“Zabuza Momochi, what business do you have with the Hidden Leaf?”

Asuma kept his students inside his peripheral vision, calming himself down by the time he finished his question. They had carried out their raid, knowing there was a chance that they would be ambushed. Knowing, however, wasn’t the same as responding. It boiled his blood, but Zabuza Momochi had timed his ambush perfectly, waiting for his team to come down from their adrenaline high.

And what better time to launch an ambush when your enemy was so far removed from the battle that they were discussing morality? Luckily, the kids had kept their chakra networks active just in case, but what was the point if they couldn’t get their heads in the game?

“What else would a rogue like me want?” Zaubza hefted his massive cleaver over his shoulder with ease.

He nodded—it was straightforward then. “So, it’s money… I’m guessing you were after the Jagged Blades?”

“I was until more interesting prey wandered into this backwater village.” He looked him up and down with an impressed whistle. “Asuma Sarutobi: A-rank threat, wanted dead or alive… bounty of sixty-five million ryo. Why go for small-fry like Goro Tanimoto and his lackeys when there’s you?”

Asuma’s stomach gave a little somersault at his doubts being confirmed—there was no talking his way out of this one—and now his only option was to fight to the death against the Demon of the Mist.

Of course, none of this showed on his face, and he responded to the question with an easy smile. “Making a move on the Hidden Leaf in our territory, eh? That’s pretty bold of you.”

He stood more side-on, facing both his genin and Zabuza.

Naruto was up and alert—good.

He gave him a slight nod before flicking his eyes to Choji. The kid was looking at Zabuza’s allies blankly, and it was obvious that his mind was nowhere near the present. Noticing his look, Hinata fitted several kunai between her fingers and leaned over to whisper something in Choji’s ear.

Zabuza shrugged. “We’re so far out it might as well be the Land of Grass out here. Besides, the Third Hokage is a pretty infamous pacifist these days. He bent over backwards for the Cloud despite holding all the chips, so I doubt he’ll do anything to us when we kill you.”

All banter went right at the window with that comment, and the smile fell from Asuma’s face in a heartbeat.

He levelled his chakra sabres at the rogue ninja with an openly bloodthirsty smile because screw this guy for dredging up old news. “…There goes any chance of talking this one out. It’s a damn shame, too—I washed these clothes just yesterday.”

Zabuza held his sword out to the side, evidently amused. “I guess the operational procedures on your Bingo Book entry were right, after all—you’re a lazy bastard, even when your life's on the line.”

Instead of replying to the low-level insult, he glanced at the kids again—Choji’s eyes were focused, nervous, but back in the game. Reassured, he gave them a final nod before diverting his full focus to the jonin-level rogue before him because Asuma couldn’t afford to offer anything less if he wanted to keep his own life, never mind the kids.

His biggest priority was to move their battle away from his genin.

It wouldn’t mitigate the risk of death completely, seeing that the masked hunter was at least a few notches above the Demon Brothers, but the odds were certainly better without their leader. So, Asuma attacked without warning, surging ahead of his students at speeds too fast for anyone on the battlefield to react to save for Zabuza.

He felt the cold trail of wind chakra within his lungs and the almost immediate depletion of the chakra he’d moulded for his jutsu, but he couldn’t be stingy. Zabuza had the physical advantage—just lifting that stupidly humungous sword proved that—but Asuma was confident in his chakra reserves.

The rogue ninja slammed the top of the blade into the ground and crouched behind it. He couldn’t have announced his intentions any louder, making Asuma smile. The space between them rippled as Asuma expelled a wave of compressed air from his mouth. It took shape, easily visible, as a massive ball and eagerly surged towards Zabuza’s defence.

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For a moment, he thought the rogue Mist ninja might withstand Vacuum Great Sphere—that sword wasn’t just some random hunk of metal but one of the seven most renowned blades in the world—but his fears were put to rest in an instant.

The blast reached critical mass, flattening the grass around its epicentre and Asuma gave a small prayer for Danzo inside his mind. The old war hawk boasted an impressive arsenal of wind jutsu that he offered freely and his mastery of wind-release ninjutsu surpassed Asuma’s. Danzo’s wind jutsu were concussive yet sharp, managing to retain the wide-range damage while still being able to cut precisely.

Zabuza went flying, blade and all, back towards the destroyed outpost and Asuma raced after him, moulding more chakra. He crashed into the watchtower’s smouldering remains, but in the seconds it took Asuma to arrive, he stood at the ready and roared, swinging the Executioner’s Blade wide and fast.

Asuma ducked, feeling the air whistle above him, and countered with a swift upward strike from his left trench knife, aiming for Zabuza’s ribs. Zabuza twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the chakra blade, and brought his sword down in a brutal overhead slash. Catching the Executioner’s Blade between the ethereal scimitars, Asuma pushed back and used the momentum to spin underneath the massive sword.

Zabuza’s swing continued, burying the tip of the blade into the ground. Their eyes met, and Asuma immediately capitalised on the opportunity with a slash. Zabuza wrenched the blade out just in time to block but staggered. He regained his footing just as quickly and lunged in with a snarl.

This time, he feinted a high slash before pivoting and aiming low. Asuma skipped back, avoiding a slash that would’ve otherwise opened him up from hip to throat. Zabuza chased him, even as he dodged and pivoted, riddling him with cuts of various depths while he used the momentum to swing his sword in a deadly arc.

The air grew heavier with each exchange, chakra and killing intent leaking into their surroundings. Asuma’s trench knives, with their chakra-infused scimitars, gave him the versatility to match Zabuza’s reach and ferocity. He weaved and dodged in the hopes that his elusiveness would piss the rogue ninja enough to make a mistake.

He was halfway there, but the rage didn’t grant Asuma any openings. If anything, it made Zabuza even more aggressive. The fight raged on amid the ruins of the outpost, each strike bringing them closer to the final, decisive blow.

Asuma could feel it in his muscles—he was growing tired, slower, and soon enough, he’d screw up, and Zabuza would exploit that and kill him. He tasted blood in the back of his throat, and his arms throbbed in protest each time he raised them.

Meanwhile, this guy was coming at him without any sign of exhaustion. He slipped to the side of another swing and got ready to counter when Zabuza broke the pattern and slammed the flat of the blade into him instead. The blow sent him flying but he gathered his wits and righted himself in mid-air, flipping back to the ground before launching himself back even further.

The massive blade spun fast enough to blur.

He gritted his teeth, bringing his hands together as fast as possible and altering his series of hand signs to go for an easier, but weaker jutsu. He aimed, levelling his palm with the incoming blade and used Wind-Release: Shotgun, one of Naruto’s modified ninjutsu. The compressed winds collided against the weapon, sending it arcing wide.

Zabuza raced after it, making Asuma grit his teeth. He moulded more chakra and launched himself into the air. His eyes roamed over the battlefield, searching for the rogue, though he didn’t need to look far.

He burst into view and threw his sword again with a roar. “You can’t dodge in mid-air, Sarutobi!”

Grinning Asuma kneaded the chakra in his stomach, orange wisps flickering out of his mouth. Zabuza’s jubilation vanished, replaced with realisation and then something different.

Horror.

In mere moments, Asuma engulfed most of the outpost in a sea of flames. He remained suspended in the air, gathering more chakra and turning up the heat until he was sure he’d reached the absolute limit of his control. He only touched down after finally running out of moulded chakra and instantly ignited his chakra sabres.

The fires that had nothing to latch onto died once Asuma stopped supplying his chakra as kindling, the flames vanished to reveal Zabuza crouching behind his sword, raw and red but very much alive.

He glared at Asuma with an intense hatred.

Smirking, Asuma beckoned him in with a wave of chakra blades. “Looks like someone failed to dodge.”

Yet, instead of rushing in as he’d expected, Zabuza sheathed his sword and darted out of sight. In moments, a thick mist draped their surroundings.

“I’ll admit it…” The rogue ninja’s voice came from everywhere at once. Asuma couldn’t pinpoint its location but remained on guard. “You’re stronger than I thought… however, things won’t go as you like for long.”

Crossing his arms, Asuma whipped his arms outwards, summoning a massive gust that banished the mist. Zabuza pierced the fog before it could completely dispel, but he ducked under the blade and buried both chakra blades into the man, twisting the weapons sharply.

Zabuza toppled back, eyes rolling into his skull, yet his corpse liquified before it touched the ground.

Asuma stepped back as the mist resettled over the outpost. Zabuza’s chuckles reverberated within the mist.

“Nice try, but I’m not so obvious.”

Asuma sighed, looking down at the puddle left after he disposed of the rogue ninja’s water clone. Inwardly, though, he couldn’t help but swell with joy. Zabuza had willingly turned their battle into one of ninjutsu—and in a battle of ninjutsu, he was a lot more certain of victory.

…That said, the Silent Killing Technique wasn’t reliant on Zabuza’s Hidden Mist Jutsu.

“Better keep my guard up,” he muttered to himself.