Little Sister, We Meet Again...

"Damn it, looks like I have to take a gamble..."

With a solemn gaze, Naruto made up his mind. He pulled out a kunai and was about to thrust it towards Haku, who was not far in front of him.

"Panicked and lost your way?..."

From within the ice wall, Haku shook his head upon seeing this.

Instantly, with just a flicker of movement.

Eight ice walls that had trapped Naruto now each bore a figure of Haku, indistinguishable from one another.

"What!..."

Naruto stopped his intended step, cold sweat trickling down his face.

With eight ice walls, he had no way of knowing which one held the real body.

And the most crucial point was.

A rash attack would surely lead to a surprise assault from behind the true body the moment he was distracted.

It was impossible to defend against!

Naruto stood frozen, not daring to move, his expression tense as he cautiously guarded against any sudden attacks.

As if sensing Naruto's intention.

Haku, from within the ice wall, flicked his wrist, and instantly, ice needles shot towards Naruto!

The sound of wind breaking came from behind him, and Naruto's ears twitched slightly.

He immediately turned, wildly swinging the kunai in his hand, and in the blink of an eye, shattered the few incoming kunai into pieces.

But just as Naruto was about to breathe a sigh of relief.

A calm female voice suddenly came from behind him out of nowhere:

"You lost."

Just three words, yet they struck Naruto like a morning bell and evening drum, making him tremble all over.

But before Naruto could even react.

As if to return the favor, Haku kicked Naruto, who had just turned his head, to the ground.

Then, his form turned into an afterimage, and in a flash, he was in mid-air. He flicked his wrist again, and several crystalline shards reappeared, like falling stars, rushing straight towards Naruto!

He had just landed and hadn't even regained his footing.

Haku's combo was incredibly smooth, following up immediately.

In an instant, all of Naruto's vital pressure points were sealed!

"D-damn it..."

Pinned to the ground by countless ice needles, like a hedgehog, Naruto couldn't move.

With his chakra depleted and his movements sealed, it seemed the battle had reached its conclusion!

"Sigh..."

Seeing this, Haku sighed at Naruto and said:

"Why did you have to do this?..."

"But for Sasuke's sake, I won't kill you."

"It will hurt, but I don't think you'll die."

"Just stay put obediently, and I wish you... well."

With that, Haku slowly turned her delicate body and gradually merged into the ice wall, disappearing from sight.

"Damn it... Did I really lose like this?"

"I'm going to be Hokage in the future, how can I lose like this!..."

Gritting his teeth, Naruto trembled all over. His sapphire blue eyes gradually turned crimson as he muttered to himself.

Just then.

A voice suddenly echoed in Naruto's mind again:

"Young man, do you need power?"

"Bury your reason and give me your body, and you will immediately possess endless power!"

"Give it to me!"

"Quick, give it to me!..."

The voice was hollow, familiar, and full of temptation.

Gritting his teeth and struggling fiercely, Naruto roared with hatred:

"No! I want to rely on my own strength!"

"Who are you?"

"Get out of my body!"

"I won't listen to your commands!..."

The ice needles embedded into his body gradually melted.

His fingernails grew long and sharp at a speed visible to the naked eye, resembling vicious claws.

His eyes were a sea of scarlet, the familiar azure nowhere to be seen.

Long canine teeth protruded wantonly from his mouth.

A layer of orange-red chakra cloak slowly emerged around his body.

With his consciousness in chaos, Naruto became less and less like himself, as if he were only a hair's breadth away from madness.

At this critical moment.

Outside the ice wall, a sudden, loud shout rang out across the scene!

Before anyone could react, they heard Sasuke shout loudly:

"Wait a moment, beautiful lady!..."

Wait a moment, beautiful lady?

On the River Bridge, everyone was stunned in unison.

A few seconds later, they finally realized what was happening.

After all that, it turned out that Sasuke had finally arrived.

And the person he was referring to was none other than Haku, who was inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.

Haku was also slightly taken aback by these words, then turned to look at the tardy Sasuke behind him.

Seeing this, Sasuke chuckled and said:

"Hello there, miss!"

"I don't know if the gift I gave Brother Zabuza the other day was enough. If it wasn't, just say the word. I know you're short on cash, and I happen to have a bit of spare change on hand..."

Seeing Zabuza and Haku attacking again.

The first thing Sasuke thought of was milk money...

After all, if it weren't for the lack of milk money, why would they have come back for another round?

Money?...

Those who eat others' food are soft-mouthed, and those who take others' gifts are soft-handed.

Hearing this, Haku, beneath his mask, had a face full of black lines, and responded somewhat awkwardly:

"You... you really recognized me a long time ago..."

Sasuke waved his hand:

"That's not important."

"What's important is whether we can turn hostility into friendship. If you have difficulties, I'll help you. There's really no need to ruin the harmony, is there?..."

Hearing this, Haku was slightly stunned, not knowing what to think.

After a long silence, at one moment, his figure flickered and he merged back into the ice wall that had yet to dissipate, saying:

"Make your move. It's useless to say anything at this point. Perhaps a battle between you and me is the only way to get the result we truly want..."

"This..."

Sasuke frowned, his expression turning ugly.

It wasn't that he didn't want to fight.

It was just that Haku was currently pregnant. If they just got a bit heated, it would be fine, but if he accidentally caused Haku to have a miscarriage, wouldn't he immediately become a heinous sinner?...

Thinking of this, Sasuke said:

"A spar is fine, but can we have some ground rules?..."

Haku was startled, then asked:

"What kind of rules?..."

Sasuke responded:

"That's simple!"

"Just like when I sparred with Senior Zabuza before."

"As long as I can restrain you, I win."

"Then you and Zabuza can just go home and live a good life, how about that?..."

Calling him "miss" left and right.

Hearing these words, Haku's pretty face flushed beneath his mask, growing hot.

While Haku was still hesitating.

Zabuza, watching from not far away, suddenly shouted:

"Haku, agree to that kid, just hold back a little, don't hurt him!..."

His tone was bold, his words resounding.

Upon hearing this, Sasuke also turned his gaze toward the sound.

After many days, the two met again. As they looked at each other, they both smiled and nodded.

Zabuza was still the same.

He was upright and open, very much to Sasuke's liking.

And in Zabuza's eyes, as a senior, Sasuke was a junior who was neither purely good nor evil, possessed extraordinary talent, and had boundless potential, someone worth befriending!

Haku glanced at the two exchanging meaningful looks.

Beneath the mask, his expression was strange.

He thought to himself, Holding back, does this match still have any meaning?

How am I supposed to fight?

Are they playing around?...

Just as Haku stood frozen, torn between two choices, unsure of what to do.

He heard Sasuke from not far away say with a smile:

"Miss, let go of the Ice Shield a bit, I'll go in, and we can begin!"

"Don't worry about holding back, someone Zabuza-senpai values, I'm really not as weak as you imagine, hehe..."