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"Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!"
How many times will these two use the same technique? Inside his ice mirrors, these two's movements looked almost stationary. Basically, they were just targets.
Haku slightly tilted his body to dodge the flames, then threw the senbon in his hand towards Sasuke. Immediately after, using the ice mirrors, he struck Naruto, who had already run to the edge of the mirrors, knocking him back.
"Uwaah~!" Naruto was sent flying, falling heavily to the ground. Looking up, Haku's figure had already merged back into the ice mirrors, seemingly without any openings.
Almost adapted to his movement speed! Just need to wear down Haku's chakra bit by bit. Although the senbon needles left bloody marks all over them, there were basically no fatal injuries. They have a chance to win!
"This is good. One more time," Sasuke said to Naruto, who was barely getting up beside him.
In this situation, Naruto didn't have much time to think; he had to trust Sasuke without hesitation and cooperate to deal with Haku.
Naruto responded affirmatively, then split up with Sasuke, running towards opposite sides. At least one of them could get out. Then they could still flank Haku.
"Won't let you have your way." After all, the mission was to capture them alive, so Haku hadn't used lethal force against them. But now, he also felt somewhat troubled. Although these two seemed to be making futile efforts, they were actually constantly calculating his speed.
Naruto was still relatively easy to handle, but Sasuke was continuously seeing through his speed. Need to deal with him first!
"Ugh!" The dazzling white light on the ice mirrors flashed abruptly. Slender senbon needles instantly pierced Sasuke's calf. Immediately after, several more senbon needles stabbed into Sasuke during his moment of pause.
"Sasuke!" Naruto stopped worriedly, quickly turning his head towards Sasuke on the other side.
"Getting distracted at a time like this won't do." Haku's voice sounded above Naruto's head. Immediately, a barrage of senbon needles firmly embedded themselves into Naruto's body.
...
Kakashi pulled his forehead protector up with one hand, revealing the Sharingan hidden underneath. However, the dense fog, saturated with moisture and chakra, almost completely obscured Zabuza's figure, even from the Sharingan.
"Even for a Kirigakure ninja, in such thick fog, you can't see others either!" Kakashi frowned tightly, finding this troublesome.
"I am the Demon of the Hidden Mist, skilled in the Silent Killing technique. Seeing isn't necessarily required." Zabuza's mocking voice came from within the dense fog.
Haven't fought in such adverse conditions for a long time. Kakashi anxiously scanned his surroundings, searching for Zabuza's figure within the fog. Although he could hear the voice, he couldn't capture Zabuza's figure at all.
Even the fog couldn't block out Naruto and Sasuke's screams from within the ice mirrors. Regardless of Haku's motives, the children's voices were indeed affecting Kakashi's judgment. Kakashi took a small, deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Need to trust those two. He had to focus on figuring out Zabuza's movements. If it were him, where would he strike from?
".~This is bad!" Kakashi instantly appeared in front of Sakura. The Executioner's Blade slashed down directly towards him, landing a heavy blow across Kakashi's chest.
The pungent smell of blood instantly filled the mist. The white fog abruptly bloomed with crimson red.
"Ah!!!" Sakura's scream rang out instantly.
Kakashi slightly hunched over, clutching his chest which was continuously seeping blood, shielding Sakura as he took half a step back. Although he avoided a fatal blow as much as possible, this strike wasn't light.
"Too slow, Kakashi. Too focused on saving those students, so you lost your cool?"
"Maybe in a little while, Haku will finish them both."
"No matter the opponent, it's impossible to break Haku's secret technique."
Not just a battle of ninjutsu, psychological warfare was also an indispensable part. Haku was a student raised single-handedly by Zabuza; Zabuza trusted him enough to handle those two brats.
Zabuza slightly raised his head, his eyes fixed on Kakashi with certainty. Immediately, Zabuza's figure continuously vanished into the mist.
"There's nothing more boring than listening to someone boast."
"Sakura, stay close to Tazuna."
Zabuza's previous action was very strange. He clearly could have flashed behind Tazuna for a strike, yet he chose to appear in front of Sakura. Their true objective might not be killing Tazuna at all. Kakashi needed to figure out these two's real purpose. Can't just be passively attacked like this. He needs to actively flush Zabuza out.
After instructing Sakura, Kakashi ran alone into the dense fog. Although he wasn't particularly fond of these three kids from Team 7... what teacher could stand hearing their own students being underestimated?
Mirrors were everywhere. Even running would result in being hit by senbon thrown from blind spots. Naruto's front and back were already covered in senbon needles as he fell heavily to the ground.
"Can you stand up, Naruto?" Sasuke half-knelt on the ground, pulling the senbon needles out of his own leg.
Naruto opened his eyes and responded, seeming to want to stand up, but collapsed again. Overusing the Shadow Clone Technique earlier and concentrating chakra for running had already consumed too much of his chakra. Naruto now found it difficult even to stay conscious, let alone move more.
Sakura's scream also sounded from outside. Sasuke took a deep breath, frowning tightly as he stared at Haku within the mirrors. What is that Kakashi guy doing? Sasuke already felt spread thin, whether dealing with Naruto collapsing beside him or the unseen battle outside. They had already tried their best, yet Haku still looked completely at ease.
"Looks like you've reached a dead end."
"Your companion seems unable to stand up anymore." The fallen one should be the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That counts as dealing with one. These two struggled even two-on-one, let alone just one person. Just need to stab the Uchiha survivor into a state of false death, and this battle will be over.
Haku's figure moved rapidly within the ice mirrors. Immediately after, a dense shower of senbon needles rained down from all directions.
Sasuke kicked Naruto aside. If hit by such a pile of senbon needles and turned into a pincushion while motionless, there would truly be no chance to fight back.
Sasuke grabbed a senbon needle from the ground, his dark eyes spinning rapidly. Haku's speed hadn't changed, but for some reason, his eyes could now keep up.
Sasuke deflected the incoming senbon needles one after another with clinks and clangs. A small pile of deflected senbon quickly accumulated on the ground. Although Sasuke inevitably got hit by a few deflected senbon, clearly the situation of being completely passive and taking damage was gone.
"Already able to block...?" Not only blocking, but even while caring for his companion, he could still block the senbon. Haku looked somewhat shocked at Sasuke standing amidst the pile of senbon needles.
However, Sasuke, slightly hunched over, suddenly looked up, his pair of crimson eyes staring at Haku before him. The single tomoe in one eye slowly rotated several times, then revealed a second tomoe.
No wonder. If seen through by the Sharingan, then it's not strange. Haku almost imperceptibly pursed his lips. Attacking him directly has become the inferior option. Then, let's make that Jinchuriki quiet down completely first.
Senbon needles appeared in Haku's hands, his figure rapidly changing positions. It seemed as if every mirror held a Haku making different hand gestures.
Sasuke's Sharingan continuously tracked the moving Haku, tightly gripping the senbon in his hand. Calm down. Watch this guy's position carefully. Where exactly is he attacking from?
"What!?" Sasuke watched wide-eyed as the senbon needles in Haku's hand flew past him, heading straight for Naruto lying on the ground nearby. His target isn't me at all!
Sasuke instantly leaped up, firmly shielding Naruto. He reached out and grabbed the wrist of Haku who flew out from the ice mirror.
"Ugh!" Haku clearly hadn't expected Sasuke to have the spare strength after rushing over to block the needles. Forcefully grabbed by the arm, he was violently thrown out, crashing headfirst into his own ice mirror.
"Ah, hitting so hard." Hatake Kuroshi, eating candy wrappers nearby, couldn't help grimacing. Whether Haku crashing headfirst into the ice mirror, or Naruto and Sasuke almost becoming pincushions... these kids fighting seemed even heavier-handed than the two adults outside.
Drip.
Water sound? Naruto, momentarily unconscious, slowly opened his eyes. Sasuke stood before him, hand hanging down. Haku lay face up beneath the ice mirror, a crack already appearing on his mask.
"Alright, Sasuke!" Naruto's eyes instantly lit up. No matter how you looked at it now, they seemed to have the upper hand.
However, as Naruto's gaze moved upwards, the bright smile on his face gradually stiffened.
Clink—
Sasuke's lowered hand loosened its grip. The senbon needle he had been tightly clutching fell to the ground, emitting an almost inaudible hum.
Senbon needles were already embedded in Sasuke's neck. Blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the ground. Drip, drip.
"Really, you... always getting in the way. At a time like this, just don't cause trouble for me." Sasuke turned his head slightly, forcing a smile. The senbon needles in his neck swayed, brushing against his clothes.
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