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Ending: 10/08/25
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Back on the bridge
Clang!
A kunai met a needle mid-air, the sharp sound ringing through the misty battlefield.
Haku, poised like a phantom, wielded his senbon with elegance. Opposing him was Sasuke, his Sharingan blazing with fierce determination.
"Oh?" Zabuza muttered, intrigued by Sasuke's ability to keep up with Haku's speed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two exchanged rapid strikes, kunai, and senbon clashing in bursts of movement, neither giving an inch.
Haku's voice, calm and composed, cut through the tension.
"I don't want to kill you… I'd like for you to back down."
Sasuke scoffed. "Nonsense."
Haku sighed. "Even if you can keep up with my speed… I've already made two preemptive moves."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Two preemptive moves?"
Haku nodded. "The first one— the scattered water puddles around you."
Sasuke's gaze flicked downward—several pools of water had formed unnoticed beneath his feet.
"And the second one…" Haku's voice remained eerily soft. "I've trapped one of your hands."
Sasuke's eyes widened. True to Haku's words, his wrist was subtly pinned by Haku's senbon, restricting his movement.
"Now… you can only defend."
Haku raised his free hand.
"What?! With one hand he's…?!"
Kakashi's remaining eye nearly popped out of its socket.
"A one-handed sign?!"
Kakashi had never seen something so advanced, but Naruto—silent and unreadable—had already slipped away, using the Flying Thunder God technique.
Haku's fingers danced through a series of seals with one hand, each movement fluid and precise.
"Ninja Art—Thousand Needles of Death!"
With a swift kick to the ground, the water puddles rose, forming hundreds of sharp water needles that hovered in the air for a moment before raining down on Sasuke.
Sasuke's smirk never wavered.
Boom!
With a sudden burst of chakra, Sasuke propelled himself backward, narrowly escaping the barrage of needles. The projectiles embedded into the bridge, piercing through the spot he had just occupied.
"He vanished?"
Haku barely had time to react before a barrage of shuriken came flying toward him.
With graceful backflips, Haku dodged each one, weaving through the storm of spinning steel.
Sasuke's smirk deepened. "Too slow."
Thud!
Before Haku could fully recover, Sasuke appeared behind him, his foot smashing into Haku's masked face.
Haku flew backward, skidding across the ground before coming to a halt.
Zabuza's face twisted slightly. "To think Haku would lose in terms of speed…"
Sasuke wiped his mouth. "Looks like I'm faster than you."
His tone was mocking, confidence dripping from every word.
Kakashi nodded approvingly. "I can't have you mocking our team, calling them brats."
His tone turned casual, almost amused. "He may not look it, but Sasuke is the number two rookie in the Hidden Leaf."
He gestured toward Naruto's previous spot. "And as you already know, Naruto is number one—"
Then, shifting slightly, he muttered. "And Sakura… has the biggest forehead."
A deep silence followed.
Sakura's eye twitched.
Biggest forehead?! Do you have a death wish?!
Her glare burned into Kakashi's head, though he pretended not to notice.
You probably have something even more embarrassing hidden under that mask.
Meanwhile, amidst the ongoing battle, no one noticed Naruto was already gone.
Like a phantom, he had disappeared from the spot—his mastery of the Flying Thunder God leaving not even a trace behind.
----
After a few minutes, Haku began fighting Sasuke once again, with much greater speed, only to be defeated yet again.
Haku stood calmly, his chilling aura thickening around him. The mist swirled as the temperature began to plummet.
Zabuza's frown deepened as he observed the battle.
"At this rate, you'll be defeated by your intended victim."
Haku gave a slow nod. "Yes… but that won't happen."
With those words, the temperature dropped drastically. A shiver ran through Sasuke's spine as the very air around them felt heavy with an unnatural chill.
What is this…? This feeling…?
Sasuke exhaled, watching as his breath became visible in the cold air.
"What the…? Is this cold air?"
The bridge creaked under the sudden drop in temperature. The sound of shattering glass echoed, but when Sasuke turned around.
Creak! Creak! Creak!
Huge ice walls rose from the ground, crystalline structures expanding in a perfect circle, surrounding Sasuke from all sides. The ice was pristine, reflective, an eerie prison of mirrors.
Haku raised a hand, his voice steady.
"Secret Jutsu—Crystal Ice Mirrors."
The ice mirrors stood tall, glistening in the faint light. Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed.
"What is that jutsu…? Are these mirrors?"
Sasuke remained tense, analyzing his surroundings, his Sharingan spinning faster as he scanned the formation.
Then—Haku took a step forward and walked directly into one of the mirrors.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
Haku's image was reflected in every mirror, but one of them.
One of them moved.
"Tch!"
Sasuke barely had time to react before a blur shot out from the mirrors—
Whoosh!
A senbon flew toward him.
Sasuke dodged, but another followed—then another.
From every angle, Haku attacked.
Sasuke's Sharingan whirred, but even with his enhanced vision, his body couldn't keep up.
Outside the icy prison, Kakashi clenched his fists. "Sasuke… don't lose."
Meanwhile, unnoticed by all, Naruto had already returned.
It was silent and completely undisturbed.
No one had caught onto his absence.
No one, except one person.
Sakura.
She stood a little closer to Naruto than before, her head tilted slightly, her hands clasped neatly behind her back.
She had noticed. She always noticed.
But she said nothing.
Because she was his kunoichi, his obedient slave.
She would never question her master's plans.
Instead, she leaned in slightly, as if drawn to him, her breath warm against his arm.
Naruto didn't even have to look at her, observing the fight.
She wanted him to acknowledge her, to give her even the smallest glance, a whisper of approval.
And when he finally shifted his gaze just a fraction, Sakura shivered.
Her lips parted ever so slightly, her tongue darting out to wet them, her body trained to react to even the subtlest hints of attention from him. Her fingers curled, resisting the urge to press against his chest, to feel the strength that belonged only to her master.
Naruto smirked.
"Good girl."
Sakura bit her lip, swallowing a whimper.
She would wait.
Because Naruto always rewarded obedience.
While Naruto stood silent, a smirk playing at his lips as he subtly teased his obedient little kunoichi, the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza took center stage.
"Damn it!"
Kakashi's frustration was evident. He moved, intending to reach Sasuke, only for his path to be cut off.
Whoosh!
A massive sword swung down, forcing Kakashi to leap back.
Zabuza stood firm, Kubikiribōchō resting heavily on his shoulder, his expression calm yet dangerously smug.
"I'm your opponent, aren't I?" Zabuza's voice was filled with absolute confidence. His lips curled into a smirk. "Since that jutsu has appeared, he's done for."
Even as he spoke, however, his eyes flicked toward Naruto.
Naruto was calm and collected, silently watching everything.
And that was what unnerved him the most.
Zabuza had felt it before. The sheer overwhelming force behind that single punch when Naruto had launched him away like he was nothing.
That was no ordinary brat.
Yet now—he was just standing there.
"Why…?" Zabuza thought to himself, the unease creeping up his spine.
The tension in the air thickened, but Naruto remained exactly where he was.
---- ✦ ✦ ✦ ----
Spoilers for the next three chapters!
Chapter 129: The Clash of Bloodlines
Chapter 130: The Fog of Death
Chapter 131: The Mist-Engulfed Duel
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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