Recruiting an Exceptional Tool, Zabuza Flees in Terror

The delicate body in his arms trembled violently, consumed by extreme terror and shame.

The shattered mask fell into the water, its ripples seeming to stir monstrous waves in everyone's hearts.

Time stood still.

On the bridge.

Sakura Haruno's mouth formed an "O," but the scream about to leave her lips was forcibly caught in her throat, turning into a meaningless, "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 beautiful enough to dim the moonlight itself. His worldview was collapsing, rebuilding, then collapsing again at unprecedented speed!

That absurdly powerful assassin... was a woman?

And damn it... she was prettier than Ino and Sakura... no, prettier than every woman he had ever seen?!

What the hell kind of development was this?!

Within the ruins of the Water Prison Technique, Kakashi Hatake's sole remaining dead-fish eye had widened to its limit, his eyelid twitching frantically.

He felt that all the common sense and experience he had accumulated over decades as a ninja had been ground into dust today by his student, Naruto Uzumaki.

A student who was practically a humanoid Tailed Beast... who had kicked apart an A-rank Water Release... and now this ruthless Hidden Mist Demon partner turned out to be a peerless beauty disguised as a man...

Damn it!

Was he leading genin, or some sightseeing group for gods fighting each other?!

The absurdity of this C-rank mission could already be reported as an S-rank emergency!

Amid the dead silence, Naruto moved.

Ignoring everyone frozen in shock, he merely lowered his head and leisurely admired the panicked face in his arms.

One arm wrapped around her slender, soft waist, while his other hand dominantly lifted the girl's chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"Tsk, you're this pretty, so why wear such an ugly mask?"

Naruto spoke teasingly, his azure eyes filled with pure, undisguised possessiveness.

Those frivolous words finally snapped the severely injured man out of his shock.

"Bastard! Let her go!"

Zabuza Momochi roared like a beast and struggled to rise. But the horrifying force contained in Naruto's earlier kick, which had shattered the Water Prison Technique, had already broken many bones throughout his body. The slightest movement brought pain so agonizing that his vision darkened, leaving him without even the strength to grip the Kubikiribōchō.

"Let her go?"

Naruto laughed when he heard that, his smile incomparably arrogant.

His gaze passed over the girl's head and locked onto Zabuza's face, which was 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. Now that you can't even protect your own life, this top-tier tool belongs to me, Naruto Uzumaki!"

As his words fell, Naruto stopped wasting breath. His gaze abruptly turned cold, and terrifying killing intent, like mountains of corpses and seas of blood, erupted!

"Now, you can get lost."

"Or die here. I'll personally bury you and that broken blade of yours in this bridge pillar."

Boom—!

That killing intent, condensed purely from the power of his blood and spirit, struck the water like a tangible heavy hammer!

The water within several meters actually sank into a shallow depression beneath that invisible pressure!

Zabuza Momochi's entire body shook violently. Unable to suppress it any longer, he spat out a mouthful of blood!

Fear!

Unprecedented fear instantly drowned all his fury and resentment!

What... what kind of monster was this?!

This was not a ninja's killing intent at all!

This was the pressure of an ancient beast!

His pride, the Silent Killing Technique, was as fragile as paper before this pure, savage, utterly unreasonable violence!

Run!

He had only one thought left.

Yet when Zabuza looked at Haku, immobilized in Naruto's arms, the cheap dignity of being her "master" made him hesitate for a moment.

"What a pain."

Naruto curled his lips impatiently.

Holding Haku with one arm, he casually raised his free right hand.

"Buzz—!"

A high-density sphere of spinning blue chakra appeared in his palm out of thin air, formed without a single hand seal!

The chakra sphere radiated destructive energy. Its violent power tore through the surrounding air, producing a piercing shriek!

Even the mist above the water was churned into an enormous vortex by that spinning force!

Rasengan!

Perfect version!

Instant cast with one hand!

[Ding! S-rank ninjutsu "Rasengan (Perfect Version)" has been displayed in actual combat for the first time! Power: A+ rank. Chakra consumption: Extremely low. Trait: Can be integrated with any elemental nature transformation.]

Zabuza's eyes, already blurred from blood loss, shrank to pinpoints the instant he saw that blue sphere!

As an elite jonin of Kirigakure, how could he not recognize the signature technique of the Hidden Leaf's Yellow Flash?!

This brat... could actually instant-cast the Rasengan one-handed?!

That was an S-rank ninjutsu that even the Fourth Hokage needed time to prepare!

The final straw had appeared.

Zabuza clenched his teeth until they cracked, blood foam trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He shot Naruto a venomous glare, then looked at the empty eyes in Naruto's arms, eyes that had lost all light.

In the end, he said nothing.

"Bang!"

Using the last of his strength, Zabuza performed the Body Flicker Technique and fled in disgrace as a cloud of water mist.

He even abandoned the Kubikiribōchō, the sword he cherished as dearly as his life!

Watching the figure who had abandoned her without hesitation and fled alone, the light in Haku's eyes completely faded.

The "bond" she had always believed in, the bond for which she had given everything... was actually nothing more than this.

When she had been captured by an enemy, the person she considered "most important" had treated her like disposable garbage and fled without looking back.

Ha... how laughable.

Two clear tears slid silently down her exquisite cheeks.

Just as she felt her world completely collapse and herself about to fall into an endless abyss, a warm finger gently yet firmly wiped away the tears on her face.

"Don't cry."

A low, slightly husky, magnetic voice sounded beside her ear.

"From today onward, you're no longer anyone's tool."

Naruto pulled her soft body closer and lowered his head, making a domineering declaration beside her ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"You belong only to me, Naruto Uzumaki."

A pure Yang Release chakra, as blazing as the sun, slowly flowed into Haku's body through the skin where they touched.

That warmth dispersed the bone-chilling cold brought by her years of cultivating Ice Release, and it also wrapped around her cold, shattered heart.

In the darkest, most despairing abyss of her life, this man who had just been so rough with her 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 experienced an extreme sense of safety and belonging. Her emotions have undergone a dramatic transformation!]

[Current Favorability: 90 (Unwavering for Life)!]

[Ding! Favorability has surpassed 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, possessing the terrifying effect of freezing chakra and souls!]

A new power, cold yet powerful, surged through Naruto's body and perfectly merged with his originally blazing vitality, creating a marvelous balance of ice and fire.

It worked!

Feeling the girl in his arms completely soften and bury her head against his chest, as well as the new power surging within him, Naruto could no longer restrain himself and threw back his head with a wild, uninhibited laugh!

"Hahahaha—!!"

His laughter echoed across the empty bridge, filled with the thrill of conquest!

A moment later, Naruto reined in his laughter. Carrying Haku, who was now as obedient as a kitten, he turned to face the utterly dumbfounded members of Team 7 and lifted his chin.

"Kakashi-sensei, write the mission report however you want. Just say that I, Naruto Uzumaki, took down the Hidden Mist Demon alone and picked up a maid while I was at it."

He glanced at the massive Kubikiribōchō on the ground and nudged it disdainfully with the tip of his foot.

"This junk metal can be taken to a ninja tool shop later to see how much it'll sell for. I'm a little short on cash."

With that, he slung Haku over his shoulder and swaggered toward Tazuna's house, leaving behind teammates who were a complete mess.

"A... a maid?"

Kakashi felt like his brain was no longer enough.

Meanwhile, Sasuke stared fixedly at Naruto's departing back, then at the Kubikiribōchō on the ground that radiated an ominous aura. His hands dug so deeply into his palms that they drew blood.

The gap...

So this was the chasm-like gap between him and Naruto...?