However, it could only be said that it was indeed Haku. The ninjas hit by the ice needles were all struck in non-vital areas; the hit spots were basically places that restricted movement.
After not seeing him for a while, the other party was still the same as before, unchanged.
"Zabuza, what do you think you're doing? Haven't I already paid you the deposit? If you're not satisfied with the price, we can negotiate. Why betray me at a time like this?"
Thanks to the protection of their armor, several Snow Ninjas weren't injured by the ice needles. After quickly putting distance between themselves and Zabuza, Kazahana Doto could no longer hold back the anger in his heart.
He had basically considered every possible unexpected situation, but the one thing he hadn't anticipated was Zabuza betraying him at this moment and even taking out one of his capable subordinates. Who could endure that?
"Hmph hmph, I've never pledged loyalty to you, so how could it be betrayal? Between us, it's simply you pay money and I get the job done.
Now, the mission is canceled. I'm not doing it anymore. Of course, I'll return the deposit later, but only on the premise that you're still alive, heh."
As the words fell, as if he had seen something, Zabuza let out a sinister laugh and then picked up the Decapitating Carving Knife, charging toward Kazahana Doto.
Feeling the thick killing intent rushing toward him, Kazahana Doto could only stop his accusations and instead focus fully on preparing to deal with the incoming Zabuza.
Although his chakra armor had excellent resistance to ninjutsu and genjutsu, it had little effect against taijutsu, and Zabuza just happened to be a ninja specialized in taijutsu. This was truly a case of like attracting like.
"Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard"
"Chidori"
"!"
Kazahana Doto had just used a ninjutsu to repel the attacking Zabuza when suddenly a flash of lightning came from behind him. Kakashi's figure had somehow already arrived at his side. Even with the chakra armor, it was somewhat strained to block the powerful force of Chidori.
Seeing this, Kazahana Doto hurriedly raised his foot to kick at Kakashi, forcing the other to stop the attack and retreat. But before he could press the advantage to pursue, a large sword silently swept toward him horizontally. This covert strike clearly caught Kazahana Doto off guard, and he could only barely block it with the armor on his arm.
However, Zabuza's tremendous strength was obviously not something his hasty defense could withstand. After only a brief stalemate, Kazahana Doto was sent flying backward, kicking up a large cloud of snow where he landed.
Once the stirred snow dispersed, Kazahana Doto's figure gradually became visible. While he gasped for breath nonstop, the right arm he had just used to block was already covered in blood. Clearly, the armor on his arm hadn't fully defended against Zabuza's sudden assault.
"Kakashi and Zabuza serving you one-on-one. Now you've really got your hands full."
Seeing that Kakashi and Zabuza had already suppressed Kazahana Doto, Furina didn't join the encirclement anymore and instead went to help Haku deal with the remaining other ninjas.
Although there were still quite a few left, most of these wandering ninjas weren't particularly strong. Not to mention compared to Kazahana Doto, even Wolf Fang, whom Zabuza had taken out earlier, was far stronger than them.
With Haku coordinating beside her, dealing with them was even easier. Under the joint efforts of the two, it didn't take long before all the ninjas Kazahana Doto had brought were lying on the ground, groaning everywhere, all having lost the ability to continue fighting.
Because Haku was also there, after defeating this group of ninjas, Furina didn't deliver any finishing blows and instead turned to look toward the battlefield of Zabuza, Kakashi, and Kazahana Doto.
Unlike these small fries, Kazahana Doto still had some real strength. Even with Zabuza and Kakashi teaming up, they couldn't take him down right away, which was enough to live up to his position as the boss of this group.
However, both Kakashi and Zabuza were elite ninjas from major ninja villages. With their rich experience, even a temporary alliance could still produce an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Moreover, Kazahana Doto's arm had been injured by Zabuza's Decapitating Carving Knife right from the start. As the fight dragged on a little longer, his defense became quite difficult.
He couldn't guard his left while minding his right, and the wounds on his body kept increasing over time. Although none were fatal individually, they added up. On top of that, Kakashi and Zabuza gave him no chance to catch his breath at all.
"Chidori"
Finally, under the pincer attack from the two, Kazahana Doto inevitably showed an opening, and all of this naturally didn't escape Kakashi's Sharingan.
With the flash of lightning, in just an instant, Kakashi's Chidori had already reached Kazahana Doto's chest.
But this time, his chakra armor had already been damaged a lot in the previous battle and could no longer withstand the might of Chidori. It was directly pierced through his chest.
"..." Seeing this scene, Zabuza in the distance suddenly felt an inexplicable pain in his own chest, as if he himself had been pierced through by Chidori. It was extremely strange.
"What the..." Realizing his thoughts had wandered, Zabuza quickly shook his head. To actually lose focus during battle he really had been slacking lately.
With one successful strike, Kakashi didn't linger. He swiftly pulled his arm back and retreated. Having taken Chidori head-on meant the battle was essentially decided. What needed to be wary of next was the opponent's dying counterattack.
"Damn it"
Looking at the large hole in his chest, Kazahana Doto could do nothing but curse inwardly. Throughout the fight, Kakashi and Zabuza neither gave him a chance to escape nor an opportunity to trade injury for injury.
They just slowly wore down his energy and condition, ensuring that until death came, he had power in vain but couldn't pose any substantial threat to them.
"Pleasant cooperation"
Watching Kazahana Doto slowly fall with a face full of unwillingness, Kakashi also expressed his thanks to Zabuza not far away.
If not for the other's assistance this time, although he and Furina could still have dealt with these people, it would inevitably have taken more effort.
And if the fight dragged on too long, some unexpected incident might have occurred again. That would have been troublesome.
"Hmph"
For some reason, however, Zabuza didn't give Kakashi any good expression, which puzzled Kakashi. They had clearly cooperated well just moments ago how had it turned into this?
"It's been a while, and you've gotten a lot stronger again."
Although he didn't know why Zabuza wasn't responding to Kakashi, after Furina and Haku approached, Zabuza actually took the initiative to speak.
This wasn't politeness; Furina's performance just now had truly shocked him. A ninjutsu of that scale even that Mizukage he had once assassinated was probably no more than that.
Not long ago, the other's overall strength had still been slightly inferior to his, but now... Zabuza could sense that if they really fought, he probably didn't have much chance of winning anymore.