A Victorious First Battle

Who was Zabuza?

He could control the Sixth Hokage Kakashi with one hand!

Kick the Seventh Hokage Naruto flying with one foot!

And casually defeat Sasuke, Indra's reincarnation!

That record practically surpassed Kaguya Otsutsuki's. He was truly the number one man in the ninja world...

Yet such an awesome man was being relentlessly tortured by Chiye Jun's Thousand Years of Death.

His water clones flowed endlessly, but they could not evade Shadow Butterfly's identification.

"What the hell is going on..."

In the end, Zabuza let out a wild cry:

"I can't keep this up anymore!"

If this continued, once his chakra ran out, he could only wait to die.

He dispelled the Hidden Mist Technique.

The dense fog scattered completely.

Zabuza rubbed his ass, his face twisted in an expression of pain and pleasure.

Fortunately, his endurance was astonishing.

Before long, he actually got back on his feet as though nothing had happened.

Chiye Jun could not help marveling. "As expected of an elite jonin. He's strong in every way..."

Kakashi looked at Chiye Jun approvingly.

And now...

It was his turn to take the stage.

If he did not show off a little, who knew how much these brats would look down on him.

Kakashi lunged valiantly at Zabuza.

"Today, I'll take your dog head and hang it on an earthen wall!"

But...

You should not talk too big, or it would be hard to save face afterward.

You should not love too deeply, or it would be hard to pull yourself free.

And Kakashi found himself unable to pull free from the Water Prison Technique...

Zabuza created clones, intending to deal with the brats.

Chiye Jun knew that Naruto and Sasuke's perfect teamwork was coming next.

So...

He gave up center stage to improve the brothers' real combat experience.

Hinata possessed the Byakugan, as well as the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist.

She waved her little fists and was about to rush forward, frightening Chiye Jun into grabbing her and pulling her into his arms.

My dear girl, you really were fearless.

If you rushed over now, you would not even be able to withstand a single punch from Zabuza!

"Hinata-chan, don't rush. Just watch the show today. You'll have chances to train in the future."

After saying that...

He casually glanced toward the distant woods.

A masked person leaned against a tree, watching from afar...

Everything that followed was just like the original plot:

Naruto and Sasuke used a series of tactics and teamwork to successfully rescue Kakashi.

Kakashi, with his Sharingan, gained the upper hand.

He and Zabuza formed hand seals simultaneously, their hands flashing through signs.

It was as if they were competing to see whose hands were faster...

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

After copying that technique that could not drown anyone, Kakashi successfully copied the "Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique" as well.

The raging waters surged and roared, with waves rising more than thirty meters high!

Its momentum was immense, like ten thousand horses galloping.

Getting hit by that technique would definitely hurt worse than being blasted by a high-pressure water cannon!

The children nearly pissed themselves in fright.

This was also the most shocking ninjutsu Chiye Jun had seen since coming to this world.

Because he was two seconds faster than Zabuza, Kakashi seized the initiative.

Zabuza's defeat was decided.

His movements, his gaze, and even his ninjutsu were all thrown off by the Sharingan.

In the end, he was badly injured, and Kakashi claimed victory!

Hinata was stunned by the series of dazzling ninjutsu.

She was especially amazed by Sasuke and Naruto's teamwork using the "Fuma Shuriken Shadow Clone"!

She let out a soft sigh and murmured:

"We're all in the same class, so why am I completely useless?"

Hinata was not weak at all!

It was simply that she had not yet displayed her combat strength in the early stages.

If the abilities in the Naruto world were roughly divided, they would be:

Civilians, ninjas, secret techniques, bloodline limits, jinchuriki, and cheat users.

Now look at Team 7's lineup:

An invincible cheat—Chiye Jun.

A brainwashing cheat—Naruto.

A show-off cheat—Sasuke.

And their team leader, Kakashi Hatake!

Though he was severely short on chakra in the early stages, later on he could use Raikiri however he wanted and open his Mangekyo Sharingan whenever he pleased.

This chakra cheat was way too obvious...

Therefore...

Even though Hinata had the Byakugan, being assigned to a group of cheat users meant that her comparatively weaker performance was hardly surprising.

Chiye Jun softly comforted her.

"Who said you're useless? Your scouting is also an invaluable contribution to the team!"

Hinata smiled and nodded, her little face as red as an apple.

But he could sense that Hinata still felt somewhat disappointed inside.

"Stop overthinking it. I'll give you a little gift later."

"What gift?" Hinata asked, blinking her big eyes.

"You'll find out when the time comes!"

Afterward, Chiye Jun fell into thought:

Haku would appear soon.

He would deliberately let Zabuza fake his death, then take away the "corpse."

With his current strength, defeating the two of them while the iron was hot would be no trouble at all.

However...

Considering the mission conditions...

If he wanted to complete it, Zabuza would definitely have to fight again.

Kakashi had already beaten him into this state. Without resting for at least a week, there was no way he could recover.

Chiye Jun also wanted to rest for a few days...

Just as Kakashi was considering how to deal with Zabuza...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three senbon shot from the trees and struck Zabuza directly in the neck.

Zabuza immediately "died."

The masked Haku appeared.

The male rabbit's paws were restless, the female rabbit's eyes alluring.

If Chiye Jun had not known Haku's true gender, he really would have mistaken him for a girl.

Haku first offered his thanks.

Then he told everyone that he was from the Hidden Mist Pursuit Squad.

He had come to dispose of a corpse containing secrets.

And so on...

Keep bullshitting. Go on, keep bullshitting.

Watching Haku's performance, Chiye Jun was utterly disdainful inside.

However, since he still wanted to spend two more days having fun in the Land of Waves, he did not expose the lie.

Then Haku crouched down.

He wanted to take Zabuza's "corpse" away.

Chiye Jun suddenly teased him:

"We fought so hard, and now you're here to reap the rewards? You want to take the corpse with just a thank-you? That's way too insincere, isn't it?"

Haku froze.

He did not quite understand what sincerity meant.

"I'll put it plainly. We ninjas don't work for free either. How much are you planning to pay to collect the body?"

"..."

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Haku truly was a kind-hearted person.

After coming to his senses, he immediately blushed and fumbled around on himself for a long while.

Then he tossed over a large money pouch!

Naruto ran over and opened it.

Holy crap!

There were a full hundred thousand ryo in bills...

Counting on his fingers, he said, "A bowl of ramen costs sixty ryo, so a hundred thousand ryo can buy... more than a hundred and sixty bowls!"

Sasuke shot him a disdainful glance.

"It's more than one thousand six hundred bowls, idiot!"

Though Chiye Jun did not lack money, that did not mean everyone else was well-off.

Nor did he want to simply hand out money like some saint.

So he took the opportunity to earn some extra cash and share it with everyone.

"Then... may I leave now?" kind little Haku asked.

Only then did Chiye Jun nod.

Naruto said excitedly, "Haha, it's finally over! Now we just have to wait for the bridge to be finished. I really want to get back and see Sakura soon."

"Look at you, so hopeless!"

But Chiye Jun understood that it was far from over...