After resting for a few minutes and feeling mostly recovered, Naruto tossed out a portal and appeared straight to the battlefield where Sasuke and Zabuza were clashing.
Ever since Naruto and Zabuza entered their turn-based battle earlier, the latter hadn't had a single intact patch of skin left on him.
Not only was his right hand fractured, but three ribs were also cracked.
The worst thing is, Naruto kept hitting him on the waist.
Every time he took a breath of air, he felt pain all over his body.
He finally got away from the battle and had a break, but Sasuke immediately ran up to him again.
Moreover, this Uchiha brat refused to fight hand-to-hand with him. Instead, he just kept throwing the Ninja Tools on him at him as if they were free, and there were even Explosive Tags mixed in them.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, the moment he was done throwing weapons, he'd toss in some random Ninjutsu from the side.
This fighting style really made Zabuza lose it.
'Let's not talk about the monster-like brat from before...'
'The Ninja Tools thrown by this Uchiha brat are more than the money I was being paid for this whole mission.'
'And from the way this brat kept digging into his pouch, it seemed he had no intention of stopping.'
'What the hell is wrong with this brat?!'
'Even if you have money, you can't waste it like this!'
In all his years as a Shinobi, Zabuza had never faced such an absurd combat style.
Zabuza cursed this prodigal son as he fled through the rain of kunai and shuriken.
Just as he dodged another wave, he saw the familiar yellow-haired figure again.
"Fu…!"
Zabuza cursed out loud.
Shing…
A sharp sound of breaking through air came to Zabuza's ears. Before he could even register what it was, there was a bang, and a puff of smoke turned the Ninja Tool into that damn Uchiha money-burner.
"You're not bad!"
Sasuke muttered coldly, flipping midair and landing a kick square on Zabuza's sword-wielding wrist.
A burst of numbness shot through Zabuza's arm, and the Kubikiribocho flew from his grip.
When he turned around to look for Sasuke, he was already standing not far away and picking up the Kubikiribocho triumphantly...
Naruto had barely been on the battlefield for three seconds when he saw Sasuke bullying a low-HP Zabuza, then snatched the opponent's sword and laughed wildly with his head raised at the side.
He then glanced at the ground...
At this time, there were so many Ninja Tools littered around that it was hard to even find a spot to stand.
Naruto's expression immediately twisted into a grimace.
'This bastard has actually used up all the sealing scrolls he has???'
'Are you trying to bankrupt yourself?!'
'Zabuza is already low on health!!'
'Why are you using a cannon to kill a mosquito?!!'
Naruto now understands why Sasuke in the original work had such a difficult time...
'So…'
'Did he create Chidori Senbon in the later period because he had no money to buy Ninja Tools?'
Zabuza knelt on one knee with his hands hanging at his sides and blood still dripping from his mouth.
Haku, who was fighting with Konoha's technicians on equal terms, became extremely anxious after discovering Zabuza's situation.
"P-Please stop!"
"We…"
"We give up the mission!"
"Please don't hurt Zabuza-sama anymore!"
Haku immediately canceled his Ninjutsu, took off his equipment and appeared before Kakashi.
He slowly reached up and removed his mask, revealing a delicate, strikingly beautiful face that even caught Kakashi off guard.
Earlier in the fight, Kakashi had tossed out a bottle of perfume to help track him.
He hadn't realized that move just made the person in front of him even more alluring.
"I see…"
Kakashi glanced at downed Zabuza not far away and nodded slightly.
During times of peace, when Shinobi from different villages clashed during missions, as long as one side openly gives up on the mission, it was common practice to spare the other party.
Seeing that none of his team's members had been seriously injured, Kakashi nodded slightly in agreement.
"Naruto, Sasuke."
"You can stop now."
After hearing what Kakashi said, Sasuke's grip on the Kubikiribocho tightened.
'I don't care whether that guy lived or died...'
'But the Heavy Xuan Ruler must be mine!'
Haku quickly ran to Zabuza's side and helped him up, his eyes full of worry.
"You... What are you doing?"
Zabuza turned his head slightly, sniffled, then glared at Haku and asked through gritted teeth, "You're just my tool… Who gave you the right to decide for me?"
"I'm sorry, Zabuza-sama!"
"Forgive me for acting on my own, but if this mission went on any longer… you'd die."
Haku hooked Zabuza's arm around his neck, tears already glistening in his eyes.
The members of Team 7 stood by like they were watching a soap opera.
Sakura, in particular, looked extremely moved.
"So this is love!"
"It's… it's so beautiful!"
"And that girl is just so pretty."
She turned to glance at Sasuke while saying this…
But Sasuke was completely focused on wiping his new weapon with a cloth at the moment, and had no time to pay attention to Sakura.
Even Kakashi, watching the emotional scene unfold, responded to Sakura's outburst for once.
"Yeah!"
"This... this is youth… I mean, love."
Kakashi blurted out the first part instinctively, then immediately quickly corrected himself when he felt something was wrong.
Naruto's pupils trembled violently.
He is afraid that Kakashi would start doing some trademark 'green bowl cut' moves next.
'So people really do start to influence each other unconsciously, huh?'
Naruto felt a chill when he thought of this.
'Thank goodness!'
'Thank goodness I didn't go looking for that green freak back then!'
Seeing Sakura constantly sighing with Kakashi, he really couldn't help but interrupt the two of them.
When Sakura started mentally projecting a bright and romantic future for the 'loving couple' in front of them, and also started projecting herself into that same kind of future with Sasuke, she began to giggle dreamily.
Just at this moment, Naruto's voice rang out, breaking her fantasy.
"That guy is a man."
Sakura: "???"
Kakashi: "???"
Sasuke: "Hmm?"
The three of them looked at Naruto at the same time, then slowly shifted their gaze to Haku.
Sakura glanced at Haku's chest, then looked down at her own, then clenched her fists with a dangerous expression.
When she remembered how Naruto had called her 'Sakura-bro' just now, the veins on her forehead began to throb.
'This bastard Naruto, Is he judging people's gender by their chest size or something?!'
'Unbelievable!!!'
'Doesn't he know how hurtful that is to a girl's self-esteem?'
'And besides, I just haven't started developing yet!'
'It'll definitely get better in the future!'
Sakura took a deep breath and said to Naruto angrily, "Naruto, that's a really mean thing to say about a girl."
Beside them, Kakashi nodded in agreement.
Even though he felt that what Naruto said made some sense.
"Uh…"
"I am indeed a man."
When Haku heard that these people misunderstood his gender, he explained timidly.
Everyone except Naruto froze on the spot, like they'd turned to stone.
After a while, Sakura twisted slowly turned her stiff neck and let out a shocked scream, "You're lying... You're lying!"
"How can a guy be this cute!!"
Kakashi and Sasuke nodded silently in agreement.
Naruto shrugged, as he couldn't explain this thing either.
"We… can we go now?"
After bickering with Zabuza for a moment, Haku looked at Kakashi and asked pleadingly.
"Nope."
Before Kakashi could even respond, Naruto stepped forward and loudly cut in, "This sword belongs to us now."
"And also…"
"If you kiss him, I'll let you go."
Kakashi: "?????"
Sasuke: "???"
Sakura: "?????"
Zabuza, who was about to faint, suddenly widened his eyes.
Who knows what was going through his mind in that moment.
"Okay."
Haku's face turned slightly red, then he closed his eyes and quickly pecked Zabuza on the cheek. Immediately after, he lowered his head and avoided everyone's gaze.
Kakashi and the others turned to stone again.
They felt that the relationship between Zabuza and Haku is getting harder and harder to wrap their heads around...
Naruto waved his hand and drove the two away with great disgust.
But just as the two were walking away, Naruto suddenly caught the sound of Zabuza mumbling weakly, "Haku, what's that smell on you…?"
"Smells so good..."