Chapter 68: Life-Reducing Regeneration Technique
At that moment, Kiba and Shino—who had been helping Kakashi—came over to Naruto's side.
"Someone's approaching, but they're mostly civilians or ronin who can't even beat a Genin."
The words had barely left his mouth when a dark mass of people appeared in the distance.
"As expected—trash."
Gatō arrived at the head of a huge band of ronin. The short, pudgy man leaned on a gold-tipped cane, a nauseatingly smug grin on his face.
"Still, thanks for the hard work, trash. You've worn these guys out for me, and your death will save me a fortune."
Hearing that,
Kakashi silently sheathed the kubikiribōchō and stabbed it into the ground.
Choji climbed off Haku's body and retreated to his teammates.
"You must be Gatō—the one who hired Zabuza."
Asuma's sharp gaze fixed on Gatō, the Chakra blades between his fingers glinting coldly.
He thought of the wounded Kurenai, and fury churned in his chest.
Zabuza had been nothing more than Gatō's blade; the hand that truly wielded it was Gatō's own.
Debts must be paid—the one who had to pay for Kurenai's injury was Gatō.
Gatō flinched half a step under Asuma's stare, then remembered the horde at his back and puffed out his chest. "So what? You've just fought a brutal battle—how much strength do you have left?"
The ronin behind him burst into laughter, drawing their katana in unison.
Naruto sighed, speaking to his comrades through Ino's Mind Transfer network. "Looks like someone's begging for death."
Sasuke snorted; the Kunai in his hand was already poised to strike.
Inside Tazuna's hut,
Hinata held the exhausted Ino, gently helping her sit down.
Maintaining the Mind Transfer Jutsu for so long had drained Ino's spirit; fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead.
"Ino, rest for a bit."
Hinata coaxed softly, dabbing the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief.
Sakura, keeping watch by the window, looked back. "Right, Ino, take a break. All enemy Ninja outside have been defeated. The rest are no match for Naruto and Kakashi-sensei."
Ino nodded wearily, a pale smile flickering across her face.
After using the last of her link to warn the others she couldn't hold out, she released the Mind Transfer Jutsu and slumped into Hinata's arms.
"Huu…"
Her breathing steadied; she quickly fell into deep sleep.
The prolonged technique had left her utterly spent, yet just before unconsciousness she felt her teammates' gratitude and concern, and a relieved curve touched her lips.
Hinata shifted carefully so Ino could rest her head on her lap more comfortably.
Sakura stayed by the window, glancing back worriedly at Ino from time to time.
Meanwhile Gatō spewed insults, deriding Zabuza and Haku without restraint. "Look at these losers—can't even handle a bunch of Konoha brats and dare call themselves Hidden Mist missing-nin?
That pretty boy's actually a guy, and Zabuza the bandaged freak doesn't want women—only money. Don't tell me he likes men! Hahahahaha!"
He turned to Kakashi's group, fat face twisted in mockery. "You're so naïve. How much can you earn dying for these Wave Country beggars? Serve me and you'll live like kings…"
Kakashi listened with no expression, already planning how to butcher the squealing pig in front of him.
Asuma lit a fresh cigarette, his eyes as cold as ice.
Naruto suddenly grinned. "Finished? Then it's our turn."
Before the words left his mouth, Sasuke's Great Fireball roared straight at Gatō's face.
Gatō shrieked, tumbling behind his ronin; his cane went flying.
"Get them! Kill them all!"
he shrieked in fury.
The ronin charged, blades raised—but to the Konoha Ninja their movements were laughably slow.
"Kakashi, do me a favor. Since my employer wants us dead, our contract's over."
Zabuza struggled to his feet.
This bastard—daring to claim he and Haku were… that.
Unforgivable!
Though he'd never said it aloud, Zabuza had long since regarded Haku as family.
"If I'm right, killing him isn't part of your mission, is it?"
"This guy's a famous businessman; killing him would be inappropriate. Leave him to me."
Zabuza knew exactly how things worked in the Village: Konoha would never order Kakashi and the others to kill Gatō unless Gatō provoked Konoha first or someone placed a bounty on his head.
So the job of killing Gatō still fell to him.
Kakashi nodded at the words and handed the kubikiribōchō to Zabuza.
Naruto stepped to Zabuza's side, gently placing his right hand over the gruesome wound; a warm green glow radiated from his palm.
It was a healing Ninjutsu infused with Yang Release Chakra.
In the original story, the lowest-ranked medical Ninjutsu that appeared was the B-rank Delicate Illness Extraction Technique, but what Naruto was using now was a B-rank medical Ninjutsu modeled on the A-rank Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique—
the Life-Reducing Regeneration Technique.
Under the soft green light, the wound began closing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But such healing came at a cost: it forcibly accelerated cellular division to speed recovery, and the number of times a human cell can divide is finite.
"You…"
Zabuza stared in shock at his mending wound, then looked up at Naruto.
This brat could actually use such powerful medical Ninjutsu?
"Thanks."
Naruto withdrew his hand, voice calm: "This move is called Life-Reducing Regeneration—trading future lifespan for life right now. Go and do what you need to do."
"All right!"
Since future years were being traded for these moments, he couldn't waste the last bit of time with his old partner!
Zabuza hoisted the kubikiribōchō, ready to dance his final dance with the blade.
The Demon Transformation re-ignited.
A purple mist enshrouded the kubikiribōchō as it plowed into the ronin like a hot knife through butter.
Sasuke and the others leapt clear of the battle, afraid the rampaging Zabuza might hit them by mistake.
Naruto moved to Haku's side and used the same Life-Reducing Regeneration Technique to heal him in an instant.
"Thank you."
Green light flowed over Haku's wound, pain fading away.
Haku lay on the ground, gazing up at the star-filled night sky.
Moonlight bathed his pale face, bringing a quiet sense of having survived disaster.
He could feel the jutsu restoring his body while simultaneously draining him, but being alive was better than dying.
The Ninja World truly was wondrous—moments ago these two groups had been fighting to the death, and now they could set aside their blades and even heal one another.
"Don't kill me—I'll give you mountains of money! Lord Zabuza, please, spare me!"
Gatō, staring at the kubikiribōchō inches from his neck, felt his trousers soak instantly.
The bully who had tyrannized others now had snot and tears smeared across his face.
"Go repent in the Pure Land, bastard!"
Zabuza roared and swung the kubikiribōchō down.
The keen edge sliced through the night, trailing a flash of cold light.
Gatō received the same treatment Louis XVI once got.
His head rolled across the ground, the fat face frozen in terror.
The despot who had oppressed the Land of Waves for years finally met his deserved end.
Blood soaked the earth; every last ronin had fallen to Zabuza's blade.
Though it was still night, dawn had already come for the Land of Waves.
Before anyone could breathe easy, Zabuza sensed something and jerked his head toward Kakashi.
Kakashi twirled a Kunai between his fingers, silver hair glinting coldly in the moonlight.
"Well now, much as I hate to do this—"
Kakashi's tone carried clear reluctance.
"—our reinforcement orders did include the line: eliminate the Hidden Mist renegade Momochi Zabuza if possible."
At those words Zabuza stabbed the kubikiribōchō into the ground and knelt on one knee.
The proud Demon Fox bowed his head for once.
"Orders are orders; I understand. Then kill me—but spare Haku."
Zabuza's voice was hoarse yet resolute.
He knew that in his current state escape was impossible.
He had thought that after killing Gatō the side effect of Naruto's jutsu would finish him off, but all he felt now was weakness.
Utter weakness—so feeble he had no will left to fight.
The Life-Reducing Regeneration Technique had drained his body; after all, rapid cell division consumes enormous energy.
The burst of cell division had healed his wounds, but slaughtering dozens of ronin afterward left Zabuza in the weakest state he had ever known.
Exhaustion overwhelmed him; he no longer had the strength to resist.
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