Absolute Brother

"Cough..."

Just as Haku intended to pierce Shikamaru with the Thousand Flying Water Needles, a faint cough suddenly sounded in his ear.

Haku instinctively halted his ninjutsu and turned his head to look behind him.

He saw a handsome young man who had appeared out of nowhere, standing ten meters away.

The young man was watching him with interest, beckoning him over with a flick of his finger.

Haku stared at the young man with cold eyes, until he clearly saw Zabuza Momochi lying unconscious at the youth's feet.

Oh no, Zabuza-sama is in danger!

At that moment, Haku could no longer concern himself with Shikamaru inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. He immediately exited the mirror surface and attacked Lu Yu at high speed.

Lu Yu easily dodged Haku's attack and subdued him with a single hand in an instant, whispering:

"Don't struggle. You are no match for me. If you want Zabuza to live, then do as I say. Understand?"

As he finished speaking, Lu Yu crouched down beside Zabuza at the perfect moment, holding a kunai to Zabuza's neck, looking for all the world like he would kill him if Haku refused.

Looking at Lu Yu's youthful appearance, a storm surged in Haku's heart.

This guy looked about the same age as him, yet his strength exuded an irresistible sense of despair.

At this moment, Haku suddenly recalled the terrifying aura Zabuza had mentioned earlier; there was no need to guess, it had to be this guy right in front of him.

Knowing he was completely outmatched, Haku only hesitated for a brief moment before nodding decisively at Lu Yu's words.

Since he couldn't win, he might as well follow the other's suggestions; at least this way, Zabuza could survive.

After all, for Haku, Zabuza was his everything.

Seeing that Haku had agreed to his terms, Lu Yu whispered:

"The guy inside your ninjutsu is my younger brother. Go and train him properly now. Once your chakra is exhausted, you are to retreat. Do you understand?"

Haku looked at Lu Yu suspiciously, only then noticing that the two did indeed look quite similar, and he nodded without further hesitation.

Watching Haku slowly merge back into the ice mirrors, Lu Yu added a cautious, whispered reminder:

"Don't train him too harshly, though. Just enough to make him suffer a little."

Inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, Shikamaru watched the countless senbon suspended in the air, seemingly waiting for something. He instinctively looked around, only to be surprised to find that Haku had vanished from the mirrors.

Shikamaru had not heard Lu Yu's light cough or the extremely quiet conversation; he assumed Haku's speed had increased once again, to the point where he couldn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow.

Just as Shikamaru was feeling anxious, Haku reappeared in the mirrors, and the countless senbon in the air suddenly launched an attack on Shikamaru.

However, it wasn't a simultaneous volley; instead, they were fired in intermittent bursts of a dozen or so at a time.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he used his kunai to parry while nimbly dodging.

Seeing the situation inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, Lu Yu let out a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Hmm, training like this should help him improve quite quickly...

Asuma, standing to the side, spoke up in a speechless tone:

"Lu Yu, Shikamaru is your own brother. Isn't this training a bit too harsh?"

Lu Yu glanced at Asuma and said helplessly:

"Do you think I want to? The problem is, besides this, what other way is there to make him stronger quickly?"

Having said that, Lu Yu patted Zabuza, who was just beginning to stir:

"Alright, if you're awake, get up. I only hit you with one light punch; don't act like I've crippled you."

Upon hearing this, Zabuza scrambled up from the ground, looking at Lu Yu with a face full of fear.

Only at this moment did Zabuza understand the true meaning of what Asuma had said about there being four people in their group.

No wonder Asuma wasn't the least bit worried about his students; the young man before him was strong to an outrageous degree.

He hadn't even seen how the other party had attacked before everything went black and he lost consciousness.

Needless to say, that terrifying aura from before must have been released by this guy.

Thinking of this, Zabuza's expression shifted slightly, and he said cautiously:

"Um... we are abandoning this mission. Asuma-san, My Lord, you can—"

Before Zabuza could continue, Lu Yu interrupted him:

"Zabuza Momochi, I know of your ambition. You are accumulating resources to prepare for your next coup, aren't you?"

Zabuza nodded instinctively upon hearing this.

"Well, don't expect to get any money from me, but I can help you increase your strength..."

What? Increase his strength?

Zabuza and Asuma stared at Lu Yu as if he were a monster, a look of deep disbelief flashing in both their eyes.

One had to realize that at their age, their strength was essentially set in stone, and it was generally very difficult to make any further progress.

Looking at Lu Yu's confident expression, the two were half-believing and half-skeptical.

Lu Yu couldn't be bothered to explain much more; he patted Zabuza on the shoulder and said:

"Come on, let's go over there. I'll spar with you for a bit..."