Chapter 3

"In coming!" Belva stated.

The Third Division were approaching the intended destination quickly.

"We have enemy forces coming in hot!" Mai relayed.

"How much of a gap do we have?" Kakashi asked.

"Seconds."

"Support us," the young man ordered the army. "Belva, watch the perimeter and push back their numbers from a distance. Gai, you take half of the division under your wing for an extra push. Mai, you're with me."

Clearing the tree line what remained of the Surprise Attack Division were trying to pick themselves up from the ground. They were completely open, seeing two blurs come in from behind for the kill. The scraping of blades echoed in the air, inches from the defenseless ninjas' faces, which were surprised they weren't killed. Sai's head whipped up seeing Kakashi had saved him. The other two enemy ninja pursuing them were thrown off their feet by Belva's unseen chakra strings before catching themselves. Though they now stood at a distance beside two other foes, warily observing the division and wondering what had caught them.

"You saved us," the Root Ninja breathed in relief.

"It's a little early to be celebrating," Kakashi stated. His eyes never left the enemy. Neither did the Be Fong, but it was hard to mask the surprise in her eyes. "All of these guys are extremely dangerous."

"I knew I'd end up fighting someone, but I never imagine it'd be you, Kakashi."

Zabuza Momochi.

The Demon of the Mist stood in their presence, along with his companion, Haku, locked with Mai's short blades. They should be six feet under, which only lead them to further examine their enemy and wonder what they were doing here.

"I should've been sent to hell after your group finished me on that bridge. Next thing I know, I'm standing next to Haku. And I thought something was off. I guess this really isn't hell or heaven."

"No, this is the real world," the General said. "And none of you belong here anymore."

"What the hell...?" Sakura struggled to understand, seeing the two Mist Ninjas.

"Shit," Belva breathed. "This is the work of the Impure World Reincarnation Summoning."

"And what does that mean?" a Stone Ninja asked.

"Nothing good for us. Whoever's controlling them has the ability to resurrect anyone they wish from the dead."

Oh god, Mai thought. There were a number of ninjas that could come back from the dead and easily match their forces. So, this was Madara's plan when declaring war against the Shinobi with only himself and two other Akatsuki members left.

Taking in this new information the young man was even more wary of the situation. It made sense, though, seeing their unnatural golden eyes, surrounded by black. Zabuza scanned the ranks of the army before catching sight of bright pink hair.

"Heh! Kakashi's student!"

The Medical Ninja was surprised he was speaking to her.

"You sure grew up. How's that other kid? He doing okay?"

"What? Oh, yes!" she stammered out.

The man smirked. "He must be pretty famous these days, after helping you beat the two of us."

"They named that bridge 'The Great Naruto Bridge' and these days the Village calls him a hero," Kakashi stated.

Haku smiled.

"Thanks to you two, Naruto found his path in life and swore to you both on your graves that he'd always follow it. He's become an admirable shinobi."

"Then I'm sure he'll continue to grow even stronger," Haku added.

"And that other student of yours," Zabuza cut in. "The one that could hold me back without touching my body or blade."

"You're looking right at her," the Jounin said.

Their eyes snapped to the Be Fong locked with the boy. "Well, I'll be damned. Shit, you grew up too, huh? I didn't even recognize you."

Even though their conversation was pleasant, that did not mean they could let up for a moment, fearing the Mist rogues would cut right through them.

"A lot has changed," Mai agreed.

She wasn't kidding. Even in his resurrected state Zabuza could tell just how deadly she'd become. Hell, he wished he were still alive to go up against her as an equal to test her strength and skills.

There was an explosion of chakra that had both Leaf Ninja pull quickly away and give themselves distance. It wasn't just the partners, the reaction coming from their two companions as well.

"What's going on?" a ninja questioned.

"It's a part of the summoning," Belva answered. "Their minds are being closed off to conscious thought. In a matter of minutes, they will become mindless puppets."

"How do you know so much about this?" a Jounin asked.

"A ninja that is the head of a household technique is required to know of all jutsus that are allowed and illegal in our world. This one is forbidden, the worst crime that can be committed. It's unforgivable."

"Kakashi, please kill us," Zabuza begged.

He hated it, being reduced to this level. The man had once been a feared ninja, was never controlled by anyone, and if double-crossed was sure to kill them. There was only one thing he could do at this moment. Hold on to what little self-control he had left of himself.

"That hellish aura..." Gai's words died away. He wasn't the only one that could see the demonic chakra poised over Zabuza's form.

"Get ready!" Kakashi shouted. "Stay focused Gai, Zabuza's silent killing prowess is second to none."

"Kakashi, I must ask you to stop us again," Haku said. "It was my dream to protect and save Zabuza and die as his tool. If Zabuza has also been summoned with this technique then I must have failed on that day..." Glancing over at his partner with a sorrowful expression, the boy's gut wrenched at the thought. "And now I cannot even be his tool much less defend him."

"No, you saved his life. Zabuza died for another reason and he didn't just view you as a tool."

Surprise immediately covered Haku's features, eyes wide in wonder at the statement.

"Kakashi, keep you blabbermouth shut!" Zabuza growled. Clearly, he didn't not like that this side of him was being exposed.

"Naruto drove something home to Zabuza," the Jounin continued. "It made him realize this."

But in the end, it was futile to resist. "Heh," the man chuckled lowly, "that was my first loss..." It was easy to remember that day. "Kakashi, don't hold back. Stop me... whatever it takes. I'm already dead." Zabuza's expression turned dark. "My humanity is dead."

Kakashi reached up to push away the headband that covered the eye to reveal the Sharingan, showing just how serious he was. "Got it," he swore.

The chakra around the rouges began to settle. The ninja noticed an immediate change in their demeanor, the enemy staring at them like predators.

"Here they come."

"General," a ninja from the Rock Country spoke up, "I must tell you something about the other two before we engage. "The man from the Hidden Stone has a bloodline blast-element and a former member of the Blast Corps. And the woman is Pakura from the Sand and uses the scorch-element. Please be careful!"

"Nothing but bloodline limits..." the young man muttered. This wasn't good as a mist began to thicken around them. "Group the battle squadrons around the sensor ninjas! Everyone else cover them from 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock! Zabuza can detect his target's position through sound alone!"

"There's nothing to be afraid of!" Rock Lee declared. "I'll protect you even if it costs me my life, Sakura!"

"Last time he caught us from this formation's only blind spot, the center," the Medical Ninja stated. "Watch your back too."

How right she was, the Be Fong thought. If it hadn't been for her strings, they would have been worse off than their Sensei's minimal injury. But this time they weren't dealing with a reasonable human being. This man was no more than a puppet as the strings attempted to feel them out alongside Belva.

They were quick as lightning, just as those from Team 7 remembered, as the Mist Ninjas' cut through their forces. There were a few times when Mai would find herself locked with Haku once more, protecting their allies from the deadly ice produced by his Kekkei-Genkai. But she wasn't a Genin anymore, latching onto the attacks and throwing them back in the user's face through the heavy mist. Unfortunately, he was swift, moving through the many mirrors put in place. Only this time they were more strategically set. The boy no longer had an issue with killing anyone. This was nothing like when Sasuke was spared.

Sasuke.

And the thought of what had happened in the past fueled Mai's drive as a fist went crashing through a mirror plane shattering it to pieces on impact. The hint of a smirk hit her lips upon seeing a flicker of surprise across Haku's features as he narrowly missed the blow, escaping. That had been too close.

Meanwhile, Belva was trying to contain Gari and Pakura. But their combine power was difficult to counter as the man blew their forces to pieces with a simple touch, and the woman sucked out the moisture when coming in contact with those rushing into the fray without thinking.

"Don't be idiots!" the woman shouted over the noise.

There were some who heeded her warning and stayed back, as the less fortunate ones were scorched and mummified. With clenched teeth Belva ripped away the division from their clutches before throwing the two once more to gain some distance. They needed a plan. An effective one or else they wouldn't last much longer.

Gari and Pakura glared at the Lieutenant, who stood at the front, fingers flexing to anticipate their next movement. The clashing of blades could be heard from Kakashi's battle. Alongsode the groaning of trees as they were ripped to pieces with the Be Fong trying to catch her opponent. She managed to keep up, cutting the boy off at every turn. Noticing they were being matched, Gari and Pakura slammed their palms against the ground. At the same time, Zabuza pulled back from the Jounin to stand at their side. The mist in this area of the field had been thinned out, watching as six rectangular boxes made up of compacted dirt unearthed. The front plane fell away and the division was left to stare dumbfounded as the rest of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist emerged.

"You're kidding me... Not them too," Kakashi breathed. "Is Team Ensui ready yet?"

"Ready and waiting," Ensui stated.

"Hit them all at once!" They had to with this kind of strength against them. "Buy us as much time as possible!"

Without hesitation the ninjas let loose a barrage of weapons aimed for the walking dead. However, when the dust cleared from the onslaught they were horrified to realize that there had been no effect. Even if some of their weapons managed to hit their mark the bodies only regenerated.

"This is what I was afraid of," Belva murmured.

"Ripping them apart won't do us any good either," Mai reasoned. As much as she enjoyed the idea.

"But lightning works again Earth Jutsus."

"Then you'll have to get pretty damn close in order to do that."

"Well, that's why we're here, isn't it?"

The teen gave a short snort. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Just try not to get killed."

The woman smirked, hand gripping her student's shoulder reassuringly. "Right back atcha."

"We're screwed!" a Sand Ninja shouted. "None of our attacks did anything!"

"How are we supposed to fight opponents like that?" a Water Ninja worried. "Especially when they are the swordsmen? The longer this goes on the worse it will get for us!"

"Get ahold of yourself!" barked another. "We stop the technique by either sealing their souls or binding their movement. And Zabuza's the only one with his sword, which were only half of their power to begin with."

"No, they brought swords..." Kakashi spoke with dread.

One of the swordsmen ripped out a scroll from the kimono tearing off the seal and throwing it open. There were four characters set in place, three faded out, meaning they were missing, as four of the swords were summoned.

"But not everyone's."

Still, with three nowhere to be found that did not improve their chances.

"The fog is getting thicker," Gai noted. Due to this, it became all the more difficult to keep track of the enemy. "I can't see a thing. And with the silent killing techniques we can't use our ears either."

"We need to do something about the mist first or the army will be in bad shape," the General said.

"General! The shadow mimic is complete!" Ensui stated.

"Good! Ensui, loosen the binding and let me move as I want!"

"Yes, sir!"

"We'll hit Zabuza first! Santa Yamanaka, use my body to sense and locate the enemy so I can get close enough. As soon as that happens release the technique and I'll fight him in order to get our shadows to converge. That is when you will completely bind him, Ensui. Mai, Belva! Hold down the line and keep the swordsmen back."

"Easier said than done," the woman stated.

"I know, but do the best you can. Take a handful of the Binding Squad with you. Let's roll!"