Internal Strife

Kanna wore a peculiar smile on his face and said, "Are we joining forces?"

Ameyuri looked at Kanna but said nothing.

"I agree with Kanna's suggestion," Fuyuki Sanzenryo nodded in approval.

He was a boy with a heroic air, very handsome, but unlike the coldness of Zabuza, he gave off a gentle feeling. Judging solely by his appearance, Kanna felt he should be a very easy person to get along with.

"My suggestion?" Kanna laughed self-deprecatingly. "Don't get it wrong, I didn't make any suggestion, it was just a question. Zabuza, what do you think?"

"No need to join forces!" Zabuza said coldly, his right hand reaching behind his back to grip the hilt of his blade. "I am enough on my own, just like that graduation exam."

Seeing Zabuza's movement, Kanna tensed his body and sneered.

"That's my sentiment as well, so, I'm off!" Ringo Ameyuri seemed to have no intention of interfering. After nodding to Kanna, she formed hand seals and vanished in a flash.

"Body Flicker Technique," Kanna narrowed his eyes.

Clang! Zabuza drew his long blade, rubbed the surface of the steel, and said indifferently, "You need sixty points to pass, and one tag is worth ten, so..."

Zabuza's gaze shifted back and forth between Kanna and Fuyuki Sanzenryo, finally resting on Fuyuki.

"It's you!" Zabuza raised his blade, pointed at Fuyuki, and said coldly, "Hand over your tag!"

With this, the alliance of the pursuers was declared dead.

Including Kanna, all three proud experts felt that their own strength was enough to sweep the field, with no need for the help of companions, to the point that conflict erupted within their ranks before the exam had even begun.

As the saying goes, if it doesn't concern you, stay out of it. Kanna was happy to be idle, leaning against a nearby tree trunk to watch the show.

Fuyuki's face darkened slightly, provoked by Zabuza's arrogant attitude.

"Zabuza, you underestimate me too much." Fuyuki also pulled out a kunai and held it horizontally in front of his chest. "If you want to take ten points from me, feel free to use your strength to get them!"

Before Fuyuki had even finished speaking, Zabuza stepped forward and swung his blade directly.

"That's exactly what I intended!"

The blade slashed out with a roar of wind. Fuyuki's expression was grave; he blocked the long blade with his kunai, then leaped backward and threw the kunai backhand.

Zabuza merely raised his hand slightly, flicked his blade to deflect the kunai, and gave chase.

At this moment, behind Fuyuki, a puddle of water on the ground suddenly surged, condensing into a humanoid figure holding a blade. It looked exactly like Zabuza—it was a Water Clone.

Before Fuyuki landed, he saw another Zabuza appear behind him out of the corner of his eye, swinging a blade in a pincer attack.

"When?" Fuyuki was startled. He twisted and dropped to the ground, then suddenly crouched, pressed his palms together, and clamped them shut!

Snap! The Water Clone's blade was caught by Fuyuki's clap. Then, the muscles in Fuyuki's arms bulged, he twisted his palms, and with a loud shout, he snapped the blade of the Water Clone, causing it to disperse into a mass of clear water.

After all, it was only a Water Clone, with only one-tenth the strength of the original, and the weapon simulated by water could not compare to the hardness of real steel.

Behind him, a whistling sound pierced the air. Fuyuki remained calm in the face of danger, pressed his palms together to form a seal, and that mass of water rolled in the air, rapidly transforming into a mirror-smooth surface to block behind him.

With a muffled thud, Zabuza slashed down, and the front half of his blade sank into the water surface.

Kanna, watching from the side, was stunned. This technique of Fuyuki's was very strange; it actually "swallowed" Zabuza's strike directly, as absurd as someone sticking their hand into a mirror.

The situation reached a stalemate.

"Perhaps you are strong, but I am no weakling either!" Fuyuki turned around and met Zabuza's gaze. "This Water Release: Mirror Boundary Technique is a move taught to me by a friend. You cannot win."

Zabuza frowned and tried to pull, but a great suction force came from the water mirror. Helpless, he had to let go of his blade and watch as his weapon was swallowed by the mirror.

The next moment, Fuyuki flicked his right fingers, and another water mirror condensed. Then, the reflection of a long blade appeared on the surface of the water mirror.

"That friend of mine can perfectly replicate enemies projected by the water, and while I cannot do that, I can replicate the enemy's weapon. Therefore, general physical attacks are ineffective against me." Fuyuki reached out, stuck his hand into the water mirror, "pulled" out the long blade, and spun it. "And there's this move!"

Poof! Fuyuki casually stabbed the long blade into the ground and formed seals again.

Just like the dampness that permeated the air when Musamaka used ninjutsu to copy Kanna's paper during the written exam, Kanna's expression turned grave. He understood that this Fuyuki had used the same or a similar ninjutsu, controlling countless invisible water droplets to fill the space, achieving 360-degree vision without blind spots within the range.

Fuyuki did not take the initiative to attack Zabuza, but calmly explained, "The Eighty-Four Thousand Water Insect Technique is also a ninjutsu taught to me by that friend. I highly approve of that lord's philosophy, so I followed his thinking and taught this technique to Musamaka. Zabuza, I have heard of your name for a long time—a master of swordsmanship, a master of Water Release, and recently there have even been rumors that you are practicing the Anbu Silent Killing Technique. However, these alone are not enough to defeat me."

Heh, I actually misjudged him. He really is an expert, Kanna thought with a self-deprecating smile.

Buddhism has the concept of eighty-four thousand insects, meaning that the Buddha can see eighty-four thousand water insects in a single cup of water. One can imagine how strong one's eyesight would be when reaching a high level of mastery in a ninjutsu named with this implication—it could almost reach the point of seeing everything wherever there is water.

In this world, even in the hottest desert, there is water vapor, let alone a place like Kirigakure. Therefore, this technique is also one of the main ninjutsu used by Kirigakure to monitor surrounding conditions.

However, what Kanna was concerned about was not this, but the "friend" and "lord" in Fuyuki's words.

Kanna, who had read the original work, clearly remembered that the future Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura, knew a technique called Water Release: Water Mirror Technique, which was said to be able to perfectly replicate the reflected enemy, with combat power equal to the original. This might be an exaggeration, and the Water Mirror Technique certainly had some unknown weaknesses, but think about it: how similar were the Water Release: Water Mirror Technique and the Water Release: Mirror Boundary Technique? These were simply two similar ninjutsu under the same system!

If, if the one who taught Fuyuki Sanzenryo ninjutsu was truly Yagura... tsk tsk, he is worthy of being the man who could become Mizukage. This courage, this capacity—I have to give him credit!

The Third Mizukage had taught Kanna chakra refinement; the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had taught his guards the Flying Thunder God Technique; the Third Raikage had passed down the Black Lightning method; the Third Kazekage had passed down the Iron Sand technique; the Dust Release of Iwagakure was passed down from generation to generation; and now, Yagura, who had not yet become Mizukage, was already teaching others his unique ninjutsu.

It had to be said that the mindset and vision of these guys were simply beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Take Kanna for example: ordinary ninjutsu were fine, but if he were asked to teach others his S-rank ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God Technique or Shinra Tensei, he would absolutely be unwilling, even if he knew that ordinary people could not analyze these ninjutsu at all.

And the people mentioned above had all passed down their own ultimate techniques, signature ninjutsu, and unique methods. Honestly, Kanna admired them very much.

Thinking of this, Kanna called out, "Hey! Fuyuki, what is the name of that friend of yours?"

Hearing this, Fuyuki became solemn and said seriously, "That lord's name is Yagura."

"Yagura... it really is Yagura." Kanna chuckled and said no more.

At this moment, Zabuza, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.

"Not bad, very not bad. You have the qualifications to be my opponent," Zabuza said with an indifferent expression, forming a seal with one hand while holding a finger upright with the other.

"I have heard of that Yagura of yours; a genius of Kirigakure who became a jonin at the age of twelve."

The air grew even more humid, and everyone's vision began to blur.

"Graduated with all A-rank evaluations, top of every test, a one-hundred-percent mission completion rate, and even completed S-rank missions without a single scratch."

Thick fog spread out, turning the entire world into a vast expanse of white, and the figures of Zabuza and Fuyuki gradually faded into the mist.

"Since you have received Yagura's teachings and identify with his philosophy, you are his subordinate. So, just how much of his power have you inherited?"

Within the white mist, Zabuza's voice drifted erratically, sounding exceptionally eerie.

The signature ninjutsu of Kirigakure's special assassination unit: the Hidden Mist Technique! And the Silent Killing Technique!

Upon seeing Zabuza use the Hidden Mist Technique, Kanna intended to leave this place. Although he had also studied the Silent Killing Technique, he had spent more of his energy on the Spirit Cultivation Method rather than killing techniques; this environment was disadvantageous for him.

He had not forgotten how Zabuza had slaughtered his own classmates back then. If given the chance, Kanna believed Zabuza would absolutely cut him down as well!

Closing his eyes, Kanna released his chakra to sense the surroundings and began walking toward the outer edge of the thick fog.

Just then, he heard a loud roar from Fuyuki.

"Not a subordinate!"

"Hm?" Kanna was confused, not understanding what Fuyuki was talking about.

"I am not his subordinate!"

Deep within the thick fog, Fuyuki bellowed in a high-pitched voice.

"Lord Yagura said that we are friends! We are comrades who share the same philosophy and are moving toward the same goal! You bastard, you don't understand at all what Lord Yagura has done for us—go to hell!"