The final sentence, delivered by Shen Mo with casual indifference, struck the shinobi like a thunderbolt, instantly eclipsing the terror of the cosmic audience. Higher-Tier Jars.
The very concept caused an uncontrollable, feverish acceleration in their heartbeats. They were intimately familiar with the tiered structure of the Merchant Guild's wares. A tenfold increase in price between tiers, but an equally exponential surge in the value and potency of the contents.
To realize the full extent of this truth, Zabuza only needed to consider his current equipment. If his formidable gear had come from a Tier Three Jar, he knew its effects would be utterly devastating, likely granting power that would make the battle a formality. What terrifying, reality-warping abilities must reside within a mythical Tier Four or Tier Five Jar?
Sasuke's mind ignited with a ruthless ambition. He imagined pulling a single Tier Five artifact—a power that could grant him the strength to face that man not as a vengeful child, but as an equal. The sheer, overwhelming power, the effortless victory it implied, caused him to hiss a breath of exhilaration.
If the transient beings descending from Tier Two Jars are already this powerful, the skills in a Tier Five Jar must be truly divine. His immediate goal of victory was eclipsed by a more ambitious, seductive vision: winning spectacularly, earning the approval of one of those terrifying senior members, and vaulting himself into an entirely new stratum of power.
Forget saving money! His entire tactical mindset shifted. He didn't just need to win; he needed to win beautifully and violently. He needed to put on a performance worthy of cosmic applause, even if it meant borrowing resources or selling every remaining scrap of knowledge he possessed.
The atmosphere among the shinobi was now supercharged, buzzing not with fear, but with palpable, hungry desire. The scent of opportunity is delicious!
Shen Mo observed the internal monologue with immense satisfaction. His four-pillar plan for the PVP system was fully realized:
Resurrection: Mitigating financial loss by allowing customers to be revived.
Avarice: Stimulating an intense, aggressive desire for greater strength and higher-tier products.
Lore: Enhancing the Chamber of Commerce's terrifying cosmic background.
Monetization: Creating a surprise incentive that compelled customers to spend every last available point.
"The battle has begun," Shen Mo declared, his final word cutting the silence like the snap of a whip before he vanished into complete silence.
It was the starting pistol.
Zabuza and Kakashi immediately lunged into combat stances. Sakura and the temporarily-depowered Rin were automatically and safely teleported to a transparent, sealed corner of the arena, forced to watch the life-or-death drama unfold.
"Sasuke, Naruto," Kakashi murmured, his eye narrowed beneath his headband, fixed on the opponents across the gap. "Maintain formation. Teamwork, not theatrics."
"Don't worry, Sensei!" Naruto's confidence was utterly deafening. He pumped a fist and took several eager steps forward. "As always, I'll charge the front and draw the heat!" His entire posture screamed: Look at me, cosmic audience!
Kakashi and Sasuke exchanged a look of shared, weary dread.
"Forget the showmanship, Naruto. Zabuza is no longer the man we fought before." Kakashi's voice was tense, the weight of the "Forbidden" power he now carried pressing on him. He scanned Zabuza and Haku, searching for any subtle indication of their newly purchased upgrades.
The response from the enemy was immediate and aggressive.
"Haku!" Zabuza's growl was his only command.
"Understood, Lord Zabuza!" Haku, without needing further instruction, was already moving. A cyclone of frigid air instantly materialized around him. He drew his bow—an elegant, crystalline structure—and multiple shards of ice, sharp as honed steel, rapidly condensed around the spiraling air current.
"Here it comes! Watch out!" Kakashi braced, shifting into his prepared defensive stance.
"Hmph," Sasuke sneered, but his Sharingan was instantly activated, blood-red eyes focusing. Two black magatama spun slowly within the crimson depths. Can I truly track and predict this speed?
Before the thought was complete, a dozen shimmering icicles screamed toward them, each one trailing a miniature, razor-sharp wind blade. The projectiles were faster than anything Sasuke had faced before.
"Out of the way!"
Kakashi reacted with impossible speed. Pulling Sasuke back with a forceful shove, his kunai flashed, dissolving into a blinding silver blur.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rapid, impossible cascade of impacts filled the air. Kakashi's hand was a machine, deflecting every single projectile with the bare minimum of movement. Every icicle was knocked aside, harmlessly shattering against the water dome barrier.
Secret Technique: Soul Dissolving Spell. Kakashi's newly purchased ability was a mental booster, pushing his thought process and reaction speed far beyond normal human limits. The drawback was an agonizing, spiking headache that threatened to split his skull the longer he used it.
"He blocked it!?" Zabuza's eyes widened, a genuine shock registering on his scarred face. He hadn't been able to fully track the speed of Kakashi's defense. This was exponentially faster than the Kakashi he had nearly killed before.
"Lord Zabuza," Haku's expression was grim, "that was the maximum attack speed I could achieve using my new equipment's wind-amplification skill. It's a vast improvement over my previous abilities."
"Damn it! How many of those cursed boxes has he opened?!" Zabuza hissed, tightening his grip on the mighty Kubikiribōchō. The element of surprise was gone. "Charge!"
Kakashi and his students immediately shifted into a tight, offensive triangular formation. Kakashi took the front point, with Sasuke and Naruto flanking closely. They focused on Zabuza, whose bulk made him the slower, easier target.
"Haku, flank and support!" Zabuza ordered, knowing his partner's role was to use the immense distance of the arena to his advantage.
Haku instantly retreated, surrounding himself with a small tornado to increase his speed and maintain the critical range.
Zabuza slammed his colossal executioner's blade into the ground, steadied his body, and began weaving a dizzying series of hand seals. Water Release: Great Water Dragon Projectile Technique!
A massive, roaring column of water, shaped like a mythical beast, erupted from the chasm in the arena floor and surged toward the approaching team.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kakashi countered instantly, weaving seals with equal speed. A huge vortex of scorching flame burst from his mouth, meeting Zabuza's water dragon head-on.
The collision was deafening—a cataclysmic hiss of superheated steam that instantly enveloped the entire center of the arena in a thick, blinding cloud of water vapor.
"Too slow!" Zabuza cursed under his breath. He realized the opponent wasn't just countering his jutsu; Kakashi had deliberately chosen a Fire Release with a high steam yield.
They are trying to disable Haku's ranged support and force a close-quarters three-on-one.
It was too late to withdraw. Under the flawless cover of the mist, Kakashi and his two teammates had vanished, their footsteps muffled by the swirling steam. They had successfully closed the distance.
Suddenly, a massive shape erupted from the fog directly over Zabuza's shoulder—Sasuke's broken blade, flying with shocking momentum, a focused weapon propelled by sheer strength and chakra.
"Zabuza! Catch this!"
"Hmph, you still rely on such crude tactics." Zabuza was ready. Averting the direct, fatal trajectory, he stepped back, using the movement to avoid the impact. But as he did, the air screamed with the familiar sound of incoming projectiles—Haku's ice needles—shooting through a thin patch of mist, aiming straight for Sasuke's exposed heart and throat.
Haku was no longer holding back, aiming for lethal, instantaneous termination.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The same sound, the same impossible speed. Kakashi, tracking Haku's position via the residual chakra flow and his Soul Dissolving Spell boost, intercepted the assault again.
But Zabuza was not out of trouble. Just as he sidestepped the blade, a fist—hardened by a temporary boost—slammed into his retreat path. Naruto, having popped the last of his Tier One Power Pills, was now a surging blue engine of rage and force, cutting off Zabuza's escape route.
The three-man unit had flawlessly executed their roles, cornering Zabuza and applying immense, synchronized pressure.
"Do not mistake my slow appearance for weakness!" Zabuza roared, his muscles suddenly bulging.
A repulsive, purple-black energy, thick and violently potent, surged out of his body. It was a chaotic, forbidden chakra, amplified by the Kempf Bracelet wrapped around his wrist.
Hidden Mist Technique: Silent Killing!
Though the jutsu was designed for rapid, silent movement through fog, the sheer, sudden boost in velocity was breathtaking. Zabuza, augmented by the Jar artifact, was suddenly a purple blur, a demon accelerating into a lethal, unpredictable sprint. The true fight—a collision of forbidden upgrades—had just begun.