Cherreads

Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: Pair of Bounty Hunters

With the evolution of his Sharingan, the world snapped into a new, higher state of clarity for Sasuke Uchiha. The storm of ice senbon, which had been a deadly, unavoidable blur, now seemed like slow-moving darts. He could not only deflect the needles aimed at him with precise, economical movements but also had enough leeway to shield Sakura Haruno.

Seeing Sasuke create an opening, Sakura reacted instantly. She pulled the last few kunai from her tool pouch and hurled them at the ice mirrors. If he's using the mirrors to attack, then if I can just break them...

Slap.

A hand, slender and pale, emerged from the mirror's reflective surface, catching the kunai mid-flight. Then, Haku's figure slowly stepped back out onto the ground. He took a few deep breaths; maintaining such a high density of attacks had clearly consumed a great deal of his stamina.

The battlefield fell into a tense stalemate. The key combatants on both sides were restrained, and those remaining were locked in a standoff of attrition.

Haku, his mask hiding his expression, glanced towards the trapped Zabuza Momochi. Then, as if having made a decision, he prepared to merge back into his ice crystals to press the attack.

Just then, the unexpected happened.

Without warning, an arm connected by thick, black threads erupted from the treeline, snaking through the air to grab Haku by the throat. Almost simultaneously, a figure cloaked in black, adorned with ominous red clouds, leaped from the shadows, instantly subduing the exhausted Sasuke and Sakura.

"See, Kakuzu? I told you it was right to just wait and see," the man holding the Genin said to his companion, his voice flippant.

The man called Kakuzu, the owner of the strange, stitched arm, slowly walked out of the woods. "Hmph. A waste of my time."

Kakuzu's cold, dead gaze swept over the scene. He began to tick off the bounties like a grim merchant taking inventory.

"'Demon of the Hidden Mist,' Zabuza Momochi, forty million ryo. Kakashi Hatake, forty-one million ryo. And you..."

Kakuzu completely ignored Haku, Sasuke, and the others, his attention fixed on the figures trapped in the water prisons. His gaze settled on Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki— I don't know what you've done, but someone has put a ninety million ryo bounty on your head. You're the most valuable of them all."

At the sight of these new, terrifying figures, Zabuza's heart sank. He desperately wanted to release the water prisons to free himself, but a cold hesitation stayed his hand.

"Oh? Can you tell me who is being so generous?"

The voice, calm and clear, shocked everyone. Naruto, who had looked like he was drowning, opened his eyes, his words projecting effortlessly through the sphere of water.

This kid... was he faking it all along? Zabuza thought, a chill running down his spine.

"Unfortunately, as a bounty hunter, I cannot reveal information about my client," Kakuzu replied, his tone dismissive.

"Is that so?" Naruto said, a faint smile touching his lips. "It's fine. Maybe you'll be willing to talk later."

A wave of intense foreboding washed over Zabuza. He knew he had to flee. But Naruto's actions were faster.

"Fish-Man Karate: Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!"

The water of the prison didn't just break; it obeyed him. It became a viscous, controllable mass in his hands before twisting, coiling around his arm like a living serpent, and launching forward as a devastating water dragon.

Faced with the cannonball-like torrent, Kakuzu's casual contempt vanished. "Earth Style: Earth Spear!"

Chakra flooded his free arm, hardening his flesh to the consistency of diamond. He thrust it out to meet the watery projectile. The clash of elemental forces was titanic, but after a few seconds of stalemate, the water dragon pushed past the hardened limb, surging onward.

Kakuzu instantly retracted both his arms and leaped into the air, barely dodging the attack as it tore a path of destruction through the forest behind him.

"Damn it!" Zabuza knew he had fallen into a trap. He decisively cut the chakra flow to his Water Prison Jutsu and used a Body Flicker to escape into a nearby lake.

"Kakashi-sensei, can I leave this guy to you for now?" Naruto asked, pointing towards the fleeing Zabuza.

Kakashi Hatake gave Naruto a deep, searching look, said nothing, and turned to give chase. Zabuza, his chakra and stamina severely depleted, was quickly caught. The two masters stood on the surface of the lake, a battle ready to erupt. Kakashi knew the situation no longer allowed him to hold back. He pushed up his crooked headband, revealing his other eye.

It was a Sharingan, but unlike Sasuke's, this one held three spinning tomoe.

Zabuza glanced at the captured Haku, then back at Kakashi, and gritted his teeth. He began to fly through hand seals. To his astonishment, Kakashi mirrored his every move with perfect synchronization.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Their voices rang out in unison. Two massive dragons of water rose from the lake, tearing at each other in a stalemate of power.

Back on the shore, Kakuzu's partner had dragged the captured Sasuke and Sakura to his side. Haku, freed from Kakuzu's grasp, took the opportunity to vanish into the woods.

"This kid looks a little tricky," the partner remarked.

"Shut up," Kakuzu grunted. He was beginning to find his partner's incessant chatter irritating.

Naruto, meanwhile, had reappeared opposite them. Looking at his captured teammates, a smile touched his lips. "It's okay," he said softly. "You'll be fine after a little nap."

He then turned his gaze to the two cloaked figures. "Now then, it's time for the irrelevant people to exit."

The smile vanished. The air itself grew heavy, thick, and charged with an ancient, terrible power. An almost suffocatingly immense pressure erupted from him, a king's command that demanded prostration. Those facing him felt as if they were staring at a towering mountain peak, its sheer presence robbing them of their will to resist. Black lightning seemed to crackle around him, a silent, terrifying aura.

The first to fall was Sakura, her consciousness simply switching off. Kakuzu's companion followed a second later, slumping to the ground. Sasuke, his Sharingan blazing, held on for a moment longer. He finally remembered—this was the same feeling from the day of their team assignment. No... it wasn't an illusion. This feeling... Before he could finish the thought, his world went dark.

Kakuzu, a veteran of countless battles who had lived for nearly ninety years, remained conscious. But his body betrayed him. His hands and feet began to tremble, and his five hearts hammered against his ribs in a discordant rhythm of pure terror. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

In the boy before him, he felt a ghost from his past—the same crushing, absolute presence he had felt when facing the man they called the "God of Shinobi."

How... is this possible? Kakuzu refused to believe it.

[Chapter Complete]

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