Haku froze for two seconds.
No one had picked up the herbs scattered across the ground. A moment later, he looped the cloth bag over his arm, and when those slender hands rose again, six Senbon rested between his fingers.
The needlelike Senbon gleamed coldly in the setting sun, poised to become deadly blades that would pierce straight through Uzumaki Hayashi's chest.
The wind on the mountaintop stopped.
Watching from a distance, Sakura felt her heart leap into her throat. She was just about to move-
The boy in the wheelchair gently waved her back.
Hayashi looked at Haku, who had tensed in an instant, and merely smiled.
He was smiling, but he knew perfectly well what he was dealing with.
Those things might be thin, but they could still kill him if they struck.
"As far as strength goes, you could tell from that Ice Release just now, couldn't you?"
He spoke at an unhurried pace.
"Whether it's chakra or fighting skills."
Haku's fingertips pressed against the ends of the Senbon.
The scene from moments earlier rose in his mind again.
They had raised their hands at the same time, cold air gathering around them-the other boy's Ice Spikes had formed instantly, while his own had taken much longer.
Whether in chakra reserves or formation speed, he fell far short of the child sitting in the wheelchair before him.
Not to mention the overwhelming purple killing intent that had erupted when the boy stood up.
If they actually fought, he would certainly die.
But if he didn't fight, where could he retreat to?
Lord Zabuza was still waiting for him to return.
"So." Hayashi looked at Haku. "You stayed here prepared to sacrifice yourself?"
Haku said nothing, keeping his weapons steady.
"Then why don't you think about