Zabuza's Operation

Kisame Hoshigaki was still wavering, but Zabuza, another future member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, was the complete opposite, charging ahead without hesitation.

Zabuza had always been the kind of ninja with absurdly high initiative. He had once slaughtered all his classmates, and later even went straight for an assassination attempt on the Mizukage. His drive to act was obvious.

After obtaining some rough intelligence on the so-called Sea Ninja created by the Sea Country, Zabuza prepared to make a further move.

Although he belonged to a reconnaissance squad, besides ordinary scouting methods, capturing and interrogating opponents was also a perfectly normal way of gathering intelligence. Zabuza, who had always been deeply confident in himself, naturally chose the latter.

The Sea Country was originally an island nation, rich in moisture. Every morning, thick fog often rose over the land.

For Zabuza, who was proficient in the Hidden Mist Technique, this was undoubtedly a tremendous advantage. Within the heavy fog, the concealment of the Hidden Mist Technique increased severalfold. Many ordinary ninja did not even realize what was happening before being subdued by the suddenly thickened mist.

However, after succeeding three times in a row, Zabuza began to sense that something was wrong.

Judging by the combat sense and ninja qualities of the three ninja he had captured, their strength was mediocre at best. They could only be considered ordinary Genin.

Yet their physical abilities and Chakra reserves were both somewhat higher than those of ordinary Chunin, and their neural reflexes were extremely fast. Their overall strength had basically reached the Chunin level.

If he had merely encountered such a situation once in a while, it would not have meant much.

To put it bluntly, combat sense and ninja qualities were intangible things. Though they generally corresponded to a ninja's rank, cases of people with powerful physical abilities but poor combat sense were not uncommon.

But three in a row were like this, and during battle, their combat rhythm was clearly disconnected from their current physical reactions. It looked as though their strength had suddenly increased, leaving them unable to control their own bodies. This made Zabuza suspicious.

To be safe, Zabuza, who had originally planned to attack stronger prey, ultimately stopped.

These ninja certainly had their flaws, but their Chunin-level strength was real. Moreover, according to Zabuza's observations, these ninja seemed to occupy the lowest rung in their Ninja Village—the sort of position ordinary Genin held. That was truly frightening.

A Ninja Village where everyone was at least Chunin-level? If that was really their strength, then this Sea Ninja Village might not be a joke after all!

With a grim expression, Zabuza had several subordinates escort the three ninja captives toward their temporary stronghold, where several interrogation specialists were stationed.

A person's energy was limited, and it was difficult to excel at everything. Among those of the same rank, ninja skilled in interrogation were generally somewhat weaker than regular combat ninja. That was why those people had remained at the stronghold instead of going out with Zabuza.

But when Zabuza arrived at the stronghold, it was completely empty. No, it could not be called completely empty. Several ninja stood at the entrance, but the Kirigakure ninja left behind to guard the place had vanished without a trace.

Almost the instant he reached the stronghold, Zabuza's expression changed completely. His base had been raided?

"Very good. It seems I underestimated you. I never expected a small Ninja Village that had only just been established to possess such intelligence-gathering capabilities!"

Upon hearing Zabuza speak, the ninja standing at the front, Nadare Rōga, flushed slightly. With their Ninja Village's lack of foundation, how could they possibly have tracked the movements of Kirigakure ninja?

It was simply that Vegapunk had given them an unfair advantage. Through his Devil Fruit ability, he had directly simulated and developed the Life Magnetic Field Radar, which could observe the Life Magnetic Fields of everyone in the Sea Country whose strength exceeded a certain level.

Although this thing could only detect human Life Magnetic Fields and could not mark individuals, ninja with powerful Chakra naturally had strong Life Magnetic Fields as well. The Kirigakure ninja sent to the Sea Country this time were all elites. A large cluster of powerful Life Magnetic Fields gathering together would have been strange if it had gone unnoticed.

Of course, Nadare Rōga would never tell Zabuza such a thing. He merely drew his Kunai with an indifferent expression and pointed it at Zabuza. "What are Kirigakure ninja doing in Sea Ninja territory?"

"Meaningless words. Ninja do not make a living with their mouths. If you want to seize Kirigakure territory, what you truly need are Kunai and Shuriken!"

Zabuza spoke coldly as he gripped the imitation Kubikiribōchō on his back, instantly drawing it and pointing it at Nadare Rōga.

"Fine. Then let our strength do the talking!"

With a tense expression, Nadare Rōga likewise raised his Kunai before his chest and prepared for battle.

In terms of actual strength, the original Nadare Rōga was undoubtedly far inferior to Zabuza.

The Chakra Armor from the movie had not yet been developed, and the Ice Release he relied upon would basically become pure Water Release after leaving the Snow Country. Without Ice Release, Nadare Rōga could at most be considered a Special Jonin.

Even the weakest of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were Jonin-level, while most were probably around Elite Jonin level. Momochi Zabuza was undoubtedly a standard Elite Jonin.

Even though Zabuza currently did not possess the Kubikiribōchō and was theoretically somewhat weakened, among the seven ninja swords, the Kubikiribōchō provided the weakest boost to combat power. As long as it was not a prolonged battle, the Kubikiribōchō could be treated as an ordinary weapon.

In other words, even without the Kubikiribōchō, Zabuza's strength was still around Elite Jonin level. Even if his age meant he had only just reached the threshold of that rank, he was not someone a Special Jonin like Nadare Rōga could challenge.

However, since Nadare Rōga dared to step forward outside the Snow Country, he naturally had ample confidence in himself. As the strongest expert of the original Snow Ninja Village, he had naturally been Vegapunk's first experimental subject for modification and training.

After undergoing Training Pod training and receiving injections of the Snow Country's unique Snow Wolf Gene, Nadare Rōga was now completely different from before.

Nadare Rōga and Zabuza faced each other for a moment. Compared to the killing intent Zabuza had accumulated through countless murders since childhood, Nadare Rōga, who had previously only stayed in the Snow Country and had probably killed fewer than Double Digits of people, was clearly at a disadvantage in terms of presence.

Sensing his presence being suppressed, Nadare Rōga did not hesitate. He swung his Kunai and hurled it straight at Zabuza. After Zabuza tilted his head slightly to evade the attack, Nadare Rōga let out a wolf howl and transformed into a white werewolf, pouncing forward.