Zabuza: Is This Guy Cheating?

The Land of Waves was an island nation surrounded by the sea.

Naruto and the others were probably on their way to the Land of Waves.

Team 7's mission this time was also an escort assignment.

Their task was to escort the bridge builder, Mr. Tazuna, safely back to the Land of Waves.

That brought to mind a famous figure from the Land of Waves.

Gato.

Why had Yemu Hyuga remembered this man?

First, he was stupid. Second, he was seriously rich.

Why was he stupid? To stop the Land of Waves from building a bridge across the sea, he had hired Zabuza from Kirigakure to assassinate Tazuna.

In the end, he had died at Zabuza's hands instead.

His arrogant contempt for others had gotten him killed.

A mere ordinary man had actually dared to mouth off in front of a wanted jonin, a murderous maniac.

Wasn't that practically offering up his head to be chopped off?

Gato's reasoning was that once the bridge was built, he would no longer be able to control the Land of Waves' transportation routes.

But with his underworld influence, wouldn't controlling a single bridge have been child's play?

If anything, building the bridge would have made all his illicit trade easier.

Still, he really was rich-one of the wealthiest men in the Shinobi World.

Didn't that give Yemu a target?

To give the residents of the Land of Waves a better future, he decided to deliver justice.

As for Gato's wealth after he killed him, that would be his reward for carrying out justice.

Yemu flew very fast.

In less than half a day, he reached the border of the Land of Fire.

Compared to the full day Naruto had needed to cross the Land of Fire at a forced march in Shippuden, he was twice as fast.

Before long.

Yemu arrived above Kakashi and the others, and immediately saw that they were at a disadvantage.

Kakashi Hatake was also known as Mr. Fifty-Fifty.

Call him weak, and he could hold his own against anyone-even get a few hits in against the final boss, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

But call him strong, and he still hadn't dealt with Zabuza Momochi.

He had even been trapped and restrained by Zabuza's Water Prison Technique.

Still, Yemu knew Kakashi had probably done this on purpose to help his students grow.

After all, if he really wanted to fight, wouldn't a single Kamui from his Mangekyō Sharingan finish Zabuza off?

As for that.

If you were wondering why Kakashi hadn't sensed Yemu's presence.

There was nothing to be done about it. Yemu was standing tens of thousands of meters in the air.

Azure stretched all around him, a sea of clouds churned below, and a new sun was slowly rising in the distance.

Yemu Hyuga's eyes shone with blue-white light like black suns, beautiful yet dangerous.

By now, Yemu was certain.

The Tenseigan had to possess other abilities. In the original story, Toneri had probably been banned and carted off before he could fully develop them.

What a real shame.

"Ha! You fell for it! You can't escape my specially crafted Water Prison Technique!"

Kakashi Hatake looked at the water prison holding him and feigned surprise.

"Kakashi, I'll settle things with you later. First, I'll take care of the target over there!"

Wearing his bandage mask, Zabuza formed one-handed seals. "Water Clone Technique!"

"You three, run! Your mission is to protect Tazuna! Don't throw your lives away!" Even now, Kakashi Hatake was still testing the three youngsters.

He wanted to see whether Naruto and the others would prioritize their teammate or their mission under such extreme circumstances.

"What?!"

Seeing Kakashi trapped in the water prison, Sasuke Uchiha's gaze sharpened.

Sakura Haruno was even more panicked.

Now that even their powerful Kakashi-sensei was at a disadvantage, could they really defeat this man?

Unlike Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, whose expressions were grave.

Naruto Uzumaki watched the blood keep seeping from the wound on the back of his hand, and his fear instantly ignited into anger.

He had inflicted that wound on himself to remind himself that he, Naruto Uzumaki, could not back down against an enemy like this.

He was going to become Hokage!

"I'll take you on!"

Naruto Uzumaki charged.

"Naruto! What are you doing?"

Sakura Haruno shouted.

Sasuke Uchiha's gaze turned cold. "Idiot!"

Despite his words, Sasuke Uchiha quickly readied a giant shuriken in his hands.

The Fūma Shuriken!

"Oh?"

Zabuza's water clone looked curious.

He couldn't understand how the kid who had clearly been the most frightened had suddenly found his courage.

Thud!

Zabuza sent Naruto tumbling with a vicious kick.

Then an elbow strike caught Sasuke as he tried to launch a surprise attack, making him cough up blood and collapse.

Anyone could see that Zabuza had hit Sasuke harder.

Maybe it had something to do with Uchiha Sasuke's natural ability to take a beating.

"Aah!"

Uchiha Sasuke screamed as Zabuza planted a foot on him, the intense pain twisting his face.

Just as Naruto was about to use the Shadow Clone Technique, a somewhat incongruous voice drifted down from the sky.

"Zabuza, playing around with children like this-aren't you afraid it'll backfire?"

"I'm starting to wonder whether you're really the Zabuza who slaughtered a hundred people in his youth and earned the name Demon of the Hidden Mist."

At those words, Zabuza's gaze instantly grew serious.

That's right. What's gotten into me?

Facing a few genin, I actually started fooling around.

That's not how a top assassin should behave.

"Who's there?"

Zabuza raised the Kubikiribōchō in his hand, aimed it at Sasuke beneath his foot, and prepared to bring it down.

At that sight, Sasuke Uchiha couldn't help cursing inwardly.

"Who are you?"

Zabuza finally noticed the sky. He looked warily at the masked figure in white robes standing in midair.

A ninja who could fly was generally anything but weak.

Yemu slowly descended beside Zabuza's real body and saw Kakashi watching him warily from inside the water prison.

He understood. This guy really was hiding his strength.

"Honestly, I don't get it. You're a rogue ninja, so why are you still following professional ethics?"

"If you want money, why not just kill Gato?"

Yemu's icy voice made Zabuza's eyes twitch.

What puzzled him even more was how this man knew about his mission.

"You're after Gato!"

Zabuza was fairly sharp, and immediately realized what Yemu's target was.

"You're not beyond saving after all."

Yemu Hyuga opened one hand, and a pebble slowly rose from the ground into his palm.

Whoosh!

Yemu used Repulsive Force to launch the stone.

Zabuza's real body immediately dodged aside.

His instincts told him that this white-masked man was extremely dangerous.

Boom!

The spot where Zabuza had just been standing.

Was instantly blasted into a large crater by the pebble, its power even greater than an explosive tag's.

"What the hell?!"

Zabuza looked utterly bewildered.

A tiny pebble could cause this much destruction? How was he supposed to fight that?

If this guy wasn't cheating, Zabuza would wash his hair standing on his head.

As Zabuza's real body moved away, Kakashi Hatake finally had a chance to escape the water prison.

The first thing he did after getting out wasn't to attack Zabuza.

Instead, he immediately went over to Naruto Uzumaki.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you all right?"

Sakura Haruno looked worried.

"Kakashi-sensei, who's that mysterious guy?" Naruto Uzumaki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression curious.

Sasuke Uchiha's eyes held even more envy. With just a single stone, the stranger had sent Zabuza-the enemy they had struggled so hard against-scrambling away.

That kind of strength was undoubtedly something Sasuke Uchiha deeply longed for.