Naruto The Red Spiral Rebirth

The massive beheading sword arced down toward Kakashi from behind, but he swiftly crouched and rolled away, narrowly avoiding the blade. Zabuza's sword cleaved into the ground beside him, sending debris flying. Seizing the momentum, Zabuza shifted his grip—his right hand now grasping the hilt while his left leg pivoted, using his torso and waist as a fulcrum. With explosive force, he kicked Kakashi in the side and launched him into the air.

Midair, Kakashi realized the danger. As he flipped backward, he hurled a handful of metal caltrops toward the river. The sharp spikes forced Zabuza to halt his pursuit, giving Kakashi a moment of reprieve.

Still airborne, Kakashi splashed into the river—but something was wrong.

"Why does this water feel... so heavy?" he thought, struggling to move. It felt like the water itself had thickened, turning almost gelatinous. Before he could react further, Zabuza was already behind him.

"Too late," Zabuza said darkly.

He quickly performed a set of hand seals, and with a surge of chakra, the river water bubbled around Kakashi. In seconds, it formed a massive sphere of water—the Water Prison Jutsu.

"You're caught now, Kakashi," Zabuza said coldly. "This is the Water Prison. As long as I keep my hand on this, you can't move. Now that you're trapped, I'll take care of the others."

He summoned a water clone with a splash—another Zabuza materialized beside the original.

Across the riverbank, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood in stunned silence as the clone emerged, slowly walking toward them.

"Heh. So you three think you're real ninjas just because you wear forehead protectors?" Zabuza sneered. "Let me tell you something. Real ninjas live and die on the edge. The only ones who deserve to be called shinobi are those listed in the Bingo Book—like me. You? You're just children playing dress-up."

The thick mist from earlier began to dissipate as Zabuza released the Hidden Mist Jutsu. But his clone remained, marching forward like death itself.

"He's... vanished again," Naruto muttered, eyes wide with fear.

Just as he raised his guard, the clone appeared in front of him with shocking speed and delivered a straight kick to Naruto's chest, launching him backward. Naruto's forehead protector flew off, and Zabuza stomped on it casually.

"You're just kids."

Kakashi, still trapped in the Water Prison, shouted, "Run! Get out of here and protect Tazuna! He can't chase you while holding me in this technique. If the clone moves too far from the original, it will dissolve!"

Naruto and Sasuke hesitated. They wanted to help—but how? And could they even escape? Sasuke quickly analyzed the situation. Running blindly would make them easy prey. If they wanted to survive, they had to free Kakashi first.

Sasuke leapt forward, flinging a volley of kunai at the clone.

Zabuza blocked them effortlessly, then dashed forward and grabbed Sasuke by the throat midair, slamming him into the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed as she rushed toward him.

Even Sasuke... Naruto thought in shock. The strongest among us can't even land a hit?

Fear crept into Naruto's limbs. Instinct screamed at him to run. But as his hand brushed the ground and he felt the pain in his chest, something else surged inside him—his pride.

He remembered his vow. I promised I'd never run away again.

A blaze of determination lit in his eyes. Naruto rose, clutching his aching hand.

"Yeah, I'm a ninja," he whispered. "And I swore never to run again!"

He screamed and charged toward Zabuza.

But with a single, swift kick, Zabuza sent him flying once more.

"What are you doing, idiot?" Sakura shouted, running to help Naruto up. "Even Sasuke couldn't beat him. We don't stand a chance!"

But Naruto didn't listen.

He picked up his fallen forehead protector, brushed off the dirt, and tied it back around his head with unwavering resolve.

"Hey, you! The guy with no eyebrows!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Zabuza's clone. "Write this name down in your little Bingo Book: I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Leaf Village's future Number One Ninja!"

Zabuza raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered, "I have a plan. I need your help."

Sasuke looked at him, surprised. "You know how to strategize?"

"Just follow my lead."

Naruto's tone was serious now—this wasn't the same clueless kid from a moment ago. Despite everything, Sasuke nodded.

"Alright... Let's do this."

Naruto grinned. "Time to go big."

Zabuza's clone darted forward again, elbowing Sasuke hard in the ribs and sending him airborne. As Sasuke spiraled midair, the clone leapt after him, delivering another crushing elbow that drove him into the ground.

The clone raised a foot and stomped down, pinning Sasuke beneath him.

Naruto, seeing Sasuke down again, didn't hesitate.

He formed a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, over thirty copies of Naruto appeared and swarmed toward Zabuza's clone.

Seeing this many targets, Zabuza momentarily released Sasuke and began attacking. One by one, Naruto's clones were struck and vanished in puffs of smoke. The real Naruto slipped between them, rushing into position.

"We're not done yet!" he shouted.

From among the remaining clones, two lifted Naruto into the air and spun him rapidly, transforming him mid-air into a giant windmill shuriken.

The clone holding the transformed Naruto hurled him at Sasuke.

Sasuke caught the shuriken instinctively and immediately understood.

"So that's your plan... Not bad at all."

He pulled out a real windmill shuriken and held it in his other hand.

With a grunt, Sasuke threw both shuriken in a spinning arc toward Zabuza's clone.

The clone narrowed its eyes and leapt over the first shuriken.

Just as planned, Sasuke smirked.

Mid-flight, the second "shuriken"—the transformed Naruto—unraveled midair and sprang to life behind Zabuza.

Caught off-guard, the clone didn't react fast enough.

"Gotcha!"

Naruto flung a kunai directly at the clone's back.

"Boom!"

The clone burst into water on impact.

Sasuke landed beside Naruto, panting.

"I'll admit... that was pretty good."

Naruto beamed. "Heh, told you I had a plan!"

From the river, Kakashi watched in astonishment.

They're growing... right before my eyes.

The original Zabuza scowled. His hand was still on the Water Prison, holding Kakashi, but his expression had changed.

"You little brats... Not bad."

But before he could make his next move, Kakashi grinned.

"You've been so focused on them... you forgot about me."

Zabuza blinked in confusion.

And in that instant—

Splash!

A massive surge of chakra erupted from Kakashi. The Water Prison broke apart.

Kakashi stood free once again.

"This fight isn't over yet."

Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "Tch... You really are a pain."

Naruto and Sasuke took a step back as the true battle between the elite ninja resumed.

Behind them, Sakura rushed to check on Tazuna, making sure he was safe. And off in the distant trees, hidden in the shadows, Tom silently watched the battle unfold, his arms crossed, calculating every move.

"This is just the beginning," Tom whispered. "Let's see how far they can go."

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