Lava Release

Zabuza lay fallen and motionless, while the masked Haku stood beside him, calmly watching Kakashi and the three members of Team Seven.

"I am a Kirigakure tracker ninja, responsible for retrieving rogue ninja from Kirigakure." Haku's voice was cold, his words concise.

The milky-white fog still gathered around the forest, showing no sign of dispersing. Moisture condensed on the treetops and dripped onto the grass with a soft patter.

Even Kakashi could not quite discern the background of this masked youth who called himself a tracker ninja. Team Seven was even more tense, every muscle drawn tight as they prepared to fight at any moment.

Kakashi said nothing. He merely stepped forward and checked Zabuza's breathing, only relaxing after confirming that it had stopped. Since the man was already dead, it was only proper to return the body to Kirigakure.

"Kakashi-sensei, is he dead?" Naruto suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, pointing at the motionless Zabuza on the ground with an innocent expression.

Haku showed no reaction as he stood to the side, his gaze beneath the mask sweeping across Naruto's face.

"Yeah, he's dead." Konohagakure's number one technician, Kakashi, answered perfunctorily. "He was hit by my Water Dragon Bullet, and his throat was struck by this tracker ninja's Steel Needle. He probably died from that."

At that moment, Naruto seriously suspected that Kakashi had already seen through Zabuza's feigned death and intended to let him off.

It was understandable, really. The forty-four hand seals required for the Water Dragon Bullet Technique had drained too much of Kakashi's stamina. It was reasonable that Kakashi did not want to risk getting entangled with him, but still!

Damn it! An Elite Jonin with no instinct to finish the job?

Naruto decided to teach the innocent Konohagakure's number one water king, Kakashi, a lesson and show him the prowess of Konohagakure's number one badass. Pah, no, Konohagakure's number one ruthless man.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei. Why is this guy still moving if he's dead?" Naruto said, pointing at Demon of the Hidden Mist Zabuza, who was lying on the ground in a state of feigned death.

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

"He's already dead." Haku, who had been pretending to be aloof, could not hold back any longer and refuted him. "Little brother, you must have seen wrong."

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

After saying that, Haku could not help but grow nervous beneath his mask. Fortunately, the mask concealed his expression, so he did not give himself away.

Zabuza had found it difficult to withstand the successive attacks of Team Seven's three boys and one girl, so he had resorted to their prearranged plan of faking his death to escape.

Haku had arrived as promised and thought everything would go smoothly, only for a blond brat to appear out of nowhere.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, then at Haku, before finally letting his gaze settle on the motionless Zabuza.

"In that case, allow me to verify whether Zabuza is truly dead."

"Of course," Haku replied.

Kakashi reached out, slowly extending his hand toward Zabuza's neck. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Kakashi's hand, while Sakura and Sasuke instinctively held their breath.

Lava Release

Naruto, standing beside Kakashi, suddenly sprang into action. A massive amount of chakra surged from within him, and his eyes instantly turned scarlet.

Scorching magma poured from Naruto's hand, and the blazing heat instantly evaporated the white fog surrounding them.

Just as Naruto hurled the magma in his hand at Zabuza, who was feigning death on the ground, Haku's face changed dramatically. He lunged toward Zabuza.

Haku's right hand was instantly charred black by the high-temperature Lava Release, but he still managed to save Zabuza, swiftly pulling the Steel Needle from his neck with his left hand.

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

"Zabuza-san, I failed." Haku apologized to Zabuza, his face not twisting in the slightest despite the excruciating pain in his right hand.

It was as though that right hand did not belong to him at all, but to someone else.

After speaking, Haku formed hand seals with one hand and left with Zabuza in a gust of wind, like a carefree wind swordsman.

This escape technique had much in common with fleeing through smoke. Naruto understood it, but he could not learn it.

Kakashi watched Zabuza and Haku leave the entire time, then collapsed unconscious three seconds later.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura hurried forward to check on him.

"He probably used up all his chakra." Naruto copied Kakashi's earlier method of checking Zabuza's breathing, waving a hand in front of Kakashi's nose before speaking calmly.

Kakashi lay on the ground, already asleep like a baby. Fortunately, his breathing was steady. He had indeed merely fainted.

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

He had just tried forming hand seals with one hand, but failed. The hand left outside his pocket fidgeted uneasily before he grabbed Kakashi, placing one of Kakashi's arms over his shoulder.

Naruto naturally took Kakashi's other arm and placed it over his own shoulder, and together they supported Kakashi between them.

"The village is right ahead. Take him to my house," Tazuna, the target they were protecting, suggested.

After discussing it briefly, the three members of Team Seven agreed.

Inside Tazuna's home.

The three placed Kakashi in a clean room. A quilt had been spread over the tatami mats, and Sakura tucked it around Kakashi with a worried expression.

When she stepped outside, Naruto and Sasuke were already waiting for her in the hallway.

When Sakura met Naruto's gaze, she nodded in understanding without speaking and followed them.

The three walked a short distance outside the house. The area had an open view, making it easier to spot enemies, and no one else would overhear them talking.

"How is Kakashi?" Sasuke asked coldly.

Sakura looked exhausted. She shook her head worriedly and said,

"He only fainted from exhaustion. He should be fine."

"Until Kakashi-sensei wakes up, we can't let our guard down," Naruto said. "As long as the enemy still has breath left, they can come kill us at any time."

"Who were those people?" Sakura was clearly flustered. After all, it was her first time facing a real life-or-death battle between ninja.

"Rogue ninja from Kirigakure." Sasuke was somewhat calmer as he spoke evenly. "What concerns me is Zabuza's killing intent. He's as strong as Kakashi."

"And that masked person can form hand seals with one hand. We have to watch out for that move if we face him again."

"Then we'll kill them next time." Naruto raised his hand and made a slicing gesture. "That masked ninja's right hand is already ruined."

"We have to complete the mission, but Kakashi-sensei can't fight in his current state. While we have the chance, I want to ask you two something."

At that, Naruto lowered his voice considerably.

"This mission should have ended here. We already brought that old drunkard back. But if we don't take advantage of those two being injured and kill them, they'll remain a threat to us."

"I have a way to kill those two Kirigakure rogue ninja before Kakashi-sensei wakes up."