48. Return of demon - 2

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Eleven Water Dragons collided with each other, but they didn't slice through.

Unable to cut cleanly, they had to adjust their positions, managing to form six seals to summon a Water Wall.

Compared to Tobirama Senju's version, it was like the difference between a wall of rammed earth and a cement-brick wall.

The Water Dragons crashed down, shattering the Water Wall on impact, and a large wave of water surged forward, washing away much of the building materials.

A few seconds later, Naruto spotted Zabuza again.

Zabuza was kneeling on one knee, his head lowered, one hand on the ground, and gripping his sword with the other.

A small hole was pressed into the bridge deck by his knee, with fine cracks spreading out around it.

The ten shadow clones charged forward under the lead of clone number 001, each wielding a small blue Rasengan.

Naruto had learned from countless battles to never leave an enemy alive, even if they seemed incapacitated. Who knew if they were faking it? (From novels & anime)

The shadow clones understood this as well, so without hesitation, they aimed their Rasengans at Zabuza.

Suddenly, Zabuza raised his head and threw a smoke bomb on the ground. Smoke quickly enveloped Zabuza and the ten shadow clones.

Naruto then sensed two clones being slashed apart, followed by several explosions within the smoke, their echoes reverberating across the bridge.

When the smoke cleared, Zabuza was gone. The nine remaining clones looked around but couldn't find him.

They scattered—some searching the distance, others checking the sea on both sides, while a few stayed close to Naruto's original body.

Sakura remained vigilant, her gaze sharp. Naruto glanced at the clones, frowning.

"One, two, three... wait, how did eight clones become nine?" Something felt off. Naruto's eyes widened—one of the shadow clones was an imposter!

At the same moment, Sasuke's Sharingan flared red, and he shouted, "Naruto! The chakra in the front clone is off!" As he spoke, he quickly formed a Chidori.

Just as Sasuke finished speaking, the clone transformed back into Zabuza, who slashed down with his massive sword, yelling, "Brat, die!"

Zabuza had used the smoke to conceal his movements, killing the two nearest clones before transforming into Naruto's likeness and blending in with the shadow clones.

Sasuke rushed forward with Chidori, striking Zabuza's arm. The sword slipped from Zabuza's grip, clattering to the ground, while golden chains wrapped around his legs, immobilizing him.

Sakura's kunai flew, pinning Zabuza's arms. This time, she didn't activate the explosive tags attached, worried about accidentally injuring Sasuke due to their proximity.

Zabuza grunted, looking down at the chains on his legs in shock. "What's happening? My chakra... Could this be a sealing technique? How is this possible? This brat…"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, panting as he leaned on his knees.

The day's battles had exhausted him, with almost continuous use of Fire Style jutsu and Chidori.

Sakura started tidying up her ninja tools. She grimaced as she realized how many she'd used, lamenting, "So many kunai… How many did I throw out today..."

After a moment's thought, Naruto controlled the golden chains to extend and wrap around Zabuza's upper body, binding him like a mummy.

At that moment, Kakashi approached, holding the unconscious Haku. Upon seeing Zabuza's bound form, memories of a painful past resurfaced, causing his eyelids to twitch.

Still, seeing someone else in such a predicament made Kakashi almost want to laugh. He coughed and joked, "Isn't this Zabuza, who looked down on the kids next to me? Why did you end up losing so quickly?"

"Hmph, it's just the way of the world. If you're going to kill me, then do it," Zabuza said with hardened resolve.

He'd already accepted his fate when he failed to assassinate the Mizukage.

As a ninja, dying on a mission was an honourable death. He couldn't help but glance at Haku.

Naruto also glanced at Haku, focusing on his neck. There was an Adam's apple, though not very prominent. "So, he is a guy," Naruto thought.

"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do with these two now?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi replied, "There are generally three ways to handle this situation. First, we could hand them over to Kirigakure since they are rogue ninjas from there. Second, we could kill them on the spot, which is the usual approach when dealing with rogue ninjas. Third, we could bring them back to Konoha, though that might attract a pursuit squad, which would be troublesome."

"Wait!" Zabuza struggled to speak, his expression shifting.

Finally, he said, "I'm just a rogue ninja; do with me as you will. But Haku… he's only a wandering ninja, following me temporarily. Please, don't…"

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku, regaining consciousness, cried out with tears in his eyes. "I failed to complete my mission; I'm just a useless tool. You don't have to do this for me!"

Zabuza roared, "If you're a tool, then shut up!"

"I didn't expect the Demon of the Mist to say something like that," Kakashi said, scratching his head. The situation was proving difficult, and he wasn't exactly cold-blooded.

Naruto didn't want to kill them either. There wasn't any deep hatred; it was just a conflict between ninjas, essentially a professional rivalry.

In his past life, Naruto had admired these two—a pair of tragic partners who shared a deep bond.

Even though some might call him soft-hearted, Naruto thought they deserved a better ending.

But figuring out how to resolve this was tricky. Suddenly, an idea struck Naruto. "Leave it to me!"

Under the puzzled gazes of his teammates, Naruto used a sealing jutsu on both Haku and Zabuza, sealing away their chakra.

Then, he removed the golden chains and tied them up with regular ropes.

"The chains are strong but consume a lot of chakra. Even though I've got plenty, it's always good to save some when you can," Naruto said, clapping his hands. "Better safe than sorry, right?"

With that, Naruto said, "Wait here for a bit, I need to make a call."

(Tazuna, who had been watching everything, thought to himself, "Does anyone remember me?")

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