Watching the Show! Naruto's Bond Level Rises!

"Haku! Kill them! Start with those three brats!"

"Yes, Lord Zabuza."

Mirrors of solid ice rose from the ground, refracting the light into a cold gleam and trapping Sasuke and Naruto inside.

Haku stood within one mirror, his slender figure reflected into countless copies, impossible to tell apart.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and tried to track Haku's movements. But Haku moved through the mirrors so fast that the Sharingan could barely catch a blur.

"Sasuke! Which one is he in?" Naruto gripped his Kunai, back to back with Sasuke. His bright blue eyes darted between the mirrors all around them, and cold sweat had already beaded on his forehead.

"Shut up. Don't lose focus." Sasuke kept his voice low, but his breathing had grown uneven.

Senbon.

Countless Senbon shot from the mirrors at once, coming at the two of them from every direction.

Sasuke swung his Kunai to block them. Metal rang out in a rapid series of sharp clashes, but there were too many. Several Senbon sliced his arms and legs, and blood seeped from the cuts.

Naruto fared worse. His Taijutsu was weaker than Sasuke's, and by the end of the volley, seven or eight Senbon were lodged in his body. Pain twisted his face, but he gritted his teeth and made no sound.

"Sasuke! There are too many! We're surrounded—we can't get out!"

Naruto pulled a Senbon from his arm. Drops of blood ran down his fingertips and fell to the ground.

Sasuke didn't answer. He stared at the mirrors, his mind racing.

Haku moved too fast. He seemed to pass between mirrors in an instant. To break the technique, they would have to destroy every mirror with one wide-range attack or find the real Haku and take him down in a single strike.

Neither was within their power.

Outside, Kakashi and Zabuza's battle had reached a fever pitch.

Columns of water erupted across the lake as the two figures crossed and recrossed each other's paths. Every clash rang out like steel striking steel.

Kakashi's Sharingan was fully open, copying every Hand Seal Zabuza made.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Two water dragons rose from the lake at the same time and collided in midair, exploding into a shower of spray.

Surprise flashed in Zabuza's eyes.

He hadn't expected Kakashi's Sharingan to copy him so quickly. Their water dragons had launched almost simultaneously.

Before the spray had settled, both men formed Hand Seals again. Two identical water clones rose from the lake, and the four figures plunged into another round of combat.

On the shore, Sakura stood in front of Tazuna with a Kunai in hand. Her legs trembled, but her gaze was fiercely steady.

"Mr. Tazuna, please stay behind me and don't move." Sakura's voice was so calm it hardly sounded like her.

Tazuna looked at her slight back. His lips quivered, but in the end, he said nothing.

Sakura glanced across the three separate fights.

On the lake, Kakashi and Zabuza fought with everything they had. Inside the mirrors, Sasuke and Naruto were trapped. And she could do nothing but guard this old man.

Then her eyes fell on Zuo Hao.

Zuo Hao was still leaning against the tree, a foxtail grass stem between his teeth and both hands in his pockets. He looked as relaxed as if he were sunning himself in a park.

"Zuo Hao!" Sakura couldn't help shouting. "Aren't you going to help them?!"

Zuo Hao turned his head and glanced at her. Then he drawled, "Not yet."

Not yet?!

Sakura almost choked.

Sasuke and Naruto were about to be turned into pincushions, and Kakashi-sensei was locked in a fierce fight with Zabuza. How could he say "not yet"?

Zuo Hao really wasn't in a hurry.

Haku's Kekkei Genkai was rare. Ice Release channeled chakra in a way entirely different from ordinary Water Release and Wind Release, and he wanted to watch a little longer.

Besides, if he stepped in now...

How would Naruto awaken his Nine-Tails Chakra?

And if Naruto didn't awaken it, how would Zuo Hao complete his mission?

Ten minutes later...

Zuo Hao narrowed his eyes.

That should do it.

He spat out the foxtail grass stem he had chewed into a crumpled mess, straightened up from the tree, and rolled his neck. Two sharp cracks sounded.

"Sakura, keep Tazuna safe." Without looking back, he added, "Don't let any stray troublemakers near him."

Before Sakura could answer, Zuo Hao vanished.

A moment later, he appeared at the edge of the ice-mirror formation.

Haku's movement through the mirrors faltered.

Through the ice, his clear eyes settled on the black-haired boy who had suddenly appeared at the edge of the battlefield.

Zuo Hao showed no sign of tension. He stood there with his hands still in his pockets, his Sharingan slowly turning as he studied the barrier of ice mirrors.

"Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals." Zuo Hao tilted his head, sounding as though he were appraising a decent piece of craftsmanship.

"Using Water Release and Wind Release as a foundation, you mix the two chakra natures to create a distinct ice-nature chakra."

"This Kekkei Genkai is rare throughout the Shinobi World. Awakening it in a place like Kirigakure? You really do have talent."

"But." Zuo Hao held out a finger and lightly tapped the nearest mirror. It gave a clear, tinkling note. "This technique has one obvious weakness."

Inside the mirror, Haku's pupils contracted slightly.

A dangerous smile curved Zuo Hao's lips. He turned his head, his gaze piercing layer after layer of ice to lock onto the real Haku.

"One-way visibility. From inside a mirror, you can see everything outside clearly. From outside, all anyone sees is a reflection."

"So every time you move, you pause for an instant in your destination mirror to check your position before attacking."

"That pause is your opening."

As the last word left his mouth, Zuo Hao moved.

His figure blurred between the mirrors, his Sharingan catching every path Haku took through them.

Haku was fast. To the naked eye, he was nothing but a white blur flashing from mirror to mirror. But against Zuo Hao's three-Tomoe Sharingan, that speed wasn't enough.

Zuo Hao stopped before a mirror.

He didn't attack it. Instead, he stepped to the side, drew his right hand from his pocket, and crooked a finger at Naruto inside the formation.

"Naruto, watch closely."

Naruto was covered in blood, with seven or eight Senbon stuck in his body. But his blue eyes were still wide, fixed on Zuo Hao's every move.

Zuo Hao raised his right hand and spread his fingers, aiming his palm at the mirror where Haku was about to appear.

"This technique's second weakness."

Haku's real body appeared in that mirror, the Senbon in his hand already aimed at the back of Naruto's neck.

"The mirrors themselves are solid. They can be shattered. Break even one, and the chakra flowing through the formation is disrupted. That leaves a gap in your route."

"Like this."

BOOM!!!

Zuo Hao's kick struck the exact mirror Haku was about to enter.

The mirror shattered, cutting off Haku's path.

Haku's real body was forced out of a mirror, exposed in the open air.

"Sasuke! Now!"

Sasuke's Sharingan had locked onto Haku the moment Zuo Hao moved. Before Zuo Hao had finished shouting, Sasuke had completed his Hand Seals for Fire Release.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

An enormous fireball burst from Sasuke's mouth. More than three meters across, its searing flames burned away the surrounding mist as it hurtled straight toward Haku.

Haku twisted his body in midair. The chakra remaining in the mirrors condensed into a thin wall of ice before him.

The fireball slammed into the wall. Steam burst outward with a piercing hiss, and the ice melted rapidly under the heat. But that brief reprieve was enough for Haku to slip into another mirror.

"I'm not done!"

Naruto's shout erupted from inside the formation.

Red chakra began to surge around him. It didn't flow smoothly like ordinary chakra. It churned and roared like boiling lava.

Nine-Tails Chakra.

Zuo Hao's Sharingan clearly saw Naruto's wounds healing before his eyes.

An invisible force pushed the Senbon from Naruto's body. They clattered to the ground.

Naruto crouched on all fours like a beast ready to spring.

A thin red aura formed over his body. His pupils began turning into vertical slits, his nails grew long and sharp, and fangs peeked from the corners of his mouth.

"Don't... hurt... Sasuke!!!"

At that moment, a system notification sounded in Zuo Hao's mind.

[Naruto's Bond Level increased!]