Kazeka's words had immediately seized Kiba Inuzuka by the throat.
The thought of his adorable Akamaru having to sacrifice his "virtue" for the mission nearly broke Kiba's heart.
Even Akamaru couldn't take that resentful little look. He instinctively shuffled two steps away from Kiba, his gaze clearly saying:
I always thought of you as my brother. I never knew you wanted to hit on me!
"Fine, I'll do it!"
After casting one reluctant look at Akamaru and glaring at Kazeka, Kiba resigned himself to using Transformation Jutsu.
You had to admit, Kiba's Transformation Jutsu was pretty reliable.
It wasn't as outrageous as Naruto's Sexy Jutsu, but he still turned into a rather pretty girl.
The country-girl outfit made him look even more innocent.
Kiba didn't do anything extra. He simply walked past Gato's residence, and the Rogue Ninja inside immediately noticed him.
As they say, like leader, like underlings.
The sort of trash who could stay by Gato's side had let their lower heads take control of their upper ones.
Even though they'd just been given strict orders, the moment they saw Kiba, several of them couldn't hold back.
"None of us have been stuck here for a short time. When have we ever seen a girl like that?"
"Gato's scared all the girls around here away. We're lucky to run into one. Hey, you two..."
The two men in charge clearly had a long habit of bullying the other two. Without even discussing it, they simply ordered:
"We've spotted something suspicious. We're going to investigate.
"You two stay here. Remember, if anything belonging to Gato goes missing, I'll wring your necks!"
The other two were clearly a pair of bullied, downtrodden suck-ups. Even though they knew exactly what the others were going to do, all they could do was endure it.
They didn't even have the courage to puff themselves up like angry cats. They could only watch the two men leave, their faces full of resentment.
They grumbled that lechers would get what was coming to them and that the men would pay for acting so brazenly.
And while they watched the two men disappear, cursing them indignantly,
Kazeka took advantage of the distraction and slipped into the study they were guarding!
On the Land of Waves, a fierce battle was raging atop a bridge that was almost finished.
Sakura was protecting their client, Tazuna, huddled in a corner, while Kakashi fought desperately against Zabuza, the Mist Ninja's murderous demon.
Naruto and Sasuke, meanwhile, were surrounded by Haku, a ninja with a Kekkei Genkai, and putting up a stubborn resistance.
Although Kakashi's team seemed to have the numbers, Kakashi and Zabuza appeared evenly matched.
Haku had the strength of a Jonin and was completely dominating Naruto and Sasuke.
The only reason they hadn't fallen yet was that Haku was too kind to bring himself to kill them!
"Sensei really knows how to keep his cool..."
Having completed the mission at Gato's study, Kiba arrived near the bridge and couldn't help commenting:
"Given the situation, Team Three, the one Kakashi's with, could be killed at any moment.
"And Sensei still hasn't made a move!"
"Kurenai-sensei probably realized that the other ninja, the one using the Kekkei Genkai Ice Release Jutsu, is hesitating..."
Kazeka replied:
"She can't bring herself to kill them, but Naruto and Sasuke are putting up quite a fight, so she can't capture them either.
"But this won't last much longer. Once her patience runs out, Kakashi's team will be in danger.
"Hinata, stay hidden beside Sakura and help protect her. Kiba, come with me to Naruto..."
Kazeka gave his orders:
"Kiba, watch for my signal. Don't act rashly, or you might startle her!"
"Got it!"
Hinata nodded to Kazeka, then moved ahead toward Sakura.
Kazeka brought Kiba into view, and they strode toward Naruto.
"Naruto, how's it going? Was your last visit to my Laboratory worth it?
"You can use some of the Nine-Tails Fox's power pretty skillfully now, can't you..."
At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke were trapped by their opponent inside Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
The jutsu formed a five- or six-meter-high ice prison out of countless mirrors. It was extremely difficult to break.
The opponent could also move freely between the mirrors, firing volleys of ice needles.
Even with the Nine-Tails Fox's power granting him considerable defense and regenerative ability, Naruto could only struggle to hold on.
Looking at Naruto's miserable state, Kazeka spoke at his leisure:
"Well? Have you felt how much stronger you've become—and how you still don't have enough power?
"If you come to my Laboratory for experiments afterward, you can get even stronger!"
"Kazeka, of all times, why are you bringing up those experiments again!"
Inside the ice prison, Naruto kept watch for attacks that could come at any moment and shouted at Kazeka:
"Help us fight this ice-user already!"
"You're using the battle to dodge the subject of the experiments? You really are a coward..."
Kazeka pursed his lips in annoyance, then turned to Sasuke:
"What about you? What do you think?"
"Naruto got this terrifying power boost because of you?"
Sasuke was one of the Uchiha Four Mad Laughs.
The only remaining member of the Uchiha Clan known to the public, he had sworn to avenge the massacre by killing his own older brother, and was willing to pay any price to gain power.
Because he often kept an eye on Naruto, Sasuke had a pretty good sense of his strength.
Naruto had been a little better in actual combat than the average student, but there was no way he could have improved this much!
Sasuke never said so, but everyone had always called him a genius because of how he acted.
Yet now, facing the same attacks from Haku, Sasuke was badly injured while Naruto remained a capable fighter.
He was plunged into profound self-doubt.
Now that he'd heard Kazeka's words, he finally understood why:
"If you really can give me power, I don't mind going to your Laboratory. Whatever I have to face, I can accept it!"
"Sasuke, don't listen to Kazeka!"
Naruto and Sasuke got along fairly well. Seeing Sasuke about to make the wrong choice under Kazeka's "persuasion," Naruto immediately tried to stop him:
"His experiments are terrifying, and they have all sorts of terrible side effects. You need to think this through!"
"To kill that man, I can abandon anything. A trivial experiment is nothing..."
Sasuke's words were cold as an icy hell:
"But, Kazeka, if I find out you lied to me, I'll kill you!"
"Sure, no problem. I've always been honest and fair when it comes to experiments..."
Kazeka nodded, then looked toward the ice prison in front of him:
"Your name's Haku, right? I have to say, you're impressive. In the middle of such a fierce battle, you still gave us a chance to talk."
"Because I can sense..."
An ice mirror appeared out of nowhere in front of Kazeka. A slender figure dressed in a kimono and wearing a mask, with an appearance almost like a girl's, appeared within it:
"You don't seem to have any killing intent!"
Before you continue