Ice Shield · Demonic Mirror Ice Crystal

Zabuza and Kakashi remained locked in a stalemate in the distance.

Haku, eager to complete the mission as quickly as possible, finally unleashed a ruthless attack on Naruto.

Dozens of ice needles, each the length of a forearm, whistled through the air with a terrifying sound as they shot toward Naruto, who was still standing there with a silly grin on his face.

But just as the ice needles passed through Naruto's body—

Bang!

Naruto's form vanished instantly in a puff of white smoke, dissipating into nothingness.

"What!"

"This was a shadow clone too!..."

Seeing this, Haku was struck with alarm.

But before she could recover from the shock, several more Naruto clones had already silently charged at her from behind.

"Hey! Surprised? Didn't see that coming, did you?"

The shout was filled with mockery.

Haku had only just turned toward the sound when several kicks landed squarely on her, sending her flying!

Clang!

Zabuza exerted a burst of strength with his Kubikiribōchō.

In an instant, the two who had been deadlocked a moment before broke apart.

"Damn it..."

Glancing sideways, he saw Haku's body tumbling helplessly like a fallen leaf on the water.

Zabuza lost his patience.

Taking advantage of the moment he was separated from Kakashi, he shouted toward her:

"Haku, stop wasting time! Use your trump card!"

"If we drag this out any longer, it'll be trouble once that brat returns!..."

Supporting herself with her Lotus Root Arm, Haku slowly stood up with her petite frame.

She adjusted the mask on her face and turned to Naruto, saying:

"So, you're just a brat who likes to Disguise Pig to Eat Tiger."

"If your chakra reserves weren't so low, I might have actually been defeated by you?..."

Hearing this, Naruto gave a chuunibyou grin:

"Heh, even though you're strong, I, Naruto, am the man who will become Hokage."

"How could I be as pathetic as you say?..."

Haku nodded gently at his words:

"Very well. In that case, I won't hold back anymore."

"You had better be careful, or you might just lose your life, you know?..."

Seemingly restored to the elegance she possessed while wearing her kimono, Haku responded in a playful tone.

"Ah, this..."

Naruto was slightly taken aback by these words.

To be honest, this was his first time fighting a girl.

If the mission hadn't required it, he would have preferred to fake being sick...

In the split second that Naruto stood there dazed, Haku rapidly cycled through a series of hand seals.

Immediately following, a thunderous roar echoed out.

Centered on Naruto, eight ice walls resembling the surface of a lake slowly rose, trapping him firmly within!

Like a trapped beast, before Naruto could even react, he had suddenly become a bird in a cage.

If Neji were here, he would surely call this a masterclass...

"This..."

Naruto was bewildered.

Trapped inside, the walls acted like prisms, reflecting his own image in every direction.

With truth and illusion blurred, he felt a sudden, surreal sense of unreality.

At some point, the boundary between reality and the world within the mirrors seemed to gradually blur.

This caused Naruto to have an illusion in certain moments.

That was, that he himself was the one belonging to this world of ice.

And that the shadow in the ice world was the real him.

"Th-this is... this is actually a Kekkei Genkai!..."

Watching from afar, when Kakashi saw the eight ice mirrors not far away clearly.

His pupils suddenly constricted!

His voice was quite loud, and even Sakura and Tazuna in the distance heard it clearly.

"Kakashi-sensei, what exactly is that? And what is a Kekkei Genkai?..."

When Kakashi was teaching them about Chakra Control in the forest earlier, he had mentioned it in passing.

But at the time, he had only glossed over it without going into detail.

Now, several days later, hearing about this training system that stood above the five basic chakra natures again.

Sakura asked almost subconsciously.

She even momentarily forgot about the critical situation at hand.

"A Kekkei Genkai is a powerful inherited ability."

"Just like my Sharingan, one or even several special abilities will awaken randomly."

"I didn't expect that this girl, who is about the same age as Sasuke, would actually be a ninja possessing a Kekkei Genkai?"

"Looking at this, it should be the Ice Shield Kekkei Genkai, a fusion of wind and water chakra..."

"To encounter a ninja with such a rare Kekkei Genkai in a small place like this is truly rare..."

His tone was grave.

It was less like he was explaining it to Sakura.

And more like he was saying it intentionally for himself and the excited Zabuza nearby.

"Hahaha..."

"As expected of an elite Jonin of Konoha, your insight is truly extraordinary."

Zabuza carried the Kubikiribōchō on his shoulder, laughing wantonly.

As both were of elite Jonin level, his side had the upper hand, and he was naturally extremely proud.

Kakashi, however, did not care about Zabuza's mockery.

Instead, after pondering for a long time, he looked at Zabuza again and spoke slowly:

"Zabuza, you and I both know how difficult it is to reach the level of an elite Jonin."

"Now, you have an additional Kekkei Genkai user willing to follow you by your side."

"You must consider this carefully; even so, do you still intend to fight us of Konoha to the death?..."

Kakashi was very cunning; as he spoke, he slipped in his own agenda, secretly elevating his mission to the level of Konoha.

In the past, having followed Danzo in Root for many years.

He knew well that the more a person possessed, the more concerns they would have when acting.

Now, Zabuza himself was an elite Jonin with impressive strength.

And now he was accompanied by a young girl possessing such a Kekkei Genkai.

With such a bright future, he did not believe Zabuza would lose his mind and throw away his life and career to wear himself out against him.

But to Kakashi's surprise.

Upon hearing this, Zabuza laughed out loud. Then, he retorted with extreme arrogance:

"Kakashi, it seems you also know that my future will not be bad."

"But look at you, backed by Konoha; even if you can't summon the wind and rain, you are at least free from worry about food and clothing."

"Look at me, my life is like willow catkins, drifting with the wind, living a precarious life every day, never knowing if I'll see tomorrow's sun?"

"How about this, you take a step back, and we can consider ourselves friends?"

"I happen to quite admire that kid named Sasuke; as long as you nod in agreement, from now on, if there is any task, I, Zabuza, will certainly do my utmost!..."

His tone was very heroic, and his expression did not seem fake.

This immediately made Kakashi frown.

Naruto, you must hold on...

Kakashi thought to himself.

"Ninja Art: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

With a change of hand seals, Haku's small, delicate body instantly vanished into the ice wall before him!

Eight ice walls, crystal clear and translucent.

Looking up, there was no end in sight, as if they pierced straight into the clouds!

"Damn it... it looks impossible to jump out..."

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"

Gritting his teeth, he changed his hand seals again. Instantly, dozens more solid shadow clones appeared within the birdcage formed by the ice walls.

With a thought, they all rushed towards the eight ice walls.

Naruto had thought he could break through the ice with his numerical advantage.

But after the clones dissipated in a puff of smoke, their efforts were in vain.

Those eight ice walls were like iron, unbreakable!

Bang bang bang!

At this critical moment.

More white smoke exploded, and then, one by one, the shadow clones vanished without a trace.

"Damn it... my chakra is depleted again..."

Clenching his fists, a drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and Naruto was instantly in danger.