The group walked along the road in the Land of Waves, their nerves taut, the lingering chill of the assassination attempt still clinging to the air.
—Except for Naruto.
He maintained his leisurely stroll, and aside from not continuously drinking, he was practically the same as he was back in the village.
"Naruto, you'd better be careful. Even if you're confident in your strength, don't let your guard down too much." As the Jonin team leader of Team 7, Kakashi Hatake felt it was his duty to issue a warning.
Naruto Uzumaki's wide grin was his only reply. "Relax, Kakashi Sensei. I'm not worried about being ambushed."
As he spoke, Naruto rolled up his loose sleeve, revealing a corded forearm. "After all," he continued, "Kakashi Sensei, you've sensed the enemy's position too, haven't you?" With that, both he and Kakashi simultaneously looked towards a certain corner of the forest.
"Enemy!?" Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, hearing Naruto's words, instinctively drew their kunai and took up fighting stances.
"All of you, get down!" Kakashi suddenly shouted, sensing something ominous.
Sasuke, reacting quickly, immediately pulled Tazuna down to the ground. Sakura also reacted swiftly, lowering her stance.
Just then, a giant blade, taller than a person, came whistling through the air, spinning rapidly. Kakashi, relying on his reflexes, easily dodged the attack.
Naruto, however, stretched out his hand under the astonished gazes of everyone present.
"Naruto!" Sakura seemed to foresee what might happen next and couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
CLANG!
The giant blade, upon contact with Naruto's skin, emitted a loud metallic clang. Naruto, as if casually plucking a twig, easily gripped the large sword—by the blade itself.
At this moment, Sasuke's pupils contracted to their smallest pinpricks. The mere tip of the iceberg of Naruto's true power left him utterly stunned. Sasuke asked himself, if he were to face such an attack, the only solution would be to use the Body Flicker Technique to dodge it. — No, he might not even be able to dodge it, as his Body Flicker Technique wasn't that proficient.
Kakashi, watching from the side, was also somewhat speechless. This is outrageous.
But Naruto didn't care what they were thinking. After catching the massive sword, he lightly gripped the hilt with his right hand and swung it a few times, testing its feel. Invisible gusts of wind rustled the leaves.
"You might not believe it." A somewhat mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Naruto's face. "But I've also learned a little about swordsmanship."
WHOOSH!
Except for Kakashi, almost no one clearly saw Naruto's sword swing. But the crescent-shaped slash, growing larger and larger, was clearly reflected in everyone's eyes.
This is a flying slash from a swordsman.
"What... what kind of ninjutsu is that?" Kakashi muttered, dumbfounded. He didn't sense any chakra in that slash. This meant it was an attack Naruto unleashed with sheer physical force. But an attack that detached from the blade and flew through the air—he had never seen such a thing.
In fact, Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, known as the "White Fang of Konoha," was a master swordsman. And Kakashi himself had learned the inherited Hatake Blade Style and always shown considerable talent with cold weapons. But he had never even heard of such swordsmanship, let alone witnessed it firsthand, and he couldn't comprehend it.
The slash expanded sideways in the air, and the trees and rocks in its path were almost instantly cut in half.
Crack, crack...
"Hm?" Naruto looked at the plain-looking greatsword in his hand with some confusion, only to find that it was covered in cracks. This weapon seemed completely unable to withstand his swings.
"Ah—I forgot!" He then remembered that he had been a bit too excited with his new toy and forgot to imbue the weapon with Armament Haki. No, it was also the fault of the sword's blacksmith. How could they even bring out a weapon of this quality?
Thinking this, Naruto threw the sword to the ground with some disdain.
The sound of the blade hitting the ground roused the stunned group.
"So... so terrifying!" Tazuna was the first to speak. The slash had almost flown over his head. Seeing how fragile the distant rocks were, like paper in front of this attack, it wasn't hard to imagine what his fate would have been if he had been hit.
Sasuke also gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with disbelief and lingering fear. He would have been utterly helpless against an attack of that magnitude. Naruto, that guy, just how...
If Team 7, as teammates, only felt fear from Naruto's slash, then Zabuza Momochi, who faced it directly, practically saw the River of Sanzu. The sudden, intense sensation of death caused countless past memories to flash before his eyes. From surviving the Hidden Mist's brutal training to taking the Kubikiribocho from Jūzō Biwa's corpse, then becoming a rogue ninja after failing to assassinate the Mizukage, and adopting Haku along the way.
Haku... Haku!
The memory of Haku's face seemed to interrupt Zabuza's life review, allowing him to narrowly dodge the attack at the last possible second. Zabuza, having narrowly escaped death, gasped for breath. Seeing his Kubikiribocho casually thrown to the ground by Naruto, a wave of anger surged within him.
Damn it! Damn, damn, damn!! This is a Konoha Genin!? Gato, how did you gather your intel?
Instantly, Zabuza Momochi wanted to retreat. An opponent of this caliber was not to be underestimated with "Silent Killing." Not to mention his prized weapon was still in the other person's hands.
But just because he wanted to leave didn't mean Naruto and Kakashi would let him.
Click.
Naruto's wooden sandal clattered on the ground.
Before Zabuza could react, a kunai was already pressed against his throat. Kakashi stood behind Zabuza, his eyes showing no hesitation. Naruto, however, stood completely unguarded in front of the enemy, yet the sense of threat he gave Zabuza far exceeded Kakashi's.
"Isn't this 'Demon of the Hidden Mist,' Zabuza Momochi?" Kakashi's voice was calm, cutting through the tension. "It seems you also took a mission from that Gato fellow?" It seemed Kakashi was quite familiar with the assassin before him.
Naruto, meanwhile, had his hands tucked into his sleeves, as if he had no intention of continuing the fight.
"Hmph! It was my carelessness, 'Copy Ninja' Kakashi Hatake of Konoha—and you, monster." Zabuza remained stubborn, turning his gaze to Naruto as he spoke the latter part of his sentence.
Hearing his arrogant remark, Kakashi directly pressed the tip of his kunai into the skin of Zabuza's neck, leaving a shallow mark. Naruto, acting as if he hadn't heard anything Zabuza said, suddenly turned his gaze elsewhere, looking towards another spot in the trees.
Strangely, the stubborn Zabuza's eyes couldn't help but show a trace of anxiety upon seeing Naruto's action. So, without any hesitation, he instantly activated the Water Clone Jutsu.
In a flash, Zabuza Momochi, who had just been restrained by Kakashi, instantly turned into a puddle of water. At the same time, a thick mist rapidly spread around them.
"Now! Water Prison Jutsu!"
Instantly, the puddles on the ground around them merged into a giant, dark sphere of water, enveloping Naruto.
Good! First, control this brat who makes me feel most uneasy!
"Naruto!"
"Naruto?!"
Sasuke and Kakashi's voices rang out simultaneously. Because they were closer, while Sakura and Tazuna's vision was obscured by the thick mist, Sasuke saw everything clearly.
At the same time, a second water sphere appeared on Zabuza's other hand, instantly enveloping Kakashi, who seemed to be too shocked to react.
The two trapped in the water spheres instinctively struggled a few times, but the water spheres seemed indestructible, maintaining their form with Zabuza's continuous chakra supply.
Soon, Naruto was the first to fall unconscious, as if suffocating. Kakashi, too, could only try to hold his breath, but retaliation was almost impossible.
The situation was taking a drastic turn for the worse!
At this moment, Sasuke's eyes were filled with a mix of disbelief and heavy emotion. His knuckles, gripping his shuriken, turned slightly white.
Fortunately, Zabuza's hands seemed to be restricted by maintaining the two Water Prison Jutsu.
"Fire Style! Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke knew he couldn't hesitate, so he immediately rushed to Zabuza, formed hand seals, and launched a massive, human-sized fireball straight at him.
"Haku!" Zabuza Momochi didn't dodge or evade; he just roared out a name.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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