Ninjas Were All Glass Cannons

Aragaki Yasushi quickly pulled out a Poke Ball.

A flash of white light, and Samehada appeared in his hand.

He gripped Samehada and, while the two Mist Anbu weren't paying attention, swung it at them with all his might.

The barbs on Samehada shot out in an instant, stabbing densely into one of the Mist Anbu. Then it greedily devoured his chakra.

The Mist Anbu froze on the spot, his expression shocked. He muttered, "This is... Samehada?!"

But Samehada was draining his chakra like crazy, leaving him weak all over. He couldn't form hand seals or use ninjutsu—not even control his chakra.

Seeing his comrade trapped, the other Mist Anbu immediately drew the short sword at his waist and charged at Aragaki Yasushi, slashing at him with all his might.

Aragaki Yasushi sneered and swung a fist.

Million Ton Punch!

A deafening boom rang out.

The Anbu was sent flying.

As expected, ninjas were all glass cannons, dealing high damage but unable to take a hit. None of them could withstand a blow.

This Mist Anbu was no exception. He took a punch amplified by the Ox Talisman, and his body exploded. Not even an intact corpse remained.

Aragaki Yasushi didn't even bat an eyelid. He grabbed the Mist Anbu, drained of strength by Samehada, beat his Paper Wings, and descended into the woods outside the town.

He patted the Anbu's cheek and spoke gently. "Come on, let's have a nice heart-to-heart. Don't be nervous."

"Relax. It'll be fine. No matter how badly you're hurt, I can fix you right up."

"I know a thing or two about Medical Ninjutsu."

The Mist Anbu trembled in terror, his face deathly pale. "Y-you, stay away from me!"

A series of anguished screams rang out from the woods.

When silence finally returned, Aragaki Yasushi looked at the Mist Anbu in front of him, who had passed out from the pain with all four limbs severed. He couldn't be bothered to use the Horse Talisman again, so he simply put him out of his misery.

As expected, what he learned from the Anbu matched his suspicions.

Yoiichi Kumade was still alive.

That bit player was pretty tough. He had already escaped to the nearby waters and gone into hiding.

The two Mist Anbu were merely underlings ordered to search the island for him.

Besides that crucial information, Aragaki Yasushi had also uncovered something extra.

Among the Mist Anbu sent to hunt down Yoiichi Kumade was Momochi Zabuza.

But after thinking it over, Aragaki Yasushi found it only made sense.

In the original story, Yoiichi Kumade had died at Zabuza's hands. Zabuza hunting him now was just following the plot.

But the Zabuza of now was very different from the one in the original story.

Not long ago, he had blinded Kakashi in one eye and become the culprit behind Obito's uncertain fate.

Obito would never forget that grudge.

Sooner or later, Obito would find a chance to kill Zabuza.

But Obito was probably still recovering from his injuries and didn't have the strength to go after Zabuza.

As for Uchiha Madara, he was a big shot. Why would he keep an eye on a nobody like Zabuza?

So, if Aragaki Yasushi went and killed Zabuza now, it probably wouldn't cause much of a stir.

He'd even be avenging Team Kakashi. Why not?

They were enemies anyway.

Aragaki Yasushi wouldn't show mercy just because the other guy was a supporting character.

Out at sea.

A Mist Anbu hunched over and reported to the figure before him. "Lord Zabuza, Oshima Tsuyoshi and the other man have lost contact. There's a good chance something happened to them."

"That Konoha spy must have fled in the direction they were searching."

Zabuza furrowed his brow, puzzled. "Impossible. I wounded that spy. He's covered in injuries. How could he have the strength to take down Oshima Tsuyoshi and the other man?"

He paused, then waved a hand. "Forget it. I'll go check the area they were searching and see what went wrong."

"Don't call the others back. Keep searching nearby. This could be a diversion."

The Mist Anbu hurriedly bowed. "Yes, Lord Zabuza!"

Zabuza held a high position among the Mist Anbu. He was a squad leader, after all.

In Kirigakure, he was a renowned expert, known as the Demon of the Mist.

He was personally in command of the mission to hunt down the Konoha spy, Yoiichi Kumade.

But now, as Zabuza gazed toward the Land of Whirlpools, his thoughts had already turned away from the Konoha spy.

In his eyes, hunting down an injured spy was an ordinary mission he could finish in no time. It wasn't worth giving much thought.

But sneaking into Konoha Camp and recovering the Ninja Blade the village had lost would be another matter entirely.

If he could reclaim the Ninja Blade, he could become the next generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and gradually rise to the upper ranks of the village.

Perhaps he could even put an end to the village's suffocating Bloody Mist Policy.

Just as Zabuza was imagining his future, his expression suddenly changed. Every hair on his body stood on end.

Under the moonlight, a huge white bird was flying toward him, the beat of its wings growing louder.

"Wait, that's not a bird!"

Zabuza narrowed his eyes and took a closer look. His pupils instantly shrank.

It was a person with wings!

When the figure drew closer, Zabuza finally saw his face. His heart sank.

It was the Konoha Paper Style ninja, Aragaki Yasushi!

Aragaki Yasushi's name had recently become famous throughout Kirigakure. Everyone knew it.

After all, this kid had wiped out the renowned Seven Ninja Swordsmen single-handedly. Calling him the nemesis of the Ninja Blades wouldn't be an exaggeration.

The moment he recognized Aragaki Yasushi, Zabuza didn't hesitate. His hands flew through the seals.

Hidden Mist Technique!

The Mist Anbu beside him reacted too, hurriedly forming hand seals to prepare a Water Release Ninjutsu.

But Aragaki Yasushi was much faster than them and gave them no chance to prepare.

Leech Seed!

Two brown seeds appeared out of thin air and shot toward Zabuza and the Mist Anbu beside him.

Zabuza reacted quickly, twisting sharply to the side and narrowly dodging them.

The brown seed hit the sea, splashing water into the air.

But the Mist Anbu beside him wasn't so lucky.

The seed landed on his shoulder, instantly sprouting lush green vines that wrapped around him like an octopus and bound him tightly into a bundle.

The thorns on the vines pierced his skin, greedily sucking his blood. He writhed in pain.

"W-Wood Style?!"

The Anbu ninja was so terrified that he nearly lost his mind. His voice shook as he shouted in horror.

But this was the jutsu of Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi!

Zabuza was dumbfounded too. He stared at Aragaki Yasushi in shock, his head full of questions.

Wasn't this kid a Paper Style ninja from Konoha?

How could he know Wood Style too?

Had the village's intelligence been wrong?

Or was it that paper was made of wood, so Paper Style was actually Wood Style?

When he thought about it that way, it seemed to make sense.

But this wasn't the time to dwell on it. Zabuza pushed aside his doubts.

By now, his Hidden Mist Technique had taken effect. Dense fog rose rapidly from the sea, instantly shrouding the area.

Zabuza and the struggling Anbu hid in the fog, not daring to make a sound. They just wanted to use the mist to slip away.

But Aragaki Yasushi stood tall in the sky and chuckled.

Though the fog blocked his view, making it impossible to see what was happening inside,

he was the one who had released Leech Seed, so he knew exactly where the seeds were. He didn't need his eyes. He could sense them.

A smile curled Aragaki Yasushi's lips.

Thunderbolt!