The Weapons Known as Shinobi

Across the Land of Waves, Inari knocks on every door hoping his neighbours will stand up for Tazuna and the half-built crossing, yet the grown men shrink from the danger. Undeterred, the boy resolves to march out alone if no one else will join him.

Out on the bridge, Kakashi has pinned Zabuza in place with his tracking hounds and charges his Lightning Cutter for a killing blow. Nearby, a beaten Haku feels worthless now that he can no longer shield his master, and he begs Naruto to end his life.

Naruto insists that a true shinobi is far more than a tool for killing, but Haku will not change his mind. Reluctantly the boy admits the two of them could have been companions in another life, then rushes forward, only for Haku to sense his master in mortal peril and intercept the blade. Refusing to fall just yet, Haku darts back and absorbs the full force of Kakashi's technique.

When the fog thins, Naruto is horrified to see Haku dead. Cold to his partner's sacrifice, Zabuza swings to cut down both Kakashi and Haku at once, but Kakashi slips aside and orders the furious boy to stay clear. He binds the swordsman a second time, crippling both arms, and the duel appears finished until Gatō strides in with a small army of hired brutes and casts Zabuza aside.

In the village, Tsunami warns Inari that he is far too young to fight, yet his defiant spirit stirs a memory of Kaiza that catches her off guard. When the boy heads outside to guard the bridge, he discovers a gathering of townsfolk ready to follow him. Meanwhile Tazuna leads Sakura to Sasuke, where her forced calm shatters into tears at the sight of his lifeless body.

The adaptation softens one detail from the source manga: on the page, Kakashi's hand drives clean through Haku and out his back, while the animated version has the strike land against the chest without passing through.