The battle erupted in an instant.
Deprived of his mist, Zabuza didn't retreat even as he faced Riyō and three others surrounding him.
Remember—he'd once been a member of Mist's "Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist"—an elite jonin-level shinobi and an absolute master at silent assassination techniques.
Across the ninja world, any ninja whose reputation reached overseas was no easy opponent.
Besides...
Hadn't he nearly wiped out Team 7 alongside Haku? And remember—Team 7 was powerful enough to seal Kaguya! That alone should tell you how dangerous he is...
Of course, this was all just a joke.
Still, without a doubt,
at this moment, the power of this Demon of the Hidden Mist remained formidable.
The number of ninjas who'd died by his hand probably exceeded three digits...
But the four fighting him weren't pushovers either.
Master Long, skilled in long-range attacks; Riyō, specialized in ninjutsu barrages; Yueji, adept at close combat; and Gin, another tokubetsu jonin...
Four people. Four Sharingan eyes.
It was truly a powerful team.
Even for Zabuza, battling them simultaneously right now wasn't easy.
[Water Release: Water Clone Technique!]
[Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!]
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!]
[Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!]
[Fuma Shuriken!]
[Taijutsu: Eight Trigrams Palm Strike!]
One devastating technique after another was frequently unleashed, colliding violently.
Blow after blow flew as the battle raged on.
Although none of Riyō's group matched Zabuza's raw strength,
they cleverly blocked every one of his attacks through teamwork combined with their Sharingans.
At times, they even seemed slightly dominant.
...
Right now,
standing far away, Shimoku cheered excitedly while enthusiastically giving instructions.
"Good, good! Keep it up like that!"
"Master Long, aim your jutsu straight at his head!"
"Yueji, get closer—attack his lower body! Don't give him a chance to form seals!"
"Riyō, watch the intervals between your techniques. Support Yueji well. Don't fall out of sync!"
"Gin, don't rush ahead too much. Throw more kunai and shuriken from behind!"
"Know how to play dirty? Forget about honor on the battlefield! Be ruthless—whatever hurts most! Got it?"
Such vulgar and underhanded orders
only fueled the enraged fighting spirit within Zabuza.
He practically howled in fury, dying to rush forward and cut that brat down.
But every time he tried to go after the kid,
those four Uchiha shinobi would hurl themselves at him, even trading blows at the cost of their own safety, fearless of death.
They forced him back—again and again—
keeping him from getting anywhere near that annoying brat!
"Cursed brat! Who exactly are you?"
"How could such an insignificant kid command such loyalty from these shinobi?"
"That doesn't make a lick of sense!"
Zabuza darkened, thinking anxiously.
Meanwhile, fighting against Riyō's group was becoming a real struggle.
Among these four, apart from Yueji the kunoichi and Master Long, the two younger ones clearly lacked experience.
At first, their coordination had been clumsy.
But now, the four of them were getting into sync and fighting more smoothly together.
At this pace, he might actually be the one who ends up losing!
No good—I can't keep dragging this out.
I need to find an opening to release a large-scale jutsu and crush them all at once!
---
"They should all be careful—he might use a clone to stall you while preparing hand seals for the [Water Dragon Bullet Technique]!"
"Focus on his real body! Don't let him get the chance!"
From afar, Shimoku immediately saw through Zabuza's intention and loudly warned again.
Hearing that, Zabuza felt his chest tighten, causing him to cough violently.
He almost spat out blood from rage!
"This damn brat! How does he know what I'm planning?"
"Why does he know exactly what I intend to do?"
"And he actually shouts it out loud!"
"How am I supposed to perform a technique now? How can I fight?"
"Is playing so dirty really acceptable?!?!"
Right now, seeing the frustrated and flustered expression on Zabuza's face,
Shimoku found amusement in it.
Of course—he had literally grown up watching this guy form hand seals.
He could probably recite every one of the forty-some seals of the [Water Dragon Bullet Technique] backwards blindfolded.
Across the entire Ninja World, no one was probably more familiar with Zabuza's fighting methods and jutsu than him.
How could this guy possibly stand a chance? With what?
With that thought, Riyō and the others, after receiving another hint, suddenly intensified their assault.
Giving Zabuza absolutely no opportunity to form seals or cast techniques.
As for Shimoku, he simply stood afar, enjoying the scene with a pleased smile.
---
Thus,
Zabuza's disadvantage visibly grew step by step.
After such fierce fighting, his entire body had already suffered more than a dozen wounds. Blood dripped down, staining most of his body red, making him look increasingly battered.
However,
Just as Riyō and the others thought they were about to win,
A small puddle behind Shimoku suddenly rippled.
Slowly taking shape into a delicate 'girl' of about ten years old.
Whoosh——
The girl gripped a kunai and dashed forward, arriving directly behind Shimoku.
Pressing the sharp kunai against his neck.
"Stop them now! Or else I'll kill you!"
Wide-eyed, Haku shouted out fiercely.
If it weren't absolutely necessary, he truly didn't wish to disobey Master Zabuza's orders and intervene.
Yet he wasn't stupid either.
Judging from the current situation, if the battle continued like this,
Master Zabuza would very likely lose—and even his life would be in danger.
Therefore, he couldn't wait any longer. He had no choice but to take action forcefully.
He planned to capture Shimoku alive as leverage to force those ninja to retreat.
"Young Master!"
Riyō and the others all paused instinctively, hearts tightening, ready to rush back to protect Shimoku.
"Keep fighting! Don't get distracted!"
Shimoku calmly commanded.
"Yes sir!"
Seeing this,
Haku became even angrier, gritting his teeth and threatening again.
"Don't you care about your own life?! Stop them now—I won't say it twice!"
"Being a rogue ninja isn't all fun and games, you know?"
"Hm? What nonsense are you talking?"
"If I were you, I'd drop the kunai right away and surrender quietly."
"Perhaps I can still save your life!" Shimoku said lightly with a faint smile, completely unfazed.
Haku, who was only ten years old, slightly trembled as he tightly gripped the kunai in his hand.
"You left me no choice!"
Mustering his courage, Haku lunged forward directly toward Shimoku's neck.
No matter what, he had to save Zabuza!
But the next second, there was no blood—none of the spray he'd expected.
Instead, Haku felt his kunai strike nothing at all—no sense of impact whatsoever. He staggered forward clumsily, nearly falling flat on his face.
Then, taking a clear look,
He suddenly realized that the boy's body had instantly shattered into countless illusionary figures of small pandas.
Then, these illusionary figures of small pandas joyfully hopped past him and quickly gathered on his right side.
Reforming once again into the shape of the young boy.
A sudden shock surged through Haku.
"A Substitute Jutsu?"
"A Clone Jutsu?"
"No! It's Genjutsu! I've fallen into a genjutsu!"
"That boy wasn't real from the start?!"
"How is that possible?! When did I get caught in the technique? Why didn't I notice anything at all?!"
Panicked, how could Haku afford to hesitate any longer?
Without delay, he immediately activated his [Kekkei Genkai - Ice Release], his strongest Ninjutsu!
[Demonic Mirroring Thin Ice!]
In no time, the jutsu took effect.
Numerous ice mirrors rapidly solidified around him.
And Haku himself prepared to swiftly vanish into one of the mirrors to launch an attack.
However,
As he was about to step into the mirror, he instinctively stole one glance back at the boy.
At that instant, Haku shook violently again.
"That... that's the [Mangekyō Sharingan]?!!!"
"How could this be?!!!"
In a flash,
More than ten ice mirrors exploded into pieces!
"Boom——"
Amidst the sound of shattering.
Everything blurred before Haku's eyes. Before he even realized what happened,
A huge hand roughly the same size as himself clamped tightly around his throat.
A huge hand instantly interrupted his jutsu and lifted him effortlessly off the ground.
"I told you already, just stay still. Why don't you ever listen?"
Staring into the boy's crimson pupils and hearing that cold voice,
Haku trembled all over, feeling as if plunged into icy coldness. A helplessness unlike anything before gripped him entirely.
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