Secret Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!

Inside the coffin, Zabuza screamed hysterically, as if he had seen something terrifying.

A second later.

The black coffin vanished. Blood streaming from his body, Zabuza Momochi crashed heavily to the ground.

"You said you'd cast aside every emotion, but you still have one, don't you? Fear." Standing atop the earthen pillar, Aogetsu Hyuga looked down with cool disdain at Zabuza, who lay dying in a pool of blood.

Black Coffin wasn't as strong as he'd imagined, but it was still useful. After all, he could unleash it instantly at no cost.

He could use it as a basic attack.

"Did... did we win?" Sakura Haruno climbed out of the wreckage and stared at the dying Zabuza in disbelief. "Aogetsu-sensei is ridiculous. He took down the enemy in one move."

"That... that was amazing! Aogetsu-sensei's move was so cool!" Stars sparkled in Naruto Uzumaki's eyes as he gazed excitedly at Aogetsu Hyuga.

What was that move? It was incredible!

"Aogetsu-sensei, teach me that move! I want to use cool moves too!" Naruto shouted.

He was utterly captivated by the Black Coffin Aogetsu had just used.

"Heh heh. If I could learn that move..." Naruto covered his mouth to stifle a laugh, stole a glance at Sakura beside him, then shot Sasuke a fierce glare.

If he learned it, then someday, when Team 7 was in danger, that smug Sasuke would be beaten to his knees and Sakura would be in peril.

Then Naruto Uzumaki would make a commanding entrance, casually unleash Black Coffin, and defeat the enemy with ease. Sakura would surely fall head over heels for him!

Perfect!

Just imagining it felt great!

He could see it now!

"Just watch from your knees, smug Sasuke. Heroes always arrive last." Lost in his fantasy, Naruto grinned foolishly and scratched his head, murmuring bashfully, "Heh heh... Sakura, I'm not that amazing."

Sasuke Uchiha frowned and silently cursed, What an idiot.

How could a genius of the Uchiha Clan like him ever be beaten to his knees by an enemy?

And how could an idiot like Naruto, dead last in their class, possibly learn the strange move Aogetsu-sensei had just used?

"Idiot Naruto! As if Sasuke would ever surrender on his knees to an enemy!" Sakura Haruno rolled up her sleeve and punched Naruto hard.

Thud! Naruto hit the ground, a large bump swelling on his head.

"Keep picking on Sasuke and I'll hit you again!" Sakura shook her little fist and glared at Naruto.

Naruto sat up, clutching his swollen head. "Sakura, you already did," he said miserably.

Damn it!

It's Sasuke this, Sasuke that, every day. What's so great about that smug jerk?

Once I get stronger, I'm going to knock him flat!

Seeing that the enemy had been defeated, Tazuna breathed a sigh of relief. "Young people sure have energy," he said, taking a drink.

He had known Aogetsu might be strong, but he had never imagined he was this absurdly strong!

He had defeated the Demon of Kirigakure with ease!

That was a member of the Seven Blade Swordsmen, a highly dangerous A-Rank Rogue Ninja!

"What a troublesome bunch of brats." Aogetsu glanced toward Team 7, who were still fooling around in the distance.

They want to learn Hadō: Black Coffin?

That's the reward I got for putting up with the trouble of training Team 7 every day.

The Nine-Tails brat hadn't even learned the basics yet, and he was already dreaming of pulling off the impressive stuff.

"Anyway, I should finish him off first." Aogetsu gripped the Kubikiribōchō and was about to teleport with lightning to strike Zabuza a few more times.

Hum! The entire lake froze in an instant. An astonishing chill filled the air as several sharp pillars of ice burst from the ground and shot toward Aogetsu at tremendous speed.

"Ice Shield?" Several ice pillars pierced Aogetsu's body, which flickered with azure lightning. He stood there calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"Ice Shield: Ice Rock Dome." A slender figure in a white mask appeared behind Aogetsu out of nowhere. With a fair-skinned hand, he formed Hand Seals at incredible speed.

Secret Ninja Art: Thousand Years of Death!

Rumble! The ground shook violently. Four walls of ice slowly rose, boxing Aogetsu in.

"Ice Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death." Yuki Haku changed his Hand Seals again. The intense cold around him condensed into countless sharp Senbon, which swarmed toward Aogetsu.

Countless ice Senbon passed through Aogetsu's lightning-form body, then scattered across the ground.

Aogetsu toyed with an ice Senbon. "A frightening move. I wonder what would happen if one hit me."

Seeing Aogetsu completely unharmed, Haku showed a flicker of surprise beneath his white mask.

"Aogetsu-sensei, I..." In the distance, Naruto drew a Kunai and was about to rush to Aogetsu's aid.

"Idiot. We'd only get in his way." Sasuke raised a hand to stop Naruto. Staring hard at Haku, he said coldly, "This guy... he's strong!"

Naruto's expression darkened. He slammed his fist against a tree trunk. "Damn it! Are we supposed to just stand here and watch?"

We've trained so hard. We've gotten stronger.

But when an enemy appears, can we only watch?

Damn it!

Sakura bit her lip and looked worriedly toward Aogetsu, who was surrounded by Ice Release techniques. "Aogetsu-sensei..."

"Secret Art: Shattering Ice Crystal." Haku leaped backward and clasped his fair-skinned hands together. A vast amount of Chakra surged from him, turning into a terrifying chill.

A foglike cloud of freezing air enveloped Aogetsu. It formed a huge, six-pointed crystal as large as a hill, sealing everything inside in a merciless deep freeze.

Of all the Ice Release moves he currently knew, this was the strongest and most dangerous—a secret art far more fearsome than Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!

After their first exchange, he had realized that Aogetsu's strength lay in a realm ordinary Ninja could scarcely reach.

He had to seize this chance and settle the fight at full strength in one burst. If he dragged it out, he was almost certain to lose!

"No need to go all out the moment we meet. We could at least build up to it. Rushing won't get you anywhere." Inside the hill-sized ice crystal, Aogetsu rubbed his chin and tapped the solid ice. Then he glanced at the frost on the back of his hand.

This cold can bypass my elemental form and strike my real body?

If I didn't have so much Chakra, I'd probably be an ice sculpture by now.

So Haku was hiding such an interesting move.

His overall strength should be around Weak Kage Level.

"Repulsion." Aogetsu raised a finger. Dark matter appeared at its tip, and a powerful Repulsive Force blasted outward from him in every direction.

Rumble! The entire lake shook violently. Cracks spread across the hill-sized ice crystal before the force blew it apart, sending huge chunks of ice flying everywhere.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Th-that's amazing! Aogetsu-sensei, I know that move! You sent me flying with it before!"

All of Team 7 felt a weight settle over them. Today had opened their eyes and made them realize just how powerful a Ninja Aogetsu-sensei was.

By all rights,

Team 7 should have been happy to have such a strong teacher.

But the three of them felt miserable.

Because the pressure was immense.

Throughout this mission, none of them had managed to do anything. From the moment that A-Rank Rogue Ninja appeared, the three of them had been nothing but a burden.

Aogetsu-sensei had even had to protect them while fighting the enemy.

That sense of helplessness weighed heavily on all three members of Team 7.

Power. I have to gain power! Sasuke's face darkened as he stared at the clash of extraordinary techniques over the distant lake. It was a level he could not yet hope to reach.

A burden?

I'm a burden?

What kind of joke is that?

Power!

I have to gain power!

"Without power, any ambition you have will become a joke people tell over drinks." Aogetsu glanced at the dejected Team 7 in the distance.

They feel inferior because I'm so strong?

Kids really are easy to handle.

I'll deepen that sense of helplessness, then get them to complete the Master-Disciple Mission and earn me more rewards.

"That last move was interesting. You have something stronger, don't you?" Aogetsu looked back at Haku and chuckled. "Are you playing the cold, expressionless type? Personally, I prefer cheerful women."

Haku said nothing. He simply stared at Aogetsu in disbelief.

"You could at least say something," Aogetsu said, sounding bored. "Let's have a nice chat."

"..." Haku remained silent. Behind his mask, he gazed at Aogetsu in stunned disbelief.

Aogetsu looked mildly surprised. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't realize that was your strongest move. If I'd known, I would've pretended to struggle a little."

He truly hadn't realized it was Haku's strongest move. That was why he had broken through the Ice Release technique so casually.

If he'd known, he would have acted like it was difficult and spent a little more time playing along.

Aogetsu slipped a hand into his pocket and took something out.

Haku remained silent, but his slender body trembled slightly. Seeing Aogetsu's movement, he sprang backward, putting a long distance between them as he watched warily to see what Aogetsu had drawn.

Haku stared at him, then saw that it was a lollipop.

"..." Haku said nothing.

Aogetsu put the lollipop in his mouth. "Am I that scary?"

"You talk too much," Haku said coolly. "Please give Mr. Zabuza back to me."

This was the first time he had encountered an enemy who talked so much!

Almost every enemy he had met before had attacked on sight, with barely a word exchanged!

But Aogetsu just kept talking!

He paid his enemy so little regard that he chatted and joked as though they were friends.

Honestly, it was too much.

To Haku, Aogetsu's attitude was far worse than an enemy hurling insults and taunts!

The more casually Aogetsu behaved, the clearer it was that he did not consider Haku a threat.

"Ice Release..." Haku released a burst of cold and rapidly formed Hand Seals with his fair-skinned hands. Before he could unleash his move, though—

"Wait." Aogetsu raised a hand to stop him.

Haku tilted his head. "What is it?"

The corner of Aogetsu's mouth twitched. Haku had actually stopped.

He takes things so seriously it's kind of cute.

Aogetsu turned toward Team 7 in the distance and cupped a hand around his mouth. "Brats, I'll teach you a move! Watch closely. This is the secret art I used to defeat Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage."

"A secret art?" The members of Team 7 froze, then fixed their eyes on Aogetsu, afraid they might miss the instant he made his move.

A secret art that had defeated the Fifth Mizukage?

They had no way of knowing exactly how strong Mei Terumi was, but anyone who bore the title of Kage had to be incredibly powerful!

And Aogetsu-sensei had a secret art capable of defeating a Kage Level fighter!

They drew a sharp breath.

What sort of secret art could be that powerful?

The members of Team 7 waited eagerly. Were they finally going to learn Aogetsu-sensei's secret art?

"Secret art." Aogetsu turned into a streak of lightning and appeared behind Haku in an instant.

So fast! Haku felt Aogetsu's icy killing intent behind him, and panic flashed through his eyes.

He's using Lightning Release to move?