The sudden, chaotic acceleration of Zabuza was horrifying. The combination of his naturally exceptional speed, magnified by the Silent Killing jutsu, and the raw, immense physical strength granted by the Earth Armor component drawn from the Jar, made him a pure, devastating engine of destruction.
This synthesis of speed and brute force shattered every conventional rule of shinobi warfare.
"I'll finish you first, brat!"
Zabuza roared, his speed instantly doubling. He didn't retreat; he lunged, his massive executioner's blade, the Kubikiribōchō, now moving like the swift, snapping jaws of a monstrous insect. The blade lashed out in a wide, sweeping arc, aimed directly at the center mass of Sasuke.
The explosion of power caught everyone off guard.
"No, you don't!"
Kakashi reacted with a desperate surge of chakra, forcing his newly boosted nervous system to its absolute limit. His face flushed a dangerous, alarming crimson as he physically pulled Sasuke out of the path of the fatal blow. They barely managed to avoid the decapitation.
But the price was immediate. A trickle of fresh, crimson blood leaked from the corner of Kakashi's mouth. The sheer force of the Kubikiribōchō passing within inches had created a shockwave strong enough to jar his internal organs.
Zabuza, already several steps back and creating distance, grinned—a feral, satisfied movement of his lips.
"It seems the jar you opened only grants a short-lived burst of speed, Copy Ninja," Zabuza sneered, assessing the damage. "Kakashi, since we entered this Merchant Guild system, our battles have fundamentally changed. Your old knowledge as a ninja is obsolete. Your students are woefully under-equipped. It seems I will claim this victory without hesitation."
Kakashi remained silent, wiping the blood from his chin. Zabuza spoke the absolute truth. The strategic landscape had been demolished. In the conventional ninja world, a fighter excelled in a specialized field—a massive chakra pool, unparalleled speed, or immense strength—to gain a decisive edge. But now, Zabuza possessed all three. His ability to combine overwhelming speed with staggering, Earth-element-amplified strength was an anomaly no standard shinobi training could account for.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke interjected urgently, supporting his teacher. "Conventional engagement is impossible. We must use our lethal moves and end this instantly."
Sasuke, even with his powerful Sharingan, was the weakest link in the formation when it came to prolonged Taijutsu combat. Kakashi and Naruto hadn't opened enough Tier Two or Tier Three Jars to truly compete with Zabuza's equipment base. Plainly put, in a raw exchange of blows, Zabuza could effortlessly dominate all three of them simultaneously, and Haku hadn't even fully engaged yet.
The tactical disadvantage was catastrophic.
Kakashi ignored his mounting headache and began weaving seals, attempting to summon a powerful ninjutsu, but Zabuza was already lunging again.
"Hand seals? I won't grant you that window!"
Zabuza's purple aura had momentarily dissipated, but his raw speed remained terrifyingly high. The Kubikiribōchō moved with blurring velocity, each strike carrying the destructive force of a localized hurricane.
Kakashi was forced to abandon his jutsu, pushing Sasuke and Naruto out of the path of the sweeping attacks. Meanwhile, from the periphery, Haku's support attacks—focused blasts of wind and ice—became increasingly frequent and aggressive, forcing Kakashi to constantly split his attention.
Zabuza, too, was operating under pressure. He feared Kakashi—the veteran strategist—would unleash an ultimate, unconventional killing move and snatch victory. The Earth Armor covering his body shimmered with strained light, emitting a terrifying hum of compressed energy. He was a lightning-fast, unstoppable beast, straining his enhanced body to its absolute maximum.
Kakashi felt the intense strain of his own, temporary Soul Dissolving Spell. More critically, his students were failing to adapt. Their Ninjutsu was too slow, their Taijutsu experience insufficient, and even Sasuke's enhanced sword techniques were being deflected by the incredible hardness of Zabuza's Executioner's Blade.
"It seems there is no alternative," Kakashi finally conceded, pulling Naruto and Sasuke back into a defensive cluster. "Sasuke, you are correct. This conventional slugfest is a losing strategy."
His signature Lightning Blade jutsu would be effortlessly deflected by Zabuza's immensely durable, augmented weapon. Zabuza had become more problematic and faster than even the Taijutsu master, Might Guy. The smallest mistake would lead to the immediate death of his students.
He couldn't use the 'Horrific Copy Eye'—its madness would turn him against his allies.
There is only one option left.
"Zabuza," Kakashi said, slowly reaching behind his back and pulling out the wickedly sharp short sword he had drawn earlier. "The Jar you opened has indeed given you immense power. But as you yourself pointed out, our conflict has transcended the rules of the ninja. We are forced to rely on it."
He presented the short sword: Dorjeri's Sword Scales.
If shinobi techniques are insufficient, we must use the artifacts of the forbidden world.
"Is that the 'special equipment' you just acquired?" Zabuza narrowed his eyes, immediately halting his assault.
Haku also froze in place.
This was the terrifying reality of the Jar Merchant: the unknown factor. Just as Zabuza's equipment had transformed him into an unstoppable melee powerhouse, the opposition could possess an equally terrifying, match-winning artifact.
"Believe me, if I had any other choice, I would not use this," Kakashi admitted, the hesitation and visible reluctance in his voice a clear indicator of the weapon's terrifying price.
"A weapon with a high price?" Zabuza muttered, glancing down at the chaotic Kempf Bracelet on his wrist. He understood the correlation: the higher the cost to the user, the greater the potential power.
Kakashi could hesitate no longer. With agonizing resolve, he lifted the short sword. With a swift, sickening movement, he plunged the blade—not at his enemy, but deep into his own arm.
PFFFF!
A grotesque spurt of fresh, crimson blood erupted instantly.
"Wha—!?" Zabuza's eyes bulged in utter disbelief.
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto screamed, hysteria bubbling in his voice.
Even Sasuke stared, utterly frozen in a state of appalled shock. Sakura clapped her hand over her mouth, a silent, sickening gasp of horror.
He deliberately pierced his own vital limb! It was the action of a desperate man performing a painful, mad ritual.
"I... I have no choice!" Kakashi gasped through gritted teeth, his face contorted in agony. "This... this is how it is activated!"
Then, with a sickening crunch that echoed loudly in the silent arena, he violently rotated the blade—right, left, up, and down—grinding the blade deeper into the tissue and bone.
A searing, scalding sensation erupted through his arm, a monstrous heat that felt as though it was incinerating his soul.
"Agh! AAAAAAHHHH!"
Kakashi's shriek of pure, unadulterated pain was cut short as a horrifying transformation began. His entire arm began to twist and swell, the skin splitting, replaced by thick, overlapping red scales.
The arm rapidly elongated, culminating in the appearance of a grotesque dragon's head. Kakashi instinctively whipped the monstrous limb outward to relieve the scorching pain.
The dragon's jaw snapped open, and from its depths, a torrent of high-heat flames gushed forth—not mere fire, but thick, viscous liquid heat that resembled rolling, roaring magma. The intense thermal energy warped the very air around it, creating a visible, shuddering distortion that charged toward the stunned Zabuza.
The battle has reached a fever pitch with Kakashi's brutal transformation.