Team 7 continued following Tazuna through the forest to reach his home, though the forest wasn't that dense. The forest on this island wasn't as dense as the forest on the land of fire. Bushes were growing on both sides of the street.
The Land of Waves were a bunch of islands that were very close to each other. Tazuna and his family lived on the biggest island. This island is also known as the Main island of the Land of Waves.
The Bridge that Tazuna was constructing also connected this main island to the mainland. He was undertaking a very ambitious project that would forever change the land of waves. Once the bridge is completed, the economy of this small nation will boom.
While walking through the forest, Naruto and Kakashi felt something. Both of them looked at each other from the corner of their eyes and gave each other a very small nod that was almost impossible to notice. Both of them were ready for the ambusher.
Without needing to say anything, it was already decided who was going to fight and who was going to protect the squad, as well as Mr. Tazuna.
Sarada suddenly heard a noise coming from the bushes. She took out a kunai and threw it.
"Sarada, did you sense something?" Sakura asked.
Kakashi went into the bushes and came out with a snow rabbit that was still alive. Sarada only had hit its fur. The rabbit looked very scared.
'A snow rabbit...!! It has white fur. Snow rabbits' fur turns white during the winter season when there is little sunlight. Winter had already passed almost around three months ago.' Kakashi thought to himself while staring at the bushes.
'Which means that snow rabbit was raised indoors without sunlight to be used as a substitution.'
From the top of a tree, a mysterious figure was watching everyone.
'I guess they are here.' From the corner of his eyes, Kakashi looked at the figure that was silently watching over them.
'I understand why the demon brothers weren't able to defeat them.' He thought in his mind.
'The Copy Ninja from the Village of the Hidden Leaves. "Sharingan" Kakashi is with them.'
"Everyone get down." Everyone saw a giant, large sword thrown at them. The sword was over two meters in length, shaped like a butcher knife, and spinning rapidly.
Hanabi and Sarada activated their Dojutsu. Their reaction speed increased immediately, and they both got down.
The giant sword that looked like a butcher knife flew over them. It lodged itself firmly into the tree, its blade embedded in the trunk.
It was only then that they got a close look at the sword. The blade itself has two cutouts, a circle close to the top and a semi-circular one nearer to the handle, the former of which aptly fits the sword's purpose of decapitation.
The Demon of the Mist Zabuza made his entrance. Zabuza was standing on the handle of the sword.
"If it isn't the Rogue Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi!" Kakashi calmly said while putting his hands in his pocket.
"Go, guys, stay back."
"He's on a totally different level from the guys from the other day." Kakashi was going to fight him.
"I assume you are Kakashi, the Sharingan user." As soon as this was said, Sarada immediately looked at Kakashi.
At the same time, Kakashi revealed his Sharingan by lifting his headband, which always covered his right eye.
'If Kakashi-sensei, a member of the Uchiha clan?' Sarada thought to herself. She was going to ask Kakashi-sensei about this later.
"Give me the old man, and we can part ways peacefully." Zabuza said in a cold tone.
"Can't do that." Kakashi shook his head.
"I guess I will just have to kill you all and then kill him,`" Zabuza said while pointing at the old man.
"I never expected to see the rumored Sharingan this soon. This is an Honor." Zabuza has always wanted to fight against a Sharingan user.
Suddenly, the mist started to take over the area. Mist covered the forest and the water around it. Mist was Zazuba's territory. He can fight his peak when there is mist around him.
"When I was in the Anbu Black Ops of the Hidden Mist, search information about you was in the Bingo Book I would carry around with me.
"There was also something else in the book about the man who has copied over one thousand skills, Kakashi the copy Ninja."
Zabuza landed on the water and started building his chakra.
The next second, Zabuza mysteriously disappeared into the mist.
However, Kakashi remained totally calm seeing this. "He'll probably come to erase me first."
"Where is he?" Sakura asked while looking around.
"He was an Anbu Black Ops member in the Hidden Mist, and he is known as "the silent killing" technique expert."
"Silent?" Hanabi looked confused.
"As the name suggests, it's a killing skill that's implemented in an instant in silence. By the time you realize it, it's possible you may find yourself in the afterlife."
"I haven't mastered the use of my Sharingan. Don't lower your guards, you guys." Kakashi warned his students. Since Naruto was with them, he knew that his students wouldn't be an easy target.
"The mist is getting thicker," Sarada said.
"The Land of the Waves is surrounded by ocean. So mist rises very easily." Tazuna replied. He and the people living on these islands were used to this mist.
Slowly, the mist became so dense that Kakashi, who was a few meters away from them, disappeared into the mist.
"Hanabi, can you see Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.
"He is in front of us."
"I can also see Zabuza. He is a few hundred meters into the water. He is preparing to attack." Kakashi heard Hanabi's words.
Zabuza rapidly moved around them for a few minutes.
He thought that he had distracted everyone. Just when he appeared out of the mist, Kakashi was easily able to block his eyes. It was as if Kakashi was prepared for him.
Clang.....!!
After their first clash, Zabuza felt that something was wrong. He then jumped back and disappeared into the mist again.
A few minutes later, "Sensei, he is coming from the left." Hanabi informed Kakashi.
Clang...!!!
Once again, Kakashi blocked his strike.
This time, Zabuza became suspicious. 'Did I miss something?' Zabuza thought to himself as he retreated into the mist.
Zabuza then realized that he had overlooked something very important. Realizing this, he wanted to slap his head.
'I completely ignored the Hyuga clan member in his squad. Dammit!!' Realizing this, Zabuza immediately retreated further away.
'How did I make such a rookie mistake?' He was angry at himself for making such a rookie mistake.
'With the Hyuga constantly telling Kakashi my location, hiding in the mist is absolutely useless. Even though I am in my territory because of the Hyuga clan member, I cannot use my abilities to their peak.' Zabuza thought to himself.
'With this Hyuga, fighting Kakashi will be very troublesome.'
'I must retreat for now. I will come back with a better plan.' Zabuza began to retreat.
"Sensei, Zabuza is retreating," Hanabi said as she watched everything. Because of the Byakugan, she could see up to kilometers.
"Should we chase him?" Sarada asked.
Kakashi shook his head. "Let him retreat for now. Knowing his way of doing business, I am sure he will return eventually with a better plan. We must be prepared for that time." Kakashi seriously said.
At the same time, Kakashi wanted to write a report about this serious matter to Lord Hokage. Zabuza was easily an S-rank rogue Shinobi. He was in possession of one of the seven swords of the mist. It was a huge deal that Kakashi met him on his mission.
"Come, I will take you all to my house. You guys can stay there." Tazuna took them to his house. It was a normal wooden house.
'Well, it was kind of refreshing. In my world, Kakashi sensei ended up overusing his Sharingan in his fight against Zabuza and temporarily became very weak. Since Zabuza was also injured, the main battle took place a few weeks later. But since neither party has been injured yet, I am sure Zabuza will be back with Haku very shortly.' Naruto thought to himself.
'I guess I don't have much time. I will need to end Gato before Zabuza returns.' Naruto thought to himself.
In this world, he did not want Zabuza and Haku to die. Just by killing that scum Gate, Naruto would be able to solve all the problems of this small nation and also resolve the conflict between them and Zabuza.
This was the more peaceful solution.
"Welcome to my house," Tazuna says.
In front of them, there was a beautiful middle-aged lady.
"This is my daughter, Tsunami." The lady bowed to the people that her father had brought back. Knowing why they were here, she was extra grateful to them.
Tsunami has long dark blue-coloured hair. She wears a short-sleeved pink shirt with the end of the sleeves and the collar being red in color. She also wears a long blue skirt.
"It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for protecting my dad." She was very gentle and polite.
"Unlike a certain someone, you're very polite," Naruto's words were aimed at the old man.
He was dead tired of his rude attitude.
"What did you say, brat?" Tazuna angrily looked at Naruto.
"You heard me." Naruto did not back down.
"Hmph...!! Young people nowadays have no respect for their elders." Saying that, Tazuna began to walk away.
"Sure, we'll respect our elders just as soon as they start acting their age and not their shoe size!" Naruto sarcastically replied.
Hearing the reply, the old man nearly fell down. He was angry and also embarrassed by Naruto's words. He didn't dare look back. He continued walking and left.
Meanwhile, Tsunami and others laughed at the scene. This was kind of refreshing amidst all the tension between Gato and his men and Zabuza.
"Please don't mind my father. He wasn't always like this." Tsunami politely said.
"Yeah, I seriously doubt that," Naruto replied in a low tone. Only Hanabi heard what he said. Hearing his words, she gigged silently.
"You all must be tired. Please come inside. I will prepare something for you all to eat."
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Urgent update - I have uploaded the next chapter of this novel, but the Upload is not showing anywhere. I have tried through other accounts to see if the chapter was uploaded. I could not find my uploaded chapter anywhere I checked. I have tried deleting the chapter and then re-uploading it, but this clearly did not work.
Anyway, I will wait for some time to check if the problem gets fixed; otherwise, I will contact Webnovel about this.
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