Zabuza Attacks

Just as the greatsword was about to cut Sasuke in half at the waist.

A hand suddenly grabbed Sasuke by the back of his collar, and with tremendous force, he was violently thrown backward.

"What are you spacing out for!"

It's sizzling!

Kakashi, holding a kunai, slightly lowered his body, desperately blocking the heavy sword.

Sparks flew everywhere.

"I told you not to act impulsively."

Kakashi stood in front of Sasuke, his deadpan eyes filled with seriousness.

His arm trembled slightly from the heavy blow.

"This is a real killer, not in the same league as the opponents you've faced before."

Sasuke fell to the ground in a sorry state, staring at that terrifying figure from behind, his back soaked with cold sweat.

Only then did the chill of death creep into my heart.

Just now... I could have died!

"Hmph, it actually managed to block it."

Zabuza sneered, his arm muscles bulged, and he suddenly exerted force, forcing Kakashi back half a step.

"I'll kill you too."

call!

The Executioner's Blade swept across again with a whistling sound, its wide area almost completely blocking Kakashi's dodge route.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

A calm voice rang out at the edge of the battlefield.

boom! boom! boom!

As the white smoke dissipated, three shadow clones of Naruto suddenly appeared in Zabuza's attack path.

They didn't rush in and fight like brutes.

Instead, they were trapped in the blind spots of the sword's swing, Zabuza's landing point, and his blind spot.

"What?!"

Zabuza frowned.

The positions of these clones are too tricky.

Although his attack power doesn't seem strong, if he insists on cutting Kakashi, his lower body and wrists will inevitably be attacked by these shadow clones.

"Tsk..."

Zabuza was forced to sheathe his sword and return to defense.

He kicked the two opponents apart with a spinning kick and then leaped away in succession.

Before he even landed, two more shadow clones had already predicted his landing point, and several shuriken blocked his retreat.

"Damn brat..."

Zabuza swung his greatsword to parry the shuriken, but his movements faltered slightly.

Kakashi, of course, wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. He activated his Body Flicker Technique and used his kunai to sever Zabuza's throat.

Ding!

Zabuza barely managed to block Kakashi's thrust with the hilt of his sword, then retreated hastily to create some distance.

He raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping over Kakashi before finally settling on the blond boy standing behind him.

"That brat... Kakashi alone is troublesome enough, and if we add him on top of that..."

Zabuza concluded that a direct physical confrontation would be disadvantageous for him.

"Since that's the case..."

Zabuza raised one hand, his chakra surging wildly.

"Then I'll make you all blind."

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"

In an instant, a thick fog erupted, and the surroundings turned into a white expanse.

Zabuza's body completely disappeared into the mist.

Only his voice came from all directions:

"Eight places... throat, spine, liver, lungs... which one do you want me to attack?"

A terrifying killing intent surged forth like a tidal wave.

Sasuke and Sakura felt as if a huge rock was pressing on their chests.

Difficulty breathing, uncontrollable trembling of the body.

This is the instinctive fear that living beings feel when facing their natural enemies.

"Protect Mr. Tazner!"

Kakashi shouted and returned to formation.

Zabuza moved at high speed through the mist, searching for an opening.

This squad is not easy to deal with, he thought to himself.

Kakashi is a renowned elite Jonin, that blond kid has shadow clones, and the black-haired kid's Sharingan is also troublesome... If it gets into a protracted battle, it won't do him any good.

That being the case...

Zabuza's gaze pierced through the fog, locking onto the weakest link.

Let's kill the mission target and the pink-haired brat first!

brush!

Zabuza appeared behind Sakura like a ghost, his greatsword raised high:

"Let's take care of one first!"

However, just as his foot stepped into the three-meter radius around Sakura, ...

sizzle-

Several inconspicuous talismans on the ground suddenly lit up with a red light.

Immediately afterwards, several thin steel wires were touched.

"trap?!"

Zabuza's pupils contracted slightly. When?

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosive tokens buried underground were detonated instantly.

Although the power was deliberately controlled to prevent accidental injury.

But at such a close distance, it is enough to cause interference.

The firelight pierced through the fog.

The massive shockwave forced Zabuza back several steps, and even burned several patches of his bandages, leaving him looking rather disheveled.

"Cough cough..."

Zabuza waved away the smoke and landed on a tree trunk in the distance, staring at the pink-haired girl with a gloomy look.

Sakura was kneeling on the ground, her hands forming a detonation seal.

Although her face was deathly pale and her body was still trembling, her eyes were surprisingly firm.

"If we stop, we must immediately set up defensive positions..."

"Always establish your own safe zone..."

Sakura recalled the ironclad rules Naruto had taught her during their special training.

"I will definitely protect everyone!"

She didn't just stand by and watch when Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Zabuza were fighting.

Instead, they laid a series of traps around Dazna.

"Tch, what a troublesome brat."

Zabuza glanced at Kakashi, who was on high alert, and then looked around at the traps that had not yet been triggered.

The assassination failed, and their location was exposed.

Continuing the fight might not bring any advantage.

That's all for today.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zabuza sneered and his body once again merged into the mist:

"The next time we meet will be the day you die."

After saying that, his chakra fluctuations quickly disappeared into the depths of the forest.

"call……"

The thick fog gradually dissipated.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the formidable enemy retreat and pulled his headband back up.

He gave Naruto a long look.

For some reason, he always felt that Naruto wasn't using his full strength.

Sasuke knelt on one knee and slammed his fist into the ground, his face full of resentment.

Sakura plopped down on the ground, her back soaked with cold sweat, panting heavily.

Only Naruto remained standing in the same spot, his expression calm.

…………

Deep in the forest, on a hidden escape route.

Zabuza, clutching his arm injured by the explosive tags, darted rapidly through the tree branches.

"Those damn brats... and Kakashi too..."

"They actually got the short end of the stick from a low-level ninja squad."

"Let's go back and meet up with Bai first, adjust our tactics... Next time we must take down that pink-haired guy first."

Just when he thought he had escaped safely.

"Zabuza-san, could you please stop and talk for a moment?"

A polite, gentle, yet slightly eerie voice suddenly rang out not far from him.

"Who?!"

Zabuza was shocked. His instincts as a top assassin made him swing his sword fiercely towards the source of the sound.

However, the broadsword missed its target, only managing to cut a few leaves.

On a tree branch ahead.

Naruto was leaning against the tree trunk, arms crossed, smiling at him.

"You are... that blond brat from earlier?"

Zabuza landed on the opposite tree trunk, narrowed his eyes, and his killing intent re-emerged:

"You've been following me? What do you want? To get yourself killed?"

Naruto spread his hands. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a genin from Konoha."

"I'm here to offer you... a suggestion you can't refuse."