Lava Style

Zabuza collapsed, unable to get up. Haku, wearing a mask, stood by his side, calmly observing Kakashi and the three members of Team Seven.

"I am a pursuer ninja from the Mist Village, responsible for retrieving rogue ninja from the Mist Village," Haku's voice was cold, and his words were concise.

The thick, milky white fog still gathered near the forest, showing no signs of dissipating. Dewdrops on the treetops condensed into water and fell onto the grass with a pat.

Even Kakashi couldn't quite figure out the background of this masked youth who claimed to be a pursuer ninja. Team Seven's muscles were tensed, ready to act at any moment.

Kakashi remained silent, walking forward to check Zabuza's breathing. Finding that it had stopped, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Since the man was dead, returning his body to the Mist Village was only right.

"Teacher Kakashi, is he dead?" Naruto suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, pointing at the motionless Zabuza on the ground and asking with naive innocence.

Haku stood by, showing no reaction, his gaze behind the mask sweeping over Naruto's face.

"Ah, he's dead," Kakashi, Konoha's number one technician, replied perfunctorily. "He was just hit by my Water Dragon Bullet, and his throat was pierced by this pursuer ninja's steel needle. He's probably dead like this."

At this moment, Naruto seriously suspected that Kakashi had seen through Zabuza's feigned death and was planning to go easy on him.

He could understand it, though. The Water Dragon Bullet jutsu, requiring forty-four hand seals, had consumed too much of Kakashi's stamina. It was understandable that Kakashi didn't want to risk further entanglement, but!

Damn it! As an Elite Jonin, did he really have no sense for finishing the job?

Naruto intended to teach the naive Konoha's number one water style user, Kakashi, a lesson, to let him know the power of Konoha's number one… no, wait, Konoha's number one ruthless person.

"Hey, hey, Teacher Kakashi, look, if this person is dead, why is he still moving?" Naruto pointed at the Ghost Zabuza, who was in a state of feigned death on the ground, and said.

"What?" Kakashi's gaze immediately turned serious.

"He's already dead," Haku, who had been maintaining a cool facade, couldn't help but retort. "Little brother, you must have seen wrong."

"This person is a rogue ninja from the Mist Village, and his body contains the village's secrets. Please allow me to take his body back to the village."

After saying this, Haku, hidden behind his mask, couldn't help but feel nervous. Fortunately, the mask covered his face, so he didn't reveal himself.

Zabuza had found it difficult to cope with the relentless attacks from Team Seven, a group of three boys and one girl from Konoha, which led him to plan a feigned death to escape.

Haku arrived as planned, expecting everything to go smoothly, but he never anticipated a certain blonde brat appearing out of nowhere.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, then at Haku, and finally his gaze settled on the motionless Zabuza.

"In that case, please allow me to verify Zabuza's life or death."

"You may," Haku replied.

Kakashi extended his hand, slowly reaching towards Zabuza's neck. Everyone's eyes were focused on Kakashi's hand, Sakura and Sasuke instinctively held their breath.

[Lava Style]

Naruto, standing beside Kakashi, suddenly exploded into action. A large amount of chakra surged from within him, his eyes instantly turning scarlet.

Scorching lava erupted from Naruto's hand, and the intense heat instantly vaporized the white mist surrounding them.

Seeing Naruto throw a hand full of lava at the feigning-death Zabuza on the ground, Haku, standing beside him, turned pale with shock and lunged towards Zabuza.

Haku's right hand was scorched black by the intense heat of the Lava Style, but he managed to save Zabuza, skillfully pulling the steel needle from his neck with his left hand.

Zabuza's eyes snapped open, and he instantly came back to life.

"Mr. Zabuza, I failed," Haku said apologetically to Zabuza, his expression not contorting in pain despite the immense agony in his right hand.

It was as if his right hand didn't belong to him, but to someone else.

With that, Haku formed a hand seal and, with Zabuza, they left like a pair of happy wanderers amidst a gust of wind.

This escape ninjutsu was quite similar to disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto understood it, but couldn't replicate it.

Kakashi watched Zabuza and Haku leave the entire time. Three seconds later, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Teacher Kakashi!" Sakura rushed forward to check on him.

"He probably ran out of chakra," Naruto, mimicking Kakashi's previous action of checking Zabuza's breathing, waved his hand in front of Kakashi's nose and said calmly.

Kakashi on the ground had fallen into an infant-like sleep. Fortunately, his breathing was steady; he had indeed fainted.

"This isn't a good place to talk. Let's take him back first," Sasuke said, one hand in his pocket.

He had just tried to form a hand seal with one hand but failed. The hand left outside his pocket trembled restlessly, so he pulled Kakashi's arm over his shoulder.

Naruto also casually took the other arm and placed it on his shoulder, lifting Kakashi up between them.

"The village is just ahead. Let's take him to my house," suggested Tazuna, the person being protected.

After a brief discussion, the three members of Team Seven agreed.

At Tazuna's house.

The three of them placed Kakashi in a clean room. A futon was laid out on the tatami mat, and Sakura, her face filled with worry, tucked Kakashi in.

When she walked out, Naruto and Sasuke were already waiting for her in the hallway.

Seeing Naruto's gaze, Sakura nodded tacitly, said nothing, and followed them.

The three walked a short distance outside the house, to a spot with a clear view where they could detect enemies and speak without being overheard.

"How is Kakashi?" Sasuke asked with a cold expression.

Sakura, her face showing fatigue, shook her head with concern.

"He just fainted from exhaustion. There shouldn't be any major problems."

"We can't let our guard down until Teacher Kakashi wakes up," Naruto said. "As long as the enemy is still breathing, they could attack at any moment."

"Who are those people?" Sakura asked, clearly flustered. It was her first real battle against ninja where lives were on the line.

"Rogue ninja from the Mist Village," Sasuke replied calmly. "What worries me is Zabuza's killing intent. He's as strong as Kakashi."

"And that masked ninja can perform hand seals with just one hand. We'll have to watch out for that move if we face him again."

"Then next time, we'll kill them," Naruto declared, raising his hand and making a slicing motion. "That masked ninja's right hand is already useless."

"We must complete the mission. Teacher Kakashi can't fight in his current state. While we have this chance, I want to ask you both something."

Naruto's voice dropped considerably as he said this.

"This mission should have ended here. We already brought that old drunkard back. But if we don't take the opportunity to kill those two while they're injured, they'll remain a threat to us."

"I have a plan to kill those two rogue ninja from the Mist Village before Teacher Kakashi wakes up."