Sasuke: I Might as Well Kill Myself

Zabuza—or rather, Momochi Zabuza—was likely one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, another powerful Jonin who had betrayed Kirigakure.

If it was him, then he truly qualified to be his opponent.

The two of them were probably both at the Elite Jonin level, making him a formidable enough opponent.

However, he had only heard about Momochi Zabuza and had never truly seen him in action, so he had no further information.

But would there be a video of a battle with Zabuza today?

In truth, Kitahara Kaede's diary updates were incredibly irregular, which gave him quite a headache. Aside from the fact that there was always at least one update per day, there was practically no pattern to them. Sometimes they came in the morning, sometimes at night.

Sometimes it was just one sentence; other times, there were several more.

It was practically like those damn authors' favorite cliffhanger cuts.

Even the videos did not appear with every diary update. There seemed to be some sort of pattern to them.

"Ten days..." Hatake Kakashi calculated it. The previous two video updates had both appeared roughly ten days apart. While it was not entirely precise, could there be some special pattern involved?

If that pattern was correct, then a new video might appear today or tomorrow. Generally speaking, on days when videos appeared, Kitahara Kaede seemed to take an unusually great interest in writing his diary for some reason, which showed in how much he wrote.

And tonight, he had written a lot.

In other words, the chance of a new video appearing was high.

What would it be about?

Would it be that Land of Waves mission?

Hatake Kakashi also wanted to know exactly what this Land of Waves mission was, especially since it involved such a powerful enemy as Momochi Zabuza.

Just as he thought that, a brand-new video appeared in the diary.

[Kakashi VS Zabuza!]

He hurriedly opened it.

At the beginning of the video, Momochi Zabuza appeared.

"I see. No wonder the Demon Brothers couldn't win. So it was Konoha's Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi."

In an instant, a Kubikiribōchō descended from the sky, catching everyone off guard. By the time they finally reacted, they discovered that the massive blade had embedded itself in a tree, and a tall figure stood atop it.

"I actually got assigned to the same team as that idiot Dead Last?"

Uchiha Sasuke outside the screen was somewhat speechless as he looked at the team lineup within the footage. Through this video, he had already seen his future teammates.

Uzumaki Naruto, and Sakura.

He did not particularly care who his teammates were, but there was no doubt that overly weak teammates would only hold him back.

He did not have much of an opinion about Sakura. After all, her theoretical grades were quite good, and her overall strength ranked around the upper-middle of the class. She was nothing like that Dead Last, who came in last every time.

But he quickly shifted his attention to Momochi Zabuza in the footage, someone whom Kitahara Kaede's words had repeatedly implied could even contend with the powerful Hatake Kakashi.

"Hey, isn't that Kirigakure's missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza?" Hatake Kakashi stepped forward and tried to speak in a relaxed tone.

Uzumaki Naruto had yet to grasp the situation and wanted to step forward, but Hatake Kakashi stopped him. This was not an opponent a Genin of his level could handle.

Soon, after a brief commotion, Momochi Zabuza displayed the exceptional training of Kirigakure's Assassination Squad. With a single Hidden Mist Technique, he obscured everyone's vision.

"When I was still in Kirigakure's Assassination Squad, the handbook I carried with me had your wanted information in it. And it described you like this: Copy Ninja Kakashi, who has copied more than a thousand ninjutsu."

Momochi Zabuza's voice came from the heart of the thick mist.

Clearly, the Demon Zabuza's reputation was well-known, but Hatake Kakashi was likewise an immensely famous Jonin.

Before long, the mist grew denser and denser, until even Hatake Kakashi, who stood directly ahead, could no longer be seen.

The terrifying aura of battle made the three children in the footage feel as though they could barely breathe, and Uchiha Sasuke outside the screen felt suffocated as well.

Though this feeling could not compare to the overwhelming, cataclysmic pressure brought by Kage Level experts, it was still enough to make him feel like he could not breathe.

These were the powerful people of this world, and the current Uchiha Sasuke was clearly still enormously far from such peak experts.

But moments later, Hatake Kakashi used what little Chakra he had to disperse the mist.

"What terrifying killing intent. With a single breath—even moving your eyes—you could be killed. This atmosphere... if someone stayed here for an hour, they'd go mad. The clash of Jonin killing intent... the feeling of having your life toyed with in someone else's palm... No, if it's like this, I might as well just die and be free!"

Uchiha Sasuke in the footage wore an expression of extreme terror. It was an instinctive reaction, something he could not resist.

Uchiha Sasuke outside the screen was even more speechless. His performance was far too pathetic. He actually wanted to die just like that?

"How could such a cowardly me kill Uchiha Itachi and take revenge?"

At that critical moment, Hatake Kakashi seemed to sense the fear in his heart and spoke. "Sasuke, don't worry. Even if I die, I'll protect you. I absolutely won't let him kill my companions."

Hearing that, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is that so?"

Yet at that moment, Zabuza had somehow already appeared behind the defensive formation, speaking coldly.

"It's over!"

Zabuza spoke coldly. Just as he was about to strike, Hatake Kakashi moved first, driving a Shuriken into Momochi Zabuza's body. But all they saw was water streaming down—it was a Water Clone Technique.

At the same time, Momochi Zabuza had already appeared behind Hatake Kakashi, raising his massive blade and slashing it toward him.

Yet Hatake Kakashi had also turned into a mass of water.

"Water Clone Technique? Could it be...?"

Zabuza recalled when he had formed the hand seals just now. Could it be that the other side had already noticed?

Or rather, had he copied Zabuza's Water Clone Technique at that very moment?

"In this thick mist, he copied it?" Zabuza said in shock.

Hatake Kakashi had already appeared behind him, a shuriken held against Zabuza's throat as he barked, "Don't move."

This whole exchange sounded lengthy when described, but it had been incomparably thrilling.

Just when everyone thought the battle was over...

"Over? Haven't you understood yet? This kind of monkey business can't defeat me. Absolutely impossible! But you're pretty good—you'd already copied my Water Clone Technique back then?"

Zabuza said unhurriedly.