Kakashi said:
"You were focused on Shin-getsu just now."
The next second, more ninja dogs burst from the ground and clamped down hard on Zabuza's limbs.
The Kubikiribōchō stopped in midair.
Zabuza struggled once, his eyes cold and grim.
"Kakashi..."
Kakashi pressed a kunai against his shoulder.
"It's over."
The mist slowly dispersed.
Naruto finally let out a breath.
"We won?"
But Sasuke did not relax.
Neither did Shin-getsu.
Because a third presence had appeared on the other side of the forest.
It was faint.
As faint as snow falling onto branches.
Whoosh!
Several Senbon sliced through the air.
Their target was not Kakashi.
Nor was it Shin-getsu.
It was Zabuza's neck.
Kakashi's expression shifted as he moved to block them.
Shin-getsu was faster.
His kunai flew out.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every Senbon was knocked aside.
A masked youth landed on a tree branch.
He had a slender frame.
His voice was cool and clear.
"Why did you stop me?"
Kakashi looked at him.
"A Hidden Mist hunter-nin?"
The youth nodded faintly.
"I came to deal with the rogue ninja, Zabuza Momochi."
Pinned down by the ninja dogs, Zabuza showed no surprise in his eyes.
Shin-getsu looked at the youth in the tree.
"Haku."
The youth's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Kakashi frowned.
"You know him?"
Shin-getsu did not answer.
He merely looked at Haku.
"You're not here to kill him."
"You're here to save him."
The air fell silent at once.
Naruto looked utterly confused.
"Save who?"
But Sasuke had already raised his kunai.
Haku did not move.
Yet the moisture around him began to condense into tiny ice crystals.
Shin-getsu said calmly:
"Drop the act."
"Your Senbon avoided the vital points."
"The angle, the force, the landing spots—they all looked like a hunter-nin disposing of a body."
"But shift