"As expected of the Demon Zabuza," Takizo murmured.
In the original tale, Zabuza's killing intent alone had been enough to paralyze Naruto and Sakura.
Takizo had thought that an exaggeration. But now, swallowed by the overwhelming aura, he felt like a tiny boat in a storm, moments away from capsizing.
*Thump. Thump*
He heard the furious pounding of his own heart. His skin shrank, his muscles trembled, his nerves screamed in fear. And yet, his bones howled with excitement.
Without his conscious control, chakra surged, refined swiftly and rushed toward his spine. His skeleton writhed inside his body.
Wrists, elbows, shoulders, chest, back, knees.
One by one, sharp bones tore through flesh.
The battle instincts of Shikotsumyaku demanded control of this fight.
A strange exhilaration filled Takizo. For the first time, he understood why his clansmen were so obsessed with battle.
His body screamed at him: Let's go.
Zabuza's eyes gleamed with interest at the shift in his opponent's aura. "Now you're looking like something worth fighting."
Takizo's voice rasped. "I'm coming, Senpai."
The ground beneath his feet shattered.
Like an arrow loosed from the string, Takizo appeared before Zabuza in an instant, bone sword stabbing forward.
"So fast!" gasped Suigetsu, who had snuck out to watch.
"But not fast enough." Zabuza tilted his head slightly, letting the blade pass harmlessly by.
Takizo turned the missed thrust into an elbow strike, the bone spike jutting for Zabuza's neck, while his knee shot up, aiming for the man's chest.
But suddenly, a bone-chilling sense of danger flared behind him.
The execution blade swept in silently from the side.
In a flash, Takizo lightened his bones, forcing his body higher into the air.
The massive blade cut cleanly through the space he had just occupied, halting right at Zabuza's chest.
Takizo's elbow strike also missed, grazing only the strands of Zabuza's hair.
Zabuza's stance shifted, his blade twisting from a cleave into an upward slash, aiming for Takizo's suspended form.
Takizo read his intent. Both feet planted firmly atop the flat of the sword, breaking Zabuza's rising motion. Using the contact for leverage, he pushed off, springing diagonally upward.
His body flipped in midair. With a shrill whistle, ten sharpened phalanges shot from his fingertips.
Zabuza twisted, reversing his grip, swinging his blade sideways.
*Clang, Clang, Clang*
The execution blade swatted the bone projectiles aside.
With his long reach and towering frame, Zabuza swept the entire area, forcing Takizo into the range of his attack.
Unable to dodge, Takizo hardened his arm bones, bursting them through his skin to block.
The impact shook him. His chest seized with pain as his body was flung back. He spun twice in the air, dissipating the force, before landing steadily on the ground.
Zabuza stood composed, watching him. "Is this all the Kaguya clan has?"
Takizo smiled. "You'll see, Senpai."
His body rippled grotesquely. A figure identical to him peeled itself free, dripping with slick fluids.
Two Takizos stood side by side.
"Is that it?" Zabuza asked, unimpressed. "A mere clone? That won't fool me."
"No," Takizo corrected. "This is a Bone Clone."
It was a technique he had created himself. Through precise chakra control, he forced rapid bone cell division and growth, producing a double composed entirely of bone.
It wielded half his strength and carried a measure of independent thought.
The two charged together.
For the first time, Zabuza stopped underestimating him. He moved with fluid steps, execution blade howling through the air.
Blades and bones clashed. The battle raged for several exchanges before they broke apart.
This time, it was Zabuza who was forced back.
Takizo tried to hold it in. He couldn't.
A grin spread across his face. "Is that all, Senpai?"
Zabuza barked out a laugh of fury. "Don't get cocky, brat."
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
He formed a single hand seal. In an instant, thick fog consumed the entire training ground.
"Aw, come on… how are we supposed to watch now?" Suigetsu groaned.
"Perfect," said Mangetsu, ghosting up behind his younger brother, voice cold. "A good chance to test your training. And you dare skip class?"
"Eh?!" Suigetsu yelped.
Inside the mist, Takizo's vision shrank to only a few meters.
With Zabuza's Silent Killing Technique lurking, every moment brimmed with danger.
Only his heightened sense for murderous intent kept him alive, letting him react just in time.
But his weaker bone clone was cut in half, writhing grotesquely on the ground, trying to piece itself together.
"Damn it!" Takizo cursed. "Enough of this mist!"
He knew he couldn't remain passive. Everyone knew the best way to counter stealth was with a wide-area sweep.
He leapt to the center of the field, bones shifting beneath his skin.
"Dance of the Willow!"
Spikes erupted across his body.
With a shout, they launched outward, raining bone needles over the entire ground.
*Clang, Clang, Clang*
The sound of needles striking steel rang out.
"Found you!" Takizo cried.
But Zabuza only gave a cold laugh before vanishing again.
Takizo's lips curled. "Got you."
"Lightning Release: Discharge!"
The bone spikes littering the training ground sparked, electricity crackling across them.
In an instant, the field blazed with lightning.
"Not good!" Zabuza realized at once he had been baited.
The one place free of the lightning's reach was the spot he had stood earlier—where the execution blade had swatted the needles aside.
But Takizo had lured him away.
"Damn it!" groaned the bone clone, half reassembled, writhing in agony.
Zabuza had no space to escape. Lightning coursed through his body, numbing him.
But the wide spread of the technique meant its power was diluted. He was paralyzed for only a moment before forcing himself to recover.
That moment was enough.
A massive sword tore through the mist, cleaving down at him.
Takizo had seized the opening.
The blade he wielded was no ordinary sword—it was the final act of his bone clone, reshaping itself into a great weapon.
Zabuza barely had time to raise his execution blade to block.
Bone and steel clashed, ringing like iron.
Takizo pressed on, each swing faster, heavier, forcing Zabuza back step by step.
With a leap, Takizo spun in midair, hurling all his weight into one final slash.
Zabuza planted his feet, gripped his weapon with both hands, and swung upward to meet him.
At the instant of impact, lightning surged across Takizo's bone blade, wild serpents of current racing along its edge.
*Crack!*
*Clang!*