At that moment, Zabuza's miserable figure appeared before everyone.
Hiss.
Several gasps of astonishment were heard—from Naruto, Tazuna, and Asuma.
Zabuza, who had been moving freely through the mist, whose fearsome reputation had terrified them all, had been so cleanly and decisively cut down and severely wounded by a single sword strike from Kusuo. This scene stunned everyone.
But the victor himself wasn't as happy as they might have imagined. Because...
"Too weak."
"It seems I had my hopes up too high."
The faint words left Kusuo's lips, his tone laced with a hint of disappointment. That's right. He had fought Zabuza, but the man couldn't even withstand a single one of his slashes. He was so weak that Kusuo was a little let down. The life-or-death battle he had anticipated, the pressure of a mortal crisis... none of it had come.
Whether it was perception, speed, strength, or the power of his slashes, he had completely overwhelmed Zabuza in every aspect. How could such a one-sided battle possibly excite him? Although, taking advantage of the numbers, Zabuza couldn't focus his full attention on him. If Zabuza had been able to continue fighting, the outcome might have been different. But now, Zabuza was down, and he was standing here, completely unharmed. He didn't even need to activate his Mark.
"Well done, Kusuo," Asuma said, walking over and patting his shoulder in affirmation.
Kusuo nodded calmly and sheathed his sword. Everyone gathered around Zabuza, who was now barely breathing.
"So this is the so-called 'Demon' Zabuza? He doesn't look so tough to me!" Naruto said, clutching his wounded arm and taunting him loudly to get revenge for the earlier cut.
"Heh," Zabuza coughed. "You little brats... do you really think you've defeated me?" He looked at Naruto and Hinata with clear disdain. He could accept being defeated by an opponent of his own caliber, but he would not allow brats like them to stand before him and gloat as victors.
The aura of an elite jonin, a terrifying, almost tangible killing intent, erupted from him in an instant.
FWOOSH!
The air around them suddenly turned cold. Kusuo took a step forward, shielding Hinata. The sheer pressure of the killing intent hit Naruto, and he felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar. He couldn't stop shivering, his teeth chattering.
"S-so terrifying... this pressure... is this an elite jonin?"
Beside him, Tazuna's old eyes rolled back, and he fainted from fear.
Naruto forced himself to stand, feeling as if his very spirit was about to break. It felt like a voice in the depths of his heart was forcing him to kneel.
Asuma's first instinct was to intervene, but he saw Kusuo shake his head. After a moment's hesitation, he remained where he was.
After a while, Naruto gritted his teeth and stared fiercely at Zabuza. "You bad guy! You've already lost, but you're still trying to act all mysterious! I'm the man who's going to become the strongest Hokage in the future, how could I possibly be scared by you!" he roared, as if to bolster his own courage. Finally, he seemed to acclimate to the pressure, and the trembling in his facial muscles subsided.
Kusuo watched all of this with a faint smile. Naruto was different from Hinata. He was the type who grew stronger through adversity. As long as you gave him pressure, he would have the motivation to grow. Hinata was a girl with a gentle but firm nature; she needed protection. At the same time, if anyone threatened what she cared about, she would fight to the death, even if it meant sacrificing her own life.
"Sensei, what should we do with him?" Hinata asked, looking at the incapacitated Zabuza.
A fierce look appeared in Asuma's eyes. He took out a kunai, about to finish him off.
Swoosh!
An ice needle shot out from the jungle, its target the weapon in Asuma's hand.
Clang!
The sudden impact knocked Asuma's hand aside, preventing him from cutting Zabuza's throat. He looked up and saw countless more needles flying towards them, all embedding themselves in Zabuza's body.
"This is..." Asuma never expected someone to interfere at a time like this.
On a tree branch, a small, masked figure appeared without a sound. It seemed to be a few years older than Naruto and the others. The figure's appearance and grace were like that of a young girl.
"Who are you, and why have you interfered?" Asuma stepped forward and asked in a deep voice.
"I am from the Hunter-nin corps of the Hidden Mist. This is a missing-nin from our village," the person said. "This mission has been a failure. Please allow me to take Zabuza's body back to complete my report."
The voice was flat, betraying no emotion. It seemed to be true. Asuma scanned the person's clothing. It did indeed match the uniform of the Hidden Mist's hunter-nin squads.
"Alright. I'll allow you to take him."
The moment his voice fell, the person on the tree flashed away. In the blink of an eye, they had vanished, taking Zabuza's "corpse" with them.
Kusuo, who had witnessed it all, said nothing. So he appeared after all. In the anime, he had quite liked this character. But while Haku was pitiable, if he encountered Zabuza again, he would not hold back. People like them, their hands stained with the blood of others... their deaths would be no great loss.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (60 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (60 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (60 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (31 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (120 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.