Ice Mirror, Severed Arm

[Little Jade, how many minutes are left?]

[One minute!]

[Alright, then let's save the rest...] Wu Yu said inwardly. [Release it.]

The deep crimson Sage Face Markings across his forehead and around his eyes swiftly faded away. His elf-like ears shrank back to human length, while the remaining Jade Rabbit Immortal Power in his meridians ebbed like a receding tide, retreating into the seal that had long since been fully unlocked.

"Be careful, Kakashi. You should be able to smell it, right? It's the one who's been lurking nearby—probably Zabuza's companion, here to support him."

As Wu Yu spoke, he glanced to the side. Kakashi, whom he had been able to see just moments ago, had now vanished completely. All Wu Yu could see was an endless expanse of white.

From within that white haze came Kakashi's faint response. "Yeah, I know. But... the moisture in the air is too heavy now. I can't smell... their scent anymore..."

Though he was clearly close by, Kakashi's voice sounded as though it came through layer upon layer of curtains—near and far at once, as if he were speaking through stacks of wet towels.

[Little Jade.]

[Yeah! Two steps left, one step forward, then reach out.]

Following Jade Rabbit's directions, Wu Yu found Kakashi's arm. The latter's muscles tensed for an instant before quickly relaxing.

Looking down, Wu Yu found that even at this distance, he could only see the arm he was holding. Forget Kakashi's masked face—he could barely make out his neck and shoulders.

At this rate, they would probably have to hug face-to-face just to see each other clearly.

But that was impossible.

Wu Yu patted Kakashi on the shoulder and gestured twice. In the blank white air, it seemed as though only Kakashi's two hands were floating there, returning an "Okay, I'll follow you" gesture.

"The Shadow Clone I left with Sasuke and the others should be able to keep Jade Rabbit Mode up for another half minute..."

As Wu Yu followed Jade Rabbit's directions through the dense mist, feeling his way along the direction in which the enemy's two Chakra signatures had departed, he thought, Zabuza's badly injured. Haku should give up on continuing the fight...

Though he trusted Jade Rabbit, being in a state where he was almost completely blind still made Wu Yu uneasy.

All he could do was hold it together!

With a Kunai held horizontally in one hand, Wu Yu quietly probed ahead through the silent, dense mist. Just as he began to suspect the fog would blind him for good, Kakashi Hatake grabbed his shoulder from behind and yanked him back.

Kakashi himself slashed forward with his Kunai.

Clang!

Within the pitch-black mist, Kunai collided with Kunai, metal striking metal.

Even though it happened right before him, Wu Yu saw only Kakashi's shadow flicker. He simply formed seals with both hands at high speed, let Jade Rabbit fine-tune his aim, and opened his mouth to spit—

Water Release: Water Bullet!

More than half of his Stamina and Chakra Reserves 2 Chakra was drained in one go.

Damn! I forgot I'm using my own Chakra now!

The violent Water Bullet did not disperse the mist. The dense fog merely churned violently for a moment before settling once more. Wu Yu vaguely heard that the other side seemed to have used Water Release as well, cancelling out his Water Bullet?

That made sense. Haku's Ice Release was wind plus water. He might not have learned Wind Release techniques, but there was no way Zabuza wouldn't have taught him Water Release...

As Wu Yu thought that, the fog seemed to grow piercingly cold.

[This way?] Wu Yu took out a Shuriken and gestured toward the completely invisible space ahead.

[Two centimeters to the left!]

Wu Yu adjusted his angle and flicked out the Shuriken.

Clink! Clink!...

The same trick again—the other side had thrown Shuriken too... No, did they have x-ray vision or something??

"I thought the Hiding in Mist Technique didn't distinguish friend from foe? Zabuza only relied on his hearing and assassination experience to judge positions, right?? Did Haku activate something??"

[Wu Yu, the Chakra ahead is a little strange...]

[What's strange about it?]

As Wu Yu continued communicating with Jade Rabbit, he cautiously felt his way forward... Then, with a thud, he suddenly ran into Kakashi's back.

In the mist so thick that they could not see their own hands, the three members of Team Seven were all wound tight.

If Wu Yu's Shadow Clone had not been beside them, telling them that the enemy's Chakra had long since moved away, they truly did not know whether they could have endured such a hair-raising environment. The oppressive mist and suffocating atmosphere were frightening enough to make them forget how to breathe.

At last, the dense mist gradually dispersed...

Tazuna nervously looked around. Sure enough, the enemy was gone. He let out a long breath, collapsed onto the ground, and frantically wiped away his cold sweat with a towel.

"What's that?"

Once the fog thinned and visibility improved, Naruto Uzumaki quickly noticed the strange sight in the distance, just like the other two—a warm beam of sunlight shone into the coastal forest after the mist had cleared, yet bent at an impossible angle in midair, faintly reflecting a rainbow.

"Is that... ice?"

"A wall of ice?"

Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno stared in astonishment at the enormous, crystal-clear ice wall that stood on the ground. Wu Yu's original body and Kakashi Hatake were standing beneath that towering wall of ice, examining it at close range.

"So the original body had been outsmarting the air for half the day?"

Wu Yu's shadow clone merely glanced at it and was somewhat speechless as well.

He shook his head and walked straight toward the Severed Arm he had spotted on the ground earlier.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two Shuriken flew toward the towering ice wall.

From within the ice wall, two identical Shuriken flew out and collided with the ones Wu Yu had thrown in midair.

Wu Yu charged at the ice wall and unleashed a Konoha Whirlwind kick. Another identical Wu Yu rushed out from within the ice wall and delivered the same Konoha Whirlwind kick—Thud!

The fake Wu Yu that flew out of the Ice Mirror was sent tumbling through the air by the kick, spinning as it crashed to the ground and turned into shattered ice.

"Hmph. Even at Physical Strength 2, there are differences." Wu Yu dusted off his sleeve.

"Was that really worth showing off over?" A bead of sweat appeared behind Kakashi Hatake's head.

He studied the ice wall before him. "I've heard that Kirigakure has a Water Mirror Technique. The person reflected on the water's surface can counterattack with one hundred percent of the original's power... This ice wall should operate on the same principle, but its power clearly hasn't reached the level of perfectly replicating techniques."

"Kakashi-sensei, why was the mist so thick just now?! I couldn't see anything or hear anything—it scared me to death!" Naruto Uzumaki shouted as he walked over.

Kakashi Hatake explained, "With the Hiding in Mist Technique, one only needs to continuously increase the amount of Chakra being gathered to make the mist denser and denser. However, in order not to hinder their own movements, users normally won't increase the mist's density without limit..."

Wu Yu said, "The doubled mist and the ice wall were both just smokescreens to cover their retreat." As expected of the Snow Country Boy whom even Kakashi praised so highly—his Ninjutsu Proficiency was truly impressive!

"Here." As Wu Yu's shadow clone approached, he casually tossed something over.

Sakura Haruno caught it and discovered that it was a bloody Severed Arm. She screamed in fright, "Aah!!"

Her hand trembled, and she flung Zabuza's Severed Arm away. It landed on Naruto's head with a plop, then fell into his arms. "..." Naruto's face turned green as he flung it at Sasuke's face at light speed. Smack.

Sasuke's expression was so foul that Wu Yu suspected he was about to awaken the Mangekyo on the spot...

Wu Yu was the last to take Zabuza's Severed Arm. Without changing expression, he collected the silver, gold, black, and pink strands of hair stuck to various parts of the arm.