"Naruto, this is not a battle you can meddle in, get back and run!"
Kakashi was anxious. The trio were growing fast, but compared to the notorious rogue ninja Zabuza, they were still a drop in the bucket.
"Got it, Boss! Hitting them in the rear and running away is what makes a ninja a ninja!" Naruto nodded, his arm muscles flexing as he thrust his kunai forward fiercely!
Yet Zabuza's body instantly turned into river water, and his true body flashed out from the thick fog behind Naruto, swinging his massive blade straight down at the two of them with a fierce, chilling wind!
"Fire Release: Great Waterfall Technique— no, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Zabuza instantly felt the temperature behind him start to climb. The moment he was stunned, Kakashi used the Body Flicker Technique to snatch Naruto away, causing Zabuza's slash to miss completely, and sidestepped the fireball.
The surging heat blew away a portion of the chakra in the air, and the Hidden Mist Technique began to crumble.
In the distance, Sasuke was still protecting Tazuna, but he could still provide long-range support through Fire Release techniques.
"Boss, don't run toward the water," Kakashi glanced at Naruto. A sharp glint flashed in Naruto's eyes as he leaped out of Kakashi's embrace and joined Sasuke in protecting Tazuna.
Sakura's true body also jumped out, tossing the ninja tool pouch to Naruto, and the trio formed a swastika-like formation once again.
"Don't go to the water?" Kakashi looked at Naruto.
"The water is his turf. If he pins you down with hard crowd control on the water, he can send a water clone to kill Tazuna straight away," Naruto said with a cheeky grin.
Kakashi's heart skipped a beat.
So the trio had just been stalling Zabuza, keeping him from running toward the water?
According to the original story, after Zabuza disrupted their formation, he took advantage of Kakashi's unguarded moment to kick him into the water, and his water clone on the surface immediately moved in, trapping Kakashi with the Water Prison Technique.
This was a game of strategy among shinobi. In a one-on-one fight, Zabuza might not necessarily beat Kakashi, but since the target was killing Tazuna, once Kakashi was locked down, Tazuna would naturally be as good as caught.
Unfortunately, after meeting the stubborn, stick-in-the-mud counterattack of the trio, all his maneuvering had brought him right back to where he started.
"It's alright, Big Bro," Naruto waved at Zabuza. "You're an assassination specialist, so a group scuffle really is too much to ask of you!"
Bulges of blue veins began to throb and jump across the back of Zabuza's hands, and a giant cross-shaped vein throbbed near his temple.
"You brat!!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto in astonishment. He was still provoking him at a time like this?
But come to think of it, this guy had been completely at ease the whole time. The fight was intense, yet there wasn't a trace of panic...
So momentum was the key?
Sasuke felt like he had learned something. He would fight Itachi just like this from now on.
"Still have time to look at others?" Kakashi seized another opening and lunged straight at Zabuza with a single stride. Zabuza instinctively swung his blade, and the two became entangled.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu."
"What?"
"Boom!" A hand reached up from beneath Zabuza. With a thunderous leap, Zabuza instantly let go of his giant blade and his hands began weaving signs at lightning speed.
Boar-Monkey-Hare-Rat-Boar-Rooster...
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Kakashi copied the jutsu, easily nullifying Zabuza's attack. At this moment, Zabuza's advantage as an assassination expert was compressed once again.
Inevitably, he began to waver.
What should he do?
No, don't panic! This guy only knows how to copy; he doesn't even have jutsu of his own!
At that moment, the jeers that drove Zabuza crazy rang out once again.
"Are you really this pathetic, Big Bro? Just go home, please, go home."
"You're better suited to being a pile of dogshit."
Zabuza's silence was deafening...
He completely lost his temper. Even if he didn't kill Tazuna today, he was definitely going to kill this brat!
Zabuza adjusted his direction and kicked off hard with his feet, but Kakashi quickly blocked his path.
He caught sight of Naruto's gaze, and the brat actually began to display a trace of pity!
Zabuza dashed toward the riverbank again, his hands rapidly weaving signs once more. Looking closely, it was unmistakably the Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique, capable of utterly destroying this place.
And Kakashi was weaving hand signs as well—his speed was even faster than Zabuza's!
Seeing this, Naruto thought to himself, "We're back on track now. The real question is how to handle Haku afterward—should we just make a move?"
"Would that end the arc right away? But there's tree-climbing training coming up after this, and that experience pack is a must."
Sakura seemed to have guessed what Naruto was thinking. She whispered into his ear, "Take out Haku, and focus on dealing with Gato later."
Naruto understood instantly. The plotline had already shifted; Haku and Zabuza might not necessarily be the greatest threat anymore.
A moment later, he would just have to let Haku and Zabuza be wrapped up together like dumplings.
With that thought, he dove back into his Mind Space to begin his visit with the Nine-Tails.
On the other side.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Kakashi was faster than Zabuza, causing a roaring, monstrous flood to sweep toward Zabuza's direction. Zabuza completely doubted his entire life. Accompanied by a roar of "Impossible!", he was sent spinning dizzy by the whirlpool of river water.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!" Several kunai pinned the nearly unconscious Zabuza to a tree, and Kakashi was already prepared to harvest his head.
Just then, Haku arrived right on schedule.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Several flying needles pierced fiercely into Zabuza's neck, and he fell straight to the ground, motionless.
Kakashi was startled. He looked toward the masked youth: dark green shinobi attire hugging a slender frame, shimmering silver patterns, cool and ethereal, forming a stark contrast with the killing silver needles in his hands.
"Thank you so much for giving me a chance to kill Zabuza."
Haku's tone of gratitude was laced with a polite indifference that kept people at a distance.
"The Hidden Mist's tracking unit, huh?" Kakashi looked at them and briefly introduced the origins and duties of the tracking unit.
"I see," Naruto nodded earnestly, reaching his hand forward. "Alright, please show us the identification documents for the tracking unit."
Kakashi: "?"
Sasuke: "?"
Tazuna: "?"
Sakura: "..."
"What, is there something wrong with what I said?" Naruto looked around. "He wears a mask, so he's the tracking unit? Then I wear a Konoha headband, does that make me the Fifth Hokage?"
Kakashi and the others were momentarily stunned, but they felt that Naruto actually made a lot of sense.
At this point, Sakura also spoke up: "I agree. Earlier, there were scammers in the village impersonating elite Jonin to defraud people of money. The reason people fell for it was precisely because they didn't verify identification information."
Of course Sakura was just making this up on the spot, but it seemed plausible enough that scam cases could happen in the village.
"Preventing fraud is everyone's responsibility," Naruto nodded. "Besides, our personal files are back in the village. If you don't believe us, you can come back to the village with us."
Sakura was speechless. They were just acting—did they really need to be this rigorous?!
Haku fell into silence. He genuinely couldn't produce any supporting credentials.
A proper tracking unit probably wouldn't carry ID cards around with them anyway!
At that moment, Naruto lapsed into a momentary blank stare.
Haku caught Naruto's lapse in focus, and for a split second, he entertained the idea of snatching Zabuza and fleeing.
The main issue was that Mr. Zabuza was quite large and not easy to carry, and what if he accidentally harmed Mr. Zabuza's pretty body?
Such a dilemma.
Just as Haku was thinking this, Naruto returned to normal.
"Where was I just now... Whatever, doesn't matter."
Naruto's eyes had already turned red, his pupils transforming into slender, almond-like shapes.
He said faintly to Sakura:
"Let's just fight. My cheat is online."