Chapter 49: Fine, You Just Want to Be Uchiha Xiao Yan, Right?

Boom—

Naruto delivered a serious punch to Zabuza, his fist enveloped in blood-red energy as it surged toward his opponent. Both their hair fluttered wildly in the fierce wind that followed the strike, like seaweed swaying in the ocean's depths.

Zabuza, unable to counter in time, could only raise his Executioner's Blade to block the hit in front of his chest.

Watching this, Sasuke grew nervous, fearing that Naruto's punch might break the sword he had been eyeing. Without thinking, he shouted, "Naruto! Don't!"

Clang—

Naruto's fist slammed into the Executioner's Blade, pushing Zabuza back a few steps. The impact was so strong that Zabuza's shoulder went numb.

To Zabuza's horror, cracks started to form on the Executioner's Blade.

His eye twitched as he saw the damage.

Damn it!

Who the hell is this kid?

How could he possess such monstrous strength?

There's no way I can confront him head-on!

Zabuza, having faced countless powerful enemies in his life, knew when he was at a disadvantage. He quickly realized that fighting Naruto head-on would be suicidal.

And... that overwhelming smell of blood coming from this kid... Could it be that he's using some sort of forbidden technique?

It looks like he's already risking his life to fight me... Quite the worthy opponent.

Zabuza tried to retreat, hoping to create some distance between them, but Naruto wasn't about to let him go that easily. He grabbed Zabuza by the collar and began delivering a flurry of punches.

Unable to escape, Zabuza's anger flared again as he remembered Naruto's earlier taunts.

Alright, brat! Let's see how long you can keep going with that forbidden technique!

Their battle devolved into a brutal exchange of blows. Both of them coughed up blood, the sound of bones cracking filling the air.

After a few more seconds of relentless fighting, Zabuza found that his punches were becoming sluggish. His body was riddled with broken bones.

But when he glanced at Naruto...

Not only did the blond kid seem fine, but he was getting even fiercer with each punch.

What the hell is this monster?!

"Zabuza-sama!"

From the shadows, Haku, who had been watching the situation unfold, couldn't stand by any longer. He jumped into the fray to assist.

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Thousand Needles of Death!"

Dozens of icy senbon flew toward Naruto's feet. Startled, Naruto let go of Zabuza and dodged to the side.

Naruto was starting to get frustrated.

Damn it! Where are my teammates?!

We're in the middle of a team fight here! Hurry up and join in already!

As Haku quickly formed hand seals, he cast another jutsu aimed at Naruto.

Although Zabuza appreciated Haku's intervention, knowing the young ninja's intentions, this was still a mission between ninjas... Haku didn't want to hurt them—he just wanted them to abandon the mission.

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

Whoosh—

Instantly, multiple walls of ice appeared around Naruto and Zabuza. These walls floated in the air, their surfaces smooth like mirrors. Naruto could even see his own reflection in them.

For a brief moment, Naruto felt like he was in one of those funhouse mirror mazes.

But hold on...

This jutsu kind of looks like a formation...

Still...

This won't work on me at all!

Didn't Haku notice earlier that I can use portals?

While Naruto was momentarily distracted, Zabuza seized the chance to pull away, his body aching from the fight. After creating some distance, he formed hand seals and vanished from sight.

Through the gaps in the ice mirrors, Sasuke spotted Zabuza's retreat and smirked confidently.

"Naruto!"

"I'll take care of that guy!"

Naruto instinctively glanced up at the sky.

It's cloudy today, no sun in sight. So why does Sasuke sound so cocky?

Naruto slowly raised his hand and flipped Sasuke off.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

From every direction, senbon shot out of the ice mirrors toward Naruto.

Naruto's face twisted into a scowl as he remembered Sasuke's fancy dodging moves. He shifted his feet, and in one smooth motion, began flipping, spinning, and twisting through the air—front flips, backflips, side rolls, even a one-handed Thomas flare. He executed a series of acrobatic feats that would make even Sasuke look plain in comparison.

If it weren't for the senbon flying everywhere, Naruto's moves could've been called a performance.

However...

By the time he was done, Naruto had been turned into a human pincushion, senbon sticking out all over his body.

Not bad, huh? Managed to catch every one of them...

Clink—

Naruto casually bit off a few senbon from his shoulder, grumbling to himself.

See? I knew it! Sasuke's fighting style just doesn't suit me!

Haku, still hidden in the ice mirrors, was completely bewildered.

What the hell is this guy doing?

I remember my aim being a little off, but still...

From the senbon scattered across the ground, it was clear that 90% of them had hit Naruto.

The remaining 10% were the ones Haku had thrown poorly.

And yet, this kid, despite being skewered with senbon, acted like nothing had happened?!

Although Haku couldn't figure out why Naruto was still standing, he could tell that the blond wasn't in as good shape as before.

A side effect of the forbidden technique?

Haku thought to himself, then began trying to reason with Naruto.

"Give up on your mission."

"I don't want to kill you."

Naruto, pulling the last few senbon out of his body, noticed that his Wind Release: Blood Burst technique was about to wear off. Without hesitation, he opened a portal and stepped through.

Haku, in the middle of his "talk no jutsu," suddenly froze.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto reappeared right in front of Kakashi.

Naruto had originally intended to handle Haku on his own, but remembering that silver-haired teacher who had been watching the whole fight from the sidelines, he couldn't help but feel frustrated.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Your turn! I'm taking a break."

"What?"

Kakashi blinked, his mind still processing the sudden appearance of Naruto.

Covered in blood and bristling with senbon, Naruto looked like a human pincushion, leaving Kakashi with many questions.

But before he could ask anything, Naruto shoved him through the portal.

The next thing Kakashi knew, he was standing in the middle of Haku's ice mirrors.

Kakashi: ...

Naruto Uzumaki, thanks a lot!

With a resigned sigh, Kakashi slowly lifted his headband, revealing his Sharingan.

Fine, I'll handle it.

He knew that Naruto would need a recovery period after using that technique.

Besides, as their leader...

It would be bad form to stand by and do nothing.

While Kakashi prepared to fight, Naruto flopped onto a couch he had summoned, picking out a life potion and chugging it down just before the side effects of his technique kicked in.

As he lay back, feeling the cool breeze on his face, Naruto noticed an annoying itch on his back. He waved at Sakura, gesturing for her to come over.

Realizing that calling a friend's wife to help him out seemed a little awkward, Naruto quickly changed his mind and decided on a different title for Sakura.

From now on, we'll be bros, he thought.

"Sakura-bro, mind pulling out these senbon from my back?"

Sakura: ???

What did he just call me?!

Damn it, Naruto!!

Sakura's face turned a deep shade of red. But seeing Naruto covered in senbon, she reluctantly stepped forward to help.

It was, after all, one of the few things she could do to contribute to the team.

At first, Sakura was cautious while pulling out the senbon, but the moment she saw Naruto's wounds healing almost instantly, her perspective was flipped upside down.

After finishing, Naruto collapsed back onto the couch, sipping on some bubble tea. Then, out of nowhere, Sakura hesitantly asked him a question.

"Naruto..."

"What's the Xuan Zhong Ruler?"

Naruto Uzumaki: ???

Seeing Naruto's confused expression, Sakura bit her lip and glanced toward Sasuke, who was currently fighting Zabuza. She continued, "Earlier, Sasuke kept muttering something about the Xuan Zhong Ruler..."

"And then he just charged in."

Her eyes filled with a mix of bewilderment and frustration.

It was clear to her that Sasuke was utterly captivated by this so-called ruler.

Wait a second—does that mean... this stupid ruler is more appealing to him than me?!

Naruto, now understanding the situation, felt a headache coming on.

Hold on...

So Sasuke just wants Zabuza's Executioner's Blade???

Fine, fine!

So you just want to be Uchiha Xiao Yan, huh?

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