Not Necessary, Really Not Necessary!

"Who's there?"

Shizune immediately lifted her skirt, pulled three or four senbon from her thigh, and shot them out the window!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The wind whistled as the window was pierced in four places, but there was no response.

It seemed to have been a false alarm.

"No... Has someone set their sights on us? They're probably a ninja!"

Shizune turned and hurried into the room.

Lady Tsunade was having a great time gambling. Sure, she'd lost three rounds in a row, but she was convinced she'd win the next one!

"Lady Tsunade! Someone was watching us just now. I suspect it was a ninja!"

Shizune leaned close to Tsunade's ear and whispered.

"What? I did hear that Konoha was having trouble lately, so I'm already on my way back to the village. I was only delayed a little along the way..."

Tsunade scratched her head, then quickly grew indignant.

"It's fine! We'll be in Konoha soon anyway. So what if someone's watching us? It's not like he can follow us all the way there!"

With that, Tsunade immersed herself in the game again.

Beside her, Shizune looked utterly speechless.

"But—"

"Oh, come on... Isn't this a win?"

Tsunade looked thrilled.

A burly man beside her immediately protested.

"You're missing a tile. You read it wrong—that's a false win!"

"Hey, Naruto, you know what? I heard there's a famous bathhouse around here. Want to come with me and train?"

Uchiha Sora and the others had just arrived at a bustling street.

Their escort mission for the day was done, and they were stopping to rest for a while.

Kakashi went to look for lodging, while Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and Uchiha Sora, insisting they go bathe.

"I'll pass! We have another mission tomorrow!"

Uchiha Sora knew that when Jiraiya talked about bathing, he didn't mean anything innocent!

As a decent young man from another world, he couldn't go around spying on people!

"Oh, come on! You'll be missing out. Then I'll take Naruto with me. You can set out on your own tomorrow morning. This mission looks pretty easy, so you can handle it yourselves!"

"I'll take Naruto and train with him for a while longer!"

Jiraiya saw there was no convincing him, so he stopped arguing and simply dragged Naruto away.

Uchiha Sora could only sigh.

There went one of their fighters!

Wouldn't that make things a little more dangerous when they faced Zabuza?

Still, it wasn't a big deal. He and Deidara were there.

So Uchiha Sora didn't waste any time. He turned and found Kakashi, gave him a brief explanation, then found a place to rest.

That night, Uchiha Sora completed his daily mission and used chakra to extract a few bullets.

Afterward, he spent most of his remaining chakra making a new Nuclear Energy Bullet.

He'd armed himself to the teeth.

"Let's see... I'm still a few million coins short of the Quantum Suit. Looks like I won't be getting it anytime soon."

With a sigh, Uchiha Sora began training his Sharingan.

He knew that, aside from technology, he could also rely on his Sharingan.

There was no need to say more—this was the strongest dojutsu in the ninja world. Once he mastered it, he could make a name for himself even without technological support.

With technology on top of that, he'd be strong enough to stand among the top tier of the ninja world.

And so, Uchiha Sora settled in to train. The night passed peacefully, and the next morning, the Bridge Builder led Kakashi and the others onward.

This time, though, their group was much smaller.

They seemed a little outnumbered.

Uchiha Sora and Sasuke looked like students, while Deidara swayed from side to side as they walked, hardly looking serious.

The only one who looked like he could fight—or at least looked the part—was Kakashi.

Some people who noticed this exchanged meaningful glances.

"There aren't many of them. Kakashi's probably the only one who can fight. Why not attack now?"

In the bushes, Zabuza sneered. He didn't recognize Uchiha Sora, of course.

Right now, he thought he'd hit the jackpot.

All he had to do for this mission was take on one ninja, and the reward was quite generous.

The group was already nearing the bridge.

If they crossed it, the mission would fail. Zabuza could no longer sit still, and burst out of the bushes.

He appeared before them like a gust of wind.

"Heh. You've come through here, so leave your money if you want to pass."

Zabuza's voice was cold.

He looked at Kakashi and the others with arrogant confidence.

"Enemy attack! Get into formation!"

Kakashi immediately grabbed the Bridge Builder and threw him behind the group.

Uchiha Sora and the others quickly surrounded him.

"A bandit? Doesn't look like one. You're a ninja, aren't you?"

Kakashi gripped a Kunai and spoke coldly.

He already had a guess.

This man had to be strong. He might even be after the Bridge Builder.

Seeing that there was no point in hiding it, Zabuza laughed arrogantly.

"That's right! But you don't need to know any more..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Uchiha Sora.

More precisely, the sword in Zabuza's hand was already right beside Uchiha Sora's body.

It looked as if he could bring it down at any moment.

"What?!"

Even Kakashi was stunned. He hadn't expected the man to be so fast.

What had just happened?

The man had vanished in an instant!

The Bridge Builder was also terrified, his legs trembling.

Seeing how badly he'd frightened them, Zabuza grew even more pleased with himself.

"Heh! I'm Zabuza, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. It's only natural to be amazed by my speed!"

"But don't worry. I'll make it quick when I cut you down. It won't hurt at all!"

He stared at Uchiha Sora as if he were a lamb ready for slaughter.

Kakashi wanted to turn and save him, but it was too late.

All he could do was call out urgently,

"Don't do it! It's not necessary! Really, it's not necessary!"

Zabuza froze.

Wasn't he supposed to threaten him or beg for mercy?

Why was he saying it wasn't necessary?

What did that mean?

Before he could figure it out, Uchiha Sora smiled calmly.

"Kakashi-sensei... Don't worry. He's only one person. There's no need for me to use that thing."

At those words, Zabuza's scalp went numb.

His mind filled with suspicion.

What was going on?

Were the two of them talking about him?

What did that mean?

Did this kid have some incredible move up his sleeve?

Zabuza realized what was happening in an instant.

Without another word, he swung his greatsword at Uchiha Sora's neck.

But the next moment, his blade cut through empty air!

More precisely, it was as if his slash had struck an illusion.

"Not good! A genjutsu?"

Zabuza sucked in a sharp breath. He hadn't noticed when he'd fallen under the spell.