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The national strength of the Land of Waves was weak. Facing the wealthy and powerful Gatō, Dazna and the others naturally couldn't resist, so he decided to go to Konoha to commission a mission.
However, they were too poor to afford the payment for a high-rank mission.
Dazna could only conceal the true situation in the Land of Waves, submitting a low-rank C-level escort mission request, hoping to cut first and deal later — relying on the strength of Konoha's ninja to repel the thugs hired by Gatō, and buy enough time for himself to complete the bridge construction.
Perhaps even Dazna hadn't expected it: the thugs hired by Gatō would actually include a rogue ninja of terrifying reputation—
Momochi Zabuza.
If not for the coincidence of encountering Team 7 led by Kakashi Hatake, an ordinary escort squad would have been completely annihilated!
Ye Dou recalled the entire Land of Waves incident, and he was deeply impressed by this mission.
This was the earliest major plot in Naruto, but with the later revelations of Uchiha Obito, the manipulation of the Third Mizukage, and the truth behind the "Bloody Mist Village," revisiting the events surrounding the Land of Waves left a different feeling — no longer just simple bloodshed.
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"Hey, Ye Dou, did it rain this morning? Why is there a puddle here?"
Suddenly, the mongoose at Ye Dou's side pointed to a puddle by the roadside that seemed completely out of place.
Ye Dou casually swept a glance around, then turned and continued walking silently.
Ninjutsu truly was a miraculous thing.
If he hadn't already been informed by the manga, he would never have imagined that such a small puddle could conceal two adult shinobi.
Kakashi saw all this from the corner of his eye and secretly nodded. His assessment grew more certain:
Ye Dou's sharpness wasn't due to Metkay's excessive training, but the boy's own instincts.
When he was six years old, Kakashi had already set foot on the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War, witnessing countless enemy ambush tactics.
This puddle—
In the dry, sunlit weather of the past few days, with barely any morning mist, a random puddle appearing on firm, solid ground was an obvious anomaly.
Sure enough, as they walked past, the puddle rippled—and from it, two figures emerged!
Splash!
"The first one!"
As soon as the two appeared, they moved without hesitation.
Fierce and bloodthirsty expressions twisted their faces as they lunged toward Ye Dou at the rear of the team.
The weapons they wielded resembled an iron chain, with razor-sharp blades on both ends, binding the two together.
"Die!"
Ye Dou appeared oblivious, offering no defense as the bladed chain wrapped tightly around him, locking him in place.
The two assassins pulled sharply—
In the blink of an eye, Ye Dou was shredded into bloody pieces!
"WHAT?!"
"YE DOU!"
The sudden change shocked everyone. When Naruto Uzumaki turned his head, he saw Ye Dou's body already slashed into several segments.
---
[This was where Ye Dou's true skill was revealed.]
The Demon Brothers (Gōzu and Meizu) thought they had succeeded, having used their deadly chain technique to tear apart their first target.
The scene was so brutal that Naruto, facing a life-and-death battle for the first time, was frozen in terror.
The Demon Brothers advanced toward their next target: Naruto Uzumaki.
"The second one!"
Controlling the bladed chain like a venomous snake, the Demon Brothers swept toward Naruto, intending to kill him before he could react.
However—
Just as they approached, a shadow flashed behind them.
"Bullying children isn't... a good habit."
"So fast!"
The older Demon Brother's expression changed drastically.
Still, he didn't panic; after all, their chain connected them, and they had practiced many escape techniques for this kind of situation.
However, before they could react, Kakashi's casserole-sized fist smashed into the younger brother's face.
Boom!
The younger brother's eyes rolled back as he was sent flying.
"Why didn't you pull me?!"
The stunned younger Demon Brother turned to his elder in disbelief—only to see his brother pinned to the ground, a kunai thrust through his neck!
"How... how is this possible...?"
Before losing consciousness, he saw a figure stepping off the corpse of his elder brother.
It was Ye Dou—completely uninjured!
---
"Ye Dou, you bastard—weren't you dead?!" Naruto shouted, stunned.
Without answering, Ye Dou casually unleashed a Great Fireball Jutsu, engulfing the fallen elder Demon Brother in flames, burning the corpse to ashes.
"You—what are you doing?"
"Making sure he's dead," Ye Dou replied coolly.
Today's battle gave him a deeper understanding of the shinobi world:
Ninjutsu here was unpredictable and bizarre—not everything was shown in the original manga.
There were countless unseen dangers, forbidden jutsu, and secret arts.
The unknown was the most terrifying.
This world was even deadlier than he had imagined.
Reinserting his blade into the scabbard, Ye Dou turned to Dazna and said coldly:
"They're Kirigakure shinobi. Their target isn't us—it's you."
---
Caution.
Swift judgment.
These were the qualities Kakashi now admired most in Ye Dou.
Originally, Kakashi hadn't intended to kill their opponents so brutally in front of the kids—he planned to gradually ease them into the harshness of real battle.
But Ye Dou?
Not only did he kill cleanly, he even burned the bodies to eliminate all traces.
Far more ruthless and decisive than Kakashi himself.
"What do you mean...?" Naruto asked in a daze.
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