One Slash

A man's figure floated silently in the air amid the gentle breeze, staring down at them with cold indifference.

The man was bald, dressed in a strange cape-like outfit, and wore a pair of red gloves. His appearance was exceedingly bizarre.

What baffled them was that they had no idea when he had appeared. It was almost as if he had been there all along.

"Who are you?"

Haku asked solemnly, several thin needles appearing in his hand.

Beside him, Zabuza gripped the Kubikiribōchō tightly, his gaze grave.

In the Ninja World, there were extremely few ninja capable of flight, and every one of them was a formidable opponent. Take the Tsuchikage of the Land of Earth, for example—he was an exceptionally powerful flying ninja.

Of course.

Zabuza did not believe the bald man before him could reach the Tsuchikage's level, but he still had to remain cautious.

After all, this was flight. If the other party kept launching attacks from the sky, they could only defend passively from below.

That was an extremely disadvantageous situation for them, so they both became serious.

"Don't worry. I only came to discuss something with you." Naruto slowly descended onto the water, preparing to stretch his limbs.

"What is it?"

Zabuza continued questioning him, his eyes cold as he searched for an opening. The moment his opponent let his guard down, he would strike without hesitation.

"Simple. Go fight the Konoha ninja." Naruto spoke calmly.

"Fight the Konoha ninja?"

Zabuza and Haku were slightly stunned upon hearing that. Why did this request sound so abnormal?

The key was that Gato was already dead. There was no need for them to continue the mission.

So Zabuza shook his head and refused. "We no longer have a conflict with Konoha. We will not fight them again."

"You only need to attack them for show. Stay there for five minutes, and then you can leave." Naruto continued.

"Huh? Why?" Haku was somewhat confused, feeling that the request was rather bizarre.

"No particular reason. If you don't go, then I'll have no choice but to kill you." Qian Yu spoke coldly, abruptly raising his left hand.

Clang!

The kunai and Kubikiribōchō collided fiercely, scattering golden sparks.

Zabuza stared at the bald man, who had effortlessly blocked his blade, and his expression grew even more solemn.

"Die!"

The sharp Kubikiribōchō whistled through the air, slashing horizontally at the bald man's waist with a piercing roar.

Bang!

A sharp pain erupted in his abdomen, and Zabuza was sent flying by a kick. He even lost his grip on the Kubikiribōchō, which spun into the air.

Whoosh!

Zabuza was caught midair by Haku, but the moment they landed, the Kubikiribōchō was already pressed against their necks.

"If I had wanted to, you would already be dead."

Naruto spoke indifferently, tossing the Kubikiribōchō back to them before flying into the air again.

"You'd better do as I say. Otherwise..."

Naruto assumed the opening stance of the Kamehameha with both hands. A terrifying aura rose around him as his hands moved swiftly, and in the next instant, a fearsome Kamehameha blast slammed into the sea.

Boom!!

Terrifying waves churned violently as though struck by a typhoon. Carrying an overwhelming force, they swept in all directions.

Zabuza and Haku, who had been standing on the sea, watched the horrifying scene as their pupils shrank to pinpoints.

"Retreat! Quickly!"

Zabuza and Haku were utterly horrified. As they retreated at high speed, they remained wary of the man floating above them. If such a terrifying attack struck them, they would undoubtedly die.

"I'll give you one minute to consider it. Go back and fight the Konoha people, or die here?" Naruto said calmly, aiming his right hand at Zabuza below.

"No need to consider it. We'll fight the Konoha people, but do we really only need to stay for five minutes?" Zabuza watched Naruto's right hand warily.

"Yes."

"Fine. We'll go immediately."

After speaking, Zabuza took Haku and retreated some distance before turning and running toward the Land of Waves Bridge.

"Pretty obedient. I'll spare your lives, then. But seriously, Zabuza is really weak."

Naruto flew into the clouds, speeding toward the bridge before quickly transforming back into his original form and heading there.

Land of Waves Bridge.

Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, and the others were there inspecting the bridge's construction. Kakashi's face was somewhat dark, while Sakura stood far away from him.

A moment later.

Sakura saw Naruto walking over from the distance and asked in confusion, "Naruto, where did you go?"

"I went for a walk. What's wrong with you guys? The atmosphere feels a little strange." Naruto was puzzled, wondering whether he had revealed some flaw.

"Naruto, let me tell you, Kakashi-sensei really might have kidney deficiency." Sakura walked over to Naruto and whispered.

"Kidney deficiency? Why?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Sasuke and I discovered that Kakashi-sensei was secretly reading Make-Out Paradise. Maybe he often spies on young girls bathing. That's so disgusting. I need to stay far away from him when I bathe from now on."

Sakura spoke indignantly, looking thoroughly outraged. She even glared fiercely at Kakashi.

"This..."

Naruto could not help feeling both amused and helpless. He looked at Kakashi's dark face, then at Sasuke's strange expression, and felt that Kakashi's reputation had been completely ruined.

"Ahem, you've misunderstood Kakashi. He just likes reading Make-Out Paradise. It doesn't mean he has kidney deficiency." Naruto explained on his behalf.

"Naruto, you don't need to defend him. We all saw it. We understand."

Sakura replied, clearly convinced that Kakashi had kidney deficiency.

Naruto shook his head at her attitude. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly turned toward the sea. "Zabuza and Haku are coming."

"Stay alert!"

Kakashi already trusted Naruto's senses greatly, so the moment he heard Naruto's words, he immediately ordered everyone to be on guard.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zabuza and Haku flashed forward, standing before Kakashi and the others with cold expressions.

"Zabuza's helper?" Seeing Haku, Kakashi quickly lifted his forehead protector, exposing his Sharingan as he watched them warily.

From their previous battle, Kakashi knew that Zabuza was no weakling. Now that he had a helper, he would be even harder to deal with.

More importantly, they had to protect the old man Tazuna. Facing Zabuza with an ally, Kakashi had to be even more cautious.

Sasuke and Sakura beside him were also highly alert, gripping their weapons as they stared fixedly at the two, ready for a sudden attack at any moment.

But.

One minute passed, and the two still stood there silently, watching them coldly.

Two minutes passed, and they still stood there silently without moving.

Three minutes passed, and they were still standing motionless, like stone statues.

This strange behavior left Kakashi, Sasuke, and the others baffled. It felt as if their opponents were brewing some sort of scheme.

Naruto, on the other hand, shook his head speechlessly. Zabuza and Haku were clearly planning to stay there for five minutes to avoid a conflict.

Naruto did not interfere.

Since he gained Experience Points as long as they appeared here, he simply let them choose freely.

"Zabuza, what are you plotting?" Kakashi demanded.

"Heh heh." Zabuza gave a cold laugh, wearing an unfathomable expression.

"This..."

Hearing that laugh, Kakashi frowned slightly. He felt that Zabuza was definitely up to something, so he became even more vigilant.

Time continued to pass, and five minutes soon went by. At that moment, Zabuza finally drew the Kubikiribōchō from his back.

"Kill!"

Zabuza roared, swinging the Kubikiribōchō at Kakashi. The two instantly exchanged a close-range clash before returning to their original positions.

At that moment, the atmosphere turned grave, because even Haku had assumed a fighting stance.

The two sides were locked in a tense standoff.

But right then.

Just as Kakashi, Sasuke, and the others believed a life-and-death battle was about to begin.

Zabuza and Haku suddenly shot into the distance, fleeing into the forest after only a few leaps.

Caw!

An eerie silence fell over the scene. Kakashi and the others stared blankly at what had happened, their minds in complete disarray.

They wanted to ask: You came here just to stand around for five minutes? Just to take one swing and run away? Were you idiots?

Kakashi shook his head speechlessly and asked, "Naruto, are they still nearby?"

"They left. They took a boat and departed the Land of Waves," Naruto replied.

"They left? They departed the Land of Waves?" Kakashi's mind became even more muddled. Everything that had happened today seemed utterly unreasonable.

"Yes. If you don't believe me, go look for yourself. All right, I'm going to sleep."

Naruto yawned and turned toward the nearby grove. He lay on his back in the grass and began checking his Data Panel.

During that brief encounter, he had already absorbed everyone's Experience Points. In fact, he had finished absorbing them all by the fourth minute.

All of their Experience Orbs had shattered, so he needed to find new targets to absorb from. Of course, Sasuke and Sakura were special; their Experience Orbs would recover after some time, but he would have to wait.

I'll make do with gaining Experience Points for now. Once I return to the village, I'll continue making contact with those minor characters. Oh, right, there's also him! Naruto suddenly thought of someone.