Chapter 76: Recruitment Operation

"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death."

In the sky, countless water droplets transformed into tiny ice needles, surrounding Aoba.

A tornado rose around him, deflecting all the ice needles.

At that moment, an ice wall formed behind Zabuza.

"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals."

A hand extended from the mirror-like ice wall, pulling Zabuza inside. Aoba instantly appeared and slashed at the ice wall, shattering it with a single blow. However, hundreds of meters away, another ice wall appeared, reflecting Zabuza's image.

"Interesting. So the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals can be used like this?"

Aoba watched from afar as Haku used the ice mirrors to ferry Zabuza away. Within a few breaths, they were gone from sight.

He didn't pursue them, turning instead to check on the kids.

The outcome was that, aside from being soaked, they were mostly unharmed.

"Alright, it's getting late. We'll stop here for today. Find a safe spot to camp, and let's rest. Then, the three of you, review today's battle."

The group moved away from the forest where the fight had taken place and settled down. The young ones began discussing why they had failed in today's battle.

"This failure was just a moment of carelessness. If that guy shows up again, I'll…!"

For Naruto, reviewing the battle was a bit much. The moment he sat down, he started bragging, only to be punched on the head by Karin.

"Shut up! We could've held out much longer. But we were cornered within three minutes. That's unacceptable."

"The problem was in our strategy. Actually, we didn't even make a plan. Naruto just rushed in, and I couldn't keep up with him."

"What? You're blaming me now? You're the one who's too slow, Sasuke!"

Watching the kids argue, Aoba didn't step in to referee. Instead, he left a shadow clone in camp and quietly left the area.

Karin, with her sharp senses, looked up at Aoba's departing figure but said nothing, focusing instead on bickering with the two boys.

Nearby, Tazuna, now soaked and shivering from a cold, huddled near the fire, trembling. The day's battle had terrified him; it was nothing like the sword-clashing skirmishes he'd imagined.

When the waterfall had come crashing down, he'd been scared out of his wits, yet the three seemingly ordinary kids had managed to hold their ground. He'd never seen such strength among Gato's men.

Meanwhile, a few dozen miles away, in a cave…

Zabuza lay on the ground, coughing up blood.

"Cough… cough…"

"Hold on, Zabuza-sama. The medicine will be ready soon."

"Cough… Haku, help me up."

"Zabuza-sama, you need to rest."

"No, I have to get up. He'll be here soon."

"Who?"

"Aoba Kamikawa , the Wind-Chasing Sword. He should arrive any moment now."

"We've escaped him, Zabuza-sama."

"No, you're too naive, Haku. During today's battle, he held back. If he'd used his sword, I'd be dead already. He deliberately let me go and didn't pursue us. This means we're already within his control."

Just as he finished speaking, footsteps echoed from outside.

"It seems I've found the right place."

"Who's there?" Haku drew a kunai, tense. He'd set traps all around the area, yet the intruder had bypassed them effortlessly and closed in.

Two figures appeared at the cave entrance, illuminated by the fire. Haku could see they both wore black cloaks with red clouds, indicating they were from the same organization.

At first, Haku thought Aoba had indeed come to finish them off, but he soon realized the two were strangers.

One was a tall man with a mask, bearing the headband of a rogue ninja from the Hidden Waterfall.

The other was a young woman with a delicate face, light purple hair, and a paper flower in her hair.

Their styles were entirely different; if they hadn't worn the same cloaks, Haku would have found it hard to believe they were on the same side.

The tall man stepped forward, glancing at Zabuza lying on the ground.

"So, it's this guy? Beaten up like this, he's just trash. Can someone this weak really be my teammate?"

"Zabuza Momochi isn't weak. He just happened to encounter Aoba Kamikawa, a shinobi strong enough to match the Raikage in battle."

"Tch. I've met Aoba Kamikawa myself. I had him running for his life. Have the current Kage fallen so low?"

"Don't underestimate him, Kakuzu. Our intel suggests Aoba Kamikawa might be hiding his true strength. His real power could be far greater than what he shows."

Zabuza was taken aback. He had assumed Aoba would show up, given that the man had spared him earlier for some reason.

But to his surprise, two strangers had come instead, apparently to recruit him.

Though he was badly wounded, Zabuza could still recognize power when he saw it. These two were undoubtedly strong; Haku probably wouldn't be able to handle even one of them, let alone both.

"Who are you people?"

Kakuzu eyed Haku with interest.

"This kid's heart looks pretty good. I'd like to add it to my collection."

Though Haku didn't fully understand who these people were, he definitely understood the part about collecting his heart.

"Damn it. Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death."

Realizing the intruders were hostile, Haku struck first.

"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"

Kakuzu countered even faster, unleashing a powerful fire technique that engulfed the cave.

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku couldn't dodge and had to brace himself for the impact.

At his current level, Haku was no match for Kakuzu in terms of experience or chakra.

While Zabuza was an elite jonin, Kakuzu was on a different level, one step into Kage-level territory. Though he wasn't among the strongest Kage-level shinobi, he was still well beyond Haku's capabilities.

"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals."

Haku quickly summoned six mirrors in front of him, but they were still unable to withstand Kakuzu's Fire Style attack.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" Zabuza forced himself up, barely managing to cast the jutsu alongside Haku, finally blocking the Fire Style technique.

"That's enough, Kakuzu. We're here to recruit, not to kill."

"Tch. Barely adequate," Kakuzu scoffed, clearly unimpressed with Zabuza.

The woman stepped forward.

"As you can see, we're here for recruitment. We belong to an organization called the Akatsuki, which gathers elite ninja. You…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a voice echoed from outside the cave.

"I'm afraid these two are already spoken for."

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Currently on Chapter 116 - Negotiations for Sungakure