Inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals...
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all pierced by numerous senbon shot by Haku!
Because the two boys had been consciously protecting the only girl in their team, Sakura fared a little better—only a few senbon in her arms and some scratches on her legs.
In contrast, Naruto and Sasuke looked like pincushions. It was a miracle they still had so much energy despite their wounds.
Of the two, Naruto took the brunt of the damage, as he had drawn most of Haku's attention!
'Thud!'
The sound of a body hitting the ground echoed through the headset.
"Get up! You dead weight!" Sasuke's voice came through urgently.
'Clang clang!'
Sasuke rushed over and used his kunai to block Haku's attack on Naruto!
"Sakura! Use Medical Ninjutsu on Naruto!"
"Yes!!"
Naruto struggled to rise from the ground. "No, no need! I'm not... a dead weight!"
Sasuke: "Don't try to be a hero now!"
A faint humming sound came from Sakura as she began performing Medical Ninjutsu on Naruto, just as Sasuke had ordered.
Rin felt a small sense of relief.
When she had first interacted with this girl, Sakura Haruno, she noticed that, likely because she hadn't been born in a war-torn time, Sakura had been much more interested in things like romance and fashion than in serious training or caring for her teammates.
Especially when both Naruto and Sasuke had been injured, and Naruto seemed to be in worse shape, Sakura was more likely to throw herself at Sasuke, screaming for his attention and refusing to be pushed away, even if Sasuke tried.
But now...
Listening to the voices through the headset, it was clear that Sakura was fully following Sasuke's decision to prioritize treating Naruto. Despite Sasuke's own injuries, a sense of teamwork had finally emerged.
"Hmph," Obito muttered, frustrated, glaring at Young Kakashi. "You're worse than that little girl. At least she understands teamwork."
The reproached Young Kakashi didn't respond, his face a little downcast.
Seeing this, Obito immediately felt like he had been too harsh. He wanted to apologize, but his pride kept him silent, unsure of how to take it back.
In the earpiece, the sound of heavy breathing came through.
The faint humming sound indicated that Sakura was removing the senbon from Naruto's body, using the basic Medical Ninjutsu she had just learned to stop the bleeding.
But the louder sounds were of the senbon being fired relentlessly by Haku, and Sasuke blocking them with his kunai!
Minato Namikaze closed his eyes, focusing on the increasingly rapid 'ding, ding-ding-ding' sounds through the headset, along with the sounds of Sasuke's footsteps. He was able to estimate Sasuke's position relative to Naruto and Sakura based on the volume of the Medical Ninjutsu sounds.
He realized that Sasuke wasn't just blocking Haku's attacks aimed at him—he was also deflecting most of the senbon that Haku was shooting at Naruto and Sakura!
"This speed and reaction time have improved far too rapidly compared to before! This can't just be explained by adaptation or ordinary growth anymore."
Could it be...
"Yes! That must be it!" Obito's voice sounded a little excited.
"Sasuke's Sharingan is awakening!!"
Young Kakashi and Rin were shocked. "Sharingan?! You mean Sasuke's eyes have awakened?!"
Obito: "Maybe not yet, but it's coming soon!"
The sounds of attacks coming through the headset grew faster and faster! Though Sasuke was still getting injured, these attacks no longer posed a threat to him!!
"Sharingan?" It was Haku's voice!
"!!!!"
Sure enough…
Sasuke's Sharingan had awakened!!
Haku: "I never imagined you, like me, possess a Kekkei Genkai."
As Sasuke became able to see Haku's movements more clearly, his suspicions started to solidify.
Naruto and Sakura, who had been focused on healing their wounds, shifted their attention from Haku in the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to Sasuke's face beside them.
"Just like Kakashi-sensei and Obito!" Naruto exclaimed in shock.
Kakashi-sensei had three tomoe, Obito had two in each eye, and Sasuke had two tomoe in his right eye and one in his left.
Sakura: "Congratulations, Sasuke-kun!"
Listening to the sounds through his headset, Obito was thrilled!
"He's really awakened them! From now on, this "Sharingan-senpai" user will personally train him!" Obito puffed out his chest, pushing his orange goggles up his forehead with determination.
Then, he, Minato, Young Kakashi, Rin, and the others heard Haku's voice through their earpieces—
Haku said, "You should be grateful you were born in Konoha."
"What does that mean?!" Sasuke asked, confused.
"You've heard of it, right? The Mizukage of the Land of Water, starting with the Third, issued an order—concerning all Kekkei Genkai and the clans possessing them..."
"Exterminate them all!!"
Sasuke's newly awakened crimson pupils trembled violently, as if the ground beneath him had just shaken!
He never imagined a village leader could impose such genocidal tyranny on its own clans!
He had heard Kakashi mention the "Blood Mist" reputation of Kirigakure, and he knew they hunted those with Kekkei Genkai.
But those were only "rumors"!
And now, hearing this from Haku, who possessed the Land of Water's formidable Ice Release abilities, it couldn't possibly be false!!
The Third Mizukage ordered their extermination...
This revelation exploded like a signal in Sasuke's mind!
Minato Namikaze's words echoed in his ears—"The relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha has always been strained. I once hoped to become Hokage and help Fugaku-senpai mend that rift. If Obito could one day become Hokage, that would be even better."
Was the Uchiha Massacre truly Itachi's doing?!
Such thoughts were too terrifying for Sasuke to linger on!
He forced himself to suppress these thoughts.
Meanwhile, due to Haku's earlier words about "no one needing me" and "when does a person truly die," Naruto waited for Haku to continue.
Haku's voice came through the earpieces of Team Minato...
"I was born in a place in the Land of Water where it snowed year-round. My father and mother were ordinary people, but deeply devoted to each other. Life back then was blissful, though my mother always hid a secret."
Naruto: "A secret?"
"She possessed a Kekkei Genkai, and this unfortunate ability was passed down to me."
Haku briefly told the trio his childhood story, which was also transmitted to the members of Team Minato through their headsets.
The protagonist of this story was Haku himself.
He discovered he possessed the power to control water and freeze it into ice. He wanted to show it off to his mother, but she slapped him hard across the face. Then, overcome with guilt, she apologized and hugged him.
At that moment, neither Haku nor his mother knew that his father was nearby.
But just days later, when he returned home...
All he saw was his mother lying in a pool of blood, his father crying, and his towering father approaching with an axe raised high.
"That was the first time I understood what a true Kekkei Genkai meant," Haku said. "To protect myself, I killed my father and the villagers who came to kill me."
"And escaping that place was only the beginning of the real hell."
"Hell?" Naruto asked, his voice trembling, feeling a shared sense of fear with Haku.
Haku: "Endless loneliness."
"Unnoticed by anyone, unwanted by anyone. Just to survive, you had to fight with everything you had."
That feeling was exactly what Naruto and Sasuke had experienced.
Sakura, noticing the unsettled state of the two, softly called their names.
Haku snapped back from his memories...
Before the members of Team Minato could process how much Haku's calm words mirrored their own struggles—and how similar they were to what Naruto and Sasuke were feeling—he spoke again after a few seconds of silence.
His voice came through their headsets—
"It seems that awakening your Kekkei Genkai greatly enhances vision and reflexes…"
Unbeknownst to them, under Haku's orchestrated barrage of senbon attacks, the three within the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals had been positioned at considerable distances from one another!
"But even so, can you protect two teammates at once?" Haku's voice became dark and foreboding.
Immediately after!
'Whoosh! Whoosh!'
The sound of senbon being fired!
Sasuke charged full speed toward Naruto and Sakura...
Then came the startled cries of Sakura and Naruto!
They didn't have Sasuke's Sharingan, leaving them with no room to dodge Haku's speed, which had reached its peak!
What's worse, Haku had cleverly drawn Sasuke away to the farthest point from Naruto and Sakura, and then attacked them from two extremely tricky angles!!
Even though Naruto's upper body had recovered a little, he and Sakura still couldn't evade!
They could only try to avoid the vital areas, each quickly shifting their bodies to the left or right to minimize the damage from the attacks!!
Sakura's scream and Naruto's muffled groans echoed in the headset!
"Only the shoulder?" Haku's voice was cold and calculating.
"Damn it!" Sasuke dodged Haku's attack on him while still charging relentlessly toward Naruto and Sakura.
Haku watched him silently.
Unlike Sasuke, Haku's voice remained emotionless.
"Next time, I will aim for their hearts! Get ready to save only one of them, Sasuke Uchiha."
'Whoosh!'
Rin, Obito, and young Kakashi's faces changed drastically!
Adult Kakashi wanted to help, but he had already been injured by Zabuza himself!
Without hesitation, Minato Namikaze activated the Flying Thunder God Technique coordinates!!!
But the scene before his eyes…
Made his pupils contract sharply!!
...
In the previous attack, Haku had intentionally shot Naruto and Sakura in the shoulders. This forced them to dodge in opposite directions, creating a gap between them!
So, when the next attack came, though Sasuke could reach them just in time, he would have to choose to save only one!!
And this attack, as Haku had said, was aimed directly at their hearts!
But not just their hearts!!
Dozens of senbon were aimed at Naruto and Sakura's hearts! Lungs! Kidneys! Throats! Foreheads! Cervical spines!
Even if they survived, a single hit would leave them permanently disabled—never able to serve as ninjas again!!
But Haku didn't give Sasuke any time to think!
He had to abandon either Sakura or Naruto!
So...
'Let me see! Who will you choose?!!!'
That was what Haku thought in his mind.
Time was too short for Sasuke to think! Let alone agonize over it!
The only reaction he could make was—
[Instinct!]
And so!! When Minato Namikaze arrived using the Flying Thunder God Technique, this was the scene he saw!
Sasuke Uchiha...
Pushed Haruno Sakura away.