"That guy doesn't say much, but he's seriously hardcore. No, wait... all three of those kids are hardcore, each more than the last!" As he walked along, Tazuna thought back to what the three of them had done earlier and couldn't help shivering.
"What's wrong, Mr. Tazuna? Are you coming down with a cold? I'm a Medical Ninja. Treating something this minor would be easy." Nanfeng noticed that Tazuna looked a little off and walked over, speaking with some concern.
But in Tazuna's eyes, no matter how Nanfeng acted, it all seemed like a threat: "Don't get in the way of us making progress. Otherwise, we'll take care of you right here on the road!"
"No, no, I just haven't been drinking enough water. I'll be fine after a drink!" Tazuna replied hastily. Then he hurried to the front, pulled out his canteen, and took a big gulp.
"What's gotten into him?" Nanfeng was baffled. He'd been hoping to get some Attribute Points by treating him. Why wouldn't the man give him a chance?
"I'd guess you scared him. After all, what you did to the Demon Brothers earlier would've surprised anyone, even a seasoned veteran like me." Kakashi thought back to what had happened and couldn't help rubbing his temples.
An hour earlier, after deciding to continue the mission, they'd faced one question: what should they do with the two rogue ninja who had attacked them?
"You don't have to worry, Kakashi-sensei. We're experts at dealing with enemies, aren't we?" Sasuke wore a slightly deranged smile. For some reason, Kakashi felt a chill run down his back.
"My Secret Technique: Thousand Years of Death!" Naruto charged in first. Kakashi was puzzled. Wasn't that his own signature move? How had it spread through Konoha Hospital?
But Naruto, what was with the kunai in your hand? Even when I used that move, I never used a kunai. And that kunai had Nanfeng's specially prepared medicine on it. Wasn't this just torture?
The two screams made Tazuna's body tremble. Then he saw a black-haired boy named Uchiha Sasuke quickly form hand seals. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! Flames soon engulfed the two men. They didn't last long and weren't very powerful, only burning the men's skin!
But it hurt. The wounds on their backsides, combined with the medicine, had already made the two poor souls miserable. Now they had to endure the flames on top of that. What kind of person could even think up such torture?
"Don't give up. Our fun is only just beginning. A bunch of foolish ninja at the Ninja Hospital made me really angry earlier, so now I'm going to treat you properly and vent my frustration..." Nanfeng's smile was beyond deranged. He looked like a complete lunatic.
Maybe it was his mood, but his eyes even seemed to turn a little purple...
Under Medical Ninjutsu, the two ninja were soon back on their feet. When Nanfeng heard the system announce an Attribute Point increase, his hands moved even faster as he treated them.
The torture went on for nearly an hour. In the end, Kakashi couldn't bear to watch any longer and finished off the two poor fellows. By then, they looked at Nanfeng and the others completely differently.
"I must never mess with those three again... That torture was far worse than anything I endured when ninja from other villages captured and interrogated me..." Kakashi shuddered a little, thinking that once they got back, he'd need to do something about his relationship with his students.
"Hm? This is bad. Get down!" As they passed a large tree, Kakashi seemed to sense something and shouted, swiftly pressing the still-distracted Tazuna to the ground.
Tazuna was about to curse, but a massive sword skimmed over his scalp. The old drunk froze on the spot.
"Well, if it isn't the famous Copy Ninja of Konoha, Kakashi Hatake? How about we make a deal? Hand over the old man you're protecting, and you can leave without trouble while I complete my mission. A win-win, don't you think?"
A strange man wrapped from head to toe in bandages looked at Tazuna behind Kakashi.
"So it's you. But Mr. Tazuna is the person I've been assigned to protect. If I hand him over, my completion rate for C-rank missions will go down, and my standard of living will take a serious hit if I can't get any jobs afterward. That's not something I'd like to see happen." Kakashi replied with a cheerful smile.
Watching the two talk as if they were old friends, Sasuke and Naruto were confused. Who was this guy?
"One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza, a missing-nin from Kirigakure. His most famous feat was trying to assassinate the Mizukage. He failed, but managed to escape despite being surrounded, and eventually became a bounty hunter. He's a Jonin with formidable skills." Nanfeng glanced at the Kubikiribōchō on the tree and quickly explained.
"Oh? I didn't expect a kid like you to know my name." Zabuza waved, drawing the Kubikiribōchō back from the tree. He looked at Nanfeng with interest.
"There were injured people at Konoha Ninja Hospital whom you'd sent back. I heard some things about you while treating them. And your Kubikiribōchō is pretty distinctive in the ninja world, isn't it?" Nanfeng replied without the slightest fear.
"An interesting kid. And there's an Uchiha kid, too. Kakashi, you've got a pretty good team." Zabuza looked at Sasuke, who had activated his Sharingan, and grew even more surprised.
"Of course. Konoha's ninja are all strong!" Kakashi replied proudly.
"Then, when dealing with a group of geniuses like you, I'd better show you the respect you deserve in battle!" Zabuza rapidly formed hand seals. Dense mist rose behind him, spreading until it completely covered the battlefield before finally stopping.
"Ninjutsu: Hidden Mist Technique!" Zabuza's voice spread through the mist, accompanied by Killing Intent. It was a common assassination technique used by ninja from Kirigakure!
"No good. My Wind Style techniques can't disperse the mist right now. The difference in chakra concentration is too great, and the Sharingan is almost useless. There's chakra in all the mist around us..." Sasuke said, frustrated as he stared at the dense fog before him.
"Kidneys, heart, spine, spleen..." Zabuza's voice came again. "You lambs waiting to be slaughtered, where should I start to make this delightful massacre enjoyable for us?"
Before you continue