Affected by the scorching air currents, even the surrounding mist had dispersed considerably.
"Over here!"
Then Sparkle immediately caught sight of Zabuza and threw the ninja fan in her hand.
"What?!"
Zabuza was stunned. He had clearly moved toward the thickest part of the mist, yet Sparkle had still seen through him.
—He did not know that ever since putting on her mask, Sparkle had kept her Byakugan trained on Zabuza.
Without the Kubikiribōchō in hand, Zabuza could only pull out other ninja tools to block it.
"Boom!"
But the instant the ninja fan struck his body, flames unexpectedly ignited across it!
"Ninja Art: Water Bird Dance."
"Aaargh!" Zabuza screamed, then—turned into a puddle of liquid.
It was a Water Clone.
"Too naive!"
Meanwhile, Zabuza had approached from another direction. He had only one target: his weapon, the Kubikiribōchō.
"Mr. Zabuza."
The bell on Sparkle's wrist tinkled softly.
Then Sparkle pulled the steel wire tight.
"—What?!"
Just before reaching the Kubikiribōchō, Zabuza stopped.
The air was filled with taut steel wires. At that speed, running into them would be no different from running into blades.
"A ninja who gets caught by the same move twice is unqualified."
[Still taunting him, still taunting him.]
[A Jonin is nothing special after all.]
[This Zabuza guy's combat power is probably all in that giant sword. Now that Sparkle has sealed his weapon, isn't he screwed?]
[Serves you right for tossing your weapon around, 2333.]
[I've always wanted to see a scene like this. I've always wondered why protagonists never just snatch the villain's weapon and disarm them outright. Now I can finally see this kind of subversion in a long-running series. Completely satisfied. Hahahaha.]
[Top-tier entertainment value.]
[Zabuza, you can sit at the same table as Kakashi.]
The netizens could joke all they wanted, but Sparkle did not let down her guard.
Because Zabuza had only been testing her so far.
Sparkle had not used her true strength either. She was only using those more showy ninjutsu techniques from Shiranui-ryu.
They might have been mostly for show, but they looked good. More importantly, they could mislead Zabuza and make him misjudge her.
Zabuza would not go all out against her.
Because Kakashi was behind her.
If he used every trick he had against a Genin, then faced Kakashi afterward, he would be in a difficult position.
In that sense, Sparkle was borrowing Kakashi's prestige to intimidate him.
The viewers simply did not know that. Quite a few people even thought Sparkle was evenly matched with Zabuza.
That was one of Sparkle's little schemes.
In truth, without using Ice Release or her sword, it would not be easy to defeat Zabuza completely.
But Sparkle still had a chance to win, because Zabuza did not know she possessed the Byakugan.
For Sparkle, she did not need to become stronger herself. She only needed to drag her enemy down to the same starting line as her.
"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet Technique!"
Zabuza, hidden in the mist, used ninjutsu again. Water projectiles shot toward Sparkle from her blind spot.
But Sparkle gave a light leap and evaded Zabuza's attack.
"Idiot, you can't push off anything in midair!"
But this was exactly what Zabuza had been waiting for. Once Sparkle was in the air, she would be unable to dodge.
Holding a kunai, Zabuza rushed toward Sparkle. Yet Sparkle suddenly shot backward with a swish, her entire body dodging Zabuza at an unbelievable angle.
"What?!"
After a brief moment of shock, Zabuza immediately analyzed the reason.
"The ropes on your body, and the steel wires—you're using those ninja tools to push off?"
This was the experience of a Jonin. Even seeing it for the first time, Zabuza had analyzed the secret behind Sparkle's midair movement.
"You guess~"
Sparkle kept her distance from Zabuza, while also keeping an eye on his Kubikiribōchō.
Zabuza said nothing, but continued his analysis. Aerial combat is unfavorable for me. If this brat wears me down too much, I won't be a match for Kakashi. Then I'll have no choice but to retreat, and I may not even get away intact.
This brat is a girl, and her ninjutsu is excellent. But with those skinny arms and legs, and the way she deliberately keeps her distance from me... in other words, she isn't good at Taijutsu.
So close combat favors me. The advantage is mine!
.
Author's Note:
Some people might not be into Sparkle from Star Rail, but that's okay. Our Sparkle is Hanabi Hyuga too, 2333.
He Took the Bait, Zabuza Took the Bait!
[Holy shit, a classic quote from the chairman.]
[Eight hundred thousand against six hundred thousand. The advantage is mine.]
[Ah, isn't that line from Gundam 00?]
[Not.]
[I always feel like Taijutsu is Sparkle's trump card. The OP even gave it a close-up.]
[My wife is hardcore too. She trained until she bled.]
[Didn't Sparkle say it herself before? That kimono was a restraining kimono for training. I bet Sparkle can punch out a Siberian warehouse hamster with every fist.]
With Kakashi behind her, Sparkle was borrowing his prestige to intimidate Zabuza.
Because Kakashi was there, Zabuza could not use high-consumption ninjutsu like Water Dragon Bullet or Great Waterfall Technique. Otherwise, he might feel great after unleashing his ultimate move and smashing that hateful brat to pieces, but if Kakashi came up behind him and gave him a good whack afterward, he would be the one finished.
"So, is that guy really strong?" With the situation at a stalemate, Naruto tried asking Kakashi quietly.
"Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi's voice was grave.
"Oh, so you've heard some rumors, Kakashi." Zabuza looked toward Kakashi as well.
"Kirigakure was once called the Village of the Bloody Mist," Sparkle said.
At a time like this, when important background information was needed, how could she let someone else have the spotlight?
"In the Village of the Bloody Mist, anyone who wanted to become a ninja had to pass a Graduation Exam," Sparkle said.
"You brat, you know quite a lot." Zabuza was growing more and more disgusted with this brat.
"Graduation Exam? What Graduation Exam?" Naruto asked blankly.
Because when the words "Graduation Exam" came up, even Teacher Kakashi's atmosphere seemed to change.
"...That Graduation Exam was mutual slaughter." Predicting that Sparkle would keep talking, Zabuza simply said it himself. "Friends who had eaten from the same pot were divided into pairs and forced to kill each other until one of them died. Companions who had once supported one another and spoken of their dreams together."
"W-What?" Naruto was deeply shaken.
"Ten years ago, Kirigakure was forced to undergo major reforms," Kakashi continued. "Because the year before that, a demon had appeared—without the slightest hesitation or doubt, one boy killed every single one of the more than one hundred examinees that year."
"That demon..." Naruto looked at Zabuza.
But Zabuza smiled. "That was truly interesting."
The overwhelming malice washing over them made Naruto and Sasuke feel as if they could barely breathe.
But then another voice sounded. "Yes, Mr. Zabuza is such a gentle person."
Zabuza: ???
Would you like to sort out your lines again?
"Have you lost your mind, brat?" Zabuza looked at Sparkle, but she showed not the slightest opening.
"Because after that, Kirigakure's examinees no longer had to slaughter one another," Sparkle said. "Mr. Zabuza alone bore the sin, yet more people were able to survive."
"Brat!" Zabuza was starting to get angry.
"For the sake of letting more people live, he did not hesitate to become an Asura himself, hiding who he was behind a fierce facade. Mr. Zabuza is such an awkward person."
Kakashi: ???
Idiot netizens: ???
[Holy shit, she saw right through him at a glance.]
[Seriously?]
[A tsundere...?]
"That awful guy really is... that kind of person?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"If he truly were an unpredictable Asura, why would anyone follow him?" Sparkle asked Naruto in return.
"R-Right?" By Naruto's simple way of thinking, that did seem true. But he still felt something was off. "But didn't Teacher Kakashi say he betrayed his village?"
"Precisely because he loved his village, he 'betrayed' it," Sparkle continued. "The Fourth Mizukage was an unpredictable tyrant. What Mr. Zabuza did was just like what he had done ten years ago. He wanted to change his village. He bore everything and endured it all. Even after failing, he continued biding his time. What a great ninja."
[Kakashi, you've got it backward.]
[How can a country ever improve with vermin like that around?]
[This is a man of insight.]
Zabuza froze.
Huh? Was that really me?
I... was I that great?
Sparkle's words plunged Zabuza into deep thought.
Was that brat really describing him?
Was he truly someone who endured humiliation and hardship like that?
Sparkle merely smiled.
Sparkle did not know whether Zabuza was truly that kind of person. She was simply creating that kind of character image for him in front of the viewers. Only such a complicated, conflicted character setting could make the story more interesting.
What Zabuza thought was not important. What the viewers thought Zabuza thought was important.
Director Sparkle had truly gone to great lengths for this anime.
"Damn brat!" After a brief period of confusion, Zabuza flew into a rage.
Wasn't he being completely led around by the nose by this brat?!
Before you continue