Standing on the long blue shadow was none other than Kisame.
What shocked Naruto the most wasn't Kisame himself, but the long blue shadow.
Before everyone's eyes was a gigantic blue shark, 18 meters long, with pale-colored spots and crisscrossing lines on its body, resembling a checkerboard pattern.
On the shark's back rested four blue-painted wooden planks, arranged to give the illusion of a boat when viewed from afar. Up close, however, it was downright terrifying.
Who would have thought Kisame would use a shark as the foundation for his vessel? He was truly a shipbuilding genius… or, perhaps more accurately, a madman.
"Good job!"
Naruto gave a big thumbs-up.
This was exactly the kind of unexpected ingenuity Naruto had been hoping for. It was shocking yet made perfect sense when considering Kisame's personality. It was this mix of surprise and plausibility that made it perfect.
Naruto had been eagerly anticipating a standout creation, but to his surprise, it was Kisame who delivered.
Yet the biggest surprise of all came from Hidan… or rather, his complete absence.
By 12:00 PM, Hidan still hadn't shown up.
"Well, I'll be damned." Naruto muttered, half annoyed, half amused, "That bastard's got guts!"
Whoosh!
Naruto teleported directly to Hidan's location, using the Flying Thunder God's mark he had placed on him.
"Snore... Snore!"
The sound of deafening snores greeted Naruto.
Naruto never expected that Hidan had skipped the race to take a nap.
But upon learning the truth, Naruto wasn't angry anymore.
The day before, Hidan had spent the entire day traveling, followed by an all-nighter with Hana. Yesterday, he traveled again without rest, yet still remained full of energy by nightfall.
Such incredible stamina… it was impossible for Naruto not to feel a twinge of envy. Seeing Hidan finally succumb to exhaustion and rest gave Naruto a strange sense of balance.
Whoosh!
Using Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the river, Naruto waved his hand and said, "Hidan's situation is special. He's officially forfeited. Everyone else, get ready! The race starts in one minute."
With one competitor down, Kisame and Itachi exchanged glances. Both were smiling confidently, their eyes burning with determination.
For them, Zabuza and Haku were never serious threats. In their minds, this race was a direct competition between the two of them for first place.
As for why Naruto was not counted, this has been said a thousand times. Everything they did was to perform in front of Naruto.
Putting the big boat in the water, Naruto waved his hand and said, "Three, two, one… the race begins!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto formed hand seals and summoned hundreds of shadow clones, which stood in two rows on the left and right sides of the boat.
"Eight Gates, open!"
Naruto and his clones simultaneously opened to the third gate.
"Left! Right! Left! Right!"
The real Naruto barked commands as the shadow clones rowed in perfect unison.
The sheer power of their rowing sent Naruto's massive boat hurtling forward with such force that it momentarily lifted out of the water, almost taking flight.
Seeing this, Zabuza formed a hand seal with one hand, while the other hand pointed skyward.
The originally calm water surface was suddenly covered with a thick white mist, to the point where people couldn't see their hand in front of them.
The course from the starting point to the finish line wasn't a straight path, and it was full of sharp turns. Losing visibility made it incredibly challenging to navigate, and the faster the boat, the greater the risk of crashing into the riverbanks and destroying it.
"Haku, lead the way!" Zabuza called out confidently.
While Zabuza couldn't see anything in the dense fog, he had a plan. While he could fight without sight with his Silent Killing Technique, traveling was a different story.
This was where Haku came in. Having scouted the terrain in advance, Haku had memorized every twist and turn of the river.
"Secret Technique: Ice Release Link!"
Haku used her Ice Release to link her boat's stern to Zabuza's bow, sending signals through knocks on the hull.
"Set off!"
Zabuza's ears twitched slightly, and he grinned triumphantly.
According to the current situation, it is a foregone conclusion that he will get the first place.
The previous night, while coordinating the purchase of the boat, Zabuza had been contemplating the purpose of Naruto's games.
From what he knew about Naruto and Kisame, Zabuza deduced a general conclusion:
Naruto had subdued Kisame and other powerful individuals with absolute strength, and these followers were striving to stand out to gain his favor.
As for Naruto's games, Zabuza surmised that Naruto designed them to test these powerful individuals.
To confirm his theory, Zabuza subtly investigated the contents of the previous games, which further confirmed his thought.
The first game, in the Land of Grass, tested survival skills in the wild. The second game, in the Land of Waterfalls, tested individual strength by climbing the same waterfall. The third game, in the Land of Iron, involved building and destroying snow forts, testing strategy. The fourth game, in the Land of Fields, challenged the 'Demon King', testing team cooperation. The fifth game, in the Land of Hot Springs, focused on a beauty pageant to make everyone realize their own shortcomings.
Now, the sixth game, this dragon boat race, was clearly meant to test water navigation skills.
Zabuza knew his skills on the water were not exceptional. Still, by creating heavy fog to turn the environment to his advantage, he felt this was his best shot at success.
Initially, Zabuza wasn't too worried. However, seeing so many powerful individuals around Naruto, it was clear Naruto's strength was unparalleled. Zabuza believed that winning this game could enhance and solidify his standing in Naruto's eyes.
But in the end, all this is just Zabuza's delusion.
Not long after they set off, Haku spoke in a low voice, "This is bad, Zabuza-sama. Our boat has crashed into the shore."
"What's going on? Didn't you say you memorized the route?" Zabuza demanded.
Haku replied apologetically, "I'm sorry, Zabuza-sama. I did memorize the route, but the surroundings are completely different from what I recalled. I don't understand why."
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Zabuza growled.
Despite his scolding, Zabuza quickly dispelled the thick mist.
As the mist lifted, Zabuza realized they had been stationary at the starting point the entire time.
"This is… Genjutsu!"
Zabuza's face twisted in anger as he cursed, "Itachi, that sly bastard, resorted to dirty tricks!"
He wanted nothing more than to cleave Itachi in two with his Kubikirbocho. But for now, catching up was the priority.
"Haku, get on the boat! Let's move!"
Meanwhile, Naruto and Kisame were racing furiously.
Although Naruto is very fast, Kisame is also very fast.
As a marine creature, the shark Kisame rode is like a fish in water in the literal sense, moving at astonishing speed.
Not stopping there, Kisame formed hand seals repeatedly.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
With a surge of Chakra, a massive water shark formed and leaped out of the water, heading straight for Naruto's boat without hesitation.
In Kisame's opinion, this game played to his strengths perfectly, so getting the best player of the game was not a problem.
Even if it meant offending Naruto a little, Kisame wouldn't hold back.
However, just as the water shark launched forward, a familiar voice came from behind Kisame.
"Kisame, what are you doing here by yourself? Punching the air?"
"Huh?"
Kisame turned to see Zabuza, then looked forward again, only to find Naruto's boat had vanished.
"This is... Itachi's Genjutsu! That guy…!"
Kisame couldn't help but pounded his chest in frustration. His confidence in water races had made him overlook the true wildcard… Itachi's Genjutsu, an ability that could defy all conventional limits.
Who would have thought that in a game with five contestants, three of them, Kisame, Zabuza, and White, would fall victim to Itachi's Genjutsu.
As Kisame snapped back to reality, a thought struck him, "Even if Naruto-kun is not here, what is his situation?"
'Could it be that even Naruto-kun is trapped in Itachi's Genjutsu, stranded in some other part of the water?'