Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura followed the strategy laid out for them by Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake.
They would first use taijutsu and kunai to gauge the depth of Haku's abilities.
Only by understanding the extent of their opponent's strength could they better plan how to defeat him—creating the illusion of his death without actually killing him.
After all, Haku was two or three years older than the trio. Having endured the brutal experiences of the Land of Water, his combat experience and fighting spirit were beyond what the three could surpass with just a week of intensive training.
To avoid detection by Zabuza, Minato's team kept their distance, observing from afar.
This time, they had brought binoculars specifically for the task.
Though they weren't particularly effective in the thick fog, they were better than nothing.
Obito watched helplessly. "Is he okay? That guy, Naruto?"
They'd noticed during sparring that Naruto Uzumaki was utterly unpredictable—Kakashi Hatake, their sensei, even jokingly called him "Number One Unpredictable Ninja."
"Idiot, fretting won't help," Young Kakashi snatched the binoculars from his hands. "You have the Sharingan now. Let us use the binoculars."
Obito pouted unhappily. "Did you forget my Sharingan is temporarily sealed by Minato-sensei?"
"Oh, then don't watch."
"!!!" Every time Obito clashed with Kakashi, he ended up thoroughly defeated, too frustrated to speak.
Minato handed each of them a pair of headphones.
"Kakashi and the others brought these listening devices on their mission. We can't see through the fog, but we can hear everything clearly."
"Really?!" Obito immediately put on the headphones.
Just then, they heard Haku's voice: "Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
Kakashi's voice: "One-handed hand seal?! A boy that age has already mastered the one-handed hand seal technique?!!"
Zabuza: "How about you look over there and pay attention to your fight with me, Kakashi Hatake?"
Immediately after, the wind howled as Zabuza's greatsword swung through the air.
"Kakashi!" Obito growled nervously.
Instantly, Young Kakashi, who was standing next to him, punched him. "Shut up!"
The sound of several 'clack, clack, clack' noises came through the headphones—likely Kakashi performing several somersaults to evade Zabuza's blade.
"Oh? Showing off the Sharingan already?" Zabuza's mocking voice echoed.
Kakashi: "To finish you off faster."
After seeing the boy perform a one-handed hand seal and use a secret technique Kakashi had never heard of, he began to worry about whether Naruto and Sasuke could truly handle that boy, Haku, on their own.
"Hmph~" Zabuza's cold laughter echoed. "Did you think I'd come unprepared for your Sharingan?"
Rin watched the battlefield from a distance and remarked, "The fog seems thicker than before!"
Obito deduced, "That Zabuza must be trying to block Kakashi's vision with the thick fog, while also keeping him out of Kakashi Sharingan's sight!"
The thudding sounds of combat echoed through the headphones, occasionally punctuated by the crack of fists hitting flesh!
Judging by the muffled groans of pain, Kakashi seemed to be at a disadvantage.
From outside the battlefield, Minato's squad, listening carefully to the sounds and speculating on the outcome, could see that Obito appeared more anxious than Young Kakashi himself.
Young Kakashi scoffed, "What good is rushing? Can you even beat that Zabuza? After pretending to be the Fourth Mizukage a few times, you actually think he's scared of you?"
"Hmph!" Obito stubbornly muttered, "Sooner or later, I'll make him fear my name!"
Young Kakashi sighed, "It's broad daylight—stop daydreaming."
"You—!!! Hmph!"
Minato intervened, "Quiet down."
The headsets were now transmitting the sounds of Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke battling Haku!
Naruto: "What the heck? That so-called Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
A scratching and cracking sound came through the headsets.
The four members of Team Minato strained to listen, feeling the sound was vaguely familiar, but they couldn't quite place it.
Sakura, the only girl in the group, murmured softly, "It's so cold."
"!!!" Minato gasped, "That's the sound of freezing!"
Everyone instantly realized—the crunching, cracking noise was water freezing rapidly in extreme cold!
Whose ability could freeze things that quickly? Wind Release? Or Water Release?
Thud!
The sound of shuriken striking an ice wall.
Naruto: "What the heck is this?! Even kunai can't break it!"
"Watch out, you dead weight!!" Sasuke's frantic voice shouted, seemingly from a flying tackle that knocked Naruto down!
Judging by the faint sound, it was likely senbon sticking into the ground.
Clearly, Haku had already launched an attack. Naruto, caught off guard, almost got hit, but Sasuke saved him.
"Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura's high-pitched voice called out.
"I'm fine. Don't make such a fuss." Sasuke wiped the blood from a scratch on his face.
Naruto stammered, "S-sorry, Sasuke."
"Focus!!"
Among Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, the one who snapped into combat mode the quickest was undoubtedly Sasuke Uchiha—the one with the "genius" label, just like Young Kakashi.
"It seems you still don't understand your position," a cold, eerie voice echoed. "Then let me show you what true speed is."
"Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
"..."
Naruto: "That guy entered the ice!!"
Hearing the voice through his earpiece, Minato Namikaze's face showed surprise.
"What is Ice Release?"
Obito only knew of Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Wind Release—he'd never heard of Ice Release.
Minato Namikaze: "Ice Release is a special Kekkei Genkai from the Land of Water. I never imagined that boy was from that clan…"
Rin: "Minato-sensei, could the final item on the mission scroll, 'Pure White Snow,' refer to Ice Release?"
"Highly likely. Perhaps that youth has even stronger hidden abilities."
Young Kakashi: "Like summoning ice and snow?"
That person was only two or three years older than him, yet his combat reflexes and mastery of secret techniques made Young Kakashi realize there were always greater heights to reach!
The headset crackled with the sound of senbon hitting the ground, wave after wave!
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura dodged frantically, and their frequent cries of pain suggested they had been pierced by at least several senbon, their bodies covered in cuts of varying severity.
Sasuke: "Sakura, Naruto and I will cover you. Try to force open an exit!"
"Got it!"
Sakura focused all her chakra and struck with a powerful punch against the ice mirror. Meanwhile, Naruto shielded her from incoming attacks!
Row after row of senbon reminded Sasuke of their special training sessions with Kakashi. That guy was always too busy training Obito Uchiha's Sharingan!
Back then, thousands of shuriken had been hurled at Obito, just like these senbon now. But that guy had activated his Sharingan, amplifying his brain and body reflexes dozens of times over. At first, he'd still get cut by the shuriken, but later, he could almost completely dodge them!
With Naruto and Sasuke covering her, Sakura shouted her signature phrase and slammed her fist hard into the ice wall!
Naruto: "Did it break?!!"
The ice wall vibrated, but remained completely unharmed!
Sasuke clicked his tongue. "No effect either?!"
He was growing anxious. At this rate, forget about incapacitating Haku and making him appear dead—even their own safety was at risk!
"Damn it!" Naruto growled. "We trained so hard! I thought we were strong enough!"
Sasuke shared the same frustration. If only he could use Kakashi's Raikiri right now…