"Hey, do you know where Lord Araki is taking us for this field exercise?"
Hua Bing quietly nudged Zabuza Momochi in the ribs with her elbow.
"No idea."
Zabuza replied without turning his head, keeping his answer brief.
The view pulled back.
At the docks of Kirigakure, several hundred Mist ninjas of varying heights and builds stood in neat ranks. Most wore the standard gray sleeveless vests of the Mist Village, with a sword strapped to either their backs or waists.
They were the Blood Blade Unit!
Araki was a man of action. Since he had said he would send his subordinates out to explore the sea under the guise of a field exercise, he wasted no time. Once enough ships had been allocated, the operation began immediately.
"Hmph, weren't you two on the same team before? You can't even find out something that minor?"
Hua Bing frowned slightly, her tone dissatisfied. She suspected Zabuza was just brushing her off.
Unexpectedly, Zabuza reacted even more strongly than she did. The aura around him visibly darkened, and his voice turned stiff.
"I said I don't know!"
Perhaps because his words carried a trace of negative emotion, his voice came out slightly too loud, immediately drawing the attention of Mei Terumi, who stood on Hua Bing's other side.
This brownish-red-haired girl had a much tougher temper than her best friend. She turned her head, the sea breeze gently lifting the strands beside her cheeks, while a lofty look appeared in her emerald-green eyes.
"Your old teammates ditched you, that's all. You call yourself a man, yet you're taking it out on women? Who told you to fall behind their growth?"
"You..."
Zabuza gritted his teeth in rage. A thread of ominous dark-purple aura even seeped from his body.
"What, want to fight?"