Seriously wounded Zaku would have been killed were it not for Sakura, who ordered Sasuke to control himself. This gave Dosu a chance to pull his comrades out of the battlefield and thus gave him the opportunity to move to the second stage and get into the elimination fights. Despite his damaged hands, Zaku fought with Aburame Shino, but he underestimated his opponent, which caused his both hands to be torn apart by the worms of a member of the Aburame clan. After the fight, he became completely useless as a shinobi, but this was not the end of his service to Orochimaru.
