[Ding! Naruto's Bond Level has risen to LV3!] [Bond Level upgrade rewards being issued...] [Reward 1: Nine-Tails Chakra Affinity.] [Effect: The host's ability to sense and resonate with Nine-Tails Chakra has greatly increased. The host can come into direct contact with Nine-Tails Chakra without being burned, and while enveloped in it, the host's Sharingan will receive an additional boost to its visual power.] [Reward 2: Training methods for Shadow Clone and the 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 Shadow Clone and Rasengan appeared in his mind...
At the same time, Naruto's roar exploded across the battlefield. A violent wave of chakra blew every loose stone off the ground.
He accelerated again, 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 thread of red Nine-Tails Chakra seeped from his fingertip into Haku's chakra pathways.
Haku went rigid. His eyes lost focus, and he crumpled to the ground.
Zuo Hao had used the corrosive nature of Nine-Tails Chakra to temporarily cut off the flow of chakra through Haku's body.
Zuo Hao withdrew his finger, glanced at Haku 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, vivid blue ones. He dropped onto his backside, gasping for breath, 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 smiled as he glanced at Zabuza, who was still locked in combat with Kakashi. "What? You thought Haku was strong? He was all bark and no bite."
"Damn it! Damn it!" Zabuza ground his teeth. His chest heaved, rage nearly tearing through his reason.
In the instant Zabuza lost focus, Kakashi's eyes flashed. He caught that fleeting opening at once.
The Lightning Release Chakra gathered in his right palm tore a dazzling blue arc through the mist.
Lightning Blade.
The completed form of Chidori, an S-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu. Zuo Hao's Sharingan clearly caught the change in shape of the Lightning Release Chakra in Kakashi's palm.
It was not lightning bursting out at random. It was a chakra blade compressed to the limit and vibrating at an extremely high frequency, sharp 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 fight between Jōnin, that tenth of a second was the distance between life and death.
The Lightning Blade pierced Zabuza's left chest.
Blood gushed from the wound in his back, staining the lake beneath his feet red.
Zabuza froze. The Kubikiribōchō slipped from his hand, its tip sinking into the mud on the lakeshore. The massive blade stood at an angle, catching a cold glint of light in the mist.
"Cough... cough..." Blood poured from Zabuza's mouth, dyeing his bandages dark red. 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 barely audible.
Kakashi pulled out his right hand. The last sparks of Lightning Blade danced across his fingertips, then went out.
He stood there, 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. Wet gravel crunched softly under his feet.
He stopped beside the Kubikiribōchō and gripped its handle. With a slight turn of his wrist, he pulled the door-sized blade out of the mud.
The sword was heavy.
It weighed at least thirty kilograms. An ordinary Genin would have struggled to hold it with both hands, but Zuo Hao carried it in one, looking as relaxed as if he were holding a kitchen knife.
"Nice sword. The material's unusual. It must have been forged from some rare ore. And..."
He paused, running a fingertip along the row of semicircular notches on the back of the blade.
"These notches aren't damage. They're part of the design. They catch an enemy's weapon so it can be snapped 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 fissure opened in the air. Light warped along its pitch-black edges, making it look like an eye opening.
An entrance to the Kamui Dimension.
Zuo Hao casually tossed the Kubikiribōchō inside.
Kakashi's weary eyes went wide.
"You... where did you put the Kubikiribōchō?"
"Put it away." Zuo Hao dusted off his hands, as if the answer were obvious. "Zabuza's dead. Leaving the sword here would be a waste. Don't you agree, Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi opened his mouth, then closed it. In the end, he sighed and rubbed his temples. "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 and a rising chorus of curses.
A short, fat figure emerged from the thick mist. Behind him came a crowd of over a hundred samurai and wandering ninja, blades drawn and ready to kill.
Gato.
The president of a shipping company and the man who effectively ruled the Land of Waves—a little man who had built his fortune through violent monopolies.
He wore a finely tailored suit, gold rings on every finger, and an insufferably arrogant expression beneath his sunglasses.
"Zabuza! You useless fool!!"
Gato's voice was shrill and grating, like a duck being strangled.
"I paid you a fortune, and you couldn't even handle a few Konoha brats?"
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