Naruto: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

As long as the opponent chooses a head-on confrontation, he did not believe he could not take him down.

"Die!" Keiichi suddenly exerted force through his feet, appearing instantly before Haku with a Body Flicker Technique, his kunai slashing upward from below.

Haku leaned back sharply, dodging the strike, but another figure suddenly leaped from Keiichi's body, circling behind Haku with the intent to backstab.

Shadow Clone Technique!

Yet, although the kunai pierced through Haku's body, Keiichi felt no significant resistance; he could only watch helplessly as Haku's body suddenly dissolved into a mist—it had been nothing more than a phantom image!

He realized with a start that this must be some kind of illusion Haku had cast, a projection created by the reflection of ice crystals, similar in effect to a mirage!

It was just his luck that his understanding of genjutsu was too shallow—even the system's evaluation gave him a mere 1 point—so he had been completely unable to see through it.

This is far too arrogant. I'm about to enter his lair; shouldn't he be in a state of panic? To think he'd use nothing but an illusion to deal with me!

Hmph, then don't blame me for being impolite!

Just as Keiichi intended to enter the building to take Zabuza's life, he found his body unable to move. Unbeknownst to him, a thick shell of ice had spread across the ground, and his legs were now bound within it, impossible to pull free.

Clearly, this was a trap Haku had set, using the illusion to lure him into the snare.

He must have laid this trap the moment he discovered my shadow clone, and I walked right into it!

Careless!

I also underestimated Haku's strength; he handled me with such ease! Keiichi suddenly felt a wave of frustration.

If Haku were to unleash a 'Pear Blossom Needle Rain' on him right now, he would be nothing more than a sitting duck!

Keiichi began frantically searching the Exchange Shop, looking for anything that could save his life.

But just then, he heard the sounds of thumping and crashing in the distance, accompanied by Naruto's shouting; clearly, Haku had engaged Naruto and the others.

I never expected him to look down on me so much—he didn't even consider me a threat!

At this moment, Keiichi felt no relief at having survived; he only felt humiliated!

[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique]!

Ignoring the risk of burning himself, Keiichi unleashed a fierce barrage of flames onto the ice shell beneath his feet. He had just told Sasuke that Fire Style couldn't counter Ice Style, but at this moment, he couldn't afford to care about that.

The sounds of fighting in the distance grew more intense, and he could faintly hear the screams of Sasuke and Naruto; they were clearly losing the upper hand. Keiichi grew increasingly anxious. Although, in theory, the Child of Prophecy could not possibly die here, if it actually happened, everything would be over.

As the person primarily responsible, he would inevitably face the wrath of the Leaf Village.

Time ticked by second by second, the screams gradually subsided, and even the sounds of combat weakened. Could the battle already be over?

Keiichi finally broke free from the ice prison. He now faced two choices: enter the building to assassinate Zabuza, or go to save Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

He did not hesitate for a second, turning and sprinting toward the sound, for he could not guarantee whether Haku had set further traps inside the building.

He had not gone two steps before he saw a familiar scene: dozens of ice mirrors shrouded the area, trapping the three of them like a cage, while Haku moved freely between them, continuously firing steel needles from his hands.

[Ice Style Secret Technique: Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals]!

This was the strongest secret technique of the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, and it was nearly impossible to break!

However, the situation on the field was much better than Keiichi had anticipated. Although all three looked heavily injured, Sasuke was ultimately holding his ground.

At some point, he had awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan!

In truth, he had awakened a single-tomoe during the clan massacre when he was seven, having witnessed the tragedy, but he had never known how to use it.

It wasn't until this life-or-death battle against Haku that, stimulated by the crisis of death, he had gradually begun to see the flight trajectories of the steel needles, finally taking a step forward to awaken the second tomoe!

With this, he could easily deflect the attacks coming from all directions, knocking down the flying needles one by one—a technique known as Cutting Edge!

The protagonist is the protagonist after all; my worries were completely unnecessary!

At this moment, Haku could only use this method to drain Sasuke's stamina, and Sasuke was banking on the opponent running out of chakra first; it was a battle of attrition to see who would collapse first!

However, Keiichi's appearance broke the balance. The inexperienced Sasuke was distracted for a split second, committing a fatal error.

Seizing the opportunity, Haku fired all the steel needles in his hands, aiming directly at the weakest of the three: Sakura!

Facing the terrifying sight of the needle rain, Sakura was paralyzed with fear, unable to move a muscle.

But the next moment, Sasuke stepped in front of her, taking all the danger upon himself.

"Sasuke!" Sakura was so moved she felt like offering herself to him on the spot.

Yet, the next moment, as Sasuke slowly collapsed before her, his body bristling with steel needles like a hedgehog, Sakura fell apart, sitting blankly on the ground, at a complete loss.

If...

If only I knew medical ninjutsu...

I am nothing but a burden!

Sakura was in agony.

"Now, how would you like to die?" Haku's cold voice came from all directions; at this moment, his figure could be seen in every single ice mirror.

Why am I so useless!

Naruto lay there with his hands pressed against the ground, completely stunned. He had never imagined that a battle between ninjas would turn out like this; wasn't the opponent just a kid like him?

Yet what had he actually accomplished?

He had done so much, yet achieved absolutely nothing!

The Multi Shadow Clone Technique, the jutsu he took the most pride in, had become a sitting duck before the ice mirrors, effortlessly wiped out by Haku one by one.

He had tried to engage in close-quarters combat, but he couldn't even touch the man's fist; it was as if he were fighting a puff of air, and he must have looked utterly ridiculous.

In the end, he even required Sasuke to protect him, a fact he found completely intolerable!

Especially when Sakura faced a life-or-death crisis, he loathed himself for his inability to move; if he couldn't even protect the person he loved most, what right did he have to talk about love at all!

Why am I so weak!

Power!

I need the power to defeat the enemy!

Unbeknownst to him, the whisker-like birthmarks on Naruto's face began to shift, his pupils gradually constricting into vertical slits, and a terrifying chakra that did not belong to him began to slowly seep from his body.

However, the next moment, a hand pressed down on his shoulder, interrupting the progression of this state.

"Naruto-kun, whether we survive from here on out depends on you," Keiichi said to him with a smile.

"You... what are you saying?" Naruto was dazed.

"I have a difficult mission to entrust to you, and you are the only one who can do it," Keiichi said to him with a solemn expression.

"A difficult mission... only I can do it..." Naruto's breathing grew heavy.

Even someone as weak as me is worth your trust?

Are you kidding me?!

"In a moment, I will pin down Haku, but it won't last long. What you need to do is use that time to go over there and kill Zabuza. As long as he dies, we win."

"Me... go kill Zabuza?!" Naruto's brain couldn't quite process this.

"Are you telling me you can't even finish off a heavily wounded man who can't move?" Keiichi said sternly.

"Of course I can! Leave it to me!"

"Remember, do not hesitate. Our lives are in your hands!" Keiichi urged him solemnly.

Naruto nodded fiercely, but just as he was about to set off, he looked troubled: "It's no use, we can't get out of this hellhole!"

It wasn't as if they hadn't tried to escape the range of the Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals before, but they had always been beaten back by Haku.

"Heh, watch me."

As he spoke, Keiichi began to weave hand signs rapidly—

Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger...

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

A massive fireball erupted from Keiichi's mouth, shooting straight out as if he were certain of the enemy's location.

"It's useless, Sasuke already tried—" Naruto hadn't even finished his sentence before he froze.

The next moment, a figure actually plummeted from the fire and thick smoke, crashing into the ground with charred marks all over his body.

It was none other than the elusive Haku!

Heh, with Spirit: Sure-Hit, it doesn't matter where you are; you can't escape!

Haku slowly raised his head, seemingly unable to comprehend why his jutsu had suddenly failed, preventing him from shifting away.

And how did this guy figure out which ice mirror I was hiding in?

Could it really just be luck?

"Naruto, now!"

With such a rare opportunity, Naruto wouldn't let it slip by; he took off running, crossing the range of the ice mirrors in the blink of an eye and disappearing into the mist.

Seeing this, Keiichi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If he had really let Naruto enter Tailed Beast Mode, the situation might have spiraled out of control!

The crux of the matter was that if things continued this way, the plot would follow its original course—how was he supposed to twist the story then?

Fortunately, a flash of inspiration had given him a brilliant idea.

If it actually succeeded, he couldn't wait to see how many distortion points he would rake in!

Just as Naruto escaped to safety, Haku recovered, floating up like a ghost and hiding himself within the ice mirrors once more.

"Haku, aren't you worried about Zabuza's safety?" Keiichi intended to use words to disrupt the other's focus.

"Dealing with you lot first will be just fine."

No sooner had the words left his lips than a dozen steel needles shot out from all directions, enveloping the three of them.

Previously, Sasuke had used his Sharingan to deflect these needles, creating an impenetrable defense, but now that he was unconscious from his injuries, how were they supposed to handle this?

This was exactly why Haku was so confident; in his eyes, he was certain he could end the battle in minutes.

However, when the steel needles he fired were deflected one by one by Keiichi, Haku's expression changed instantly. He never expected this guy, who looked so weak, to suddenly become so fierce.

Consequently, he began to change his tactics; a figure of Haku drifted out from every ice mirror, dozens of phantoms shifting positions in a dizzying display.

The previous exchange had allowed Haku to discover a fatal weakness in Keiichi: his resistance to genjutsu was abysmal!

Therefore, she struck again, with every afterimage performing the exact same motion, launching hundreds of steel needles that descended like a torrential downpour!

Of course, the vast majority of these were merely illusions, with only a tiny fraction being physical needles!

I refuse to believe you can defend against this when you can't distinguish the real from the fake!

However, the very next moment, Haku was disappointed, for Keiichi had identified the few physical needles without a moment's hesitation, completely ignoring the illusions!

The genjutsu had actually been broken!

How is this possible?!

Sakura, who was tending to Sasuke, stared blankly at Keiichi's back. In that moment, she suddenly had an illusion of her own, as if she were seeing Sasuke's shadow cast upon Keiichi.

He was so tall, providing such a profound sense of security!

In truth, this was no illusion. In fact, after Naruto had left, Keiichi had secretly opened the Exchange Shop and spent his Magic Modification Points in one go.

[Uchiha Bloodline] increased by 1%... 2%... 5%!

50 Magic Modification Points have been deducted.

Entering the [Ninjutsu] interface, opening [Kekkei Genkai], selecting [One-Tomoe Sharingan], exchange!

25 Magic Modification Points have been deducted.

With all this completed, the eyes beneath Keiichi's goggles suddenly underwent a transformation; the Sharingan had been activated!

It was just that, hidden by the goggles, no one had noticed it at all!

Consequently, the trajectories of the steel needles, which he had previously been unable to track, were now perfectly clear to him, and he could easily replicate the Cutting Edge maneuver Sasuke had just performed!

As for the genjutsu...

Heh!