All Acquaintances (Please Follow)

The moment Haori turned around, the ninja blade had already pierced deeply into his body.

But the next instant, his body transformed into a puff of smoke, leaving only a log behind on the ground.

In a flash, the real Haori had appeared behind this Kirigakure Ninja, though the Kunai in his hand stopped abruptly halfway through its strike.

Whoosh—

The next moment, his Kunai shot directly toward a puddle of water to the side, and a splash of crimson instantly appeared within that water.

Immediately following, it transformed into a human figure that leaped quickly to the side, while the Kirigakure Ninja in front of Haori had turned into a puddle of water!

"Not bad, using a Water Clone."

Haori gave a light snort; these Kirigakure Ninjas were truly as skilled at sneak attacks as ever.

If he hadn't fought for his life against Kirigakure before and possessed rich experience in countering them, he really might not have reacted so quickly.

His gaze swept rapidly across his surroundings, but the thick mist made it impossible for him to locate Rin and Kakashi for the moment, causing him to frown inwardly.

He knew Madara would make a move, but he hadn't expected Madara to act so quickly.

However, he had no time to dwell on that now; being targeted by Kirigakure meant he had to be extremely cautious.

"It really is you!"

Yet, to Haori's surprise, the guy he had just wounded was staring at him intensely after landing.

At the same time, two more Kirigakure Ninjas arrived to surround him.

They didn't attack immediately, choosing instead to encircle him.

Haori naturally felt the gaze of that Kirigakure Anbu, which left him feeling somewhat bewildered.

But after a moment, Haori seemed to realize something.

Because that voice sounded somewhat familiar, he asked tentatively.

"Are you... Zabuza?"

Zabuza was actually about the same age as Haori and the others, and under Madara's control, Kirigakure had long since entered the Bloody Mist era.

Although Madara hadn't taken it to the absolute extreme yet, Zabuza had indeed killed everyone in his graduating class to pass.

Haori had encountered him on the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools; Haori had suffered a bit of a loss that time, having been caught in a sneak attack.

But Zabuza, who had caused Haori that trouble, had suffered a worse fate, as he was still carrying the title of a genius back then.

As it turned out, he had the misfortune of running into Haori, who had already awakened his Two Tomoe Sharingan.

If it weren't for the fact that he had people covering his retreat and was fast on his feet, Zabuza likely would have been left behind in the Land of Whirlpools that day.

"It seems you still remember me."

Zabuza glanced at the wound on his shoulder, then spoke in a low voice.

"You still rely on your eyes to fight, just as you always have."

"Why don't you just gouge them out?"

Haori gave a light snort, then stopped paying much attention to Zabuza.

"And who are you two? Don't tell me you're also losers I defeated back in the Land of Whirlpools?"

"What an arrogant brat."

A tall Kirigakure Anbu sneered, while the other spoke with equal disdain.

"I hope you can maintain that confidence in a moment."

"This time."

Zabuza had become calm now, staring at Haori as he said in a deep voice.

"You won't have any chances left!"

"Still the same old clichés?"

Haori tilted his head, still smiling as he spoke.

"Remember last time? You and your teammates tried to sneak attack me too; if you hadn't been lucky, you probably would have been left behind in the Land of Whirlpools."

"You—"

Zabuza gritted his teeth, wanting to retort, but his expression changed at that very moment.

Because Haori had used a Body Flicker Technique to appear right beside him, the Kunai in his hand slicing through the air!

Despicable.

Zabuza cursed inwardly; his focus was intense and his reactions were lightning-fast, allowing him to dodge quickly the moment Haori moved.

At the same time, the other two Kirigakure Ninjas reacted quickly upon seeing Haori strike, with one of them rapidly weaving hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Turbulence!"

Rushing water roared toward Haori; seeing this, Haori leaped up, instantly dodging the turbulent flow.

But at this moment, the other Kirigakure Ninja was already charging straight toward Haori.

He drew his ninja blade mid-air, slashing precisely toward Haori.

Clang—

The crisp sound of metal colliding rang out through the forest in an instant.

Although Haori was engaging the enemy while airborne, with the help of his Sharingan, he could accurately perceive the trajectory of the man's attack.

He only needed to place his Kunai in front of that attack path to block the fellow's strike directly!

"Damn Sharingan."

Seeing this, the Kirigakure Ninja couldn't help but curse under his breath; it was no wonder the Uchiha clan was so hated.

When your attack path could be seen by the opponent, unless you were faster or stronger, it was incredibly difficult to deal with them in a one-on-one fight.

Moreover, he had to remain constantly vigilant of the opponent's eyes; no one knew when they might unleash a genjutsu, which would be fatal!

Fortunately, they were not acting alone. The moment Haori blocked the Kirigakure Ninja's attack, Zabuza and another person had already arrived behind Haori.

"Die!"

The ninja blades in their hands were held high, emitting a terrifying cold glint even through the thick mist.

But before their blades could descend, they suddenly felt the chakra within the Haori before them surge in a chaotic and disordered manner.

This change instantly gave them a bad premonition.

Boom—

In an instant, the body of 'Haori' exploded, and the shockwave generated by the intense blast even snapped the surrounding trees!

Thick smoke mixed with the mist, lowering the visibility here even further, and the center of the explosion was left in a complete mess.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Zabuza stood up, coughing; he was covered in wounds, and the tall Anbu beside him was in no better shape.

The mask on his face had vanished, revealing a face like a shark—this guy was actually Kisame!

Both of them observed their surroundings vigilantly, and on the ground, a puddle of water was continuously coalescing into a human shape; clearly, this was someone from the Hozuki clan.

"That brat... when did he manage to do that?"

They were cursing inwardly, truly unable to detect when Haori had used a Shadow Clone to switch positions.

They knew the Uchiha were formidable, but they also possessed their own confidence.

Yet, having just exchanged blows, they had suffered a heavy loss before even forcing the opponent to use any ninjutsu, which made them feel exceptionally humiliated.

"I really didn't expect people from both the Hozuki and Hoshigaki clans to be here, though your situation doesn't seem too good."

Just then, Haori's voice suddenly rang out through the mist and smoke; the voice seemed to come from far away, yet it echoed right beside their ears.

"Guess who I'm going to attack first?"

"Playing tricks, spouting nonsense inside my technique?"

The Hozuki ninja had fully recovered; his clan's secret technique meant he didn't fear physical attacks.

However, he remained sufficiently alert, quickly searching for Haori's figure within the mist.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Yet, Haori gave him no chance to search, as a massive fire dragon suddenly roared toward the three of them!

Zabuza and the others immediately leaped up, lunging directly toward the direction from which the fire dragon had emerged.

However, the ground beneath the Hozuki ninja suddenly split open, and Haori's figure burst out in an instant!

Furthermore, the Three Tomoe in his eyes began to rotate quietly at this very moment.

"Oh no!"

Such a sudden offensive left them unable to react in time, and it was already too late for the Hozuki ninja to close his eyes!

Hum—

Eerie chakra flowed through the Sharingan, rapidly sinking into the Hozuki ninja's brain.

At that moment, the Hozuki ninja's mind went blank, leaving only those scarlet Three Tomoe slowly rotating in his consciousness.

It wasn't until he felt a chill across his neck that he finally snapped back to reality.