Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Two hours later, after crossing the sea and passing the bridge shrouded in thick fog, Naruto and the others finally arrived in the Land of Waves.

They had barely set foot on the small island nation’s outer shores when they were spotted.

Naruto’s heightened senses picked up two shinobi watching them: one at jonin level, the other at chunin level.

‘That must be Zabuza and Haku.’

They had just entered a small stretch of forest when a massive sword came spinning toward them.

“Look out! Get down!”

At Kakashi’s shout, everyone immediately dropped to the ground.

The blade swept just above their heads before burying itself in a tree on the other side of the path.

A tall, muscular shinobi landed on the sword. White bandages covered the lower half of his face.

With his back to them, he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes cold.

“Well, well. Zabuza Momochi, the rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist.”

Kakashi reached for his forehead protector, preparing to uncover his left eye and use the Sharingan.

“Oh? Kakashi of the Sharingan.” Zabuza regarded him coldly. “Why don’t you hand over the old man?”

Kakashi had no intention of agreeing. The tension between them rose immediately.

“Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto—get into formation around Tazuna. I’ll handle this one.”

He issued the order without taking his eye off Zabuza.

The three hurried to their client’s side, positioning themselves around him.

“Ninja Art: Hiding in Mist Jutsu!”

Zabuza leaped onto the surface of the nearby water and gathered his chakra.

Thick white mist spread through the area, swallowing everything around them.

The battle was about to begin.

“Eight points. The larynx. The spine. The liver. The lungs. The carotid artery. The subclavian artery. The kidneys. The heart.”

Zabuza’s voice drifted through the fog, cold and menacing.

“Now… which one should I choose?”

His threats were meant to frighten them. Killing intent poured through the mist, pressing down on everyone.

Standing a short distance ahead of Naruto, Kakashi suddenly answered with a fierce surge of killing intent of his own.

The pressure from the two jonin met in the fog.

But Kakashi’s sudden response struck Naruto and Sasuke first. Both boys began trembling.

‘I’m still a long way from their level.’

Naruto gritted his teeth, struggling against the killing intent radiating from Kakashi as he tried to steady himself.

Perhaps, once he had killed enough people with [Killer’s Heart], he would develop that kind of presence too.

At that moment, a figure appeared behind him, carrying a terrifying killing intent.

Kakashi reacted immediately. He closed the distance and drove his kunai into the attacker’s abdomen while Naruto and the others used the opening to get clear.

But the Zabuza he had struck dissolved into water.

A water clone.

Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi an instant later, swinging his massive sword toward his waist.

“Kakashi-sensei! Behind you!” Sakura cried.

The blade swept through him, cutting his body in half.

No blood spilled.

This Kakashi was a water clone too.

At the same moment, the real Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza and pressed a kunai against his throat.

“It’s over.”

“He’s… amazing!”

The others stared, astonished by Kakashi’s skill.

For all his confidence, however, his apparent victory lasted barely three seconds.

The Zabuza at his mercy was another water clone.

The real Zabuza appeared behind him. After a brief, brutal exchange of taijutsu, he landed a kick that sent Kakashi flying into the lake.

It happened so quickly that Naruto barely had time to react.

He immediately released the jutsu he had already prepared.

“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”

A fierce blast of wind surged toward Zabuza, but he slipped out of its path.

He shot Naruto a cold glare, then went after Kakashi. The boy could wait. Kakashi was the greater threat.

Kakashi had only just surfaced when Zabuza caught him in the Water Prison Jutsu.

To Naruto, it looked like the beginning of another performance.

He couldn’t believe Kakashi would let himself be captured so easily. Surely a single Chidori would be enough to electrocute Zabuza through the water.

‘He’s trying to train us again. He wants to see what we’ll do.’

Keeping his right hand in the water prison, Zabuza formed one-handed signs with his left.

Another water clone appeared in front of him, regarding the three genin coldly.

“Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto! Take Tazuna and run!”

Kakashi blinked at them through the water before continuing.

“You’re no match for Zabuza! He has to stay here to keep me trapped, and his water clone can’t travel far from him. Get far enough away, and it’ll disperse. Take advantage of that and go!”

“Tch.” Naruto gave a scornful laugh. “Without you, Zabuza will kill us sooner or later anyway.”

That was simply the truth. And Naruto was certain Kakashi was testing them again.

“Hahaha! You think wearing forehead protectors makes you ninja?”

Zabuza’s clone sneered at them, speaking as though he were instructing a few ignorant children.

Apparently, he liked giving lectures too.

“Real shinobi live on the edge between life and death! The ones strong enough to have their names written in the Bingo Book—like me!”

The water clone spoke with undisguised pride.

“Brats like you aren’t even worth killing!”

The moment he finished speaking, he vanished from where he stood.

Naruto immediately used the Substitution Jutsu to evade him and quickly formed his next hand signs.

Crash!

Zabuza’s clone appeared where Naruto had been and smashed the substitute log to pieces with a kick.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

“Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!”

Two hands suddenly emerged from the ground beneath the clone’s feet, seized him, and dragged him into the earth.

“What?!”

The child he had dismissed moments earlier had caught him before he could react.

Naruto sprang out of the ground, raised his right foot, and drove it into the exposed head.

The clone collapsed into a puddle.

Everyone stared in disbelief.

It had only been a water clone, but it still possessed a portion of an elite jonin’s strength. Naruto had destroyed it in just two moves.

Zabuza had underestimated him badly, and Naruto had made him pay for it.

“Brat… you’ve made me angry.”

Beside the water prison, the real Zabuza gave a cold snort.

His expression became unreadable as he formed another set of one-handed signs. A fresh water clone appeared, sword in hand, and charged straight at Naruto without a word.

“Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

At Naruto’s shout, dozens of shadow clones appeared around the group.

They arranged themselves in four rows and rapidly formed hand signs.

“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”

“Water Style: Raging Waves!”