The moment Kakashi and Sasuke saw the incoming enemy, their eyeballs nearly popped out.
Just seconds ago, both of them had been silently scoffing.
'How could any enemy fall for such dumb provocation?'
After all, Shinobi were supposed to be the pinnacle of rational beings, and it was really hard to piss one off.
But now, in less than five minutes...
They saw a big man about 180 cm tall, with red eyes and body radiating heat, rushing towards them with a massive sword in his hand. He looked like a raging bull.
This guy was obviously pissed off by what Naruto said.
At the same time, everyone, even Tazuna, instinctively sucked in a breath.
'Hiss…'
'Could it be that the other party really likes men?!'
'So this is the fun hidden behind the closed Kirigakure?'
'Could there have been some shady secret behind that whole 'Bloody Mist' era?'
Kakashi even began to speculate that maybe all the weird stuff out of Kirigakure lately could be traced back to some male-on-male Mizukage scandal…
'Maybe their isolationist policy was just an excuse to throw private Kage-orgies.'
'Damn!'
'So terrifying!'
When the three men present thought of this, their faces changed at the same time, and their bodies instinctively tightened their butt.
'We have to be wary of the Kirigakure's men!'
When Zabuza heard what the other party said, his mind completely went blank from rage, and the anger in his chest seemed to erupt like a volcano at this moment.
"Damn you, little brat!"
"I'll cut you to pieces!"
Zabuza was so angry that he completely lost his mind. He didn't care about tactics or sneak attacks at all. He just wanted to rush forward and cut Naruto to pieces with his Kubikiribocho.
No one present here today can get out alive!
Of course, Zabuza wouldn't have been so angry if Naruto said so normally. But the main reason is that Haku was nearby.
'What if Haku misunderstood what that yellow-haired brat said?'
Haku, who is hiding in the mist, looked at Zabuza with tender gaze, and couldn't stop thinking about Naruto's words.
He felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
'Could it be…'
'Is this how Zabuza-sama truly feels?'
Naruto's taunts were clearly effective, as Zabuza now just wants to chop him first, and then worry about the rest of the mission later.
His policy turned into kill first and talk later!
Whoosh…
Zabuza's Kubikiribocho cut through the air with deadly force. As Zabuza closed in, Naruto felt every pore on his body was like being pricked by needles, as if reminding him that the enemy in front of him was definitely stronger than him.
So, to test his own strength, Naruto immediately pulled out his trusty iron door and met Zabuza head-on.
It can't be helped. This thing was so easy to use… He even planned to go back and see if the door panel could be enchanted later on.
Clang…
The moment the iron door and the Kubikiribocho collided, sparks flew and a screeching metallic sound rang out, grating straight into their teeth.
Zabuza was stunned for two seconds when he saw the weapon in the other person's hand.
'This yellow-haired brat...'
'He was holding a door panel that was taller than him, and then using it to block my attack???'
'What the actual hell is this brat?!'
If Zabuza had not taken a glimpse of the opponent's Konoha forehead protector during the clash just now, he would have doubted whether the brat in front of him was a Shinobi.
He wondered why is Naruto's fighting style so weird!
Meanwhile, Sasuke, who was watching on the side, was shaking uncontrollably, and his eyes were fixed on the Kubikiribocho in Zabuza's hand.
Sakura noticed something was wrong with her crush and immediately asked Sasuke with concern.
"Sasuke, are you okay?"
"You're… acting a little...."
"Heavy Xuan Ruler!"
Sakura: "???"
'Heavy Xuan what??'
Sasuke pointed at the massive Kubikiribocho, and his voice is full of excitement and desire.
Ever since reading the novel, he'd unconsciously started imagining himself as the protagonist, Xiao Yan.
Before, the weapon that he had in mind was a katana.
But after reading the novel...
His ideal weapon became any large weapon like the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
And now, the sudden appearance of Kubikiribocho was really tickling his heart.
'I must get that weapon!'
Sasuke suddenly laughed while looking at Zabuza, who was fighting. Kakashi and Sakura looked at him in confusion, not knowing what was going on with this guy.
'Also…'
'That is the Kubikiribocho of Kirigakure. Why the hell are you calling it Heavy Xuan Ruler?'
Kakashi had a bad feeling in his heart. He vaguely felt that there was a bit of Naruto's shadow in Sasuke.
"I'll go help Naruto!"
Electricity crackled over Sasuke's body before he vanished in a flash of lightning, so fast it caught even Kakashi off guard.
Apparently, someone had already activated his Lightning Attribute Chakra to its maximum power out of sheer desire for that sword.
Sszzzttt…
As Naruto and Zabuza were mid-clash, exchanging blow after blow, they both heard the sound of electric current nearby.
Naruto knew that Sasuke had come and immediately shouted at him, "Sasuke! Use Thunderbolt!"
"Huh?"
Zabuza didn't give a damn what they were yelling about and kicked the iron door.
Naruto was still waiting for Sasuke to take action, but he didn't expect Zabuza to seize the opening first.
With both hands holding the iron door in front of him, Naruto was caught completely off guard. His head slammed into the door with a loud clunk, followed by a massive force crashing through it.
Naruto, who was totally unprepared, was knocked back five steps.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Sasuke, who'd been watching from the side, finally joined the fray. However, he did not listen to Naruto and use Thunderbolt. Instead, he used the never kill technique to Zabuza accumulate more anger.
The fireball surged toward Zabuza, crashing into his location with searing heat. The high temperature mixing with the moist air thickened the mist around them.
Sasuke's eyes lit up when he saw this.
'Success!'
'This enemy…'
'Seems pretty average.'
"Heh, nice sword."
"It's mine now!"
Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was basically celebrating mid-fight, and didn't even know what to say.
'You know, this kind of behavior has always been a taboo!'
'Besides…'
'How could Zabuza be killed by the Great Fireball Technique? That hit just screamed 'lots of smoke, zero damage'.'
Just as Naruto was complaining in his heart, he heard the sound of something slicing through the air near his ears.
'What the hell!?'
'Why is Zabuza just targeting me?'
'Could it be that Sasuke's damage didn't attract the BOSS's aggro??'
"Little brat, you're going to die here!"
"You've pissed me off!"
Zabuza raised the massive Kubikiribocho high overhead and swung down at Naruto's head, clearly intending to decapitate him, just like the sword's namesake. (T/N: Kubikiribocho can also mean Decapitating Sword.)
However, when Naruto felt the sword getting closer and closer, not only did he not intend to dodge, he actually leaned his head into it.
He pushed off with both feet and launched a rocket headbutt straight into Zabuza's gut.
'Let's go!'
'Hand-to-hand showdown!'
'Whoever chickens out is Akamaru!'
Zabuza hadn't expected Naruto to rush towards him head-on. He'd just been thinking about how to chase the brat down, but now, Naruto was suddenly right in his face, so his attack has completely failed.
'But it wasn't a big deal.'
'How strong can a brat be...'
"Haaaaahh—"
Naruto's head smashed into Zabuza's stomach like a missile, folding the demon like a boiled shrimp and launching him through the air.
Zabuza's eyes bulged out, his mind went blank, and his skull was ringing like a temple bell as he flew backward.
At this moment, only one thought remained in his head...
'What the hell is this yellow-haired monster?!?'
'How the hell is he so strong!?'