The appearance of Zabuza and Haku signaled that Team 7, led by Kakashi, had finally arrived in the Land of Waves.
Under their protection, Tazuna rallied the local able-bodied men to join the bridge-building efforts, seeking to break Gato's maritime monopoly over the nation. During this time, Gato made several attempts to sabotage the progress, but due to his dwindling manpower, he was forced to retreat in frustration. He could only wait patiently for Zabuza and Haku to recover, intending to crush the Konoha shinobi's protection and bankrupted the bridge project in one fell swoop.
Watching the bridge grow longer by the day, Karin remarked with a touch of sentiment, "Once this bridge is finished, the civilians of this country should start becoming wealthy, right?"
"Perhaps. At the very least, without Gato, their income will immediately multiply," Allen replied with a noncommittal shrug.
To be honest, he wasn't certain what the future held for the Land of Waves. After all, when one Gato leaves, another might very well take his place. Since the Land of Waves couldn't afford a hidden village of its own, it lacked a military, leaving it virtually defenseless against foreign intrusion. They could only pray that no one else took an interest in this poor, weak little place.
Karin seemed to realize this as well. She sighed softly and continued, "I've already scouted the locations where Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki train every day. When do you plan to make your move?"
"Don't be in such a hurry. Remember, we're just putting on a show for Danzo. We only need to go through the motions. I'll handle Kakashi, and you can give those fresh graduates a little lesson. As soon as Naruto releases the Nine-Tails' chakra, we retreat immediately," Allen said, nonchalantly outlining his plan.
Sometimes he truly wondered what went on in Danzo's head. Itachi was currently serving as a spy within the Akatsuki, secretly funneling intelligence to Konoha, yet Danzo was expending every effort to kill Itachi's younger brother and snuff out the last of the Uchiha bloodline. It could only be said that the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had thoroughly indoctrinated his disciples with his prejudice against the Uchiha. This led both the Third Hokage and Danzo to be filled with suspicion and wariness, ultimately triggering the very rebellion they feared.
"Hehe! I'll make sure to show them plenty of 'love' with my fists," Karin smirked, her smile bordering on the diabolical. Bullying little kids was always a reliable way to boost one's mood.
…
As construction on the Great Bridge accelerated, nearing the one-third completion mark, Zabuza and Haku had finally made a full recovery.
This time, however, the "Demon" of the Mist didn't rush to find Kakashi. Instead, he approached Allen, squinting his eyes in a probing manner. "Who are you, exactly? And what is your purpose in staying by Gato's side?"
"Does it matter?" Allen countered with a cryptic smile.
"I wish to confirm that we aren't enemies before I carry out the mission," Zabuza stated bluntly.
Allen nodded slightly. "Rest assured, we are not enemies. However, we aren't allies in the same camp either. If you fail, I will personally step in to deal with Kakashi and those Genin of his."
"Excellent. That is the answer I was looking for." Relieved to know they weren't foes, Zabuza turned and headed toward the bridge, followed silently by Haku.
Because he made no attempt to hide his presence, the workers immediately stopped what they were doing and scrambled backward without a second thought. Even a fool could see that this man with the massive Kubikiribocho on his back was a thug hired by Gato, one who radiated a thick aura of bloodlust and slaughter.
Before long, Kakashi and the members of Team 7 arrived on the scene to protect Tazuna.
"So, you're still alive," Kakashi sighed, sounding quite weary as a thick mist began to swirl around them. If possible, he truly didn't want to fight another round with this elite rogue Jonin from the Land of Water. Unfortunately, the choice was not his to make.
"Hmph! Of course I'm alive! And this time, I'm taking your head." With that, Zabuza gave Haku a subtle signal and vanished into the dense fog.
A second later, he reappeared in the center of Kakashi and the three Genin, swinging the massive blade in a wide horizontal sweep. Though the strike failed to connect, it successfully split the group into two parts.
Haku blurred forward, immediately unleashing his Kekkei Genkai: the Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors, trapping the three bewildered Genin inside.
With that, the battlefield was successfully partitioned.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura, terrified by the sudden turn of events, cried out to her leader for help. But Kakashi was already locked in a fierce exchange with Zabuza. He didn't dare divert his attention for even a moment; the sound of their weapons clashing echoed continuously through the air.
"Don't worry! There's only one of him. We can take him!" Sasuke, feeling confident again, let fly several shuriken and charged forward at high speed.
But before he could close the distance, a barrage of senbon flew toward him. Because of the sheer speed, he couldn't dodge them all and was forced to cross his arms to protect his vitals. In the blink of an eye, the sharp metal needles bit into his muscles. The sharp pain forced a scream from his throat: "Argh!! Damn it! This guy is fast!"
"Hey! Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked with concern.
"I'm fine. Just scratches." Sasuke gritted his teeth, pulling the senbon out one by one. Fortunately, needles weren't high-impact weapons, so the wounds only bled slightly. This was also due to Haku's restraint; normally, such projectiles would be coated in poison. Unless they hit the heart, brain, or throat, the damage was negligible.
"Those ice mirrors reflect light. To defeat him, we have to pinpoint his position first!" Sakura, seeing her crush injured, quickly calmed down and used her academic knowledge to analyze the situation.
"So we just have to break the mirrors? Got it! Leave it to me!" Naruto instantly created a dozen Shadow Clones and charged in a mindless wave.
Unsurprisingly, they were all popped by a swarm of needles. Even the real Naruto took some hits. But for the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, these injuries were trivial. After pulling the needles out, he launched a second, third, and fourth round of attacks...
By the looks of it, he was determined to either drain the opponent's chakra or simply exhaust him to death.
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