"Wha—?" Zabuza twisted her transformed head violently, her eyes, filled with the primal fury of the Kämpfer, instantly widening in a sudden, horrifying realization.
Sasuke Uchiha, the boy who should have been incapacitated and left burning on the arena floor, had suddenly launched himself into the air.
His face was a mask of scorched flesh and raw wounds, but the broken sword in his hand now hummed with an overwhelming, wild, and unrestrained aura.
The skill: Celestial Ascension!
This was the carefully constructed climax of Kakashi's entire strategy: Lure Zabuza into a devastating, strength-sapping close combat; amplify Kakashi's own power to force Zabuza to commit to defense; aggravate Zabuza's existing injuries to the point of structural failure; and then, at the precise moment Zabuza was forced to abandon her blade for defense, strike with a secret, powerful ability from the rear.
Kakashi's calculated aggression, the willingness to sacrifice his own body, the forced self-mutilation, the deployment of the dragon arm—it had all been a diversion, a set-up for this final, desperate move.
"Zabuza!" Sasuke's voice was strained, thick with ecstatic triumph and murderous intent. "To die by my sword will be your highest honor!"
He poured every remaining drop of his strength, his hatred, and his newfound resolve into the technique. In that moment of absolute commitment, Sasuke felt an immediate, terrifying unity with the Celestial Ascension skill. There was no need for a follow-up—the skill's intrinsic nature guaranteed a fatal outcome.
A bright, incandescent light, the pure characteristic energy of the technique and the manifestation of Sasuke's internal, obsessive emotions, radiated from the boy, transforming his entire body and the broken sword into a single, blinding projectile.
Zabuza's cosmic sense of impending doom peaked.
Another one! Zabuza's mind shrieked. Another hidden, overwhelming ability! You can never drop your guard against a Jar Opener!
Seeing Kakashi's dragon jaw clamped immovably onto the Kubikiribōchō, Zabuza realized she had been tactically beaten. With a savage snarl, she decisively released the blade, allowing the dragon arm to keep the weapon.
Her transformed figure retreated in a desperate, last-second scramble. Escape! If the skill misses, the power is nothing!
Zabuza knew this was the enemy's final, desperate breath. If she could hold out for just a few more seconds, the battle was hers.
"It's useless," Kakashi gasped, dropping to one knee, utterly depleted, but his voice carried the distinct ring of triumph. "The defining feature of Sasuke's technique is its lock-on capability. With your existing injuries, you cannot withstand this impact!"
This had been the fiercest, most physically punishing battle Kakashi had fought since his early days. But the strategic victory was in sight.
In the center of the arena, Sasuke, now fully integrated with his blade and the overwhelming energy of the Celestial Ascension, became a single, blinding bolt of lightning aimed directly at Zabuza.
No feints, no illusions. Just a pure, audacious frontal strike designed to annihilate.
A horrifying coldness suddenly gripped Zabuza's entire body. Pain shot through her muscles, needles of ice piercing her brain. Her entire world seemed to shrink, her vision collapsing onto the singularity of that incoming sword.
No escape! Zabuza's mind confirmed with chilling clarity. I cannot evade this blow! Am I truly going to die here?
"Lord Zabuza—!" A desperate, shattering scream echoed from the sidelines.
It was Haku. Pushing his speed beyond all previous limits, Haku's form dissolved into a blinding tornado of ice crystals, rushing to intercept the trajectory of the attack.
In that extended, subjective instant—a dilation of time that allowed thoughts to cascade—Zabuza saw Haku's frantic, loving eyes and his absolute resolve to die in her place. She saw Sasuke's healing, scorched face, twisted into a horrifying grin of ecstatic, lethal vengeance.
Haku can block this.
The answer resonated in Zabuza's mind, undeniable and certain: Haku would throw himself into the path of the blow.
The moment that painful, profound thought registered, the subjective time dilation shattered. Reality snapped back into its normal, unforgiving speed.
PFF!
A light, piercing sound.
In the center of the arena, Sasuke stood, his body trembling, locked in his final rapier stance. His sword was plunged deep.
Zabuza was holding him tightly, but the raw force of the Celestial Ascension had already skewered her body. The residual energy of the technique ripped through the ground behind her, leaving a deep, scorched scar.
"Zabuza... Lord?" Haku stumbled to a halt, sinking to his knees slightly off to the side, dazed. Was I too slow to save him?
No.
Haku slowly realized the truth. He had been forcefully pushed aside by Zabuza in the final, impossible fraction of a second.
PFF!
A second, sickening, wet sound.
At the exact moment Sasuke's blade reached Zabuza's heart, Zabuza's right hand—clenched into a fist—shot out with every ounce of her remaining, forbidden strength, piercing deep into Sasuke's chest.
"You insolent brat!"
Blood erupted violently from Zabuza's mouth, but her shark-like teeth seemed to stretch into a wild, maniacal grin, the pure embodiment of the Demon of the Mist. Her crazed, satisfied expression was reflected perfectly in Sasuke's disbelieving, pain-filled eyes.
"Let me teach you... one last thing, boy... If you truly crave revenge, be like me, cough cough... fight, even when death is certain, until the very last, damned moment!"
Sasuke could not speak. A catastrophic amount of blood gushed from his lips, and his vision dissolved into a chaotic, dizzying blur.
THUD!
The bodies of the two sworn enemies collapsed simultaneously onto the scorched ground, neither capable of sustaining themselves any longer.
"Lord Zabuza—!"
"Sasuke—!"
Haku and Naruto screamed, rushing toward the center of the arena. Sakura, witnessing the brutal double-impalement, finally broke down, covering her face in silent horror.
"There is still hope!" Kakashi stumbled, pouring his last reserves into a desperate run. He yanked a crimson vial—a high-level, purchased Life-Saving Potion—and forced it past Sasuke's lips.
The medicine was instantaneous. A faint, rapid green light pulsed over Sasuke's body. Surface wounds began to close visibly, but the damage was internal and profound. His heartbeat remained faint and faltering. Kakashi drank another vial himself, replenishing his dwindling reserves.
"So that's it... cough cough."
Zabuza, cradled in Haku's arms, weakly watched the healing light surrounding Sasuke. Blood choked his words. I see it now. He realized why Sasuke, who should have been utterly incapacitated, had reappeared for the final blow. The jars had provided a countermeasure for death itself.
If only he had focused entirely on killing the boy first, regardless of the tactical risk, victory would have been his. But there was no "if."
"Lord Zabuza..." Haku gently wiped the flowing blood from Zabuza's mouth, but the flow was ceaseless. His voice dissolved into a desperate sob. "Why did you push me away?"
"Foolish, foolish boy!" Zabuza struggled to rasp the words out. "My revival, requested by you... it won't cost much... money."
Zabuza's cynical reasoning was that Haku's overwhelming desire to bring him back would dramatically lower the cost of resurrection.
But the reality was far more complex. Shen Mo, observing the raw, desperate exchange, sighed softly.
He had foreseen many outcomes, including the complete annihilation of Team 7 and the use of Naruto's Nine-Tails transformation as a final, desperate card.
The fate he had calculated moments before the clash was the expected one: Haku would give his life for Zabuza.
But Zabuza chose differently.
Despite his lifelong dedication to being the cold, calculating demon, Zabuza's final, instinctive act had been to save the boy who loved him, proving that his humanity—the sentiment he despised—was his truest, final weakness.
The battle has resulted in a double fatality, with both Sasuke and Zabuza gravely wounded.