Crack!
After a brief stalemate, Lightning Blade ultimately proved stronger. The Executioner's Blade was pierced straight through.
Kakashi Hatake immediately pushed forward.
The speed was overwhelming—so fast that even when the Zabuza assimilated body reacted, he could not defend in time.
Unless he used Susanoo.
"I was careless. I should have taken this more seriously. As expected of Kakashi Hatake, the famous fifty–fifty man."
At the critical moment, the assimilated body shifted slightly.
The Lightning Blade missed his heart.
But his right chest was completely pierced through.
Kakashi Hatake pulled his hand back and instantly retreated.
Against powerful ninja, even when the opponent was gravely injured, caution was necessary. As long as chakra remained, anything could happen.
Who knew if the enemy would unleash some forbidden technique to drag them both to death?
The three ANBU surrounded the Zabuza assimilated body.
Like Kakashi Hatake, none of them approached too closely.
"As expected of Kakashi Hatake. It seems the Hokage made the right choice sending you."
One of the older ANBU praised him.
Even though he was more than ten years older than Kakashi Hatake, his strength still fell short.
Not only was he weaker now, he had always been weaker.
And in the future he would still be weaker.
Kakashi Hatake himself was a legend.
There were countless jonin in the ninja world, but only a few truly famous ones.
Kakashi Hatake was one of them.
The Zabuza assimilated body glanced at the Executioner's Blade in his hand.
It had snapped.
It truly deserved its nickname as the "broken blade."
Among the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, its durability was easily the worst.
Its only advantage was that it could absorb blood to repair itself.
The assimilated body did not move.
He simply stood there.
His wounds were rapidly regenerating.
Even the hole in his chest was closing.
"That ability… no, we can't wait."
Kakashi Hatake's expression changed dramatically.
Even without knowing the cost of such regeneration, this power alone could reverse the entire battle.
Imagine two ninja using their ultimate techniques and both ending up mortally wounded.
If one of them suddenly regenerated and survived—
That person would become the winner.
Kakashi Hatake quickly formed hand seals.
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth.
Facing the enormous Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, the Zabuza assimilated body did not dodge.
Instead, he raised the half-broken Executioner's Blade and slashed down viciously.
Before the blade even touched the fireball, dense Water Release chakra began dissolving it.
The fireball rapidly disintegrated.
Not split apart.
Not scattered.
It simply dissolved.
After all, water naturally suppresses fire.
"Hidden Mist Technique."
Thick fog suddenly spread everywhere.
White mist filled the surroundings, and the Zabuza assimilated body vanished instantly.
Kakashi Hatake and the three ANBU quickly gathered together.
They could not risk being picked off one by one.
"Who among you specializes in Wind Release? Try Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
Kakashi Hatake spoke calmly.
He conserved chakra whenever possible.
The Sharingan constantly drained his chakra reserves.
In truth, Kakashi Hatake possessed a considerable amount of chakra.
If he were not burdened by the Sharingan, he would not run out after using only a few techniques.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Two ANBU who specialized in Wind Release immediately complied.
A powerful gust roared outward.
Some of the mist dispersed, but visibility remained extremely poor.
"Everyone stay alert. The Hidden Mist Technique is only a D-rank technique, but Momochi Zabuza specializes in it. His Silent Killing Technique has claimed the lives of many jonin."
Kakashi Hatake understood something important.
A low-ranked technique was not necessarily weak.
It simply meant the technique was easier to learn.
In actual combat, even the basic Substitution Technique could turn the tide if used properly.
Suddenly, Kakashi Hatake sensed a powerful chakra fluctuation.
He clapped his hands together, rapidly forming seals, then slammed his palm onto the ground.
A massive earth wall carved with a dog's head rose up from the ground.
At that moment—
A Water Dragon slammed violently into the wall.
The earth wall collapsed instantly.
"Defend! Don't scatter! We must stay together!"
Kakashi Hatake shouted.
The ANBU did not fully understand what was happening, but they followed his orders.
Water Dragon after Water Dragon surged toward the four of them.
If not for the dense fog, Kakashi Hatake would have ordered them to spread out.
But under these circumstances, separating would be even more dangerous.
Meanwhile, the Zabuza assimilated body felt slightly troubled.
Defeating Kakashi Hatake was not easy.
And he could not kill him.
"If I used the Eight Gates, I could definitely defeat Kakashi Hatake… but that wouldn't match Momochi Zabuza's identity. My mission is to infiltrate the Akatsuki. Using a Konoha forbidden technique would make that much harder."
"The Secret Art Bomb won't work either. Its power is too destructive."
"Don't tell me I have to use the Desire of Beauty ability… as a man?"
Just thinking about it gave the assimilated body chills.
He was not nearly as twisted as the Hancock clone.
At that moment, his injuries had already fully healed.
His regeneration ability was truly remarkable.
"In that case… I'll have to use the Mangekyo Sharingan ability."
"The original body and the other clones are very skilled with Absolute Control. But Shared Pain hasn't been used yet."
"This fog is perfect. No one will see the Sharingan."
The assimilated body could continue hiding and slowly exhaust Kakashi Hatake and the others.
But that would take time.
Too much time.
Unexpected variables might appear.
"Hold on! Momochi Zabuza may be powerful, but his chakra can't be endless. Even the Hokage couldn't waste chakra like this!"
Kakashi Hatake shouted loudly.
The Water Dragon Techniques were coming one after another, with barely a few seconds between them.
No ninja could maintain such high-frequency ninjutsu forever.
However, Kakashi Hatake had misjudged the Zabuza assimilated body's chakra reserves.
The original Momochi Zabuza actually had less chakra than Kakashi Hatake.
But after being assimilated by Tomie, his chakra increased day by day.
Now his chakra reserves were approaching double Kakashi Hatake's.
More importantly—
His chakra regenerated extremely quickly.
The assimilated body itself did not attack.
Instead, his shadow clones continued launching assaults.
Meanwhile, the real body activated the Mangekyo Sharingan.
From more than ten meters away, he looked directly at Kakashi Hatake.
The Mangekyo ability activated.
Shared Pain began.
A contract formed between them.
More precisely—
Any injury suffered by the Zabuza assimilated body would be transferred to Kakashi Hatake.
But Kakashi Hatake's injuries would not transfer back.
"Then… let's begin."
The Zabuza assimilated body raised a kunai and stabbed it toward his own heart.
He deliberately missed slightly.
According to the original body's instructions, Kakashi Hatake could not die.
Kakashi Hatake was a tool Uchiha Fujie intended to use to torment Obito Uchiha indirectly.
Sasuke Uchiha was the same.
With Uchiha Fujie's current abilities, killing Sasuke Uchiha without revealing himself would not be difficult.
Suddenly, Kakashi Hatake felt dizzy.
He collapsed to one knee.
It felt as if something sharp had pierced his heart.
He felt exhausted.
So tired.
He just wanted to sleep.
"Kakashi! What's wrong?"
"Don't worry about me. Stay alert. Momochi Zabuza may possess some invisible attack method—or a strange forbidden technique. He can't keep this up forever. This must be his final attempt."
The Zabuza assimilated body ignored their conversation.
He shifted the target.
Shared Pain could only affect one person at a time.
So he switched the target from Kakashi Hatake to one of the ANBU.
Once again, he raised the kunai.
In the short time that had passed, his heart wound had already healed.
Slash!
The blade pierced flesh.
The pain was intense.
An ANBU collapsed instantly.
This particular ANBU belonged to the Utatane clan.
So the assimilated body aimed directly for the heart.
The ANBU died immediately.
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