The next day
Land of Waves Bridge
Gato, Zabuza, and Haku stood in a row, facing thirty mercenaries, all vicious-looking men who lived by the blade.
Of course, their strength was absolute trash.
"Hey, you bastard~, why are you making us work with these two? Can't we just handle it ourselves?"
Gato cursed at them. "What the fuck? Am I the boss, or are you?"
Zabuza raised Kubikiribōchō. "Hey! You scum, the only reason you exist now is to serve the boss's cause. Say one more word. My blade just happens to have a nick in it."
"Yo, Zabuza, it's only been a few days. Since when did your personality change? Who's this boss, a dog?"
"Hahaha..." The mercenaries roared with laughter.
Whoosh!
A senbon pierced the forehead of the man who had just spoken. His body shuddered, then toppled backward.
Wearing his mask, Haku said flatly, "Anyone who says another word against the boss dies."
"The boss is right!"
"Well said, boss!"
"Brilliantly said, boss!"
"Absolutely wonderfully said, boss!"
"Flying Thunder God!"
Hongshi appeared behind Gato. "Yo, Gato, how are the preparations going? Why's someone lying here already? I told you to put on an act, not start acting right now. You know, this guy's really convincing."
"Boss, he's actually dead."
"Oh dear, Little Haku, how could you do this..."
Haku: "Boss, shut up."
"...So you do remember I'm the boss!"
The mercenaries exchanged looks.
"He sounds only fifteen or sixteen."
"Already bald at such a young age. What's he going to do?"
"Look at his head. The glare's blinding."
Hongshi: "('-')ノ)`-') Keep talking shit!"
Gato looked at Hongshi too, rubbing his hands. "Boss, we're all ready here. Do you have any further instructions?"
Much taller than Gato, Hongshi patted his head. "Gato, you really were a bastard before. Once this is over, straighten out matters in the Land of Waves."
Gato naturally understood what Hongshi meant. He nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes! Don't worry about the Land of Waves. I'll definitely get everything sorted out properly for you!"
Just then, Zabuza circled behind Hongshi, lifted his great blade high, and brought it down on Hongshi's head. "Die, boss!"
Bang! The blade descended with tremendous force, striking Hongshi squarely on the crown. The surrounding mist was instantly blasted away, and even the ground beneath Hongshi cracked and caved in.
"Demon Blade: Ten Consecutive Slashes! Ora ora ora ora!"
Clang, clang, clang, clang...
Sparks kept bursting between the blade and Hongshi's head, and chunks of iron flew off one after another.
Hongshi: "(╯'-') What are you doing?!"
Looking at Kubikiribōchō, now resembling a saw, Zabuza sighed. "Your head was so shiny, I just wanted to see if I could crack it open. Nothing else. Looks like your head really is hard."
Slap!
"('-')ノ)`-') Hard, huh? Don't you know I'm a shadow clone?!"
Slap!
"Boss, hear me out!"
"('-')ノ)`-') Hear you out, huh? Don't you know I'll pop if I get hurt?!"
Slap!
"Boss, I was wrong!"
"('-')ノ)`-') You were wrong, huh? Don't you know how precious my shadow clones are?! If this one pops, there'll only be ninety-nine left!"
Beaten into withdrawal by Hongshi, Zabuza squatted off to one side, muttering to himself, "I'm going to kill the boss. I'm going to kill the boss..."
Hongshi looked at the mercenaries opposite him, who were too frightened to speak. "All right, down to business. I think you already know what you need to do. What I want to say is, if you act well, you can become my first batch of subordinates. There'll be plenty of benefits in the future. I'll train you into outstanding samurai or ninja and make your names known throughout the Shinobi World."
One thousand words omitted below.
"We'll follow the boss to our deaths!"
"Our lives belong to the boss!"
"Let our names ring throughout the Shinobi World!"
Gato looked at Hongshi. "What an inspiring speech!"
The Lord God: "Inspiring, my ass! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"
Haku: "Boss, Kakashi and the others are coming."
Hongshi smiled. "Since they're here, let's begin."
"Yes! Zabuza, let's go... Why are you lying there?"
"I'm a salted fish."
"..."
Hongshi shook his head. "All right, I'm leaving."
The clone departed using Flying Thunder God. Only then did Zabuza stand up, returning to his earlier high spirits and openly murderous air. "All right, let's go all out!!!"
Gato: "..."
Haku: "???"
The mercenaries: "(°ー°〃)."
On the bridge
Tazuna, Sasuke, Sakura, Hieimon, and Kakashi arrived on the bridge, only to find five people lying in pools of blood at its entrance.
"What! What happened here?!"
Tazuna immediately rushed forward and cradled one of them, asking urgently, "What's wrong?! What on earth happened?!"
"Oh, my God, he's a monster! Ah, I can't hold on. I'm fainting."
Hearing this, Kakashi immediately thought that Zabuza really had survived after all.
Suddenly, thick mist rose over the bridge. Kakashi started. "He's here. I didn't expect him so soon!"
Holding a kunai, Sakura said in alarm, "Kakashi-sensei, isn't this Zabuza's Hidden Mist Technique?"
"Kakashi, it's been a few days. You're still bringing those useless brats along. He's trembling nonstop, and you've brought someone new too. Heh, foolish groundhog."
Four Zabuzas came flying out of the mist, their target Sasuke. Yet Sasuke gave a cold smile. "I'm trembling with excitement!"
Kakashi smiled slightly. "Sasuke, go."
With four splashes, Sasuke moved rapidly and destroyed all four water clones in an instant.
"Oh! Not bad. You actually saw through my water clones."
"Big Brother Zabuza, could you please not talk like that?"
"Shut up."
"...Carry on."
"Oh, you foolish groundhog, you've improved quite a bit. Haku, you've met your match."
Haku nodded. "It seems so."
Sasuke lowered his stance, fighting spirit flaring in his eyes. "Leave the masked guy to me! Using such lousy tricks... I despise people who play these mysterious games."
Sakura: "(｡∀<｡) Sasuke's so cool!"
Kakashi: "Sakura just goes along with whatever Sasuke does."
Zabuza said to Haku, "Although water clones only have a tenth of my strength, he..."
Haku said coldly, "I know. He's no ordinary opponent. He dealt with them far too easily."
Zabuza said, "Actually, only a twentieth... Ahem, I'm ready. Go."
"Yes!"
Haku used Water Body Flicker, vanishing outright and flashing straight to Sasuke's side, attacking him directly with the senbon in his hand.
After several days of hellish training, Sasuke's strength had improved considerably. Though startled, he reacted quickly, twisting aside to dodge.
Watching the fight, Kakashi said, "Hmm... This kid can actually keep up with that speed too. Sakura, protect Hieimon and Mr. Danazi. Leave that guy to Sasuke."
Hieimon said softly, "I know a little ninjutsu too. I can fight as well."
Sakura blocked Hieimon's way. "Hongshi isn't here, so you have to listen to me. Don't cause trouble. Just stay beside me."
Facing off against Sasuke, Haku said slowly, "I don't want to kill anyone, but you won't just step aside either, will you?"
Sasuke smiled. "Are you kidding...?"
Haku seemed to know the answer. He held up two fingers. "As expected. But can you keep up with my next burst of speed? Besides, I now have two advantages."
Sasuke looked puzzled. "Two advantages?"
"First, the water scattered around us. Remember? It came from the water clones you destroyed. Second, I've blocked you with just one hand... So all you can do is defend."
"?"
Haku's left hand shifted rapidly through gestures. He was actually forming hand seals.
"What?! He can form hand seals with one hand?!"
"Ice Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
"What?!"
The surrounding water rose, encircling Sasuke, and rapidly froze into hundreds of ice spikes that shot straight toward him.
Zabuza: "Hey! Go easy. Don't kill him."
Instead, Sasuke calmed down at this moment. Gather chakra beneath my feet, then... BIU!
Bang!
Before the attack struck him, Sasuke leaped sharply upward, throwing several shuriken at the same time.
Haku seemed not to have anticipated this and hurriedly dodged the shuriken. But by the time he recovered, Sasuke had already landed behind him. "You're slower than I imagined."
"Oh, no, you've gotten behind me. Whatever should I do?!"
"...Now all you can do is defend."
Zabuza: "He's going way too easy on him..."
Tazuna: "(°ー°〃) Why does this fight feel a little strange?"