Pursuers and Training

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto instantly grasped the first principle of battle—using the smoke from a jutsu's release or visual distortions from terrain changes to conceal follow-up attacks.

His chakra reserves were vast, and after training in Water Walking and Tree Climbing, Naruto's control over his own chakra had improved considerably!

Though a large portion of his chakra still went to suppressing the Nine-Tails' leakage, the effectiveness of his jutsu now was more than double what it had been before!

If he later ran into Jiraiya and got a special seal to perfect the sealing technique on his navel, the power he could unleash would likely be even greater.

"Naruto!" Nanfeng shouted, closing in on Momochi Zabuza at speed, a green chakra glow rising from his palm.

Mystical Palm Technique, the most common Medical Ninjutsu, was often used for healing or, in some cases, as a surgical blade—though compared to the Chakra Scalpel, its effectiveness was less ideal.

"A Medical Ninja who can only use Mystical Palm Technique—how much combat power can he really bring?" Zabuza's face was full of contempt. This Nanfeng might be a genius, but that was all.

The ninja world never lacked geniuses. Every village had a few in each batch of ninja, but few grew to become independent, formidable fighters.

Most geniuses perished along the way for various reasons. As a demon himself, Zabuza had slaughtered plenty of geniuses back in Kirigakure.

"I can't agree with that. And coming from Kirigakure, you reek of the blood of your own villagers!" Nanfeng said coldly.

Those words shook Zabuza's resolve slightly, but only a little. The buried memories no longer had much hold over him!

"Now!" Naruto's Shadow Clones rushed forward, while another group quickly set up environmental traps based on prior training. For this mission, they had prepared plenty of Sealing Scrolls.

They weren't high-grade, but they contained various trap jutsu they'd need. Otherwise, relying on their current limited abilities, they couldn't put up much of a fight in direct combat.

"Foolish brats. I've killed plenty of geniuses. For the three of you to fall under my blade is your honor!" Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō clashed hard against Nanfeng's kunai, but in the next moment, another Nanfeng flanked him from the side.

This was Nanfeng's real body. The Shadow Clone Jutsu had been activated the instant Naruto used his own, and the green chakra glow in his palm merely masked the effect of his Poisoning Technique.

A light palm strike—though it didn't hit Zabuza directly, only grazing him—was enough. The Poisoning Technique only needed skin contact to inject the toxin instantly. Seeing the Kubikiribōchō swinging toward his real body, Nanfeng leaped back and tossed a pre-prepared white powder into the air.

Before the fight, he had already given his teammates an antidote. Naruto and Sasuke saw the powder and didn't hesitate, continuing their assault!

"Is this... poison?" Zabuza quickly covered his mouth and nose, but the sluggishness spreading through his body set off alarm bells in his mind.

Ninja had high resistance to poison, especially Zabuza, who had undergone inhuman training in Kirigakure. Ordinary poison couldn't touch him. But this kid Nanfeng made him feel what poisoning was like for the first time.

"Naruto Barrage!" That was the name Nanfeng had come up with. Fancy-sounding, but really just Naruto's Shadow Clones rushing in for a flurry of punches and kicks. Still, it had some effect—in the chaos, they slipped an Explosive Tag in, disrupting the entire water surface!

"Sharingan, Genjutsu!" Sasuke closed the distance with a Great Fireball Technique, locking eyes with Zabuza. The instant Genjutsu didn't do much, but the brief hesitation gave Nanfeng a chance to break the sturdy Water Prison Technique!

"Thanks!" Trapped in the Water Prison for so long had worn down Kakashi's mental state. As a sealing and interrogation jutsu, it constantly drained the prisoner's chakra.

Given Kakashi's reserves, lasting this long was already impressive.

Before Zabuza could fully recover from the Genjutsu, Naruto's attack landed. But to their surprise, Zabuza's body dissolved into water, sinking into the pool.

"Damn it, Water Clone Jutsu!" Sasuke realized what was happening, his face darkening. Before he could act, a sudden swing of the Kubikiribōchō carved a deep gash across his chest.

Naruto tried to rush to Sasuke's aid, but was also cut down by the blade.

"Nanfeng, they're in your hands. I trust your Medical Ninjutsu. As for Zabuza, leave him to me." Kakashi's voice was grim.

This was the first time he'd been so humiliated in front of his students. With a different mindset, his Sharingan spun faster.

"You two okay?" Nanfeng appeared beside Naruto and Sasuke in an instant, using Mystical Palm Technique with both hands to stop the bleeding while pulling pre-prepared medicine from his pocket and sprinkling it on their wounds.

"We're fine for now. The wounds just look nasty. Can't believe we fought that guy so long, and it was just a Water Clone!" Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Water Clones are different from Shadow Clones. They only disappear after taking enough damage, and they cost a lot of chakra. We've been fighting someone at low Jonin level for a while. As for the cleanup..."

Nanfeng glanced at Kakashi nearby. If he couldn't handle Zabuza in this state, then the Jonin title was more hollow than he cared to admit.

"Your chakra's running low. Keeping the Sharingan active must be putting a huge strain on your body, right?" Zabuza asked.

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