Xiao Meng of the Heaven Sect, Dao School Dao Child!

When the words fell, Naruto did not shout or demand answers as expected. Instead, he clenched his fists and fell silent.

A few breaths later, he looked up at the other man. Aside from a trace of sorrow in his eyes, there was even more determination.

He assumed a ninja's fighting stance and said, "I don't believe there's any such thing as fate in this world. If you insist on helping these bad people, then I can only defeat you!"

Chen Feng's expression shifted slightly at those words. Although Naruto had endured much hardship, his resolve was exceedingly firm. He usually seemed careless and thickheaded, but at critical moments, he always made the right choice.

At that moment, Momochi Zabuza impatiently instructed Haku, "Leave these little brats to you. As for the other one, I'll handle him myself."

As he spoke, he drew the Executioner's Blade from his back and walked toward Chen Feng step by step.

Haku nodded and wasted no more time. His hands swiftly formed seals, and as a powerful burst of chakra erupted, he unleashed his Bloodline Limit.

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals!"

With a low shout in his heart, a bone-piercing chill surged forth. Immediately afterward, hundreds of ice mirrors condensed out of thin air, trapping Naruto and the other two within them.

Haku's figure appeared in every mirror.

The sight startled them all. They had never seen such a bizarre ninjutsu and had no idea which one was the real body.

Then Haku within the ice mirrors moved again, his hand seals changing in rapid succession. "Water Release Secret Technique: Thousand Kill Water Needles!"

As the words fell, vast amounts of water vapor rose into the air and transformed into hundreds, even thousands, of sharp senbon needles that shot toward the trapped trio like a torrential downpour.

Sasuke and the others hurriedly drew their kunai to defend themselves, but the dense barrage was utterly dazzling. Attacks came from every direction, leaving them no way to cope.

In just a few breaths, all three were already covered in injuries.

On the other side, Momochi Zabuza also launched an attack against Chen Feng. He leaped high into the air, gripping the Executioner's Blade tightly as he brought it down in a savage slash.

Chen Feng had already darted backward, avoiding the strike. In an instant, dirt and stone flew everywhere, and a vicious crack appeared in the ground!

Before the dust could settle, Zabuza charged forward again. The great blade in his hand swung continuously, tearing through the air with howling gusts.

Faced with such ferocious attacks, Chen Feng did not dare take them head-on and could only rely on his footwork to evade again and again.

When a horizontal slash came at him, he gathered his inner qi and struck the flat of the blade with his palm, deflecting its trajectory and narrowly avoiding it.

A glint flashed through Zabuza's eyes as he suddenly lashed out with a merciless whip kick. Chen Feng raised both arms to block, but the immense force sent him several yards back.

Even after using Taoist techniques to disperse a considerable portion of the impact, his arms still ached, and several distinct footprints had been left in the hard ground.

Shaking his arms, Chen Feng let out a long breath. His current strength was probably only comparable to that of a Chunin. There was indeed a considerable gap between him and an experienced Elite Jonin like his opponent.

With that thought, he no longer had any desire to keep getting beaten up. He said, "I'm no match for this guy. You should take over."

As soon as he spoke, Zabuza immediately became wary. He scanned the surroundings but found no hidden reinforcements.

He snorted coldly. "Stop playing tricks. There's no need to struggle. You'll become another lost soul beneath the Executioner's Blade!"

After saying that, Zabuza charged forward once more. Not far away, Kakashi saw that the battle had become extremely perilous and gathered chakra, preparing to launch a surprise attack.

But just as he was about to move, an unexpected change occurred.

An incomparably sharp azure sword qi appeared out of nowhere and shot toward Momochi Zabuza like lightning.

A sense of danger rose in Zabuza's heart, and he hurriedly changed his move and retreated. Almost at the same time, a sword mark appeared on the ground beneath his feet.

Just as he was about to steady himself, a strange ripple spread outward.

Wherever that strange energy reached, everything around it turned black and white. All color seemed to fade away in an instant, as though returning to its most primordial state.

An unfathomable Dao aura filled the entire space. Everything within a hundred yards, from flowers, birds, grass, and trees to beasts and flying creatures, froze in a single instant. Even the drifting dust became a motionless image.

Naruto and the other two were likewise unable to move, while Haku, who had been performing his secret technique, was also trapped within the ice mirrors and could no longer continue his attack.

Even the senbon needles about to fall around them froze in midair.

As for Kakashi and Zabuza, the two powerful Jonin sensed the danger at once and reacted in time.

A powerful burst of chakra erupted, blocking the advancing black-and-white energy outside their bodies and preventing them from losing their ability to move like the others.

Even so, they still felt immense pressure.

They could clearly sense that their speed, strength, and even the circulation of their chakra had all been noticeably suppressed.

Under such circumstances, they could only wield about seventy percent of their peak strength.

Kakashi hesitated for a moment, then decided to wait and see. Zabuza, however, tensed and shouted, "Who's there?!"

At that moment, a distant, cool voice rang out. "Blunt its sharpness, unravel its tangles, temper its light, merge with its dust. Deep and still, it seems to exist!"

As the words fell, a stream of Clear Qi rose from several yards away, gradually gathering into a graceful figure.

Then, a beautiful young woman appeared before everyone's eyes.

She stood there with composed elegance, her cold and aloof bearing fully revealed. Though she appeared young, she possessed a head of silvery-white hair, radiating an indifferent, otherworldly aura.

It was as though she had seen through the mortal world and did not belong to it.

Seeing this figure appear, Zabuza's expression changed slightly. He could sense that this young woman's methods were exceedingly strange, impossible to fully discern, and her attire did not resemble that of a ninja.

He then asked coldly, "Who are you?"

She cast him an indifferent glance and replied in a cool tone, "Xiao Meng of the Dao School's Heaven Sect."

"The Dao School?"

Momochi Zabuza frowned upon hearing that. He had traveled throughout the nations for many years, yet he had never heard the Dao School's name. Could it be some newly risen force?

However, sensing that she was no weakling, he did not wish to invite further complications. "The one I intend to kill is that man. It has nothing to do with you."

At those words, a chill flashed through Xiao Meng's silver eyes. She said coldly, "You dare disrespect the Dao School Dao Child. Do you know how the word 'death' is written?"