Thick fog covered every inch of the training ground.
Yahiko in the audience subconsciously took half a step back. He couldn't see anything clearly in the venue, but the coolness creeping up against his skin reminded him of Amegakure's rainy night.
"Is this Hidden Mist Technique of Kirigakure?" Konan asked in a low voice.
"It's not just blocking the line of sight." Nagato's Rinnegan said through the fog layer, "He's suppressing the opponent's breathing rhythm."
In the fog, Kai stood still. The silver-white puppet he controlled closed its eyes - the puppet didn't need to breathe or eyes, Kai was just used to this action.
"Senior, I know you are twelve steps behind and to my left."
"Oh?" A voice came from the right, "Guess?"
"It's not a guess." Kai smiled, "The air is moving."
Kubikiribōchō has arrived.
The blade cut across the fog at neck height. Kai lowered his head, and the blade scraped across the puppet's forehead, taking away a layer of silver-white metal shavings.
Zabuza didn't put the knife away, but used the momentum of the swing to turn around and hit Kai's knee with the back of the knife.
Kai raised his leg to catch it hard.
"Boom."
There was a dull sound unlike that made by flesh and blood. Kai was hit and slid two meters to the side, and the soles of his feet plowed two grooves in the ground.
"You shouldn't take it hard." The voice in the mist was calm, "White Zetsu's body can't feel pain, so you don't know how far you have been injured."
The knife came again. This time it was three knives.
The first knife came from above, the second knife from below, and the third knife penetrated from the blind corner of Kai's vision at the moment he raised his hand to block, accurately piercing the joint of the puppet's right shoulder.
Kai's right arm dropped.
The audience gasped for breath.
"Silent Killing Technique." An instructor explained, "Zabuza doesn't rely on fog to hide, it relies on fog to slow down your judgment for half a beat. Half a beat is enough."
"The new puppet... can't do it either?"
"Don't jump to conclusions."
In the fog, Kai used his left hand to snap the joint of his right arm back to its original position and connected it with a click.
"Senior, I understand." He said, "I can't defeat you just by relying on Taijutsu's basic skills."
"Nonsense." Zabuza said with a smile, "When I killed people, you were still walking."
"Then I'll change my approach."
Kai opened his eyes.
"First Gate, Gate of Opening--Open."
A layer of red lit up under the puppet's skin. The eight crystal nuclei embedded in the acupuncture points began to glow at the same time, as if someone had lit eight lamps in the metal.
In the observation room, Scorpion's finger pressed on the record key.
"First Gate, start timing."
The fog cleared a corner. Kai rushed in and punched the air. The wind of the punch tore a hole in the fog wall thirty meters away.
"The second door, Gate of Healing--open."
"The third door, Gate of Life--open."
The moment the three doors opened, the puppet's skin turned red.
Zabuza's knife missed the mark this time.
Kai dodged past him - not so fast, but so fast that Zabuza's knife path was completely nullified. Kubikiribōchō was cut in place, and Kai's knee was already pressed against the abdomen of the puppet Zabuza.
"Boom!"
The puppet Zabuza flew out completely and hit the alloy wall of the training ground, creating a human-shaped dent.
The auditorium was quiet for two seconds, and then exploded.
"Is the new puppet so powerful?"
"What the hell is this? That's senior Zabuza!"
On the wall, the puppet Zabuza slid down from the pit, and its body was half deformed. He raised his hand and pressed it on his chest. The body of White Zetsu softened like wax and reshaped, and the sunken part bulged back on its own.
Mayfly Technique.
"Trouble." Zabuza smacked his lips, "Boy, are you really good at this thing?"
"Come again."
Zabuza Hands Hand Seals.
"Water Release·Water Dragon Bullet!"
There is no water source on the training ground, but the Chakra stored in White Zetsu Puppet's body need not be unreasonable. The moisture and mist on the ground instantly condensed into a twenty-meter-long water dragon, roaring and rushing towards Kai.
"The fourth door, Gate of Pain--open."
Kai didn't hide.
He raised his left fist and hit Shui Long on the head.
"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"
The water dragon split from head to tail and exploded into water mist. Before the water mist even hit the ground, Kai had already come out of the mist.
"Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit--Open!"
Green Chakra flames burned out from the puppet's body, covering it completely. The ground began to crack, with Kai as the center, cracking outward in circles.
In the front row of the audience, several ninjas stood up unconsciously.
"Hey... is that still Taijutsu? Is the new puppet so cheating?"
"I can't see him."
"I can't see it either."
Inside the venue, Zabuza saw it - but it was too late to react.
Kai's first punch was on his left rib. The second punch was on the same location. By the time of the third punch, the left half of the puppet Zabuza's body had begun to disintegrate.
Zabuza disintegrated on the spot.
It wasn't that it was scattered, it was scattered by himself. The entire White Zetsu body turned into a pool of white mucus, dragging his Greatsword away against the ground, and then re-consolidated into a human form ten meters away.
"Fuck." Zabuza put the knife back on his shoulder and gasped - he knew that White Zetsu's body didn't need to breathe, but his consciousness still forced this body to pant, "I have never been in such a mess at Kirigakure before. This is the first time someone has beaten my clone into tofu."
"Senior, you are still standing." Kai said, "It means I am not fast enough."
"Fuck, are you yin and yang me when you step on the horse?"
"Sixth Gate, Gate of View--Open!!!"
Boom.
The lighting runes of the entire training ground flashed at the same time.
Blue Chakra flames burst out from the puppet's body, and the flame tail dragged for seven or eight meters.
Zabuza's pupils shrank.
Then he couldn't see anything.
The first blow was on his chest. He didn't see it. The second blow was on his back - he didn't even know when he was hit and turned around. The third blow, the fourth blow, the fifth blow, his body was hit continuously in the air, like a sandbag that was repeatedly slapped, flying from one end of the training ground to the other.
Mayfly Technique. Powder. Condensate.
As soon as he formed his human form, Kai's fist was already in front of him.
Disperse. Condensate. Disperse. Condensate.
Zabuza I have been using Puppet Clone for so many years, but I have never used this First Gate life-saving Ninjutsu so diligently.
Yahiko in the audience was clutching the railing, his palms all sweaty.
"He... he can't even fight back."
"It's not that it can't be done." Nagato's voice was dry, "It's just that his consciousness can't keep up. The current speed of this puppet has exceeded the limit of what human nerves can handle. It's not that the senior who is carrying Greatsword can't beat him, his body can't keep up with the opponent's speed at all."
Konan asked softly, "What if this is the real body?"
Nagato was silent for a moment.
"Maybe the real body can react faster, but even if it dodges the first punch, it can't dodge the second one."
In the field, Might Guy stopped.
"Senior?"
The pool of white mucus slowly condensed from the ground. Halfway through the condensation, when the voice of Might Guy was heard, even the reaction of condensation paused.
"... Stop."
"What?"
"I said I won't fight anymore." Zabuza controlled the puppet to stand up straight again.
"I surrender."