Chapter 35: Haku vs. Two
"Zabuza-sama, are you alright?" the masked Haku asked, appearing at Zabuza's side in a flash, his voice filled with concern.
"Hmph, it'll take more than two brats to hurt me," Zabuza replied stiffly, his eyes fixed on Kyosuke and Sasuke with a murderous glare.
Haku appearing at this time... this is trouble, Kyosuke thought with a frown, subconsciously glancing at Sasuke. He was trying to gauge whether Sasuke, at his current level, could hold off Haku on his own.
After all, the current Kakashi was completely watered down, truly living up to his "Kakashi of the 50/50" reputation. If he were to be taken out by Zabuza, they would be in serious trouble.
So, Kyosuke wanted to coordinate with him, using long-range ninjutsu to take out Zabuza first, and then deal with Haku. But he couldn't bring himself to fully trust Sasuke's abilities, and so he was caught in a state of hesitation.
Just then, Kakashi finally emerged from the water.
At the same time, because of Kyosuke and Sasuke's interference, he had not been trapped in the Water Prison Technique as he was in the original story. This was a stroke of luck in an otherwise unfortunate situation. Otherwise, would Kyosuke have to replicate Naruto's classic strategy to save him? He doubted Haku would give them that opportunity.
Just as Kyosuke was feeling frustrated, Kakashi suddenly spoke. "Leave Zabuza to me. I'll finish him as quickly as possible."
The implication was clear: the two of them had to hold on as long as they could until he could come to their aid.
Kyosuke secretly pursed his lips, exchanged a look with Sasuke, and the two of them charged toward Haku.
"Hmph, you want to finish me? I'm afraid you don't have what it takes," Zabuza snorted, then ordered Haku, "Go, kill those two brats."
Haku turned and glanced at the two approaching boys, especially the younger-looking Kyosuke. He hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yes, Zabuza-sama."
With that, he raised his hand and threw a handful of fine senbon needles, which flew toward Kyosuke and Sasuke.
However, Haku's senbon-throwing technique was a notch below Kyosuke's.
Ting~ ting~ ting~
All of Haku's senbon were blocked by Kyosuke's shuriken.
At the same time, Sasuke, with his Sharingan active, had already closed the distance to Haku. It had to be said that compared to a few days ago, Sasuke's speed had improved significantly. It was now on par with Haku's normal movement speed.
But in terms of combat experience, Sasuke was still too green. Even with the enhanced dynamic vision of his Sharingan, he could only barely force Haku back.
"If you leave now, I can spare your lives," Haku said coldly to the two of them.
"Hmph, arrogant," Sasuke snorted and charged at Haku again.
At the same time, Kyosuke's second wave of shuriken arrived around Haku.
In this seemingly dangerous situation, Haku remained calm and composed.
He quickly formed a series of hand seals, and a wall of ice instantly appeared around him, successfully blocking Kyosuke's shuriken.
Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness.
Then, without pausing, he suddenly moved forward and grabbed Sasuke's incoming fist.
Just as Sasuke was about to press his advantage in close combat, he was shocked to see that the masked man had begun to form hand seals with only one hand.
A few quick hand seals flashed by in an instant, and then Haku stomped heavily on the ground.
At first, Sasuke didn't understand his intention. But when he saw the splashed water droplets turn into ice senbon, his eyes widened in terror.
Secret Technique: A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death.
In this moment of crisis, the tomoe in Sasuke's eyes began to spin wildly. He pushed his Sharingan's perceptive abilities to their absolute limit, trying to avoid his vital points.
But just as he was about to move, he stopped. He realized that even if he didn't dodge, the senbon were not aimed at his vital points.
With no time to ponder the reason, Sasuke could only struggle to break free from Haku's grip and then quickly retreat.
Although the exchange had seemed to last a long time, it had only been a few seconds.
And Kyosuke had only just arrived.
It couldn't be helped. With his current speed and his short legs, this was as fast as he could run. After all, both Haku and Sasuke were ninja who specialized in speed. It was only natural that he couldn't keep up.
But Kyosuke was not a close-combat ninja. What he truly excelled at was mid-to-long-range combat.
As he ran, Kyosuke quickly formed a series of hand seals and then suddenly threw a punch.
As Haku was wondering about this strange move, he saw the boy's arm suddenly extend, and a fist shot toward him at high speed.
Surprised, Haku could only throw a few senbon, hoping to repel the boy's attack.
But on Kyosuke's extended arm, from the wrist to the fist, the skin had suddenly turned pitch black.
After knocking away all the incoming senbon, the fist continued toward Haku with undiminished momentum.
It landed heavily on Haku's chest, sending him flying back, spitting blood.
What Kyosuke had just used was a simple combination ninjutsu.
"Soft Physique Modification" plus "Earth Release: Earth Spear."
This "Earth Release: Earth Spear" was the body-hardening jutsu used by Kakuzu in the original story. Kyosuke had discovered it while browsing through Orochimaru's collection of ninjutsu and had successfully learned it.
It seemed the jutsu was quite practical. At least, it was much better than simply extending his arm to attack.
At this point, Sasuke had also recovered and stepped forward to stand beside Kyosuke.
In the distance, Haku also stood up, silently watching the two of them.
"If that's the case, then don't blame me," he said in a calm voice, glancing at the still-fiercely-battling Zabuza out of the corner of his eye.
As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful wave of chakra erupted from his body.
At the same time, the puddles of water around Kyosuke and Sasuke began to tremble with Haku's exertion of power.
Not good, Kyosuke thought to himself and began to quickly form hand seals.
At his speed, he couldn't possibly escape, so he could only try his best to stop Haku.
A few simple hand seals were completed in an instant.
He then puffed out his cheeks and shot a massive fireball at Haku's position.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Boom!
Kyosuke's full-power Great Fireball accurately hit Haku's location.
But there was no hint of joy on his face.
Because now, surrounding him and Sasuke, were countless floating mirrors of ice.
Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
(End of Chapter
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