Naruto scanned the area, then used the Sky Mirror to check from above.
But Zabuza was nowhere to be found.
"Did he run?"
Naruto frowned slightly. It didn't feel right.
The mist covering the bridge had completely cleared—so where could he be hiding?
"Kakashi, I'm not good at finding people. I'll leave Zabuza to you," Naruto said, stepping back to observe and try to learn something.
"Then I'll take over," Kakashi said, already knowing Naruto's weak point.
That Sky Mirror might give an aerial view, but Zabuza's disguise might not match his actual appearance.
To see through that kind of trick takes experience and special techniques.
Back in their previous fight, if Kakashi had turned into something else—or someone else—Naruto wouldn't have found him either.
That's exactly why Kakashi had come up with a way to counter Naruto's Sky Mirror after that battle.
You had to admit, Kakashi had seriously high battle smarts.
If he had the intel, he could even go toe-to-toe with an Otsutsuki.
"Pakkun! Find out where Zabuza is!"
"..."
Naruto had thought Kakashi might have some fancy trick—but this was it?
Still, he had to admit Pakkun was great at tracking people and things.
Naruto just didn't care much for the pup's look or attitude.
'Until I master Observation Haki, maybe I should ask Kakashi to summon a cooler-looking dog for me to make a contract with,' Naruto thought to himself.
And Pakkun wasn't the only smart one among Kakashi's summons.
"Kakashi!"
After sniffing around for a while, Pakkun suddenly looked up at him and pointed toward the bridge with a paw.
"Under the bridge?"
Kakashi understood right away. Activating his Sharingan, he ran a few steps and jumped down.
Not long after, the sound of metal clashing and jutsu being used echoed from below.
"Looks like it's about to be over."
Naruto saw that inside the ice dome, Sasuke seemed to have gained the upper hand. It looked like he'd gotten stronger again.
At the same time, Sakura was getting dragged farther and farther away.
A few minutes later, the ice dome shattered, and Sasuke came out covered in injuries.
Haku, on the other hand, was lying on the ground with his mask broken, revealing a face even prettier than a girl's. It was unclear if he was alive or not.
"Is he dead?" Naruto bumped fists with Sasuke and asked.
"Pretty much," Sasuke said calmly.
"Pretty much" meant he wasn't actually dead yet.
Naruto hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should finish Haku off. Just then, a figure jumped up from below the bridge.
"Zabuza?"
"Did Kakashi lose?"
Naruto didn't think Kakashi would lose.
The next second, Kakashi jumped up onto the bridge as well.
Zabuza hadn't beaten Kakashi—he had been chased here!
"Haku?"
Zabuza looked at Haku lying motionless on the ground and started to panic.
If Haku had failed, there was no way they could complete the mission now.
Should he retreat?
Last time, Zabuza had backed off because he was wary of Naruto and Kakashi's strength, but that had already made Gato angry.
If he ran again, Gato definitely wouldn't let it slide.
And without Gato's protection, he and Haku would be on the run again like stray dogs!
"Summoning: Earth Release – Fang Pursuit Technique!"
While Zabuza was still frozen in panic, Kakashi took the chance to summon eight ninja hounds that pounced on Zabuza and locked him in place!
"It's over!"
Kakashi's face was cold as ice. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, and lightning crackled around his right arm.
"What the—? You can actually see the chakra with your eyes?"
"What kind of jutsu is this?"
Not just Zabuza—Sasuke was shocked too.
They had always thought Kakashi relied on the Uchiha clan's Sharingan to be that strong. None of them had imagined he also knew such a powerful Lightning Release jutsu!
"Raikiri!"
Kakashi didn't waste time. He charged at Zabuza with Raikiri in hand.
As Kakashi closed in, Zabuza was still completely pinned by the ninja hounds. He couldn't move at all and could only wait to die.
But right at that critical moment—
Someone stepped in front of Zabuza!
Yes... it was Haku!
Haku had woken up!
Because Sasuke didn't finish him off, Haku was able to block Kakashi's fatal Raikiri.
"Zabuza..."
Haku tightly held onto Kakashi's arm, a gentle smile on his face for the last time.
He was dead...
"Heheheh... Hahahaha... Kakashi, it's not over yet. I still have a chance!" Zabuza stared at Haku's back and let out a twisted laugh.
Now that the ninja hounds had moved out of the way to avoid Raikiri, they were no longer holding Zabuza down. Free again, Zabuza raised his massive sword and swung it toward Kakashi—who was still caught by Haku's grip.
"You bastard, are you seriously going to cut down your own teammate too?!"
Kakashi watched the big sword coming closer and closer, heart pounding. He tried to pull his arm free, but Haku's dead hands held on tightly.
Why was this kid doing this?
Kakashi didn't understand why Haku, even in death, would go so far just to give Zabuza a chance—but this wasn't the time to think about it.
Since he couldn't get his arm loose, all he could do was retreat while holding Haku's body.
But something was strange—why was Zabuza's attack so slow this time?
Whoosh!
Kakashi had just dodged with Haku in his arms when a beam of golden light shot through Zabuza's chest.
"Gah!"
Zabuza held himself up with one hand gripping his big sword against the ground, while the other clutched his chest as he coughed up a large mouthful of blood.
The blood soaked through his bandages, looking like he was biting down on a rose.
"Your heart wavered."
Naruto looked at Zabuza and said calmly, "You care about him, don't you? You acted like you wanted to cut him down too with that swing, but your sword moved so slow... Were you afraid you'd be too fast and hurt him for real?"
"Idiot, he's just a tool I use! Why would I care about him?" Zabuza said between heavy breaths.
"Doesn't matter. Whether you care or not—you're still going to die."
Naruto shook his head and raised his hand, ready to finish him off.
Just then, a group of people walked up from the other side of the bridge.
"Well, looks like I showed up just in time, Zabuza."
"Gato? Why are you here? And what's with the people behind you?"
Zabuza looked confused as he stared at the short man in a suit, only about 140 cm tall.
"Hahahahaha, I'm here to clean up after your failure! And... to kill you!"
Gato's face twisted with cruelty and smugness. "You know why I hired you wandering ninja?"
"Because hiring official ninja costs too much. But you rogue ones? You're cheap. And even if you die, no one cares!"
"Honestly... it'd be best if all of you died while doing the job! That way I get what I want *and* save a ton of money, hahahahaha!"
Seeing Gato's ugly face, Zabuza was burning with rage.
But he had no strength left to fight. With Naruto's laser having gone right through his chest, even speaking was hard now—fighting was out of the question.
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