Being the last one to slip into the boat, Tachibana fished off the rope that was anchoring the boat to the dock before they vanished into the mist.
'Can't believe Kakashi made Naruto and the others kill the genin they faced.'
'He even spared one for Sakura.'
Tachibana looked at Sakura who was looking at her hands as if they were still stained with blood.
Tazuna nearby was muttering random things after he'd learnt that his family was taken hostage.
After a while of them being in the sea as Maruboshi rowed the boat closer and closer to the Land of Waves, Tachibana had fully relaxed.
'Finally, I don't have to use spirit vision again and again. My glabella felt like it was going to explo-'
Mid thought Tachibana's closed eyes shot open and he forced his body to roll off the boat and fall into the water.
*THUD*
A stream of senbon pierced into the boat right where he was sitting.
Kakashi pulled open his Sharingan, while Maruboshi unsheathed his tanto.
Only when nothing happened for the next few minutes, did Tachibana peer out from under the water.
'Haku and Zabuza?'
'They're attacking while we're in the sea!?'
'Why does this suddenly make much more sense!'
Sasuke and Naruto grabbed a kunai each and looked around warily while Sakura trembled like a newborn foal.
Tazuna was startled but he stayed in the encirclement that Team Seven created and waited to be saved.
Tachibana had already activated his spirit vision, and since the fog couldn't stop him from seeing through he started to search for Zabuza and Haku.
'Haku's to our east.'
'But Zabuza? Where's he?'
Tachibana frowned but then Kakashi shouted, "Watch out!". Tachibana's eyes widened as he looked underneath.
'No way!'
'He's underneath!'
Tachibana pushed a ridiculous amount of chakra into his feet to kick up from the water and land back in the boat.
Simultaneously, a stream of water shot out at jet speed piercing right through where his body had been a second earlier.
Pulling out kunai, Tachibana instantly became alert as he adopted the cat stance and waited for Zabuza to come out or for the Jonins to act.
Standing in silence for what felt like minutes, Tachibana finally noticed a difference, the mist around them had started to thicken.
Kakashi's Sharingan glowed like a demonic eye through the mist but nothing else was visible. The sounds of the boat surfing the waves became muffled as if the mist wouldn't allow them to spread while the waves crashing against each other became mute as if they never existed.
That was when everyone on the boat heard the sound of water rushing, rumbling as it moved closer and closer towards them.
Maruboshi quickly formed hand seals before using his chakra to create-
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall"
The water around the boat rose as one giant mass to form a towering well. The height given the tapering diameter of the water tower protecting them made Tachibana feel they'd drown them if Maruboshi made even a single mistake.
Team Seven sent a shocked gaze Maruboshi's way while looking at Kakashi with a little disappointment but the two of them were busy tracking down exactly where the jutsu was coming from and where their opponents were.
Within moments of Maruboshi creating the water wall all around them, a thundering crash resounded as everyone inside the water well spotted a wall of water crashing into the walls of the well.
The genin all feared for their lives but remained steady. Having taken a life had shown them just how fragile they were, and right now they wanted to prevent their fragile lives from vanishing.
Tachibana bit his lips to distract himself from the pain as he cracked a joke to ease his own nerves.
"I just thought of a joke."
When everyone's attention was on him, he spoke.
"What did one wave say to the other one?"
Naruto was confused while Sasuke and Sakura paid attention.
"Nothing, they just waved at each other and left."
Sasuke *snorted*. Sakura's lips twitched. Even Kakashi sent a glance Tachibana's way with a slightly happy look.
Naruto remained confused but there wasn't any time left for that since the water wall that Maruboshi had created fell back into the sea around them when the wall of water crashing into it stopped.
Maruboshi immediately took over the west while Kakashi the east.
There was a sudden *swish* as Tachibana spotted Zabuza throwing something using spirit vision.
'Sword?'
"Duck!" Kakashi shouted causing everyone along with Tazuna to duck to avoid being swiped off the boat by the sword.
And except Tachibana everyone ducked.
But that was when Tachibana shouted, "No! They're trying to split us!"
But it was too late.
As soon as the sword arrived right in front of the boat, an ice blade shot out from underneath the boat and split it right through the centre.
Instantly Maruboshi and Kakashi were divided into one side while the Genin along with Tazuna to another.
But before people from either side could help each other two people shot out from the split.
Zabuza swam out like a dolphin and grabbed his blade in the air, spinning into an attack that took all of Kakashi's effort to block. While Haku generated an ice dome that enclosed the genin.
The two of them landed on the surface of the water, but just as Maruboshi tried to form hand seals to attack them, another Zabuza showed up behind him and attacked him with a copy of his blade, Kubikiribōchō.
With Zabuza holding back both the teachers, he spoke in a sly tone.
"Give up. Just let me take that old man and everyone else will be spared."
"Is that so?" Kakashi asked calmly. "Finally back to working under Kirigakure? Demon of the Hidden Mist? Zabuza Momochi?"
"Oh? You know me? That's better for me then, copy ninja Kakashi." Zabuza said with a smile that revealed his jagged shark-like teeth.
"Since my reputation precedes me, I'm going to give you exactly one chance to ask your teammate to pull off from the other side." Kakashi threatened.
"Oh? And what will you do if I don't?" Zabuza asked putting more pressure on Kakashi's kunai using his blade.
Kakashi only smiled before the area shattered to reveal Zabuza was attacking the air and Kakashi's kunai was approaching his neck to behead him and stab it.
"What a fool!" Zabuza laughed before the Zabuza in front of Kakashi exploded into a burst of sharp water needles.
Kakashi shielded himself from it by performing a quick seal to use the jutsu, "Wind Release: Gale Palm."'
But during this time, Kakashi felt another blade landing on his neck, except he reacted almost instinctively to block the blade.
Sparks shot through the air as Kakashi and Zabuza clashed once again.
But to protect himself Zabuza thickened the fog and retreated into its depths.
"I still have those kids with me Kakashi. Are you ready to bet their lives just to kill me-"
*BBBBOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM*