Chapter 23 (Patreon)

Haku thought for a moment, but no convincing explanation came to mind. Instead, he picked up Zabuza’s body and fled.

Naruto formed a hand sign and blew a spiraling gust of wind toward him. But Haku’s Body Flicker was too fast. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Naruto could only sigh. Then he turned toward Kakashi, puzzled by how still he had become.

Kakashi weakly pulled his forehead protector down over his left eye, then collapsed unconscious.

He had pushed his Sharingan too far. No wonder he hadn’t stopped Haku from escaping.

“He really doesn’t have much stamina...”

Naruto’s gaze lingered on Kakashi’s covered left eye. For a moment, he was tempted to take the Sharingan for himself. But the two ANBU ninja were still watching him from nearby.

With no other choice, he suppressed the temptation.

The next morning, at Tazuna’s house, Kakashi finally woke up.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura gathered around him.

“Kakashi-sensei, is Zabuza going to attack us again?” Sakura asked worriedly.

Kakashi nodded, his expression serious.

“Yes. Though he’ll probably wait until he’s recovered from his injuries.”

Sakura and Sasuke tensed at his answer. Neither of them had forgotten how terrifying Zabuza had been, or how much stronger he was than they were.

“That means we’ll use this time for some special training,” Kakashi continued. “You need to improve as much as you can before the next fight.”

“It’s pointless! All of it!”

A voice suddenly interrupted them.

Everyone turned toward the doorway. A boy of five or six stood there, staring at them stubbornly.

“You can’t beat Gatō! If you try to fight him, you’ll just get yourselves killed!”

“Inari, don’t say things like that.”

Tazuna pulled the boy into his arms, then gave the others an apologetic look.

“This is my grandson, Inari.”

Inari broke free of his grandfather’s hold, turned around, and walked out.

Naruto scoffed inwardly. He despised people who gave in to fear and then tried to convince everyone else to do the same.

Still, Inari was only a child. There was no point dwelling on it.

Nor did Naruto feel any urge to follow him and offer comfort. Everyone had their own life to live, and Naruto was no exception. What did someone else’s opinions or courage have to do with him?

Right now, he cared about getting stronger.

He immediately urged Kakashi to get started, and the three students followed their teacher into the nearby woods.

“I hear all three of you have already mastered tree climbing. Good work,” Kakashi said. “Your fundamentals should be solid enough now, so I’ll teach each of you a powerful jutsu.”

He glanced at Naruto as he spoke and was a little surprised to see no particular reaction.

“Let’s start with you, Naruto. What jutsu can you use?”

“All the C-rank Wind Style, Earth Style, and Water Style jutsu. The Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu, and Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, too.”

Naruto answered calmly.

He had already stopped expecting anything from Kakashi, so the offer didn’t leave him feeling especially excited or grateful.

As far as Naruto was concerned, Kakashi was his team leader. Teaching his students was part of the job.

“I see. Between those jutsu and what you showed me yesterday, I’d say you’re already fighting at a chūnin’s level,” Kakashi said. “Very good.”

He considered their next opponent before continuing.

“For the fight with Zabuza, I want you to learn a B-rank Wind Style jutsu. It should give you a way to counter his Hidden Mist Jutsu.”

Kakashi taught him the hand signs for Wind Style: Hurricane Jutsu, along with how to mold and direct his chakra.

“Thank you.”

Naruto nodded, then moved away to practice.

Kakashi watched him go and shook his head helplessly before turning to Sasuke.

“Sasuke, you’ve mastered the C-rank Fire Style jutsu, correct?”

Sasuke nodded.

“Then I’ll teach you an A-rank Lightning Style jutsu. It’s a technique I developed myself—the Chidori.”

A short distance away, Naruto heard the sharp, birdlike chirping of lightning gathering in Kakashi’s hand. His lips twisted slightly.

In the original story, Kakashi had taught Sasuke that powerful jutsu just before the final round of the Chūnin Exams. Sasuke had later developed it further, creating techniques such as Chidori Stream.

Naruto, meanwhile, had been handed over to Ebisu, the instructor with the glasses. It wasn’t until Jiraiya appeared that his training had taken a different turn.

But that had little to do with what he needed to accomplish right now.

Naruto brought his hands together, and fifty shadow clones appeared around him. Without a word, they spread out and began practicing the jutsu he had just learned.

“Wind Style: Hurricane Jutsu!”

“Wind Style: Hurricane Jutsu!”

“Wind Style: Hurricane Jutsu!”

The calls continued throughout the clearing.

Fifty clones was the right number for him. Creating more would shorten the time he could maintain them, and the strain on his mind would grow when their memories returned after he dispelled them.

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura all watched with envy. Using fifty shadow clones meant Naruto could train at roughly fifty times the pace of someone practicing alone.

Once Kakashi had finished explaining the jutsu to all three students, he returned to Tazuna’s house on crutches to rest. He left them to practice on their own, apparently unconcerned about any danger.

The two ANBU watching Naruto from the shadows could only put their hands to their foreheads.

“Captain Kakashi is as careless as ever,” one muttered to the other.

The real Naruto mingled with his fifty clones. He sensed Kakashi leaving, as well as the two ANBU concealed nearby, and a faint, mocking smile crossed his lips.

His sensory range had already reached one hundred kilometers.

Within that range, he could clearly sense Zabuza’s hiding place, ten kilometers away. Haku remained at the injured swordsman’s side, never leaving him alone.

It wasn’t until noon that Haku finally went out to gather medicinal herbs and buy food.

Zabuza was alone.

Naruto knew his chance had come.

A cloud of smoke billowed through the clearing as his shadow clones disappeared.

When it cleared, only Naruto remained. He was panting, wiping sweat from his forehead, before heading back to Tazuna’s house with Sasuke and Sakura for lunch.

No one would notice whether he had dispelled fifty clones or forty-nine.

Under cover of that smoke, one shadow clone had already used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.

Guided by the mark Naruto had placed on Zabuza’s neck the day before, it appeared beside him, ten kilometers away.

The clone held a kunai in each hand. The instant it materialized, the weapon in its right hand plunged into Zabuza’s neck.

“Flying Thunder God Slash!”

Zabuza had been resting in bed. He never had a chance to react.

Blood spilled from his neck as he stared at the blond boy standing over him.

He couldn’t understand it. How had Naruto gotten so close? How had he stabbed him before he could even respond?

For years, the Hidden Mist’s elite hunter-nin had pursued him. He had survived assassination attempt after assassination attempt, always finding a way to escape.

Yet now, he was dying at the hands of this brat.

Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, was an elite jōnin. And he was about to die without even knowing how his enemy had reached him.

Years ago, Tobirama Senju had mortally wounded Izuna Uchiha with the Flying Thunder God Slash.

Now Naruto Uzumaki had used that same technique to kill Zabuza Momochi.

Zabuza might have been one of the earlier enemies in the original story, but for Naruto at his current level, defeating him still brought substantial rewards.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have killed one jōnin. Reward: 100 points.]

[Ding! The Executioner’s Blade can be sold to the System Shop for 100 points. Sell it?]

“Sell it.”

Naruto didn’t hesitate. A fine weapon or not, he had no use for it.

Then the clone cut off Zabuza’s head and took it away. Using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu again, it returned to the place where Naruto had killed the two genin assassins and buried the head there.

Anyone investigating would likely assume that a Mist hunter-nin or a bounty hunter had killed Zabuza. There would be little reason to suspect Kakashi’s Team Seven.

With everything finished, the shadow clone dispelled itself.

Back at Tazuna’s house, Naruto was eating lunch when its memories returned. A barely noticeable smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He looked through the array of items and abilities available in the System Shop, hardly able to contain his excitement.

I have 202 points now. What should I get? A Skill Upgrade Scroll? Which skill should I upgrade?