Zabuza's Shock: He'd Been Totally Duped
White mist enveloped everyone in Team 7.
Sasuke's body trembled. He could feel the killing intent, so intense it had almost taken physical form!
Its pressure left him struggling to breathe!
It was as if one wrong move would bring death upon him immediately!
This was a Jonin's killing intent!
The feeling of having his fate left entirely in someone else's hands was utterly helpless!
Kakashi quickly noticed that something was wrong with Sasuke and reassured him. "Sasuke, don't be afraid. Even if it costs me my life, I'll protect you all."
Zabuza spoke from within the white mist. "Is that so?"
The next moment, Shinki sensed a shadow appear beside him!
He looked back and saw Zabuza, the Kubikiribōchō resting on his shoulder!
Zabuza swung the Great Sword high and brought it down on Uncle Tazuna!
Shinki pulled two kunai from his ninja tool pouch and stepped in front of Uncle Tazuna to block it!
Clang!!
The muffled impact left both of Shinki's hands numb!
Zabuza was just as surprised!
How old was this kid? How could he block the Kubikiribōchō?
The next moment, something even more shocking happened!
Green energy Steam burst from Shinki's entire body. He seized the back of the Kubikiribōchō's blade and yanked it backward!
Zabuza hadn't expected the boy to possess such strange Taijutsu.
The moment the Great Sword was wrenched away, he lost focus for an instant!
Kakashi immediately closed in with a kunai!
Whoosh!
The sharp blade sliced across Zabuza's throat!
But what flowed from the wound wasn't blood. It was water!
"It's a Water Clone!"
Kakashi instantly realized something was wrong and stepped in front of Shinki.
Just then!
Zabuza appeared eerily behind Shinki and swung the Kubikiribōchō in a horizontal slash at him!
"You're pretty good for a brat, but too bad you're about to die by my blade!"
He had barely finished speaking.
Zabuza discovered something.
The brat in front of his Kubikiribōchō had vanished!
Zabuza: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
What kind of technique is this?!
He was right here a moment ago!
Zabuza's slash missed, and Kakashi quickly formed Hand Seals!
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Splash!
Water gathered in the shape of a dragon and surged toward Zabuza!
But when the dragon-shaped torrent struck Zabuza's body,
Kakashi realized that this Zabuza was a Water Clone too!
Behind Tazuna,
the real Zabuza emerged, raised the Kubikiribōchō high, and chopped down with all his might!
Whoosh!!
Clang!!
The one who blocked Zabuza this time was Sasuke, who had stayed by Uncle Tazuna's side to protect him!
At the same time, Naruto, who was beside Sasuke, wasn't idle either.
Eager to prove himself, Naruto gripped a kunai and thrust it at Zabuza without hesitation!
Whoosh!
Naruto's kunai was about to strike Zabuza's body, forcing Zabuza to abandon his attack and retreat sharply, opening some distance.
Shinki appeared beside Naruto using a Body Flicker Technique formula and threw a kunai!
"You three did well!"
Kakashi said approvingly.
The three kids had not only kept themselves safe just now, but had also protected Uncle Tazuna, the target of their mission.
They deserved praise.
Kakashi had just finished speaking when he noticed that Shinki, who should have been standing with Sasuke and Naruto, had vanished.
Kakashi: (≖╻≖;)
What is that brat up to now?!
Meanwhile,
the retreating Zabuza narrowly dodged the kunai as it flew past his cheek!
Just as he was congratulating himself, Shinki used the Body Flicker Technique formula on the kunai to teleport behind Zabuza!!
Still in midair, Shinki caught the kunai and stabbed downward with all his might!
With years of combat experience, Zabuza heard the wind by his ear and hefted the enormous Kubikiribōchō, sweeping it upward!
Puchi!!
In the end, Shinki's kunai struck first, plunging into Zabuza's shoulder!
At the same instant the kunai pierced Zabuza's body, Shinki placed a Body Flicker Technique formula on his shoulder!
After doing all this, Shinki immediately used the Body Flicker Technique formula to move beside Naruto.
And the Great Sword in Zabuza's hands missed again!!
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, and Zabuza was furious!
It would have been one thing if it had been Kakashi the Copy Ninja!
But instead, he had been beaten into such a sorry state by a little brat!
The kid had hit him with a whole string of attacks, leaving him unable to fight back, and he hadn't even touched a hair on the boy!
Zabuza quickly came to his senses!
Wasn't the technique that red-haired kid used the Flying Thunder God Technique of the Yellow Flash from back then?!
Good grief!
Back then, the Yellow Flash had used that technique to sweep all before him in the Third Ninja World War, eventually becoming Konoha's Fourth Hokage!
How old is this kid now?
Twelve?
He had already learned an extremely difficult S-rank Ninjutsu at twelve!
When Zabuza graduated from the Ninja Academy and killed more than a hundred examinees from his class, he hadn't been as shaken as he was now.
Konoha had produced a super genius!
Meanwhile, Shinki, who had used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Naruto's side, gave Kakashi a look.
Kakashi immediately understood and quietly gave Shinki a thumbs-up.
Then Kakashi moved the Forehead Protector that had covered his left eye, revealing his red left eye!
It was the first time Shinki had seen the legendary Sharingan with his own eyes.
The red white of the eye and its black pupil gave it a sense of bewitching power.
Meanwhile, Zabuza ran out onto the lake and quickly formed Hand Seals.
The water in the lake could strengthen his Water Release.
On the shore, Kakashi's Sharingan watched Zabuza's hands closely as he followed along with the Hand Seals.
The two Jonin-level ninja moved their hands with incredible speed.
Shinki looked at Kakashi, then at Zabuza on the lake. Their movements were perfectly synchronized!
There seemed to be no delay at all in Kakashi-sensei's copied movements!
Then, at a signal from Kakashi's eyes, Shinki moved behind Naruto and Sasuke.
The next moment, the two ninja completed their Hand Seals and shouted in unison.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Whirling torrents of water gathered in front of them and surged toward each other!
Just as the two Jonin unleashed their Ninjutsu, Shinki suddenly charged straight at Zabuza on the opposite side!
"Hmph, you're far too green to sneak up on me!"
Zabuza snorted coldly and swept the Kubikiribōchō across once more!
This time, his Great Sword finally struck Shinki's neck squarely!
Crack!
The blow cut Shinki in two.
Splash—
The next moment!
The Shinki Shadow Clone's body turned into lightning that clung to the Kubikiribōchō!
The electric current instantly paralyzed Zabuza Momochi's body!
Zabuza: =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)
I'm done for!
I've been totally duped!!
Immediately afterward,
the real Shinki used the Body Flicker Technique formula to appear behind Zabuza and quickly formed Hand Seals!
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!!"
Splash!
Shinki pressed down with his right hand!
He drew water from the lake, forming a sphere that enclosed Zabuza's body!!
Zabuza: (°Д°≡°Д°)