"I-I can't move..." Haku said, feeling as if his body was frozen on the spot.
Kimimaro and the others also felt the effects, not understanding what was going on.
"Am I scared..." Hattori asked himself, watching as the demon Zabuza slowly walked over towards him, feeling his legs shaking as he got closer.
"No... He has to pay. I won't let him get away with it!" He roared, forcing his arm to move.
Hattori forced himself to move and stabbed himself in the leg to snap his body out of whatever was going on, freeing his body in the process.
Zabuza quickly lunged forwards with a swipe of his sword, surprised that he missed his attack when Hattori ducked under it.
However, he didn't waste time in complementing the boy and quickly countered Hattori's attempt to counter attack with a powerful front kick to the chest, sending him crashing back into the trees with serious force.
"H-Hattori!" Yuri yelled, also still frozen on the spot as she tried her best to get to his side, being unable to move like the others.
"You! You're next!" Zabuza said as he fixed his attention on the girl, wanting to sever their bond with his blade.
"Yuri, look out!" Ganryu suddenly yelled, having been able to free himself from Zabuza's jutsu.
Ganryu was quick to lift his sword in an attempt to block Zabuza's attack, but it was simply too strong as it knocked the explosive blade out of the way with ease and cut Ganryu down the chest.
"Ganryu!" Kogetsu yelled, forcing himself to break free and charge to his defence.
"What do ya know? Down with only a single strike." Zabuza said, not even bothering to look at Kogetsu before he let a lightning-style clone emerge and attack him head-on.
Ganryu was on his knees now, breathing heavily as he tried to conserve his life force.
"This fight isn't over yet... Z-Zabuza." He said, spitting out some blood onto the ground.
Kimimaro and the others also watched as Zabuza stood over Ganryu, lifting his sword as he got ready to deliver the final blow, each of them feeling helpless as whatever was holding them in place remained strong.
"That's enough..." Kimimaro said, growing angry at the fact he felt useless.
"I won't let this carry on!" He said again, allowing a red chakra cloak to cover his body with a single tail emerging from the result.
Zabuza could sense the sudden increase in chakra and turned around, only to be met with a powerful punch that connected right on his jaw.
Kimimaro had broken free of the jutsu that was holding everyone in place with the help of the three-tails chakra. Bursting to life as he rushed over as quickly as he could and punched Zabuza in the face with everything he had.
Zabuza was shocked by the power behind the boy's attack, feeling the force of it take him off his feet before he slammed through the stump of a tree, something that required a large amount of force.
Everyone was amazed at what they had just witnessed and soon felt their bodies become free again as the jutsu Zabuza had used on them wore off.
"You did it!" Haku said, quickly making some hand signs as he rushed over to Ganryu.
"Quickly, we need to get him out of here and to the hidden Waterfall!" Haku then shouted, being quickly followed by Koyuki who was thinking the same thing.
"What the hell was that jutsu?" Koyuki also asked, taking a look at the damage to Ganryū.
Kujira and the others were shocked by Kimimaro's sudden appearance, but quickly shook it off as Kogetsu barked orders, seeing as Zabuza's clone had also disappeared, leaving him free to take control of the situation.
"We need to get out of here before he gets back up," Kogetsu said, taking one of Ganryu's arms after assessing the damage.
"Don't worry about me," Ganryu said, spitting out more blood.
"We won't leave you behind!" Chika and Kujira yelled as they also ran over to help, feeling a little useless at the moment.
"Quickly!" Kogetsu shouted, getting everyone to make a move as they jumped into the trees.
Kimimaro released his chakra cloak and joined the others, looking back to see if Zabuza was giving chase.
Yuri had rushed straight to Hattori's side to check on him after taking a powerful kick from Zabuza. He had managed to use his steel release at the last second to avoid death, but his body was still injured.
"We need to get out of here quickly," Yuri said as she helped him up.
Hattori nodded, ashamed to admit that even after his training, he was still no match for the demon of the mist.
Meanwhile...
Zabuza's eyes slowly came back into focus once his head had stopped spinning.
Realising he had taken a direct hit from the boy and as a result, had been sent flying so hard he had smashed through the trees before finally becoming imprinted into one strong enough to withstand the force.
"That was some power..." Zabuza said, giving a compliment where a complement was due.
However, his rage soon took over before he ripped his arms free of the tree and took his sword in his hand.
"Don't think I will let you get away with that, brat!"
"Now, now... Zabuza." A voice suddenly said from the shadows, alerting Zabuza to the owner's presence.
"You..." He said, already knowing who it was.
"What do you want, Zetsu?" Zabuza said as he turned to look at the strange being.
"We simply came to find you, after watching your fight with the three tails that is." White Zetsu said.
"You were toying with your prey again." Black Zetsu then said.
"Whatever," Zabuza said, placing his sword on his back.
"That boy... He is the three tails jinchūriki." White Zetsu then said, causing Zabuza's eyes to open a little wider.
"So... He made his own boy a jinchūriki."
"That explains why he packed such a punch." Zabuza then said, having all the pieces come together.
"The mission has changed." Black Zetsu said, getting the demon's attention.
"You are to capture the three tails, and bring him in."
Zabuza remained silent, knowing that they would be heading towards the land of Waterfalls now, and would be sheltered by the hidden village and its forces.
"That won't be easy," Zabuza said.
"We know. That is why our leader is sending you help." White Zetsu then said.
Zabuza didn't say anything, knowing that if Pain had made this decision, then there was nothing he could say to change that.
"Kakuzu and a new member will be here in a few days... Until then, we suggest you rest." White Zetsu then said before both of them slowly slipped into the ground, leaving Zabuza alone again.
Zabuza didn't say anything and instead looked through the clearing of trees that his body had created from the force of Kimimaro's attack.
"Just you wait brat. Next time, you won't make it out alive."
Haku and the others had cleared quite a bit of distance now, and although he could sense they were not being followed, he still checked his rear to make sure that was so.
"Looks like he isn't chasing us," Koyuki said, feeling reassured about that.
"Yeah, looks like Kimimaro really did a number on him!" Chika shouted.
Hattori remained silent, having found out it was Kimimaro who had delivered a powerful blow and managed to save everyone, not helping being able to feel a little jealous of him.
"Now isn't the time to celebrate. This area is still crawling with enemy shinobi, so make sure to be on your guard." Kogetsu said, taking charge of the unit due to Ganryu being out of commission.
"How much further?" Rokuro asked, also keeping a close eye out for any enemies.
"We still have a way to go," Haku said, having already studied the terrain in the reports before the mission.
"If my calculations are correct, we are still a few hours away from our destination." Rokuro also said.
"Let's just hope he had hold on for that long." Kōgetsu then said after looking at Ganryū.
Meanwhile...
Iseto Uchiha and his squad had broken off from Hattori and Yuki. After Hattori had sensed Zabuza's chakra, he instantly dashed off without so much as an explanation, leaving the Leaf ninja behind.
Iseto and the others had decided to carry on towards the land of waterfalls, as per Kakashi's orders. However, that was proving easier said than done. Many of the enemies were still roaming about as they preyed on the stragglers.
Unfortunately, many of the Leaf and Mist genin had fallen for the surprise attack, leaving the chunin outnumbers and overwhelmed.
"Hey look!" A Stone shinobi said as he pointed up.
"Looks like those babies survived the ambush!" A grass shinobi said as he noticed Iseto and his squad jumping through the trees above them before he dropped the dead body of the leaf genin he had been tormenting.
"Mind if we take 'em out?" The grass shinobi said, looking to the squad of Stone shinobi who were with them.
"Be our guest." The leader said, not seeming to care.
"Excellent."
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That's the end of this chapter!
Thank you for reading, I hope you are all well.
Until next time!