Haku, Fighting Two

"Lord Zabuza, are you all right?" Haku, wearing a mask, flashed to Zabuza's side and asked with concern.

"Hmph, two little brats aren't enough to hurt me." Zabuza replied stiffly, then fixed Kyosuke and Sasuke with a murderous gaze.

"Haku showed up this early? This just got troublesome." Kyosuke frowned and subconsciously glanced at Sasuke.

He was considering whether Sasuke, at his current strength, could hold Haku off alone.

After all, Kakashi was truly weak beyond belief right now—well deserving of his Hatake Fifty-Fifty reputation.

If he slipped up and got killed by Zabuza, things would get very interesting.

So, Kyosuke wanted to use long-range Ninjutsu to coordinate with him and take down Zabuza first, then deal with Haku.

But Sasuke was another concern, and for a moment, he fell completely into hesitation.

Just then, Kakashi finally emerged from the water.

At the same time, because of Kyosuke and Sasuke's interference, he had not been trapped by the Water Prison Jutsu as he had in the original story.

That was a blessing in disguise.

Otherwise, was Kyosuke supposed to copy Naruto's classic tactic again to rescue him?

Haku, standing nearby, probably would not have given them that chance.

Just as Kyosuke was growing frustrated, Kakashi suddenly spoke. "Leave Zabuza to me. I'll deal with him as quickly as possible."

What he meant was that the two of them needed to hold on for as long as possible until he could come support them.

Kyosuke secretly curled his lip. After exchanging a glance with Sasuke, they charged toward Haku at the same time.

"Hmph, you want to deal with me? I'm afraid you don't have what it takes." Zabuza snorted coldly, then ordered Haku, "Go kill those two brats."

Haku turned to look at the two approaching figures. When his eyes fell especially on the young-looking Kyosuke, he hesitated before replying, "Yes, Lord Zabuza."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and threw a cluster of slender senbon needles toward Kyosuke and Sasuke.

However, Haku's senbon-throwing technique was still slightly inferior to Kyosuke's.

"Clink~ Clink~ Clink~"

Every senbon Haku threw was blocked by Kyosuke's Shuriken.

At the same time, Sasuke, with his Sharingan activated, had already rushed in front of Haku.

Compared to several days ago, Sasuke's speed had improved greatly.

It was even no slower than Haku's movement speed in his normal state.

But when it came to combat experience, Sasuke was still far too inexperienced.

Even with the Dynamic Vision boost from his Sharingan, he could only barely force Haku back.

"If you leave now, I can spare your lives," Haku said coldly to the two of them.

"Hmph, arrogant." Sasuke snorted and charged at Haku again.

At the same time, Kyosuke's second wave of Shuriken attacks arrived around Haku.

Despite the seemingly extremely dangerous situation, Haku remained calm and composed.

His hands formed seals rapidly, and an ice wall instantly appeared around him, successfully blocking Kyosuke's Shuriken.

"Ice Style: Ice Rock Dome no Jutsu."

Without pausing in the slightest, he suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Sasuke's incoming fist.

Just as Sasuke was preparing to press his advantage in close combat, he suddenly discovered that the Masked Man before him was forming seals with only one hand.

A few quick seals flashed past in an instant, and then Haku heavily stomped on the ground.

At first, Sasuke did not understand what he intended to do. But when he saw the splashing water turn into ice senbon one after another, his eyes widened in terror.

"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death."

At that critical moment, the tomoe in Sasuke's eyes began spinning madly.

He pushed his Sharingan's insight to nearly its limit, all to avoid being struck in any vital spots.

But just as he moved, he stopped again. He realized that even if he did not dodge at all, none of the senbon were aimed at his vital areas.

Without time to think about why, Sasuke could only struggle free of Haku's grip before swiftly retreating.

Though the exchanges just now had seemed to last a long time, only a few seconds had actually passed.

Only then did Kyosuke finally arrive late.

There was no helping it. With his current speed stat and his short little legs, this was as fast as he could run.

After all, both Haku and Sasuke were ninjas known for their speed. It was only natural that he could not catch up to them.

But Kyosuke was not a ninja who specialized in close combat. What he truly excelled at was fighting from medium and long range.

While running, Kyosuke rapidly formed seals with both hands, then suddenly made a punching motion.

Just as Haku was wondering what he was doing, the boy's arm suddenly extended and shot toward him in a rapid punch.

Startled, Haku could only raise his hand and throw several senbon, hoping to force the boy's attack back.

But the arm Kyosuke had extended, from the wrist all the way to the fist, suddenly turned pitch-black.

After knocking away every incoming senbon, it continued onward without losing momentum, charging straight at Haku.

In the end, it struck Haku squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward with blood spraying from his mouth.

What Kyosuke had used was a simple combination Ninjutsu.

"Soft Body Modification" combined with "Earth Style: Earth Spear."

This "Earth Style: Earth Spear" was the body-hardening Ninjutsu Kakuzu had used in the original story.

Kyosuke had stumbled upon it while going through the Ninjutsu Orochimaru had collected, and successfully learned it.

Now, it seemed this technique was quite practical.

At the very least, it was far more effective than simply stretching out his arm to attack an enemy.

By then, Sasuke had also regained his composure and stepped forward again to stand beside Kyosuke.

In the distance, Haku got back to his feet and silently watched the two of them.

"Since that's the case, don't blame me," he said calmly, glancing from the corner of his eye at Zabuza, who was still locked in fierce combat.

The moment he finished speaking, a powerful surge of Chakra erupted from his body.

At the same time, the pooled water around Kyosuke and Sasuke began to tremble slightly as Haku exerted his power.

Not good. Kyosuke cried out inwardly and immediately began forming hand seals.

With his speed, there was no way he could outrun it, so he could only try his best to stop Haku.

Kyosuke completed several simple seals almost instantly.

Then, puffing out his cheeks, he forcefully spat a massive fireball toward Haku.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."

Boom.

Kyosuke's full-powered fireball accurately struck Haku's position.

Yet there was not the slightest hint of joy on his face.

Because countless ice mirrors had already risen around him and Sasuke.

"Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals."