Severely Wounding Elite Jonin Zabuza Momochi

The moment Naruto finished speaking, a man's mocking, vicious voice came from outside the door, piercing through the salty sea breeze and stabbing straight into everyone's ears.

"Yo, yo, yo! Kid, you've got some impressive moves! To be this skilled at such a young age, you really are worthy of being from Konoha! That place always produces plenty of talented youngsters, but... quite a few of them die young too!"

Everyone immediately tensed and strode out of the teahouse.

The wind by the sea suddenly died, and wisps of white mist rolled in from the ocean at a terrifying speed.

In the blink of an eye, the beach beneath their feet, the distant reefs, and even the sunlight overhead were swallowed by dense white fog, reducing visibility to less than three meters.

Damp, icy cold crept up their pant legs, carrying a blood stench so thick it made it hard to breathe.

Kakashi slowly pulled down his forehead protector. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his left eye snapped open, crimson as blood, staring fixedly into the depths of the fog. His voice was as heavy as iron. "Looks like we've run into someone formidable."

"The Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi."

The white fog churned violently as a tall black silhouette slowly emerged.

The man's face was wrapped in bandages, and he carried the man-sized Executioner's Blade over his shoulder. Its surface was covered in rust, yet it radiated killing intent cold enough to freeze bone.

He glanced at Kakashi's Sharingan and let out a low sneer. "Oh, I wouldn't dare. With my little bit of skill, I'm not worth shit compared to the famous Copy Ninja Kakashi."

"I was paid to do a job. I'm only here for Tazuna's life."

Zabuza raised the tip of his blade slightly, pointing it at the old man cowering behind the group. "Kakashi, since the mission was fake, you take the high road and I'll take the narrow path. Take these three brats and get the hell back to Konoha. We stay out of each other's way. How about it?"

Kakashi's fingers twitched, and a kunai slid into his palm. There was not a trace of compromise in his tone. "No."

He turned sideways and swept his gaze over Naruto and the other two, his voice more serious than ever. "Be careful. This is the real deal! He's not like the trash from before. This one really eats people!"

Before he finished speaking, Zabuza's figure vanished into the white fog!

There was no sound of wind, no chakra fluctuation. He had pushed the Hidden Mist Silent Killing Technique to its absolute limit.

By the time everyone reacted, the Executioner's Blade, capable of cleaving through steel, was already crashing down at Naruto—the closest target—with earth-shattering force!

"Naruto! Watch out!" Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply. Chakra erupted from him as he prepared to rush forward and block it.

But the instant he moved, a blur flashed before his eyes!

Clang!

A deafening metallic crash exploded, sparks bursting through the white fog as the shockwave scattered the surrounding mist.

Naruto stood where he was. At some point, a cold-glinting short blade had appeared in his hand—the Nine-Life Demon Tail Blade. Its edge caught precisely in a notch of the Executioner's Blade, forcibly stopping that devastating strike!

The sand beneath his feet sank half an inch, but his body remained as steady as a mountain. He did not even furrow his brow.

"Perfect. I can practice my swordsmanship."

Naruto raised his eyes, a wild smile curling across his lips. There was no fear in his gaze, only eager excitement.

Zabuza's pupils shrank. He clearly had not expected this brat to block his blade head-on.

He had fought for more than a decade, and plenty of Jonin had died beneath his blade. Yet today, a twelve-year-old brat had stopped his killing blow?

Rage shot straight to his head. With a savage twist of his wrist, he swung the Executioner's Blade sideways with overwhelming force. Every strike targeted a vital point, every slash carrying the murderous aura forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Yet Naruto not only refused to retreat—he charged straight into the blade!

There was not a shred of flourish in his swordsmanship. Every move was direct and vicious, killing moves that even traded injury for injury. His blade always aimed for Zabuza's throat, heart, and other fatal points.

If you slash at my shoulder, I'll stab you right in the crotch. It was a completely suicidal style!

The ringing of steel against steel continued without pause as sparks burst one after another in the white fog.

No one had expected a Genin who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy to trade blows in close-quarters sword combat with one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's Demon, and with his desperate style, even faintly suppress Zabuza!

"Brat! Who taught you that kind of swordsmanship? Why is it so filthy?!"

The more Zabuza fought, the more alarmed he became. He could see that Naruto's swordsmanship was still rough, but his grasp of timing and killing intent was more ruthless than that of many old hands who had spent decades in the assassination world!

Most importantly, the kid's sword was too underhanded. Every strike seemed determined to make sure Zabuza never had children!

With one fierce slash, he forced Naruto back and roared, "You brat whose balls haven't even dropped yet, and you dare play with a blade in front of me? I'll teach you how to use a sword!"

"Teach me?"

Naruto sneered and closed in again. His blade skimmed past Zabuza's neck, drawing a thin line of blood. "With your skill? After chopping people for over a decade, all you know is how to swing with brute force. You think you're qualified to teach me?"

"The Demon of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen? Looks like this is all you've got." Naruto twisted his blade and blocked the Executioner's Blade again. The contempt in his voice pierced Zabuza's heart like needles. "You're the perfect live target to sharpen my blade on. Better hold out for a few more moves. Don't go down too easily."

The moment those words left his mouth, Zabuza was completely enraged!

When had he ever been humiliated like this by a brat?!

"You're dead!"

Water-natured chakra exploded around Zabuza. The sand beneath his feet was instantly soaked as he kicked Naruto's blade hard, using the recoil to leap backward while his hands flew through seals.

The surrounding white fog suddenly thickened like ink, completely obscuring everyone's vision.

"Not good! It's the Hidden Mist Silent Killing Technique!" Kakashi's expression changed drastically. His Sharingan spun wildly, yet he could only catch vague afterimages in the white fog. "Naruto! Fall back, now!"

"Kakashi-sensei, I kind of like this feeling!" Naruto not only did not retreat, he closed his eyes instead. Kagura Mind's Eye spread out instantly, and not the slightest chakra fluctuation within a hundred meters could escape his senses.

Within the white fog, the sound of Zabuza's hand seals suddenly stopped. A furious shout pierced the mist:

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Rumble!

A wall of water dozens of meters high crashed down at them like a tsunami!

This was a genuine A-rank ninjutsu, powerful enough to instantly wash away a small mountain. Any ordinary ninja struck by it would be torn to pieces on the spot!

"Seriously? What era is this? You still need both hands to weave seals for a ninjutsu?"

Naruto's teasing voice rang out through the watery mist. He suddenly opened his eyes and raised both hands. His left and right hands formed two completely different sets of seals at the same time!

That single feat of weaving two sets of seals simultaneously left Kakashi staring in shock!

Hand seals required complete unity of mind and focus. One sequence corresponded to one ninjutsu. Forming two entirely different sets at once required chakra control and mental strength so extreme that it was practically impossible!

"Dual Technique Fusion."

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The two ninjutsu erupted simultaneously!

A violent hurricane carrying countless incomparably sharp wind blades slammed head-on into the towering wall of water!

Wind naturally countered water, and this was the combined eruption of two Wind Release techniques. Its power soared directly to the peak of A-rank!

The water wall that had seemed capable of swallowing everything was torn apart from the middle by the blue-gold torrent of wind blades! Water vapor exploded across the sky, falling like a torrential downpour.

"Impossible!" Zabuza stared at his shredded Water Release, disbelief filling his eyes. "How can a brat use Wind Release to this extent?!"

Before he could recover from his shock, two attacks were already blasting toward him at once!

Kakashi's figure flashed through the water mist. His Sharingan had already copied Zabuza's seals, and his hands formed them twice as fast!

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

The same technique was even more powerful in Kakashi's hands! A reversed wall of water instantly crashed toward Zabuza!

On the other side, Sasuke's Two-Tomoe Sharingan had already locked onto Zabuza's position. Chakra gathered wildly in his mouth as he shouted:

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The roaring flames swelled several times over in the wind. Fire borrowed the wind's might, and the wind fed the fire as it swept toward Zabuza!

In the ninja world, there had never been such a thing as a fair one-on-one duel.

Winning was all that mattered!

The three-pronged assault of water, fire, and wind instantly sealed off every route Zabuza could use to evade!

Even as an Elite Jonin, facing three capable ninja working together, he had no chance of victory at all!

Zabuza was caught between attacks from both directions with nowhere to run. He took the aftershock of the Great Fireball head-on, half his clothes catching fire as blood sprayed from his mouth and his body staggered.

Just as Kakashi's kunai was about to pierce his throat!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Countless senbon needles tore through the air from the white fog, striking precisely along the paths of Kakashi's and Sasuke's attacks and forcibly driving both offensives back.

Then, a slender youth with delicate features beautiful enough to resemble a girl flashed out of the fog. The senbon in his hand shot out again, forcing back Naruto as he tried to advance, before he caught the injured Zabuza.

"Zabuza-san, let's go." The youth's voice was cool, carrying unquestionable resolve.

The white fog churned again, becoming so dense that they could not see their own hands.

When the mist dispersed, the two had already vanished, leaving only a few scattered drops of blood on the ground.

Sasuke gripped his kunai and prepared to give chase, but Naruto raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't chase them."

Sasuke frowned deeply and looked at Naruto. "Why? We could have kept them there!"

Naruto said nothing. He only watched the direction in which the two had disappeared, his fingers lightly brushing the hilt of his blade as a meaningful glint flashed in his eyes.