Sasuke was startled, but his body's instincts immediately made him comply.
He turned, his kunai fiercely stabbing towards the empty space.
"Clang!"
The crisp sound of metal colliding echoed through the mist.
Zabuza's figure flashed and disappeared, his single eye filled with horror.
How is that possible? How did he find me?
"Sakura, three o'clock direction at your feet, detonate." Naruto's command followed instantly.
Sakura didn't hesitate, immediately forming hand signs.
"Boom!"
The blast of air temporarily dispersed a small area of thick mist, revealing Zabuza's figure who had just dodged there.
Although it didn't injure him, it once again interrupted his assassination rhythm.
"You… what exactly are you?"
Zabuza's voice came from deep within the mist, tinged with a tremor for the first time.
Kakashi also looked at Naruto in shock.
Are you the teacher or am I the teacher?
The mist was the assassin's curtain, and also the prisoner's cage.
For the first time, Zabuza felt this thick mist, which he relied on for survival, had become so troublesome.
"Sasuke, five meters to your front right, three explosive tags, fan-shaped throw."
Sasuke's body reacted the moment he heard the command, and two completely opposite emotions, humiliation and excitement, violently clashed in his chest.
He swung his arm with the most standard posture, like a programmed puppet.
Three explosive tags tore through the white mist, flying in a 'product' shape towards the empty space.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The continuous explosions dispersed a small patch of mist, revealing Zabuza's figure dodging frantically.
The place where he had just landed was exactly the center of the explosion.
"Sakura, maintain vigilance."
Naruto's voice rang out again, leaving no room for anyone to think.
"If any Chakra fluctuation approaches Tazuna within ten meters, detonate the preset traps without asking for permission."
"Yes!"
Sakura's response was sharp and short; fear was tightly bound by a 鎖 called "discipline."
She was no longer the screaming girl; she was a sentinel, a living trap trigger.
Zabuza moved at high speed in the mist, like trapped prey.
His proud assassination technique seemed so ridiculous for the first time.
That young man with closed eyes was an invisible net.
"Interesting! Too interesting! Kakashi Hatake!"
Zabuza's laughter came from all directions, distorted to be inhuman by the thick mist.
"Where did you find such a monster?"
Kakashi's Sharingan was fixed on the afterimages of Chakra, but he was always a step too slow.
Naruto's perception surpassed sight.
"Sasuke, three meters behind you, Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, covering attack."
Sasuke's chest heaved violently, the depletion of Chakra making him dizzy.
But he still formed hand signs.
Clusters of small fireballs, like buckshot, sprayed into the thick mist behind him.
"Puff, puff, puff..."
The fireballs disappeared into the mist, without any sensation of hitting something.
"Naive!"
Zabuza's voice suddenly exploded in Sasuke's ear!
He passed through the gaps between the fireballs, and the huge kubikiribōchō chopped down directly!
The aura of death assailed him.
Sasuke's pupils contracted to pinpricks.
"Move half a step to the left, kunai upward slash, target, his wrist."
Naruto's command arrived almost simultaneously with Zabuza's attack.
No time to think, no time to judge.
Trust, or death.
Sasuke's body made its choice.
He instinctively took that tiny step to the left.
"Clang!"
The side of the kubikirōchō, almost grazing his nose, chopped down, smashing into the ground, sending gravel flying.
And the kunai in his hand precisely parried the opponent's sword-wielding hand.
The immense force made the web between his thumb and forefinger split, blood flowing down the hilt of the kunai.
But he survived.
Zabuza's figure, having missed its strike, immediately retreated, merging back into the thick mist.
"Did you see that, Uchiha brat."
His voice carried a hint of cruel mockery.
"Your pride, your bloodline, are worthless in front of that guy. You are just a knife in his hand, to be discarded when it dulls."
Sasuke's teeth gnashed together.
He couldn't refute it.
Because that feeling of being controlled was so clear.
But at the same time, the sense of security brought by the positive feedback after following instructions, again and again, was also incredibly reassuring.
Naruto's voice remained steady.
"Emotions are the greatest enemy in battle. Sasuke, adjust your breathing, your heart rate is too fast, your muscles are stiffening."
He wasn't comforting him; he was pointing out a mistake that needed to be corrected.
Kakashi's Sharingan had been locked on the battle.
He watched Naruto, like a battlefield commander, skillfully utilize Sasuke and Sakura, two "parts," to perfection. He watched the long-renowned Zabuza Momochi, like a moth caught in a spiderweb, every struggle appearing futile.
"Although they are completely different styles, I feel the same sense of security as with my teacher. How strange."
Kakashi's attention became more focused, and at the same time, he began to form hand signs rapidly.
Boar - Dog - Rooster - Monkey - Ram - Horse - Snake - Dragon - Rabbit - Tiger - Ox... Since the children were so capable, forcing Zabuza's work didn't require him to do it; he could fully focus on intercepting Zabuza.
Just then, he caught an opportunity.
Sasuke's next round of throws forced Zabuza to make a wide evasion to the left, causing him to briefly stiffen.
That's enough!
Kakashi no longer hesitated, his crimson Sharingan spinning rapidly, his hands beginning to form hand signs at an indiscernible speed.
Vast and surging Chakra gathered in front of him; the moisture in the air was frantically drawn away, forming a giant whirlpool.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
With this strike, he intended to completely end this battle and show his students that he, their teacher, was also very capable.
The immense current of water transformed into a roaring beast, breaking through the thick mist and smashing towards the briefly stiff figure.
However, just as the surging water was about to engulf Zabuza.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several thin metal needles, with sharp whistling sounds, shot out from the mist on the other side, faster than the water current.
Their aim was terrifyingly precise, all hitting vital points in Zabuza's neck.
"Ugh..."
Zabuza's body suddenly stiffened, a flicker of bewilderment in his eyes, and then his entire body, as if its bones had been removed, fell limply backward, the huge kubikirōchō slipping from his grasp and clanging to the ground.
The wave of water missed, crashing heavily onto the ground in the distance.
In the thick mist, a small figure quietly appeared.
The person wore the white mask of the Hidden Mist pursuit squad and silently landed beside Zabuza.
"Target confirmed, Hidden Mist rogue Ninja, Zabuza Momochi."
A clear voice, neither distinctly male nor female, rang out.
"Thank you for cornering him; this made my mission convenient."
Kakashi frowned. He stepped forward, vigilantly watching this suddenly appearing pursuit Ninja.
"You are... Hidden Mist Anbu?"
"Precisely."
The masked Ninja crouched down, extending two fingers to Zabuza's neck.
"Death confirmed."
Kakashi also walked over and confirmed it himself.
His pulse had stopped.
The flow of Chakra had also completely vanished.
Zabuza was dead.
"According to regulations, I must immediately dispose of this body."
The masked Ninja said, easily lifting Zabuza's tall body onto his shoulder.
"He has many secrets about the Hidden Mist Village in his mind, which must not fall into outsider hands."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flashed, and he disappeared with Zabuza's body into the gradually dispersing mist.
Everything was over.
So quickly that people couldn't react.
Sasuke could no longer stand, falling to one knee, breathing heavily.
Sakura also relaxed, her legs giving out, and she slumped beside Tazuna.
Only Naruto remained standing.
He slowly opened his eyes; in those blue pupils, there was no joy of victory, nor the relief of surviving a disaster.
Only a bottomless calm.
He walked to Kakashi's side and looked down at the puddle on the ground.
"Teacher."
He spoke.
"Pursuit squads usually prioritize destroying the brain and heart to ensure the target is completely dead."
"Not using senbon to create a state of feigned death."