Just as the Kubikiribocho was about to cut Sasuke in half...
A hand suddenly grabbed Sasuke back collar, a massive force transmitting as he was violently thrown backward.
"What are you dazing off for!"
Sizzle!
Kakashi held a kunai, his stance sinking slightly as he firmly blocked that heavy blade.
Sparks flew everywhere.
"I told you not to be impulsive."
Kakashi stood in front of Sasuke, his dead-fish eyes full of seriousness.
His arm trembled slightly from bearing the heavy blow.
"This is a real murderous demon; he's not on the same level as the opponents you've met before."
Sasuke fell clumsily to the ground, looking at that terrifying back, cold sweat soaking his own.
Only now did that chill of death well up in his heart.
That moment just now... he really could have died!
"Hmph, you actually managed to block it."
Zabuza gave a cold laugh, the muscles in his arm bulging as he exerted force to push Kakashi back half a step.
"I'll slaughter you along with them."
Whoosh!
The Kubikiribocho swept across again with a whistling wind, its range so wide it nearly sealed off Kakashi evasion routes.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A calm voice rang out from the edge of the battlefield.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
White smoke dissipated, and three of Naruto Kage Bunshin abruptly appeared on Zabuza's path of attack.
They didn't rush in blindly like brutes to clash head-on.
Instead, they positioned themselves at the blind spots of the sword's swing, Zabuza's landing point, and his visual blind zone.
"What!"
Zabuza furrowed his brows.
The positions of these clones were too tricky.
Though their attack power didn't seem high, if he insisted on slashing Kakashi, his lower body and wrists would surely be attacked by these Kage Bunshin.
"Tsk..."
Zabuza was forced to pull back his blade to defend.
He dispersed two clones with a roundhouse kick before leaping away using the momentum.
Before he could land, two more Kage Bunshin had already predicted his landing spot, with several shuriken sealing off his retreat.
"Damn brat..."
Zabuza swung his blade to parry the shuriken, his movements showing a slight stagnation.
Kakashi certainly wouldn't pass up this opportunity; he activated Shunshin no Jutsu, his kunai aiming straight for Zabuza's throat.
Clang!
Zabuza barely managed to block Kakashi thrust with the hilt of his blade, retreating awkwardly to pull away.
He looked up, his eyes coldly scanning Kakashi before landing on the blonde youth standing in the rear.
"That brat... Kakashi alone is troublesome enough, but with him too..."
Zabuza concluded: clashing in taijutsu was disadvantageous for him.
"In that case..."
Zabuza held up one hand, his Chakra surging wildly.
"I'll just turn you all blind."
"Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu!"
In an instant, a thick mist erupted, and the surroundings turned pure white.
Zabuza's body completely vanished into the mist.
Only his voice came from all directions:
"Eight spots... throat, spine, liver, lungs... which one do you want me to attack?"
Terrifying killing intent surged like a tide.
Sasuke and Sakura felt as if a giant rock were pressing against their chests.
Breathing became difficult, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
This was the instinctive fear of a living being facing its natural predator.
"Protect Mr. Tazuna!"
Kakashi shouted, returning to the formation.
Meanwhile, Zabuza moved at high speed within the mist, searching for an opening.
"This squad is not easy to deal with," he thought to himself.
"Kakashi is a long-renowned elite Jonin, that blonde brat has Kage Bunshin, and the black-haired brat's Sharingan is also a bit of a problem... if it turns into a battle of attrition, it won't be good for him."
In that case... Zabuza's gaze pierced through the mist, locking onto the weakest link.
"I'll kill the mission target and the pink-haired brat first!"
Swish!
Zabuza's figure appeared behind Sakura like a ghost, his blade held high:
"One down!"
However, the moment his foot stepped within a three-meter radius of Sakura.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—
Several inconspicuous talismans on the ground suddenly glowed red.
Immediately after, several steel wires as thin as hair were tripped.
"A trap?!"
Zabuza's pupils constricted.
"Since when?"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The exploding tags buried underground were instantly detonated.
Although the power was intentionally controlled to prevent accidental injury, at such close range, it was enough to cause interference.
The firelight broke through the mist.
A massive shockwave forced Zabuza back several steps; even the bandages on his body were scorched in several places, looking somewhat disheveled.
"Cough, cough..."
Zabuza waved away the smoke and landed on a distant tree trunk, his eyes dark as he glared at the pink-haired girl.
Sakura was now half-kneeling on the ground, her hands held in a seal.
Although her small face was pale with fright and her body was still shaking, her eyes were unexpectedly firm.
"The moment you stop, you must immediately set up a defensive position..."
"No matter when, you must establish your own safety zone..."
Sakura recalled the iron rules Naruto had taught her during special training.
"I will definitely protect everyone!"
While Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke were in the fray with Zabuza, she hadn't just been foolishly watching.
Instead, she had laid a ring of traps around Tazuna-san.
"Tch, what a troublesome brat."
Zabuza glanced at the ready Kakashi, then looked at the circle of untriggered traps.
The assassination failed; his position was exposed.
Continuing to fight might not yield any advantage.
"I'll play with you all this much for today."
After weighing the pros and cons, Zabuza sneered, his body once again merging into the mist.
"The next time we meet will be the day you die."
With that, his Chakra fluctuations rapidly distanced themselves, disappearing into the depths of the forest.
"Phew..."
The thick mist gradually dissipated.
Seeing the powerful enemy retreat, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and pulled back his forehead protector.
He took a deep look at Naruto.
For some reason, he always felt that Naruto hadn't used his full strength.
Sasuke knelt on the ground, slamming the earth hard, his face full of frustration.
Sakura slumped onto the ground, feeling her back soaked with cold sweat, gasping for air.
Only Naruto stood in place as usual, his expression calm...
Deep in the forest, on a hidden retreat route.
Zabuza clutched his arm, which had been injured by the exploding tags, and shuttled through the branches at high speed.
"Those damn brats... and Kakashi..."
"To actually suffer a loss at the hands of a Genin squad."
"I'll go back and regroup with Haku first, adjust the tactics... next time, I must take out that pink-haired one first."
Just as he thought he had safely escaped.
"Mr. Zabuza, can we stop and talk for a moment?"
A polite, gentle, yet slightly eerie voice abruptly rang out not far from him.
"Who?!"
Zabuza was greatly shocked; his instincts as a top assassin made him fiercely swing his blade toward the source of the sound.
However, the blade hit nothing but air, only cutting through a few leaves.
On a branch ahead, Naruto was leaning against the tree trunk, arms crossed, looking at him with a smile.
"You're... that blonde brat from just now?"
Zabuza landed on the opposite branch, narrowing his eyes as his killing intent reconsolidated.
"You've been following me? What do you want? To die?"
Naruto spread his hands.
"Allow me to introduce myself: Konohagakure Genin, Uzumaki Naruto."
"I'm here because I want to give you... an offer you can't refuse."