Chapter 32
The next morning.
After a day of rushing on the road.
The members of Team 7, along with Tazuna, finally arrived in the Land of Waves.
With the help of the early morning mist and their contact person, they didn't encounter any more enemies and safely set foot on the territory of the Land of Waves.
Just as they left the port and took a few steps, Kakashi sighed silently.
Then he quietly walked to the middle of Tazuna and Naruto.
"I wonder if Sasuke and Sakura will be able to deal with him." He muttered to himself.
As for Naruto, Kakashi completely ignored him.
After all, he had an alter ego to take care of things, so Naruto didn't need to worry about him.
In the front, within the thickets of trees, Zabuza watched the group from a distance with narrowed eyes.
"Indeed, it's Kakashi, the Copy Ninja. Those two idiots deserved their defeat."
As one of the second batch of Seven Ninja Swordsmen who emerged from the Blood Mist, Zabuza wasn't afraid.
Instead, he felt the excitement of a hunter encountering its desired prey.
After being chased by the Hidden Mist pursuit force for so long, he needed to vent and establish his reputation.
After all, the pursuit force consisted of many individuals, but there was no one famous in the ninja world for him to use as a stepping stone.
As long as he took down Kakashi, there would be no more fools like Haku to question his abilities.
Behind Zabuza, Haku wearing the Hidden Mist mask sensed Zabuza's killing intent and quickly approached to inquire.
"Lord Zabuza, shall we take action now?"
"No rush." Zabuza raised his hand to stop Haku.
"Kakashi is not an ordinary person. He might have already noticed us."
"We should remain calm for now. He's probably planning to test the abilities of these three middle-ranking shinobi under his command."
Saying this, Zabuza sneered contemptuously.
"But it doesn't matter. He will soon pay the price for his arrogance."
Looking at Kakashi and his group getting closer and closer, about to reach them, Zabuza spoke again, "I'll go out and greet them first."
"Afterwards, we'll follow our usual battle plan. Understand?"
Haku nodded, having been involved in battles with Zabuza for a long time, he naturally understood what it meant.
Basically, Zabuza would engage in battle first, while Haku would disguise himself as a member of the Hidden Mist pursuit force and pretend to fight alongside Zabuza.
And when the time came to strike, he would suddenly turn against the enemy, catching them off guard.
The method seemed simple, but due to the masks of the pursuit force, it was foolproof.
After all, everyone knew that the renegade Zabuza was being pursued by the Hidden Mist.
Swish!
The sound of a blade cutting through the air came from among the trees.
Seeing that Kakashi and the others didn't react, Kakashi immediately pressed down on Naruto and Tazuna next to him and shouted, "Get down!"
Sasuke and Sakura, who were always on high alert, almost instantly crouched down upon hearing the sound.
Clang!
The spinning decapitating great sword embedded itself into the tree trunk in front, just inches away from their hair.
Then, a blur flashed, and Zabuza stood on the hilt of the sword.
"It's you!"
"Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist!"
Kakashi furrowed his brows.
He didn't expect this mission to escalate from C-rank to B-rank, and now it had escalated to A-rank!
"I didn't expect the famous Kakashi to actually know about me. Well, I'll give you a chance."
"Hand over that old man, and I'll let you go."
Before Kakashi could respond, Naruto shouted angrily.
"No way!"
"You ambushed us, and now you want us to hand over poor Uncle Tazuna? You're a bad person!"
While scolding Zabuza, Naruto was also inwardly complaining about Kaze.
"Kaze! How could you not warn me when it was so dangerous just now!"
"If it weren't for Kakashi-sensei, I would have had my forehead sliced off by that terrifying giant sword!"
"Heh heh." Kaze's disdainful laughter sounded.
"I thought after what happened yesterday, you would have some backbone and not come asking for my help so soon."
"I didn't expect you to become indifferent so quickly."
"Since that's the case, why don't you just give your body to me, and I'll come out and help you kill him?"
Kaze's mocking and ambiguous tone made Naruto's face turn red.
"I already apologized to you, what else do you want from me?"
"It's just wrong to resort to cruel methods of killing, and I didn't say anything wrong!"
"If you won't help, then we, Team 7, can handle him ourselves!"
Seeing Naruto stubbornly sticking to his position, Kaze's mocking voice rang out again.
"Well, that's hard to say. Your opponent is not any worse than Kakashi. Are you really not going to let me come out?"
"Without me, you're utterly useless. You can't protect anything."
"Or perhaps, you actually want someone else to get hurt first, and then be forced to lose control and let me out?"
"If that's the case, I understand your thinking. After all, being forced to let me out would be a good excuse for yourself!"
Naruto's face turned completely red after being spoken to like that.
His inner thoughts and the painful parts he didn't want to expose were suddenly laid bare.
He was angry and retorted to Kaze, "No, I am your opposite. I have the same talent as you, and I'm not inferior to you!"
"Watch and see, even without you, I will protect my comrades and save Uncle Gato!"
"And in the end, I'll surpass you, become stronger, become the Hokage, and make everyone recognize me!"
The inner dialogue also intensified Naruto's anger on the outside.
The main personality being inferior to the alter ego was something Naruto didn't want to bring up, a point he selectively forgot.
Naruto didn't know what kind of whim Kaze had to bring up these topics so openly.
Wasn't he afraid that I will never let him out again?
[Main Personality Trust Dependency: 52%]
Although he disagreed verbally, his internal agreement was reflected on the panel.
"Hmph, a noisy little brat who only dares to yell."
Seeing Naruto's lack of response, Zabuza was filled with disdain.
In the next moment, Zabuza disappeared instantly.
When they reappeared, Zabuza was in front of Tazuna, who was surrounded by everyone.
The large sword in his hand swung down heavily.
"So fast!"
"Faster than Kakashi-sensei's speed in actual combat!"
The elite jutsu of Body Flicker at the Jonin level made Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pale.
They couldn't react in time.
Clang!
The three of them couldn't react, but Kakashi was already prepared.
He crossed his two kunai in front of him and firmly caught the blade that was less than ten centimeters away from Tazuna.
"Kakashi, you're indeed not an ordinary person."
Ignoring Zabuza's praise, Kakashi forced him back with a single strike.
Then he pulled down his mask, revealing his scarlet Sharingan with three tomoe.
At the same time, he reached out and stopped Naruto and Sasuke, who were ready to join the fight.
"Now, we'll work as a team. Arrange yourselves to protect Mr. Tazuna, and leave this to me."
Since Kakashi had already revealed his Sharingan during their previous battle and had briefly explained it to Sasuke on the way, it didn't surprise the three of them.
Upon hearing the mention of teamwork, Naruto and Sasuke obediently stepped back.
Together with Sakura, they took on a triangular formation and protected Tazuna, keeping him away from the battlefield.
"I didn't expect to witness the legendary Sharingan so soon, but we can't let the mission target get away."
Zabuza didn't chase after the now distant Tazuna, but instead performed hand seals to create a water clone.
He believed that Kakashi wouldn't stop him since his subordinates needed to gain experience.
Just as Zabuza had anticipated, Kakashi completely ignored the water clone and kept his eyes fixed on him.
Once the water clone left, both of them disappeared from their original positions almost simultaneously.
They turned into two indiscernible shadows, engaging in a fierce and fast-paced battle.
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