The Girl Who Appeared

I Am a Ninja!

Updated 8/20/23

"Hehe... But that was very impressive of you. At that time You had already copied my water clone jutsu. You created your clone while your little child here said those words to grab my attention. Nice plan...but I'm also not that easy." Zabuza admitted, his tone a blend of genuine praise and calculated acknowledgment. With a whisper of motion, he reappeared taking root behind Kakashi.

The silver-haired ninja's response was swift, the arc of his blade cleaving through the clone's illusion, its dissolution into water an ephemeral finale. The revelation that the foe's duplications were merely veils of water left Team 7 aghast, their skepticism swirling into incredulity.

"That's a fake one too?!" Naruto's incredulous exclamation cast an echo over the scene, amplifying their astonishment. His voice trembled on the precipice of disbelief, a testament to the chasm of doubt that yawned beneath them.

The arena shifted, metamorphosing into a kinetic exchange of taijutsu prowess. Kakashi and Zabuza danced upon the stage of confrontation, their movements a symphony of strikes and evasions. Yet Zabuza's weapon, a manifestation of his lethal precision, emerged as the arbiter of this intricate dance.

The sword's gleam, a sinister glint in the dappled light, heralded its intent. Kakashi's evasion, a desperate lunge backward, ended with an unforeseen plunge into the water. The surface embraced him, swallowing him into its depths.

"Sensei!" Naruto's cry, a dissonant note of fear, sliced through the tension like a blade. His concern, palpable in the quiver of his voice, mirrored the collective anxiety that gripped their collective hearts.

"What? This water is heavy.." Kakashi's bemused response, a blend of fact and astonishment, wove a tapestry of surprise and uncertainty.

"Hah fool.." Zabuza's smug declaration unfurled like a dark banner, an emblem of his confidence. His hand's intricate movements gave birth to a watery vortex, a tangible prison that ensnared Kakashi. The imprisoned jounin struggled against the inescapable current, his efforts in vain as the water sphere grew more formidable.

"You may have been trying to escape to the water, but that was a big mistake. Hehehe now I have you in my inescapable special prison." 

Sonia, with an uncanny instinct, recognized the impending peril. Her body moved with an instinctive urgency, a selfless surge of bravery. She pushed Kakashi away from the aquatic maw, propelling him out of the sphere's gravitational pull, even as the watery jaws snapped shut around her.

"Sonia!" Her teammate's voices, a symphony of concern, rose like a chorus of alarms. Sakura and Naruto's cries rippled through the charged atmosphere, their fear radiating from their very beings.

"Oops heh," Her words, a playful acceptance of her impulsive act, interjected the scene with a touch of levity amidst the peril. A laugh tumbled from her lips, a melody that acknowledged the absurdity of the situation.

"Why did you do that Sonia?" Kakashi's query, edged with confusion, pierced through the din, seeking insight into Sonia's uncharacteristic intervention.

"I don't know my body just moved." Her reply, an echo of Sasuke's similar statement from later episodes, layered the scene with an undercurrent of mystery, hinting at uncharted depths within her own abilities.

"How about we leave this conversation until later huh?" Zabuza, his hand poised within the watery prison, observed the unfolding tableau with a mix of bemusement and intrigue.

With a flourish of hand signs, Zabuza orchestrated a symphony of aqueous doppelgangers, their forms emerging from the remnants of the prior watery assault. Meanwhile, Kakashi clawed his way out of the water's embrace, his eyes narrowed into a riveting glare directed at Zabuza. He understood the peril that his immediate assault might pose to Sonia, a calculated restraint tethering his actions.

"Hehe, wearing forehead protectors and acting like real ninjas...But you know what? A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death...Once you're good enough to be listed in my handbook... then you can start calling yourself a ninja...You guys should not be referred to as ninjas." Zabuza's barbed words cut through the air like sharpened kunai, a cascade of disdain and scrutiny that rained down upon Team 7. His voice, dripping with contempt and condescension, bore a weight of experience that belied his cruelty. The collective expanse of their commitment, the headbands strapped to their brows, was cast aside under Zabuza's judgmental gaze.

A smirk crept across Sonia's lips as she tossed her verbal riposte into the fray, a sliver of defiance that mirrored her character. "Then I guess you should write my name down. I've had numerous brushes with death." Her words, delivered with the precision of a masterful strike, clashed against Zabuza's mocking tone. Amidst the tumult of battle, her defiance became a beacon of challenge, a counterpoint to his belittlement.

Within Zabuza's gaze, a fusion of frustration and resentment brewed, mirroring the tempest of emotions swirling within him. Her words, a spark of audacity, kindled his smoldering ire, an ember of recognition that fluttered within his gaze.

'This girl she has to be of the Moonlight clan. But I can tell she hasn't unlocked her kekkei genkai.' 

Kakashi, meanwhile, cast his form as a shield, a guardian against the tide of water clones. His positioning wove a shield between Zabuza's creations and Team 7, his discerning eye calculating their every move. The clones, fragments of Zabuza's manipulation, surged forward with an intent to scatter their focus.

"Naruto look out!" Amidst the swirling dance of watery clones, Sonia's voice lanced through the chaos, a clarion call of warning that pierced the clamor. Her words resonated with urgency, urging Naruto to evade the threat that bore down upon him.

"What?!" Kakashi's startled reaction was immediate, a pivot to assess the danger that threatened his student. 

Naruto's reflexes, honed by adversity, cast him into motion. A cacophony of exclamation framed the impending collision, the force of the clone's strike sending Naruto reeling. The headband, an emblem of his identity, was wrenched from its perch, a symbol cast aside in the melee.

"Naruto!" Sakura's anguished cry reverberated through the air like a shockwave, her concern a visceral expression of the turmoil that surged within her.  

Naruto's pained reaction, the voice of injury, sketched a portrait of his momentary vulnerability, an intimate glimpse into his struggle.

"Ouch!" 

In the wake of the altercation, Naruto's resilience ignited anew, his determination a blazing fire within his gaze. He surged forward once more, propelled by unyielding resolve, a headlong charge into the fray. 

"Naruto no! What are you doing?" 

Naruto was sent propelled back, Kakashi intercepted his trajectory, cradling him against the momentum. Within Kakashi's scrutiny, a glint of realization shimmered. The headband clutched in Naruto's hand bore a silent testament to his tenacity, an emblem wrested from the depths of struggle.

"I see." Kakashi said, setting Naruto down. 

Naruto's exclamation, an eruption of fervor, unfurled a plan tinged with both audacity and strategy. "You should add my name to that list... Naruto Uzumaki...future Hokage! Sasuke, Kakashi, lend me your ear!!" 

"What is it?" Sasuke's response was swift, a response to Naruto's call for attention. His inquiry, a bridge to understanding, summoned Naruto's articulation of his stratagem. 

"I have a plan. Now let's get wild." Naruto said while wiping his chin. 

The air hung heavy with anticipation as the plan unfurled, Naruto's spirited declaration a rallying cry that echoed against the backdrop of their battle