[Something feels off.]
[Holy crap, are those ropes made of metal?]
The enormous object was stopped, and everyone finally saw what it was—a massive sword whose blade alone was as tall as an adult.
"Hmm?"
Hanabi had not followed his instructions. Instead, she had directly intercepted the enemy's attack. But why?
"Something's wrong..."
Hanabi had already removed her Beiyi and put on a mask.
"Teacher Kakashi, form the swastika formation and protect Uncle Tazuna. I'll handle this enemy."
As she spoke, a tall, thin figure had already rushed in front of Hanabi, intending to drive her back and reclaim the greatsword.
But Hanabi brought her hands together, and the surrounding ropes instantly tightened, about to bind the newcomer.
"Tch!" The tall, thin figure kicked forward. His attack was naturally blocked by Hanabi's ropes, but he used the force of it to retreat and widen the distance.
Kakashi recognized him at a glance. "Well, well, isn't this Mr. Momochi Zabuza, rogue ninja of Kirigakure?"
"Teacher Kakashi, guard Mr. Tazuna. Stop talking nonsense."
Hanabi repeated her command.
[I can't, I'm dying laughing.]
[Kakashi: Wait, are you the teacher, or am I the teacher?]
[Reversing the Heavenly Stems! Reversing the Heavenly Stems!]
[No, Hanabi's attitude is way too serious. Is something wrong?]
[This feels kind of off?]
Kakashi was full of question marks.
"I'm going to help!"
Naruto immediately tried to rush forward, but Kakashi stopped him. "This guy is nothing like the one from last time."
Kakashi looked at Momochi Zabuza.
No, he was looking at Hanabi.
Yet Kakashi felt that Hanabi's attention did not seem to be on Momochi Zabuza at all.
Could it be...?
Was there another enemy?
Although Hanabi did not have the Byakugan, Kakashi knew she seemed to possess some powerful sensory ability that allowed her to detect changes in surrounding Chakra. The reason she was acting this way was probably because, in her eyes, Momochi Zabuza posed less of a threat than whatever was hiding nearby.
"So you're Kakashi of the Sharingan. Sorry, but hurry up and hand that old man over to me." After saying that, Zabuza looked at Hanabi. "You're pretty good. To think you managed to stop my Kubikiribōchō."
"Sharingan...?" Sasuke had heard something incredible. His gaze turned to Kakashi.
Kakashi had always kept one eye covered. Could that eye be... a Sharingan?
But why would the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan be in an outsider's possession?
However, Kakashi had no way to spare Sasuke any attention right now.
"Hanabi, are you sure you want to face him alone?"
"Yeah. It'll be a little difficult, but if I go all out, I can still fight Mr. Momochi Zabuza."
"What an arrogant brat." Zabuza snorted coldly. "You don't know your place."
"I really don't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth, just like I don't know why Mr. Zabuza is willing to work for Gato."
"—You brat! Stop spouting nonsense!"
Zabuza flew into a rage.
When he had first fled to the Land of Waves, it had merely been because his coup had failed and he needed a place to settle down. If he had not been wary of Kirigakure pursuing him, he would have long since killed someone like Gato, whom he had never liked.
Yet Hanabi's single sentence plunged Zabuza into thought.
Could Gato really be Kirigakure's black glove?
"This isn't nonsense, Mr. Zabuza." Hanabi said, "Gato has monopolized maritime shipping. And among the major powers, the one that most needs maritime shipping to communicate with other nations is the Land of Water."
Hanabi raised her head, the eyes of her fox mask staring at Zabuza.
"Do you think the Land of Water, one of the Five Great Nations, would allow a corrupt merchant like Gato to control its waterways? How could anyone tolerate another snoring beside their bed? Or are you saying... that the Daimyo of the Land of Water and Kirigakure's Mizukage are both fools who do not even understand something this simple?"
Actually, given the thought processes of people in this world, the latter possibility could not really be ruled out.
But Hanabi's argument was logical and well-founded, and Zabuza felt that the logic... really did make fucking sense.
"Of course, overt control can sometimes be an eyesore. But as a ninja, manipulating someone in secret isn't difficult, is it? You might not even need to manipulate him. You only need to give him a few perfectly timed hints at certain moments. In that case, perhaps even Gato himself wouldn't realize he was a black glove, and that would avoid attracting inquiries from other ninja villages."
With Hanabi's explanation, Zabuza found that he could not seem to spot any loopholes.
It made too much fucking sense.
...Could it really be true?
Could it be that he had actually been under Kirigakure's control all along...?
I can't tell. I really can't tell!
Author's Note:
That's right. The snow rabbit being used as a substitute in the Land of Waves arc was actually one of the original uses of the Substitution Technique: a way to eliminate the enemy's vigilance when you might be discovered...
Zabuza's actions could indeed be explained this way, but as for whether he himself actually thought that way, Hanabi did not care.JPG
You can be a dragon too, OvO. If I say you're a dragon, then you're a dragon!
This Is the Blessing the Viewers Have Cultivated for Three Lifetimes!
"You sharp-tongued brat!"
Zabuza wanted nothing more than to charge in immediately.
But he had been too overconfident earlier and allowed his Kubikiribōchō to be "disarmed," which put him in an awkward position now.
This brat had no killing intent at all, but Zabuza's many years of combat experience told him that she was definitely no simple opponent.
"Let's end the idle chatter here. No matter what Gato's identity is, I still have to finish a ninja's job first."
Kill Tazuna.
Any questions could wait until afterward.
"Form up!" Kakashi immediately formed a swastika formation with Naruto and Sasuke.
But only then did Kakashi realize—if he was here, did they even need this formation?
Kakashi fell into self-doubt. Had Hanabi led him astray?
At that moment, moisture began rising around them, and Zabuza raised his hand.
"Ninja Art, Hidden Mist Technique."
Mist enveloped the area.
"Ah, so that's enough idle chatter."
Hanabi crouched down and placed the doll on the ground as well.
[It's coming, it's coming!]
[Short skirt! Ice cream!]
[I'm ready!]
[Dinner, today's dinner.]
[I'm having three extra bowls of rice.]
The goofy netizens seemed to think Hanabi was about to lift her skirt and turn her long skirt into a short one.
Unfortunately, Hanabi was not that overconfident.
She elegantly spun around.
With just that one turn, Hanabi's clothes had changed into Unshō's ninja outfit.
[???]
[Holy crap, the white stockings are gone.]
[Holy crap, but this is even hotter.]
[What a perfectly normal female ninja outfit.]
[Ropes, the ropes!]
[Damn, so it really is a tortoise-shell pattern.]
[Holy crap, this is the blessing I cultivated for three lifetimes. What have I done to deserve seeing such beautiful Rope Armor in a shonen battle anime~]
[6666]
[My bro says he's good now.]
[So there's a third stage too, hehehe, hehehehe.]
[Wifey! Wifey! Wifey!]
[I just started watching the anime, and now I've gone insane.]
[Awei is dead, Awei is dead!]
The Danmaku exploded once again.
Unshō's ninja outfit came with a costume-changing function, but it only changed the outer layer of clothing. The Rope Armor was worn underneath.
Therefore, once Hanabi changed into Unshō's ninja outfit, her hands, legs, and back were exposed. The ropes covering her hands, feet, back, and body were immediately revealed to everyone.
"This is bad. With the mist this thick, Hanabi's Genjutsu is probably going to suffer!" Sasuke realized something else.
Would Hanabi's prized Genjutsu be affected under such poor visibility?
"Well..."
Kakashi fell into thought.
Yet Hanabi seemed completely unaffected and actually began forming hand seals.
Then the viewers' perspective shifted.
It was a memory scene.
In the memory, Kurenai and Hyuga Hiashi were present.
Originally, after they finished discussing Hinata Hyuga, the Live Broadcast footage had cut away. Hanabi was only a Minor Supporting Role, so she did not get much screen time.
But things were different now.
During this promotion mission, Hanabi's restrictions had eased somewhat.
More importantly, the ability Temporary Lead would grant Hanabi sufficient treatment during certain highlight scenes.
"Next, we have Miss Hanabi Hyuga." Kurenai said. "Miss Hanabi is a Genjutsu prodigy. I believe I'm very suited to teaching her..."
Before Kurenai could finish, Hyuga Hiashi interrupted her.
"My daughter's talent for Genjutsu is indeed exceptional. However, Genjutsu is not what she excels at most."
Kurenai Yuhi was surprised. "Could she use the Gentle Fist as well?"
Hiashi was silent for a moment before saying, "What my daughter excels at most is—Fire Release Ninjutsu."
Before obtaining the ninja arts of Shiranui-ryu, Hanabi had already possessed a talent for the fire element provided by Sparkle from Star Rail. Therefore, her Fire Release attainments had already been quite good at the time.
"Ninja Art, Heat Haze Dance!"
Scorching, burning flames erupted from Hanabi's body. Centered around her, the fire spiraled upward and broke through the sky.
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