Naruto (SI) Starting With Glint Glint Fruit

Even though Naruto said that, there wasn't a trace of fear on his face—not even any expression at all.

To Zabuza, that was nothing but outright mockery and provocation.

"You damn brat!"

Zabuza growled in anger, then suddenly charged at Kakashi instead.

Kakashi, who had been on guard all this time, was a bit confused—

You curse at him but attack me?

In a flash, Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector and began trading taijutsu blows with Zabuza using his Sharingan.

And to be honest, Zabuza's close-combat skills were excellent. Even without his Executioner's Blade, just using a kunai, he could still fight Kakashi evenly.

Naruto hesitated for a second on the sidelines but didn't jump in.

Kakashi and Zabuza's fight was fast-paced and the distance between them was very tight.

If Naruto's control over his attacks wasn't precise enough, stepping in now might end up hurting Kakashi.

Yeah, ganging up on one guy still feels like bullying.

A good old-fashioned one-on-one rotation match sounds better.

That was what Naruto was thinking—he wanted to wait until Kakashi had worn Zabuza down a bit before going in for a clean kill.

But after waiting a little while, he noticed something was off.

Why is Zabuza leaking water?

"Kakashi, get back!"

Trusting Naruto, Kakashi instantly pulled back as soon as he got the signal. Zabuza tried to press the attack, but Naruto fired a laser blast that instantly pierced through his chest!

"A water clone?"

When he saw water spilling from Zabuza's chest instead of blood, Naruto's expression grew serious.

When did the switch happen?

Was it during his fight with Kakashi?

Or maybe from the very beginning... No, that's bad!

"Yata no Kagami!"

Realizing something, Naruto didn't even stop to explain to Kakashi—he turned into a beam of light and vanished on the spot.

And the moment Kakashi saw Zabuza's body turn into water, he knew—both he and Naruto had been tricked!

Sakura and Sasuke were in danger!

Elsewhere—

After Naruto left, Sasuke and Sakura stayed by Tazuna's side, not being very alert.

After all, even Kakashi and Naruto hadn't noticed any other enemies around. The chance of someone else being nearby seemed low.

Suddenly—

Two shuriken came flying at them from the shadows.

Sasuke quickly reacted, blocking one shuriken with the Executioner's Blade, then immediately threw another shuriken toward Sakura's direction to block the other one for her.

"I thought I'd be lucky if the water clone could fool even one of them, but I didn't expect it to trick both. Leaf ninjas really *are* dumb."

Zabuza stepped out from the shadows, looking at Sasuke and Sakura with a cruel smile under the bandages wrapped around his face.

"Why is there still an enemy here?!"

"Sakura, be careful!"

Sakura was shocked and panicked.

Sasuke, on the other hand, stayed calm and reminded her to get ready to fight.

One of them held a sword, the other a kunai, standing in front of Tazuna to protect him.

At that moment, Tazuna's heart was pounding hard—he felt like he might not make it out alive.

The strongest two of these ninjas were actually lured away!

"Hmph, brat!"

Seeing Sasuke pointing his sword at him, Zabuza looked annoyed.

Still, he didn't attack right away. Instead, he used the Hidden Mist Technique to fill the area with thick fog.

That blond kid from earlier was too fast—he had to create some confusion to stop him from coming back and getting in the way.

"It's getting foggy?"

As the mist around them grew thicker, Sasuke and Sakura started to feel even more tense.

They knew this was the enemy's jutsu, but they had no way to deal with it!

"Throat, spine, lungs…"

"There are eight vital spots—can you guess where I'll strike from?"

Zabuza's eerie voice came from within the mist. Sasuke and Sakura felt like their throats were stuck, and they couldn't make a sound.

Fear was making them lose control.

They couldn't even bring themselves to fight back.

Are these the kinds of enemies Naruto and Kakashi are up against?

Can we really survive fighting someone like this?

Suddenly, Zabuza appeared behind Sasuke!

Sasuke sensed someone behind him, but his body was frozen with fear.

The killing intent from a jōnin was so strong, his brain couldn't even make his body move.

"Hmph! A sword like mine isn't something a kid like you can handle!"

After realizing how weak Sasuke was, Zabuza lost interest. He snatched back the executioner's blade and kicked Sasuke, sending him flying.

"Ugh!"

Sasuke let out a grunt as he was thrown over ten meters away and couldn't get up.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura cried out when she saw him get knocked away, but then suddenly couldn't make a sound.

Because she felt a terrifying gaze locked onto her—as if moving even a little would get her killed!

"Hmph, trash."

Zabuza sneered coldly.

After realizing Sakura was even weaker than that kid from earlier, he didn't even feel like killing her. He raised his giant blade and swung it straight at Tazuna.

Just as Tazuna cried out in his heart, "I'm done for," a beam of golden light pierced through the thick mist, forcing Zabuza to squint from the brightness.

"What the hell is that?"

Zabuza forced his eyes open despite the pain and looked up.

He saw a golden sun in the sky!

"A jutsu?"

"Looks like that blond brat is coming back. I need to finish this fast!"

Zabuza squinted his eyes to lessen the blinding glare, then raised his executioner's blade, ready to kill Tazuna!

But just then, Sakura—somehow finding the courage from who knows where—shut her eyes and stabbed her kunai straight toward Zabuza!

"Don't you dare hurt Mr. Tazuna!!"

"Get out of my way!"

Zabuza, annoyed at being interrupted again, grabbed Sakura as she charged at him and flung her aside.

*Thud!*

Her frail body slammed hard into the ground, and she let out a sharp cry of pain.

"Tch."

"You're asking for it."

Zabuza let out a cold laugh and once again raised his blade to finish off Tazuna—but a sharp metallic sound shot through the air behind him!

"That's enough already!"

He blocked the flying shuriken with his executioner's blade and turned to see Sasuke standing up again, clearly irritated.

That blinding light earlier didn't just get in the way of killing Tazuna—it also wiped away the fear those two had for him.

"Annoying brats!"

"If you want to die so badly, I'll start with the two of you!"

Zabuza suddenly dashed toward Sasuke and brought his massive blade down in a powerful strike!

Sasuke's speed and reflexes were nowhere near Zabuza's—there was no way he could dodge in time.

But right at that tense moment, something in Sasuke's eyes changed, triggered by the intense threat to his life.

His single-Tomoe Sharingan evolved into a double-Tomoe!

'I can see it!'

The enhanced Sharingan let Sasuke spot an opening in Zabuza's attack and sharpened his reflexes.

Seizing the moment, he rolled to the side and dodged Zabuza's slash. Then, while the executioner's blade was still stuck in the ground, he quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!!"

A huge wave of fire surged toward Zabuza, lighting up his face in a fiery red glow.

It looked like Sasuke had him—but Zabuza raised his blade and cleaved through the fireball with brute force!

A C-rank Fire Style jutsu was cut down just like that!

"What?!"

Sasuke never thought Zabuza could destroy his ninjutsu so easily.

He had hoped it would at least force Zabuza to back off and buy some time.

!

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