Head Still on Neck Isn't Death

Sasuke stared intently at Naruto in front of him.

Zabuza was so tall, Naruto looked utterly weak in comparison.

Yet, at this moment, Naruto was actually shielding him, facing the Kubikiribōchō head-on.

He was even about to cooperate with Kakashi-sensei to heavily wound Zabuza.

Was the gap between them really this large?

However, Naruto's expression remained serious, as did Kakashi's.

Poof!

The greatsword dissolved into a puddle of water as it hit the ground; it was just a Water Clone.

Immediately after, a four-meter-long vertical shadow materialized in the mist behind Kakashi.

Swish!

The mist churned, and the greatsword slashed down from above, splitting Kakashi in two.

The smugness in Zabuza's eyes lasted only a second, because the severed Kakashi also exploded into a pool of water.

A kunai emerged from behind his neck, piercing his throat.

"Don't move," Kakashi said coldly. "It's over."

"As expected of the Sharingan, you copied my Ninjutsu from the start and hid it."

Zabuza's gaze shifted to Naruto. "Kid, you've got some skill."

In his plan, only Kakashi could have dealt with his initial move.

Without this kid, his first strike would have been his Water Clone facing Kakashi.

Both were Water Clones with only one-tenth of their strength, so judging their power would have been easy.

But with Naruto's interference, and his successful block, his confrontation with Kakashi had become passive.

"I, the great Zabuza, won't be taken down so easily!"

As Kakashi plunged the kunai in, water indeed splashed onto the ground.

This was the way of ninja battles; all were illusions, all were mind games.

But two-tenths of his Chakra had been genuinely consumed, and Zabuza's first round was declared a failure.

He would hide in the shadows and plot again.

The mist thinned considerably.

As it thinned, Naruto, with a wild instinct, looked toward the lakeshore.

It was as if the noise in a room had suddenly quieted, replaced by a deep, guttural roar that pierced through the air.

Naruto raised his arm and pointed. "Over there."

Kakashi didn't move, but a few seconds later, fierce sounds of clashing metal erupted from the lakeshore.

The mist shook and cleared, revealing two figures standing on the lake's surface, exchanging rapid blows.

Strangely, their movements and rhythm were identical, as if they were two sides of a mirror.

Naruto watched the battle with great interest.

Sasuke, however, couldn't settle down to watch; he kept glancing at Naruto.

Finally, the two figures on the lake separated and froze.

Zabuza roared, "I don't believe..."

Kakashi: "I don't believe it!"

Veins bulged on Zabuza's forehead as his hands rapidly formed hand seals. "Un, Shin, Uo..."

"Un, Shin..." Kakashi echoed flawlessly. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The lake water surged upwards around them, coalescing into a thick, robust water dragon over thirty meters long.

"Roar~!"

The dragon heads faced each other, roaring as they collided from head to tail.

The intense impact sent leaves in the forest flying, and a hundred-meter-high water spout erupted from the lake. The booming sound made their eardrums throb.

Splashing water droplets hit Naruto like pebbles, but he still forced his eyes wide open, his arms sweeping them away like windshield wipers. "Is this Ninjutsu?"

He couldn't quite understand it, but it was happening right before his eyes.

This world had some kind of rules; by combining specific hand seals, which seemed to possess no inherent power, one could manipulate Chakra to unleash forces that defied physical logic.

If you were to describe it with a computer, it was like inputting code to create magnificent things.

Naruto was not a fool; he had the fortune to encounter two different power systems.

Identifying flaws, supplementing deficiencies, and combining the best of both was the true path.

Sasuke and Haruno Sakura had already retreated behind the trees, protecting Tazuna.

Staring at Naruto, who stood in the middle of the road, flailing his arms like a madman, Sasuke felt lost.

He had been trying so hard, the internal psychological pressure was suffocating, yet his own past had never broken the mold; it had all been by the book.

For example, at this moment, Naruto was willing to get injured just to watch. If Sasuke had heard about this instead of seeing it, he would have scornfully lectured about foolishness and quoted ninja principles.

But seeing it with his own eyes, what he felt was fervor. That fervor made the wound on his thigh burn and his heart pound.

To the left of the lake, Zabuza couldn't believe it. The advanced ninjutsu he had spent a year mastering was actually copied by Kakashi on the spot.

But he had already engaged in this battle, with no retreat possible. Only by unleashing a ninjutsu of higher difficulty, causing the opponent to fail in copying it, could he defeat and win.

He formed hand seals again, and again, at a speed that was dazzlingly fast, so fast that even Naruto couldn't see clearly.

But Kakashi was still copying, even faster than Zabuza!

Before he could even finish, Kakashi shouted, "Great Waterfall Technique!"

The surface of the lake spun at high speed around Kakashi, then surged upwards like a natural disaster, a tornado, carrying nearly half the lake's water and crashing ferociously towards Zabuza, who stood defensively with his sword.

The earth was plowed and cracked open, thick trees snapped in half one by one, some even uprooted.

Zabuza's chest caved in, and he spat out a massive amount of blood. His Kubikiribōchō was thrust vertically into the ground, cutting a long gash before stopping.

Kakashi stood on a tree, throwing shuriken that pinned Zabuza's limbs.

Zabuza stared with wide, disheveled eyes, "Why? Could you have predicted..."

Before he could finish, two steel needles shot from an unknown location, piercing his neck in a cross.

On a branch opposite Kakashi, a strange figure suddenly landed. They wore a haoori robe, a mouthless white mask, and their gender was unclear.

Kakashi jumped down, pressing two fingers to Zabuza's pulse. After confirming there was no heartbeat, he looked up at the strange figure.

The figure bowed, their voice also ambiguous, "Thank you very much. I have been looking for an opportunity to kill Zabuza."

Kakashi carefully observed the mask. "Are you a member of Kirigakure's pursuit squad?"

"That's right." The figure nodded, two thin braids swaying in front of their forehead. "Zabuza's body possesses secret characteristics of Kirigakure. We must destroy it with our own hands."

Kakashi understood. After all, if he died, his Sharingan would be leaked, and Konoha would definitely try their best to retrieve it.

Most importantly, he was about to collapse.

He didn't have the Uchiha clan's bloodline, and using the Sharingan put an immense burden on his body.

Although the person before him appeared young, their strength was definitely not weak. Compared to when he became a Jonin at twelve years old, they were probably not much different.

He forced himself to stand, waving his hand dismissively as he turned, "Then I'll leave him to you."

The figure thanked him again, then leaped to the ground. It was then that they noticed Naruto, mimicking Kakashi, pressing two fingers to the seventh vertebra behind Zabuza's neck.

They chuckled, "Checking for breathing isn't done here. Let me teach you..."

Pfft!

The head of the wide-eyed, unresigned man rolled off, blood gushing out like a spring, spreading into a pool.

Naruto flicked the blood from his fingers and said with an innocent smile, "I have a relative who taught me that as long as the head is still on the neck, it doesn't count as death."

The figure stood frozen like a specimen, time seeming to halt around them. Looking at the grotesque face in the pool of blood, their heart seemed to stop beating.

She grabbed Zabuza's wet, large arm. The cow-patterned sleeve was already half scarlet. She wrapped it around her shoulder, feeling the residual warmth.

Lifting Zabuza's corpse, carrying the head, she didn't linger on the warmth of the blood. She reattached the head to the neck and released ice to seal the joint.

Through the mask, she glanced at Kakashi, then looked at Naruto for a long moment, forming hand seals.

Wind rustled the leaves.

One person and one corpse vanished without a trace.