He has even mastered Haki, and you say this is Naruto?

Zabuza didn't have time to raise his blade in retaliation. He took a step back, body leaning slightly, and only then barely managed to block Kakashi's strike with his executioner's blade.

The two of them passed by each other.

Blood splattered through the air. Fresh blood poured from Zabuza's chest, and the large blade in his hand snapped. A terrifying gash was torn across his chest.

Dozens of meters in front of him, the calm sea suddenly boiled with turbulence as water sprayed everywhere.

"No-Blade Style: Empty Palm!"A powerful shockwave passed through Kakashi's body, even sending waves bursting behind him.

On the surface of the sea, the figures of Kakashi and Zabuza were reflected in the eyes of a crow. Zabuza hunched over, barely supporting himself, while Kakashi—standing behind him—collapsed to the ground.

"Whew… Lucky me. As expected, your captain won!"

Zabuza grabbed Kakashi with one hand and walked toward the shore.

"Caw!""Caw!""Caaaw!!"

The crows on the bridge let out two calls before flying away.

Scene Shift: The Three Sides Gather

"They still haven't made a move?"Zabuza muttered in his heart.

Konoha definitely wouldn't send people just for a simple C-rank mission.

What puzzled him was that even though he had nearly beaten Kakashi to death, the others from Konoha hadn't shown up yet.

"How pathetic, Kakashi. Looks like you've been abandoned by Konoha. But that's not surprising. An elite jōnin is nothing but a disposable pawn to a great ninja village."

Zabuza even felt a twinge of sympathy for Kakashi.

He was all too familiar with the tragic fate of pawns who sacrificed everything for their villages—because he had once been one of them.

Konoha doing this wasn't shocking. All ninja villages were the same. Konoha could abandon even an ally like the Uzumaki clan—what's a mere jōnin to them?

"Not just Kakashi… There's also that Uchiha brat and that one called Uzumaki Naruto.

Maybe I was wrong from the start. Konoha didn't send them because they were strong, or because they underestimated the No-Blade Pirates, but because all three of them are disposable."

Zabuza's mind had never been clearer, and he was now even more convinced of Naruto's identity. As for Uchiha Sasuke—he was the last remnant of the Uchiha clan. Why would Konoha want to eliminate such a survivor?

Clearly, the Uchiha clan's massacre couldn't be separated from Konoha's higher-ups.

"… …"

Dragging Kakashi with him, Zabuza returned to the bridge, his mind made up.

If anyone understood the Uzumaki clan best, it would be Konoha. Seems the higher-ups had long known about Shanks and his true identity—better than anyone else.

"Captain!!""Captain won!""…"

The pirates cheered at Zabuza's return.

Zabuza, however, wore a grim expression as he stepped to the front.

Bang!He tossed Kakashi to the ground—nearly lifeless.

"Kakashi-sensei!!"Sasuke's pupils shrank. He never expected Kakashi to lose, and lose so badly.

"Kakashi-sensei… Damn you, pirates!!"

Seeing Kakashi's tragic state, Naruto was filled with rage and charged straight at Zabuza.

"Naruto!"Sakura called out, trying to stop him, but Naruto was already blinded by fury.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu—Multi Clone Technique!"

Dozens of Narutos suddenly filled the bridge, attacking from all directions. Zabuza had no room to dodge.

"No-Blade Style: Shattered Lake!"

Naruto suddenly felt like he hit an invisible wall of air—which then shattered into countless blades.

Bang bang bang bang!!

In the blink of an eye, all his clones were destroyed. Naruto was flung backward, his clothes torn apart, bleeding from multiple gashes.

In that instant—just one instant—Naruto was seriously injured.

Not far away, Zabuza looked down on everyone as a powerful aura exploded from him—like the time he had faced Shanks' Conqueror's Haki. If you didn't have equal willpower, you couldn't even lift a hand against it.

Everyone felt Zabuza's terrifying presence. Even the wind on the bridge seemed to stop.

He handed his blade to Haku.

"This is your final chance. Either defeat me, or all of you… will die here, including Kakashi."

"You'll die here because you're dragging each other down."

"Thirty minutes. That's how long I'll give you."

His tone was cold, and the killing intent surged. Everyone knew—this time, Zabuza was truly angry.

But his fury wasn't directed at Naruto and the others. It was aimed at the old era of shinobi, and at those hypocritical villages that smiled on the surface but hid knives behind their backs.

It was time for a new era in the ninja world—the era of pirates.

"Wha… what? We're… going to die?"

The always-slacking Kotaro and Zōbei froze. Wait a second—what did they do?! They were just standing near the Konoha group!

"If you run, you'll die even worse."

Sasuke said coldly.

He wouldn't die here. Not him. Especially not when Zabuza was already so injured.

"Let's go!"

Sasuke charged. Kotaro and Zōbei gritted their teeth—

"Screw it!"

They exploded with all their strength—as pitiful as that was. Their peak power was still bottom-tier genin level.

Bang!

Sasuke was kicked away.

Kotaro took a punch to the face—his teeth flew out.

Zōbei's samurai sword struck Zabuza's chest—but barely cut in.

"The fragile blades of the old era can never sever the resolve that drives the new. You… lowly ninja."

Zabuza stared down at Zōbei, his gaze more terrifying than any beast.

"No-Blade Style: Stone Breaker!"

His palm cleaved through the air with terrifying force.

"I don't care if it's three minutes or thirty—I'll defeat you!"

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, am not a loser. I'm not some burden!"

Naruto stood, swaying, soaked in blood.

Boom!At the critical moment, he shoved Zōbei out of harm's way.

Then—BOOM!!

The ground beneath Zabuza shattered in every direction. Cracks spread ten meters out.

"I… will never lose."

Naruto collapsed, clutching Zabuza's wrist.

"I'm not some low-level ninja. I… I have my own resolve too."

With the other hand, he stabbed a kunai into Zabuza's thigh.

"Naruto!!"

Sasuke, who had been knocked away, rushed back. His Sharingan spun at full power—but it was useless.

Even if he could see Zabuza's moves, his body couldn't react.

"Hmph!"

Zabuza didn't even take him seriously. He lifted Naruto to block Sasuke's strike.

And at that moment—a kick came flying from the side.

Again—it was just like before. He could see it, but couldn't dodge it.

Bang!

Zabuza landed a solid kick on Sasuke, who didn't have time to react. He followed up immediately, clasping both palms together.

The air around them froze, and the next instant—

BOOM!!

A violent shockwave exploded. Sasuke felt like his chest had been shattered. Blood spurted from his mouth as he was sent flying.

Zōbei managed to catch him.

They rolled several times across the bridge until Zōbei slammed into a support pillar and finally stopped.

Now, only Sakura was left standing.

She was consumed by fear, drowning in darkness. Kakashi was near death. Sasuke was unconscious. Naruto was in even worse shape.

They were all… going to die here.

Sakura trembled.

In her eyes, Zabuza was a demon lord. The murderous aura chilled her bones.

Then, two kunai pierced through her body. She collapsed.

Zōbei, not far off, was frozen completely by ice.

Zabuza didn't do it—Haku did.

Naruto's eyes ached so badly he could barely open them. His vision was bloody and blurry.

"If… if I really were the Nine-Tails…"

"If I really were the demon fox, then maybe no one would have to die. Not Kakashi-sensei. Not Sasuke… Sakura… Kotaro or Zōbei."

"If only…"

Naruto sank into darkness. He heard the sound of dripping water, and beneath his feet, a puddle formed. Looking up, a massive cage appeared, and a terrifying shadow emerged from within.

A wave of power surged toward him. As the demonic silhouette approached, Naruto's strength grew.

He saw a pair of feral, violent eyes staring back at him.

But in the next moment, the cage distorted, the towering bars vanished, and the shadow disappeared. Only three tomoe remained in the space—and Naruto's consciousness faded.

On the bridge, sea wind whipped through the air as two tall figures in red cloud cloaks stood before Zabuza.

He had already retreated far back.

A wall of ice had formed before him—flames flickering atop it. Blood trailed across the ground. Zabuza's wound had torn open.

Standing beside Itachi… was Kisame, slowly raising his massive blade.