"You keep traveling. I'll go ahead and see if there are any commissions to take."
After leaving those words behind, Jiraiya vanished into the dense forest, moving even faster than his voice.
Once the outsider had left, Zabuza stopped keeping up his stern expression and asked Naruto, "Lord Menma, what should we do now? Should we head over immediately to provide support?"
Naruto gazed deeply in the direction of Uzushio Village, then nodded.
Before long, the group arrived at the edge of the battlefield. They found Ryūchi Cave snakes rampaging along the roads, as well as Uchiha ninja battling the giant snakes with wits and skill.
Raising the Kubikiribōchō, Zabuza leaped high into the air and severed one of the Ryūchi Cave snakes in a single stroke.
Haku also used Ice Release. Ice spikes appeared out of thin air and rained down into the swarm of venomous snakes. Working with Naruto's Water Release, he froze all the Human Puppets hiding in secluded corners.
"Lord Menma's Water Release is incredibly powerful!"
Haku sighed sincerely. In an environment with water nearby, his combat strength had risen by an entire level.
"Your Ice Release isn't bad either. Maybe one day, you'll become famous throughout the world because of it. At the very least, you have more potential than Zabuza."
As Haku's teacher, Zabuza was naturally happy to hear his student praised. But why did Naruto have to use him as the comparison?
Still, after spending so many days together, he understood that Naruto meant no harm. On the contrary, it was proof that they had grown closer. He no longer had to worry about being killed one day over some random pretext.
After dealing with the nearby enemies, Zabuza fixed his gaze on Orochimaru atop a tree trunk, his expression turning strange.
He