The atmosphere on the bridge had solidified into a heavy, silent pressure cooker. The verbal exchange—the tense, high-stakes game of bluffing inventory—had reached its limit. Both Kakashi and Zabuza knew the oral examination was inconclusive.
A profound, mutual vigilance settled in their hearts. Under normal shinobi combat conditions, a degree of predictability remained: one knew the limits of elemental releases or the fatigue inherent in repeated Jūtsu use.
But the magic of the jars shattered all convention.
Zabuza's anxiety was cold and specific: he feared Kakashi would suddenly activate the Kempfer Bracelet he had seen in the inventory, transforming into a beautiful, female form whose power would supposedly skyrocket. Such an unforeseen ability could destroy his strategic advantage.
Kakashi's fear was equally paralyzing: he worried Zabuza was holding a hidden, deadly, purchased trump card, perhaps an ultimate-tier ability like the Sky Flying Fairy he had seen Sasuke acquire—an attack utterly impossible to predict or counter.
This was not a conventional ninja war. This was a battle where the rules were written by a dimensional merchant, and anything was possible.
Yet, they were compelled to fight. Retreat meant failure and dishonor.
"Kakashi, let us conclude this trivial warm-up," Zabuza declared, raising his colossal Imperial Weapon.
With his free hand, he executed a single, swift seal, and instantly, a suffocating, dense white mist—the signature Ninjutsu: Mist Shadow Technique—erupted, surging across the bridge like a vengeful tide.
Kakashi watched Zabuza vanish into the zero-visibility fog, his alertness spiking to a dangerous level. He quickly pulled out two Level 2 supplements from his pouch: a Strength Pill and a temporary Blue Chakra Pill.
Tsunade's jar purchases had primarily yielded healing consumables, not the strength-augmenting series that Zabuza had clearly acquired.
The raw physical shock he had absorbed during their brief clash was a horrifying testament to Zabuza's brute-force enhancement—a physical pressure that exceeded even the immense, concentrated force of Might Guy's techniques.
Kakashi's mind drifted momentarily, a complex mixture of resentment and confusion brewing. Why sell such power to a violent, mercenary terrorist?
Shen Mo's placid, almost benevolent face flashed in Kakashi's memory. Could it be that in the eyes of that indifferent entity, Zabuza's ambition, his greed, and his desperate will to overthrow a Kage were simply another valid form of a 'desire to change destiny'? The implications were dizzying.
There was no time for philosophy.
"Sasuke, Naruto!" Kakashi's voice sliced through the rising fog, sharp and commanding. He gripped his kunai tightly. "Protect Mr. Dazna and Rin!"
The final word, "Rin," was all the signal the medic needed. Rin, carrying the bulk of Kakashi's healing stock, understood her primary mission was now not just protection, but immediate damage control for the Jōnin if the fight went sideways.
"Such predictable teamwork," Zabuza's voice snaked through the mist, echoing from all directions. "Kakashi, before the Administrator left, I asked him explicitly if he cared about my ongoing business with you. Do you know what his answer was?"
Kakashi remained silent, focused entirely on sensing the slightest shift in the mist.
Zabuza's voice continued, amplified and chilling. "He said, 'I don't care.'"
As the final word, 'care,' dropped, the voice seemed to instantly materialize right next to Kakashi's ear.
CLANG!
Kakashi reacted with the speed of pure reflex, throwing his kunai in a desperate, backward arc. Metal slammed into metal—a blinding shower of sparks where the kunai met the colossal Imperial Weapon.
The immense force of the counter-attack crushed Kakashi instantly. Zabuza's body, enveloped in the glowing, brown luminescence of his Earth-Attribute Special Equipment Set—a nearly complete outfit of eleven Tier 2 items—was a vessel of staggering, unholy strength.
CRACKLE...
The concrete floor beneath Kakashi's feet screamed in protest, slowly fracturing. His boots shredded under the compression, and his arms began to tremble uncontrollably despite the effect of the Strength Pill. Even with the chemical augmentation, his sheer physical might was clearly inferior to Zabuza's purchased, permanent enhancements.
Zabuza pressed the physical advantage while continuing the psychological assault. "Why the sudden silence, Copy Ninja? It seems you truly failed to capitalize on the opportunity the Administrator offered. Was that talk of selling Ninjutsu all bluff? Look down, Kakashi. Your legs are buckling, and the blades of the scissors are touching your mask. One fraction more of force, and your head will crush exactly like that boy's little sword..."
Kakashi's face was turning crimson beneath the mask. Every muscle in his body was screaming, his strength fully expended just to maintain the stalemate. He stared intently at the intricate, glowing equipment Zabuza wore.
A complete set of Special Equipment... eleven pieces. The chance of pulling a complete set from standard Tier 2 Jars was astronomically low. Was this the result of a Tier 3 Jar? Or merely staggering luck and enormous funds?
He knew he couldn't maintain the block. He needed to strike back decisively.
The Mangekyō Sharingan, his ultimate weapon, began to shift its shape in his eye—it needed a brief moment of chakra accumulation to activate fully.
But in that instant—the exact, critical window of necessary delay—a small, reckless form flashed into the fog.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto, unable to endure the painted picture of Zabuza's words, swung his fists and charged headlong into the mist.
NO!
Kakashi instantly registered the trap. Zabuza had delivered the monologue on purpose. This entire, drawn-out close combat was merely a diversion for a second attacker!
The Mangekyō needed time he no longer had. Gritting his teeth, Kakashi forced his weight to shift, deliberately redirecting the force of the kunai to the right. The crushing weight of the Imperial Weapon tore into his right shoulder, a searing pain, but the compromise allowed him to violently twist his wrist, breaking the stalemate.
"Naruto, retreat! They have an accomplice!" Kakashi roared, collapsing onto the concrete, his arm uselessly stinging.
"What?" Naruto stopped mid-stride, confusion overriding his recklessness. The mist was an absolute blanket; he couldn't see Sasuke, Dazna, or the others.
"Too slow."
Zabuza did not pursue Kakashi. He simply stood, a dark silhouette, his face mocking the fallen Jōnin. One of the children was now isolated and disoriented. The strategic opening was complete.
Before Zabuza even finished the thought, a rapid volley of silent ice arrows—moving at inhuman speed—shot out from the dense, directionless fog, flying not toward Naruto, but toward the exposed flank of Dazna's protectors.
Puff—!
A sound of raw flesh being pierced.
Sasuke, still reeling from the physical and mental shock, had been recovering near Dazna, but he had managed to position his body subconsciously between the client and the incoming attack. He didn't retreat.
"Aaaahhh!" Sasuke screamed, the sound sharp and raw from the sudden, excruciating pain of multiple frozen projectiles slamming deep into his body. He looked like a grotesque, bleeding porcupine.
"Sa-Sasuke—!" Naruto's voice cracked with a helplessness that was profound and childish. His recklessness, his distraction—it had cost his comrade dearly.
"Run toward the sound, Naruto! Now!" Kakashi yelled, his breath ragged, his heart seizing at the sound of Sasuke's scream.
"Give it up, Kakashi," Zabuza's voice echoed, cold and utterly victorious, as he plunged his Imperial Weapon into the ground. "My partner has opened more Jars than I have."
The casual delivery of that statement, devoid of any attempt at deception, sent Kakashi's heart plummeting. More Jars. The ultimate fear realized. The accomplice wasn't just Haku; he was an even more powerful, financially invested enemy.
"Sasuke, drink this immediately!" Rin scrambled, dumping a small, red healing potion into Sasuke's mouth. She then quickly and efficiently pulled a large, intact ice arrow from his shoulder, allowing the potion to access the deep wound.
Sakura, meanwhile, stared at Sasuke, who had collapsed in a bloody, trembling heap—a horrifying human pin cushion of frozen spikes. Her soul was teetering on the edge of complete psychological shutdown.
"To risk your life for an ordinary man who means nothing to you," the voice of Haku drifted softly through the mist, the tone genderless and utterly indifferent. "Is this degree of sacrifice truly necessary?"
Sasuke trembled, the intense pain overriding the potion's quick effect. He had heard Zabuza's devastating declaration. Another buyer. Someone who had spent more.
Why? He had poured all his money, all his effort, into this sudden path to power, yet there were others who were stronger, wealthier, and had managed to acquire even more. The sheer unfairness of the cosmic lottery was a second, paralyzing wound.
The situation is dire: Sasuke is down, Naruto is reeling from his mistake, and Haku—the superior Jar buyer—is on the field.