The Essence of Ninja Is Deception, and Ninjutsu Is the Art of Deceit

Haku seemed not to hear Naruto. He darted back and forth through several Ice Mirrors, seemingly preparing a killing move.

"Hey, hey, what exactly are you trying to do?" Naruto had a bad feeling and hurriedly said to Sasuke, "Sasuke! Blast the Ice Mirrors with fire!"

Just as Sasuke was about to use a Fire Release technique, Haku turned into a streak of white and charged at him, intending to take Sasuke out first. After all, Sasuke's Fire Release posed an enormous threat to the Ice Mirrors.

Sasuke had long wanted to shatter the Ice Mirrors in one blow, but Haku's movements were simply too bizarre. Like a phantom, he moved between the mirrors and launched unexpected sneak attacks, leaving Sasuke trapped within them all this time.

"With me here, don't think you can lay a finger on Sasuke!" Naruto formed hand seals and shouted, "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

So what if you were fast? Even if you were so fast I couldn't see you, I'd just fill this entire space with Shadow Clones until you couldn't even squeeze through.

Naruto made up his mind, poured a massive amount of chakra into the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and released over a hundred Shadow Clones in one go.

Haku was startled, and Sasuke was utterly dumbfounded. More than a hundred Narutos, along with Sasuke and Haku, were all crammed into the narrow space enclosed by the Ice Mirrors.

"How's that?" Naruto's real body said with difficulty, nearly crushed to the point of suffocation. "This is called the Big-City Subway-Crush Technique! Tell me, are you scared or not? Don't think you ninjas are the only ones who suffer every day."

At that moment, Haku was tightly squeezed between more than a dozen Naruto Shadow Clones. No matter how he struggled, there was not even an inch of room for him to move, as though he had been thrown into an ocean of Narutos.

"Naruto..." Sasuke's handsome face had been squashed out of shape. He said painfully, "Like this... I can't use Fire Release... I can't form hand seals..."

"At a time like this..." Naruto said, "there are no spare conditions for you. Hurry up and blast that Ice Mirror apart for me."

Sasuke still could not release his Fire Release, and Naruto snapped, "Sasuke! At the Ninja Academy, you graduated with perfect scores, at least..."

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Provoked by Naruto's words, Sasuke's powerful pride forced him to squeeze out a burst of fire.

Using Fire Release in such a cramped space actually boosted the technique's power by a level, producing a violent explosion. However, most of what was blown apart were Naruto's Shadow Clones.

"Run!" Naruto's first words after the Ice Mirror was destroyed were to urge Sasuke to flee with him.

Sasuke froze. Now that they had escaped, that boy's strength had been greatly reduced without the Ice Mirrors. Combined with Sasuke's newly awakened Sharingan, if he coordinated well with Naruto, they could easily turn the tables on him.

"Why are we running?"

Faced with Sasuke's question, Naruto thought, I only set this up to make you awaken your eyes. I never planned to fight to the death... Now that Sasuke has successfully awakened the Sharingan, why wouldn't we get out of here?

Naruto ignored Sasuke and sprinted ahead. Sasuke had no choice but to follow him.

Without realizing it, Sasuke had already acknowledged Naruto. In a ninja squad, the person who controlled the overall situation often naturally became the team leader. At this moment, Sasuke had subconsciously come to regard Naruto as Team Seven's leader.

Sasuke caught up with him and asked, "Why are we running? What are you planning? Aren't we going to deal with the guy chasing us?"

Naruto turned around and called out to Haku, "Haku! Elite Jonin Kakashi is in that direction. If you've got the guts, chase us. Then the three of us will gang up on you. Come after us if you're not afraid to die."

Haku stopped in his tracks and stood motionless.

"Hurry and find the tycoon Kado. Zabuza Momochi might be about to die at his hands," Naruto added.

"Naruto, what are you talking about?" Sasuke clearly could not understand.

At that moment, inside a fishing warehouse not far away, Kakashi was staring blankly at the hemp rope on the floor. It had originally bound the injured Zabuza Momochi, but Zabuza had now vanished without a trace.

Kakashi wore a troubled expression. The Demon of the Hidden Mist had escaped; whether that was a blessing or a curse, no one knew. This mission truly had one problem after another.

Zabuza Momochi was a ninja from the Hidden Mist Village of the Land of Water. During his Ninja Academy graduation exam as a child, he slaughtered all his classmates by himself, killing every competing student and becoming first in the class. From then on, he earned the title of Demon.

Later, after failing to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage as an adult, he defected from the Hidden Mist Village and became a wanderer without a home.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Haku faced each other from a distance. They glared at one another, neither daring to make a rash move.

Haku spoke first. "Zabuza Momochi is still alive?"

"Mm." Naruto said, "He's alive for now. As for a little later, who knows?"

Haku immediately turned and left, leaving Naruto and Sasuke standing where they were. Sasuke said unhappily, "The two of us could clearly defeat him. Why did you let him go?"

"Have you forgotten what our mission is?" Naruto said with a grin. "It's only a C-rank mission. We're not getting much money from that old man, so why should we risk our lives fighting someone?"

Sasuke was rendered speechless. He felt conflicted inside. Naruto was obviously very strong, so why was he afraid to fight now? That was nothing like a ninja.

"Why did you learn ninjutsu?" Sasuke asked. "Isn't learning ninjutsu for fighting? To kill the people you want to kill?"

"Well, let me think." Naruto frowned. "The essence of ninja is deception, and ninjutsu is the art of deceit. If I can deceive the people who ought to be deceived, then my technique has succeeded."

Sasuke did not understand at all and shouted angrily, "What art of deceit? How can deceit defeat an enemy?"

"Just wait and see." Naruto said meaningfully, "That tycoon Kado probably won't live past tonight. We won't even need to make a move. This mission will be completed ahead of schedule."

Naruto looked at the full moon rising in the distance and said, "Battles between ninja do not necessarily require close combat or ninjutsu being hurled everywhere. The most terrifying ninjutsu is manipulating people's hearts."

At that moment, Naruto recalled what had happened several hours earlier. He had gone alone to the tycoon Kado's base and first used the Transformation Technique to turn into Haku.

After transforming into Haku, Naruto went before Kado. Kado was a huge fat man, covered in gold and silver, radiating the air of a wealthy magnate.

A gang of more than a hundred thugs surrounded Kado. No one knew how much money Kado spent every day keeping this band of desperate men on his payroll.

When Kado saw Haku return, he asked, "How did the mission go? Tazuna is dead, right? Why isn't Zabuza here?"

Naruto, transformed into Haku, said, "The mission failed. Tazuna is still alive. Zabuza was seriously injured and will return later to recover."

Kado bit through the cigar in his mouth, spat out the cigar end along with a mouthful of phlegm, and then said, "You failed and still have the nerve to come back? You couldn't even kill an old man, yet you dare brag about how capable you are and call yourselves demons..."

"Give us another chance." Naruto, transformed into Haku, said, "Since Zabuza was seriously injured, he needs money to treat his wounds. The payment should be increased."

"Ha ha ha ha!" Kado burst into laughter. "You didn't complete the mission, and you still have the nerve to ask for more money? Do you know why I hire rogue ninja? Because you're cheap, dirt cheap. I didn't expect you to be this useless. Why should I waste any more money on you?"