Haku, wearing his mask, looked at Naruto and Sasuke trapped inside his Crystal Ice Mirrors and spoke.
"If you leave now, I might consider letting you go. But if you insist on this path… I don't mind being a decisive killer."
"Quit acting tough. I'm not taking a single step back."
Naruto held a kunai, standing ready.
Surprisingly, Sasuke agreed with him.
"Yeah. A ninja always faces challenges head-on. We don't back down just because it's hard."
"Then… I'm sorry."
As soon as Haku's voice fell—
His figure appeared in the icy mirrors around Naruto and Sasuke!
Dozens of mirrors, each with an identical figure inside, enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
You couldn't tell which one was the real body!
"What kind of creepy jutsu is this?!"
Naruto threw out a testing shuriken at the Haku in one of the icy mirrors.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, the shuriken was deflected.
Kakashi, watching from the side, saw the technique and his pupils widened in shock.
"Could this be…"
Before he could finish, Zabuza cut in smugly.
"That's right. One of the rarest kekkei genkai in the ninja world—Ice Release."
"Haku is a ninja I've trained with everything I know. His taijutsu is top-notch, his ninjutsu sharp, and he even has a unique kekkei genkai."
"In some ways, that brat's already stronger than me."
Kakashi opened his mouth but something seemed stuck in his throat.
Naruto and Sasuke were in real danger.
Seeing his expression, Zabuza's smirk deepened.
"Scared, Kakashi? Your two little disciples don't stand a chance against Haku. Even if that red-haired brat showed up, it wouldn't matter."
"In that peaceful-to-the-point-of-stupidity environment of Konoha, you can't raise a true, decisive killer."
"Haku's different. He's walked the edge of life and death with me many times—he's the real deal."
...
While Zabuza boasted, Naruto and Sasuke were realizing just how terrifying Ice Release was.
Trapped inside Haku's Crystal Ice Mirrors, they couldn't fight back at all.
Inside the formation, Haku's speed was incredible.
His movements were unpredictable—every mirror held his reflection, but none contained his real body.
In no time, Naruto and Sasuke were covered in wounds from his attacks.
"Damn it… those senbon could hit vital spots, but he's just landing these shallow strikes… Is he planning to torture us to death?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger.
He had thought that after finishing his chakra control training, his ninjutsu would step up a level.
But he hadn't expected that the first real fight after that would be against someone this strong!
"If it's ice… then maybe fire can melt it!"
Sasuke decided to take the gamble, calling Naruto to cover his back.
Then, his hands flew into a cross-shaped seal.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!!"
He inhaled and unleashed a massive ball of high-temperature flame straight at the surrounding mirrors.
Whoosh!
The instant the fireball touched the icy mirrors, it exploded into steam with a burst of heat.
The impact was loud—but the effect was disappointing.
Only a few drops of water dripped down the mirrors.
"It's useless," Haku said with a mocking tone. "That level of jutsu can't melt Ice Release."
Naruto quickly formed a seal beside Sasuke.
He wanted to try breaking through with the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Dozens of shadow clones appeared in an instant.
But before they could get far, Haku darted between the mirrors, eliminating them one after another with his senbon.
"Dammit! Quit hiding in those mirrors! If you're so strong, come out here and fight me!" Naruto yelled.
But Haku remained unfazed.
"This is what my jutsu is."
In that moment of desperation, Naruto thought of his good friend.
If Shinju were here, they wouldn't be in such a bad spot.
"If Shinju were here, he'd definitely think of a way to get us out."
"He's probably still sleeping in the house," Sasuke muttered. "By the time he wakes up, our corpses will be ice-cold."
For once, Sasuke cracked a joke—though to Naruto, it felt more chilling than funny.
...
Meanwhile, facing Kakashi, Zabuza raised his Executioner's Blade, ready to fight.
"Enough. Let the brats deal with their own mess."
"It's time we finished our battle."
With that, he split into two water clones.
Sweat beaded on Kakashi's forehead.
Naruto and Sasuke were trapped by the Ice Release user, and he still had to protect Tazuna.
Fighting Zabuza under these conditions was going to be rough.
He needed to finish this quickly.
Thinking that, Kakashi slowly reached up and lifted the headband covering his left eye…
The moment his Sharingan was exposed, he noticed the surrounding mist thickening.
It grew so dense that visibility dropped to zero—he could barely see his own hand in front of him!
In this kind of visibility, the Sharingan's advantage was heavily reduced.
From within the fog, Zabuza's voice came.
"You think I wouldn't learn from our last fight?"
"The mist blocking your Sharingan!"
"In zero visibility, you can't see either," Kakashi shot back.
"Don't forget—I'm the Demon of the Hidden Mist, a master of Silent Killing. Pinpointing you by sound is nothing to me!"
As his voice faded, Kakashi felt a rush of wind from behind.
He spun around and blocked with his kunai.
Clang!
The kunai clashed against the massive Executioner's Blade.
Kakashi, with years of battle experience, shifted his body the instant the weapons met.
At the same time, he angled his kunai for a precise strike at Zabuza's abdomen.
Splash!
The blade pierced clean through—only for Zabuza's body to collapse into water.
A water clone.
Kakashi gave a wry smile.
"Cautious, aren't you? The situation's already in your favor, and you still test me with a water clone."
Wait—
Kakashi's eyes widened suddenly.
Zabuza's target had never been him—
It was Tazuna!
If Tazuna died, Zabuza would get paid.
Realizing the danger, Kakashi rushed back to defend.
But behind Tazuna, a shadowy figure had already appeared, raising the Executioner's Blade high and bringing it down with a vicious swing!
Shhhhk!
Blood sprayed through the air—
But it wasn't Tazuna who was hurt.
In the nick of time, Kakashi had returned, his kunai locking against Zabuza's falling blade.