As the final match of the second round—and a battle between Hidden Mist Village and Konoha ninja—Kakashi and Zabuza's fight drew considerable attention.
If Zabuza won, the final four would be evenly split between Hidden Mist Village and Konoha. If Kakashi won, Kisame Hoshigaki would be the only Hidden Mist Village ninja in the final four, with the rest all being Konoha ninja.
Naturally, Hidden Mist Village wanted Zabuza to win. Otherwise, it would be bad for their pride. If Kisame lost in the final four and the finals became an internal Konoha battle, that would look even worse. As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, they cared about their reputation too.
Of course, to those familiar with Kakashi and Zabuza—or those with sharp enough eyes—this was a fight with no suspense.
"How could he possibly win? He lost to that guy a month ago." Kurosawa figured Zabuza would be joining him in the stands within minutes.
Zabuza did not bother guessing what the spectators were thinking. He had never been the kind of person to deliberately cater to others' expectations.
Looking at Kakashi's calm, composed expression, Zabuza could not help but think back to a month ago.
Against a formidable enemy like Akutami Hideyuki, Kakashi's team had truly refused to abandon one another. Every one of them had fought beyond their limits.
Even after Kakashi had lost the strength to run, he had still chosen to step forward to help his teammates, swinging a blade Zabuza still could not comprehend.
Zabuza truly did not understand. Kakashi had clearly looked so weak that even walking seemed to require every ounce of his strength, yet that same frail Kakashi had killed Akutami Hideyuki in a single strike.
Zabuza felt that he might never understand Kakashi's power, because he simply could