Have You Heard of Ocean Release?

As the thick mist dispersed, Kakashi looked at the captured Wu Liang, frowning in silence.

Naruto, Sasuke, and the others stared tensely at Zabuza. Naruto shouted excitedly, "Let go of A Liang!"

"It seems you didn't take my words to heart." Zabuza ignored them and merely stared at Kakashi. The Executioner's Blade in his hand pressed another inch closer to Wu Liang's neck. "Cut the crap. If you don't want this brat to die, kill that old man for me."

Kakashi remained calm and unmoved. Sasuke and Naruto, however, looked increasingly grim. Looking from Tazuna to Wu Liang in Zabuza's grasp, they were deeply conflicted.

Just as the tense atmosphere reached its peak, Wu Liang, who was being held by Zabuza, suddenly smiled. "Zabuza, whose Water Clone Technique do you think is stronger, yours or mine? Looks like I won. You didn't realize I wasn't the real body."

"What?"

Upon hearing that, Zabuza did not hesitate. He swung the Executioner's Blade and severed Wu Liang's head. Yet although Wu Liang had been beheaded, no blood spilled. His entire body turned into a puddle of water and merged into the sea.

"Damn it, I was fooled! But when did he do it?"

Realizing he had been tricked, Zabuza immediately wanted to use the Hidden Mist Technique again. However, the seawater beneath his feet suddenly became extremely unstable. The area where he and his water clone stood instantly turned turbulent, with waves surging violently. Zabuza could barely keep his footing, much less perform ninjutsu.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Whirlpool Technique!"

Wu Liang surfaced not far behind Zabuza and activated the Water Dragon Whirlpool Technique. In an instant, Zabuza and his water clone were swept up by an enormous water whirlpool.

"Oh, wow. That looks pretty spectacular. But Zabuza, aren't you taking this a little too lightly? I know this whirlpool can't hold you. Come out."

As soon as Wu Liang finished speaking, the two Zabuzas trapped in the whirlpool turned into water and were assimilated by it. Meanwhile, Zabuza surfaced in the patch of sea Wu Liang had been watching and said admiringly, "I have to admit, kid, you've got some skill. You actually ruined such a perfect plan. Now I'm angry."

On the shore, Sasuke and the others watched Zabuza and Wu Liang confront each other on the sea and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Kakashi said, "Just watch. I don't intend to interfere either. When I was about to save Ryo Senju earlier, he signaled to me that he was only a water clone. He also said that he wanted to fight Zabuza once himself. Only if he lost would I step in."

Sakura's little face was tense as she said, "How can that be okay? That Zabuza clearly isn't someone he can compare to. Zabuza is at least a Jonin, right?"

Kakashi looked at Sakura with his dead-fish eye and Sharingan. "But this was his own decision. I believe in him. You may not know this, but in terms of Chakra reserves, he already has no less than I do. And his strength is at least that of an Elite Chunin."

Hearing this, everyone was so shocked that they could not speak. They stopped bringing up what had just happened and simply watched the two figures standing on the sea.

Wu Liang did not know what the people on shore were thinking, but he was considering how to defeat Zabuza. In the original story, Wu Liang had learned that Zabuza was truly formidable because of his Silent Killing Technique. But if he were not allowed to use the Hidden Mist Technique, his strength was at most around Jonin level.

Seeing that Zabuza intended to use the Hidden Mist Technique again, Wu Liang pressed both hands against the water's surface. "Water Release: Twin Water Dragon Whirlpool Technique!"

In an instant, together with the original whirlpool, the three water whirlpools formed a triangular pincer formation and rapidly closed in on the sea where Zabuza stood. Left with no choice, Zabuza could only first escape the whirlpools' suction.

As Zabuza dodged the whirlpools, he also guarded against sneak attacks from Wu Liang and the people on shore. Fortunately, Kakashi showed no intention of offering support. Hmph, how arrogant. Does he really think this brat can deal with me? He's only good at Water Release. Once I shake off these whirlpools, I'll immediately use the Hidden Mist Technique.

Watching Zabuza flee from the pursuing whirlpools, Wu Liang had no intention of stopping. He created another water clone to maintain the whirlpools and continue the pursuit, while his real body rapidly formed hand seals. An enormous amount of Chakra immediately surged from Wu Liang's body.

Zabuza stared at him in terror. "Damn it, there are already three water whirlpools! What's with all that Chakra? Is he trying to scare me, or what?"

A bad feeling flashed through Zabuza's heart, and he began dodging even more frantically. Once Wu Liang completed the final hand seal, he laughed and called out to Zabuza, "Hahaha, Zabuza, have you ever heard of Ocean Release?"

Wu Liang's words left everyone present baffled, especially the completely confused Zabuza. Wu Liang ignored their reactions and said to him, "Ocean Release: Swarm of Dragons!"

Zabuza watched Wu Liang press his palms together toward him while the water whirlpools had already passed by. He was immediately puzzled. Such enormous Chakra, such complicated hand seals, such an imposing declaration of Ocean Release: Swarm of Dragons... and this was it?

Yet as Zabuza sneered mockingly, Wu Liang was sensing the movements of the seawater. That was right. Although it was his first time using this original ultimate technique, Wu Liang was certain he had succeeded. The reason there was still no movement was because the sea was gathering its strength.

"It's coming."

Just as Zabuza was about to raise his blade and slash at Wu Liang, the sea suddenly began to boil. Amid wave after wave of dragon roars, an enormous swarm of water dragons burst forth from the depths of the ocean, charging at Zabuza as if endless.

As Zabuza's charging body suddenly went numb with fear, he looked at the swarm of sea dragons rushing toward him. I'm dead. There's no way to dodge this. The area is too large. Unless I have the legendary Space-Time Ninjutsu...

Zabuza watched the sea dragon swarm charge toward him with a pale face, having already given up resisting. How was he supposed to dodge? How was he supposed to block it?

On shore, Kakashi and the others watched the sea dragon swarm roar toward Zabuza across the water and could not help mourning for him. On the sea, even the Substitution Technique could not be used. Against such a massive ninjutsu, it would be a blessing if even an intact corpse remained.

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and especially Tazuna were so frightened that their jaws practically hit the ground. They were utterly dumbfounded.

After the sea's power finally subsided, Wu Liang sensed the area and found no trace of Zabuza within two kilometers. Only Zabuza's Executioner's Blade remained on the seafloor. As for Zabuza himself, he had probably not even left behind a corpse.

Wu Liang picked up the Executioner's Blade, and Seria's notification immediately sounded in his mind. It had been a long time since he had heard Seria take the initiative to notify him. The last time had been when he created Ocean Release and the other Yin Release techniques.

Seria: Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the purple rare-grade Executioner's Blade. This Executioner's Blade can be taken out of the Naruto world.

"Oh, wow. Does this count as killing someone and getting loot? Hahaha, better than nothing."

Wu Liang returned to shore carrying the massive Executioner's Blade. Kakashi had already put away his Sharingan and looked at him with only his dead-fish eye exposed. "Ryo Senju, when did you create this Ocean Release technique? Have you registered it with the Third Hokage?"

Wu Liang shook his head. "Kakashi-sensei, I only created this technique shortly before we set out. You know, Konoha only has rivers, and I had never been to the sea before. That's why, when I used it for the first time, I was delayed by the most important step: letting the ocean gather its strength beforehand. Luckily, that idiot Zabuza thought I had failed. It looked like he was even about to mock me. Oh, right, this Executioner's Blade is my trophy now, right? Do I need to turn it in?"

To be honest, Wu Liang did not have any real need for the Executioner's Blade. Even if he took it out, it would only end up being processed and dismantled. It was merely rare-grade equipment with a somewhat special effect. Trash.

Kakashi looked at Ryo Senju before him. "Let the Third Hokage decide what to do with the Executioner's Blade after we return. For now, it belongs to you. As for the ninjutsu you developed, you will need to register it with the Third Hokage when we get back."

After saying that, Kakashi ignored him and simply called for everyone to continue onward.

Wu Liang took out a sealing scroll and sealed away the Executioner's Blade. Then he walked to the back of the group. Sakura and Naruto looked at him with admiration and asked, "A Liang, can I learn that Ocean Release technique?"

Naruto's words nearly made Wu Liang laugh. He could not help mocking him. "Come on, Naruto. Did you forget that you don't have Water-nature Chakra? Besides, even if you did, it would be difficult for you to learn. Although this Ocean Release technique doesn't consume that much Chakra for me, it requires extremely strong Chakra control. You have to control the sea and make it gather power in coordination with the technique. With your Chakra control, it would be really hard for you to learn."

Sasuke, who was walking ahead, looked at Kakashi with a complicated expression. "Kakashi-sensei, you're known as the Copy Ninja. Can you copy A Liang's Ocean Release technique?"

Kakashi stroked his chin and considered it seriously for a while before replying, "I can, but after using that technique, all my Chakra would be depleted. So it isn't suitable for me."

"I see. Kakashi-sensei, there's something I want to ask you. It's about—"

"I know what you want to ask. You want to ask about this Sharingan of mine, don't you?" Kakashi murmured. "Actually, it isn't something I can't tell you. It would just make me remember some unpleasant things."

Kakashi organized his thoughts before sinking into his memories. "This Sharingan came from one of my former teammates, an idiot from your Uchiha clan. How should I put it? He was like Naruto now, an annoying guy. Back then, he was also dead last. Sometimes, I even wondered whether he was really from the Uchiha clan.

"His talent was not the best, but he worked extremely hard. Unfortunately, limited by his own circumstances, he could not become an outstanding ninja."

"During one mission, Obito was unfortunately crushed by a huge boulder, and I was seriously injured as well. Before he died, Obito gave me one of his Sharingan as a gift to commemorate my promotion to Jonin."

After hearing this, Sasuke fell silent. According to Kakashi, that Obito's talent had surely been poor. Yet when he awakened his Sharingan, he had directly reached two tomoe, while he himself...

Like everyone else, Wu Liang listened to Kakashi recount his past. A touch of sorrow spread through the group.

What they did not know was that Wu Liang understood even more clearly that if Kakashi had not accepted Obito's Sharingan as a memento, he would certainly have been stronger than he was now. The Sharingan was powerful, but without the bloodline to match it, it would become a burden. Since Kakashi could not deactivate the Sharingan, it constantly consumed his Chakra.