Kakashi and his team of five were walking along the main road, seemingly unaware of the impending danger.
"Duck down!"
Suddenly, Kakashi shouted, tensing his body.
With Kakashi's command, a slicing sound cut through the air. A large executioner's blade, no smaller than an adult, whizzed through the air.
The massive sword spun through the air and eventually struck a large tree.
"What's happening?" Sakura quickly shielded Tazuna and asked.
However, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke did not respond. Their eyes were fixed on the executioner's sword, or more accurately, on the figure standing atop the blade, whose face was wrapped in white bandages.
"Zabuza Momochi, the Mist's Demon?" Kakashi's expression turned serious as he stared at the figure. He hadn't anticipated that this C-rank mission would not only encounter the two rogue ninjas they had faced earlier but also this level of ninja.
With Zabuza involved, this mission had escalated to at least an A-rank!
"Ah, I've heard much about you, Kakashi of the Sharingan. The person you're protecting is my target this time. Will you hand him over to me?" Zabuza said, releasing a terrifying aura.
To Zabuza's surprise, only the girl seemed to react as he had expected. The other two, Naruto and Sasuke, seemed… completely unfazed.
How is this possible? These three are clearly rookies, just graduated from the ninja academy. How could they withstand the murderous intent I've honed over the years?
"This is it? Compared to Natsuro, this is nothing," Naruto said, feeling the chilling aura but not scared. He adjusted his slightly crooked Leaf headband and spoke confidently.
"Of course," Sasuke added, with a faint smile. The murderous intent Natsuro directed at him had been enough to activate his Sharingan. This was nothing compared to that, but…
Sasuke glanced at Kakashi. Had he heard correctly? Did Kakashi have the Sharingan?
Kakashi finally realized why Naruto and Sasuke had become so strong recently. It turned out they had been training with Natsuro.
They had been classmates before, but he had taken time to help them? He must be in a growth period himself. Although Kakashi was curious, he couldn't help but feel some admiration for Natsuro. A person who values his companions so much must be a good person.
What Kakashi didn't know was that Natsuro's primary goal was still to improve himself, and recently, he had had enough free time to focus on that.
"Fall back. The upcoming battle isn't something you can participate in," Kakashi said gravely. Normally, he wouldn't be afraid of Zabuza, but with Sakura and Tazuna needing protection…
Kakashi didn't hide anymore and pulled back the forehead protector covering his left eye, revealing the three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, we won't be a hindrance," Naruto said, his chakra flaring up. He knew that Natsuro had also helped Sasuke, and he was ready to show what he could do.
"Humph, immature," Sasuke muttered, feeling his blood boil with excitement.
At this moment, Sasuke also noticed Kakashi's three-tomoe Sharingan and widened his eyes. But he knew it wasn't the time to ask about it, so he quickly added, "Kakashi, I'll ask you about your Sharingan later. Also, Naruto is right. We can be of help."
'Natsuro, what exactly have you done?' Kakashi wondered, looking at Naruto and Sasuke. Given their level of strength and their immunity to Zabuza's murderous intent, they could indeed be of assistance, at least not a hindrance.
Kakashi then relaxed and said to Sakura, "Sakura, take Tazuna and retreat."
"Oh, okay…" Sakura was bewildered by the rapid changes. Why were they all so strong? And what was up with Sasuke and Kakashi's eyes? She was deeply puzzled.
Zabuza slowly withdrew his aura. If he couldn't affect the two kids, maintaining it would only waste his chakra.
Moreover, those two kids… Zabuza looked at Naruto's astonishingly large chakra and Sasuke's Sharingan, which resembled Kakashi's. Uchiha descendants? Zabuza finally felt that things were getting tricky.
Even with his preparations, there was still significant risk. But if he didn't try, he wouldn't be able to call himself a Demon!
Zabuza tightened his grip on the executioner's blade and said coldly, "It seems your Leaf Village has some impressive rookies. The more so, the more it will hurt you if I kill them!"
As he spoke, Zabuza's chakra surged dramatically.
The battle was about to begin!
Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, Natsuro watched the scene below and smiled.
At this moment, he felt a sense of accomplishment for altering some of the original story's events.
Naruto and Sasuke's performance was indeed impressive. It was worth all the time he spent teaching them during his free time.
Natsuro observed the battle. Kakashi was already stronger than Zabuza, and without having to divide his attention to look after Naruto and the others, they might even be able to help out subtly.
Zabuza's situation quickly became dangerous, and he was soon on the defensive.
At this moment, Natsuro sensed the restless figure on the other side and, with a light chuckle, quietly approached.
Soon, Natsuro appeared in the field of vision of the stunned figure.
"You are a Leaf ninja," Haku, wearing a Mist Anbu mask, saw the forehead protector on Natsuro's head.
"Yes, it seems you're quite worried about Zabuza. Should I call you a Mist Anbu, or Zabuza's companion?" Natsuro asked softly.
"You?!" Haku's eyes widened. This was troublesome; he needed to deal with Natsuro quickly to help Zabuza.
However, the next moment, Haku's body froze, his eyes filled with fear as he stared at Natsuro.
"In such a hurry to help Zabuza? It seems you are indeed his companion. In that case, I won't be polite. Since Zabuza was intimidating my companions, why don't you try it yourself?" Natsuro said with a smirk, revealing a glint of bloodlust in his eyes.
Although his murderous intent had subsided significantly, he found it unacceptable to lose the ability to use this technique due to its reduction. After all, he was quite interested in this skill.
At this moment, Haku understood why Zabuza's murderous intent had no effect on the two kids. There was a killing god like Natsuro present—how could they be afraid?
The murderous intent he exuded was even more intense than Zabuza's in Haku's eyes!
When did Konoha produce such a killing god?!
Haku realized that Natsuro was not someone he could easily deal with, as evidenced by his murderous intent alone.
Natsuro, meanwhile, had indeed caused more bloodshed than Zabuza, but not by an overwhelming margin. The effect was due to…
His mental power being far stronger than Zabuza's. Under his intentional control, this resulted in a penetrating effect of his murderous intent compared to Zabuza's.
"Lord Zabuza!!"
However, even though Haku was locked onto by Natsuro's murderous intent, most of his attention was still on Zabuza. At this moment, Zabuza had finally been injured by Kakashi.
If things continued like this, Zabuza would eventually be in serious trouble.
Haku widened his eyes, drawing several kunai and launching them at Natsuro, while simultaneously forming hand seals with his other hand.
"Don't be in such a hurry," Natsuro said, as several metal blocks appeared around him, blocking all the kunai. He then caught the kunai and threw a shuriken at Haku.
However, Haku ignored Natsuro's words and completed his hand seals with one hand.
"Water Style: Thousand Kill Water Javelin!"
In the next moment, countless kunai formed around Haku and were launched at Natsuro.
Natsuro also began forming hand seals. Even though his hand seals were a bit late, he completed them at the same time as Haku.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
As the hand seals were completed, the shuriken transformed into hundreds of afterimages, colliding with Haku's water kunai. The power of the water kunai was relatively low compared to the tangible shuriken.
In the next moment, almost all the kunai were destroyed, and although some of the shuriken were dispersed, most continued in their original direction toward Haku.
Just as the shuriken were about to hit Haku, an ice wall appeared in front of him, blocking the shuriken.
"Is that a Bloodline Limit?" Natsuro asked with a knowing smile.
"Speak quickly, what's your purpose?" Haku asked, his tone urgent as he looked at Zabuza's situation.
Haku realized from just one exchange that it was uncertain whether he could defeat Natsuro, let alone quickly solve the problem to help Zabuza.
If Zabuza was defeated, winning would be meaningless.
Haku quickly judged that he wouldn't be able to resolve the situation fast enough to help Zabuza and immediately asked Natsuro what he wanted.
"Well, I was originally just interested in your ninjutsu, but you performed hand seals with one hand just now. Can you tell me how you did that?" Natsuro asked with a grin, looking like a smiling tiger.
"Sure, but I don't have it with me right now. Can I give you a scroll later?" Haku's expression changed. It was just a method, and Natsuro might not even be able to learn it… Besides, Zabuza's safety was more important. Haku spoke hastily.
"I don't believe in that. Besides, I can't accept your scroll, so write it out now," Natsuro said, pulling out a blank scroll and an ordinary pen from his own scroll and handing them to Hakr, still smiling.
"I hope you write quickly, and don't think about trying to deceive me. It looks like Zabuza over there can't hold on for much longer."
Haku gritted his teeth, staring at Natsuro's smile as if seeing a devil. But he had no other choice; forming hand seals with one hand wasn't complicated, so he should be able to write it quickly.
Without hesitation, Haku picked up the pen and began writing rapidly.
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