Chapter 67: For a second I thought you two were about to steam yourselves alive.
One of Naruto's Shadow Clones stepped up beside Haku and pressed a wooden sword to his neck.
"Hey, big scary face if you don't want your sweet, soft, adorable little Nan-ang subordinate to die, then quit right now!"
The flippant remark made everyone—except Zabuza—first look toward Naruto's real body.
Naruto waved his hands frantically, innocence written all over his face:
"Ask Kakashi-sensei—Shadow Clones have a bit of their own will."
The clone was acting on its own; he wasn't taking the blame.
Konoha already had Danzo the "Shadow-Hokage" for that.
Then everyone turned to Kakashi.
The silver-haired jōnin sighed and nodded in resignation:
"True—but let's finish the fight before we hold class, all right?"
These freshly graduated rookies were far from pro, actually discussing Ninjutsu mid-battle.
"Heh… interesting."
Zabuza Momochi's gaze slid over the seemingly ordinary wooden blade in the clone's hand, his mouth curving in a sneer of pure contempt.
"A kid's toy sword? You think that's a threat?"
The wood was sturdy, but a wooden edge couldn't kill—
—until, the next second, his grin froze.
A razor-thin Chakra Blade suddenly sheathed the sword; a flick of the wrist and a lock of Haku's hair floated free.
"How about now?"
The clone smiled, eyes cold as steel.
Zabuza spoke coldly: "Hmph, he's only a blade. Blades are tools; break one and you pick another. You think that threat works on me?"
"If he really were as disposable as you claim…"
The clone's grin widened as it tore Zabuza's mask away without hesitation.
"…you'd have ignored me and smashed us both with the kubikiribōchō. Right?"
"Enough talk. I swear on my idol, the late Fourth Hokage: hand over the kubikiribōchō, leave the Land of Waves forever, and I'll pop Haku's dislocated shoulder back in and let you both walk away.
"If I break that oath, may the Fourth spit on me when I reach the Pure Land."
The clone raised a hand to heaven, dead serious, sincerity ringing in every word.
An oath?
Don't make your clone-brother laugh.
He's only a Shadow Clone; next time Naruto spawns one it'll be factory-fresh.
Writing bad checks is stress-free.
"Promises mean nothing."
Zabuza remained unmoved.
As long as the kubikiribōchō was in his hands he had a chance; giving it up would be handing over the rope to hang himself.
Surrender equaled death.
He knew the Ninja way too well.
Ninja excel at lies and dirty tricks.
He'd seen betrayal countless times—why trust an enemy's word?
Under the wooden blade Haku whispered, "Zabuza-sama, please don't worry about me…"
Yet Zabuza's sword hand trembled faintly.
Seeing the hesitation, the clone pressed on: "You can refuse, but this is your only shot at living.
Dead, you lose everything; alive, you can start over."
Moonlight glinted coldly along the kubikiribōchō's edge.
His life, like the blade, rested solely in his own grip!
Since the Silent Killing Technique had failed—let's go all-out!
Naruto slammed his palms to the ground; Earth Release Chakra reshaped the terrain.
Vacuum Attack: Ground-Morph Phase!
A ring of sharp rock spikes shot up, hooking Zabuza's ankle as he charged.
The opening lasted an instant—yet it was lethal.
Kakashi burst forward, lightning blazing in his left hand.
Raikiri!
The chirping of a thousand birds ripped the night as he drove the lightning edge toward Zabuza's heart.
Asuma rushed in parallel, his Chakra Blades crossing in a scissoring slash.
Chakra Blade: True Straight Line!
Two killing strikes at once. In his demon mode Zabuza barely parried Kakashi's Raikiri, but Asuma's Chakra knife carved a bone-deep gash across his waist.
Blood gushed; the demonic visage faded beneath the moon.
On landing, Asuma spun, twin Chakra Blades whirling in a wheel of light.
Taijutsu: Whirling Fist!
Another slash tore Zabuza's abdomen; blood pooled on the ground.
"Ice Release: Thousand-Killing Ice Soar!"
Countless ice senbon rained on Asuma, glinting deadly in the moonlight. At the last instant Sasuke's Great Fireball intercepted; ice and fire collided, billowing white steam.
A sudden spear of ice pierced Naruto's clone, dispersing it in smoke.
Haku rose, spitting more ice senbon while thick ice sheathed both arms.
Crack.
The ice locked his joints; with a twist the dislocated shoulders snapped back into place. The brutal self-reduction left him pale, yet he moved without pause.
Secret Ice Art: Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals!
Mirrored ice walls flared into existence before Tazuna's house, their polished surfaces scattering moonlight into dizzying reflections.
In the next heartbeat Haku flickered from a mirror, an ice kunai streaking for Asuma's throat.
Asuma slammed his fists together, crossing his Chakra Blades into an X and barely catching the ambush.
The ice kunai clashed against the Chakra Blade with a shrill screech, scattering shards of frost.
"Impressive Ice Release."
Asuma steadied himself, gazing at the boy who, driven by the will to protect, had burst beyond his limits. A complex light flickered in his eyes—admiration for the powerful Ninjutsu, respect for that unwavering resolve, and a trace of barely perceptible regret.
He said in a low voice, "That talent and determination... a shame we're enemies."
Haku offered no reply, nor showed any wish to linger.
The ice kunai shattered beneath the Chakra Blade, and his figure melted backward like ink in water, silently vanishing into the smooth mirror behind him as though he'd never existed.
Only faint ripples on the mirror's surface remained, along with the cold killing intent that now filled the icy labyrinth.
Naruto flashed to Sasuke's side; no words were needed—one look between them conveyed everything.
It was the perfect understanding forged through countless training sessions!
Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, analyzing the weakest node at the heart of the mirror maze.
He drew a sharp, deep breath, chest swelling like a bellows as every ounce of Chakra surged toward his throat. His hand signs blurred, leaving after-images, while terrifying scorching energy condensed before him.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
White-hot flames erupted like a sea of molten rock, roaring forth with a force that seemed to burn the world. The frigid night sky blazed as bright as noon.
Naruto swung his right hand, hurling a sphere of highly compressed teal Wind Release Chakra into the inferno.
First came an inward collapse, a terrifying suction that focused precisely on the front of the blazing wave, forcing the scattered flames to compress and converge.
Then, in an instant, that suction transformed into a violently spiraling hurricane blasting outward.
Wind fed the fire, fire borrowed the wind's might!
Under that sudden, extreme compression and release, the already devastating Great Fire Annihilation evolved into something far more terrible.
The flames seemed infused with a furious soul, expanding several-fold in the blink of an eye.
No longer a loose wave, they condensed into a colossal fire dragon.
With a heaven-shaking roar it lunged, its gaping maw clamping down to swallow the entire crystalline Mirror Ice Labyrinth whole.
The ice walls melted rapidly under the heat.
A slurry of water and ice cascaded like a waterfall, only to be vaporized into billowing white mist before it hit the ground.
"Ngh!"
A stifled grunt came from within the mist.
A white-clad figure was hurled out by invisible force, tumbling in disarray from the collapsing inferno of ice and flame—Haku.
Elsewhere...
Kakashi seized a tiny opening, darting in like lightning and driving a fierce side-kick into Zabuza's battered chest.
"Gah—!"
Blood sprayed from Zabuza's mouth as he was flung helplessly through the air, crashing like a crow with broken wings.
The massive blade that symbolized membership among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen slipped from his slack grip, tracing a heavy, desolate arc through the air.
Smack!
A black fingerless-gloved hand clamped the frigid hilt in an iron grip.
It was Kakashi Hatake.
He held the huge sword one-handed, its tip angled toward the ground.
Slowly Kakashi turned; his left Sharingan glowed cold and eerie red in the mingled firelight and moonlight, locking without emotion on Zabuza Momochi, who lay in a pool of blood, barely breathing.
He stepped forward, the Executioner's Blade dragging a shallow furrow in the earth, his voice calm as frozen ice, pronouncing the duel's end: "It's over, Zabuza."
"It's over, Zabuza."
Deprived of the Mirror Ice Crystal, Haku plummeted like a bird with clipped wings.
Night wind howled through his torn robes.
Fighting the agony of reset arms and Chakra exhaustion, he tried to twist in midair and find a safe landing.
Yet the instant his feet touched the ground, a cold, viscous binding seized him.
"Shadow Imitation Technique—success."
A lazy yet calm voice drifted from behind a gnarled tree at the battlefield's edge. Nara Shikamaru stepped out, hands locked in a steady seal.
The moment Haku was pinned, Choji dropped from the sky as a green Human Boulder, crashing down with thunderous force.
"Human Boulder!"
His expanded body, armored with bristling hair, resembled a giant spiked ball.
Haku's eyes widened as the green mass bore down, the Shadow Imitation leaving him no way to dodge.
Boom!
The impact shook the ground itself.
When the dust cleared, Haku lay broken amid the rubble, covered in blood, unable to rise.
Thought you two were about to steam yourselves alive."
Naruto exhaled in relief at the sight of the fallen Zabuza and Haku.
My Shadow Clones still aren't as steady as the real me!
Got ambushed the moment Haku powered up.
Loving Book So Far? Check Out 30+ Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/FictionOP