Lightning That Overdrew Life Itself!

Haku's lapse lasted only an instant, but that was enough!

Sasuke's kunai was already stabbing toward him! Naruto's shadow clone lunged in from the side to grab him!

Haku reacted at once, swiftly retreating as he swept both hands out!

The shattered ice mirrors instantly repaired themselves, sealing the gap once more! But in that brief delay, Sasuke's kunai still sliced through his sleeve, leaving a bloody gash.

"Damn." Sasuke's strike missed, and he immediately leaped back, warily watching the now more numerous images of Haku within the ice mirrors.

Naruto's clones were also pierced apart by the newly formed ice needles.

"Who exactly are you?" For the first time, Haku's voice carried obvious emotional turmoil. It was no longer hollowly calm, but filled with shock and uncertainty. Every image in the ice mirrors stared fixedly at Ling Yue. "How could you know..."

Ling Yue panted heavily, needing the ship's railing to keep herself upright as her mind raced. She had gambled right! Haku's devotion to Zabuza was his weakness!

"I know more than just that." Ling Yue deliberately kept her words vague, making herself seem more mysterious. "I also know that you don't truly want to kill anyone. You don't have the aura of a real killer on your hands."

It was half true and half false, mainly intended to shake his resolve.

Haku's body seemed to tremble slightly.

Naruto was utterly confused. "Hey, Yue, what are you talking about? What fake death?"

But Sasuke looked thoughtful. His Sharingan tried to activate again as he stared intensely at Haku in the ice mirrors, seemingly trying to discern something.

"Shut up!" Haku seemed to have been struck where it hurt. His voice turned shrill. "For Zabuza, I can do anything! Since you know... I can't let you live!"

The killing intent within the ice mirrors surged once more! It was even sharper than before! Countless ice senbon formed again!

"Watch out! He's getting serious!" Sasuke shouted in warning.

Ling Yue groaned inwardly. Had she overplayed her hand? Had she only enraged him instead?

At that moment, Kakashi, who had been dazed all this time, struggled to raise his head. His voice was weak, yet carried an unquestionable calm. "His technique relies on the ice mirrors' reflections and high-speed movement... Attack all the mirrors, or... find his real body and slow him down..."

Before he could finish, Haku's attack had already arrived!

This time, the senbon were denser, their trajectories more treacherous. They specifically targeted the injured Kakashi, the immobile Tazuna, and the chakra-depleted Ling Yue!

"Damn it!" Naruto desperately summoned what few shadow clones he had left to block them.

Sasuke swung his kunai in an impenetrable blur as well, but protecting himself and Sakura was already his limit. He had no way to spare attention for the others!

Ling Yue watched the mass of senbon flying toward Kakashi and herself, her pupils contracting.

She couldn't dodge them! [Flash Step] consumed too much; her body couldn't keep up!

What should she do?

She had to risk it!

She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue. The sharp pain forced the last trace of chakra from her body as she activated [Thunder Breathing] once more!

This time, she did not channel it into her kunai. She poured it into her legs without restraint! She even tried to imitate the exertion techniques of [Flash Step] and [Thunderclap and Flash]!

Blinding lightning erupted from her body again, but it was wildly unstable, flickering between bright and dim!

"Ahhh!" She let out a low roar. Her body bore an enormous strain; her muscles felt as if they were about to tear apart, and her veins throbbed violently!

A patch of the deck exploded beneath her feet, charred black!

Her body became a twisted, unstable streak of lightning. Rather than dodging, she crashed headlong into the torrential rain of senbon aimed at Kakashi like an out-of-control cannonball!

Lightning collided madly with the ice senbon, shattering into countless ice crystals and electrical sparks!

Ling Yue's figure struggled through the lightning, weaving and blocking. Her speed fluctuated wildly. She was clearly overdrawing her potential; every collision made her body shudder violently, and even a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth!

Yet through that reckless burst of power, she had somehow truly blocked this lethal wave aimed at Kakashi!

"Yue!" Naruto cried out in horror.

Watching that small yet incredibly resolute figure desperately struggle within the lightning, Sasuke's pupils narrowed slightly. The hand gripping his kunai unconsciously tightened.

Kakashi stared at Ling Yue shielding him, his expression incomparably complicated.

"At the end of your rope!" Haku's cold voice rang out. More senbon shot in from other directions, clearly giving her no chance to catch her breath.

Ling Yue dropped to one knee. The lightning around her had become extremely faint, and her body trembled uncontrollably. She could barely hold onto her kunai. Her vision began to blur, and her ears rang.

Is this as far as I go...?

[Warning! The host's body is severely overdrawn! On the verge of collapse!]

Just as her consciousness was about to fade.

[Ding! Strong protective intent and extreme environmental stimulation detected in the host. Hidden conditions triggered! Skill [Thunder Breathing] proficiency greatly increased! Advanced technique comprehended: [Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form: Fire God of Thunder]! (Not fully mastered)]

An even more violent, scorching power of lightning suddenly surged from the depths of her body, as though it would burn everything to ash! It far exceeded anything she had previously understood or controlled!

"Ugh—ahhh!!"

Ling Yue involuntarily threw back her head and let out a long cry. The dim lightning around her instantly flared! Its color even shifted from white toward a blazing blue-white! Every strand of her hair stood on end!

An enormous amount of lightning-nature chakra spilled uncontrollably from her body, striking the surrounding ice mirrors with crackling explosions!

"What?!" Haku stared in shock at Ling Yue, whose aura had suddenly become incomparably violent. That volume of chakra and such intense lightning-nature transformation... How could she possibly be a genin?!

Even Kakashi's expression changed completely. "This chakra... No! She's overdrawing her life force!"

The out-of-control lightning swept outward from Ling Yue like a storm!

Though it had no distinct form, its violent power shattered and electrolyzed the incoming ice senbon!

Even several of the closest ice mirrors began to melt and crack across their surfaces!

"Stop! You'll die!" Kakashi shouted anxiously.

But Ling Yue seemed unable to hear anything outside. She only felt as though her body was about to be swollen apart and torn to pieces by this power. She had to release it!

Unconsciously, she raised her hand toward the direction with the most ice mirrors. The uncontrolled lightning frantically gathered in her palm, compressing into an extremely unstable blue-white ball of lightning that radiated destruction!

Just before that uncontrollable power could completely erupt—

"Enough."

A low, weak voice filled with unquestionable authority rang out.

At some point, Kakashi had actually forced himself to stand. He grabbed Ling Yue's wrist, where that terrifying lightning sphere was gathering.

Blue lightning, more concentrated and far more obedient to his control, flickered over his hand as well—Chidori's Cry!

The moment the two lightning-nature chakras touched, Kakashi precisely guided the violent, uncontrolled power in Ling Yue's hand, forcibly diverting and dispersing it!

The enormous lightning was redirected into the sky, becoming a dazzling pillar of thunder that instantly blasted through the top of the ice-mirror prison and tore a hole in the thick fog!

Sunlight streamed down through the opening.

A massive hole had been blasted through the top of the ice-mirror prison. Its structure became unstable, emitting an unbroken series of cracking sounds.

The lightning around Ling Yue instantly vanished. Her eyes closed, and she lost all strength, passing out completely. Kakashi caught her at once.

Kakashi himself coughed up a mouthful of blood from forcibly drawing on his scant remaining chakra and worsening his injuries. His face was white as paper, and he nearly collapsed alongside Ling Yue.

"Sensei Kakashi! Yue!" Sakura screamed as she rushed over.

Naruto and Sasuke immediately moved in front of them, tensely watching the ice mirrors that were beginning to fracture all around them.

Haku's figure emerged from one of the ice mirrors. He looked at the unconscious Ling Yue and the severely injured Kakashi, then at the massive hole above and the unstable ice-mirror barrier. Beneath his mask, his expression shifted uncertainly.

In the end, he did not attack again.

The ice mirrors began to slowly melt and collapse.

Haku gave them a long look, especially the unconscious Ling Yue. Then his figure slowly sank into the water and vanished.

Only a faint sentence drifted through the air.

"Next time... I won't show mercy."

The ice mirrors melted away completely, and the fog over the sea seemed to thin somewhat. The little boat rocked unsteadily, its deck a complete mess, people lying scattered all over it.

Sasuke and Naruto looked toward where Haku had disappeared, then at the unconscious Kakashi and Ling Yue. For the first time, they clearly felt the cruel weight of the ninja world and... just how insignificant their own strength was.

In the distance, the outline of the Land of Waves gradually came into view.

Yet the atmosphere on the boat was as heavy as the stillness before a storm.