"Does our earlier bet still stand?"
Seeing Zabuza stand up again, Yun Xi jokingly reminded him once more.
"It does, but I haven't lost yet!"
After getting to his feet, Zabuza took the Kubikiribōchō he had put away earlier back in hand.
His face was full of resolve as he prepared to fight again.
"Fine. You make the first move."
Seeing Zabuza as he was now, Yun Xi had no intention of attacking him by surprise.
Instead, he planned to let Zabuza get ready before defeating him in one decisive move.
Truthfully, Yun Xi admired Zabuza's fighting style.
He would never admit defeat until he was no longer able to move!
That was exactly the kind of subordinate Yun Xi wanted.
A person's strength could be improved easily, but fighting spirit was something innate.
Meanwhile, Gato and Haku wore completely different expressions.
Haku's face was full of worry, along with a trace of unwillingness.
It seemed he hated how weak he was and that he couldn't help Zabuza.
Gato, meanwhile, looked caught between fear and anger.
Seeing Zabuza losing the fight naturally made his blood boil.
The reason for his fear was simple, too: he hadn't expected a kid to be so powerful!
"You useless fool, Zabuza!"
"I paid you so much, and now you can't even take care of one kid?"
The angrier Gato got, the more he ranted at Zabuza without thinking!
"You're not allowed to talk about Lord Zabuza like that!"
Hearing Gato insult Zabuza, Haku, who was standing off to the side, immediately pulled several sharp senbon from his weapons pouch.
"Haku, stop."
When Zabuza saw Haku was about to attack, he stopped him at once.
Though they were rogue ninja, once they accepted payment, they absolutely could not harm their employer.
"What? You're going to kill me?"
When Gato saw Haku was actually about to attack him, he instinctively took several steps back.
Zabuza, however, stepped in front of Gato and threatened him. "Keep running your mouth, and I'll kill you!"
Zabuza might hold fast to a ninja's code.
But if Gato kept insulting him, he wouldn't mind being a rogue ninja one more time.
Besides, Zabuza hadn't truly come to the Land of Waves to serve Gato.
It had only been a temporary expedient.
"You..."
Seeing the murderous aura radiating from Zabuza, Gato didn't dare say another word.
He obediently retreated to the side, silently thinking, Once this crisis is over, I'm going to kill you.
And that kid, too!
When Gato stopped insulting him, Zabuza turned toward Yun Xi.
Ready to fight again!
"Looks like your employer isn't very happy with you. Join me instead."
Yun Xi smiled and got ready to fight as well.
"Then say that again after you beat me!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Realizing his assassination techniques weren't working on Yun Xi,
Zabuza gave up on trying to assassinate him and went straight to his signature Water Release!
As an elite Anbu of the Hidden Mist Village, assassination techniques weren't all he knew!
Once Zabuza finished forming the Hand Seals, an enormous water dragon hurtled toward Yun Xi at tremendous speed.
"A contest of ninjutsu?"
Watching the Water Dragon Bullet Technique coming at him, Yun Xi smiled.
"Forgot to tell you, my ninjutsu is stronger than my Taijutsu!"
"Heaven Curse Mark: State One, activate!"
To end the fight quickly, Yun Xi began to take things seriously.
As soon as he activated the Cursed Seal, a terrifying aura burst from him.
"Fire Style: Flame Dragon Technique!"
Empowered by Yun Xi's enormous chakra reserves,
a fire dragon twice the size of the water dragon appeared on the field.
It charged toward the Water Dragon Bullet Technique Zabuza had unleashed.
Under ordinary circumstances, Water Release countered Fire Style.
But that only held true when the users were equally strong.
In the face of overwhelming power, any advantage was nothing but an illusion...
The instant Yun Xi and Zabuza's ninjutsu clashed,
a massive cloud of steam spread across the field.
Yun Xi's Flame Dragon Technique swallowed Zabuza's Water Dragon Bullet Technique whole.
Then it continued toward Zabuza!
"Water Style: Water Clone Technique!"
Facing the surging Fire Style: Flame Dragon Technique, Zabuza hastily summoned two water clones.
But Yun Xi's time was precious, and after playing around for this long,
he had no intention of continuing to play with Zabuza!
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Yun Xi immediately used another Fire Style technique to scatter the water clones Zabuza had formed.
His real body also darted behind Zabuza at lightning speed.
Under the Heaven Curse Mark, the full force of Yun Xi's strike was not to be underestimated.
Zabuza had no time to fight back and was sent flying several meters.
He also lost the ability to fight...
"Lord Zabuza!"
When Haku saw Zabuza defeated, he hurried to his side.
He took out weapons as well, ready to protect Zabuza.
"Don't come any closer!"
Seeing Yun Xi steadily approaching, Haku grew agitated.
He seemed ready to fight to the death, even knowing he was no match for Yun Xi!
"Hey, have you given up?"
Yun Xi ignored Haku and simply looked down at Zabuza, who was lying on the ground.
"Can I ask why you want to recruit me...?"
Seeing that Yun Xi wasn't attacking, Zabuza asked him in an extremely weak voice why he wanted to recruit him.
Zabuza had never met Yun Xi before.
Yet Yun Xi had known who he was from the start of the fight, and had made his intentions clear.
He wanted to recruit him...
Could it be because of Haku?
Zabuza glanced at Haku, who was protecting him, and wondered to himself.
No way...
Then Zabuza dismissed the thought.
He could tell from Yun Xi's eyes that he had no interest in Haku.
But Zabuza was only a fairly strong Jonin, hiding away in a tiny place like the Land of Waves.
Wasn't Yun Xi afraid the Mist ninja would hunt him down after recruiting him?
"Actually, the reason I want to recruit you is simple."
Seeing the confusion on Zabuza's face, Yun Xi continued, "I need people to help me. You're not that strong, but you're good enough for now..."
This kid... What an arrogant thing to say.
Hearing Yun Xi's reason, Zabuza was at a loss for words.
He was at least as strong as an Elite Jonin, yet Yun Xi seemed to think little of him.
"Don't think I'm putting you down. I just want to build an organization of my own, and I need someone to start with."
Yun Xi could see the resentment in Zabuza's heart, so he went on, "If you don't want to join me, that's fine..."
"But I'm afraid you won't be leaving here alive."
After Yun Xi said this, the atmosphere on the field turned icy...
"One last question. What kind of organization are you building?"
After Yun Xi finished speaking, Zabuza slowly asked his question.
Zabuza didn't actually dislike Yun Xi. Though Yun Xi had defeated him,
Zabuza genuinely respected him for his strength, character, and talent.
There was only one reason Zabuza was still reluctant to join Yun Xi.
He didn't want to become someone's tool for no reason.
Back in the Hidden Mist Village, he had been a tool.
If joining Yun Xi's organization meant living the same way as before,
then Zabuza would rather die!
Before you continue