Zabuza's hope was short-lived.

His muscles tightened as he looked at the beach. The calm shore was now crawling with strange creatures coming out of the dark water. These creature with their scaly skin kept coming in bigger and bigger numbers.

Something big caught his eye far out in the water. It was huge, even bigger than the whale-like things carrying the Deep Ones. A giant head rose up, with eyes as big as houses.

His breath stopped for a second.

A summon?

His chest was moving fast, and he was almost out of chakra. But he was a ninja, trained to fight even when things looked bad. He held his big sword tighter, its weight making him feel a bit better.

The crowd of monsters rushed forward like a big wave of twisted bodies and bulging eyes. Zabuza ran to meet them.

As the first bunch reached him, he turned on his heel, swinging his sword in a big circle.

*SHUNK! SPLAT!*

The sword hit with a nasty crunch, cutting through three of then at once. Green blood sprayed on his face as the creatures fell, still moving a bit. Without stopping, he turned the sword around and stabbed backward, hitting another one that tried to sneak up on him.

A webbed hand swiped at his face. He ducked, feeling the wind as claws just missed his head.

"Too slow, fish-face!"

He hit back with an upward slash, cutting the Deep One in half from bottom to top. As it fell apart, two more came at him.

He stepped to the side of a jumping attack, bringing his sword down on the creature's outstretched arm. The arm flew off, green blood shooting from the stump.

*SCREEEECH!*

Its scream was cut short as Zabuza's next swing took off its head.

His sword moved through the air, leaving cut-up bodies behind it. Cut-off arms and misshapen heads were all over the beach, but for every monster that fell, three more took its place.

A bunch of spears flew through the air. He dropped to one knee, the spears flying over his head and hitting the creatures behind him. In one smooth move, he stood up and spun, his sword knocking a second bunch of spears back into the crowd.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

The spears found their marks, eliciting inhuman shrieks from the impaled creatures.

The huge thing in the water didn't move, its big eyes fixed on the fight. Zabuza kept looking between the giant and the coming horde.

Why wasn't it joining in?

What's it waiting for?

A sharp pain in his leg brought his attention back to the fight. A Deep One had grabbed onto his leg, its needle-like teeth biting into his flesh.

"ARGH! You little-"

He roared in anger, smashing the bottom of his sword down on the creature's head.

*CRUNCH!*

As he pulled the dead thing's teeth from his leg, two more jumped at him. Zabuza did a backflip as he went over his attackers. He landed behind them and immediately swung his sword low, cutting off their legs at the knee.

*SHLICK!*

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The creatures fell, screaming. He shut them up with quick, precise stabs to their weird skulls. But he didn't get a break. The horde pressed in.

His arms hurt from tiredness, each swing of his big sword now taking all his willpower. Sweat and blood stung his eyes as he kept fighting, his famous sword moves now just desperate swings and blocks.

A big Deep One charged, pushing smaller creatures out of its way. This one was different - its hands were grotesquely enlarged, the flesh hardened into shield-like protrusions.

Zabuza met its charge head-on, putting chakra into his blade. The sword glowed blue as it arced towards the monster's thick skin.

CLANG!

The sound of metal striking something far harder than flesh rang out. His eyes widened as his blade met the creature's shield-hand.

"What the hell are you?" he growled through gritted teeth.

The Deep One's only response was a growl, its bulbous eyes fixed on him. It pushed back, its other hand swinging around in a vicious arc.

Zabuza ducked under the blow, feeling the wind of its passage ruffle his hair. He disengaged, leaping back to reassess. His keen eyes noticed a hairline crack in his beloved Kubikiribōchō where it had struck the creature's shield-hand.

"Tch. You cracked my blade," he snarled. "Now I'm really pissed."

The monster charged again, both shield-hands raised.

He couldn't match its strength, and his blade was compromised. But he wasn't called the Demon of the Hidden Mist for nothing.

As the Deep One closed in, Zabuza suddenly dropped low, sliding between its legs. Then, he spun, channeling chakra into his arms. His damaged blade was aimed not at the creature's shielded front, but at its unprotected back.

CRACK! SQUELCH!

The Kubikiribōchō bit deep, but the earlier damage took its toll. As the blade cleaved through the Deep One's tough hide, a good foot of the sword's tip snapped off, embedding itself in the creature's spine.

The monster fell, green ichor pooling beneath it. Zabuza stood over it, panting, his once-mighty blade now jagged and broken.

"Looks like we're both a little worse for wear," he muttered, eyeing his damaged sword.

That's when he saw it - a behemoth Deep One, easily twice the size of the big Deep One, lumbering towards him. Its hide was a patchwork of scars and strange, pulsating growths. In one massive hand, it dragged an anchor that looked like it belonged on a galleon.

Zabuza's lips curled into a grim smile. "Well, big guy, let's see what you've got."

He charged forward, his broken blade raised high. The behemoth roared, swinging its massive anchor in a wide arc.

"Come on, you overgrown fish stick!" Zabuza taunted, ducking under the swing.

He closed the distance, putting more chakra into his blade.

For a moment, they were locked in a contest of strength, his arms shaking as he pushed against the creature's weight. With one last push, he let out a loud yell and shoved forward.

"HRAAAAGH!"

His blade cut through the Deep One's tough skin, splitting it from shoulder to hip.

SQUELCH!

But as the two halves of the monster fell away, he realized he'd made a mistake. His blade was stuck in the creature's thick bones. He pulled hard, but it wouldn't come loose.

"No, no, no!" Zabuza muttered, his eyes widening in panic.

A clawed hand scratched across his back, making him hiss in pain. Zabuza let go of his sword and spun, ramming his elbow into his attacker's face.

*CRACK!*

Now without his Kubikiribōchō, he grabbed for his kunai. The smaller blade felt tiny compared to his big sword, but it was all he had. He stabbed and slashed, green blood covering his arms up to his elbows.

The kunai found the eye socket of a jumping creature. Zabuza pushed with all his strength, feeling the blade sink into the bone. But as he tried to pull it out, he found it was stuck, just like his sword.

"Tsk, what a day," he grunted. "Can't a shinobi catch a break?"

A heavy hit to his side sent him stumbling forward. He turned the stumble into a roll, barely avoiding the snapping teeth of another Deep One. As he got to his feet, he found himself surrounded, with no weapon and almost no energy left.

But Zabuza wasn't helpless. He'd killed his first man with his bare hands before he was even a proper ninja. Now, he put what little chakra he had left into his arms and legs, making himself stronger.

A Deep One charged. He stepped to the side at the last second, grabbing the creature's arm and using its speed to throw it into its friends.

"You want some too?" he growled at the next attacker.

Another swiped at him with its claws out. He caught the arm mid-swing, twisting until he heard a pop as the shoulder came out of its socket.

*POP!*

His fist smashed in the skull of one of them, while a chakra-boosted kick sent another flying into its buddies. Zabuza fought like a wild animal, his hands and feet dealing death with every hit. But even as he fought, he knew he couldn't win.

A tentacle, as thick as a tree trunk and covered in suckers, swept across the beach. Zabuza jumped, pulling his legs up to his chest as the tentacle passed just below him. He landed hard, immediately rolling to avoid a shower of poisoned spines shot from the bloated bodies of nearby the Deep Ones.

*WHOOSH! THWIP! THWIP!*

Getting up to one knee, Zabuza's hands quickly made a series of signs. With nearly the last bit of his chakra, he shouted, "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"

A ball of water appeared around him, pushing back the nearest creatures. The sudden silence was weird after all the noise of the fight. He knew the jutsu wouldn't last long, but it gave him a few precious seconds to catch his breath and look at his situation.

This is bad...

He shook his head, trying to focus. I need a plan. Fast.

The beach was lost. The sea was lost. There was nowhere to run.