harleyscars Page 33
Page 33
"This old man..."
Naruto and the other two looked at Tazuna with expressions of utter disbelief.
Kakashi pondered for a long time before finally making a decision: "The mission continues, but on two conditions."
Tazner looked up excitedly: "What are the conditions?"
"First, the mission level is upgraded to B-level, and the difference will be paid after the Wave Country Bridge is completed."
Kakashi raised his second finger: "Second, you must completely obey our arrangements and must not hide anything from us."
Tazner nodded repeatedly: "No problem! Absolutely no problem!"
Kakashi turned to Team 7: "You three, prepare yourselves. From now on, this is no longer a simple guard duty."
Naruto excitedly pumped his fist: "This is finally getting interesting!"
“Boring…” Sasuke turned his head to the side, a slight smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.
Sakura gripped her kunai tightly: "I'll protect Mr. Tazuna!"
Soon, the group resumed their journey.
This time, Kakashi was at the forefront, and he had already put away "Icha Icha Paradise".
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood in three different positions around Tazuna.
Dark clouds are gathering on the distant horizon.
Inside the sealed space, Minato looked into the distance through Naruto's eyes and couldn't help but say, "I hope it's just my imagination."
Madara asked, "What's wrong?"
Minato was silent for a moment, then said, "I have a feeling this mission won't be that simple."
Madara snorted coldly: "Don't worry, with me, you, and that scruffy fox around, no one can hurt Naruto."
Nine-Tails then voiced its dissatisfaction: "Old Madara, why do you make it sound like I'm just an extra?"
He rolled his eyes at the other person: "Isn't that right?"
Meanwhile, on the distant seas of the Land of Waves, a large ship flying the flag of the Kado Merchant Guild slowly sailed toward the Land of Waves.
On the deck, a tall figure carrying a cleaver was staring at the approaching land.
Chapter 38 Encountering a formidable foe, Zabuza Momochi
The coastline of the Land of Waves gleamed with an iron-gray light in the twilight.
The damp sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, pattered against the faces of the Class 7 members.
Two consecutive days of forced marches left Tazuna breathless, Sakura's medical kit was covered in mud, and even Naruto was unusually quiet.
"The town will be just across this mangrove forest."
Dazner wiped his sweat. "Cado's men probably wouldn't dare to set up an ambush here."
After all, this place is on the border connecting to the Land of Fire. To dare to send mercenaries here is tantamount to declaring war on the Land of Fire.
When they arrive, it won't be a small team of genin like Naruto's, but a ninja army led by a group of jonin.
However, no one expected that they had underestimated Kado's ambition and audacity...
Kakashi's roar was like a thunderclap.
Almost simultaneously, a giant blade, two meters long, spun and cleaved through the mist, whistling through the air with a piercing sound.
Naruto and Sasuke instinctively lunged at Tazuna and Sakura.
The blade of the decapitation sword grazed Naruto's headband and embedded itself deeply into the tree trunk behind him with a thud.
"Not bad, kids."
A deep, husky voice came from the mist.
A tall man slowly appeared, stepping on the hilt of a decapitation sword.
His bare upper body was wrapped in bandages, and his sharp canine teeth gleamed coldly as he sneered—it was Momochi Zabuza, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure.
The moment Kakashi saw Zabuza, his eyes turned cold.
His right hand rested on his headband: "Squad 7, protect Tazuna. This is no match for you."
“Copy Ninja Kakashi…” Zabuza narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t expect to run into Konoha’s watchdog here.”
The headband was suddenly ripped off, and crimson Sharingan eyes burst forth in the twilight.
The three tomoe slowly rotated, reflecting Zabuza's slightly contracted pupils.
Sasuke stared at the familiar eye and was startled: "That's the Sharingan? Kakashi, you..."
"Now is not the time to explain."
Kakashi's tone was colder than ever before: "Zabuza, one of the Seven Ninja of the Mist, the 'Demon,' was a master of silent killing techniques and once slaughtered an entire ANBU training class in one night."
Sasuke's Sharingan activated involuntarily, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement: "This is... a true powerhouse..."
Inside the sealed space, Madara sneered: "You dare call yourself a demon just because you have seven broken swords?"
Minato's voice was wary: "You can't say that, Madara-san. It's too difficult for Naruto and the others right now."
The nine-tailed fox slapped the ground in frustration: "Do you need our help? This time, let me control the body."
Madara raised his hand: "No need. That silver-haired brat is enough to handle, and Naruto also needs to grow. We can't keep solving all his problems for him."
In the real world, Zabuza's expression changed slightly after hearing Kakashi's explanation.
"It seems you know quite a bit."
Zabuza's hand seals moved so fast they almost created afterimages: "Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
The thick fog instantly engulfed the entire coastline.
Visibility plummeted to less than half a meter, and Dazna's violent coughing could be heard through the damp fog.
"Eight places..."
Zabuza's voice came from all directions: "Throat, spine, lungs, liver... carotid artery and subclavian vein... kidneys, heart... which vital organ do you want me to attack?"
Sakura stayed close to Tazuna, and all she could do in this situation was to share the burden with the other two as much as possible.
Meanwhile, Naruto created five shadow clones to surround Tazuna.
Sasuke's Sharingan was already spinning wildly, but he could only catch blurry afterimages in his field of vision.
"Don't waste your energy."
Kakashi's voice suddenly rang in their ears: "This is a secret assassination technique from Kirigakure. We'll talk about it after your eyes improve."
"Kakashi-sensei, you..."
Naruto was shocked to find Kakashi standing in front of them, his headband completely lifted, and the three tomoe in his Sharingan spinning at an eerie speed.
“But…” Kakashi’s lips curled into a slight smile, “Leave the rest to me. I won’t let any of my comrades die.”
"I'll really have to wait and see!"
Soon, a crisp metallic clang suddenly erupted from the thick fog.
Sparks flew as the Executioner's Blade and the kunai clashed, flashing through the mist as Kakashi and Zabuza's figures moved like phantoms.
Kakashi's Sharingan drew three crimson streaks in the mist, the three tomoe rapidly spinning as it analyzed the chakra flow of the Hidden Mist Technique.
The sparks from the collision of the kunai and the guillotine illuminated a space of three meters in radius.
Zabuza's canine teeth gleamed coldly in the flash, and with a flick of his wrist, the serrated edges of the blade suddenly bit into the kunai.
"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"
A high-pressure water jet is sprayed from the hilt of the sword, directly targeting Kakashi's face.
At the critical moment, Kakashi's Sharingan caught the hand seals and activated almost simultaneously: "Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"
Two spiraling water columns collided and exploded, creating a dense curtain of water droplets in the mist.
Zabuza seized the opportunity to leap backward, his Executioner's Blade flying out of his hand and spinning as it slashed toward Kakashi's lower body.
"Earth Escape·Earth Flow Wall!"
The three-meter-high earthen wall that had risen was cut in half by the broadsword, but Kakashi had already taken the opportunity to leap into the air.
He completed forty-two hand seals during his fall, his chest bulging dramatically: "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The violent airflow tore a gap in the thick fog, revealing Zabuza's disdainful face.
The hurricane whipped up sand and gravel, forming a tornado that uprooted the coastal rocks.
"Great, that way we can..."
Just as Naruto was marveling at how clear his vision had become, the next second a thick fog once again covered his entire field of vision.
"My fog isn't so easily blown away."
Zabuza's voice echoed around like a ghost, mocking Naruto's naivety.
Nine-Tails couldn't hold back any longer and stood up, roaring, "Damn it! I'm going out there to kill him!"
Madara raised his hand to calm him down: "Calm down, you scraggly fox. Don't forget, that guy was given to Naruto to practice on."
In the real world, Kakashi imbued a kunai with Lightning Release and projected it towards Zabuza's location.
"Water Escape·Water Formation Wall!"
Zabuza quickly erected a wall of water in front of him, but the Lightning Release kunai broke through the barrier and struck Zabuza directly in the chest.
However, Zabuza's body instantly turned into a puddle of water.
This startled Kakashi: "Water clone?"
"go to hell!"
Almost the instant Kakashi heard these words, the Executioner's Blade had already swept across his body.
The two halves were blown away by the raging wind, and lay on the ground covered in "blood".
"Teacher!" Naruto's shadow clone was about to rush out when Sasuke grabbed it, saying, "Don't move! You won't be of any help!"