His face was dressed like Kakashi's, covering the lower half, but the exposed, browless eyes were fearsome and terrifying. From a higher position, his tone was cold and menacing. "Sorry, that old man behind you is my prey. Can I take him?"
Kakashi frowned, his voice heavy. "It's you, the rogue ninja from the Mist, Zabuza Momochi."
He was about to command Team Seven when Naruto, quicker than him, spoke up with remarkable nonchalance. "Kakashi-sensei, there's another chakra signature in the forest to the seven o'clock direction."
"It's considerably stronger than Iruka-sensei's, but weaker than this browless guy. It should be his companion."
"Could you please deal with that person, Kakashi-sensei?"
Pausing briefly, he gripped the hilt of his sword. "Sasuke, Sakura, protect Tazuna."
"I'll handle this guy."
Kakashi hesitated, then lowered his hand with a nod. "Understood." Without a moment of doubt, he disappeared in an instant.
Sasuke and Sakura quickly formed a circle around Tazuna to keep him safe.
Zabuza looked astonished, staring incredulously at Naruto. "That perceptive little blonde kid, what's your name?"
Hatake Kakashi was a well-known elite jōnin, the oldest and most experienced among them. Yet, the backbone of this team was this blonde kid? Furthermore, Kakashi dared to leave so openly, truly believing this child could hold him off?
"Me?" Naruto began to unsheathe his sword slowly. "Naruto Uzumaki."
The dark red blade gleamed strikingly.
Zabuza's voice was low, his gaze shifting. "Uzumaki, is it? Your sword is quite beautiful."
"It's rare to encounter a similar type of ninja outside the Mist."
"However—"
He slowly crouched, gripping his sword's hilt.
"It's a pity we can't exchange sword techniques; I must quickly deal with that old man."
"And you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed off the ground, drawing his sword and leaping onto the water's surface. Despite the weight of the massive blade on his back, he landed lightly, creating only a faint ripple.
He gestured and formed hand seals.
Chakra erupted forth like a torrential flood.
The already thick mist was drawn in, rapidly consolidating into an overwhelming wave that obscured everything, to the point that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face.
"Hidden Mist Technique."
Knowing that Naruto Uzumaki possessed sensing abilities, casting this jutsu to interfere with his vision was, of course, calculated. The mist was filled with Zabuza's chakra, making him omnipresent to ordinary sensing ninjas.
Sakura gasped. "I can't see anything!"
With that exclamation, Zabuza's voice echoed from all around them.
"Eight locations—"
"Lungs, heart, throat, spine, liver, carotid artery, subclavian vein."
"Which way do you prefer to die?"
The voice's source was impossible to pinpoint. As the mist swirled, a murderous aura closed in from all directions.
Sasuke tightened his grip on his kunai, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He had experienced "purgatory" firsthand and was acutely sensitive to killing intent, making him the first to recognize the pressure, feeling it the most intensely.
"This is the killing intent of a jōnin."
He couldn't suppress his thoughts. "Damn it, why is my body so stiff?!"
"Will I die? If I look at Naruto now, will I die? I probably will!"
"I can't move."
The air felt suffocating, and he was choking.
It was in this moment—
Unfazed, Naruto turned his head, fixing his gaze on a certain direction. "Are you an idiot?"
"It seems I didn't hide my sensing ability at all, did I?"
Zabuza's chakra flowed visibly before him, conspicuous and blatant.
He grasped it firmly.
In a flash, he moved forward, swinging his sword downward.
Clang—
The blades clashed, sparks flying, scattering the mist and revealing Zabuza's astonished expression.
Was interference futile? What sensing technique was that?
The hidden mist was ineffective—they were locked in close combat, exchanging blows back and forth.
Zabuza gritted his teeth, realizing why Kakashi had felt secure enough to leave; this kid's sword skills were not to be underestimated. He needed to find a way to finish this quickly.
His subordinate could only hold off Kakashi for so long.
Amidst the chaos—
The thick mist had not interfered with Naruto as intended; instead, it affected Zabuza. His figure wavered in the fog, obstructing his vision.
When he closed in, he couldn't anticipate Naruto's stance and opened up a considerable flaw.
But...
Naruto didn't pursue. Instead, he decisively turned and thrust his sword into the moving, white mist.
His other hand shot up.
"Bakudō No. 4, White Lightning."
Abandoning the chant, the lightning surged through the mist toward the previous direction.
"You truly disappoint me," Naruto said. "You perform a useless trick once and want to repeat it? I was looking forward to having a genuine match with a jōnin."
A brilliant blue light flickered briefly.
The original "Zabuza" shattered, transforming into flowing water that splashed on the ground.
He had used the momentary distraction of the mist to conceal himself, employing the "Water Clone" technique to swap places.
The thrust was caught by the massive blade, which had been prepared but hadn't had time to enact a different strategy.
"A sensing ninja, how troublesome," Zabuza spat, his expression turning even more ferocious.
He could only counterattack with his sword.
His decapitation blade was longer, and his strength greater. However, none of that helped him establish an upper hand.
Amid their clashing steel, bolts of lightning occasionally zigzagged through—the effect of an unusual technique that required no hand signs.
The damage was minimal, but the effect was significant.
It created a momentary paralysis, stripping away all the advantages he had built from relying on his body and power, leaving him slightly injured as well.
And how could this little brat possess such a physique!
So tiny, yet with so much stamina? After twenty bouts of blade clashing, his own hands felt numb, and with a weaker body, he was clearly under more pressure. Yet, the kid showed little sign of exhaustion.
Was this the legendary resilience of the Uzumaki clan?
Zabuza's mind sank as he contemplated the situation. This kid unexpectedly counterbalanced him.
He excelled in "assassination," relying heavily on "silent killing" and "sword techniques." Now, being detected by Naruto at any given moment rendered his "silent killing" nearly useless.
Without their sword techniques overpowering one another, these factors soon culminated in a singular result.
Escape!
Once Kakashi returned, he wouldn't have a chance to get away!
He attempted to retreat.
Naruto caught this move in an instant and reached out.
"Bakudō No. 1, Binding."
Zabuza froze, his arms uncontrollably pulled behind him.
Could it be a genjutsu that forcibly controlled his body? Yet, he hadn't focused on Naruto's hands or stared into his eyes.
Chakra instinctively traveled to his arms, attempting to strike the pressure points—this was the most basic method to break free from a genjutsu.
To his surprise, he easily managed to escape. Just as his hands regained their freedom, another golden rope shot out, binding his hands and feet.
Zabuza struggled against it.
Beside him, Naruto's voice echoed as he chanted what sounded like a spell.
In the next moment—
He sliced through the golden rope and regained freedom, but instead of interrupting the chant, he aimed to teleport away.
"Bakudō No. 30, Mouth Strike Three Flash!"
Naruto had already released the spell.
Zabuza's back lit up with golden light as three beams shot toward him, striking his hands and torso.
The force lifted him off the ground, pinning him against the trunk of a nearby thick tree.
Zabuza's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What is this ninjutsu?"
An Uzumaki clan's secret sealing technique?
"Is this all you've got?" Naruto sheathed his sword, his tone calm. "You're a bit of a letdown."
Zabuza gritted his teeth, humiliation boiling within him. To be described in such a way by this kid…
It was infuriating.
(End of Chapter)