The Second Girls journey in Naruto

Haku's slender figure stood frozen in place.

The deadly Lightning Release: False Darkness spear was mere inches away from striking him down.

Kihana Sakiya's heart clenched.

No!

With no time to hesitate, she activated her jutsu.

[Holographic Projection Technique!]

Light-based chakra expanded outward at the speed of light, seamlessly overlaying the environment with an optical projection. No one—neither ally nor enemy—noticed the world subtly shifting around them.

At the same moment, beneath her blindfold, the Eye of Death opened.

A flood of information surged into her mind.

Through her left eye, she no longer saw the world as solid objects—but as an intricate web of silk-like threads, each one representing the inherent fragility of existence.

The blindfold, normally concealing this terrifying ability, served as a filter. But now, with it lifted—

She saw everything.

Countless threads of mortality stretched across her vision. The death lines of all things.

Sakiya's gaze locked onto the incoming lightning spear.

It was filled with so many death lines.

Her right eye flared with a crimson glint.

[Microwave Energy Pulse!]

A concentrated pulse of high-energy radiation, imperceptible to the naked eye, shot forward at near-light speed.

The pulse struck the lightning spear—

And in the blink of an eye, the deadly jutsu disintegrated.

It happened in a fraction of a second.

To everyone else, it was as if the spear had simply vanished before it could hit Haku.

Haku stood there, staring blankly at the empty space where the spear had been.

Slowly, he turned back.

Zabuza, equally stunned, met his gaze.

Then, in that fleeting moment, Haku smiled—a warm, radiant smile, as if a flower had suddenly bloomed in winter.

"Zabuza-san... we survived."

In that instant, he had seen it.

The brief, flickering fear in Zabuza's eyes.

A fear of losing him.

(So I'm not just a tool to him… That's enough for me.)

Zabuza's expression remained impassive, but his clenched fists betrayed his emotions.

"Tch… What the hell just happened?" he muttered, shifting his gaze toward Kakuzu.

The Akatsuki rogue stood completely still.

Too still.

Everything around them had fallen eerily silent.

The world itself felt... unnatural.

Zabuza frowned. "Are we actually alive?"

Haku was equally bewildered.

Suddenly, the scene in front of them shifted.

A glowing strip of light stretched forward, leading somewhere unknown. An arrow hovered above it, marking progress—almost like a pathway.

Zabuza and Haku exchanged looks.

Instinctively, they felt they should follow it.

But something held them back.

Because... in theory, they should already be dead.

That lightning jutsu—there was no way they could have survived it with their bodies alone.

They had felt it. The sensation of death.

(Then… what is this light?)

The two of them stepped forward, following the glowing path.

As they moved, the edges of the world seemed to shift and blur.

Then—suddenly—the light strip vanished.

Sound returned.

The rustling of leaves. The distant chirping of insects. The whispering wind.

Zabuza and Haku halted in place.

Slowly, they turned back.

The world behind them appeared normal—but something was wrong.

Upon closer inspection, they noticed subtle irregularities.

A tree overlapped with another tree, their trunks merging without any physical interference—like a projected image glitching.

The mist that had once covered the battlefield was still there—but frozen in time.

It was as if the battlefield they had left behind had become a static, motionless world.

Zabuza stared at it for a long moment, then scoffed.

"...Tch. Whatever."

He turned away, walking forward without looking back.

"Let's go, Haku."

Haku nodded, falling in step beside him.

__________________________________________

The Real World

To Kakashi, Kakuzu, and the others watching—

What they had seen was something entirely different.

Lightning Release: False Darkness had pierced straight through Zabuza and Haku, killing them instantly.

Their bodies had collapsed. Lifeless.

And yet—

Now, they were walking away.

As if death had never touched them.

From her vantage point, Sakiya exhaled softly.

She had saved them.

But only barely.

Her holographic projection had manipulated the battlefield's perception, altering what everyone saw. The energy pulse had severed the death line of the lightning spear, erasing it before impact.

A delicate, precise manipulation of reality.

She glanced at her hands.

Her body felt… heavy.

(I can't afford to push myself too hard…)

(Not yet.)

But for now, she had done enough.

In the original story, she had harbored a crush on that kind and gentle boy.

Now, standing here in this altered reality, there was no way she could watch him die before her own eyes.

As for Zabuza? She didn't particularly care. His survival was merely a side effect of saving Haku. A small bonus.

That was all.

Kakuzu's sharp eyes scanned his surroundings.

Just moments ago, he had killed Zabuza and Haku.

Or at least, he thought he did.

Yet, something felt… off.

A suffocating, lethal pressure had brushed against him in that instant—so overwhelming that, for a fleeting moment, he thought his five hearts might be annihilated in a single strike.

It was a sensation he had not felt in decades.

And just as quickly as it appeared—

It vanished.

Like a phantom.

Was there a stronger enemy nearby?!

Kakuzu instinctively retreated, suppressing his presence as much as possible.

His gaze swept over the battlefield, searching for the source of that feeling.

But there was nothing.

His sharp eyes landed on Kakashi and his team, who were hiding behind a wall, completely still.

No sudden movements. No unnatural chakra fluctuations.

The genin were clearly shaken by the battle.

Naruto and Sasuke remained motionless, their breath shallow. Sakura's legs trembled slightly, barely able to hold herself up.

Even Tsuchiya Tsukigami and Sakuragi were drenched in sweat, their faces pale as sheets.

Only Kihana Sakiya remained eerily calm.

Her expression was neutral—almost too neutral.

If not for the risk of drawing attention, she might have even tilted her head in curiosity, as if she wanted to see more.

But Kakuzu saw nothing out of place.

He scowled.

A beat later, his body tensed—

And then, in a flash, he vanished.

Hearing Kakuzu's sudden retreat, Kakashi and Chihiro exchanged glances

 Kakashi glanced at his team, taking in their shaken expressions. With a calm, steady voice, he reassured them.

"He's gone."

The tension in the air instantly eased.

Everyone let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.

Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned.

"Whoa, that guy was insane! I seriously thought I was gonna die—"

"Haha, same here!" Tsuchiya Tsukigami laughed, slapping Naruto on the shoulder.

The two exchanged relieved smiles, their nerves finally settling.

Sakura and Sasuke, watching the display, could only shake their heads.

"Idiot Naruto," Sakura muttered under her breath.

"Don't make such a big deal out of it,"

Sasuke added with a sigh.

"Shh!"

A sharp hush cut through their laughter.

Naruto and Tsuchiya froze mid-grin, their bodies instantly stiffening like statues.

They turned to see Kakashi, his face now serious, his single eye locked onto something unseen.

Silence stretched between them.

Then—

Kakashi's lips curled into a smirk.

"…Scared you, huh?"

"Eh?"

Sakura blinked in confusion.

The next second—

"KAKASHI-SENSEI, THAT WAS TOO MUCH!!"

Naruto and Tsuchiya's petrified state shattered as they exploded in protest.

"Seriously, that wasn't funny!"

Kakashi chuckled, unfazed by their complaints.

Even Chihiro let out a small laugh. "Kakashi-senpai, you're really mean sometimes."

Just as their laughter filled the air—

"Shh."

This time, the warning wasn't a joke.

It was deadly serious.

A chilling silence settled over them.

Naruto and Tsuchiya's smiles faded.

They turned to Kakashi and Chiho—

Both of them now wore grim expressions.

Slowly, their gazes followed the direction of their stare.

And then—

Their pupils shrank in horror.

On the rooftop, standing tall with his arms crossed, was Kakuzu.

A cruel smirk stretched across his lips as he looked down at them.

"Yo~ Looks like you guys were having a lot of fun."

 __________________

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