At the same time—
Two figures streaked through the forest at full speed.
It was Naruto and Sakura's real bodies racing toward Zabuza's hideout.
After quick first aid, Sakura had insisted on returning to the battlefield alongside Naruto.
Thump-thump-thump…
Naruto felt the chakra feedback and said in a low voice, "All my clones dispersed. Sasuke awakened—two-tomoe in both eyes. Even better than expected."
"Mm. Then that side's settled," Sakura replied evenly. "I've watched Sasuke train. He's way stronger than canon now—especially Fire Style and shuriken control. Haku isn't beating him."
"But Gato might have a backup plan. To be safe, let's use the Nine-Tails for speed and end this fast."
"Okay."
Naruto scooped Sakura from behind. Huge chakra wings unfurled at his back. One flap—
Their flying speed multiplied tenfold.
Ever since he'd started cooperating with Kurama, Naruto's control over the Nine-Tails chakra had improved at a ridiculous rate.
He wasn't sure why. He'd figure it out after returning to Konoha.
Also, he really didn't want to arrive after everything was already over again.
Third time's the charm, right?
Sakura: "By the way, there's something I want to discuss with you."
Naruto: "Yeah?"
…
Elsewhere, Kakashi vs. Zabuza had reached its peak.
With explosions constantly drying the battlefield, Kakashi deliberately mixed Fire and Lightning Style to keep Zabuza from gaining advantage.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist!" Zabuza vanished again, creating distance.
"You must be proud of your mist," Kakashi said, pulling out a scroll and forming the Tiger seal. "Too bad for you—tracking is my specialty."
He slammed the scroll to the ground.
"Ninja Art Summoning: Earth Release—Fang Pursuit Jutsu!"
The scroll's symbols burrowed into the earth.
"Don't waste your time," Zabuza's voice drifted in the fog. "You can't see me—wait, what is that?!"
The ground around his feet exploded upward. Several ninken burst out and clamped onto his limbs, locking him in place.
Just like canon, Kakashi tracked by "nose," not eyes.
"Gahhh!" Zabuza thrashed violently.
"Give it up. Your future… is only death!"
Kakashi's face became solemn. Lightning gathered in his hand.
"W-what?!" Zabuza's eyes bulged. "I can actually see the chakra in his hand…"
…
On the other battlefield—
Sasuke's clothes were torn. He was bleeding in multiple places, but his presence was sharp as a blade, eyes blazing cold.
"Naruto ran off…?" he muttered.
In front of him, Haku was bound in barbed wire. Broken, battered.
Haku looked up slowly. "Congratulations… you can kill me now."
"Kill you?" Sasuke shook his head with contempt. "What's the point? You're just a stepping stone. Beating Naruto matters more than killing you."
After awakening, Sasuke's edgy aura exploded to maximum. Every line was pure drama.
Except… the fact that Naruto had triggered that awakening made him want to erase his memory on the spot.
He needed a decisive win to stabilize his headspace.
Whether Haku lived or died didn't matter.
He just had to go beat Naruto up.
Then Haku felt a violent pull in his chest.
He turned toward Zabuza's direction.
Zabuza-san!
Chakra surged out of him. The barbed wire snapped apart. He forced himself up to run for Zabuza.
Sasuke didn't even look back. In a blink, he was beside Haku. Haku blocked Sasuke's kunai and started a one-handed seal—
Thud!
A dull impact.
Haku's eyes went dark. His body crumpled.
He tried to rise, driven by sheer faith—only for Sasuke to step on him and press him back down.
"Nice spirit. Too slow." Sasuke said flatly.
When Haku had pinned his right arm earlier, Sasuke had flipped his body and chopped Haku's neck with a clean axe-kick, dropping him instantly.
Maybe everyone forgot Sasuke was a genius because he spent so long getting wrecked by monsters.
Even Haku's desperate burst couldn't change the gap.
"Zabuza-san…" Haku's eyes brimmed with tears.
…
"Three… two… one…"
In one second, Kakashi's Raikiri would end Zabuza.
BOOOOM!!
A crimson chakra hand slammed down between them. Kakashi was forced to dodge, and Zabuza escaped death.
"Naruto? Sakura?" Kakashi stared at them in shock.
Naruto retracted the Nine-Tails chakra and scratched his head awkwardly. "Boss… I got possessed by Kurama just now. You believe me?"
Kakashi's eyes widened. For a frightening moment, he actually wondered if Naruto had been taken over.
"It was my call," Sakura stepped forward, signaling Naruto to deal with the remaining fodder. "Let me explain."
After Naruto left, Sakura hopped down and walked to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei, spare Zabuza. Take him back to Konoha."
Kakashi frowned. "Zabuza is a rogue of the Hidden Mist. He's carried out countless assassinations. If he lives, more innocents will die."
Sakura nodded. Her face stayed calm, as though Kakashi were talking about the weather.
"Kakashi-sensei, you just said Zabuza is a Mist rogue, right?"
"The Mist has hostility toward Konoha. If Konoha imprisons Zabuza, the village gains a political bargaining chip."
"The Mist cares more than any other nation about keeping their techniques secret. That's why they created hunter-nin—their real purpose is to erase rogue bodies, so enemies can't glean jutsu traces from corpses."
"Kakashi-sensei… a living Zabuza is more valuable than a dead one."
Kakashi stared at Sakura, stunned.
He hadn't expected her to think from such a high-level strategic angle.
And when she spoke about Zabuza, it was like she wasn't discussing a person… but an object.
Kakashi said nothing. He simply threw several kunai—shattering Zabuza's arms—then looked at Sakura.
"Sakura. You're not wrong. But I don't believe you suddenly started caring about village politics for no reason."
He paused, voice probing.
"Be honest. What's your real motive?"
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