Satoshi's slender fingers rested on the hilt of his sword, but before he could draw it...
Bang... Bang... Bang...
From within the dense fog came several dull thuds of flesh hitting flesh, the tearing sound of sharp objects cutting through bodies, and cries of agony.
The battle happened quickly and ended just as fast. Soon, a deathly silence returned, leaving only a faint scent of blood.
Mei rushed out with a few elite subordinates. Seeing the few corpses on the ground, she let out a sigh of relief. "We made it."
Clearly, her subordinates had intercepted those frenzied assassins.
However, when Mei looked up at the location where Satoshi and the others had been, it was already empty.
Mei cursed under her breath, these bastards from Konoha were truly annoying.
On the other side, Satoshi and the others took a winding path and eventually stopped in front of a dead end.
"Let's go to the next location, Mizukage-sama, where in Kirigakure do you think is suitable for hiding?"
Yagura pondered for a moment. He also wanted to find the so-called Konoha rogue ninja as soon as possible to end this farce.
"There's an abandoned school ahead, let's go check it out."
Satoshi nodded. "Alright."
As the group turned around and walked a few steps out of the dead end, they saw a tall figure blocking their way in the center. The person's face was covered in bandages, revealing only a pair of beast-like eyes.
Yagura recognized him at a glance: Zabuza.
Years ago, he single-handedly killed all the other students in his class, which led to Kirigakure ending its cruel training methods.
Satoshi sized up this legendary figure and asked, "Mr. Bandage Man, are you here to save the Mizukage or kill him?"
Zabuza slowly drew his blade and said, "Konoha ninja, you shouldn't have stepped onto this land."
Yagura stared at Zabuza and sternly shouted, "Zabuza, leave immediately! This is the Mizukage's order!"
Zabuza sneered, "A useless person who is controlled like a puppet by a ninja from another village, unable to even protect himself. A coward who brought great shame upon Kirigakure, you have no right to order me around."
"You!"
"Shut up." Zabuza began forming hand signs.
"I'll kill these three useless people first, then I'll kill you, the disgrace of this village."
Hiding in Mist Jutsu.
As he completed his last hand sign, a white mist spread out from Zabuza, engulfing everything. The mist quickly diffused, instantly swallowing an area of several tens of meters. Zabuza's figure slowly disappeared into the mist.
"What a boring move."
Satoshi yawned and slowly drew his blade.
"Satoshi, be serious."
Kakashi revealed his Sharingan. "Zabuza is no ordinary ninja, he is..."
Bang!
A dull, heavy thud suddenly exploded, as if something had crashed into the wall at an extremely high speed.
A figure wrapped in bandages flew backward at an astonishing speed. It slammed hard into the wall of a nearby abandoned house. In an instant, shattered stones flew, and dust filled the air.
Satoshi withdrew his fist and asked, "What did you say, senpai? The wind was too strong just now, I didn't hear clearly."
"Nothing..."
Zabuza painfully stood up, his rough hands tightly clutching his throbbing abdomen.
That white-haired brat's punch had almost taken his life.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.
Plan changed: eliminate the vulnerable Mizukage first, then consider other matters.
Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu.
Zabuza formed hand signs with both hands, creating several Water Clones that silently merged into the dense fog.
As an excellent assassin, Zabuza knew how to eliminate more enemies with the least cost. Of course, he was also skilled in tactics where the weak overcome the strong.
First, use clones to lure the enemy and test their strength.
Then came...
Bang!
He didn't even have time to react before he felt a tremendous force slam into his back. He flew uncontrollably, crashing more than ten meters away.
He spat out another mouthful of blood. He struggled to look up, staring in disbelief at the approaching figure.
That white-haired Uchiha brat, how could he accurately pinpoint his location in a dense fog that completely obscured vision?
This was definitely not something the Sharingan could accomplish.
What kind of monster was this brat?
"Damn it, he broke three of my ribs."
Without giving Zabuza time to react, Satoshi charged again with his blade. The cold blade descended with an ear-piercing shriek.
Zabuza gritted his teeth, relying on years of instinct from life-and-death battles to roll to the side, simultaneously drawing the blade from his back to block.
Clang... Clang... Clang...
Within the dense fog, a series of ear-piercing metallic clashes rang out.
Pfft!
Zabuza grunted, a searing pain shooting through his body.
He was going insane. This brat was not at all like a fledgling ninja. Instead, he was more like a god of slaughter who had spent a lifetime fighting on battlefields.
Wood Release: Smothering Binding Jutsu.
Just as Zabuza's movements faltered due to the intense pain, tough wooden vines, like living things, burst from the fog-covered ground. They wrapped around his limbs and torso with astonishing speed.
His blade fell from his grasp, and Zabuza completely lost the ability to resist.
Satoshi walked up to Zabuza. "It seems Mizukage-sama is indeed unpopular. Everyone in the village wishes you were dead."
Yagura did not defend himself. Regardless of the reason, he was ultimately responsible for the current situation. As Mizukage, he should bear the responsibility.
Yagura asked, "Thank you for saving me. Can you hand Zabuza over to me? He is, after all, a ninja of Kirigakure."
Satoshi looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded. "Of course."
Tenzo released Zabuza.
Only then did a flurry of footsteps approach from a distance, accompanied by anxious shouts.
"Protect Mizukage-sama!"
A squad of Kirigakure Anbu finally arrived at the scene. They saw the heavily injured Zabuza on the ground. Then they looked at the Konoha group, somewhat bewildered for a moment.
Satoshi chewed them out, "What are you guys good for? The fight is over, and you just show up now."
"If we hadn't protected the Mizukage regardless of our personal safety, you'd all be attending a funeral right now."
"I really don't know why the Mizukage keeps you around. To be the village's mascots?"
These Kirigakure ninjas were stunned by the scolding. Their faces flushed red and then paled.
What was even more frustrating was that they couldn't refute him. It was true that they had saved the Mizukage, who had no combat ability.
As for why the Mizukage had no combat ability, well, don't ask.
After scolding them for a long time, Satoshi finally kicked Zabuza over to them.
"Go back and reflect properly. We still have things to do. Mizukage-sama, let's go."
"Oh..."