But looking at Lei Dou's imposing presence, as unfathomable as an abyss and unshakable as a mountain-how the hell could he be a Genin? Was Konoha running a wholesale market for monsters disguised as Genin?
"Interesting. You already have that kind of monstrous strength at your age."
"Very nice! Today, I, Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, will gladly take your life!"
Take my life?
Your mouth stinks worse than your feet!
"Lei Dou!"
Naruto forced down his fear and moved beside Lei Dou. "Let's take him together! This guy feels way too dangerous. Don't try to be a hero on your own!"
Strong?
That went without saying. This was a ruthless fighter who had driven even Kakashi into a corner.
But letting these two rookies run in and get themselves killed would only make things worse.
Lei Dou shook his head, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Stay back. Leave him to me. This isn't a fight you can interfere in yet!"
With that, Lei Dou stepped toward Zabuza, each stride steady.
Naruto was about to rush after him when a strong hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"Lei Dou is right. Going in now would only get you killed."
It was Kakashi.
Naruto turned toward Kakashi, who had suddenly appeared, and asked urgently, "Kakashi-sensei, who exactly is this bandaged freak?"
"He just told you himself. Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist. A former elite of Kirigakure's ANBU and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
Sasuke's brows knitted as he muttered, "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
"That's right. They're an elite assassination unit directly under the Mizukage, and each carries a special ninja blade. This man slaughtered every other candidate in his Genin exam. He's a true killing machine!"
Kakashi's gaze grew more grave than ever.
"Even against me, his odds would be fifty-fifty. Beating him would be no easy task."
That only made Naruto more frantic. "Then why are you standing here watching, Kakashi-sensei? Are you letting Lei Dou go get himself killed?!"
"This is a test, and an obstacle you must overcome. As I said, unless death becomes absolutely certain, I will not step in!"
Naruto clenched his teeth, his fists tightening until his knuckles cracked!
A profound sense of helplessness swept through him. A powerful enemy stood before them, yet all he could do was hide behind his teammate like a useless fool.
Beside him, Sasuke looked just as frustrated, his nails digging deep into his palms. Feeling so weak was utterly humiliating.
At the center of the battlefield.
As Lei Dou approached Zabuza, he calmly watched his opponent, who had already drawn the Kubikiribōchō.
"Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Zabuza rested his great blade on his shoulder, his gaze contemptuous. "Oh? You've heard of me?"
"Of course. Your infamy precedes you."
"Good! Since you know, obediently stick your head out. Dying by my blade is an honor!"
As he spoke, Zabuza noticed the ninja blade behind Lei Dou and raised an eyebrow. "Oh!"
"Looks like you know your way around a blade, too?"
"Then let me teach you what real Kirigakure swordsmanship looks like!"
You want to match swordsmanship with me?
A cold smile curled Lei Dou's lips as he reached back and gripped the hilt behind his waist.
Clang-!!
The black blade left its sheath, streaking across the air like a bolt of black lightning!
The sight of that pitch-black ninja blade made Zabuza pause.
"A black blade? You don't see many made from that kind of material."
"This blade is called Zangetsu."
Holding it in one hand, Lei Dou gave it a light flourish. A chilling gleam radiated from its black edge.
Zabuza grinned, revealing stark white teeth. "Kubikiribōchō!"
Exchanging their blades' names was the final courtesy between swordsmen-and the signal that a death match had begun.
Their gazes locked across the gap, killing intent striking sparks in the air. Suddenly...
Boom!
Both figures burst into motion almost simultaneously. The ground beneath their feet cracked apart as they collided like two meteors.
Clang!!!
Screeeeech-!!
The blades smashed together, sparks flying in every direction. The grating screech stabbed at everyone's eardrums as a powerful shock wave surged outward from the two fighters.
Zabuza wielded his blade with both hands, relying on the Kubikiribōchō's weight and his adult physique to overwhelm Lei Dou through sheer strength.
Normally, an agile swordsman would never meet such a heavy weapon head-on.
But under Kakashi's stunned gaze, Lei Dou chose the most mindless, most savage approach possible.
A direct clash!
The Black Blade Zangetsu in Lei Dou's hand looked as slender as a toy beside the enormous Kubikiribōchō.
Yet the moment their blades met, everyone's jaws dropped.
Holding his sword with just one hand, Lei Dou stopped Zabuza's two-handed downward strike cold, without budging an inch!
Their edges ground furiously against each other, sparks cascading like a waterfall.
"How is this possible?!"
Zabuza's eyes nearly popped out of his head. This brat's arm wasn't even as thick as his wrist. How could he possibly match his strength?
"He's practically a tailed beast wearing human skin!"
Kakashi pressed a hand to his forehead with a helpless, wry smile. If word got out, who would believe a Genin had beaten Demon Zabuza in a contest of strength?
Naruto's blood boiled with excitement. "Nice work, Lei Dou! Send him flying!"
"What the hell does this guy eat to grow like that?" Sasuke's entire worldview crumbled. They were the same age, so how could the gap between them be this huge?
"I never imagined it! I really never imagined you'd be born with such incredible strength, brat!"
Zabuza could only chalk it up to extraordinary natural talent, and envy gnawed at him. A heaven-given gift like that was enough to make anyone jealous.
Lei Dou couldn't be bothered to explain the misunderstanding.
Having the Triple Advanced Taijutsu buff active for over a day had brought a qualitative leap in his physical capabilities.
Now this elite enemy was the perfect test of just how strong he had become.
Lei Dou's left hand, which had remained free until now, suddenly closed around the hilt.
A two-handed grip!
The instant Lei Dou exerted force with both hands, Zabuza felt an overwhelming surge of power crash into him, making his eyelids twitch wildly.
He had barely managed a stalemate before. Now it felt as though he were fighting a mountain pressing down on him.
The muscles in Zabuza's arms bulged, veins rising like earthworms. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he clenched his teeth hard enough to crush them.
But it was all futile.
In the next instant, Lei Dou let out a low shout and blasted Zabuza backward, blade and all!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Lei Dou pressed his advantage without mercy, swinging Zangetsu in an impenetrable flurry.
Explosive cracks rang out as his blade tore through the air. He became a black whirlwind, sweeping toward the stumbling, retreating Zabuza.
"Come on! Where did all that arrogance go?!"
Though Black Blade Zangetsu was thin and light, it struck with crushing weight in Lei Dou's hands. Every blow carried enough force to split mountains and shatter stone.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Lei Dou hacked like a madman, without any pattern-nothing but the brutal beauty of raw power and speed.
Even Kakashi was dumbfounded by such a savage fighting style!
Wasn't this supposed to be a swordsmanship duel? This was just a one-sided demolition!
Lei Dou clearly possessed exquisite swordsmanship, yet he insisted on using the most primitive, brutal method to utterly crush his enemy in the very field he took the most pride in.
Watching Zabuza desperately parry with his great blade, looking utterly bedraggled, Kakashi even felt a little sympathy for him.
It was too miserable.
Bang!!!
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Suddenly!
A crisp, chilling sound of breaking metal rang across the battlefield.
The Kubikiribōchō, said to regenerate by absorbing blood, had actually been hacked apart!
Watching fragments of its edge fly through the air, Kakashi sucked in a cold breath.
What kind of terrifying destructive power could reduce that legendary ninja blade to scrap?
Bang, bang, bang!!
After several more crushing blows, Zabuza finally couldn't hold on. He used the force of a strike to leap backward, putting more than ten meters between them.
Lei Dou didn't pursue him. He simply stood quietly where he was.
He looked down at Black Blade Zangetsu, which still gleamed coldly without so much as a chip, and marveled inwardly. What kind of miraculous metal did Tenten use? It's completely fine after all that hacking. I have to treat her to a proper feast when we get back. This blade is incredible.
Meanwhile, Zabuza stared at the Kubikiribōchō in his hands, now looking as if a dog had chewed it, and began questioning everything.
Its edge was chipped and curled, with hideous notches gouged into it. Was this really the same Kubikiribōchō whose very name had terrified people?
Then he looked at the boy opposite him, who wasn't even breathing hard.
What kind of Genin was this? He was clearly a human-shaped tyrannosaurus!
"You damned little brat..."
Before Zabuza could finish cursing, Lei Dou suddenly raised his head and kicked off. The ground exploded beneath him as he shot forward like a cannonball.
This time, there were no savage slashes.
Like a venomous snake, Zangetsu silently thrust straight toward Zabuza's heart.
Alarmed, Zabuza raised his damaged great blade horizontally to block.
But Lei Dou flicked his wrist, deftly lifting his edge and knocking Zabuza's blade aside. He immediately turned his sword and swept it toward Zabuza's right arm.
The sequence of changes flowed seamlessly, executed at incredible speed.
Zabuza was completely stunned. He couldn't compete in strength, and now he was utterly outclassed in technique, too?
One move!
A single move had broken through his defense.
The Kirigakure Style Swordsmanship he took such pride in was nothing but child's play before this boy.
Slash!
Blood sprayed, then slowly dripped along Zangetsu's fuller.
"Drip, drip..."
A flicker of surprise crossed Lei Dou's eyes as he watched Zabuza, who had sacrificed his arm at the last instant to escape the fatal strike.
As expected of a battle-hardened Elite Jōnin. He could still react in a situation that should have meant certain death?
Lei Dou casually flicked Zangetsu, shaking the blood droplets onto the ground, then lightly brushed his left hand over its blade, which shone with a cold blue gleam.
"He actually... wounded Zabuza Momochi?"
Shock no longer came close to describing how Kakashi felt.
This was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist! A figure with a formidable reputation even across the shinobi world.
And Lei Dou, a Genin fresh out of the gate, had wounded him?
Granted, part of it was because Zabuza had underestimated him and arrogantly insisted on a swordsmanship contest.
But regardless, this feat alone was enough for Lei Dou to brag about for the rest of his life.
Sasuke bit his lip hard, staring at Zabuza, who had been driven back and whose arm was still dripping blood.
Though he didn't know just how formidable this enemy truly was, he knew one thing clearly: had he gone in himself, he would probably already be a corpse.
Damn it... Why is the gap so huge?!
If I had strength like his, would I... finally be able to take revenge on that man?
Zabuza clutched his bleeding arm, his expression dark enough to cast a shadow.
He had escaped with his life, but the wound and humiliation were all too real.
He looked at the ruined great blade in his hand, then at the indifferent boy, and had no choice but to admit the truth.
"Monster!"
"Your talent for swordsmanship makes you an absolute monster!"
Unstoppable strength paired with ghostlike technique-he was a perfect weapon born for slaughter.
But the battle wasn't over. For someone accustomed to living on a blade's edge, a flesh wound like this was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Boy! I appreciate talent. If you'd been born in Kirigakure, you'd have a guaranteed place among the next Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
"A hothouse like Konoha doesn't suit you. Why not defect? Follow me, and we'll accomplish great things together!"
Even at a time like this, Zabuza hadn't forgotten to try poaching him.
"You want me to give up a perfectly good permanent position in Konoha to become a wanted criminal with you? Do you offer social insurance? A housing fund?"
That barrage of piercing questions instantly shattered Zabuza's composure just as he was trying to act impressive. His face turned black as the bottom of a pot.
Zabuza's murderous eyes fixed on Lei Dou. "You sharp-tongued brat! I admit my swordsmanship is inferior to yours, but a battle between shinobi has never been decided by a blade alone!"
At those words, Kakashi's heart sank. "This is bad. Lei Dou is in trouble!"
"Why? Lei Dou's been beating him the whole time! I think that guy's just talking tough!"
Naruto looked baffled, certain that Lei Dou already had victory in the bag.
Kakashi shook his head. "No. Zabuza was being foolish just now, trying to pit his weakness against Lei Dou's strength. Now he's come to his senses. He doesn't intend to compete with Lei Dou in swordsmanship anymore."
"Ninjutsu is a ninja's true killing weapon!"
"No matter how strong Lei Dou's swordsmanship is, it still falls under taijutsu to some extent. Once he faces ninjutsu designed to counter it, his advantage will vanish!"
Sasuke immediately understood what was at stake. "You mean Zabuza is getting serious, Kakashi-sensei? He's going to use ninjutsu against Lei Dou?"
Kakashi nodded gravely. "That's right."
"Lei Dou may be strong, but he only just graduated. His chakra reserves and the number of ninjutsu he knows are both serious weaknesses. Against a veteran Elite Jōnin like this, his chances of winning are slim once it becomes a ninjutsu battle."
Sasuke grew tense as well. "That's true..."
Naruto was still a little confused. Didn't Lei Dou know something called the Rasengan, too? He'd been all secretive about developing techniques before, so he shouldn't be short on ninjutsu, right?
"Still, that strange Flying Sword Swordsmanship of his might give him a fighting chance, but..."
Kakashi suddenly thought of an even deadlier problem.
The most terrifying thing about Zabuza Momochi, the Demon, wasn't his massive blade. It was his suffocating Silent Killing Technique!
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"
As Zabuza formed hand seals, the air around them instantly grew damp.
Seeing this, Kakashi immediately shouted, "Sasuke! Naruto! Close ranks and protect Tazuna! Remember, I won't step in unless it's absolutely necessary, even if I have to watch you get hurt!"
His words sounded heartless, but their real purpose was to force the two to realize their potential.
As the thick mist rapidly spread, their once-clear surroundings became a blur.
Standing in the mist, Lei Dou's lips curled slightly upward.
[Great Sage: Analyzing ninjutsu...] [20%...] [30%...] [50%...]
Zabuza really is a good guy. Not only is he handing me experience, he's throwing in free ninjutsu lessons!
Excellent!
"Kid, welcome to my world. Now, let me show you what true despair feels like-the Silent Killing Technique."
The mist grew thicker and thicker, as dense and impenetrable as milk.
Visibility shrank to almost nothing. They could barely see their own hands in front of their faces.
In these conditions, ordinary eyesight was completely useless. Finding the enemy would be harder than reaching the heavens.
Without a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan or Byakugan, anyone here would be a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Unfortunately, Lei Dou didn't have eyes that flashy.
But not having special eyes was no problem. He had a cheat!
Thought Acceleration, activate!
In an instant, the world changed before Lei Dou's eyes.
It was a wondrous sensation, as though time had slowed countless times over. Not only his perception, but his hearing, smell, and touch had all been heightened to their limits.
Every disturbance in the air, every tremor of every water droplet-nothing escaped his senses.
"Kid, have you thought of your last words? Should I slit your throat first, or tear out your heart?"
Zabuza's voice drifted unpredictably, seemingly coming from every direction at once. It was an advanced technique that used the mist to refract sound.