Chapter 49: Conclusion

Forest, Waterside

Sakura didn't bother with Haku, who was lying on the ground, and immediately went to check on Sasuke.

Fortunately, Haku hadn't intended to kill them in the end. He'd aimed for acupoints. Sasuke appeared severely injured, but in reality, he wasn't in mortal danger.

"Sasuke!" Naruto rushed over, his anger flaring at the sight of Sasuke's condition. He was about to go and beat up Haku further.

Sakura stopped Naruto. "You don't need to bother with him. He took a direct hit from my punch. Without immediate treatment, he'll die. Go check on Kakashi-sensei."

"But Sasuke, he was..." Naruto began, but Sakura interrupted him.

"Sasuke's fine. The attacks just hit his acupoints; the other person didn't intend to kill him," Sakura explained to Naruto, her hands moving quickly to remove the senbon embedded in Sasuke.

"Wh... why?" Naruto was stunned. Why would an enemy not go for the kill?

"He probably just wanted to trap us so he could take Zabuza and leave," Sakura said.

"What? Why would anyone risk their life to save a guy like that?" Naruto's impression of Zabuza was terrible, but Haku's restraint had left a different impression on him.

"That's what comrades are, Naruto. If you and Sasuke were ever in this situation, I would risk my life to save you," Sakura said calmly.

Though her words were calm, her heart was filled with self-reproach. To prepare for the final battle, Sakura was unwilling to waste any chakra. If Haku hadn't held back, she might have lost a comrade.

Coming to this real world of Naruto, Sakura held no hope for Indra and Asura's chakra. This wasn't the manga she'd read in her past life, where Naruto and Sasuke were the protagonists. In this world, anyone could die. Even if Naruto and Sasuke died, the Sage of Six Paths would simply wait for the next inheritors.

The current Sasuke and Naruto hadn't grown strong enough to warrant the Sage of Six Paths' attention, and they didn't meet the basic requirements to draw out his chakra.

"Sa... Sakura, is the... enemy... taken care of?" Sasuke, under Sakura's treatment, managed to open his eyes weakly.

"Ta... taken care of, Sasuke," Sakura said, biting her lip, trying to hold back tears. "Sa... Sasuke, I'm sorry. I won't let you get hurt again."

"Hn... Taken care of... that's good..." Sasuke murmured weakly, closing his eyes again.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, seeing Sasuke close his eyes.

"Sasuke just fainted from blood loss. He'll be fine. Hurry and check on Kakashi-sensei." Sakura was worried about another enemy appearing. She was fine, but Sasuke was unconscious.

Haku, lying on the ground nearby, stirred. His condition was dire. After Sasuke had blocked the senbon, Haku had intended to take down Sakura himself, but he hadn't expected Sakura's punch to be so extraordinary. He'd taken a direct hit, and only his last-second Ice Release defense had saved him from immediate death.

I can't die yet. Zabuza-san is still in danger. I must move Zabuza-san to safety, Haku thought, slowly crawling towards Zabuza.

Haku finally, with great difficulty, crawled towards Zabuza. The ice wall surrounding Zabuza had melted, and a silver-haired ninja was sitting on top of Zabuza.

It was Kakashi Hatake, the one who had fought Zabuza. A kunai was embedded in Zabuza's heart.

Seeing this, Haku could no longer make a sound. He stopped crawling, his mind blank, frozen in place.

Kakashi, sitting on Zabuza, also noticed Haku, but he didn't make a move to finish him off. When he'd regained some mobility, he'd seen Sakura and the others break free of the ice mirrors.

He hadn't bothered with Haku and had instead found Zabuza's location. The ice wall around Zabuza had melted, and Zabuza showed no signs of waking. Kakashi had decisively delivered the final blow. After repeatedly confirming that this was Zabuza's real body and that he was dead, he finally relaxed, sitting down to rest.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're okay! That's great!" Naruto arrived from Dazuna's location. He'd learned that Kakashi was here and had rushed over.

"Phew... Naruto, I'm fine. How are Sakura and Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, seeing Naruto arrive alone.

"Sakura-chan's fine. Sasuke's injured. Sakura-chan's treating him," Naruto replied, his tone subdued when mentioning Sasuke and Sakura.

"Is that so? That's good. You all did very well this time. You've all improved significantly," Kakashi said, finally relieved.

Shortly after, Sakura arrived, carrying Sasuke on her back.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke's fine. In the end, the enemy didn't go for the kill; he just wanted to trap us," Sakura reported to Kakashi.

"Sakura, well done," Kakashi acknowledged, nodding. "I haven't recovered yet. Go finish off that enemy."

Sakura, hearing Kakashi-sensei's order, raised her hand, ready to fire a water bullet at Haku.

"Wait, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei... He didn't try to kill us earlier. He just wanted to trap us..." Naruto interjected hurriedly. Naruto was like that; even after the life-or-death struggle, hearing Sakura say that their opponent hadn't intended to kill them, only to save Zabuza, made him hesitate.

"Naruto! Don't be naive! This is what ninja are, existing to complete missions. Put away your naivete. You'll only cause your comrades to get hurt or killed," Kakashi scolded.

"But..." Naruto wanted to say more, but remembering Sasuke's injuries, he fell silent.

Sakura lowered her hand, not taking action.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, puzzled by her inaction. Among the three, Kakashi trusted Sakura the most. He'd heard Sakura's instructions to Naruto and Sasuke before his fight with Zabuza and hadn't stopped her, because it was the most logical course of action.

Because the client had lied about the mission rank, if things had reached the worst-case scenario, Kakashi would have prioritized protecting his students over Dazuna.

Sakura shook her head. "It's not necessary. He's already dead."

She walked over to check on Haku.

"Sakura, be careful," Kakashi cautioned, still worried.

Sakura nodded, indicating she understood, and crouched down to examine Haku's body.

"Hn... Cardiac arrest. If he'd had a strong will to live, those injuries wouldn't have killed him immediately. With treatment, he could have survived. This is probably... death from a broken heart?" Sakura concluded, somewhat uncertainly.