"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto instantly grasped the first principle of combat: use the smoke produced when a Ninjutsu was released, or the visual distortion caused by changes in the terrain, to conceal the attacks that followed.
He had a huge chakra reserve, and after training in Water Walking and Tree Climbing, his control over his chakra had improved considerably!
Although he still had to use a large portion of his chakra to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra from leaking out, the Ninjutsu he used now were at least twice as effective as before!
If he ran into Jiraiya later and Jiraiya used a special Sealing Technique to improve the seal on Naruto's navel, Naruto should be able to unleash even greater power.
"Naruto!" Nanfeng shouted as he quickly closed in on Momochi Zabuza. Green chakra glowed in his palm.
The Mystical Palm Technique was one of the most common forms of Medical Ninjutsu. It was often used to heal wounds or, in certain circumstances, as a kind of scalpel. But compared with the Chakra Scalpel technique, it wasn't nearly as effective.
"How much fighting power could a Medical Ninja who can only use the Mystical Palm Technique possibly have?" Momochi Zabuza's face was full of contempt. Nanfeng might be a genius, but that was all he was.
The ninja world had never lacked geniuses. Every batch of ninja from every village had a few. But few of them truly grew into capable ninja who could stand on their own.
Most geniuses died before they could grow up, for one reason or another. As the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza had slaughtered quite a few of them back in Kirigakure.
"I can't agree with you there. And for a ninja from Kirigakure, you sure reek of your fellow villagers' blood," Nanfeng said coldly.
Zabuza wavered for a moment at those words, but only slightly. Those memories had long since lost most of their hold over him!
"Now!" Naruto's Shadow Clone charged forward at full speed, while another Shadow Clone began quickly setting traps in the surrounding terrain, as they had during their training. They had prepared plenty of Sealing Scrolls for this mission.
They weren't high-level, but they contained all sorts of Ninjutsu traps they might need. With only the few abilities they currently possessed, they'd never stand a chance in a head-on fight.
"Foolish brats! I've killed plenty of geniuses. The three of you should feel honored to die by my blade!" Momochi Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō clashed violently with Nanfeng's kunai. But in the next instant, another Nanfeng rushed in from the side.
That was the real Nanfeng. He had used the Clone Technique the moment Naruto used Shadow Clone Jutsu. The green glow in his palm had merely concealed the effects of his Poisoning Technique.
His hand barely grazed Zabuza, causing only a slight scratch. But the Poisoning Technique only needed to touch a small patch of skin to let the toxin enter the body. When he saw Kubikiribōchō sweep toward him again, Nanfeng quickly leaped back and threw the white powder he'd prepared earlier.
Before the fight, he'd already given his teammates something to protect them from the poison. Naruto and Sasuke didn't hesitate when they saw the medicine; they continued their attack!
"Is that... poison?" Momochi Zabuza quickly covered his mouth and nose, but the sluggishness spreading through his body set off alarm bells in his mind.
Ninja had strong resistance to poison, especially Momochi Zabuza, who had endured inhuman training in Kirigakure. Ordinary poisons couldn't affect him in the slightest. But this man called Nanfeng had given Zabuza his first real taste of what it meant to be poisoned.
"Naruto Barrage!" That was the name Nanfeng had come up with. It sounded flashy, but all it amounted to was Naruto's Shadow Clones rushing in to punch and kick Zabuza. Even so, it had some effect. In the chaos, they tossed in an Explosive Tag, throwing the entire surface of the water into turmoil!
"Sharingan, Genjutsu!" Sasuke used the Great Fireball Technique to close the distance, finally fixing his gaze on Zabuza's eyes. The Genjutsu he unleashed in an instant didn't do much, but the brief hesitation gave Nanfeng a chance to break the Water Prison Technique!
"Thanks!" Being trapped in the water for so long had left Kakashi in poor shape. After all, the Water Prison Technique was used for sealing and interrogation, and it continually drained the chakra of anyone trapped inside.
Considering Kakashi's chakra reserves, lasting this long was already impressive.
Zabuza still hadn't fully recovered from the Genjutsu when Naruto's attack arrived. But to their surprise, Zabuza's body turned into a pool of water and sank completely beneath the surface.
"Damn it, Water Clone Jutsu!" Sasuke seemed to realize something, and his expression turned grim. He was just about to act when Kubikiribōchō suddenly slashed across his chest, leaving a huge wound.
Seeing that, Naruto tried to rush over and save Sasuke, but Kubikiribōchō knocked him to the ground too.
"Nanfeng, I'll leave those two to you. I trust your Medical Ninjutsu. As for Zabuza, leave him to your teacher," Kakashi Hatake said grimly.
This was the first time he'd been so thoroughly humiliated in front of his students. His emotions stirred, and the Sharingan began spinning even faster.
"Are you two all right?" Nanfeng appeared beside Naruto and Sasuke in an instant. He used the Mystical Palm Technique with one hand on each of them to staunch the bleeding, then took out the medicine he'd prepared earlier and sprinkled it over their wounds.
"We're all right for now. The wounds just look worse than they are. I can't believe we fought that guy for so long, only to find out it was just a Water Clone!" Sasuke said through gritted teeth.
"Water Clones are different from Shadow Clones. This kind of clone only disappears when an attack exceeds its limit, and it uses a huge amount of chakra. We basically spent half a day fighting someone who'd just reached Jonin level. As for the cleanup..."
Nanfeng glanced at Kakashi nearby. If Kakashi couldn't defeat Zabuza in his current state, then Nanfeng didn't even want to say how much Kakashi's reputation as a Jonin was worth.
"You're running low on chakra. Keeping the Sharingan open must put a lot of strain on your body, right?" Zabuza asked.
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