Konoha: Starting with the Tenseigan and Taking Over Team 7

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

A second later.

The black coffin vanished, and Zabuza Momochi crashed heavily to the ground, bleeding all over.

"You said you'd thrown away all your feelings, but you still have one, don't you? Fear." Cangyue Hyuga stood atop the earthen pillar, gazing down with cool arrogance at Zabuza, who lay dying in a pool of blood.

Black Coffin wasn't as powerful as he'd imagined, but it was still a useful ability. After all, he could activate it instantly at no cost.

I'll use it as a basic attack.

"Did... did we win?" Sakura Haruno climbed out of the wreckage and stared blankly at Zabuza in the distance. "Mr. Cangyue is ridiculous. He took the enemy down in one move."

"That was... amazing! Mr. Aogetsu'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 awesome!

"Mr. Cangyue, teach me that move!" Naruto shouted. "I want to use cool moves too!"

The Black Coffin Aogetsu had used had completely captivated him.

"Heh heh. If I could learn that move..." Naruto covered his mouth to hide his grin, sneaked a glance at Sakura, then glared at Sasuke.

If I learn it, then someday when Team 7 is in danger, Sasuke gets beaten to his knees, and Sakura is in trouble...

Naruto Uzumaki will make a grand entrance! Then I'll casually use Black Coffin and beat the enemy without breaking a sweat. Sakura will fall head over heels for me!

Perfect!

Just thinking about it feels great!

I can see it now!

"Watch from your knees, Sasuke. The hero always shows up last." Lost in his fantasy, Naruto grinned foolishly and scratched his head. "Heh heh... Sakura, I'm not that amazing."

Sasuke Uchiha frowned and cursed under his breath. "Complete idiot."

How could a genius of the Uchiha Clan like me ever be beaten to his knees?

And how could a dead-last idiot like Naruto learn that strange move Mr. Aogetsu just used?

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

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

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

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

Damn it!

It's always Sasuke with her. What's so great about that show-off?

Once I get stronger, I'm definitely going to flatten him!

Seeing the enemy defeated, Tazuna also breathed a sigh of relief. He took a drink. "Young people sure have energy."

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

He had beaten the Demon of Kirigakure with ease!

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

"Troublesome little brats." Cangyue Hyuga glanced at Team 7, who were still fooling around in the distance.

They want to learn Hadō: Black Coffin?

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

That Nine-Tails brat hasn't even learned how to jerk off, and he's already thinking about having sex.

"Anyway, time to finish him off." Cangyue Hyuga gripped the Kubikiribōchō and was about to teleport with lightning and give Zabuza a few more cuts.

Hum! The entire lake froze in an instant. Bitter cold filled the air as several sharp pillars of ice burst from the ground and hurtled toward Aogetsu Hyuga.

"Ice Shield?" The pillars pierced Aogetsu Hyuga, but blue lightning flickered across his body as he stood there calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"Ice Shield: Ice Rock Dome." A slender figure in a white mask appeared out of nowhere behind Aogetsu Hyuga. He formed Hand Seals with one fair hand, his fingers moving incredibly fast.

Secret Ninja Art—Thousand Years of Death!

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

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

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

Aogetsu Hyuga toyed with an ice Senbon. "Scary move. What would happen if one of these hit me?"

Seeing Aogetsu unharmed, Yuki Haku looked surprised beneath his white mask.

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

"Idiot. We'd only get in his way." Sasuke Uchiha raised a hand to stop Naruto. He stared at Yuki Haku in the distance. "That guy... is strong!"

Naruto's face fell. 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.

Do we still have to stand by helplessly whenever an enemy shows up?

Damn it!

Sakura Haruno bit her lip and watched Aogetsu Hyuga, surrounded by Ice Release in the distance. "Mr. Aogetsu..." she murmured anxiously.

"Secret Art: Shattering Ice Crystal." Yuki Haku leaped back and clasped his fair hands together. Enormous amounts of Chakra surged from him, transforming into a terrifying chill.

The mistlike cold engulfed Aogetsu, then formed a massive, six-pointed crystal as large as a hill. The dreadful cold froze everything inside it solid.

Of all his current Ice Release techniques, this was his strongest and most dangerous, a secret art far more fearsome than Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!

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

He had to seize this chance and go all out to settle the fight at once. Dragging it out would almost certainly end in defeat!

"Did you have to go all out the moment we met? At least give me some foreplay. Rush things and you'll burn your mouth." Inside the hill-sized crystal, Aogetsu Hyuga rubbed his chin, knocked on the hard ice, then glanced at the frost forming 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 already.

So Haku had an interesting move like this up his sleeve.

This pretty boy's overall strength could probably reach the lower end of Kage Level.

"Repel." Aogetsu Hyuga raised one finger. Dark matter gathered at its tip, and a powerful Repulsive Force blasted outward from him in every direction.

Rumble! The whole 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 went wide. "That's... amazing! Mr. Cangyue, I know that move! You sent me flying with it before!"

Every member of Team 7 felt heavyhearted. They had seen a great deal today and understood just how powerful their teacher really was.

By all rights.

With such a strong teacher, they should have been happy.

But all three members of Team 7 felt weighed down.

The pressure was immense.

Throughout this mission, the three members of Team 7 had accomplished nothing. Ever since that A-Rank Rogue Ninja appeared, they had been nothing but liabilities.

Mr. Cangyue had even needed to protect them while fighting the enemy.

That helplessness weighed on all three of them.

"Power. I have to gain power!" Sasuke Uchiha's face darkened as he stared at the clash of impossible techniques over the lake. That level of strength was still far beyond his reach.

A liability?

I'm a liability?

What a joke!

Power!

I have to gain power!

“Without power, any ambition you have will become a joke told over drinks.” Cangyue Hyuga glanced toward the dejected Team 7.

Are they feeling inferior because I'm too strong?

Kids really are easy to handle.

I'll deepen that sense of helplessness, then have them complete the Master-Disciple Mission and become tools for me to gain more benefits.

“That last move was interesting. You've got something stronger, haven't you?” Cangyue Hyuga turned back to Yuki Haku with a faint smile. “Are you playing the cold, expressionless type? I personally prefer cheerful women.”

Yuki Haku said nothing. He only stared at Aogetsu in disbelief.

Cangyue Hyuga sounded bored. “At least say something. We could have a nice chat.”

"..." Yuki Haku remained silent, staring at Aogetsu Hyuga in shock beneath his mask.

Cangyue Hyuga looked a little surprised. “Sorry, sorry. I didn't realize that was your strongest move. If I'd known, I'd have pretended it was harder to break.”

He really hadn't known it was Yuki Haku's strongest move. That was why he had casually broken through the Ice Release without any effort.

If I'd known, I would've acted like I was struggling and played around in there a bit longer.

Cangyue Hyuga slipped a hand into his pocket and took something out.

Yuki Haku stayed silent, his slender body trembling slightly. The moment he saw Aogetsu's movement, he sprang backward, putting a wide gap between them as he watched warily to see what Aogetsu had pulled from his pocket.

Yuki Haku stared at him, then realized Aogetsu had taken out a Lollipop.

“...” Yuki Haku had no words.

Cangyue Hyuga put the Lollipop in his mouth. “Am I that scary?”

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

It was the first time he had met an enemy who talked this much!

Almost every enemy he had encountered before had skipped the conversation and gone straight for the fight!

But Aogetsu talked endlessly!

He treated his enemy like a friend, chatting and laughing as though there were no danger at all.

Frankly, it was insulting.

To Yuki Haku, Aogetsu's attitude was far more insulting than any taunt or stream of trash talk!

The more casual Aogetsu acted, the clearer it was that he didn't take his enemy seriously.

“Ice Release...” Cold surged from Yuki Haku as his fair hands flew through Hand Seals, but before he could launch his move—

“Wait.” Cangyue Hyuga raised a hand to stop him.

Yuki Haku tilted his head. “What is it?”

The corner of Aogetsu Hyuga's mouth twitched. The pretty boy had actually stopped.

He takes things so seriously it's almost cute.

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

"A secret art?" All of Team 7 froze, then stared intently at Aogetsu Hyuga, afraid to miss the instant he made his move.

A secret art that defeated the Fifth Mizukage?

They couldn't judge exactly how strong Mei Terumi was, but anyone who bore the title of Mizukage had to be immensely powerful!

And Mr. Cangyue had a secret art capable of defeating someone at Kage Level!

Whoa!

What kind of secret art could be that powerful?

The members of Team 7 waited eagerly. Were they finally going to learn one of Mr. Cangyue's secret arts?

"Secret Art." Cangyue Hyuga became a streak of lightning and appeared behind Yuki Haku in an instant.

So fast! Yuki Haku sensed Aogetsu's cold killing intent behind him, and panic flashed in his eyes.

Is he using Lightning Release to move?