"Cough..."
Just as Haku was about to thrust the Thousand Flying Water Needles at Shikamaru, a faint cough suddenly sounded beside him.
Haku instinctively stopped the jutsu and turned to look behind him.
A handsome young man had appeared ten meters away without him noticing.
The young man watched him with interest and beckoned with a finger.
Haku stared at him coldly, until he spotted Zabuza, unconscious at the young man's feet.
This is bad. Mr. Zabuza is in danger!
At that moment, Haku no longer had time to worry about Shikamaru inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. He immediately emerged from the mirrors and charged at Lu Yu at top speed.
Lu Yu easily dodged Haku's attack and subdued him with one hand, whispering:
"Stop struggling. You're no match for me. If you want Zabuza to live, do as I say. Understood?"
As he spoke, Lu Yu crouched beside Zabuza and pressed a kunai to his neck, making it clear that he would kill him if Haku refused.
Looking at Lu Yu's youthful appearance, Haku felt a storm surge within him.
This guy looked about his age, yet his strength gave off an overwhelming sense of despair.
Just then, Haku remembered the terrifying presence Zabuza had mentioned earlier. There was no doubt about it: the man before him was the one.
Knowing he was completely outmatched, Haku hesitated only briefly before decisively nodding at Lu Yu's words.
There was no point fighting when he couldn't win. He might as well do as Lu Yu asked. At least that way, Zabuza could live.
After all, Zabuza was everything to Haku.
Seeing that Haku had agreed, Lu Yu said quietly:
"That guy inside your jutsu is my younger brother. Go give him a good workout. Once your chakra runs out, retreat. Understood?"
Haku looked at Lu Yu suspiciously, only now noticing how much the two of them resembled each other. He nodded without hesitation.
As Haku slowly merged back into the ice mirrors, Lu Yu called after him anxiously:
"Don't push him too hard. Just make him work for it a little."
Inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, Shikamaru looked at the countless senbon surrounding him, still poised to strike as if waiting for something. He glanced around and was surprised to find that Haku had vanished from the mirrors.
Shikamaru hadn't heard Lu Yu's faint cough or their extremely quiet conversation. He thought Haku had sped up again, to the point that he couldn't even see his opponent's shadow.
Just as Shikamaru was growing increasingly uneasy, Haku reappeared in the mirrors, and countless senbon suddenly attacked him from the air.
But they didn't all come at once. Instead, they flew toward Shikamaru in staggered volleys of a dozen or so at a time.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, deftly dodging while blocking with his kunai.
Seeing what was happening inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Hmm, training him this way should help him improve quickly...
Asuma came over beside him, speechless.
"Lu Yu, Shikamaru's your own younger brother. Isn't this a little too harsh?"
Lu Yu glanced at Asuma and said helplessly:
"You think I want to do this? But what else can make him stronger quickly?"
As he spoke, Lu Yu patted Zabuza, who had just come around.
"Come on, get up if you're awake. I only gave you a light punch. Don't act like I crippled you."
At that, Zabuza hurriedly scrambled to his feet and stared at Lu Yu in terror.
Only now did Zabuza understand what Asuma had meant when he said there were four people on their team.
No wonder Asuma hadn't been worried about his students at all. The young man standing before him was terrifyingly strong.
Zabuza hadn't even seen how the other man had attacked. Everything had gone black, and then he'd lost consciousness.
There was no doubt about it: that terrifying presence from last time had come from the man in front of him.
At the thought, Zabuza's expression shifted. He spoke cautiously:
"Um... We'll give up on this mission. Mr. Asuma, sir, you can—"
Before Zabuza could finish, Lu Yu cut him off:
"Zabuza Momochi, I know what you're after. You're gathering resources to launch another coup, aren't you?"
Zabuza nodded instinctively.
"Mm. You can forget about getting money from me, but I can make you stronger..."
What? Make him stronger?
Zabuza and Asuma both stared at Lu Yu as if he were a monster, their eyes filled with disbelief.
After all, at their age, their strength was more or less set. It was very difficult for them to make any further progress overall.
Seeing Lu Yu's confident expression, they both half-believed him and half-doubted him.
Lu Yu couldn't be bothered to explain. He patted Zabuza on the shoulder and said:
"Come on, over there. I'll spar with you for a bit..."