"This chunk of iron is mine."
The instant Son Goten finished speaking, before Zabuza's water clone could pull back his sword, a tremendous force traveled through the hilt.
The sheer strength yanked the water clone off balance, and he dissolved into a puddle of clear water.
"What strength."
The real Zabuza's voice came from the mist, carrying a hint of gravity.
The next second, Kakashi shoved Naruto, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Get out of the way!"
A dark figure appeared behind them like a ghost, and the real Zabuza kicked Kakashi in the side.
Kakashi went flying sideways and landed in the lake with a splash.
"Now you can't escape."
Zabuza followed close behind, flashed across the water, formed hand seals with one hand, and slammed it down onto the surface.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
A massive sphere of water rose out of nowhere, trapping Kakashi just as he tried to stand up in the lake.
Zabuza kept one hand inside the water prison to maintain the technique and held a kunai in the other, his sinister gaze turning toward the three brats on shore.
"Game over."
He created another water clone, who picked up the Kubikiribōchō that had fallen to the ground and walked toward the shore, step by step.
"Kakashi-sensei's been captured!"
Sakura screamed, her face deathly pale.
Naruto's kunai hand was slick with sweat, and his calves kept cramping.
That was a jonin! Even Kakashi-sensei had lost. How could they possibly beat him?
"Don't panic!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down.
"If we don't rescue Kakashi, we're dead."
"That water clone is some distance from the original. As long as we force the original to move, the Water Prison Technique will break."
Sasuke pulled a huge Fūma Shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and gave Naruto a look.
Though Naruto was usually scatterbrained, at this life-or-death moment, he miraculously understood what Sasuke meant.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Naruto created several clones, who charged noisily at Zabuza's water clone.
Sasuke seized the opportunity to hurl the Fūma Shuriken.
"Shadow Windmill: First Sword!"
The enormous shuriken whistled past the water clone, heading straight for the real Zabuza.
The real Zabuza sneered. He did not even move his other hand, merely tilting his head slightly to evade the attack.
"Too naive."
But a second shuriken, hidden in the first one's shadow, followed close behind.
"Interesting."
Zabuza's gaze shifted slightly, but he still did not release the hand maintaining the water prison. Instead, he raised his leg to kick away the second shuriken.
Son Goten crouched on a rock on shore, shaking his head at the sight.
"Too slow. Too slow."
He tossed a pebble he had just picked up into the lake, skipping it across the water.
"How long is this turn-based game going to last? By the time you rescue him, Ichiraku Ramen will be closed."
Son Goten stood up and dusted off his backside.
"Looks like it's up to me."
With that, under everyone's shocked gazes, he leaped straight into the lake with a splash.
"Goten! What are you doing? He's on home turf in the water!"
Sakura shouted anxiously.
The underwater world was murky.
As nimble as a loach, Son Goten kicked off with both legs, shooting toward Zabuza like an arrow released from its bow.
Watching the dark figure rapidly approach underwater, Zabuza gave a cruel sneer.
"You little brat, you're asking to die. You think you can fight me underwater?"
The hand maintaining his water prison did not budge as he prepared to manipulate the current and crush this presumptuous insect into pulp.
But Son Goten's actions caught him off guard.
The boy did not attack Zabuza, nor did he try to attack the water prison's outer wall.
He swam directly beneath the water prison, pressed against its hard water wall, and shifted into a strange position.
Inside the water prison, Kakashi's dead-fish eye widened.
Through the rippling water, he clearly saw Son Goten point his backside at the bottom of the prison and curl up, as though gathering strength.
What was this kid doing?
Holding his breath underwater, Son Goten gave a mischievous grin.
He mobilized the "ki" inside his body.
But instead of gathering in his fists or feet, all that ki concentrated in his buttocks.
High-pressure gas compressed inside his body, then compressed again.
Bust open, damn it!
He silently said the words to himself.
Boom!
A muffled blast sounded beneath the water.
It sounded just like an explosive tag detonating underwater.
A visible white blast of air erupted from Son Goten's backside, slamming into the bottom of the water prison with overwhelming force.
The seemingly indestructible water prison, which even a kunai could not pierce, shook violently under this brutal, odor-laden shock wave.
Zabuza felt an irresistible thrust against his palm, and his entire arm went numb from the impact.
"What the hell is that?!"
Before he could react, the water prison burst with a bang.
The tremendous recoil mixed with the blast of air and hurled Zabuza away, sword and all. He tumbled across the water several times before coming to a stop.
Spray rained down.
Soaked through, Kakashi stood on the water, his expression somewhat blank.
He looked at Son Goten surfacing nearby and, for a moment, did not know what to say.
Son Goten wiped the water off his face, shook out his hair, and grinned at Kakashi.
"Sensei, this move might be a little uncivilized and a bit hard on my pants, but it gets instant results, right?"
The corner of Kakashi's mouth twitched. He unconsciously stepped back half a pace, as though checking whether there was a strange smell in the air.
"Goten..."
"What is it, Sensei? Moved by my ingenuity?"
Son Goten swam to shore, climbed out, and shook himself off.
"No."
Kakashi sighed, the Sharingan beneath his forehead protector slowly turning.
"I was just thinking that once we're back in the village, I'll need to stay a little farther away from your backside."
In the distance, Zabuza scrambled out of the water in a sorry state, his face full of disbelief.
He, the renowned Demon of the Hidden Mist, an elite jonin proficient in the Silent Killing Technique, had actually been blasted away by a little brat's fart?
If word got out, how was he supposed to show his face in the Shinobi World?
"You damned brat..."
Zabuza's killing intent had taken tangible form, and the surrounding mist grew thicker and colder.
"I'll tear you to pieces!"
Utterly unconcerned, Son Goten picked his ear, tipping out the water inside while he was at it.
"Old man, shouting louder won't help."
He pointed at Kakashi, who stood on the water.
"He's your opponent. I'm just a passing spectator."
"Besides, that fart cost me a whole bowl of ramen's worth of energy. You owe me money."
Kakashi drew a breath, his gaze sharpening once more.
Though the way he had been rescued was a little embarrassing, now that he was free, he could not give his opponent another chance.
"All right, Zabuza."
Kakashi rapidly formed hand seals, lightning dancing in his palm.
"The farce is over. Now, let's get serious."
Son Goten yawned and retreated to Sakura's side.
"Wifey, got a towel? I need to dry my hair."
Sakura handed him a handkerchief with distaste, looking at him with a complicated expression.
"Did you really... blast it open with a fart?"
"That was a variation of the Kamehameha."
Son Goten spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
"The firing port was just a little unusual."
Just then, Son Goten's nose suddenly twitched.
A faint, delicate fragrance drifted over through the damp air.
This scent...
It smelled so good.
It was neither the scent of flowers nor perfume.
It was an exceptionally pure body fragrance, refreshing and soothing to anyone who smelled it.
Son Goten immediately tossed the handkerchief back to Sakura, his eyes rapidly scanning the surrounding woods.
"A scent this exquisite..."
He swallowed, his gaze even more fervent than when he had seen the Kubikiribōchō.
"She has to be a stunning beauty!"
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