Hmph, hmph, hmph... Kakashi, it seems you were wrong. My ambition ending here? It's still far too early!
Although Zabuza spoke his victory declaration, having escaped a death trap, in a low voice, his still slightly trembling pupils betrayed the intense shock and… wavering in his heart.
Haku, who had taken the Lightning Cutter directly with his chest, clearly felt his life rapidly ebbing away. Before his consciousness completely blurred, he did what he believed was the last thing he could do for Zabuza—he used his last ounce of strength to firmly grasp Kakashi's arm, which was still embedded in his chest and releasing the Lightning Cutter, attempting to restrain him.
Looking at Haku's pale yet unusually calm face, and his gradually unfocusing eyes, Kakashi understood that this young man was... beyond saving.
This familiar scene instantly brought back the most painful moments of his memories... A sharp, wrenching pain suddenly clenched his heart.
And Zabuza, having just broken free, had already raised his cold longblade again. He deliberately let out a cruel laugh. "Hahahahaha! I truly picked a useful tool! Until the very end... he even created such a perfect opportunity for me!"
No! Does he intend to... cut down even this child?! Kakashi's heart pounded as he watched the mercilessly descending longblade!
But Haku's hand, gripping his arm tightly, became his greatest restraint at this moment! He couldn't dodge!
With Zabuza's speed and strength, Kakashi, with his arm restrained and his mind reeling, absolutely could not avoid this precise and vicious strike!
However—
Just as the longblade was about to fall, Kakashi gritted his teeth. Instead of trying to break free from Haku's grip, he used the force of Haku's hold, carrying Haku's now lifeless body, to execute an extremely awkward sideways roll and jump!
The blade heavily struck the bridge surface, sending up a shower of sparks!
...
After narrowly avoiding the strike, Kakashi knelt on one knee and gently laid Haku down. He fully understood the situation and saw through the true heart beneath Zabuza's cold mask.
Just then.
"Naruto! Satsuki!"
Sakura, who had been nervously protecting Tazuna in the back, saw the two approaching—Satsuki was carefully helping a somewhat tired-looking Naruto, as they hurried towards the battlefield.
Kakashi carefully laid Haku flat on the bridge. The wound on the boy's chest was horrifying, and the breath of life was as faint as a candle in the wind.
Immediately after, another taijutsu confrontation erupted between Kakashi and Zabuza.
However, just before Haku's consciousness completely plunged into darkness—an anomaly occurred.
Dozens of Haku's jet-black long hairs silently fell off on their own, subtly trembling and deforming in the air as if alive, eventually transforming into dozens of butterflies. This was a secret contingency Naruto had quietly left on Haku, and it was now finally beginning to take effect.
These butterflies, made of life energy, gracefully flew towards the hollow, Lightning Cutter-pierced area of Haku's heart, then quietly merged into his flesh and blood.
The next moment, a gentle wave of life energy began to slowly infuse Haku's body, which was on the verge of complete death, forcibly stabilizing his last sliver of life. Haku's consciousness, enveloped in warmth, temporarily paused on the boundary between life and death, allowing him to hold on for a little longer.
On the other side, Zabuza roared and fiercely swung his blade at Kakashi, but his moves were full of openings, having lost their previous sharpness.
Kakashi simply sidestepped, easily dodging the chaotic attack, then delivered a heavy straight punch to Zabuza's abdomen!
"Ugh!" Zabuza cried out in pain, stumbling back a few steps. He defiantly roared and charged forward again, wildly slashing and chopping with his longblade.
But his movements no longer had any combat skill, only instinctive, chaotic venting.
Kakashi had already appeared behind him with a Body Flicker before he even swung his blade, and the kunai in his hand pierced Zabuza's shoulder joint of his sword-wielding arm!
"Pfft!"
One of Zabuza's arms instantly dropped limply, unable to be raised again. He gasped for breath, hissing in a hoarse, confused voice. "Why... why can't I keep up with your speed anymore?!"
"You've already lost, Zabuza." Kakashi's voice was calm, almost cruel. "Haven't you noticed even now?"
Kakashi clearly remembered that moment—facing the slash that seemed poised to tear both him and Haku apart, he should have been utterly unable to dodge. However, Zabuza had hesitated at the most crucial moment...
The subtle deviation in the blade's trajectory, that momentary pause, were all clearly captured by Kakashi.
Even Zabuza himself hadn't realized that witnessing Haku's "demise" had caused a massive, unprecedented sorrow and emptiness to erode his combat instincts, preventing him from thinking normally, let alone controlling his body.
At this moment, he stood on the brink of complete emotional collapse, all his attacks merely desperate and unwilling struggles.
Just as the kunai in Kakashi's hand was about to pierce Zabuza, who was unable to form hand signs and had almost lost the ability to resist, delivering the final blow.
A dense and chaotic sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from the other end of the bridge, breaking the heavy atmosphere on the battlefield.
Kakashi and Zabuza simultaneously looked in that direction. They saw a short man wearing round sunglasses, leaning on a cane, with one hand comically wrapped in bandages, strutting onto the bridge, surrounded by a large group of thugs with menacing faces, armed with sticks and swords.
"Gatō... what are you doing here, you bastard?" Zabuza recognized the newcomer, asking in a hoarse, weary voice.
"Oh, oh, oh~ Isn't this our famous 'Demon Man' Zabuza Momochi, himself?"
Gatō's sarcastic and mocking voice rang out, "You lost quite miserably, didn't you? Truly... disappointing."
"What do you mean by that?" Zabuza's gaze swept over the clearly ill-intentioned, restless thugs behind Gatō. "And why did you bring so many people?"
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Gatō let out a cold, low laugh, gently tapping the bridge with his cane. "Isn't my meaning clear enough, Mr. Zabuza? I've changed my mind—I want you to die here."
He made his true intentions clear without any pretense.
"You know, hiring proper Ninja costs me a huge amount of money! That's why I initially sought out cheap and useful rogue Ninja like you."
Gatō had the calculating demeanor of a businessman. "But now... you've already fought the Konoha Ninja to a draw, saving me a lot of trouble. If both of you die here, not only do I not have to pay the remaining huge commission, but I can even save the advance deposit I paid earlier! This is a very cost-effective deal, isn't it? Hahahahaha!"
Naruto, who had just arrived on the battlefield, supported by Satsuki, looked at Gatō, who seemed to think he controlled everything, with his smug, mastermind-like appearance, then glanced at the group of disorganized, unruly thug lackeys behind him... How did such an idiot become one of the world's richest men? Is the world's economic system really okay?
Naruto felt a deep sense of powerlessness to complain.