The sound of shattering dishes drew Inari out of his room.
"Y-you! Who are you?!"
He panicked at the sight of the two samurai.
"I remember Boss Gato saying..."
One of the samurai spoke up. "Seems he only needs one hostage."
With a slight push of his thumb, he slowly drew the long blade at his waist.
"Actually, the way I see it..."
A voice came from behind the two men.
"Gato can barely save his own skin. Does he really have time to worry about hostages?"
"Chiba!"
Delight spread across Inari's face.
Chiba's arrival turned the situation around.
He had anticipated this hostage situation long ago.
To claim the credit for himself, Chiba had even woken Naruto Uzumaki ahead of time.
Otherwise, completing the mission to name the Great Bridge would have been a real problem.
"Brat, weren't you headed to the Great Bridge?"
The samurai crouched slightly, his hand on his sword hilt and his gaze cold.
"The Clone Technique!"
Chiba pointed to his forehead protector and said:
"I'm a ninja!"
The two men exchanged a glance.
"If you're a clone, we'll send you on your way!"
In an instant, they sprang forward like wild beasts.
Their swords flashed out of their sheaths, heading straight for Chiba's vital points.
It had to be said that this attack was practically flawless.
There wasn't a single gap in their coordination.
Neither the angles nor the force of their strikes left anything to be desired.
Unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong opponent.
Even if the Chiba before them was only a clone, he was still far beyond anything they could handle.
Chiba had already asked Naruto Uzumaki to teach him the Shadow Clone Technique some time ago.
Although this ninjutsu was extremely difficult to learn.
After repeated practice, Chiba had long since grasped its secrets.
His only regret was that he still had too little chakra to support the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Thud! Thud!
They flew back just as quickly as they had charged in.
The two samurai might have seemed dangerous to ordinary people.
But to Chiba, they were no different from ordinary people themselves.
Two elbow strikes landed squarely on their necks!
Their reactions were so slow that they hadn't even seen how Chiba had attacked.
Crack!
A sharp sound came from their necks.
Chiba would show no mercy to anyone who came with the intent to kill.
He sent them straight to meet the Death God.
Of course, given their standing, they might not even qualify for an audience.
Chiba dragged the two men away and tossed them straight into the sea.
He supposed it was a fitting final resting place.
As far as he knew, the Land of Waves practiced burial at sea.
By the time Chiba returned to the room, Tsunami and her son had already cleaned it up.
"Thank you so much!"
Tsunami bowed slightly, her words filled with gratitude.
Chiba waved a hand and said:
"It's what I should do."
"For now, find somewhere to hide."
"A shadow clone has limited chakra. I can't keep protecting you forever."
Tsunami nodded and left with Inari.
Tazuna had anticipated something like this and prepared a hiding place for them in advance.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Chiba dispelled his shadow clone.
Its memories instantly flowed back into his original body.
On the Great Bridge.
Chiba sensed the returning memories and let out a breath of relief.
This mission should be in the bag now.
The battle continued.
But it remained a one-sided beatdown.
The Shadow Clone Technique was used again and again.
Naruto Uzumaki fought like a brute, demonstrating through his actions what it meant to have chakra by the ton.
Sasuke Uchiha searched for an opening in the gaps between Haku's relentless attacks.
Meanwhile, Kakashi Hatake and Zabuza Momochi were locked in a fight to the death.
Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!
Dense fog completely obscured their vision.
Zabuza Momochi claimed he had already seen through the so-called Sharingan.
With all his self-deluding talk, he made the Sharingan sound utterly insignificant.
Yet Zabuza lacked the courage to face the Sharingan head-on.
Chiba could see very little in such thick fog, too.
He had no kekkei genkai, so his eyesight was quite ordinary.
But he had experience training in Sage Mode.
His sensory abilities far surpassed those of an ordinary ninja.
"Chiba, watch out!"
Kakashi Hatake seemed to have sensed something.
He shouted toward Chiba.
But Zabuza Momochi had already appeared behind Tazuna.
It seemed everything was already too late.
Clang!
The clear ring of clashing metal echoed across the entire Great Bridge.
"Zabuza, didn't I tell you not to touch Mr. Tazuna?!"
A trace of icy menace crept into Chiba's voice.
Zabuza Momochi suddenly realized that Chiba's eyes were shining a brilliant gold!
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