Tough Fate

"Whoosh..."

Just as Uchiha Yue was about to have some fun with Momochi Zabuza, Zabuza, upon seeing Yue's face clearly, completely lost the courage to fight and fled in panic. Yet the more Zabuza tried to escape, the more interested Yue became in killing him.

Uchiha Yue was not the sort of person with such twisted tastes that he would wait for powerful ninjas from the original story to reach the peak of their strength before killing them. In other words, after encountering Momochi Zabuza, Yue had no intention of letting him return and develop. Instead, he wanted to kill Zabuza as quickly as possible, so Kirigakure would lose this promising ninja sooner.

Using the formidable Falling Moon Style: Shatter Step, Uchiha Yue followed closely behind the fleeing Momochi Zabuza, never giving him even a moment to catch his breath. Moreover, the price Zabuza had paid for surviving Yue's hands at the border of the Land of Water had been a body covered in wounds. Now, fleeing without any chance to rest, the wounded Zabuza felt his body growing heavier and heavier, until even running became a struggle.

As for Uchiha Yue, who was pursuing Zabuza from behind, he watched Zabuza desperately flee with the teasing amusement of a cat playing with a tiger. To truly enjoy the fun of a cat catching a mouse, one had to let the mouse run as much as it wanted, then slowly play it to death. That was Yue's attitude now. He wanted to give Momochi Zabuza a little hope of survival, force out all of Zabuza's potential, and then kill him in the end.

If Momochi Zabuza had known of Yue's twisted amusement, he probably would have stopped running long ago and simply waited for Yue to pass judgment on him. Unfortunately,