Seeing Sasuke get beaten down, Naruto froze for a second, panic rising in his chest.
Naruto hated this feeling being unable to help. He was shivering a bit not from cold, but from fear.
But at that moment, he remembered his promise to Kakashi:
"Next time… I won't freeze."
Remembering those words, his eyes sharpened, the fear slowly fading away.
Naruto then shouted at Zabuza from behind to gain his attention.
"Stop right there!"
Glancing at his still-fresh wounds, Naruto took a deep breath and formed a single hand seal.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
POOF!
Almost thirty shadow clones burst into the field, surrounding Zabuza's water clone on all sides.
They charged in, attacking from every angle—kicks, punches, diving strikes creating a chaotic flurry of movement.
In the confusion, Sasuke managed to roll away, narrowly escaping the clone's grip.
But Zabuza's clone wasn't just standing there.
This was a man who had survived countless life-and-death battles. Shadow clones? Tricks? They were nothing to him.
He cut them down one after another, barely moving. The blade danced with practiced ease. Within seconds, the field was silent again.
On the sideline, Sasuke had recovered just enough to pull himself upright.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.
He tossed something—a large folded fuma shuriken.
Sasuke caught it with one hand, smirking.
Unfolding it in a smooth motion, he took aim—and threw.
The massive shuriken whirled through the air, spinning fast as it closed in on the water clone.
Zabuza's clone dodged easily.
"Do you really think that kind of throw would work on me?" he said mockingly.
But then his eyes followed the shuriken's trajectory—and realized it wasn't meant for him.
It was heading for the real Zabuza, who was still maintaining the Water Prison Technique.
Zabuza smirked. "I already told you. Shuriken can't hurt me."
As the fuma shuriken approached, he casually caught it—one-handed.
Seeing this, Sasuke smirked.
But the moment Zabuza caught it—
Another fuma shuriken came flying in from the opposite side.
Zabuza's eyes widened.
Since when—?!
Even he hadn't seen that shuriken before. So the first was just a decoy. The second was the real threat, meant to catch him off guard.
With both hands occupied, Zabuza had no choice but to leap into the air to dodge.
He barely avoided the second shuriken… and exhaled in relief.
But then—POOF!
The second shuriken vanished in smoke—and Naruto appeared in its place, midair.
Zabuza's expression twisted.
This brat—!
The real damage dealer was actually Naruto, who had transformed into the fuma shuriken using the Transformation Jutsu.
"Take this!"
Before Zabuza could react, Naruto hurled a kunai straight at Zabuza's arm—the one holding Kakashi's Water Prison.
Zabuza was forced to move to avoid it, and as soon as he did—
The Water Prison collapsed.
SPLASH!
Kakashi dropped to the water's surface and stood tall, eye narrowed and glowing red.
"Thank you, Naruto…" he said calmly. "You've done enough. Leave the rest to me."
This time, he wouldn't underestimate Zabuza.
Now it was his turn to fight for real.
Meanwhile, Naruto was still flailing in the river.
He had no idea how to walk on water, so after delivering the decisive blow, he was awkwardly swimming to shore, gasping and kicking.
"Stupid water—why doesn't anyone teach me how to walk on water!"
On the opposite end, Haku watched everything unfold.
His calm eyes widened as he saw the Water Prison break. He knew now things had taken a turn for the worse.
It was time for him to step in—or Mr. Zabuza would be in serious danger.
Scanning the field, Haku looked for the easiest target to capture for Plan B.
His eyes landed on Naruto—half-drowned and flailing, completely unaware of the danger.
"Let's help him reach shore," Haku whispered, eyes narrowing beneath the mask.
Seeing Naruto awkwardly swimming, Haku decided to help him—after all, helping the helpless is a good deed, right?
Being the good boy he was, Haku quickly appeared at Naruto's side.
He acted swiftly, sprinkling sleeping powder—one of the most potent ones he had obtained from the black market.
This mission was too important. He had to give it his all.
The moment Naruto came in contact with the powder, it affected him instantly. He felt dizzy, his eyelids drooping rapidly.
He tried to resist, but the powder was too strong. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.
Haku gently placed Naruto over his shoulder and darted toward the designated meeting point, signaling Zabuza to activate Plan B.
There was another reason Zabuza didn't take Haku into fights—it was because Haku was against killing.
Haku was soft-hearted and didn't want to hurt anyone, so Zabuza usually didn't take him on missions like this.
Meanwhile, Sasuke stood nearby, watching the ongoing clash between Kakashi and Zabuza with his hands in his pockets, trying to look cool—completely unaware that his teammate was being kidnapped.
As for Sakura… well, let's just say she was there.
On the river, Kakashi and Zabuza stood at opposite ends, water swirling around them.
With a sudden surge of chakra, both began weaving hand seals at lightning speed.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Two towering dragons erupted from the lake, roaring as they clashed in mid-air, sending torrents of water across the battlefield.
Amidst the chaos, Kakashi and Zabuza met again in close combat.
Steel clashed against steel—Zabuza's executioner blade against Kakashi's kunai.
The fight was brutal. Both were evenly matched. Sparks flew, water splashed, and neither gained the upper hand.
They finally parted, stepping back for another round of ninjutsu.
But then Zabuza noticed something strange—Kakashi on the other side was doing the same movements he was.
As Zabuza moved to the side, Kakashi did the same. When he raised one arm, Kakashi mirrored him.
Zabuza was shocked. 'What… it's as if he knows—'
"What I'm going to do next," Kakashi said, finishing his internal monologue aloud.
Zabuza growled. "All you're doing is copying me like a monkey! You think you can beat me with cheap tricks?"
But Kakashi said the exact same words at the exact same time, leaving Zabuza speechless.
"..."
Copy my actions if you want—but why are you copying my speech too? Are you that bored?
Zabuza then decided to stop talking. It was only making things worse. He prepared the seals for his next attack. 'Copy this if you can! You won't finish it before me—'
Then both Zabuza and Kakashi began weaving hand seals again.
At that moment, Zabuza heard Haku's signal and knew Plan B had been carried out. But he was too focused to retreat now.
He could only wait for an opportunity to flee amidst this barrage of attacks.