Countless Vacuum Bullets slammed into the Water Encampment Wall, making it tremble violently as if it would shatter any second. Seeing this, Zabuza quickly poured more chakra into it to stabilize the barrier.
[Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique]
[Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet]
[Wind Release: Vacuum Wave]
Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke stood their ground, bombarding Zabuza's Water Encampment Wall with one ninjutsu after another. Since wind, fire, and earth naturally complemented each other, and the three worked in perfect sync, their techniques fused seamlessly. Flames engulfed each earth dragon as the Wind Release supercharged the fire and coated the projectiles in a razor-sharp edge. Just as these blazing magma-like dragons were about to smash into the water barrier, an ice wall suddenly rose from the ground, blocking their path.
"Zabuza-sama, are you alright?" Terumi Mei asked anxiously while wearing his mask. He'd been lurking in the shadows earlier, and sensing that Zabuza was safe for now, he chose to remain hidden — until now. But who could've predicted that those rowdy close-combat brats would suddenly transform into walking artillery? After just a few ninjutsu, they'd already plowed through the surrounding battlefield. If he didn't intervene now, Zabuza might actually be in mortal danger.
The blazing, wind-fueled earth dragons slammed into the ice wall with bone-rattling force. When Sakura saw Terumi Mei appear, she signaled Naruto and Sasuke to stop attacking.
"I'm fine," Zabuza grumbled, his face dark as soot. Those damn brats weren't fighting like real ninja at all! Everyone knew that real ninja fights involved casting a few techniques before finishing things off, but this was non-stop, overwhelming barrage—who could possibly withstand such relentless pressure?
"So you've got backup too?" Kakashi approached calmly, showing no surprise at Terumi Mei's appearance. In truth, he'd already sensed someone hiding nearby, but simply chose not to mention it.
"Hatake Kakashi, you Leaf ninja really are devious!" Zabuza spat, glaring at Kakashi with a look that suggested he wanted nothing more than to pounce and bite him.
Chapter 138: Bai Zhanji [Continue]
Kakashi: "???"
Right now, Kakashi looked completely flabbergasted. He hadn't done anything—so why did everyone suddenly blame him for everything?
"Tch, what does this have to do with me? I haven't even lifted a finger!" Finally, Kakashi couldn't hold back his question anymore—he felt genuinely wronged.
"Hatake Kakashi, you sent disguised genin to lure me out. Don't call that underhanded?" Zabuza narrowed his eyes, looking like he'd figured everything out. "I never imagined you'd go to such lengths just to kill me—how much did Mist pay you to chase me down relentlessly like this?"
The more he spoke, the more convinced Zabuza became that he had uncovered the truth. No wonder Kakashi hadn't seemed startled when meeting him previously—it all made sense now. The bastard had prepared a trap and been waiting for him to walk right into it.
"They didn't disguise themselves at all—they're just brand-new Genin!" Kakashi said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, Konoha has never had any collaboration with Kirigakure. We definitely aren't here to capture you on purpose!"
"Kakashi, do you really think I'd believe your nonsense? Just look at those three—do any of them actually look like Genin?" Zabuza sneered bitterly, his eyes filled with rage. "If your side wasn't working together with Kirigakure, why would you screw me over like this?"
"Kakashi-sensei, are you sure this guy's mentally stable? Is he suffering from paranoia?" Sakura felt her eye twitching. Wasn't Zabuza just making up wild conspiracy theories?
"Who knows?" Kakashi shrugged helplessly; Zabuza's reaction was giving him a headache.
"Ha ha ha ha! Kakashi, I knew you'd run out of words sooner or later. Who could've imagined that Momochi Zabuza—a great warrior all my life—would finally fall into the hands of a petty man like you! How unfair is heaven!"
Zabuza roared furiously as he abruptly grabbed Cleaver Sword off the ground, his aura bursting with killing intent. "Even if I die today, Momochi Zabuza will absolutely not let you get away unscathed!"
"Zabuza-sama, I will always stand by your side!" Terumi Mei also assumed a battle stance, feeling murderous intent toward someone for the very first time in his life. Kakashi, huh? It seemed today would end in an all-out fight after all.
Kakashi, Number One on Both Zabuza and Terumi Mei's Hate List: "??? (What did I even do?)"
"Tsk tsk tsk. This is definitely a bromance between Zabuza and Terumi Mei!"
Sakura muttered under her breath; the intense romantic vibe between Zabuza and Terumi Mei was practically blinding.
"Kakashi-sensei, do you know what the Third Tsuchikage's best ninjutsu is?" Sakura suddenly asked.
"If it's the Third Tsuchikage, then probably Dust Release," Kakashi answered despite being somewhat confused.
"Dust Release merges earth, wind, and fire chakra natures to create a technique capable of reducing everything to atomic particles. In some ways, you could say it's extremely terrifying power."
Sakura stretched out her left hand to form Hand Seals together with Naruto's right, while her right joined with Sasuke's left.
[Combining Dust Release techniques alone is quite complicated.] "Besides, since I've already mastered Wood Style, combining it with Dust Release seems somewhat unnecessary. However, out of curiosity, I found a clever shortcut to temporarily access Dust Release capabilities."
After forming several Hand Seals, Sakura withdrew her hands and brought both palms together at chest level before slowly spreading them apart. Naruto and Sasuke followed the same movements.
As they moved, a cylindrical barrier glowing faintly appeared above their palms—an ordinary-looking object which nonetheless gave off an inexplicable sense of extreme danger.
"You mean...Dust Release?!" Kakashi almost shrieked in shock, barely managing to hold back his composure. He had seen this cylindrical barrier once before on the battlefield—it belonged to the Third Tsuchikage, and within an instant completely erased everything touched by the barrier.
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