The delicate body in his arms trembled violently, gripped by extreme terror and shame.
The shattered mask fell into the water, its ripples seeming to stir monstrous waves in everyone's heart.
Time stood still.
On the bridge.
Sakura Haruno's mouth formed an "O," but the scream about to escape her lips got stuck in her throat, turning into an incoherent, "Eh... eh?!"
Sasuke Uchiha's mind completely crashed. His newly awakened One-Tomoe Sharingan stared fixedly at the breathtakingly beautiful face on the water's surface, a face so stunning it dimmed even the moonlight. His entire worldview was collapsing, rebuilding, then collapsing again at an unprecedented speed!
That absurdly powerful assassin... was a woman?
And fucking... prettier than Ino and Sakura... no, prettier than every woman he had ever seen?!
What the hell kind of development was this?!
Amid the Water Prison ruins, Kakashi Hatake's one remaining dead-fish eye had widened to its limit, his eyelid twitching wildly.
He felt that all the common sense and experience he had accumulated over decades as a ninja had, in these brief few dozen minutes, been repeatedly smashed into the ground and ground to dust by his student, Naruto Uzumaki!
A student who was basically a humanoid Tailed Beast... who had kicked apart an A-rank Water Release... and now this ruthless Demon of the Hidden Mist partner was actually a peerless beauty disguised as a man...
Fuck!
Was he leading Genin, or a sightseeing group for gods fighting each other?!
The absurdity of this C-rank mission was enough to report it as an S-rank emergency, wasn't it?!
In the dead silence, Naruto moved.
He ignored the petrified crowd and merely lowered his head, studying the panicked face in his arms with interest.
One arm wrapped around her soft, slender waist, while his other hand domineeringly lifted the girl's chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"Seriously, with a face that pretty, why wear such an ugly mask?"
Naruto spoke teasingly, his blue eyes filled with pure, undisguised possessiveness.
Those frivolous words finally snapped the heavily wounded man out of his shock.
"Bastard! Let her go!"
Zabuza Momochi let out a beastlike roar and struggled to rise. But the terrifying force carried by Naruto's earlier kick, which had shattered the Water Prison, had already broken bones throughout his body. The slightest movement brought heart-rending pain that darkened his vision, leaving him without even the strength to grip Kubikiribōchō.
"Let her go?"
Naruto laughed at that, his smile incomparably arrogant.
His gaze crossed over the girl's head and locked onto Zabuza's face, filled with resentment and fury.
"Zabuza Momochi, didn't you always treat her as a tool?"
"Since she's a tool, it depends on whose fist is harder. Right now, you can't even save your own life. This top-tier tool is mine now, Naruto Uzumaki's!"
As his words fell, Naruto stopped wasting breath. His gaze turned cold, and a terrifying killing intent, like mountains of corpses and seas of blood, erupted explosively!
"Now, you can get lost."
"Or die here. I'll personally bury you and that broken blade of yours inside this bridge pier."
Boom—!
That killing intent, condensed purely from the power of his blood and vitality and his mental will, slammed into the water like a tangible heavy hammer!
The water within several meters was actually forced down by that invisible pressure, forming a shallow depression!
Zabuza Momochi's entire body shook violently, and he could no longer suppress the blood rising in his throat. It sprayed from his mouth!
Fear!
Unprecedented fear instantly drowned all his rage and unwillingness!
What... what kind of monster was this?!
This wasn't a ninja's killing intent at all!
This was the pressure of an ancient beast!
His prized Silent Killing Technique was as fragile as paper before this pure, savage, utterly unreasonable violence!
Run!
He had to run!
Only that thought remained in Zabuza's mind.
Yet when he glanced at Haku, unable to move in Naruto's arms, the cheap dignity he clung to as her "master" made him hesitate for an instant.
"What a pain."
Naruto clicked his tongue impatiently.
Holding Haku with one arm, he casually raised his free right hand.
"Buzz—!"
A dense, spinning sphere of blue chakra formed in his palm out of thin air without a single hand seal!
The chakra sphere radiated a destructive aura. Violent energy tore through the surrounding air, producing a piercing shriek!
Even the mist over the entire water surface was churned by that spinning force into a massive vortex!
Rasengan!
Perfect version!
Instant cast with one hand!
[ Ding! First combat display of the S-rank ninjutsu "Rasengan (Perfect Version)"! Power: A+ rank. Chakra consumption: Extremely low. Trait: Can incorporate any elemental nature transformation. ]
Zabuza's eyes, slightly blurred from blood loss, shrank to pinpoints the moment he saw that blue sphere!
As an elite Jonin of Kirigakure, how could he possibly fail to recognize the signature technique of the Hidden Leaf's Yellow Flash?!
This brat... could instantly cast the Rasengan with one hand?!
That was an S-rank ninjutsu that even the Fourth Hokage needed time to prepare!
The final straw had appeared.
Zabuza gritted his teeth until they nearly shattered, blood foam trickling down from the corner of his mouth.
He shot Naruto a venomous glare, then looked at Haku in Naruto's arms, at those hollow eyes that had lost all their light.
In the end, he said nothing.
"Bang!"
Zabuza used the last of his strength to perform the Body Flicker Technique, turning into a cloud of water mist as he fled in disgrace.
He even abandoned Kubikiribōchō, the blade he regarded as his life, where it lay!
Watching that back vanish without hesitation after abandoning her and fleeing alone, the light in Haku's eyes completely dimmed.
The "bond" she had always believed in, the one for which she had given everything... was apparently nothing more than this.
When she had been captured by an enemy, her "most important person" had treated her like trash that could be discarded at any moment, fleeing without looking back.
Ha... how laughable.
Two trails of clear tears silently slid down her exquisite cheeks.
Just as she felt her world completely collapsing and herself about to fall into an endless abyss, a warm finger gently, yet with undeniable force, wiped away the tears on her face.
"Don't cry."
A low voice, slightly hoarse yet magnetic, sounded by her ear.
"From today onward, you're no one's tool anymore."
Naruto held her trembling body tighter and lowered his head, making a domineering declaration into her ear in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"You belong only to me, Naruto Uzumaki."
A scorching, pure Yang Release Chakra, like the sun itself, slowly flowed into Haku's body through the skin where they touched.
That warmth dispelled the bone-deep chill brought on by her years of cultivating Ice Release and wrapped around her cold, shattered heart.
In the darkest, most despairing depths of her abyss, this man who had just been so rough forced his way in like a beam of light, illuminating her entire world.
Haku stopped trembling and raised her head dazedly, looking at the handsome, domineering face so close before her.
[ Ding! Target: Haku (Yuki Haku), has felt an extreme sense of security and belonging. Her emotions have undergone a dramatic transformation! ] [ Current Favorability: 90 (Unwavering for Life)! ] [ Ding! Favorability has exceeded 80, achieving an exceptional bond! Congratulations, Host, you have received a bond critical-hit reward: S-rank Kekkei Genkai · Extreme Cold Ice Release (Perfect Fusion Version)! ] [ Extreme Cold Ice Release (Perfect Fusion Version): The Host will perfectly inherit and optimize Haku's Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, with no rejection or side effects. The Host's Ice Release will carry the Yang Release traits of the Perfect Sage Body, granting it the terrifying ability to freeze chakra and souls! ]
A brand-new, cold yet powerful force surged through Naruto's body in an instant, blending perfectly with his originally scorching power of blood and vitality to create a wondrous balance of ice and fire.
It worked!
Feeling the girl in his arms completely soften and bury her head in his chest, while sensing the new power surging through his body, Naruto could no longer hold himself back. He threw back his head and let out a wild, unrestrained laugh!
"Hahahahaha—!!"
His laughter echoed across the empty bridge, filled with the exhilaration of conquest!
A moment later, Naruto reined in his laughter. Holding the now docile, kitten-like Haku, he turned to look at the utterly dumbfounded members of Team 7 and lifted his chin.
"Kakashi-sensei, you write the mission report however you want. Just say that I, Naruto Uzumaki, took down the Demon of the Hidden Mist single-handedly and picked up a maid while I was at it."
He glanced at the massive Kubikiribōchō on the ground and disdainfully nudged it with the tip of his foot.
"This scrap metal, take it to a ninja tool shop later and see how much it can fetch. I'm a little short on cash."
With that, he carried Haku over his shoulder and swaggered off toward Tazuna's house, leaving behind teammates who were thoroughly blown away.
"A... a maid?"
Kakashi felt like his brain was no longer enough for this.
Sasuke, meanwhile, stared fixedly at Naruto's retreating back, then at Kubikiribōchō lying on the ground and radiating an ominous aura. His hands clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.
The gap...
So this was the chasm-like gap between him and Naruto...
Before you continue