Amplified Sharingan! Zabuza, You're Useless!

[Ding! Naruto's Bond Level has risen to LV3!]

[Bond Level advancement rewards are being distributed...]

[Reward One: Nine-Tails Chakra Affinity.]

[Effect: The host's ability to sense and resonate with Nine-Tails Chakra has greatly increased. The host can directly touch Nine-Tails Chakra without being burned by it, and while within its range, the host's Sharingan power will receive an additional boost.]

[Reward Two: Training methods for the Shadow Clone and Rasengan series of Ninjutsu.]

Zuo Hao felt heat surge through his eyes.

The chakra within him, roughly ten percent of the Nine-Tails' total, began to erupt. It could actually amplify the power of his Sharingan.

The Three Tomoe spun wildly in his pupils, faster than ever before, until they almost merged into a single black ring.

Then countless training methods for the Shadow Clone and Rasengan appeared in his mind...

At the same time, Naruto's roar exploded across the battlefield. A violent wave of chakra blasted every loose stone off the ground.

He surged forward even faster, his fist wrapped in red chakra, and slammed it into Haku's crossed arms.

Boom!!!

Haku was sent flying. He smashed through two ice mirrors before barely managing to steady himself, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Lord Zabuza... I..."

Before Haku could finish, a figure appeared behind him.

Zuo Hao.

When did he— Haku's pupils contracted. He tried to turn and defend himself, but it was too late.

Zuo Hao lightly touched the back of Haku's neck with his right index finger. A wisp of red Nine-Tails Chakra seeped through his fingertip and into Haku's chakra network.

Haku stiffened. His eyes lost focus, and he crumpled to the ground.

The corrosive power of Nine-Tails Chakra had temporarily cut off the flow of chakra within Haku.

Zuo Hao withdrew his finger, glanced at Haku lying on the ground, then turned to Naruto.

"Not bad, dead last."

The Nine-Tails Chakra around Naruto slowly faded. His slit pupils returned to round, brilliant blue ones. He dropped onto his backside, panting hard, but a smug grin spread across his face.

"Heh... Told you... I could do it..."

With that, he fell flat on his back and passed out.

Zabuza watched Haku collapse helplessly. His pupils contracted, and he roared in fury, "Impossible! You actually beat Haku!"

Zuo Hao glanced at Zabuza, who was still locked in combat with Kakashi, and smiled. "What? You thought Haku was strong? He was nothing."

"Damn it! Damn it!" Zabuza ground his teeth, his chest heaving. Rage nearly tore away his reason.

The instant Zabuza lost focus,

a sharp gleam flashed in Kakashi's eye. He seized that fleeting opening.

The Lightning Release Chakra gathering in his right palm tore a dazzling blue arc through the mist.

Lightning Blade.

It was the completed form of Chidori, an S-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu. Zuo Hao's Sharingan clearly caught the change in the Lightning Release Chakra gathered in Kakashi's palm.

It was no wild burst of lightning, but a chakra blade compressed to its limit and vibrating at an extremely high frequency—enough to cut through any defense.

Zabuza tried to raise his sword to block, but the distraction caused by Zuo Hao's words had lasted less than a tenth of a second.

In a battle between Jōnin, that tenth of a second was the distance between life and death.

Lightning Blade pierced Zabuza's left chest.

Blood gushed from the wound in his back, staining the lake beneath him Kurenai.

Zabuza froze. The Kubikiribōchō slipped from his hand, its tip sinking into the mud on the lakeshore. The massive blade stood there at an angle, reflecting a cold gleam through the mist.

"Cough... Cough, cough..." Blood poured from Zabuza's mouth, staining his bandages dark Kurenai. His knees began to buckle, and his body slowly pitched forward.

But his eyes—those browless eyes that had glared fiercely for half his life—remained fixed on Haku, lying on the shore.

"Haku..."

Zabuza's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

Kakashi pulled his right hand free. The last sparks of Lightning Blade danced across his fingertips, then went out.

He stood where he was, watching Zabuza fall.

"It's over."

There was no joy of victory in Kakashi's voice, only a heavy calm.

Just then, Zuo Hao walked over from the shore.

He took his time, his footsteps crunching over stones wet with lake water.

He stopped beside the Kubikiribōchō and gripped its handle. With a slight turn of his wrist, he pulled the door-sized blade from the mud.

The sword was heavy.

It weighed at least thirty kilograms. An ordinary Genin would struggle to hold it with both hands, but Zuo Hao carried it in one, looking as relaxed as if he were holding a kitchen knife.

"Not a bad sword. The material's unusual. It must have been forged from some rare ore. And..."

He paused, running a fingertip over the row of semicircular notches along the back of the blade.

"These notches aren't damage. They're part of the design. They catch an enemy's weapon so you can snap it in one blow. Whoever made this sword knew how to kill."

Kakashi frowned. "Zuo Hao, that's..."

Before he could finish, Zuo Hao traced a circle in the air with his left hand.

A swirling rift appeared. Light twisted along the edge of the pitch-black opening, making it look like an eye opening.

The entrance to the Kamui Dimension.

Zuo Hao casually tossed the Kubikiribōchō inside.

Kakashi's deadpan eye went wide.

"You... Where did you put the Kubikiribōchō?"

"Put it away." Zuo Hao dusted off his hands, as if it were obvious. "Zabuza's dead. Leaving the sword here would be a waste. Am I wrong, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi opened his mouth, then sighed and rubbed his temple. "Forget it... It's a spoil of battle anyway. Do what you want."

Just then,

a clamor of footsteps came from the direction of the bridge, accompanied by clanging metal weapons and a chorus of curses.

A short, fat figure emerged from the thick mist. Behind him came a dense crowd of more than a hundred samurai and rogue ninja, their swords drawn and their killing intent plain to see.

Gato.

The president of a shipping company and the man who effectively controlled the Land of Waves—a short man who had built his fortune through violent monopoly.

He wore a finely tailored suit and gold rings on every finger. An insufferably arrogant expression sat beneath his sunglasses.

"Zabuza! You useless bastard!!"

Gato's voice was shrill and grating, like a duck being strangled.

"I paid a fortune to hire you, and you couldn't even handle a few brats from Konoha?"