The next day.
Kakashi's group continued onward. Naruto still carried Hongshi, and Sasuke still carried Tazuna.
They trudged on under their burdens.
After another few hours of walking, the group finally delivered Tazuna home.
Tazuna smiled. "Home safe at last."
Suddenly, Naruto seemed to hear something. He drew a shuriken and hurled it into the bushes nearby.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Idiot, what are you doing?!"
Tazuna yelled, "Damn you, you little runt! I only just got home. Don't scare me!"
Naruto walked toward the bushes. "Something moved in there just now."
He parted the bushes and discovered a snow-white rabbit.
Sakura smiled. "It was just a rabbit!"
"That's a snow hare. They shouldn't be around this season!" Kakashi, however, noticed something amiss and grew wary. "They're here already!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a massive blade taller than a person flew out of the bushes, heading straight for Kakashi. It was the Kubikiribōchō.
"Watch out, Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi ducked beneath the Kubikiribōchō.
The Kubikiribōchō embedded itself in a tree. Then a man appeared, standing atop the blade.
"Kakashi Hatake. No wonder the Demon Brothers failed."
Kakashi looked at the newcomer. "A missing-nin from the Mist Ninja, the Demon Zabuza Momochi! This is trouble!"
There was no telling what expression Zabuza wore beneath his bandages. "Hmph. To think I'd run into Kakashi of the Sharingan here. No offense, but I want that old man."
Hongshi said, "(≖_≖) Why does that sound so weird?"
Kakashi slowly lifted the forehead protector covering his left eye,
revealing his red Three-Tomoe Sharingan. "Form a swastika formation and protect Mr. Tazuna. Hongshi, help me."
Hongshi chuckled. "Sure, Kakashi-sensei."
Zabuza fixed his browless eyes on Hongshi. "You're letting this little brat... good heavens! You're tall. You're letting this guy join in?"
Hongshi said, "(°ー°〃)????"
Kakashi kept his Sharingan locked on Zabuza as he told Naruto and the other two, "Apart from Hongshi, none of you are to intervene."
Kakashi's solemn manner frightened even Naruto. "Is this guy with no eyebrows really that strong?!"
Sakura was also very worried. "That eye of Kakashi-sensei's looks really powerful!"
Sasuke began his explanation. "Blah, blah, blah."
"Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ Kakashi-sensei is that amazing?"
"I once served in the Ninja Assassination Squad. Kakashi's name was in the assassination handbook. Kakashi, the man who copied over a thousand ninjutsu."
Standing on the Kubikiribōchō, Zabuza assumed a fighting stance. "All right, enough chatting. I need to hurry up and kill that old man. But from the looks of you, I'll have to kill you first."
Suddenly, Zabuza flickered away from the tree trunk along with the Kubikiribōchō, appearing on the surface of the water a short distance away.
He raised his right hand. "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique."
In an instant, thick mist spread everywhere. Visibility plummeted until they could barely see a meter ahead.
Kakashi stood ready with a kunai, while Hongshi remained leisurely in place. "Hmm... which ninjutsu should I use? Ah! I've got it!"
Sakura and the other two looked at the thick mist surrounding them. "We can't even see where Kakashi and Hongshi are anymore. We have to be careful."
Sasuke was trembling slightly. "Such intense killing intent! Is this what a Jonin is like? It feels like we're completely at his mercy."
"Eight places."
Zabuza's voice came from every direction, making it impossible to determine his position by sound. "Throat, spine, lungs, liver..."
While Zabuza rattled off his list like a menu, Hongshi's voice also rang out from somewhere. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
Whoooosh!!!
A fierce gale instantly swept across a vast area, blowing away the dense mist in a flash and revealing the original surroundings. Zabuza's location was exposed as well.
After using the Hidden Mist Technique, he had immediately used the Clone Technique to create four clones. They stood in different places saying the same words, making his position difficult to distinguish, while his real body held the Kubikiribōchō and tiptoed around behind Kakashi in a crouch. But when the mist blew away, he was still several meters from Kakashi. Their eyes met, and the scene became exceedingly awkward.
Zabuza said, "????"
Hongshi said, "(°ー°〃) Huh? Did I just discover some incredible secret?"
Naruto said, "∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) And here I thought it was some incredible ninjutsu!"
Sakura said, "∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) Isn't that way too simple?!"
Kakashi said, "(≖_≖) This is your... signature move... the Silent Killing Technique?"
Zabuza leaped backward and glared at Hongshi. "You little brat! You ruined everything. Die!"
All the clones leaped up at once and attacked Hongshi, while the real Zabuza charged Kakashi.
Zabuza was the strongest opponent Hongshi had encountered since coming to the world of Naruto, so he naturally dared not let his guard down. "Dragon-Rat-Tiger-Boar-Snake. Earth Release: Multiple Earth Spikes!"
He unleashed a C-rank ninjutsu. The ground shook, and a mass of earthen spikes suddenly burst outward with Hongshi at their center.
Pop! One of Zabuza's four water clones was punctured outright, while the remaining three were impeded.
The real Zabuza laughed as he continued his assault. "That brat may have plenty of chakra and strength, but he's too slow. He'll die any second!"
Kakashi dodged the Kubikiribōchō. "Heh, not necessarily."
"Ox-Hare-Tiger. Earth Release: Rock Gauntlets."
Clang, clang, clang!
Hongshi used the Rock Gauntlet and actually fought the three clones to a standstill. The ringing of metal against stone continued without pause, and he grew faster and faster.
But two fists could not contend with four hands. The clones' Kubikiribōchō struck his body repeatedly, yet each blow rang like steel and only cut his clothes.
Zabuza's clone cursed him out. "You bastard! If your body's that tough, why even use the Rock Gauntlet?!"
Hongshi chuckled. "It's all about the ritual."
Watching the showers of sparks, Naruto and the other two grew increasingly astonished. "What an incredible body!"
Smack! Hongshi spotted an opening in one clone's guard and punched it in the abdomen. But rather than bursting apart, it turned into water. It was a water clone.
"Not bad, brat!" Zabuza's clone said. "But this is where it ends. Water Release: Water Prison!"
The water clone burst apart, enveloping Hongshi and trapping him inside.
"Die!" The remaining two shadow clones raised their Kubikiribōchō and slashed at Hongshi's head.
Clang, clang! Two crisp sounds rang out. Inside the water prison, Hongshi released his Rock Gauntlet.
"Dog-Dragon-Hare-Tiger. Wind Release: Air Burst Technique!"
A mass of air erupted outward from Hongshi, instantly breaking the water prison with considerable force.
Bang, bang! The water prison burst, and the two shadow clones vanished.
Hongshi wiped the water off his face and told the real Zabuza, "Your blade isn't sharp enough."
Zabuza leaped far away and stood on the water again, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. "Ox-Monkey-Hare-Rat-Boar-Bird-Ox-Horse-Bird-Rat-Tiger-Dog-Tiger-Snake-Ox-Bird-Snake-Boar-Tiger-Rat-Bird. Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet."
The water behind him surged high, forming a gigantic water dragon that charged toward Kakashi.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!" Yet he saw an identical water dragon rise behind Kakashi at the same time. "Copying ninjutsu?!"
Boom! The two water dragons, each over ten meters long, collided and threw up an enormous spray.
While Zabuza was still reeling in shock, he suddenly heard Hongshi's voice from a short distance to his right. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet."
A third water dragon rose behind Hongshi and charged Zabuza. This time, however, Zabuza had no defensive measures left.
"Σ(ŎдŎ )ﾉﾉ Why can you do it too?! You're just a Genin!"
Boom! The water dragon struck Zabuza and drove him into the water.
Kakashi looked at Hongshi. "Hongshi, just how much chakra do you have? You've used several C-rank ninjutsu in a row. You even know Water Dragon Bullet?"
"Just a little, just a little."
"..."
"Naruto, watch out!"
Perhaps realizing he would struggle to defeat both Hongshi and Kakashi, Zabuza used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Tazuna, intending to finish him off directly, complete the mission, and leave.
It happened so suddenly that Naruto had no time to react. Zabuza's massive blade was already swinging, and he could almost smell the blood on its edge.
"Tiger-Dragon-Snake. Earth Release: Rising Earth Technique!"
But just as Naruto and the others were about to be cut in half at the waist, Hongshi acted again. The earth beneath Zabuza rose, making his slash miss.
"Die!" Sakura seized the opportunity and quickly leaped up, her slender fist carrying tremendous force as it struck Zabuza in the abdomen.
"Pfft!" Zabuza spat blood and flew backward.
Whoosh, whoosh! Two needles flew out of the woods, striking Zabuza directly in the neck.
"What?!"
Kakashi was about to give chase, but immediately stopped at the sight.
A short figure wearing a Mist Ninja mask appeared, standing on a tree branch a short distance away.
Haku.
Kakashi came to Naruto and the other two's side. "Don't make any rash moves!"