"Very good. You made the right choice."
Yuyou slowly withdrew the blue longsword aimed at Zabuza's forehead. With a flick of his hand, the blade dissolved into countless particles of Chakra metal and returned to his body.
When Zabuza saw Yuyou put away his weapon, a sudden sense of relief rose within him. There was a good chance he might survive.
When faced with the choice between life and death, aside from a very, very small minority, everyone alive chose life. Death was the most primal fear of all living things.
Yuyou ignored Zabuza for the moment and bent down to pick up the Kubikiribōchō, deliberately exposing his weakness within Zabuza's range of attack.
Though Zabuza was badly wounded, he still had enough strength to launch a single attack. And with his abilities, even without the Kubikiribōchō in hand, he could easily kill an ordinary person.
As Zabuza watched Yuyou bend over and expose the most vulnerable part of a person's body—his neck—he truly wanted to strike. But recalling Yuyou's earlier strength, he hesitated. And in that moment of hesitation, he lost his best chance to counterattack.
After picking up the Kubikiribōchō, Yuyou smiled at Zabuza.
He had been setting a trap just now. If Zabuza had dared to attack him, then sorry—Zabuza would not have lived.
"You can relax a little now. I said I wouldn't kill you, so I won't act immediately. When I do intend to make a move, I'll tell you," Yuyou said.
Though those certainly were not good words from Zabuza's perspective, Yuyou considered this an exceptionally moral display on his part.
Holding the Kubikiribōchō in his hand, Yuyou examined it carefully. After what he had learned while forging his Chakra Metal Skeleton, he had gained some ability to judge weapons and equipment.
In the