"Who was that?"
Everyone looked up at once.
Even Sasuke glanced that way during a lull in his fight with Zabuza.
He wanted to see who dared show off in front of him.
"Kirigakure Pursuit Unit. We are here to retrieve the missing-nin's body."
A figure wearing a white mask stood on a branch, three senbon held between his fingers.
At the sight of him, a flicker of "panic" suddenly crossed Zabuza's face.
Sasuke did not miss that opening.
His Iron Sword flashed, leaving several wounds across Zabuza's shoulder and chest.
Just as he moved to press his advantage, three senbon shot past him and pierced the side of Zabuza's neck with pinpoint accuracy.
Zabuza's pupils contracted, and his body fell stiffly to the ground.
Thud!
Sasuke immediately backed away, eyeing the figure in the tree warily.
"Why did you interfere?"
Haku landed lightly and walked over to Zabuza.
"Zabuza Momochi is a missing-nin wanted by Kirigakure."
"Hunting down missing-nin and disposing of their bodies is our duty."
Kakashi studied the mask on Haku's face.
It was indeed the attire of the Kirigakure Pursuit Unit.
Zabuza's pulse and breathing had also stopped.
Killing instantly by piercing acupoints with senbon fit the pursuit unit's usual methods for retrieving bodies.
"So you're on our side."
Naruto unclenched his fists and was about to turn away when a cold snort suddenly rang out within the sealing space.
"Idiot."
"That fellow is still alive."
Naruto stopped in his tracks.
"Teacher Kurama, are you sure?"
"I'm not so old that I can't tell the dead from the living."
Naruto immediately closed his eyes and sensed carefully.
Zabuza's presence had indeed vanished.
Yet deep within that supposed corpse, a faint but steady thread of vitality remained.
Without the Nine-Tails' warning, he would never have noticed it.