Chapter 43

Zabuza intended to use the Water Dragon Jutsu to force Leo to abandon his staff, leaving him vulnerable for an easy kill. However, he did not anticipate that Leo had already prepared for such a scenario.

Would Leo ever be without a weapon? His mission space was filled with an assortment of blades, spears, and other weapons, which he could instantly summon and dismiss. If he wished, he could be unarmed one moment, wielding a longsword the next, and then switch to an axe mid-swing.

Unlike TenTen, who had to retrieve her weapons from a sealing scroll, Leo's method was far more unpredictable and difficult to counter.

"How is this possible? Where did he get that weapon?" Zabuza's eyes widened as his water clone was dispelled. Controlling the Water Prison Jutsu on Kakashi, Zabuza had no idea where Leo had conjured the weapon from. Was it some form of summoning technique? It couldn't have been from a sealing scroll, or he would have noticed.

Was it perhaps a unique bloodline limit?

"Wow… he's incredible!" Naruto shouted excitedly from a distance upon seeing Leo take down the water clone. Sakura sighed in relief, while Sasuke looked constipated, likely deep in his usual internal struggle about his own perceived weakness and his goal to kill his brother.

"Mr. Zabuza, would you prefer to release the Water Prison Jutsu yourself, or shall I come and assist?" Leo called out as he approached Zabuza by the river, his sword in hand.

Zabuza sneered, dismissed his jutsu, and swiftly retreated to maintain a safe distance from Kakashi and Leo. Given Leo's demonstrated combat skills and experience, Zabuza knew he had no chance of defeating him while immobilized with the Water Prison Jutsu.

"Leo, leave the rest to me," Kakashi said, his voice tinged with anger. He was furious about being trapped and nearly putting his students and Tazuna in grave danger.

"Alright, I'll protect Mr. Tazuna," Leo agreed immediately, knowing that it was beneficial for him if Kakashi and Zabuza wore each other down.

"Facing me alone, Kakashi? That's not a wise decision," Zabuza taunted, forming hand seals. But his confidence quickly wavered as Kakashi mirrored his every move, simultaneously performing identical seals and executing the same jutsu.

Zabuza had always believed that Kakashi's Sharingan only allowed him to replicate techniques after observing them. He didn't realize that Kakashi could also perform them in perfect sync.

"They're here!" Leo, now with Naruto and the others, watched Kakashi and Zabuza's intense ninjutsu battle. His ears twitched as he detected another presence in the nearby forest. It had to be Haku, Zabuza's accomplice.

He knew Zabuza's first objective was to kill Tazuna, and if that failed, Haku would analyze Kakashi's combat style and identify his weaknesses.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!" Kakashi, using his Sharingan to cast genjutsu and break Zabuza's mental defenses, managed to defeat Zabuza first with this A-rank technique.

"Get up the tree!" Leo shouted as the massive wave surged towards them. He grabbed Naruto and Tazuna, leaping onto a nearby tree, while Sasuke and Sakura quickly followed.

After the water receded, Zabuza lay critically injured at the tree's base, unable to move due to the kunai that Kakashi had embedded in his joints. As Kakashi approached to finish him off, two long needles suddenly flew from the forest, piercing Zabuza's neck and seemingly killing him instantly.

A masked youth, about fifteen or sixteen, appeared on a tree branch. "Thank you for your help. I've been searching for an opportunity to kill Zabuza."

Each ninja village had its own hunter-nin, responsible for tracking down and disposing of rogue ninjas to prevent their bodies from being used by enemy villages to extract secrets.

Kakashi checked Zabuza's pulse and, confirming his death, nodded. In times of peace, a Leaf Village ninja couldn't obstruct a Mist Village hunter-nin from taking Zabuza's body without risking inter-village conflict.

"Wait!" Leo suddenly called out as the youth prepared to retrieve Zabuza's body.

The youth looked up calmly. "Is there a problem?"

Kakashi and the others also turned their attention to Leo.

Leo smiled. "I forgot to mention that, although I'm not skilled in ninjutsu, I have some knowledge of medical techniques. The needles this young man used didn't kill Zabuza but merely induced a state of suspended animation by targeting specific acupuncture points. Remove the needles, and Zabuza will revive."

"What?" Kakashi and the others were taken aback.

Realizing he was exposed, the youth threw a handful of needles to cover his escape, scooping up Zabuza and vanishing quickly.

Leo deflected the needles with his sword and leapt into the trees to pursue them. "You all protect Mr. Tazuna. I'll go after them!"

"I'm coming to help!" Naruto said, preparing to follow, but Kakashi held him back.

"There might be more accomplices. Protect Mr. Tazuna and get him home," Kakashi instructed, just before collapsing from exhaustion. Despite winning the battle, he had expended all his chakra and sustained significant injuries.

Unlike his self-created Chidori and Lightning Cutter, which were powerful but not overly taxing, the water-style jutsus Zabuza used required immense amounts of chakra for their large-scale attacks.