Putting on an Act

The next day, thick fog blanketed the bridge.

Team 7 arrived on the bridge early. Zabuza summoned a water clone and sparred with Sasuke and the others to test their strength.

After Sasuke dispersed it, Zabuza was surprised to find that the Genin were considerably stronger than before.

"Interesting..." He figured Jimo must have had something to do with it.

Haku charged in the moment the water clone was dispersed and fought Sasuke and Sakura.

Kakashi, meanwhile, faced Zabuza as he rushed forward.

Elsewhere, after Kakashi led the others away, Gato's men went to Tazuna's house.

"Lady Tsunami, you wouldn't want to see your child get hurt, would you?" One of them pointed a knife at Inari. The blade only needed a little pressure to slit his throat.

"I'll go with you..."

"Don't... bully my mom!" Inari swung his fist in anger. Perhaps Gato's men hadn't taken the little kid seriously, because Inari's punch landed with surprising force.

The thug with the knife spat up a mouthful of sour fluid.

"Damn brat! I'll break your arms and legs, then make you watch as we humiliate your mother!"

Just as the blade was about to strike Inari, a tremendous force hit the thug, sending the world spinning around him.

"Nice work, Inari! I'll admit it—you're my student now!" Jimo suddenly appeared in front of Inari, holding Lady Tsunami.

"Big Brother Jimo!"

"Great job, kid." Jimo gazed at Inari with approval and gently stroked his head. In a tender voice, he said, "All right, hurry back and take good care of your mom!" Then he carefully laid Lady Tsunami on a comfortable sofa nearby so she could rest easy.

Jimo slowly turned around. A faint smile still hung on his face, but now it sent a chill through the room. He calmly fixed his deep, steady gaze on the two thugs and asked, "Do you know what kind of people I hate most?"

The two thugs were so cowed by Jimo's presence that they didn't dare answer. Jimo narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting in a mocking smile. Then he continued, "I can't stand shameless scum who can't beat someone in a fair fight, so they threaten their family behind their back! People like that are the dregs of society, the lowest of the low!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a tremendously powerful aura erupted from Jimo, sweeping outward like a raging tide. Its overwhelming pressure instantly enveloped the entire space. Everyone present struggled to breathe, as if even the air had frozen.

"Naruto, leave things here to me. Hurry and go help Kakashi-sensei. If they're attacking here, things on the bridge must be even worse."

Jimo dislocated the two thugs' arms and legs, tied them up with hemp rope, and tossed them into the storehouse.

Naruto raced toward the bridge.

"Big Brother Jimo, what are you going to do now?" Inari looked at Jimo.

He's so cool... He beat Gato's men in no time at all.

"Inari, I have a task for you. Gather the neighbors, take up weapons, and protect your homes."

With that, Jimo disappeared from the house.

I'm off to deal with the biggest blight in this country... Jimo set off toward Gato's chakra, his gaze resolute.

On the bridge, Sasuke was struggling. Haku had used the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, and Naruto had charged right in, almost as if he were walking into a trap.

"Jimo was right... This really is a ninja with a hundred percent chance of surprising you..."

Haku used Genjutsu to make Naruto and Sasuke see each other die. She even fanned the flames, showing them visions of Sakura and Kakashi dying in the secret technique as well.

The two activated their Two-Tomoe Sharingan and Demon Fox Cloak at almost the same time.

Working together, they attacked Haku from both sides. Unable to use her full strength, she finally couldn't hold out and was knocked into the sea nearby. The two of them also collapsed one after the other, their Chakra exhausted.

Kakashi and Zabuza exchanged a glance, confirming that they understood each other.

Zabuza used an even larger-scale Hidden Mist Technique, shrouding the entire bridge.

Kakashi summoned a Ninja Dog to find his position, then drove a Chidori through Zabuza's chest.

"???! What useless trash ninjas... After all the money I spent hiring those two..."

A short man leaning on a cane appeared at the far end of the bridge, with hundreds of armed thugs following behind him.

"You look like you're at the end of your rope, too. Then you can all disappear along with this bridge!"

At Gato's command, the hundreds of thugs behind him roared.

An arrow suddenly flew toward him from far away.

"We'll protect our bridge!" Inari arrived with the others, now armed, but they were still outnumbered.

"Who did you say was going to disappear?" A voice rang out from above.

"Jimo!" Sakura cried out.

Jimo held his hands in a cup-like shape, and a glowing sphere slowly formed in his palms.

"Kamehameha? Reduced-power version!"

To keep his technique from destroying the bridge, Jimo had set the amount of compressed Ki to a very low level.

The beam shot down from the sky and struck the bridge, kicking up a fierce gale. It swept most of the men into the sea.

Nearby, Haku supported Zabuza as they watched Jimo's technique in shock.

"That kid's a monster..."

"Mr. Zabuza, you'd better not talk too much. Kakashi avoided the vital spot, but it'll still take a long time for that wound to heal..."

Kakashi really had pierced Zabuza's chest. But while everyone was focused on the sky, Jimo had used the Flying Nimbus to secretly move Zabuza's body and fed him a "Senzu Bean? Weakened version" rewarded by the system.

It no longer had the power to regrow severed limbs like it did in Dragon Ball, but it could keep someone alive through a wound like this.

"Such a strange cloud, almost like it's alive, and beans that restore your strength and heal your injuries... How can this guy be so strange in every way..."

Zabuza lay on the soft Flying Nimbus. He really needed a good night's sleep. By faking his death this time, he wouldn't have to keep wandering with Haku anymore.

This was the final plan he and Jimo had settled on. The only risk was that if Kakashi made a mistake and pierced his heart, then he really would be dead.

It required him to have complete faith in Kakashi.

The battle on the bridge ended quickly. Jimo won decisively, thrashing the hundreds of thugs until they were in complete disarray.

"This... Is this what a ninja is...?"

"So strong."

As they watched the thugs flee in disarray, the people of Wave Country finally began to smile.

"We won!"