"Damn it. He got stronger again?"
Naruto could feel it now. The ice mirrors that had been slowing under his relentless pressure were recovering faster again. The fog thickened, swallowing sight until even his outstretched hand vanished.
He had been sure of it. Keep hitting, break the mirrors, finish it fast, then run to Sasuke's side.
But the battlefield answered him with silence and white haze.
"Naruto, be careful," Sakura warned from behind him, her voice tight. "He's running out of chakra. This is desperation."
"Huh?" Naruto scratched the back of his head, genuinely confused. "That's it? He's already almost empty? I've been attacking nonstop and I don't even feel tired yet. Shouldn't I be the one running out first?"
Sakura stared at him, speechless.
Then she snapped. "Not everyone's a freak like you, idiot!"
Naruto grinned. "Hey, people are built different, right? Sasuke says—"
"Shut up!" Sakura barked. "Do not finish that sentence."
"…But Sasuke said it," Naruto muttered.
Sakura paused, then nodded calmly. "Oh. If Sasuke said it, never mind."
Naruto blinked. Something felt wrong, but he couldn't quite name it.
Before he could complain, Sakura's expression sharpened.
"Get ready. I'm breaking his technique."
Naruto swallowed his words and dropped into a fighting stance.
"Water Style. Condensation."
A clear sphere of water formed between Sakura's hands.
She raised it high.
The fog screamed.
White mist rushed toward the sphere as if dragged by a massive force, pouring into it in violent streams. The air roared. The water ball swelled larger and larger, while the battlefield finally came into view.
The ice mirrors stood exposed.
"Water Style. Water Dragon Bullet."
A compact dragon burst from the sphere, smaller than usual, faster, denser, tearing straight toward Haku.
"Naruto. Now."
"Yes!"
Naruto launched forward, chakra surging. His body spun, faster and faster, wind screaming around him as he caught up to the water dragon. The two techniques intertwined, forming a roaring spiral of wind and water that tore the sea surface apart.
"My ultimate combo!" Naruto shouted. "Leaf Hurricane Spiral Water Dragon God!"
Sakura facepalmed without looking away. "You're hopeless at naming things."
The attack answered with violence.
Air twisted. Waves shattered. The pressure alone tore at the surroundings like claws.
Haku's eyes widened. Even standing at the edge, the force threatened to throw him aside.
"These are… genin?"
He tried to shift through the mirrors.
He couldn't.
The technique swallowed everything.
"Ice Style. Ice Rock Dome."
Walls of ice rose around him.
The moment the jutsu completed, Haku's vision darkened. He bit down hard, barely keeping himself conscious.
Then the storm arrived.
The ice shattered.
Blue chakra exploded outward, crushing everything in its path. Haku was thrown back, bloodless pale, his body giving up before it hit the water.
The fogged battlefield shook under thunder and wind.
Lightning tore across the sky, reflecting off steel and waves.
Elsewhere on the sea, two figures collided again.
Sasuke and Raiga slammed together in a flash of blinding electricity. The impact detonated across the water, waves erupting outward as both were hurled back.
Sasuke rose first, blood streaking his clothes, eyes fixed ahead.
Raiga stood opposite him, veins bulging, face twisted by fury and despair, killing intent pouring off him like smoke.
Sasuke laughed.
"Good. This is good," he said, voice raw but steady. "So this is what one of the Seven Swordsmen looks like when he stops running."
Raiga's eyes snapped into focus. For the first time since the fight began, clarity surfaced through the madness.
"…You did this on purpose."
Sasuke's smile faded into calm. "You wanted to kill me. I wanted a real opponent. It worked out."
He lifted the lightning-forged blade, its glow steady and sharp.
"No more talking."
The blade pointed straight at Raiga.
"Next move. We end it."