Second Battle · Zabuza's Return!

"No... it's not..."

"I, Zabuza, have lived half my life traversing the ninja world, what haven't I seen? How could I be jealous of a mere brat?..."

Zabuza crossed his legs, his expression on the chair extremely unnatural.

"Hehe..."

Seeing this, Haku seemed to have a small trick up his sleeve, lightly covering his lips and chuckling:

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore."

"Here, this is the welcome gift that kid gave you before he left."

"I guess that kid probably already figured out the relationship between us..."

"Sigh..."

Taking the stack of bills Haku handed him, Zabuza sighed and said:

"Sasuke, that kid, has talent, has composure, and most importantly, he has ambition!"

"This is something you truly can't find in a so-called righteous village like Konoha, except for the [Root] organization."

Hearing this, Haku also nodded:

"That's right, I saw quite a bit of ambition in his eyes before."

"So I feel like what he said earlier wasn't just a joke..."

Speaking of which, after a slight pause, Haku asked with some worry:

"By the way, are we really going to oppose them, Team 7?"

"Is it really worth it for that useless Gato?..."

"Sigh..."

Hearing this, Zabuza let out another sigh, as if he couldn't help but sigh whenever this matter was brought up.

"There's no such thing as 'worth it' or not."

"Now I'm being hunted by Kirigakure, and you are not tolerated in the Land of Water because of your Kekkei Genkai."

"There isn't much room left for us to survive."

"The reason we're hiding in the Land of Waves, this secluded place."

"Is because the Land of Water doesn't care about it."

"But think about it carefully, if we were to make even the slightest stir in a place where birds don't even shit..."

"Would the ninjas from Kirigakure not catch the scent?..."

"This..."

Hearing this, Haku's pretty face furrowed slightly.

"So we have no retreat."

"Let's take a gamble. After this job, we can hide in the Land of Waves long-term."

"Perhaps, if we're lucky, we can hide here for a long time, until the end of time..."

The sudden romantic words were intoxicating, and the room fell into silence.

At a certain moment, perhaps to ease the awkwardness, Zabuza suddenly changed the subject:

"Right, when the time comes, we only need to kill that old man named Tazuna."

"As for the four members of Team 7, we just need to hold them off."

"After all, we can't take Sasuke's money for nothing..."

Speaking of which, Zabuza thought of the two powerful sword strikes from that day.

While feeling emotional, he also secretly lamented the swift passage of time, realizing that the boy was no longer a child.

Time flew by, and it was already half a month later.

During these days, the members of Team 7 took turns protecting Tazuna.

And in this past half month, Tazuna, along with the workers of the Land of Waves, had almost completed the Mother Bridge.

This day, the weather was a bit muggy.

The River Bridge was covered in mist.

Sasuke was off duty, leaving only Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura to stand guard.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed throughout the area.

The three of Team 7 were greatly alarmed!

Their drowsiness instantly vanished, and they rushed towards the sound.

They saw Tazuna kneeling not far away, his ten fingers gripping his head, his expression contorted.

On the ground lay the workers, row upon row of corpses...

"Damn it! Could it be that Gato is the one pulling the strings behind this?..."

Naruto gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tight as he spoke with bitter hatred.

As a Medical Ninja, Sakura stepped forward to check the pulse of a worker, then turned her head and shook it at Kakashi, signaling that there was no saving them...

"Gato! You beast in human skin, you piece of filth!..."

Tazuna let out a howl toward the sky, his expression one of profound agony.

Yet at this moment, Kakashi, who had been frowning in deep thought, spoke in a low voice:

"They were likely not killed by men sent by Gato..."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

If they weren't killed by Gato's men, then who could have done it?...

As if reading the thoughts of the three, Kakashi frowned, his face solemn as he explained:

"Silent and traceless, hidden within the river mist."

"Look, their fatal wounds are all just a shallow blade mark on the neck."

"Other than that, there is nothing else; they even wore smiles of completion before they died."

"This... if I am not mistaken, they must have died at the hands of Zabuza's Silent Killing technique..."

Hearing this, the three of them turned pale in unison.

Zabuza?

Could it be that the terrifying fellow from before had returned?...

Naruto and Sakura were not particularly worried, after all, Kakashi was right there beside them.

But upon hearing this, Tazuna felt his heart go cold.

Because as he looked around, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen!

In his mind, Sasuke was the one destined to be the future successor to the Hokage!

And yet, he was the one missing at this very moment?

At this instant, he even suspected that this so-called Zabuza had investigated the information beforehand and was deliberately avoiding the strong to strike the weak!

"Hahaha..."

Just as the atmosphere at the scene became stifling due to Kakashi's words, a burst of laughter suddenly echoed across the mist-shrouded River Bridge!

The voice arrived before the person.

Everyone's expressions changed in unison, and they immediately looked toward the source of the sound.

A tall figure carrying a large blade slowly emerged from the mist.

It was none other than Momoya Zabuza!

And unlike last time, this time he was followed by a petite figure.

Wearing a mask, it was impossible to discern anything other than the fact that they were likely quite young.

Walking to a certain distance, Zabuza clapped his hands and, just as he had that day, praised:

"As expected of the Copy Ninja, hailed as the greatest under the Third Hokage."

"To be able to deduce that it was my doing so quickly from such meager clues, you are truly extraordinary..."

Kakashi stepped forward, standing in front of the group, frowning as he asked in a low voice:

"Zabuza, we have already crossed blades before."

"And now you come here to kill again today; are you seeking a fight to the death with us?..."

"Hahaha..."

As if he had heard a grand joke, Zabuza responded:

"A fight to the death?"

"Who exactly is fighting whom to the death?..."

"According to the information I received, your mission was merely to provide an escort, and it didn't include the subsequent protection of that old man behind you, did it?..."

How did he know that?...

In fact, even Team 7 had only learned of that once they were nearly at the Land of Waves.

This immediately aroused Kakashi's suspicion.

But just then, Naruto suddenly stepped forward, pointing at Zabuza not far away and shouting:

"Hey! You hateful guy, are you even human!"

"Old man Tazuna is building this bridge for the sake of all the people in the Land of Waves; as a member of the Land of Waves yourself, do you have no sympathy for others at all!..."