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Gato lived as he pleased here; killing one or two civilians wasn't a big deal for them anyway. Those cowering commoners wouldn't dare resist them.
The two men flicked their katanas coolly with their thumbs, then drew them out. Immediately, they rushed forward rapidly. Hatake Kuroshi was just putting a candy into his mouth, seemingly completely unaware of their presence.
Then, a cold glint flashed, followed by a large spray of blood.
The two men's eyes widened in disbelief, but the katanas firmly pierced through their own chests.
What's going on!? They were clearly swinging their blades at this person just now. Why did the blades suddenly, uncontrollably, stab towards their own hearts!?
The two men, eyes wide open, collapsed lifelessly at Hatake Kuroshi's feet. Their katanas pierced their own hearts, resembling an extremely tragic suicide.
Hatake Kuroshi slightly flexed both his hands. The pale blue aura dissipated, and he then adjusted the position of the mask hanging at his waist. The mask was fastened backward, showing only the white inner lining, concealing the pattern on the front.
"If you're going to commit suicide, don't do it in front of others~"
"I'm still in a hurry. It would be a pity to miss the exciting part."
"Mmm, this one's strawberry flavor. Pretty tasty..."
Hatake Kuroshi nonchalantly stepped over the motionless corpses at his feet and walked towards the forest exit.
...
A dense fog still permeated the bridge. Several knocked-out bridge workers lay on the ground.
Kakashi looked around alertly. Although the Land of Waves, surrounded by sea, easily fogged up... the current dense fog felt slightly different from usual.
"Can't see anything!" Naruto squinted, shouting with full lungs. He hadn't been on the bridge before. Looking now, the fog on the bridge seemed even thicker than below.
This fog is getting denser. Sasuke's gaze fell on the fallen bridge workers nearby. When they first came up, they could still see these people clearly. Now, they were almost completely obscured by the fog.
"Stop fussing. This is the Hiding in Mist Technique."
"The reason Kirigakure is famous for assassination largely comes down to this technique."
Sure enough, it's not those two Chunin small fries from last time. Being able to use the Hiding in Mist Technique... indeed, the opponent this time is likely Jonin level or above.
Kakashi slightly lowered his stance, frowned, and took a step back. The three kids quickly surrounded Tazuna, warily watching their surroundings.
"Arrived quite quickly, Sharingan Kakashi."
"Hm? Still brought three troublesome kids along."
Almost in the blink of an eye, seven identical figures, each wielding an Executioner's Blade, suddenly appeared around them. And all the figures were speaking.
"One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Zabuza Momochi?!"
Good grief, what kind of dream start is this? Kakashi hesitated for a moment upon seeing Zabuza's face. Maybe this mission really should be restarted.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were directly subordinate to the successive Mizukage, carrying out various high-difficulty missions for them. But why would this person appear here!? The Land of Water had developed almost terrifyingly these past two years; they had absolutely no need to exploit the Land of Waves here. What on earth is going on...?
Kakashi didn't have time to ponder the situation further. Regardless of the Land of Water's motives... judging by the current situation, Zabuza's only definite role was an enemy.
"Water Clones. Naruto, Sasuke, attack."
Fortunately, he gave these guys some extra training. Kakashi momentarily felt the subtle sensation of having reviewed beforehand for a surprise exam.
Naruto and Sasuke paused slightly, then respectively threw shuriken and kunai towards the Water Clones on either side. Sakura tightly shielded Tazuna.
In an instant, splash! The six or seven surrounding Water Clones were instantly torn apart, turning into puddles of water on the ground like burst water balloons.
"Oh? Able to see through Water Clones. Not bad."
"Your opponent has appeared, Haku."
Zabuza's figure walked out from the dense fog towards them. Beside him stood a figure wearing a Kirigakure ANBU mask.
"Indeed," Haku replied from the side, adjusting the mask on his face.
Haku was Zabuza's direct disciple. Although nominally still a Genin, Zabuza usually brought him along for missions. Whether Zabuza's guidance or his own inherent secret technique, dealing with several Jonin was absolutely no problem for him. Being considered Haku's opponent was mainly due to the identities of these two: the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Uchiha clan survivor.
[Shixie: HIM? HER? HIR?]
"Pretentious guy." Sasuke secretly gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on Haku. Looking not much older, yet wearing a mask, acting all condescending towards them.
Sakura shielded Tazuna. Although Zabuza and Haku hadn't explicitly stated their purpose, enemies appearing at this time were likely targeting Tazuna. Her gaze fell on Sasuke standing in front of her, his back to them.
"So cool, Sasuke-kun."
Kakashi looked somewhat speechlessly with his dead fish eyes, glancing between Sasuke and Sakura. For some reason, after Sasuke said that, Kakashi somewhat suspected he might be insulting himself. Or was it that bumping into someone else with the 'pretentious' attribute made him feel slightly annoyed?
Naruto, even if slow, could perceive the contempt in the opponents' tone, immediately shouting unhappily.
"What's the deal! Are you looking down on us!?"
"How can this be called looking down? We already think highly enough of you two." Zabuza forced a low chuckle from his throat. Being faced by both him and Haku was already an honor for this group.
Immediately, Haku beside him moved rapidly forward. From within the indistinct figures in the dense fog, several senbon needles suddenly flew out.
Naruto barely dodged the senbon. Immediately after, Haku's figure pressed close to Sasuke's side.
Zabuza slightly narrowed his eyes nearby. Judging by the three's current positions, Kakashi showed no intention of stepping forward. Are these people not just fighting them, but focusing more on protecting that old man beside them?
Clink—Clang!
After two crisp sounds, the kunai in Sasuke's hand and the senbon in Haku's hand collided. The slender flying needles were unexpectedly hard. If held by an ordinary person, such thin needles definitely couldn't withstand a kunai.
"I'm still here!!" Naruto, afraid of being ignored, shouted, then gripped his kunai and stabbed straight towards Haku from the side.
Although Naruto shouting while attacking felt somewhat stupid to Sasuke, clearly, they currently had the upper hand. Two against one, there would always be some advantage.
Sasuke faintly revealed a smile, looking at the mask-covered face before him.
"There are two of us, you know."
An emotionless voice sounded from behind the mask. Immediately, Haku's free hand quickly formed seals.
"Even with two, you have no chance of winning."
"I already have sufficient advantage."
Kakashi, guarding Tazuna behind them, also looked somewhat surprised at Haku's hand. All the hand seals he had seen before required two hands coordinating. At worst, one might use the enemy's hand to assist their own sealing. This guy can actually form seals with one hand!
Advantage!? Sasuke's gaze instantly fell beside them, at the large patches of water spread out from destroying Zabuza's Water Clones. Dense fog, water... this geographical environment is their absolute advantage.
The moment Sasuke realized this, he abruptly turned his head and shouted at Naruto who was about to pounce.
"Get back quickly, Naruto!"
"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death." Haku's grip on the senbon didn't lessen at all, his feet suddenly splashing up water. Immediately, the splashing water droplets turned into sharp ice needles, ruthlessly stabbing down towards the two.
Just a second before being turned into a pincushion, Sasuke abruptly focused all his chakra to his feet.
Boom!
The ice needles stabbed directly into the ground, instantly raising a cloud of mist.
Naruto barely braked, taking two steps back slightly, quickly deflecting the ice needles about to hit him nearby.
"...Only one person." Haku's gaze swept briefly over the position where Naruto and Sasuke stood earlier, then his pupils slightly constricted. Looking up, he saw Sasuke in mid-air.
Sasuke, in mid-air, quickly threw several shuriken. The spinning metal tools flew straight towards Haku's position.
Clink, clink, clink!
Haku rolled backward somewhat clumsily, dodging the shuriken assault. However, Naruto, having already used Body Flicker to get behind Haku, stabbed directly towards his neck....
These two know some coordination.
Haku instantly spun around, dodging Naruto's attack. Sasuke immediately closed in from behind.
Able to see through Haku's speed. Zabuza's mouth behind the bandages twitched slightly. The coordination between the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Uchiha survivor really shouldn't be underestimated.
Caught in a pincer attack, Haku naturally fell into disadvantage. Immediately, Sasuke threw a kunai that grazed past the mask on Haku's face. The moment Haku leaped back to dodge, Naruto kicked the mask on his face, sending Haku flying backward.
"Hmph! Just big talk after all! Didn't seem like much!" Naruto stood proudly, starting to taunt immediately.
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