He Fooled Everyone

"Hold him down, Sasuke!" Nanfeng had keenly sensed that something was wrong with Naruto and quickly spoke to Sasuke beside him.

Sasuke glanced at Yuki Haku, who was lying on the ground and temporarily unable to move. Gritting his teeth, he kicked Naruto.

Strangely enough, Naruto really did come back to his senses after that kick. But the chakra disruption had left his memory a little muddled, and he wasn't sure what was going on. His recollection of what he'd just done was also hazy.

"You idiot! Attacking your own teammate in the middle of a fight? Were you under a Genjutsu or something? No, that doesn't make sense... You have the Sharingan, so Genjutsu shouldn't work on you. Could your brain actually be broken?" Naruto got up from the ground and muttered at Sasuke in annoyance.

Seeing Naruto's condition, Sasuke understood that he was back to normal. But daring to say his brain was broken? That was unforgivable!

"Cut the crap. If I hadn't been there, you'd still be out of your mind. Anyway, it's complicated. Ask Nanfeng about it later. He seems to know quite a bit about what happened to you..." Sasuke hesitated, then decided to tell Naruto.

Naruto might have been a bit of a blockhead, but he was quick to catch on when it mattered. He knew this might have something to do with why people called him the Demon Fox. But when he actually tried to work up the courage to ask about it, fear welled up inside him.

He was afraid that this so-called Demon Fox would ruin the hard-won friendship he'd found!

"What are you thinking about? Even if you're a fox, your brother can kick you back to your senses." Sasuke said irritably.

Naruto smiled. His heartfelt smile left the Yuki Haku lying on the ground momentarily dazed. It looked just like the smile he'd sometimes seen on Zabuza's face when he was with him.

Meanwhile, the battle between Zabuza and Kakashi had reached a fever pitch. Compared with Kakashi, Zabuza had recovered poorly. After all, they didn't have a professional Medical Ninja.

And Gato was nothing but a rich man. He knew nothing about what different kinds of ninja could do, let alone how to find a Medical Ninja for Zabuza.

The Land of Waves was a godforsaken place, with few ninja to begin with, and even fewer Medical Ninja.

The difference in how well they'd recovered, combined with the situation unfolding with Yuki Haku just moments ago, had distracted Zabuza even more. Now Kakashi had him backed into a corner.

"Then this is the final blow. Goodbye, Zabuza..." Kakashi dropped the kunai in his hand. The three tomoe in his crimson Sharingan began spinning rapidly, and a powerful crackle of electricity rang out from his left hand.

Raikiri!

Kakashi's signature technique was also one of the few versatile A-rank Ninjutsu. A hint of despair appeared in Zabuza's eyes. It seemed this really was where it would end.

"Now!" The moment Raikiri took shape, before Kakashi could move, Nanfeng's real body, hidden nearby, set his modified Sharingan spinning. The pale purple that had filled two-thirds of his pupils now looked even more uncanny.

A strange chakra and mental disturbance instantly enveloped everyone present. They froze mid-action, trapped in the Genjutsu world Nanfeng had constructed.

Kakashi watched as his Raikiri pierced through Yuki Haku. At the same time, Yuki Haku, lying on the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood.

It was an illusion, but the brain could mistake it for reality and send a physical response to the body. Seeing this, Nanfeng hurried into action. He rushed to Yuki Haku and quickly used Medical Ninjutsu to stabilize his internal injuries.

He also treated Zabuza as best he could. With only a little time left before the Genjutsu ended, Nanfeng's real body carried their weakened forms away from the bridge and into a secret base he'd prepared in advance.

This was Nanfeng's plan to save Yuki Haku. It was the best possible outcome: both men would survive, and he'd earn their goodwill. If things really reached a point of no return later on, at least he'd have a few more friends in the ninja world.

Nanfeng had also made thorough preparations for what came next. He used a real Shadow Clone and Transformation Jutsu to take on the appearances of Yuki Haku and Zabuza, disguising them as corpses.

He hadn't forgotten that this was a Ninjutsu he'd trained specifically—or, more precisely, a special Transformation Jutsu that the system had enhanced. The disguises were nearly identical to the men's actual appearances. Even someone using the Sharingan or another dōjutsu wouldn't notice a thing.

When the Genjutsu ended, Kakashi looked silently at the corpses of "Yuki Haku" and "Zabuza" before him. Though the two had initially been enemies, Zabuza had still played his part in dealing with the ronin working for Gato.

"Let's bury them. Why does Nanfeng look so pale?" Kakashi asked, slightly puzzled, as he looked at Nanfeng's pale-faced Shadow Clone.

Their deaths didn't affect him much; he'd seen this sort of thing countless times. Naruto and Sasuke, on the other hand, still needed time to get used to it before they could come to terms with what had happened.

After repeating the original explanation, Kakashi finally relaxed. As for the mission in the Land of Waves, it had also been successfully completed with Gato's death.

Thanks to their excellent performance on the mission, the bridge was renamed the Great Naruto Bridge, in recognition of the enormous contribution Konoha's ninja had made.

Meanwhile, Nanfeng's real body watched Zabuza and Yuki Haku, who were still unconscious. That was because the Genjutsu hadn't ended for them yet. Nanfeng shook his head, and his pale purple pupils turned once more, dispelling the Genjutsu on both men.

Zabuza and Yuki Haku weakly opened their eyes. Their wounds had already received basic treatment, and Nanfeng had gained the thing he valued most from treating them.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have treated an injured person. Attribute Point +1." Two notifications sounded, followed immediately by the absorption of a Kekkei Genkai. "Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained part of the Yuki Clan's Kekkei Genkai ability. Please test it yourself to learn its specific effects."

But what did this partial ability mean? Nanfeng frowned. It took him a little while to figure out that there was a problem with one-handed hand seals.

The Fourth Hokage could even use Sealing Technique with one hand. But Nanfeng's one-handed hand seals seemed to work only with the Yuki Clan's Ninjutsu; they had no effect on other Ninjutsu.