Chapter 34: Yagyu’s Experiment

Just after Haku left, Kakashi Hatake collapsed from overusing his Sharingan.

In Yagyu's past life, Kakashi was often joked about by fans as the "unit of chakra" because of his frequent exhaustion.

However, in reality, Kakashi's chakra reserves were incredibly vast, similar to the Sage Body of the Uzumaki and Senju clans.

At the age of five, Kakashi could already use the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.

In the original story, without the burden of the Sharingan, Kakashi quickly developed the Purple Lightning technique, attaining the strength of a Kage-level ninja. His immense chakra reserves even allowed him to use Earth Release techniques that encircled the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Thanks to this massive chakra pool, Kakashi was able to survive after having the Sharingan transplanted into him, despite its constant drain on his chakra.

Haku didn't know that his enemy had already reached his limit. Even if he did, his kind-hearted nature wouldn't allow him to attack Team 7.

After taking Zabuza away, Haku focused on moving as quickly as possible using the Body Flicker Technique, intending to return and treat Zabuza's injuries.

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over him from behind.

The sound of waves reached Haku's ears, and when he turned to look, his expression behind the mask changed dramatically.

A massive wave, like the hand of a sea god, was crashing down toward him.

Already in the middle of using the Body Flicker Technique, Haku had no chance to dodge.

He didn't even have time to wonder where the wave had come from or why he hadn't noticed the presence of someone using such a technique nearby.

Acting purely on instinct, Haku quickly formed a one-handed seal:

"Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome Prison!"

Moisture in the air condensed rapidly, forming a massive ice wall in front of him. Haku held Zabuza protectively in his arms, taking cover behind the wall.

The enormous wave crashed against the ice wall with tremendous force.

Water Release techniques are known for their destructive power, using both impact and weight.

The wave slammed into the thick ice wall, smashing it to pieces and engulfing both Haku and Zabuza.

Luckily, the ice wall absorbed much of the force, so as Haku was swept away by the water, he didn't feel any internal injuries, nor did Zabuza's condition worsen.

As Haku allowed the wave to carry him, gathering chakra in his feet to prepare for escape once the water receded, a dense mist suddenly filled the air.

Within seconds, the entire area became shrouded in fog.

Recognizing the familiar Hidden Mist Jutsu, Haku's expression shifted once again.

Could it be that the Hidden Mist Village had sent someone to capture Zabuza?

With this thought in mind, Haku swiftly began forming a seal, intending to use his Ice Release techniques to escape with Zabuza.

However, before he could complete the hand sign, red powder filled his vision.

In the next moment, Haku's movements stopped, as if he were bound to a tree, unable to move.

And indeed, in Haku's vision, a large tree had appeared out of nowhere, with numerous vine-like tendrils wrapping around both him and Zabuza, tying them down.

The next thing Haku saw was darkness as he lost consciousness.

From beginning to end, he hadn't even glimpsed the face of his attacker.

"Is it dark now?"

After the mist dissipated, Yagyu looked at the unconscious Haku, whose body emitted no light, and muttered to himself.

He wasn't too disappointed, as he had already mentally prepared for this possibility.

Taking two chains from his space backpack, Yagyu bound Zabuza, who was still in a near-death state, and the unconscious Haku. Carrying them both on his shoulders, he used Body Flicker to move to a secluded area in the Land of Waves.

After laying Zabuza and Haku on the ground, Yagyu put on a mask and summoned a shadow clone before beginning his experiment.

Yagyu's clone removed the senbon from Zabuza's neck and used medical ninjutsu to heal him.

Before long, Zabuza's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes, muttering in his groggy state, "Took you long enough, Haku…"

Smack!

Before Zabuza's vision could fully clear, a chop to the neck knocked him out again.

"Continue!"

Yagyu, showing no emotion as Zabuza failed to emit any light, commanded his clone.

The shadow clone, possessing enough chakra to make Kakashi cry, continued using basic medical ninjutsu on Zabuza.

Yagyu's father had been a combat-type ninja, specializing in Water Release, while his mother had been a support-type ninja, specializing in medical ninjutsu.

The medical ninjutsu that both Hinata and Sakura knew had been taught to them by Yagyu himself.

Perhaps due to his Sage Body and the Asura chakra within him, Yagyu's medical ninjutsu was extremely powerful, with effects surpassing even the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique.

Yagyu couldn't help but wonder if, after mastering the Mystical Palm Technique, he'd be able to heal any injury, no matter how severe.

Under the shadow clone's treatment, Zabuza soon regained consciousness.

This time, as he opened his eyes, Zabuza finally saw Yagyu and noticed the bound Haku beside him.

"You…"

Before Zabuza could widen his eyes and ask who Yagyu was, another chop to the neck knocked him out.

"...Continue."

Frowning slightly as Zabuza still showed no sign of emitting any light, Yagyu ordered his clone to keep going.

Without a word, the shadow clone continued healing Zabuza.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Zabuza was knocked out repeatedly, again and again.

This cycle repeated numerous times until, just as Yagyu was beginning to think his experiment had failed—

Whoosh!

After knocking Zabuza out once more, Yagyu finally saw what he had been waiting for.

A white light flickered on Zabuza's body.

Then, a beam of white light emerged from him, forming a floating orb beside him.

Seeing this, Yagyu smiled in satisfaction.

It turned out that any form of victory could trigger the "drop" mechanism.

With that, Yagyu stopped tormenting Zabuza and turned his attention to Haku, ready to farm some items from him.

Just like with Zabuza, Haku was knocked out repeatedly, healed, and then knocked out again.

However, even as night fell and Zabuza naturally woke up multiple times only to be knocked out again, Yagyu couldn't get Haku to emit any light—not even the lowest-tier white light.

This situation was all too familiar to Yagyu.

It was exactly the same as with Ino and Hinata.

For years, Yagyu had never managed to get the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu from Ino or the Byakugan from Hinata.

Even Sasuke, who frequently sparred with Yagyu during small exams and impromptu tests and was the only one in the class who could last a while against Yagyu, had only dropped one blue and one red orb.

Yagyu had always thought that his inability to get valuable items from Ino and Hinata was due to bad luck.

But now, after experimenting with Zabuza and Haku, and considering Sasuke's case, Yagyu realized that bad luck was only part of the problem. The real issue was that the drop rate had decreased!

It was just like how strictly adhering to the rules during a taijutsu match could affect an invisible "score," making it harder to obtain items.

By trying to repeatedly knock out Haku in hopes of getting the red-tier Ice Release or the likely blue-tier one-handed seals, Yagyu had inadvertently lowered his score and the drop rate.

Moreover, his strength was far greater than Haku's, so defeating the much weaker Haku wouldn't be scored as highly as defeating stronger opponents like Kurenai or Zabuza.

This was likely why Ino and Hinata hadn't dropped anything yet!

The more Yagyu thought about it, the more convinced he became.

So, he decided to stop farming items by repeatedly knocking Haku out and prepared to try a different approach.

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