The Newcomer of the Seven

What was that!

Hozuki Mangetsu recognized it immediately.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Zabuza shouted and spat out a huge torrent of water.

It was a B-rank ninjutsu that allowed a Water Release ninja to create advantageous terrain, briefly forming an environment suited to Water Release combat.

Hozuki Mangetsu stood on the water, puzzled as he looked at Zabuza. They were both Water Release users, so why would Zabuza create an advantage for himself?

Zabuza took a deep breath. Since he couldn't beat Hozuki Mangetsu with Taijutsu or assassination techniques, he would settle things with ninjutsu!

Mist Concealment Technique!

Zabuza's figure soon vanished from the water again.

Was he using the same trick again?

Hozuki Mangetsu wasn't impressed.

He had more or less figured out Zabuza's moves. Zabuza couldn't match him in Taijutsu or Silent Killing Technique. His ninjutsu was better, but only by a limited margin.

It wasn't enough to threaten him.

Just then, several figures suddenly rushed toward him at high speed.

Water clones?

A hint of scorn crossed Hozuki Mangetsu's lips. "Pathetic tricks!"

He was about to form Hand Seals and create several clones.

Suddenly, Zabuza appeared behind him, and two cold flashes swept across Hozuki Mangetsu's back without hesitation.

Splash!

Hozuki Mangetsu's body liquefied at once, rendering the attack ineffective.

The Hydrification Technique?

Zabuza froze for a moment.

Only then did he remember that the Hozuki Clan could liquefy their bodies. Attacks other than Lightning Release had no effect on them.

In that brief moment of surprise, Zabuza's hands sank into Hozuki Mangetsu's body and became trapped.

Hozuki Mangetsu's liquefied body had caught him.

A finger pressed against Zabuza's head. It was the Hozuki Clan's secret Water Gun Technique.

Was it over?

Zabuza slowly closed his eyes.

He had seen how powerful the Water Gun Technique was and knew he had no chance of withstanding it.

No matter how hard he tried, he could never measure up to Hozuki Mangetsu, who possessed a secret technique.

Hozuki Mangetsu suddenly lowered his finger, released his hold on Zabuza, then stepped back.

"You..."

Zabuza stared at Hozuki Mangetsu in confusion.

Hozuki Mangetsu smiled faintly. "I didn't expect you to know the Body Flicker Technique. Is that the Mist Body Flicker? Impressive. Without the Hydrification Technique, I might have been taken out just now."

That was true!

He really had let his guard down. He hadn't expected Zabuza to have another trick up his sleeve.

The Mist Body Flicker was a more advanced Body Flicker Technique than the Water Body Flicker. It used the cover of dense mist to let its user kill an enemy in a single strike.

If ordinary physical attacks had worked on the Hozuki Clan, Hozuki Mangetsu would have been badly injured, if not killed, by that strike.

A flash of resentment crossed Zabuza's eyes, but he still asked hesitantly, "If you can liquefy your body in an instant, why didn't you dodge my attack earlier? Were you deliberately trying to mislead me?"

He knew a little about the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique, but not how quickly it could be used or how long it lasted.

During their earlier clash using the Silent Killing Technique, he had managed to injure Hozuki Mangetsu. That made him realize that the Hozuki Clan needed time to prepare before liquefying their bodies.

In that brief window, Hozuki Mangetsu could still be hurt.

So Zabuza had used the Mist Body Flicker to launch a lightning-fast strike. What he hadn't expected was for Hozuki Mangetsu to counter it.

A smile touched Hozuki Mangetsu's lips.

"Actually, the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique doesn't require any preparation. As long as my body can still produce Chakra, I can keep it going."

Zabuza was stunned. "Then how was I able to hurt you?"

He pointed at Hozuki Mangetsu's injured arm.

"Oh, that!"

Hozuki Mangetsu tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, "If I used the Hydrification Technique, I'd be unbeatable. That wouldn't be fair to you, so I didn't use it earlier. I couldn't dodge that last attack, though, so I had no choice but to use it. Strictly speaking, if I weren't a member of the Hozuki Clan, I'd have been taken out by that strike."

His eyes narrowed. He gave Zabuza a thumbs-up. "Momochi Zabuza, you really are impressive."

Zabuza could hardly believe his ears.

In Kirigakure, the great clans usually possessed rare kekkei genkai and secret techniques. Those were their advantages; they were born ahead of everyone else.

By comparison, civilian-born ninja had to work ten or even a hundred times harder to distinguish themselves.

Having been born a civilian, Zabuza knew all too well how hard it was.

That was why civilian ninja and the great clans were at odds, and why the two sides despised each other.

It was rare for someone like Hozuki Mangetsu, a scion of a great clan, to admire a civilian ninja so openly.

Zabuza gave a cold laugh and dropped the Kunai in his hand.

"The process doesn't matter. The result does, and the result is that I lost. Kill me if you want. Don't pretend to lecture me."

He had started the duel, and now that he had lost, no one could object if Hozuki Mangetsu killed him.

The winner was king; the loser was a bandit. That was the rule of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

A smile appeared on Hozuki Mangetsu's lips.

He actually admired Zabuza. He was ambitious and had a heart. When Hozuki Mangetsu had first encountered Naruto, the battle on the bridge in the Land of Waves had moved him to tears.

For the first time, Hozuki Mangetsu had realized that men could have such deep feelings for each other.

It wasn't romance or bromance. It was emotion—yes, emotion!

Zabuza was an excellent ninja. Anyone who could join the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was no ordinary person.

Unfortunately, he was a civilian-born ninja and a close confidant of Suikazan Fuguki. After Terumi Mei, who represented the great clans, rose to power, she naturally wouldn't show mercy to Fuguki's remaining loyalists. That was why Zabuza defected.

He was simply a casualty of political infighting.

But now that Hozuki Mangetsu was here, he wouldn't let that happen again. He intended to recruit Zabuza.

"Summoning Technique!"

Hozuki Mangetsu suddenly summoned a strange weapon. From a distance, it looked like an oversized steel needle.

It was Nuibari!

Zabuza stared in shock at the long sword in Hozuki Mangetsu's hand.

Hadn't it been lost in the last war? Why was it in Hozuki Mangetsu's possession?

Hozuki Mangetsu suddenly tossed the long sword over to him!

"This is Nuibari, which I reclaimed from Konoha. It hasn't found a suitable owner all these years, but now it finally has."

Zabuza took it in a daze, his mind in turmoil. A strange thought suddenly came to him.

Hozuki Mangetsu wasn't going to kill him. He was even going to give him a place among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Could this be a dream?

He had dreamed of becoming one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Hozuki Mangetsu took out another small scroll and handed it to Zabuza. "This is how to use Nuibari. With your abilities, you'll master it in no time."

"Mangetsu!"

Even Zabuza, who had killed countless people, felt a little awkward now.

"Why?"

He was uneasy.

Hozuki Mangetsu smiled. "Because you're talented. I don't want you to die in factional struggles. Preserve your life and put it to use serving the village!"