He smiled. "Alright. I wasn't coming for you today. But I know whoever can make Shiro protect them must mean something to him. For Shiro's sake, if you willingly submit I'll take you in."
"Cut the compliments. Die!" Zabuza lunged. If he served Gato he would give everything. "Take his life!"
The Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Blade) was in Shigeo's hand, so Zabuza lost one prized weapon. He struck with Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release — Water Dragon Bullet Technique). Shigeo twisted the great blade and charged.
Zabuza's first strike hit only a water clone. "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" A real water dragon plunged from the sky and attacked. Thick mist rolled in; Zabuza vanished into it using Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique).
Shigeo dodged the dragon and answered with Katon (Fire Release). Water met fire with a sizzling hiss. The fog thickened.
"Shiro, do we still have to fight?" Shigeo called, not caring about the danger hiding in the mist. He glanced back at Shiro.
Shiro's face was cold. He wore women's clothing now and looked conflicted. Shigeo didn't judge his tastes. He cared that Shiro was a decent person and wanted him alive. If Shiro chose death, there was nothing Shigeo could do.
"Rumor says you're a world enemy. You okay?" Shigeo grinned and waved. "I'm fine."
At that instant Zabuza reappeared. He thrust a kunai into Shigeo's back while grabbing the Kubikiribōchō's hilt, trying to wrench the blade away. He expected the gaunt, thin Shigeo to be weak. But his hand hit the hilt and Shigeo kicked him away. The sword spun out and slashed — again, only a water clone.
Then a dozen Zabuza-clones sprang from the mist and surged in. The great blade whirled through the air; with a single sweep Shigeo cut them all down.
Shiro watched, tense. If one of those clones had been the real Zabuza, would Shiro have killed him? The thought made him stop hesitating. He formed a hand sign.
"Hyōton: Sensatsu Suishō!" (Ice Release: Thousand-Kill Water Flight.)
The jutsu was similar in nature to Shigeo's ice spikes. A dense volley of icy shafts flew at Shigeo. He created Hyōton (Ice Release) defenses.
"Hyōton: Ma Kyō Hyōshō!" (Ice Release: Demon Mirror Ice Crystals.)
A dozen mirror-like ice sheets enclosed Shiro. Normally trapped targets cannot escape, but Shigeo's chakra burst outward. The shockwave shattered the ice mirrors.
Black Jiton (Magnet Release) swarmed from the shoreline like a tide, striking the bridge and smashing the ice. Magnet sand rolled in, dark against the white ice. Zabuza's fog mastery was uncanny; unpredictably lethal.
Shigeo flicked his wrist and threw the Kubikiribōchō into the air. Zabuza timed a secret dash from the mist to seize it.
At the same moment, the floating Jiton began crushing toward Zabuza.
Shiro was fighting Shigeo with Hyōton, but his feet froze as ring after ring of dark magnetic sand wrapped him. From below upward the Jiton layered until it bound him into a sphere. The magnetic threads fused, sealing Zabuza inside a hollow iron-shell ball with breathing holes. His limbs were pinned.
"Two of you — choice time. Live or die." Shigeo's voice came from outside the magnet shell. Inside, the magnet sand reconfigured into countless magnetic spikes, ready to strike.
He'd given them a chance. If they didn't want it, he wouldn't force them. He had wanted to save Shiro, but as the saying goes, you can't make a melon sweet by force. If someone insists on dying, forcing survival isn't always right.
From outside, Shiro stared at the trapped Zabuza. The great blade had been thrown into the sea; they had no means to resist.
"One minute. Talk it over."
Shigeo gave them time. He sent the magnet sphere flying to the far end of the bridge and lodged it on a crane's tripod.
The fog cleared. Gato arrived at the bridgehead with his band of shinobi; they assumed Zabuza and Shiro were dead.
"Kill him!" Gato barked. His men rushed forward.
Magnetic spikes materialized and shot at the attackers. Those with skill dodged some. Those weaker were pierced and left with gaping wounds.
Gato's face went pale. He knew Shiro and Zabuza were the strongest among these fighters; if they died, his hired swords were worthless. He tried to slip away.
But townspeople blocked his escape. The fuse had been lit.
"Kill him! Kill this profiteer!" the crowd roared.
Someone landed a punch on Gato. Then everyone unleashed their anger.
"You can't kill me! Killing me kills the lord of the Land of Waves' income stream—do you know how much tax I pay? Back off!" Gato spat, still clinging to status and money as protection.
A huge ice fang dropped from the sky and impaled him through the chest. He was pinned to the street, dead.
On the bridge, under the bright sky, shinobi were dead or scattered. The boy — Shigeo — soared up and stood on the crane like a conqueror, cloak and hair whipping in the wind.
"Zabuza, Gato's dead. Decide: live or die?" Shigeo's cold voice rang from the magnet sphere.
(End of Chapter)
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