As soon as the group had finished crossing the water, a massive sword spun through the air, whistling as it flew straight toward their necks.
"Get down!" Kakashi shouted, spotting the incoming attack just in time.
Naruto and Sasuke reacted quickly, diving to the ground.
The massive blade embedded itself halfway into the earth, quivering from the force. A man landed gracefully atop it, standing on one foot—Momochi Zabuza.
Sora narrowed his eyes as he watched Zabuza's dramatic entrance, secretly thinking how lucky the man was. If that blade had swung even slightly closer, Zabuza might've been dead already.
"Well, well… Didn't expect to see you here—Konoha's new White Fang, Hatake Kakashi!"
"Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi replied calmly, stepping in front of the three Genin without the slightest tension.
With Sora standing behind him, there was no need to worry—and even alone, Kakashi was more than capable of defeating Zabuza.
Thanks to Sora's advice years ago, he had stopped trying to further develop his Sharingan and had instead poured himself into swordsmanship. Now, Kakashi was a full-fledged Kage-level ninja and the true heir of the White Fang's legacy.
"My target's that old man behind you," Zabuza said, pointing directly at Tazuna. "Hand him over, and we can avoid a fight."
Kakashi's name wasn't unknown—Zabuza had heard plenty. He wasn't sure he could win.
Kakashi's hand tightened on the hilt of his father's broken White Fang short blade. His eye narrowed.
"He's my mission's client. I'm not handing him over."
Behind Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared at Zabuza curiously. They turned toward Sora, silently asking for an explanation.
Sora answered without looking away from the enemy. "That's Momochi Zabuza—a missing-nin from the Mist. He failed an attempt to assassinate the Mizukage and went rogue. During his graduation, he slaughtered all ninety-nine of his fellow examinees. That's how he got the name 'Demon of the Hidden Mist.'"
"Strength-wise, he's around the level of an elite jōnin. Just barely worth paying attention to."
With that, Sora lost interest, watching the fight with mild boredom.
Zabuza might've had a fearsome reputation, but Kakashi was stronger—by a lot.
The battle began. No matter what ninjutsu Zabuza unleashed, Kakashi countered it all with clean, powerful sword strikes.
Finally, Zabuza resorted to direct combat, wielding his massive Executioner's Blade against Kakashi in a head-on clash.
Crack!
The Executioner's Blade split in two under the weight of Kakashi's broken White Fang sword.
Without pause, Kakashi's blade swept toward Zabuza's neck.
The rogue ninja barely managed to dodge, leaning back just enough for the sword to slice across his chest instead.
Blood burst from the deep gash, spraying across the grass as Zabuza collapsed—lifeless.
Whoosh!
Just as Kakashi moved in to confirm the kill, a small figure appeared, clad in ANBU gear.
Sora's eyes lit up with intrigue as he focused on the newcomer. He was genuinely curious about Haku's gender, but with the outfit covering everything, he couldn't tell a thing.
"Who are you?" Kakashi asked sharply, stepping in front of the corpse with his sword at the ready.
The figure stopped, speaking in a stiff tone, "I'm an ANBU from Kirigakure, sent to eliminate the rogue ninja Momochi Zabuza. Thank you for killing him. I'll be taking his body back now."
Despite their words, their body continued moving toward Zabuza.
Sora remained silent, watching as Kakashi handed over Zabuza's corpse—along with the remains of his sword.
Before long, the group reached Tazuna's home, following the familiar rhythm of the original storyline.
Bored with watching the kids goof off, Sora sat down outside with Kakashi.
"You're not seriously going to tell me you believed that was an ANBU?" Sora asked, raising a brow. "You've been here long enough—you should know exactly what real ANBU look like."
Kakashi, once the ANBU commander himself, shouldn't have been fooled by something so sloppy.
Kakashi exhaled with a knowing smile. "So you noticed too."
"Zabuza might've been a missing-nin, but once the Fifth Mizukage took power, his status changed. He just didn't know it yet."
Kakashi glanced toward the house. "When Mei visited Konoha, she personally asked the Hokage to spare Zabuza if they ever crossed paths again."
Sora wasn't entirely satisfied with that answer but let it go.
He'd always wondered why Kakashi spared Zabuza in the original timeline. It clearly hadn't been this reason back then—but now? Hard to say.
Still, Sora had his theories. Kakashi was famous for his poor chakra reserves, and if he'd fought Zabuza and Haku to the end, he might've been drained dry—leaving the Genin unprotected.
So maybe Kakashi had just played along, letting Haku take Zabuza's body without a fight.
That theory made even more sense when Kakashi spent the next few days bedridden at Tazuna's house.
Satisfied with his conclusion, Sora stood up and said, "Tazuna says the bridge will take another seven days to finish. You guard him—I'm going for a walk."
With that, he strolled away. Kakashi could handle things from here.
His real targets were Zabuza and Haku, and now that they weren't going to be attacking again, he could shift his focus.
He felt a little bad, to be honest. He'd asked Mei to maintain peace in Kirigakure for ten years, and nothing had happened at all in that time.
Now that the decade-long favor had technically expired, he figured he ought to do something in return. At least show he still cared.
As he walked down the dusty streets, past starving villagers gnawing on roots and grass, Sora remained unfazed. He was long used to scenes like this.
Outside of the Land of Fire, such suffering was far too common—some places were even worse.
Most of these people would give anything to move to the Land of Fire, but border restrictions and politics kept them out.
Sora shook his head and stopped a passerby to ask where Gato lived.
But the moment he mentioned Gato's name, the man screamed and tried to bolt.
Sora grabbed him and pulled out a silver banknote worth a hundred ryo.
"Tell me where Gato lives, and this is yours."
Gulp.
A young girl nearby swallowed hard, eyeing the money with equal parts fear and greed. "Really?"
"Really," Sora confirmed, placing the note in her tiny, trembling hands. She was skin and bones—he couldn't help feeling a bit of pity.
"Gato doesn't live around here," the girl whispered. "He's on the other side. There's a mansion—big, fancy. Only one like it. No one dares go near."
She pointed shakily in the direction, gripping the money like her life depended on it.
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