Kakashi quickly formed hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A solid wall of earth shot up, blocking the oncoming attacks.
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
"Lightning Style: Thunder Bullet!"
"Sasuke, behind you!"
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke turned and countered.
But the enemy wasn't letting up.
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
"Lightning Style: Thunder Bullet!"
Haruto quickly joined in, forming hand seals in panic. "Damn it!
Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Breathing heavily, he turned to Kakashi. "We can't keep this up, Sensei. They're trying to drown and fry us out here. In this rain, their chakra usage is low. But for us? Matching them is draining—each of their combos costs us five times as much chakra!"
He gritted his teeth."I know... the best move would be to blow the Mist away with a Wind Release and escape using speed, but..."He glanced at Naruto and Sasuke standing close by.
Kakashi clenched his fist.
Naruto trembled. "Damn it... I'm holding everyone back." Tears streamed down his face as he shouted into the mist: "Zabuza! If you're so strong, then come face me!" He took a step forward, ready to run.
Kakashi grabbed his shoulder. "Naruto, don't be reckless."
"But, Sensei..." Naruto cried. "I don't want to be a burden to everyone!"
Kakashi looked him dead in the eye. "Who said you're a burden? You're just not used to this kind of fight. Stay here. As long as I'm standing, I won't let anyone hurt my comrades."
Sasuke, standing nearby, looked down, conflicted. "Does that mean… I'm a burden too?"
Suddenly, a surge of electricity arced through the water around them, flashing like a crack of lightning. The heavy rain gave them a small mercy—visibility was still around two to three meters. If the Mist had been as thick as before, they'd already be dead.
Using that slight opening, the group dodged quickly. But it wasn't without consequence—the water around them had become a conduit.
"Agh!"The electricity coursed through the puddles and struck several of them hard.
They were seriously injured.
And in the middle—Tazuna's form burst into smoke.
A shadow clone.
"Damn it!" Haruto gasped. "Zabuza and Raiga used the lightning to lure us—just a distraction!"
Another bolt of lightning struck, and again the group was hit.
Although the injuries they had sustained so far weren't critical, if things continued like this, they would eventually collapse. "This is insane... I've thought through so much—what if I can't even survive this round?" Haruto clenched his fists, frustration swelling inside him. "Is this what being a ninja really means? I was too naive. One misstep and you're dead. I underestimated this world... I thought following the original plot would be enough. "He gritted his teeth. "If only I hadn't taken on this challenge in the first place, maybe none of this would've happened."
His mind spiraled into tension. He couldn't calm down.
Lightning cracked again. Haruto narrowly dodged—but Naruto wasn't so lucky. A scream followed.
Haruto turned and saw Naruto drop to one knee, struggling to stand. He'd taken nearly every hit so far, never fast enough to fully dodge. Now his body was failing.
Another flash of lightning came—this time from behind.
"Why are you doing this? I didn't ask you to block for me!" Sasuke stepped in, forcing himself forward and intercepting the attack. Breathing heavily, he muttered, "I don't want you to take the hit... But you're such an idiot—I can't just watch you die in front of me."
"Get away, leave me!" Haruto shouted as he stepped in to shield Naruto from the next strike.
Naruto collapsed, screaming in pain. "Please... just leave me behind... wu-wu…"
Even though they knew it was all a trap—designed to provoke emotion and open them up—they still chose to protect Naruto, one after the other.
Naruto wailed in the pouring rain.
He had suffered so much in the village... yet Haruto had never seen him cry like this.
"Please... just go... please…" Naruto sobbed.
Standing there, Haruto felt his own heart twist. Memories flooded back—his cold, calculating self from another time. Never had he imagined he'd be the one putting his life on the line for someone else.
"Heh... funny, isn't it?" he muttered to himself. "I could just use acceleration and leave... but for some reason—my legs won't move."
"Guess if you spend enough time with an idiot... you start becoming one too."
Then—something caught his eye. A spark of inspiration.
Haruto's expression changed. "Kakashi-sensei!" he called out. "I've got a plan!"
In the dungeon, Haruto recalled the lesson he had learned: even with the eight doors open, he could potentially defeat the enemies, though the consequence of opening three doors would be death. However, the current environment left him with no chance to fight back. In the dungeon, it was impossible to maintain such a mist concealment technique indefinitely without cooperation or teammates to help him. He now understood the importance of his surroundings.
Though he had only cleared the dungeon twice, Haruto had managed to learn the mist concealment technique, albeit with limited proficiency. He began to carefully recall its principles. Mist concealment wasn't invincible. It relied on gathering water vapor in the air or simulating water properties with chakra. In the end, the technique was still tied to the presence of water, and it could be disrupted by wind or dried out by fire. However, chakra invested in these methods wasn't always proportional to the effect, and the technique could be replenished even if disturbed.
Looking toward the canopy where the materials for the bridge were stored, a thought struck him. "Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, I have a plan."
After a brief moment, the group dispersed to carry out the plan.
Sasuke began by using his fire style technique.
"Fire Release : Fireball Jutsu!"
The fireball flew toward the canopy where the bridge materials were stored, igniting the dry materials.
Zabuza watched with amusement. "Heh, are you crazy? You're really fragile. "He laughed mockingly, thinking Sasuke had lost his mind.
"Kakashi-sensei, it's time," Haruto called out.
He and Kakashi simultaneously rushed toward the burning canopy.
"Wind Release : Great Breakthrough!" X2
The wind rushed out from both of them, amplifying the effect of the fire. The dry, fragile lime sand, scorched by Sasuke's fireball, was instantly pulverized into dust. Thanks to the direction Haruto and Kakashi had chosen, the dust spread across the bridge. The once-white Mist now turned brownish-yellow, and although it was still somewhat blurry, shapes began to appear through the haze. The Mist Concealment technique had been broken.
Zabuza, attempting to restore the Mist, found it futile. "What… how could this happen?" he murmured in disbelief.
"Now!" Haruto shouted. "We need to hold them off before the rain clears the dust. It'll be troublesome if the Mist clears completely."
With their path cleared, Haruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi charged toward their goal with fierce determination.
As Haruto charged toward Zabuza, he exploded into an accelerated burst of speed, and a dazzling white light flashed around him.
Zabuza, never one to take chances, quickly covered his beheading sword with chakra in preparation for the attack.
Clank.. !
The deep cut on the beheading sword caused Zabuza to feel little more than a mild pressure.
"Scary kid, your blade's sharper than last time," he remarked, unfazed.
"But I'm more curious about how you managed to crack my technique."
A loud crash rang out as Haruto, undeterred, responded coolly, "Hehe, do you think I'll tell you?"
Haruto silently thanked his high school chemistry teacher. Back then, his teacher had explained the difference between Mist and haze. When the moisture content in the air reached more than 90%, Mist formed. As the moisture content increased, it could even cause issues like the loss of fingers. If there was a large amount of dust in the air and the moisture content was below 80%, haze would form. Though haze was still difficult to see, visibility was usually much better than Mist, often ten times clearer.
"Thank you, teacher," Haruto thought. "More knowledge always comes in handy."
With a focused strike, he swung Murasame with all his might, the blade flashing in the rain as it created a dazzling white light that enveloped Zabuza like a ball of light.
This time, however, Haruto didn't make the same mistake. He didn't rush in to parry Zabuza's counterattack. Instead, he waited for the right moment, knowing Zabuza would likely try to find a way to fight back.
"I told you, I've seen your weakness. You're not enough to defeat me, brat," Zabuza taunted.
Haruto pressed on, charging again with all his might, no longer holding back or using the technique he had before. Despite his ferocity, Zabuza easily repelled him once more. The sheer force of the impact tore at Haruto's hands, his tiger's mouth bleeding as he staggered back.
Blood, mixed with rain, slowly trickled down Murasame, staining its blade. Haruto glanced at it silently, his thoughts elsewhere.
"That guy Naruto is a born optimist," Haruto thought to himself. "No matter what happens, he always faces things with a smile. He values his comrades more than anyone. I've never seen him sad like that before. I can feel his pain, being used like that, a weapon against someone he calls his friend."
As Haruto thought about Naruto, his eyes glistened with tears.
"I'm sure the blow we took just now pierced Naruto's heart a hundred times more than it pierced our bodies. How dare you treat my companion like that? I'll never forgive you, Zabuza."
Just then, Haruto felt something stir within Murasame. It trembled violently as if it resonated with his anger. His grip tightened on the sword, and he felt an undeniable surge of power within the blade.
For the first time, the blade of Murasame pulsed with a subtle light, and Haruto felt it—he was aligning with the true essence of the sword. The blade seemed to hum with a life of its own, ready to cut through anything in its path.
"Come and fight, if you don't kill me, I want you to know my anger, kill!"
"Is it the legendary Hatake Kakashi who copied thousands of ninjutsu? It seems a bit troublesome."
Raiga looked at Kakashi mockingly: "It must be interesting to pay you a funeral."
"I don't have the time to talk to you. I have to get rid of you as soon as possible, and then go to support my students."
Kakashi's Sharingan turned violently.