Zabuza Deeply Trapped in Painful Memories

Although he had escaped a brush with death thanks to the Amulet from his wife Hinata, the two-on-one situation remained unfavorable for Lin Fan.

Furthermore, he had to figure out how to complete the guidance mission of convincing Zabuza to voluntarily abandon his pursuit of Tazuna.

It seemed he had no choice but to give it his best shot.

Looking at Haku and Zabuza as they gradually closed in on him, Lin Fan could not help but offer a wry smile.

Soon, Zabuza, who was approaching Lin Fan with the Kubikiribōchō in hand, suddenly saw a Kunai shoot out from within the stone monument.

Hmph, finally driven to despair? You think you can finish me off by throwing a single Kunai?

Zabuza could not help but snort coldly, his expression one of utter smugness.

He used the Kubikiribōchō to deflect it lightly, and the Kunai changed trajectory, flying straight toward his side.

What he did not know, however, was that this Kunai had already been imbued with the Flying Thunder God technique by Lin Fan.

In the next second, Lin Fan caught the Kunai firmly, escaping the pincer attack from Haku and Zabuza from within the stone monument.

Nani?

Zabuza, who had thought victory was already in his grasp, saw Lin Fan suddenly teleport to his side and his pupils constricted in shock.

But the things that shocked Zabuza were far from over.

Lin Fan's scarlet eyes suddenly flared to life.

The rapidly spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared at him with cold indifference.

"Zabuza, fall into the illusion of my Sharingan at once!"

Not good!!!

Zabuza immediately squeezed his eyes shut, preparing to unleash the unique secret technique of Kirigakure to dispel the genjutsu.

Yet, before the ultimate illusion cast by Lin Fan's max-level Three-Tomoe Sharingan, these efforts were nothing more than a desperate man at the end of his rope.

The two merely locked eyes for a split second, and Zabuza, unable to resist, was dragged directly into the illusion.

Inside the illusion.

It was a sunny morning.

Inside the largest arena in Kirigakure, Land of Water.

Three hundred and sixty-three candidates from the Ninja Academy, about to take their graduation exam, were waiting in a state of high excitement.

The young Zabuza was among them.

As long as he passed this exam, he would become a Genin of Kirigakure.

It was the first step he had taken toward his dream of serving the village and making a name for himself in the ninja world.

"The Mizukage is here."

Someone shouted in excitement, and the eyes of all the students in the arena turned in unison toward the viewing platform.

Then, a man wearing a blue and white hat with the kanji for "Water," with green hair, purple eyes, and a baby face, walked out slowly.

It was none other than the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Karatachi Yagura, who was Zabuza's idol at the time.

"The Ninja Academy graduation exam now officially begins."

"Everyone, begin free-for-all combat within the arena. Only those who survive to the end are qualified to inherit the title of Genin of our Kirigakure."

Yagura looked down from above, speaking coldly to everyone.

Hearing that the graduation exam was actually a mutual slaughter between classmates who had lived and studied together, many were so terrified that they chose to flee the arena immediately.

"Trying to run?"

"You trash think you can become ninjas of my Kirigakure?"

After Yagura snorted coldly, he ordered his subordinates within the arena to take action.

Subsequently, Zabuza watched as one child after another who had fled was struck by flying Kunai, collapsing directly into pools of blood.

Among them were classmates he had shared meals and sleeping mats with.

The pungent smell of blood permeating the air completely extinguished the excitement Zabuza had originally felt for graduation.

He finally understood that the world of ninjas was far more cruel than he had ever imagined.

The graduation exam then began, and the remaining children started a brutal free-for-all within the arena.

By this time, Zabuza, his heart turned to ash, had completely transformed into a bloody Asura returned from hell.

He did not know how many throats and hearts he had pierced with the Kunai he wielded incessantly.

Soon, corpses were piled high in the arena, and blood covered the ground.

The bright red blood gushing from his opponents, mixed with sweat and tears, gradually blurred Zabuza's vision.

He did not know how much time had passed, but in the arena that had once been filled with noise, only two survivors remained.

Zabuza, his eyes bloodshot, did not hesitate; relying on sound to locate his opponent, he mercilessly pierced the heart of the other person with the Kunai in his hand.

Zabuza-kun.

When Zabuza heard that familiar, gentle voice calling his name, his heart tightened instantly.

He hurriedly rubbed his eyes to clear away the blood, snapping them open.

Before him appeared a young girl with a beautiful face, though her eyes were growing dim and losing their spark of life.

She was the very girl Zabuza had loved most back at the Ninja Academy.

With her consciousness fading, she collapsed directly into Zabuza's arms.

Why?

Why are you so foolish? You clearly had the strength to dodge that blow!

Zabuza frantically pressed against the girl's chest, where blood was gushing like a fountain, and roared in agony toward the sky.

Be-because the opponent was Zabuza-kun. Be-becoming the Mizukage... isn't that your greatest dream?

The girl finished in broken gasps, forcing a kind smile onto her rapidly paling face for Zabuza.

To walk the path of a ninja, he had accidentally killed the girl he loved most.

Zabuza could no longer suppress the sorrow in his heart; large, bean-sized tears mixed with blood dripped onto the girl's pale face.

Don't cry. Congratulations, Zabuza-kun. You must become an excellent ninja, okay? I will always be watching over you silently from the heavens.

The girl's heart soon stopped beating.

At this moment, Zabuza, who was reliving the painful memories of his youth within the illusion, already had crystalline tears welling up in his eyes.

Then, the illusion ended, and the scene instantly turned black.

Before Zabuza appeared a pair of massive Three-Tomoe Sharingan, staring straight at him.

"Heh heh, Zabuza, how does it feel to relive the sensation of killing the girl you loved most with your own hands?"

A gloomy voice suddenly spoke within the illusion space.

"The past is gone and cannot be recovered. All I can do is protect those who are alive beside me now, and never let them leave my side again."

Zabuza said in a deep voice.

"Heh heh, you, capable of protecting those beside you? That is truly the biggest joke I have ever heard."

"Do you not know that it is precisely because of your incompetence and stupidity that you have buried the lives of those around you, time and time again?"

"It was so in the past, and it will be so in the future!"

The gloomy voice inside the illusion spoke sharply.

"Impossible! I can work hard to protect him; I will not repeat the same mistakes as I did when I was young!!!"

Zabuza's eyes were wide with rage as he grabbed the Kubikiribōchō in his hand and swung it forward.

He wanted to split the Sharingan staring at him in two with a single strike.

Naruto: Starting with Infinite Skill Points by Shenqi Xiao Sima