When no word came from his two subordinates, Zabuza decided to go in person and bury the group in these woods.
Zabuza was already lying in ambush on a tree trunk, with his weapon, the broken Kubikiribōchō, beside him.
When Kakashi and the others arrived, Zabuza jumped straight down beside a nearby stream.
"Ninja art: Hidden Mist Technique."
The air filled with thick mist, which grew denser and denser until it shrouded the entire area for nearly a hundred meters around.
It was exactly like the Hidden Mist Technique Hozuki Mangetsu had used. As Kirigakure's most elite ninja, all of them were highly proficient in this method of assassination.
On the other side, Kakashi instantly noticed something was wrong and channeled his chakra to disperse a small patch of mist around himself.
"Do you really think that'll work?" Zabuza said disdainfully.
He then used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Naruto and the others. Obito and Sasuke spotted the enemy instantly, but just as they were about to warn the others, Zabuza's blade came chopping down.
Sakura did not even dare open her eyes, but unexpectedly, Kakashi suddenly appeared.
Kakashi drove a kunai into Zabuza's body, but not a single drop of blood came out. Instead, Zabuza's entire body turned to water and dispersed.
"A Water Clone?" Kakashi thought for a moment and understood.
He turned his head and found that Zabuza had appeared behind him.
"Die!" Zabuza swung the Kubikiribōchō at Kakashi.
The slash did not produce the result Zabuza had hoped for. Instead, he had struck a Water Clone as well.
"My Water Clone Technique? When did you..." Zabuza said in surprise.
But the back-and-forth between the two was not over. Taking advantage of Zabuza's distraction, Kakashi attacked him from behind once again.
Once again, he struck a Water Clone.
Naruto and the others watching from the side were speechless. Seriously, guys, are you two playing some kind of nesting-doll game here? One of you makes a Water Clone, then the other makes a Water Clone.
At least consider how we feel! You keep scaring me half to death here. No matter how strong my heart is, it can't take you putting it through this!
Kakashi and Zabuza, as if they had heard the group's thoughts, stopped using clones.
The two went straight into close combat, trading punches and kicks.
Zabuza seized an opening and kicked Kakashi flying. Kakashi used the momentum to dive into the water, and Zabuza picked up his blade and gave chase.
But Kakashi had been prepared and had scattered caltrops all over the ground.
"A pointless trick." Zabuza then turned and jumped into the water.
By jumping into the water, Kakashi had not escaped Zabuza's pursuit. Instead, the terrain had given Zabuza the advantage.
As a ninja of Kirigakure, Zabuza was most skilled in Water Release. Since Kakashi had walked into his trap, Zabuza certainly would not pass up this opportunity.
Kakashi felt the water growing heavier and heavier, nearly crushing the breath out of him. He hurriedly tried to get out of the water.
Little did he know, Zabuza had already begun forming hand seals on the water's surface.
"Snake, Ram, Horse, Rabbit, Ram, Horse, Rabbit, Water Prison Technique!" Once he finished the seals, the water closed around Kakashi and trapped him inside.
Who would have thought that even the battle-hardened Kakashi would one day make a mistake?
Seeing that Kakashi could not escape the water prison for the time being, Zabuza left a Water Clone to keep watch and went to deal with the brats himself.
Obito was arguably the most nervous of them all. Through his Sharingan, he had seen that Kakashi had been trapped by Zabuza, who would surely come after the rest of them next.
After surviving the assassination attempt by the two Chunin, Naruto had forced himself to be braver. He picked up a kunai and attacked the approaching Zabuza.
"Brats like you don't deserve to call yourselves ninja," Zabuza said, watching Naruto charge at him.
Then, with astonishing speed, he sent Naruto flying several meters with a single blow.
"Naruto! Damn it!" Seeing Naruto sent flying, Sasuke hurled several kunai in quick succession, but Zabuza easily knocked them all away with a sweep of his blade.
Sasuke took the opportunity to attack Zabuza from above, intending to hit him with a Lion Combo, but Zabuza simply reached out and seized him by the throat.
To be fair, this was called punching Konoha's Sixth, kicking the Seventh, and holding Sasuke, the strongest of the Uchiha Clan, in one hand. What would you call that?
Think about when a scene like this had ever happened. It had only happened during the battle against Kaguya.
I, Zabuza, have something to say too. The Sixth Hokage, the Seventh Hokage, the last Uchiha, and the Sannin's successor joined forces against me. Sorry, but it was fifty-fifty. The second time, they faced Kaguya, and it was fifty-fifty then too. Therefore, I, Zabuza, equal Six Paths Kaguya.
With Zabuza gripping his throat fiercely, Sasuke could only struggle desperately.
Seeing this, Zabuza flung Sasuke away and then kicked him.
Sasuke took the blow and spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Obito had also reached Zabuza's back by then and wanted to use Fire Style to drive him away. But Zabuza gave him no chance. After a feint, he drew the Kubikiribōchō and chopped down.
Obito could not dodge in time and was knocked several meters back by the shock wave.
Seeing Sasuke under Zabuza's foot, Naruto felt anger surge within him.
"Ninjutsu: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
More than a hundred Narutos appeared and charged together with kunai in hand, surrounding Zabuza so tightly that nothing could get through. But before long, all of them were sent flying by the Kubikiribōchō.
Naruto took the opportunity to pull a Fūma Shuriken from his pack and shout:
"Obito, catch!"
Obito caught the Fūma Shuriken, but the instant he got hold of it, he sensed something was wrong with the shuriken. He immediately understood Naruto's plan.
He aimed the Fūma Shuriken in his hand and threw it.
But as far as Zabuza could tell, it had no chance of hitting him. He simply turned his head and let Obito's attack pass.
Yet after passing Zabuza, the Fūma Shuriken did not stop. It continued flying straight toward the rear.
Only then did Zabuza suddenly realize something was wrong. The shuriken flew beside the Shadow Clone he had left at the water prison, and the Fūma Shuriken suddenly transformed into Naruto.
It turned out that after Naruto's clone was sent flying by Zabuza, it had taken the opportunity to transform into a shuriken. Then, with Obito's help, it had reached the water prison and destroyed the Water Clone with a few shuriken.
Without the Water Clone holding it in place, the Water Prison Technique collapsed on its own.
Kakashi instantly appeared beside Sasuke and rescued him. Then he suddenly turned back and looked at Zabuza, his face full of killing intent.