Haku suddenly moved.
Three senbon struck the ground in front of their feet in a triangular formation.
Clearly, he wasn't trying to hurt them.
He was trying to force them to stop.
"Who's stopping?!"
Naruto stepped over the senbon and charged ahead.
The clash of blades from the center of the bridge hammered against his heart, again and again.
I promised I wouldn't let him get hurt again.
Haku lowered his eyes, then flickered away into the mist.
"Left!"
Sasuke yanked Naruto aside.
Haku's palm swept past Naruto's shoulder, his fingertips missing the base of his neck by barely half an inch.
"He's trying to block your chakra points." Sasuke watched Haku. "This guy isn't playing around."
"Move!" Naruto shouted at him. "We're going to Hayashi!"
"Please step back."
That was all Haku said.
Naruto gritted his teeth and clapped his hands together.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
A fierce wind swept along the bridge deck.
Haku pushed off lightly with his toes and sprang into the air.
I've been waiting for you to jump!
Sasuke already had both hands pressed against the bridge.
"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
Electricity raced along the ground with a crackle, heading straight for where Haku would land.
In midair, Haku formed hand seals with one hand.
Crack.
An ice mirror formed beneath his feet. Electricity surged across its surface, then quickly dissipated.
At the same moment, Sasuke whipped a handful of shuriken out behind him.
The trailing wind from Naruto's palm strike caught them squarely.
Kakashi-sensei said Gale Palm's real strength was in using it together with shuriken.
Propelled by the wind, the shuriken hurtled toward Haku in midair, fast and heavy.
Haku made no attempt to dodge.
He simply pressed his seal-forming hand gently downward.
"Secret Art: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals."
A ring of