Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Haku
The moment the weapons of the two Elite Jonin collided, a heavy killing intent burst forth, almost suffocating everyone present.
Even Naruto felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave thousands of feet deep in an instant, and his whole body was frozen stiff, unable to move. After all, this is the first time he felt such intense killing intent.
Sasuke and Sakura were not much better off, as they just stood there in a daze.
A thick mist began to rise around them. Kakashi and Zabuza, locked in a deadly stare-down with their weapons clashing, had no time to pay attention to Naruto and the others.
Warm Chakra flowed gently through Naruto's body, and within a few seconds, he adjusted himself. He turned around and rushed directly towards Sasuke and Sakura, slapping each of them on the back.
Almost at the same time, their eyes, which had been dazed, snapped back to focus.
They immediately both gasped for air, as if they had been holding their breath for a long time.
"The killing intent of a Jonin is too terrifying." Sasuke said, his face still taut with fear.
At the same time, he also realized that Naruto was the first among them to snap out of it, and that his intervention had helped both him and Sakura break free from their frozen state.
Sakura sat on the ground, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Zabuza's killing intent was not a Genjutsu, but a tangible presence enhanced by his Chakra, causing fear to grip the three Genin of Team 7.
"Sakura." Naruto pulled Sakura up and said, "Immediately disrupt the flow of Chakra in your body, just like when you break a Genjutsu."
As soon as these words came out, Sasuke and Sakura reacted immediately and formed a hand seal with their hands. This trick really worked, and the two of them immediately shook off the paralysis.
On the other side, Kakashi and Zabuza were already engaged in battle. Suddenly, a water clone of Zabuza rose from a nearby puddle like a ghost, then rushed toward Naruto and the others.
A water clone of an Elite Jonin had at least the strength of a Chunin.
"Watch out!" Kakashi caught a glimpse of Zabuza's water clone while fighting the real body, and hurriedly shouted to warn his students.
Logically speaking, Kakashi could have left a shadow clone to protect Team 7. But he obviously didn't want to do that, as Shinobi are a profession where the strong prey on the weak.
Without Kakashi's reminder, the three of them still saw Zabuza's water clone. Sasuke pulled Tazuna back, while Naruto grabbed Sakura and retreated as well.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, "Quick! Shuriken!"
In response, three shuriken flew at Zabuza in a flash, and Naruto followed right behind them, clearly planning to engage Zabuza's water clone head-on.
"Sakura! Genjutsu!" Naruto commanded as he charged.
Although this was their first team battle and they hadn't discussed a plan, Naruto was now taking the lead, even though it was clear to Zabuza's clone.
Tazuna, who had been boasting about being a bridge-building expert earlier, now stood trembling like a Psyduck, while Sasuke stood protectively in front of him.
As Sakura heard Naruto's voice, she, though flustered, reacted promptly. The Genjutsu she used had no effect on Zabuza's water clone, but it was enough to momentarily distract him.
And this moment is enough! The mechanical synthesized voice sounded in Naruto's mind!
[Kyubi's approval 2.2%]
Orange Chakra instantly enveloped Naruto's entire body, his pupils turning blood-red in an instant, and the overwhelming power surging within him.
With a bang, Naruto, who was charging forward, suddenly vanished from his spot.
At the next moment, Naruto's body appeared like a phantom behind Zabuza's water clone, then he delivered a heavy sweep kick that shattered the water clone.
Kyubi is powerful enough to render even the Yondaime Hokage and a group of Elite Jonin helpless. Even though Naruto can only use 2.2% of Kyubi's power, he was already approaching the level of a Tokubetsu Jonin.
Without considering the recent acquisition of his Lava Release, Naruto's reliance on just this little bit of Kyubi's power was enough to let him look down upon all the Chunin in Konoha.
"How could that kid be so strong?" Tazuna, the Psyduck, who was standing in place, watched Naruto decisively deal with the water clone and couldn't help but exclaim.
These words were naturally heard by Sasuke, who was holding a kunai in front of him on guard, and his face darkened slightly.
If Naruto was lucky the first time he defeated the two Kirigakure's Shinobi who were ambushing them, then his second time breaking the paralysis and taking down an Elite Jonin's water clone was proof enough that Naruto's strength was indeed the most outstanding in Team 7. While Sasuke is only slightly better than Sakura.
If Naruto had been born into a noble clan, enjoyed the best resources, and trained rigorously every day, Sasuke would not care so much.
But he knew well that since he met Naruto, the guy had always been the last in the class, boastful and his ability is at the bottom.
Such a person was not worth him wasting time to look at. He had never thought of forming a bond with such a person, but…
It seemed that overnight, Naruto had changed. Not only did he graduate with the top score from the Academy, but he also knew so much about the village's clans' secrets.
Although those secrets weren't huge, for Sasuke, whose clan was wiped out when he was young, and Sakura, who was from a civilian background, these were already considered obscure knowledge.
Whether it was sharing information or enhancing strength, Sasuke quietly wondered, 'Could this guy have been pretending all along?'
'He's been at the bottom of the class every year, it's too stable.'
'Pretending to be a useless student?'
Confused thoughts swirled in Sasuke's mind, while Sakura let out a sigh of relief. She clasped her hands together nervously and thought secretly in her heart, 'Luckily, there's Naruto.'
If Naruto hadn't called her just now, she might have been frozen like a piece of wood again. At least, she had used a Genjutsu, contributing to the team's effort.
After losing a water clone, Zabuza no longer had the energy to create another one. After all, at this moment, he was fighting with Kakashi, and both of them are injured.
Seeing this, Naruto rushed forward without thinking.
At this time, Kakashi had also found a flaw in Zabuza's defense, so he took the initiative to form hand seals, and unleashed a Water Dragon Bullet Technique straight at Zabuza's face.
Zabuza barely dodged but was still injured. Before he could move again, three senbon suddenly flew out of nowhere and pierced Zabuza's neck directly.
Kakashi immediately became alert, while Naruto relaxed his furrowed brow.
'Is Haku finally going to appear?'
A masked boy suddenly emerged from the thick mist and directly jumped in front of Zabuza, who was lying on the ground.
Naruto's pupils shrank slightly and he secretly mobilized the Chakra in his body.
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Chapter 22: Chapter 22 Lava Release
Zabuza lay motionless on the ground, and Haku, wearing a mask, stood beside him, watching Kakashi and Team 7 calmly.
"I am a Hunter-nin from Kirigakure, tasked with retrieving the Missing-nin from our village." Haku's voice was cold and his words were concise.
The dense, milky fog still hung around the forest, showing no signs of dissipating. Mist from the treetops gathered into drops, falling with a soft plop onto the grass below.
Even Kakashi was uncertain about the masked youth who claimed to be a Hunter-nin. Team 7 was equally tense, muscles taut and ready for action.
Kakashi said nothing, merely stepping forward to check Zabuza's breath. After confirming he had stopped breathing, Kakashi relaxed slightly. Since the enemy is dead, it was only right to return the body to Kirigakure.
"Kakashi-sensei, is he dead?" Naruto suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, pointing at the motionless Zabuza with an innocent expression.
Haku stood aside without reacting, his eyes scanning Naruto's face from behind the mask.
"Ah, he's dead." Kakashi, Konoha's top genius, replied perfunctorily, "He was hit by my Water Dragon Bullet just now, and then his throat was pierced by this Hunter-nin's needles, so he died just like that."
At this moment, Naruto seriously doubted that Kakashi had seen through Zabuza's fake death and was intentionally letting him go.
In fact, it is understandable since the forty-four hand seals required for the Water Dragon Bullet Technique consumed too much of Kakashi's stamina. It is understandable that Kakashi is unwilling to take the risk of entanglement with the enemies, but still!
'Come on! As an Elite Jonin, how could you not have the awareness of finishing off a target?'
Naruto planned to teach the naive Kakashi, the best holding-back person in Konoha, a lesson, to let him know how powerful the most boastful… No, most ruthless Shinobi in Konoha is.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, how come this guy can move if he's dead?" Naruto said while pointing at the supposedly dead Zabuza lying on the ground.
"What?" Kakashi's expression instantly became serious.
"He's already dead." Haku, who was trying to maintain his cool demeanor, couldn't help but retort, "Little brother, you must have seen it wrong."
"This man is a Missing-nin from Kirigakure. His body contains the village's secrets. Please allow me to take his body back."
After saying this, behind the mask, Haku's face couldn't help but show nervousness, but fortunately, the mask covered his face so that he wouldn't be exposed.
Zabuza, unable to withstand a prolonged battle against Team 7, had planned this fake death to escape.
Haku had arrived as planned, and everything would have gone smoothly, until this blonde kid suddenly interfered.
Kakashi looked at Naruto, then at Haku, and finally his gaze rested on the motionless Zabuza.
"In that case, please allow me to verify whether Zabuza is alive or dead."
"Sure." Haku replied.
Kakashi stretched out his hand and slowly reached towards Zabuza's neck. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Kakashi's hand, with Sakura and Sasuke instinctively holding their breath.
'Lava Release!'
Naruto, who was standing next to Kakashi, suddenly jumped up, a large amount of Chakra surged out of his body, and his eyes instantly turned scarlet.
Scorching lava surged from Naruto's hand, and its intense heat evaporated the surrounding mist in an instant.
Seeing that Naruto had hurled the lava at Zabuza, who was pretending to be dead on the ground, Hakuon the side was shocked and pounced towards Zabuza.
Haku's right hand was scorched black by the intense heat of the Lava Release, but he also managed to save Zabuza and deftly pulled out the senbon from his neck with his left hand.
Zabuza's eyes snapped open and he instantly came back to life.
"Zabuza-sama, I failed." Haku said to Zabuza apologetically, but his face showed no signs of pain despite his severely burned right hand, as if the hand was not his own but belonged to someone else.
After he finished speaking, Haku formed a single-hand hand seal and, together with Zabuza, vanished swiftly like the wind.
This secret escape technique was akin to the smoke escape technique. Naruto can understand it, but he can't learn it.
Kakashi watched Zabuza and Haku leave the whole time, and three seconds later, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura hurried forward to check on him.
"It must be that his Chakra has been used up." Naruto imitated Kakashi's earlier method of checking Zabuza's breath, waving his hand in front of Kakashi's nose and calmly stated.
Kakashi on the ground had fallen into a baby-like sleep. Fortunately, his breathing was still steady, indicating he had indeed fainted.
"This is not a good place to stay, let's take him back first." Sasuke said with one hand in his pocket.
He had tried a one-handed hand seal earlier but had failed. His hand, left hanging, moved uneasily before he grabbed one of Kakashi's arms and put it over his shoulder.
Naruto followed suit, taking Kakashi's other arm over his shoulder, and they supported him together.
"The village is just ahead. Let's take him to my house." The protected client, Tazuna, suggested.
The three Genin of Team 7 discussed it for a while and agreed directly.
At Tazuna's house.
The three placed Kakashi in a clean room, laying him on a futon. Sakura tucked the quilt for Kakashi with a worried look on her face.
When she walked out the door, Naruto and Sasuke were already standing in the hallway, waiting for her.
When Sakura saw Naruto's gaze, she nodded in understanding, didn't say anything, and followed the two boys directly.
They walked a short distance outside the house, where the view was open enough to spot enemies and their conversation wouldn't be overheard.
"How's Kakashi?" Sasuke asked with serious expression.
Sakura, with a tired look on her face, shook her head worriedly.
"He just fainted from exhaustion. He should be fine."
"We can't let our guard down until Kakashi-sensei wakes up," Naruto said. "The enemy could attack at any moment before they die."
"Who are those people?" Sakura asked, visibly shaken. After all, it was her first time facing a life-and-death battle between Shinobi.
"The Missing-nin from Kirigakure." Sasuke was a little calmer and said calmly, "What concerns me is Zabuza's killing intent. He's as strong as Kakashi."
"And that man wearing the mask can form hand seal with one hand. We must be on guard against that skill when we face him next time."
"Then next time, we'll kill them." Naruto raised his hand and made a cutting gesture, "That masked Shinobi's right hand is already useless."
"We must complete the mission, and with Kakashi-sensei's current state of not being able to fight, I want to ask you both something."
At this point, Naruto lowered his voice significantly.
"This mission was supposed to end here. We have already sent that old drunk back. But if we don't take this chance to kill those two while they are injured, it will be a hidden danger for us."
"I have a plan to kill those two Kirigakure's Missing-nin before Kakashi-sensei wakes up."
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