Zabuza wanted to stop Haku and Kimimaro from joining the battle. In his eyes, even if they had gained more power, they still lacked the corresponding battle experience. Rushing recklessly into a fight against the Three-Tails would only create more trouble for him.
More importantly, he didn't want to see Haku and Kimimaro lose their lives here. Even though they were from Kirigakure's bloodline limit clans, they had never been protected by the village. Instead, they had been victims of the Blood Mist Policy.
In this situation, it was Kirigakure that had wronged them, not the other way around.
Just as Zabuza was about to persuade them to retreat, the Three-Tails suddenly moved. Its massive body shifted as it charged toward him. Opening its mouth wide, it fired a water sphere the size of a house.
The water sphere tore through the air with a sharp screech, speeding toward them.
This was the C-rank Water Release: Iron Cannonball Technique, a jutsu naturally wielded by the Three-Tails. While a normal Iron Cannonball wouldn't be threatening, the power of a jutsu never depended on its rank alone. Its effectiveness was determined by chakra quantity and nature transformation.
Facing the incoming attack, Zabuza stepped forward, placing himself in front of Haku and Kimimaro, sword in hand. He could already feel the immense power of the Iron Cannonball, but he still chose to shield them. Even if he were to be severely injured, it was better than letting them die.
Haku and Kimimaro didn't try to stop him. Instead, they exchanged a glance and activated their Bloodline Limit.
Forming hand seals, Haku pressed his palm to the ground. Drawing from the moisture in the air, he created an ice wall, ten meters tall and one meter thick. The massive ice wall barely withstood the impact, cracks spreading across its surface.
Meanwhile, Kimimaro body-flickered to the Three-Tails' side. Like a sharpened spike, he drove his bone blade deep into the beast's foot, staining the ground with its blood.
As the attack against Zabuza was intercepted, Haku jumped onto the ice wall, summoning massive ice spears and launching them toward the Three-Tails. He wasn't aiming to kill it, his goal was to force it into a water-rich environment, where he could freeze it completely.
Sensing the increasing chill in the air, the Three-Tails' expression changed.
Despite its title as a walking natural disaster, it could still feel how Ice Release restrained its power. If it didn't eliminate this Ice Release user quickly, it might lose its freedom again.
Just as the Three-Tails began forming a Tailed Beast Ball, another sharp pain shot through its leg. Kimimaro, despite his small size, was managing to wound the Tailed Beast, even posing a real threat to its life.
Watching Haku and Kimimaro fight head-on against a Tailed Beast, Zabuza was stunned.
Nearby, Mei Terumī and Ao, who had been preparing to assist, also froze in shock.
All the Kirigakure ninjas turned their eyes toward the two young warriors, their expressions filled with disbelief.
As Kirigakure shinobi, they were no strangers to Ice Release and Shikotsumyaku. In both the Yuki Clan and the Kaguya Clan, once a shinobi awakened their bloodline limit, they could easily surpass genin and chūnin ranks, reaching jōnin level within the village. However, even jōnin struggled to wield techniques of this scale, let alone face the Three-Tails head-on.
The power Haku and Kimimaro displayed was comparable to the leaders of their respective clans in the past. But the most terrifying part?
They were still just children. Their potential for growth was immense.
Reaching the Kage-level in the future wasn't impossible at all. Realizing this, everyone turned to Zabuza. They hadn't forgotten how Haku and Kimimaro had addressed him as their leader. No one had expected that after his failed assassination attempt on the Mizukage, Zabuza had secretly raised two monsters like them.
Mei Terumī approached Zabuza, her expression unreadable. "Zabuza, why didn't you send these two out from the start? With their help, we might not have needed to fight the Fourth Mizukage at all."
"Or…" She smirked, "were these two meant for us instead?"
Her words were spoken half in jest, but the suspicion in her tone was real. This was exactly what Ao was thinking. Seeing Haku and Kimimaro's strength, they fully realized Zabuza's cunning.
He had secretly nurtured two bloodline-limit geniuses, not just to deal with the Fourth Mizukage, but to secure his own influence within Kirigakure.
Recruiting them had been simple. Both of their clans had been exterminated under the Fourth Mizukage's orders.
By offering them revenge, Zabuza had easily won them over, making them his most valuable assets, and potentially his key to becoming the next Mizukage. They had underestimated Zabuza, and underestimated the man who dared to attack the Mizukage.
At this moment, Zabuza was still in shock.
He looked toward Haku and Kimimaro, unsure how to explain this to Mei Terumī and Ao. When he had taken them in, they had barely been genin-level. Even after training them, he had only expected them to reach chūnin strength at best.
But now?
They had completely surpassed jōnin, even approaching elite jōnin level. Still, despite their newfound power, their combat style remained inexperienced. Something wasn't adding up.
With a puzzled expression, Zabuza turned toward Jūzō Biwa, who happened to be looking at him at the same time.
Meeting each other's gaze, they immediately understood the truth.
Byakuya.
Under normal circumstances, Haku and Kimimaro's strength shouldn't have improved so drastically. But over the past few days, they had been staying near Byakuya.
And that man didn't follow normal logic.
If Byakuya had intervened, then it wasn't surprising at all that Haku and Kimimaro had grown so powerful in such a short time. But if they had gained Byakuya's power, didn't that mean…
Zabuza had lost his bet with Byakuya? Didn't this prove that Kirigakure couldn't handle this crisis on its own?
Realizing his loss, Zabuza didn't dwell on it for long.
Haku and Kimimaro had already made their deal with Byakuya, and now they were fighting against the Three-Tails. He couldn't afford to hold them back. More than that, he refused to be an incompetent leader.
Glancing around at the Kirigakure ninjas, Zabuza's expression turned cold.
"There's no point in discussing the past. Our goal is to defeat the Three-Tails and save the Fourth Mizukage."
With that, he gripped his sword and charged toward the Three-Tails.
Mei Terumī watched his back in confusion before exchanging a glance with Ao. Then, without hesitation, they followed after him. Zabuza was right, now wasn't the time for mistrust.
The only way to end this battle was to defeat the Three-Tails and free the Fourth Mizukage.
---
With Haku and Kimimaro, two "elite jōnin", joining the fight, the battle's balance shifted in Kirigakure's favor.
The Three-Tails was driven into a lake, where Haku froze the entire surface, trapping its limbs.
Kimimaro's bone spikes pinned it in place, preventing it from escaping.
Zabuza, Mei Terumī, and the other Kirigakure ninjas then launched a coordinated assault, draining the beast's stamina and chakra.
Finally, after half an hour of battle, the Three-Tails shrunk and vanished, leaving behind the exhausted Fourth Mizukage, kneeling on the ice.
"Are you the Mizukage, or someone else?"
The Fourth Mizukage lifted his head. His eyes showed neither confusion nor surprise. He sighed lightly and said, "I am the sinner of Kirigakure. You may call me whatever you wish."
Zabuza and Mei Terumī exchanged puzzled looks.
As if understanding their confusion, the Fourth Mizukage explained, "For all these years under the control of the masked man, I was indeed trapped by his genjutsu, but that doesn't mean I was completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world.
I personally reinstated the Blood Mist policy. I personally ordered the extermination of the bloodline clans. I issued numerous commands that harmed Kirigakure. Even if those orders were ultimately the masked man's doing, the blame still falls on me."
Zabuza took a step forward, staring at the Fourth Mizukage. "Since you admit it's your fault, what do you plan to do now? Announce to the world that you were just a manipulated puppet, then commit seppuku?"
(AN: 'Seppuku' is a kind of samurai suicide where a samurai/warrior 'honorably' commits suicide.)
The Fourth Mizukage shook his head. "Suicide won't atone for my mistakes. The village is already in chaos and cannot afford to lose its Mizukage. The Three-Tails within me is also unstable. For now, I have no choice but to remain in Kirigakure. Besides, we must deal with the threat of the masked man. He could return at any moment."
Hearing that the Fourth Mizukage had no intention of committing suicide, Zabuza's expression shifted slightly. He snorted coldly but ultimately said nothing more.
The Fourth Mizukage was right, Kirigakure still needed its Mizukage. If he were to die now, the village would fall into further turmoil as people fought over the Mizukage's position.
Mei Terumī and Ao had no objections to keeping the Fourth Mizukage alive. They had not personally suffered under his rule and understood his importance to the village.
With both sides reaching an agreement, the Fourth Mizukage looked toward Zabuza and the others, his tone somber. "To be honest, after Kisame's defection, I thought I would never escape the masked man's control. I never expected Mei Terumī to grow so strong so quickly, nor for Zabuza to have trained two promising bloodline limit users. Even Juzo Biwa returned to the village at a critical moment. You are all heroes who have saved Kirigakure."
Faced with the Fourth Mizukage's praise, no one reacted much.
Suddenly, Zabuza and Mei Terumī seemed to realize something. They turned to the Fourth Mizukage and asked, "Fourth, what did you just say?"
"I said you are the heroes who saved the village."
Zabuza shook his head and pressed further, "No, before that, you mentioned a traitor. Are you saying another Kirigakure ninja has joined the masked man?"
"Kisame betrayed the village…"
Halfway through his sentence, Yagura's face changed slightly. He looked at Zabuza and Biwa Juzo and asked, "Before you infiltrated the Mizukage's office, did you deal with Kisame first?"
"No… we never even encountered Kisame."
The Fourth Mizukage's face turned pale in an instant. His voice faltered as he said, "If you didn't run into Kisame… and you didn't see the masked man… then where are they now?"
At those words, everyone froze, a chill creeping down their spines.
Just then, a light breeze swept across the frozen lake, and a shadow appeared beneath the ice. A hand shot out, grabbing the Fourth Mizukage's ankle and yanking him down toward the water.
Already weakened, the Fourth Mizukage had no strength to resist. He plunged into the icy lake, losing all ability to fight back. Just as the shadow was about to drag him away, Kimimaro intercepted them.
Sharp bone spikes erupted from his body, clamping onto the Fourth Mizukage and lifting him back to the lake's surface. With that done, Kimimaro turned to attack the shadowy figure.
The figure glanced at Kimimaro before phasing through the ice and stepping onto the surface of the lake.
It was none other than the mastermind behind the Fourth Mizukage's control, the true ruler of Kirigakure, Obito Uchiha.
Now that he had reclaimed the Fourth Mizukage, Obito found himself surrounded by the Kirigakure ninja.
Despite being outnumbered, he showed no sign of fear. He surveyed his surroundings before speaking in a mocking tone, "You've done well. After much struggle, you've finally defeated my puppet.
But tell me, what makes you think that just because you defeated a mere puppet, you have the right to challenge me? Do you believe in the strength of these bloodline remnants? Or are you relying on those weak little swords?"
Hearing Obito's taunts, Zabuza and Mei Terumī's faces darkened.
For Kirigakure, nothing was more humiliating than having their Mizukage controlled by genjutsu. If anything could be worse, it was the fact that they hadn't realized it for years.
Seeing their grim expressions, Obito decided to twist the knife further. "What are you waiting for? Why aren't you attacking? Are you too afraid to die? Or perhaps… you fear your Mizukage's shadow? After all, for all these years, I was the true Mizukage. Yagura was nothing but my puppet."
Zabuza sneered, countering, "If you were truly that powerful, you wouldn't have needed to hide behind the Mizukage. And you certainly wouldn't have let me escape that day. You're not as strong as you claim to be. You only controlled the Mizukage through trickery, nothing more than a pathetic coward. You don't even have the guts to remove your mask and show us your true face."
Zabuza's words sparked agreement among the surrounding Kirigakure ninja. They quickly joined in, hurling insults at the masked man.
"That's right! You're just a coward who hides his face!"
"If you really have the guts, take off your mask and show us who you are!"
"Or is your face so hideous that you can't bear to show it?"
Obito, already irritated, turned red with anger at their jeers. But he couldn't remove his mask, he couldn't risk revealing his identity.
Since he couldn't win with words, he would use force. In a flash, he vanished, reappearing right beside Zabuza, launching his attack.