Mist Blades Are Better at Fighting? The Kind That Gets Beaten Up

Uchiha Sen crawled along the ground, inching toward Demon Zabuza.

Leaning against a tree, Zabuza's senses swept the surroundings, completely failing to notice Sen lying on the ground. With the system's concealment, no one could sense Sen's chakra.

[Ding! Warning, Host, this action will anger the opponent and is extremely dangerous!]

[Ding! Warning, Host, this action is highly dangerous. Please stop immediately!]

The blue screen before his eyes kept flashing, thoroughly enraging Sen.

He casually grabbed a pebble and threw it at the screen.

Naturally, the stone could not hit the virtual blue screen, but it unexpectedly struck Haku, who was watching from nearby.

Hm? Have I been exposed?

Behind the mask, Haku looked in the direction the stone had come from in confusion. She sensed no chakra there. This was a little troublesome, but she would never abandon Zabuza Momochi and leave alone.

"Rustle, rustle."

Though he had been talking to himself to frighten those fledgling brats outside, Zabuza Momochi was no simple character. He quickly heard someone approaching.

That wasn't right. Kakashi should not have abandoned those brats and come to his feet. Was he not afraid Zabuza would use the thick mist to wipe out his subordinates?

Zabuza Momochi's thoughts ran wild. The reason he had pulled this little stunt in secret was precisely because he had guessed Kakashi Hatake would stay behind.

That bold?

But his chakra sensing was not wrong. The positions of those four had not moved at all.

Could it be a Shadow Clone?

Zabuza Momochi suddenly realized. He could no longer care about anything else—this was the best chance to eliminate the mission target. Since Kakashi Hatake dared to split up his chakra, he was looking down on Demon Zabuza far too much!

That was right. Once he charged out, Zabuza's thinking suddenly opened up. In his eyes, those figures were nothing but clowns. What had been an even matchup should now be a three-to-seven split!

Meanwhile, on the Leaf Village team's side—

Kakashi held a kunai as his Three-Tomoe Sharingan swept the surroundings.

"Tap!"

The sound of footsteps caught his attention. Looking toward it, he saw a deep-blue figure charging toward them through the Sharingan.

???

Who gave Zabuza the courage? The previous Mizukage?

Kakashi did not hesitate. He swiftly put away his kunai and formed hand seals with both hands.

"Crackle, crackle!"

Electric light burst in every direction as a sharp lightning blade wrapped around his right hand, flaring brightly through the thick mist.

The excited Zabuza believed victory was in hand. He knew Kakashi Hatake's reactions like the back of his hand. With one charge from him, the other side had brought out his ultimate move. Sure enough, everything matched his predictions!

His grip on the Kubikiribōchō tightened unconsciously, filled with the thrill of craving blood!

Before Zabuza could rush close, the ground split open. A hand shot out and tightly seized his ankle, while a tremendous force dragged him downward.

Damn it! I fell for it!

A little drama was already playing out in Zabuza's mind. He felt like a complete fool, toyed with in someone else's palm.

And, as if that were not enough, Uchiha Sen stood up, took off the slipper on his right foot, and flung it backward, striking Zabuza Momochi squarely on the left cheek.

Slap!

Crisp and pleasant.

Zabuza Momochi's face turned the color of pig liver. Ever since he had gained some fame, no one had ever humiliated him like this. He no longer wanted to complete any mission. He only wanted to tear that brat apart.

Zabuza Momochi shot up from the ground and leaped into the air. After landing, he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique, shaking off Kakashi Hatake, who wanted to engage him, and charged straight at Uchiha Sen.

As for Uchiha Sen, there was not a trace of fear on his face. Or rather, in his eyes, not a single person on this planet could fight!

[Who even gave him that confidence? Liang Jingru?]

He took off the other slipper from his left foot, his eyes full of contempt, as though the man charging toward him was no more than a chicken or a dog.

Zabuza swung the Kubikiribōchō with all his might, seemingly able to draw confidence from the weight of the blade.

The situation was critical.

[Ding! Danger detected. System analysis has skipped the instruction-and-evasion phase. The Host is directly granted ten seconds of Rinnegan experience, and the system will automatically release the corresponding skill.]

"Whoosh!"

A burst of air erupted, and ripples spread through a two-meter radius around Uchiha Sen. Dust flew everywhere as the previously high-spirited Zabuza turned into a shooting star and flew backward, smashing through several trees as thick as bowls.

"Cough, cough!"

Before Zabuza could catch his breath, a force of Gravity struck him.

Thus, Zabuza Momochi flew back once more like a puppet on strings. The Team 7 Chunin watching from outside had not yet realized what had happened. They only knew that the ninja Kakashi Hatake had called extremely powerful was being toyed with by Sen.

The reason was that Uchiha Sen had been very unhappy to see Zabuza fly out of his attack range, and he cursed angrily:

"You dog bastard, why are you running so fast? I haven't even used this planet's strongest attack yet!"

[As you wish. Banshō Ten'in.]

Watching Zabuza Momochi fly rapidly toward him, Sen's lips curled slightly. As expected, this planet's strongest warrior was no empty title. He drew back his right hand like a bow and slapped down hard.

Slap!

This time, it was the right cheek.

The force of Gravity did not stop. Zabuza, having taken a slipper to the face, flew straight out again. After crashing through several trees, he finally fell into a daze.

Haku, observing in secret, knew it was time for her to act.

Just as Kakashi Hatake took out a kunai and prepared to teach Team 7 a lesson, several piercing sounds came from beside his ears.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Several senbon needles were evenly embedded in Zabuza Momochi's chest.

Turning around, Kakashi judged from the newcomer's attire that they were likely a Hidden Mist Village pursuit squad. This was rather troublesome now, but there was nothing else to do.

"He really is dead."

None of them could accept it, especially Naruto, the little fanboy, who shouted:

"Hey, hey, Sen defeated him!"

Kakashi cut him off. "Naruto, shut up! This person is not an enemy. Let Sen decide what to do with this matter."

Hidden Mist Village pursuit ninja were, put plainly, ninja who specialized in assassination. This person's target was likely Zabuza Momochi.

Seeing everyone's eyes focused on the unremarkable ninja beside them, Haku bowed to Sen.

"Thank you very much for your help. Otherwise, I would not have had the chance to kill Zabuza."

Sen's principles for dealing with people were simple: if others respected him by a foot, he respected them by an inch.

He waved his hand. "In that case... oh, my..."

[System analysis: Zabuza Momochi still shows signs of life.]

As the system analyzed the situation, Sen's gaze changed as well. He could clearly see a faint green glow coming from Zabuza.

[It is recommended that the Host does not agree.]

"Fine, take him away. He's just trash who can't even beat me after I take off a slipper."

[...]

[I really want to leave a Host like this...]