Once Zabuza had been bitten by the Eight Ninja Dogs, Kakashi had victory firmly in hand!
He approached unhurriedly, completely ignoring Zabuza's protests, and merely said flatly, "Zabuza, you've gotten a little too full of yourself. You just kept rambling on and on. I told you before—I saw your future. A... dead end!"
When he came within two meters, Kakashi suddenly frowned.
The Ninja Dogs biting Zabuza... one, two, three... there were only seven?
What was going on?
Where was Pakkun?!
Kakashi turned to look around and was shocked to find Pakkun standing right behind him, an unusually grave and wary expression on his dog face.
Ninja Dogs had extremely sharp noses. Even thick mist could not stop scents from spreading.
Zabuza cultivated the Silent Killing Technique, allowing him to perfectly conceal his body's scent. That was why Kakashi had deliberately let himself be struck by Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō, leaving behind his blood to give the Ninja Dogs a target.
But everyone else's scent...
Houka, standing in the distance, was a little slow to realize it.
I may have concealed my presence, but the smell on me...
Houka lowered his head and sniffed his sleeve. It carried the scent of Rose Hot Spring in Yugakure—damn, it smelled good.
"Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka..." As the only one among the Eight Ninja Dogs who could speak, Pakkun was having trouble getting the words out.
"What is it?!" Seeing the grave expression on Pakkun's dog face, a sense of foreboding immediately rose in Kakashi's heart.
Could it be that pressure he had sensed earlier...
Tap, tap...
Amid the faint sound of footsteps, Keiko, who had been standing nearby, suddenly made her move.
"No one is allowed to hurt Lord Zabuza!" Keiko cried as she charged forward.
But...
"You pretentious fool, stay obediently to the side!" The show-off