," Menma muttered as he crouched beside Sasuke's motionless body. He reached out and placed his hand over Sasuke's chest.
A soft, green glow emerged from Menma's armor, its healing energy flowing into Sasuke.
"Is that... Healing Jutsu?"
The local Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Healing techniques of that level weren't something just anyone could pull off.
Within moments, Sasuke's eyes fluttered open. His vision was blurry at first, but slowly, things came into focus.
He remembered the fight against the masked boy, the ice needles piercing his body, and throwing himself in front of Naruto like an idiot.
"Sasuke! You're awake!"
Naruto's relief was palpable. He pointed a trembling finger at Menma. "Who is this guy? And why does he know you?"
"...Huh?"
Sasuke looked around in confusion, his gaze settling on the strange figures encased in armor. Who were these people?
Meanwhile, Zabuza had seen enough. These newcomers weren't from his side. And if they were allied with the Konoha ninja, things were looking bad.
He needed to retreat, especially with Haku being injured by Naruto's wild attack.
Silently, Zabuza edged toward Haku, ready to make his escape.
"Don't even think about it."
A calm, mechanical-sounding voice cut through the air.
Zabuza froze, his eyes narrowing as he glanced back to see the other two armored figures staring directly at him.
"Apologies for interrupting your little fight," said the man with silver hair, whose voice had been altered by his armor. "But no one here is allowed to leave. Not yet."
"Heh!"
Zabuza sneered, trying to mask his nervousness. "And who do you think you are?"
These people were crazy if they thought they could hold him here.
He was the Demon of the Hidden Mist, someone who had escaped the clutches of the Mizukage himself!
"Our strength may not be overwhelming," Menma said, tapping the side of his helmet. "But it's more than enough to handle you."
Beep—
Inside Menma's armor, the combat power detector activated.
Imperial technology—designed to evaluate someone's strength by analyzing the chakra they released.
The numbers on the display rapidly increased before stabilizing.
"Let's see..." Menma said, reading the results with a hint of disappointment. "Your combat power is only... 450."
He shook his head. "Pathetic."
Zabuza's eyes widened. "What the hell are you talking about?"
But before he could even make a move, he realized that these mysterious armored figures were far more dangerous than he'd ever imagined.
And Team 7 was left wondering just what kind of nightmare they had stumbled into.