You're Not Qualified to Lay a Hand on My Best Student!

This was Su Bai's carefully calculated plan to kill two birds with one stone.

Over at Zabuza's real body.

He easily dodged Naruto's thrown kunai, but he had not expected Su Bai to have such a two-pronged move prepared.

As the white light shot toward him like lightning, Zabuza only had time to tilt his head slightly. A bloody gash was still cut across his right cheek.

After being struck by White Lightning, Zabuza finally released his hold on Naruto and dispelled the Water Prison Jutsu.

Naruto and Kakashi both regained their freedom.

Naruto, having fallen into the water, shouted excitedly at Su Bai, "Su Bai, that was awesome, believe it! Hahaha!"

Kakashi gave Su Bai a grateful glance and said quietly, "Well done. Leave the rest to me."

Zabuza flew into a rage and roared at Su Bai, "You little brat, I'll tear you to pieces!"

Having been trapped in the water prison the whole time and forced to watch his students fight, Kakashi had already been holding in a bellyful of anger.

Now, he was truly beginning to lose his temper.

He said coldly, "You're not qualified to lay a hand on my best student!"

Then came Su Bai's happiest moment!

Kakashi and Zabuza unleashed their signature techniques and began a contest of ninjutsu.

The two traded blows in an evenly matched battle. At times, water-style ninjutsu clashed; at others, taijutsu and weapons collided.

As the battle reached its peak, Water Dragon Bullets coiled and roared through the sky like two enormous dragons locked in combat, creating a breathtaking spectacle.

At the same time, Su Bai's system notifications rang without pause.

[Ding! Ninja combat detected nearby. Obtained 4,000 experience points.]

[Ding! Ninja combat detected nearby. Obtained 6,000 experience points.]

[Ding! Ninja combat detected nearby. Obtained 8,000 experience points.]

His experience points and fusion rate were steadily rising, now approaching the five percent mark.

As their battle neared its end, Kakashi used the Sharingan to copy Zabuza's Great Waterfall Jutsu.

And he unleashed it before Zabuza could.

Kakashi rapidly formed hand seals, and a vast surge of chakra churned around him.

Suddenly, dark clouds blanketed the sky, and fierce winds howled.

A massive whirlpool gathered above Kakashi's head. In the blink of an eye, an enormous torrent erupted from its center, like a water dragon soaring into the air and like an inverted waterfall hanging from the heavens, crashing down upon Zabuza.

Wherever the torrent passed, trees and boulders were ripped from the ground and swept into the massive current.

The water pressure was powerful enough to destroy any obstacle.

Zabuza stared in shock at the sudden turn of events. He had never expected Kakashi to imitate his ninjutsu, much less strike first.

Zabuza hurriedly gathered chakra, trying to form his own Great Waterfall Jutsu to counter it.

Unfortunately, he was still one step too slow.

Kakashi's Great Waterfall Jutsu struck Zabuza with devastating force, hurling him high into the air before smashing him viciously into the ground and sending up an enormous spray of water.

When the mist and spray finally dispersed, Zabuza lay on the ground covered in wounds, his limbs pinned down by kunai and unable to move.

Kakashi walked over to Zabuza, intending to deliver the fatal blow.

"It's over, Zabuza."

At that moment, a masked youth appeared out of thin air on a nearby tree.

He wore the emblem of the Hidden Mist Village and a mask marked with red patterns. He claimed to be a ninja tasked with hunting down the rogue ninja Zabuza.

"He's here." Looking at the youth, Su Bai recalled his identity.

This youth was named Haku.

In the original story, after Kakashi escaped the Water Prison Jutsu, he would fight Zabuza again and emerge victorious.

After Zabuza's defeat, a youth named Haku would appear, disguised as a member of the Hidden Mist's rogue ninja hunter unit, to rescue him.

He and Zabuza had a master-disciple relationship. Zabuza was Haku's teacher, instructing him in ninjutsu and combat skills.

Zabuza had become a rogue ninja after killing Hidden Mist Village shinobi, and Haku, as Zabuza's prized student, had been ordered to hunt him down.

But in truth, Haku and Zabuza were accomplices.

Haku only pretended to kill Zabuza. In reality, he was helping him escape.

They shared an exceptionally deep bond. Haku was even willing to sacrifice his life for Zabuza's dream.

In Haku's eyes, Zabuza was the person he respected and valued most. He was willing to brave fire and water for Zabuza without hesitation.

After introducing himself to Kakashi.

Haku deftly threw several senbon needles, accurately piercing Zabuza's throat and heart to deliver the final blow.

The moment Kakashi saw the youth strike and kill with a single blow, his heart tightened.

Though he had fought Zabuza to the death, he had still harbored a sliver of hope that he could capture him alive and bring him back to the village for interrogation.

After all, Zabuza was undoubtedly an important source of intelligence. They might have been able to obtain military secrets about the Hidden Mist Village from him.

However, the instant those senbon sank into Zabuza's throat and heart, Kakashi understood that there was no turning back.

Haku's strike had been clean and efficient. He was clearly experienced in executing rogue ninja.

Every village handled rogue ninja differently. The Hidden Mist Village had chosen to kill them without mercy, and they likely had their reasons.

Besides, ninjas lived with their lives on the edge of a blade. Life and death were matters of fate; there was no use blaming heaven or others.

Kakashi wiped the expression from his face, returning to his usual calm indifference.

Then he turned toward his students, ready to lead them onward and continue this troublesome mission.

As he watched the youth carry Zabuza's "corpse" away and vanish into the mist.

Su Bai knew perfectly well that this youth was Zabuza's accomplice. They were putting on an act, deliberately faking Zabuza's death.

To squeeze every last bit of experience from Zabuza, Su Bai chose to remain silent.

Because he knew that when Zabuza appeared again, another hard battle would follow—and it would also be an excellent opportunity for him to grow stronger.

After fighting those two Hidden Mist ninja, Su Bai understood that actual combat was the best way to rapidly improve his strength.

"Next time, I'll fight Zabuza myself!"

After Haku rescued Zabuza, Kakashi forced himself to hold on for a while, but his chakra had been completely exhausted. In the end, his knees gave out, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

His breathing became weak and rapid, and a sheen of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura hurried over to support him, only to find that Kakashi had no strength left in his body.

"We need to get Kakashi-sensei somewhere to rest immediately," Su Bai said in a grave voice.

Su Bai determined that, in Kakashi's current condition, he would need at least a week of quiet recuperation to recover.

Then Dazna said that his home was not far away, and Kakashi could rest and recover there.

The members of Team 7 carefully carried Kakashi to Dazna's home and began preparing for his recovery.

Su Bai believed that, with Kakashi's intelligence, he would soon discover that Haku had actually rescued Zabuza.

For Su Bai, his battle with Zabuza's clone had yielded considerable gains.

Zabuza's unique fighting style had given him plenty of inspiration.

Zabuza did not merely rely on the Executioner's Blade in his hand. He was also skilled at incorporating taijutsu into his swordsmanship, making his overall strength extremely formidable.

This happened to align perfectly with Su Bai's own approach.

Su Bai secretly calculated that if he could also weave hand-to-hand techniques into his swordsmanship, it would be like adding wings to a tiger, taking his combat strength to another level.

Combined with Flash Step and Kidō, his movements in battle would become even more agile and unpredictable, allowing him to attack and defend with equal skill.

At that thought, a glimmer of excitement flashed through Su Bai's eyes.