Chapter 331   - Ch331. Zabuza's Mission

Kakashi and Zabuza breathed hard, their bodies and clothes sporting multiple cuts that were thankfully not life-threatening or incapacitating. Facing off against Raiga was like fighting a bit downgraded version of Raikage, one that used swords to boot. It was definitely not a pleasant experience and the only thing that saved Kakashi and Zabuza was their experience and teamwork. Despite that, the two looked as if they went through a blender.

"Oi, Hatake, you still fine?" Zabuza worriedly asked between his slowly calming breaths. He was clearly in a better physical form than Kakashi, which was understandable since the Copycat was mainly a ninjutsu-based fighter while Zabuza was a swordsman with a big-ass heavy sword.

"I can still go on. Just make sure you don't slow me down." Kakashi quipped while trying to refrain from wheezing. Unfortunately for Kakashi, he had to rely heavily on his Sharingan in this fight and his chakra reserves were becoming quite low.

Zabuza snorted at that. 'As if! You are the one who is almost keeling over!' He rebuked in his mind but played along and outwardly provocatively smirked. Zabuza knew Kakashi was just trying to hype himself up to keep going. 'But... Should I just use...' Zabuza bitterly shook his head, 'No. I can still go on. My pride won't allow me to just give up! This is why I trained so much! A chance to face down another swordsman who reached strength far beyond mine and push my own limits! I won't give up! Not yet!' A new, determined fire was lit in Zabuza's eyes as he tightly gripped the Kubikiribocho.

Zabuza felt powerless standing in front of Raiga. He could barely keep up with his speed by using all of his experience to predict where will the man strike next and even then he was relegated into the ass-saving duty on the side-lines while Kakashi took the brunt of the fight due to his spiny red-eye of wonder that allowed him to somewhat keep up with Raiga.

But Zabuza was used to this feeling of helplessness. He felt it every time the current Mizukage decided to have a go at her versus all Kiri Swordsmen. Considering this usually happened whenever Ringo deemed a sword she created good enough to go against the famed Kiri swords, and that because of this, the former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were now unofficially Fifteen Swordsmen of the Mist... Zabuza basically fought with his fellow swordsmen against someone who eclipsed their capabilities despite them working together and their opponent not even properly trying. Needless to say, this pushed the man's teamwork ability and experience of fighting against a superior foe to new heights.

That was also the only reason why Kakashi was still breathing. In the past ten minutes, Zabuza saved his ass thirty-seven times. He counted.

"I think you had enough time to rest." Raiga's voice suddenly pulled both Kakashi and Zabuza back into reality.

Only his instincts allowed Kakashi to bend back, evading the horizontal slash that passed an inch above his chest. Raiga's offense was far from over though. He abruptly raised his second sword in a burst of speed, before slashing at Kakashi in a downward swing, intending to bisect him.

With his Sharingan, Kakashi saw the movements but his mind and body had a hard time reacting. Especially since he was forced to assume a quite awkward position to evade the previous slash. Luckily for him, at that moment the tip of Zabuza's Kubikiribocho passed near Kakashi's neck in an upward slash, missing it by less than an inch before intercepting Raiga's downward strike a bit above Kakashi's head.

Zabuza yet again managed to save him.

Or, at least, such thought passed through Kakashi's mind before he noticed the gathering of lightning chakra in the clouds above them and his eyes widened as he realized Raiga was about to use a Lightning Jutsu.

Kakashi quickly crouched to get his head away from the place where the two dangerous swords were locked and his hands blurred in the hand seals needed for his sole original Jutsu before his hand coated in lightning snapped upward.

Lightning Strike suddenly descended from the heavens, hitting the place where Zabuza and Raiga's swords crossed and the struggle for dominance intensified as Raiga boosted his downward slash with the immense power of lightning smashing into his Kiba blade while Kakashi's Chidori put the much-needed counter-lightning behind Zabuza's Kubikiribocho.

The surroundings lit up with cracking and blinding blue lightning flying all around the bridge while intense screeching and chirping deafened the world.

Despite their efforts, Zabuza and Kakashi were blown back by the sheer force of Raiga's attack, landing on their backs a few feet away and rolling on the ground. Not only was Raiga slashing downward, giving him an advantage but his lightning Jutsu was more concentrated than Kakashi's Chidori. They didn't stand much chance of withstanding the attack.

It was the Chidori, however, that saved the two battered jonins from worse injuries. Both of them were quite bruised and slightly burned but considering the intensity of Raiga's Lightning Jutsu that hit them point-blank, they were barely harmed.

Kakashi and Zabuza quickly stood back up onto their feet, prepared to block, evade, or assist the other at a moment's notice... only to be surprised that Raiga didn't press his advantage and attack them when they were disoriented because of the previous blow.

"Heh, you are playing with them. That's not nice." The answer to Kakashi's and Zabuza's confusion appeared a second later when Anko's voice resounded from behind them, making them stiffen. They were so focused on the opponent in front of them, they kinda ignored everything else. When their minds finally caught up and realized it was just Anko, they relaxed in relief, hoping her appearance would give them the necessary advantage to defeat Raiga.

As for Anko... she looked at the battered forms of Kakashi and Zabuza and inwardly clicked her tongue, 'They will be useless.' Her mind tried to assess the situation. 'They are not injured too much but their bodies are exhausted, hence, more prone to a fatal mistake. Making them get the fuck out of the way would be more beneficial than teaming up with them.' She realized, a bit miffed.

The problem was, Anko knew she could not match Raiga's speed. Oh, that didn't mean she had no chance to defeat him. She was simply power-oriented while he was speed-oriented. Alas, her going against him would result in the total destruction of the bridge as she would not be able to hold back. Worse yet, she really wouldn't be able to prevent him from running away or bypassing her to target Zabuza or Kakashi.

While Anko was assessing the situation, Raiga was observing Anko as Ranmaru in his backpack was frantically whispering into his ear, warning him about her strong chakra. She was the reason why he went 'easy' on Kakashi and Zabuza. Raiga knew the Konoha team had someone strong enough to match him so killing these two jonins would have been a waste. Making them tired and therefore a burden for this newcomer was a much better strategy.

Seeing the wary look Raiga was throwing at her, Anko sighed, a wry smile appearing on her face. She could either completely disregard the purpose of their mission and engage Raiga or she could risk showing that she knows more than she should be capable of. 'Ah, to hell with it!' Her decision was made.

"Zabuza... I think now it is the time to stop screwing with your mission because of your stupid pride and do your goddamn job." Anko ordered, making the swordsman stiffen and give her a cautious look. "Please," She rolled her eyes at his sudden wariness, "You have no way of defeating Raiga. It is obvious the Mizukage did not send you here as combat reinforcements. I don't have to be a genius to understand that." She reasoned, trying to divert Zabuza's attention by easily lying through her teeth.

She knew exactly why he was sent here the second he appeared but Zabuza nor Kakashi didn't need to know that. Now she only had to make him use his 'secret weapon' or rather, force the prideful buffoon to fulfill his initial mission.

Seeing Zabuza about to open his mouth, most likely in protest if his stormy look was any indication, "I know you have your pride as a swordsman but we are in a pinch here. Don't make me punch you." Anko rebuked before he could start talking.

Zabuza gruffly grunted and petulantly stuck his hand into his ninja pouch. "Fine." He ground out as he took out a scroll. He then opened it, crouched down, and unrolled it on the ground in front of him, not taking his eyes away from Raiga who wanted to intervene but Anko was too close to Zabuza for Raiga to risk doing anything. "I wanted to measure the difference in our skill a lot more but it appears the fun ends here." Zabuza dryly chuckled and gave Anko a stink eye.

Then again, Hatake was barely standing so maybe it was high time to do his duty. Zabuza knew he would be getting punished the second he returned to the village for purposely delaying the accomplishment of his mission. He was totally fine with that. In exchange, he managed to fight Raiga. If Hatake actually kicked the bucket, though, his punishment would be much, much worse and that made Zabuza involuntarily shiver.

'Ah, well.... this is no longer my responsibility.' Zabuza weaved a few hand seals and slammed his hand onto the scroll as he shouted, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"