Smash It!

These seemingly insignificant things might prove unexpectedly useful at a crucial moment.

[Engineer Clone, at a makeshift workbench]

This Shadow Clone was performing the most precise work. A blank scroll lay spread across the table before him. Highly compressed chakra gathered at his fingertips, like the finest engraving tool, as he inscribed an incredibly complex sealing formula composed of countless tiny runes onto the scroll's special material.

This was a unique seal Ling Xuan had devised by combining the Uzumaki Clan's sealing knowledge from the Scroll of Seals with the intermediate Barrier Ninjutsu theory he had read about in the library.

Its purpose was neither attack nor defense, but to restrict an area. Once activated, it would form a special barrier within a designated area, severely suppressing the flow of chakra with certain attributes inside it.

Ling Xuan had named it Domain of Silence.

While Ling Xuan and his clones were making meticulous preparations for the coming battle, a small incident took place in the Land of Waves.

That day, Inari ran into the village alone. Gathering his courage, he shouted at a few older children who were bullying a puppy, "Stop! Don't bully it!"

These children were lackeys of the village bully and usually threw their weight around. As soon as they saw Inari stand up to them, they surrounded him and shoved and kicked him.

Though Inari was scared, he stubbornly protected the puppy and refused to cry.

"Stop it, you bastards!"

A voice brimming with anger rang out. Naruto Uzumaki appeared before them. Seeing Inari knocked to the ground, he remembered how he had been bullied as a child, and rage surged through him.

What happened next was simple. Naruto still couldn't control his chakra very well, but dealing with a few ordinary kids was easy enough. In no time, he had beaten the bullies until they were wailing and fleeing for their lives.

Then he helped Inari up and flashed him a bright smile. "Don't be afraid. I'm here, so no one will bully you again!"

Inari looked at Naruto, at his figure, caked with dirt but seeming impossibly tall. The thick ice in his eyes seemed to begin melting.

Ling Xuan had witnessed it all from a distance.

He didn't interfere. This was Naruto's "battle," and a chance for him to use his own "ninja way" to inspire others and change their hearts.

Trust built on emotional bonds was sometimes more solid than any alliance of mutual interest. Naruto Uzumaki was a strategic weapon in his own right, one with an incredible ability to inspire others.

Ling Xuan never underestimated that kind of power. He simply didn't use it himself, preferring to rely on calculation and logic to keep everything under control.

The incident with Inari subtly changed the villagers' attitude toward the Konoha Ninja. When they looked at Team 7, their eyes held a little less numbness and a little more hope.

A few days later, to ensure the project stayed on schedule, all the members of Team 7 accompanied Tazuna to the bridge under construction for the first time.

The bridge had already begun to take shape. Its massive piers reached stubbornly out of the sea like the arms of giants, trying to connect the two shores.

Dozens of workers were busily at work on the bridge. Though exhaustion showed on their faces, their eyes held hope for the future.

However, that peace was soon broken.

Kado arrived beneath the bridge by boat with a gang of thugs.

"Tazuna, you really don't know when to quit." Kado stood at the bow, short in stature but arrogant in manner. "I gave you a chance, and you didn't take it. Looks like those two useless ninja last time didn't teach you a lesson."

"Kado!" Tazuna trembled with anger at the sight of his enemy.

"Smash it!" Kado couldn't be bothered to say more and gave the order at once.

The thugs behind him jeered and started charging toward the bridge to destroy the construction work.

"So you've finally come?" Sasuke sneered, unable to hold back any longer. He and Naruto exchanged a glance, then charged forward at the same time.

What followed was less a battle than a one-sided beating.

With his Water Walking skills, Sasuke was several times more agile than before. He and Naruto darted and leaped through the bridge's steel framework as if it were an empty field. The thugs, who knew nothing but how to swing clubs, couldn't even touch their clothes before they were sent sprawling one after another, wailing in pain.

Kado was livid as he watched his useless underlings. But when he saw Kakashi and Ling Xuan standing nearby, he didn't dare act rashly. After tossing out a few threats, he slunk away with his men.

Though it was only a small victory, it greatly lifted the workers' spirits.

But everyone knew this was only the calm before the storm. After taking a beating, Kado would send real ninja next time—the recovered Zabuza Momochi.

That night, the atmosphere at Tazuna's house was exceptionally tense.

Kakashi gathered everyone for a final briefing before the battle.

"Based on what happened today, Zabuza and the others will launch an all-out attack by tomorrow at the latest." Kakashi's expression was extremely serious. "The battle will definitely take place on the bridge. The terrain is open, but there's nowhere to hide."

He looked at his students.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you've made great progress lately. But remember, real combat is far more brutal than training. I need you to make the most of your teamwork."

"Understood!" they replied in unison.

"Sakura, your mission is still to protect our client. You're our last line of defense."

"I understand!" Sakura nodded firmly.

Finally, Kakashi's gaze fell on Ling Xuan. He wanted to ask Ling Xuan what his plan was, but swallowed the question. He knew the boy had already calculated everything. All he needed to do was trust him.

The meeting ended, and everyone returned to their rooms to rest and prepare.

In his room, Ling Xuan unrolled the scroll he had spent days painstakingly filling with intricate runes.

Just then, the scout clone he had left in hiding disappeared, and a flood of information returned to him.

"Zabuza has recovered about eighty percent from his injuries. Haku is preparing his final medicine for him. They're coming."

Dawn was like a sharp gray blade, slicing through the Land of Waves' long night.

Thin mist, like the sighs of the dead, coiled over the unfinished bridge.

The cold, damp air soaked through everyone's clothes and seeped into their hearts.

Team 7 and Tazuna stood silently at one end of the bridge. They didn't wait for the enemy; instead, they chose to take the initiative and meet their fated confrontation here.

Before long, two figures slowly emerged from the other side of the thick fog.

At the front was the Demon, Zabuza Momochi, carrying the enormous Kubikiribōchō and radiating a killing intent so palpable it seemed almost solid.