Deep within the forest.
The ethereal mist had thickened into a heavy smoke, blanketing a hundred-meter radius and surging outward like a relentless tide.
Okamura Arata stood atop a high branch, peering into the distance. He noticed the fog ahead was unnaturally dense, possessing a distinct boundary that set it apart from the natural mountain mist. One could tell at a glance that something was wrong.
"It's the Hidden Mist Jutsu. Sister Mari is fighting someone."
"The fog is incredibly thick."
Sanma stood beside him, his expression as dark as the shadows below. As a top graduate of the Academy and a self-proclaimed successor of the Silent Killing technique, he knew his own limits. Even ten of him couldn't produce a Hidden Mist Jutsu of this magnitude and quality.
The enemy was powerful.
"Sister Mari is in danger. We have to help her."
Kamine Karin tossed her heavy pack to the ground and pulled a kunai from her pouch. "Sanma, out of the three of us, you understand the Hidden Mist best. What is its weakness?"
"Weakness?" Sanma tilted his head, thinking for a moment before answering firmly. "Wind Style to blow it away, or an even more powerful Hidden Mist Jutsu... Wait, I see. This mist might not just be from the enemy; Sister Mari likely added her own chakra to it to counter them."
I see.
Karin understood instantly, and the color returned to her face slightly. The essence of the Hidden Mist Jutsu was to obscure vision while using chakra-infused mist to track the enemy. By creating their own layer of fog, they could force the battle back into the shadows where they had a fighting chance.
"That explains why the fog is so massive," Sanma sighed in relief.
While the three students were speculating and staring blindly into the white void, Hinami had long since activated her Byakugan. To her, the thick fog was virtually non-existent. In her crystalline vision, three chakra signatures burned like beacons.
One was an elite Jōnin, one was a Genin... and...
The Kubikiribōchō?
Hinami finally realized who they were facing. She hadn't expected to run into Zabuza Momochi here. If Zabuza was present, the other chakra signature had to be Haku.
Why is Mari fighting them?
Mari's condition was dire. Her breathing was ragged—she was wounded.
It made sense. Her opponent was the "Demon." Mari, a mere Tokubetsu Jōnin, had only survived this long because she shared the same Kirigakure roots; she understood the Silent Killing technique and was playing a desperate game of cat-and-mouse using Mist Body Flicker.
But this evasion was merely a stay of execution. Once her chakra ran dry and the mist faded, she would be dead.
Should I help her?
If she intervened, her Kekkei Genkai would be exposed. The Shikotsumyaku and the Byakugan—she was a living treasure chest, and she couldn't afford the attention that would bring.
What should I do?
Hinami hesitated.
"Hinami!"
Karin suddenly ran over to her.
"Sister Mari is in trouble; we have to go save her. You hide here—don't move, and whatever you do, don't run off. Wait for us to come back."
"Okay."
"Take this kunai for protection," Arata said, pressing a blade into her hand. The three of them ushered her into a thicket and pointed out the path ahead. Without waiting to see if she remembered the directions, they left her with some rations and water, then turned and sprinted toward the wall of fog.
Whoosh—
A breeze swirled the mist as their figures were swallowed by the white expanse. Hinami sat alone in the silence of the forest.
Kurio Mari, Kamine Karin, Okamura Arata, Sanma.
They are going to die.
Watching Zabuza's surging chakra and comparing it to Mari's fading, bloodied signature, Hinami made a cold, objective assessment.
The correct choice—the safest choice—was to turn and leave. She was already out of the village. With the help of these people, she had covered more than half the journey to the Land of Fire. If she just kept heading west, she would reach Peichuan Harbor. From there, she could take a boat and be free.
The sea is wide enough for the fish to leap; the sky is high enough for the birds to fly.
Hinami gripped the warm hilt of the kunai and silently made her decision.
Inside the blinding white fog, one couldn't see their own hand.
Clang!
Mari clutched her bleeding abdomen with her left hand while bracing her right arm before her face. Her kunai accurately deflected a hail of incoming shuriken. Immediately following the projectiles was the terrifying Kubikiribōchō.
Whoosh—
The massive blade swept through the air, clearing a vacuum in the mist. Mari desperately blocked with her kunai, but the sheer physical power behind the strike sent her flying. She slammed into a tree and crumpled to the ground.
Maintaining the Hidden Mist Jutsu for so long had left her chakra reserves bone-dry. Her arms felt broken and numb, and the metallic taste of blood filled her throat. She was losing too much blood from her waist; the wind felt icy against her skin.
Trembling, she tried to push herself up. She watched as the "Demon" slowly emerged from the mist, raising the door-like blade high above his head for a final, lethal strike.
Mari instinctively closed her eyes.
Just as Zabuza was about to bring the blade down, he suddenly aborted the swing, spinning the massive cleaver to shield his back.
Clang-clang-clang!
A flurry of senbon struck the broad blade and scattered into the grass. Zabuza glanced back, only to be met by a massive sphere of fire.
BOOM!
The expanding fireball burned a frantic orange, swallowing Zabuza's position before roaring past to strike a tree, charring the wood instantly.
Arata didn't even wait to see the result of his jutsu. He and Karin sprinted toward the fallen Mari.
But on the path of their charge, the "Zabuza" that had been hit by the fireball dissolved. The real Zabuza appeared at their flank, swinging the massive executioner's blade in a diagonal arc intended to bisect both Arata and Karin in a single blow.
Arata seemed oblivious, continuing his charge toward Mari.
Just as the blade was about to claim Arata's life, a large scythe intercepted the strike, bracing against the Kubikiribōchō to halt the lethal momentum.
"You're a bit slow, guys!" Sanma grunted through gritted teeth.
Arata helped Mari up while Karin's palms glowed with a soft green light, beginning to knit the jagged wound in Mari's side.
"Cough... why did you..."
"Less talking, more moving!"
Sanma's hands flashed through seals, his remaining chakra flaring.
Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!
Whoosh!
The thick fog surged once more, blanketing the area. The game of cat-and-mouse between Squad Seven and the Demon began anew.