Invitation

"You mean, you want me to take you to kill Kado and split his money?"

After hearing Naruto's suggestion, Zabuza was taken aback for a moment, then let out a piercing laugh:

"Hahaha! Kid, are you still half asleep?"

"I'm a demon, and you're a genin? You actually want to split it evenly with me?"

Are you looking down on me?

Zabuza gripped his Executioner's Blade tightly, his eyes revealing an unprecedented chill and mockery:

"And... are you really a Konoha ninja?"

"As a ninja who lives in the sunlight, how could he actively seek out rogue ninjas and plot to assassinate his employer and split the profits..."

"You little brat, you have even less of a bottom line than us assassins."

Although Zabuza is cold and cruel, he considers himself a pure ninja.

Therefore, he placed great importance on the basic ethics of ninjas.

He never intended to turn against his employer, after all, he would rely on his reputation to make a living in the future.

Therefore, he scoffed at Naruto's unethical suggestion.

They even felt it was an insult to the word "ninja".

"Things about bottom lines... just listen to them, Mr. Zabuza."

"You, a traitorous ninja with blood on your hands, dare to talk to me about principles and bottom lines?"

Naruto adjusted his glasses, his deep blue eyes behind the lenses remaining completely still.

"Besides... I'm ridding the people of a scourge."

"You should go to hell and rid the world of evil!"

Zabuza roared, his figure flashing like lightning as his guillotine slashed down with a whooshing sound.

boom!

The tree trunk beneath Naruto's feet was chopped into pieces, but Naruto's figure had already disappeared.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

As a burst of dense white smoke exploded, more than a dozen Narutos scattered everywhere like ghosts.

"Kid, trying to stall for time with this kind of tactic?"

Zabuza snorted coldly, then leaped backward with both feet, trying to create distance.

However, the moment he landed, Zabuza's expression changed.

The soil beneath his feet instantly turned into a mushy swamp, and a strange suction force tightly bound his ankles.

Earth escape·quagmire!

"hateful!"

Zabuza roared angrily.

With his formidable physical strength and explosive power, he managed to stab the decapitation sword into the ground with his backhand before sinking completely, using the force to pull himself out.

Before he even landed, two Narutos had already blocked his landing spot.

"It's not over yet."

The two shadow clones simultaneously formed hand seals.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The wind fanned the flames, expanding the already massive fire into a sea of ​​red inferno.

The terrifyingly high temperature instantly evaporated most of the surrounding thick fog.

The entire forest was bathed in a crimson glow.

Zabuza was forced to twist his body in mid-air, using the broad blade of his Executioner's Blade as a shield.

Although he managed to withstand the intense heat, the violent blast of air still shoved him hard against the tree trunk behind him.

"Tsk, this is never going to end!"

Zabuza, filled with rage, suppressed the churning of his blood and qi the instant he landed, and swiftly formed hand seals:

"Water Release: Water Clone!"

One of the water clones remained in place to fight and maneuver against Naruto's shadow clones.

Its true form vanished as a blur, quickly escaping the battlefield and leaping wildly among the trees.

He was searching, searching for that one and only entity.

Just then, he saw it.

Under the shade of trees in the distance, a blond figure was leisurely reading a book, with two clones guarding him.

"Found you!"

Zabuza did not hesitate at all.

In his view, such a cunning opponent is doomed once he gets close!

"Go to hell!"

He used all his strength to swing the decapitation sword in a wide arc.

The heavy blade sliced ​​the three Narutos in half at the waist.

However, the expected splatter of blood did not occur, and he did not even feel any flesh.

"trap?"

In the next instant, Zabuza's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

Because he heard a hissing sound of burning in his ears.

boom!

A massive blast wave erupted at close range, shattering the surrounding trees.

Although Zabuza blocked most of the impact with his Executioner's Blade, he was still sent flying like a kite with a broken string.

Zabuza hadn't even landed yet.

Countless exceptionally strong steel wires have already been stretched into the air between the surrounding tree trunks to form a net.

When Zabuza crashed to the ground, he discovered that the wire, covered with numerous explosive tags, had bound him up like a dumpling.

The wire tightened around his flesh, and blood seeped from the wound.

brush!brush!brush!

Several shadow clones appeared simultaneously, pinning him to the ground, their kunai blocking every vital point on his body.

At this moment, Naruto's true form slowly emerged from the shadows on the other side.

He adjusted his glasses, his tone remaining gentle and polite:

"Zabuza-san, now... can you reconsider my proposal?"

Zabuza stared intently at Naruto, his chest heaving violently, blood dripping from the charred bandages.

He had never seen a ninja like this before.

A vast amount of chakra, infuriatingly precise calculations, and an endless stream of combination ninjutsu...

You call this a genin?

"...A proposal to split it equally?"

Zabuza's voice was hoarse, and a hint of submission finally crept into his tone.

"Hmm, things have changed."

Naruto held up one finger:

"Given that you wasted a lot of my chakra, exhausted my precious stamina, and used several expensive explosive tags that I made myself..."

"Therefore, the current profit-sharing plan is—90/10."

"I have nine, you have one."

"You bastard!"

Zabuza's eyes widened in fury, and just as he was about to struggle, the kunai pressed against his throat went even deeper.

The cold touch made him freeze instantly.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm only doing this because of your big sword. I originally thought you were pretty good at fighting..."

Naruto smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes:

"Or... do you think even 10% is unnecessary?"

There was a long silence.

Zabuza lowered his proud head and said in a muffled voice:

"……make a deal."

From an angle where Naruto couldn't see, Zabuza was grinding his teeth to dust.

"Damn brat, once Bai has gathered his men, I'll figure out your background..."

I'll make you vomit up every penny you swallowed, along with your intestines!

Naruto, on the other hand, felt nothing but the violent emotions erupting within him, like magma.

"Resentment? Rage? Backlash? These are all normal reactions."

"After all... by the time you find Kado, you'll have lost your value."

"So, enjoy your last moments, Mr. Zabuza."

As the two left.

Zabuza silently used his only movable finger to smear blood onto the tree bark, drawing a secret code.

He was informing Bai, who was hiding in the shadows:

Gather all available personnel and prepare for an encirclement.

Naruto glanced at the red figure out of the corner of his eye, but did not stop it; his smile only deepened.

…………

Meanwhile, at Tazner's home.

Kakashi sat on the table, one hand on his forehead, his expression extremely serious.

Sasuke gripped his kunai tightly, standing guard by the window, his eyes occasionally glancing at the thick fog outside.

Sakura, meanwhile, was nervously setting up traps in the backyard.

Kakashi is holding an emergency strategy meeting.

"Zabuza could attack at any moment."

Kakashi's expression tightened. "An assassin of this caliber would never give up on a mission so easily."

"Everyone, cheer up tonight!"

"Yes."

Sakura answered nervously.

Sasuke and Sakura were so tense that fine beads of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.

Naruto, the only one left behind, was sitting to the side, pouring a cup of black tea for everyone present.

Kakashi gave Naruto a suspicious look.

Naruto... isn't he being a little too calm?

Given Naruto's cautious nature, he should have at least sent out dozens of shadow clones to patrol outside in the face of Zabuza's threat.

Instead of leisurely brewing tea here, we should set up several contingency plans.

unless……

An astonishing conjecture flashed through his mind.

Unless he has already eliminated Zabuza's threat?

No, that's outrageous.

"Naruto, what's your opinion?"

Kakashi asked tentatively.

"I think... Zabuza probably won't come."

Naruto took a sip of tea, his tone calm and composed:

"Because he is also someone who...knows how to cut his losses."

"?"

Kakashi was completely bewildered, not understanding why Naruto had come to this conclusion.

Stop loss?

Are you really commenting on Zabuza, the ruthless killer?