Chapter 51: Learning Ice Release
Zabuza was seriously starting to feel like luck wasn’t on his side.
He had only co to the Land of Waves looking for a new job—but the mont he turned around, there they were: shinobi from the Leaf.
And not just any shinobi—Copy Ninja Kakashi, one of the Legendary Sannin, and...
A mysterious young man. Unfamiliar, but clearly soone Konoha was heavily investing in.
At first, Zabuza didn’t think it was a big deal. He was a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist after all. But now? It felt like he’d walked straight into a trap.
"This is bad..."
Zabuza silently cursed. Judging from the situation, fighting both Kakashi and Jiraiya at once was going to be extrely difficult.
One-on-one? He might’ve welcod the chance to test himself against the fad Sharingan Kakashi—or even Jiraiya of the Sannin.
But two-on-one?
"The weak point is that brat!"
Zabuza didn’t dare hope for a victory in a two-on-one. His only option was to stall for ti—long enough for Haku to capture that kid.
"Ninjutsu: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Once he made up his mind, Zabuza acted imdiately, whispering to Haku at his side:
"The kid’s yours. Don’t hold back—capture him as quickly as you can."
Zabuza had always trusted Haku. For soone his age, there were few who could match his strength.
"Understood," Haku said, though his face was grim. This sudden battle caught him off guard, too.
But he would follow Zabuza’s command to the letter. As chakra surged through his body, the mist thickened.
"The Hidden Mist Technique... huh."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes as the fog grew denser. This truly was the Mist’s signature style.
Still, neither he nor Kakashi made a move to stop it.
They were heading to the Land of Water soon, and the environnt there would be even worse than this. Letting Kitagawa Gen get used to fighting in such conditions wasn’t a bad idea.
"Kakashi and I will handle Zabuza. You take care of the girl next to him—should be doable, right?" Jiraiya murmured.
Gen nodded—but then added, correcting quietly:
"Pretty sure that’s a guy..."
"...Huh?"
"Flat chest."
"....Right."
Jiraiya decided not to press that any further. As the fog grew heavier, both he and Kakashi got serious.
A ninja could never afford to let their guard down—especially not against an elite Mist shinobi in a place like this, where the air was thick with moisture.
Mist shinobi grew up in an island nation shrouded in heavy fog, surrounded by water year-round. They excelled in Water Release—and they knew how to turn that fog into their advantage.
In this kind of environnt, their combat strength received a serious boost—sotis to terrifying levels.
Even the Kakashi of the future nearly lost his life fighting Zabuza!
"I’ll use Wind Release to clear the mist—find his position and finish it fast."
"Got it."
After a brief exchange, Jiraiya moved quickly.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust howled through the area, scattering part of the thick fog.
Kakashi was ready. His Sharingan glowed red—within monts, he’d locked onto his target.
"Over here!"
He leapt forward, lunging toward Zabuza’s position. Jiraiya followed, flanking from the other side.
Clang!
The sound of clashing tal and explosive ninjutsu echoed through the mist.
"Zabuza-sama..."
Haku’s face tensed. But he didn’t forget his mission. Fixing his eyes on Kitagawa Gen not far away, he gritted his teeth—and attacked!
He moved like lightning—his body beca a blur, and in a flash, he was right in front of Gen.
"That’s fast..."
Gen had been watching closely. Just as Haku got close, a burst of purple lightning exploded around him!
Cling—!
With a sharp tallic ring, Gen drew his White Fang short blade, crackling with purple lightning. He slashed horizontally in one swift motion.
"What?"
Haku’s senbon needles were cut cleanly in half.
"That attack... it’s so strong?"
Though Haku was young, his Ice Release—unique to his clan—combined with Zabuza’s intense training, made him far stronger than most would assu.
But this was the first ti all of his senbon had been broken with a single swing.
Fwoosh—
Haku froze montarily, but Gen didn’t let up. He wanted to see Ice Release in action—and he wasn’t going to hold back.
Crack-crack-crack—
The blade danced, forcing Haku to dodge continuously.
Even then, purple lightning grazed him several tis, drawing blood.
"His speed... that sword... and that purple lightning—too sharp!"
Haku quickly analyzed, then perford a hand seal in an instant.
"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
Water vapor condensed rapidly into icy senbon, raining down like arrows.
"Is that all?"
Gen raised an eyebrow, then spun his blade, forming a dazzling arc of steel and lightning.
With a flurry of ringing impacts, he deflected every last needle.
Then, he closed the distance again—another slash!
Haku dodged—barely—but Gen’s foot connected with his stomach.
Wham—!
Haku flew backward, flipping midair and landing shakily.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Now it was Gen’s turn. Mimicking Haku’s single-hand seal, he unleashed a blazing fire dragon!
Fwoooosh—!
The roaring flas surged forward, the heat so intense it began to evaporate the fog.
"Such heat..."
Haku felt the searing air and clenched his jaw.
Then, chakra filled with frost exploded within him—changing the air around him. Even the surrounding mist began to crystallize.
"Ice Release: Ice Rock Do of Magnificent Nothingness!"
A thick wall of ice rose up, blocking the fire dragon before it reached him.
And then—he ford more hand signs.
"Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
Countless icy mirrors ford around Gen, trapping him in a frozen do—like an absolute domain.
"So this is Ice Release..."
Gen glanced around at the ice prison, eyebrows raised.
At that mont, Haku’s voice echoed from the mirrors.
"I don’t want to fight—but you’ve gone too far. For Zabuza-sama’s sake, I’ll give it everything I’ve got. I’m sorry!"
With a whisper, Haku raised his senbon again from within the mirrors.
In the blink of an eye, a storm of needles filled every inch of space inside the do—no room left to dodge.
But then, Gen suddenly smiled.
He looked straight at Haku’s reflection and said calmly:
"No need to apologize. In fact, I should thank you—"
"Because you’ve just helped out a lot."
In an instant, the entire mist-filled battlefield was illuminated by blinding arcs of purple lightning.
Even Zabuza, currently being pinned down by Jiraiya and Kakashi, sensed sothing was very, very wrong...
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