Ultimate Kill

Kill... the rogue ninja from the Mist?

Sasuke lifted his head and looked at Naruto, frowning almost instinctively.

How could the three of them possibly kill an elite jonin with the same strength as Kakashi?

Not to mention that Zabuza had a mysterious masked boy by his side, whose strength they didn't know. How could they possibly pull this off?

It was insane.

Sakura looked at Naruto in shock, almost feeling like her ears were malfunctioning.

"Naruto, we're still genin! Killing a jonin... that's impossible, right?"

"Yes." Naruto raised his hand, hot magma chakra flowing up into his palm. "If we seize the opportunity, I can kill them."

"What is this?" Sakura was stunned.

"I don't know how I learned it," Naruto said, pretending to be innocent while scratching his head. "I just used it once in a desperate situation."

Sasuke was silent, his gaze starting to drift. It seemed like the gap had already been widening ever since they graduated from the ninja academy.

The guy before them had mentioned that most of the other classes were made up of clan ninjas, probably with traditional ninjutsu passed down through the generations, just like the Uchiha clan once had.

But now, the Uchiha clan was gone... Sasuke's eyes dimmed for a moment, and a sense of helplessness surged in his chest, only to vanish in an instant.

"What should we do?" Sasuke lifted his head, his gaze growing determined.

If he didn't grow stronger in battle, he would die in battle. If this continued, he would never have a chance to kill that man.

"Take advantage of his weakness!" Naruto said decisively. "Kakashi-sensei is seriously injured, and Zabuza was at a disadvantage at the time."

"The masked boy already has one arm ruined, this is the perfect opportunity!"

"Naruto!" Sakura was stunned, now realizing that the two of them were actually planning to kill the two jonin.

"But we don't even know where they are."

"I know!" Naruto suddenly smiled. "They won't escape, they're hiding somewhere in the forest."

"Maybe in a small cabin, or perhaps in a house."

Sakura glanced between Naruto and Sasuke, realizing that their minds were made up, and there was no turning back.

"Isn't this too risky?"

As soon as she spoke, both Naruto and Sasuke looked at her.

Sakura froze for a moment, feeling a bit lost. She stammered as she asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Naruto said. "Sakura, if we don't act now, they'll recover, and it'll be even more dangerous."

"We have no choice. Zabuza is backed by Kado. Didn't you hear that old drunk Duck told you?"

"Kado has many wandering ninjas and samurai under his command. If we don't take care of Zabuza and that masked boy, we'll have to face two forces at once."

Naruto held up four fingers.

"There are only four of us—one jonin and three genin—if we wait, we have almost no chance against Kado and Zabuza."

"Now, it's just the three of us, and we only need to deal with a masked boy with one arm disabled. No matter how you look at it, striking now is the best option."

Naruto's reasoning was solid, and although Sakura was wide-eyed, she had no way to refute him. Finally, she gritted her teeth and nodded.

Seeing this, Naruto looked at the two of them seriously.

"Trust me."

"We'll win this time. Once we deal with Zabuza, Kado will be nothing but an insect."

He wasn't bragging. Zabuza was the strongest ninja Kado could hire. A businessman like Kado, who was all about profits and unscrupulous methods, would never spend a fortune hiring legitimate ninjas.

It was well known that Kado's subordinates were a group of rogue ninjas and samurai—essentially thugs. Hiring Zabuza was just a way to exploit his rogue ninja status and get a job done for cheap.

So the whole story was easy to understand. Kado wanted to kill bridge builder Tazuna (who had hired guards in Konoha), so he hired someone like Zabuza, but without paying through the official channels, and instead promised him a job after the job was done. But Kado never intended to pay him, instead hoping to exploit the situation once both sides were weakened.

---

Nightfall.

Team 7's first solo mission, they entered the forest under cover of darkness.

"I found them," Naruto said, confirming the situation. He jumped back to the others and lowered his voice, "They're in that two-story cabin in the woods."

Sakura immediately tensed up.

"I'll attack head-on, you go around back. Sakura, can you assist with genjutsu?" Sasuke quickly outlined the plan.

"Okay!" Naruto nodded. "But there's one thing I want to confirm."

"What's that?"

"Uchiha clan members can use Sharingan, right?" Naruto casually asked. "Sasuke, you should use your full strength from the beginning. That way, Sakura will be safer."

"The longer we delay, the more dangerous Sakura's situation will be."

"Me?" Sakura was confused, but she couldn't help but become more nervous. "You... you don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Sakura, your strength isn't in combat," Naruto said, looking at her seriously. "You don't need to try to prove yourself. Sasuke and I will take responsibility for the fighting."

"You just need to support us with genjutsu. When the situation changes, we'll rely on you to get out of trouble."

Sakura felt a surge of emotion and nodded firmly.

"Don't worry, I can do it!"

Whether she could do it or not, Naruto didn't know. But he knew that Haku and Zabuza were right in front of them. If he and Sasuke used their killing moves from the start, White wouldn't have been able to stop them.

The three of them took their positions, appearing on either side of the two-story cabin.

After exchanging a glance, Sasuke moved first. With a burst of speed, he threw three kunai at the cabin from an odd angle.

Naruto moved around the back, his red chakra enveloping him, molten chakra swirling around his body. This time, he unleashed all his chakra, aiming for a one-hit kill.

Sakura took a deep breath, focusing on the direction where Sasuke's kunai landed. As the window shattered, she immediately formed hand seals and activated a genjutsu.

Naruto crashed through the small cabin, and his scorching lava jutsu set the building on fire. White, looking disheveled, was carrying Zabuza as they fled from the burning cabin, one of his black arms already useless.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

At that moment, Sasuke stood in the path of Haku and Zabuza's escape. His Sharingan activated with a sharp red glow.

Haku, who was still forming hand seals with one hand, froze and caught off guard. Even though it was only a second, Sakura seized the opportunity and cast another genjutsu.

"Die!" Naruto almost went mad, his eyes blood-red.

As Haku froze, Naruto charged forward, his molten heat piercing straight through Haku's chest.

The hot magma burned through the weakened Zabuza, who couldn't move. Both of them stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it—ultimately, they were defeated.

[Kado's treasure has been stored in the warehouse.]

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