"I am dood!"
The young man stared at the vast ocean before him, his face filled with despair.
With no path ahead and pursuers closing in behind, he had no way to escape.
"Don't resist. I won't kill you."
A voice from behind him echoed, calm and composed.
The young man was a defector from Kirigakure, fleeing with vital intelligence.
At the sa ti, he was also a spy for Konoha.
The best course of action was to capture him alive, extract the information stored in his mind, and obtain valuable intelligence.
"You won't succeed!"
Determined, the young man wore an expression of defiance, ready to face death.
"Hmph, it won't be that easy."
The pursuer, a man known as "Scallop," could see his intentions to end his own life. With a swift movent, he appeared directly in front of the young man.
Hmm?
Before Scallop could react, a sandbag-sized fist suddenly appeared in his line of sight.
The next mont, he felt his body flying through the air.
He landed like a cannonball, crashing to the ground with a loud boom.
The ground cracked around him, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
The young man stood frozen, eyes wide in shock.
This sudden turn of events left him completely stunned.
Instinctively, he turned his head to see Tsunade standing not far away. Her cloak, emblazoned with the word "Gamble," fluttered in the wind.
"La... Lady Tsunade?!"
The young man recognized her imdiately, his face lighting up with joy as if he'd been rescued from the jaws of death.
Tsunade?
Could the information he carried be that important?
Though he couldn't quite understand, he knew one thing—he had survived.
"Co with ."
Tsunade turned and headed into the forest.
She was worried about Hanekawa, who was handling two enemies on her own.
The young man quickly followed her.
Soon, Tsunade arrived at the battlefield.
She stopped, surprised by what she saw.
The situation was much better than she had anticipated.
Hanekawa had managed to gain the upper hand against the combined assault of a Chunin and a Special Jonin.
Tsunade smiled with pride. Truly, Hanekawa was her student.
But her expression quickly grew serious.
It wasn't that Hanekawa was losing ground; Tsunade had sensed another presence nearby.
Soone else was watching.
It seed the other side had the sa goal—training their village's prodigies.
Unfortunately, they had crossed paths.
This could get tricky.
While Tsunade wasn't afraid of a fight, she had two "burdens" to look after.
Back in the forest, the battle shifted again.
Although Hanekawa's strength intimidated Terumi i, the latter quickly regained her composure.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
With her hands moving rapidly in a flurry of seals, Terumi i's chakra surged.
But before she could unleash the technique, Hanekawa was already upon her.
"Too slow!"
Hanekawa gripped his blade with both hands and slashed at Terumi i.
Terumi i's hand-seal speed was impressive, but it wasn't enough against Hanekawa's mastery of body flicker and enhanced speed.
Just then, a terrifying sound pierced the air, as if a teor had been hurled into the ocean.
Hanekawa's face froze.
A massive blade, nearly twice his height, swung toward his with terrifying force.
Recognizing the blade instantly, Hanekawa's eyes widened.
It was the Executioner's Blade—a massive, iconic weapon.
In the original story, this blade belonged to Zabuza Momochi. Before him, it was wielded by Jūzō Biwa.
This is bad!
I'm a stand-in for Naruto now!
Hanekawa realized he was in a situation akin to Naruto's first mission outside the village—facing a Jonin-level enemy.
The only difference was Naruto's mission was ranked C, while his was ranked B.
A graceful figure stepped forward.
Tsunade moved in front of Hanekawa, her fist flying toward the incoming blade.
The Executioner's Blade rebounded imdiately.
"As expected of Princess Tsunade," a man said as he stepped out, catching the rebounding blade. However, his arm trembled slightly from the impact.
The man had short black hair, a cross-shaped scar on his right cheek, and red markings painted below his mouth.
"Jūzō Biwa," Tsunade said calmly, grabbing Terumi i with ease.
The latter struggled for a mont before giving up.
She still retained her wild and defiant deanor, glaring at Hanekawa fiercely.
"What are you staring at?"
Hanekawa, unfazed, reached out and patted her head amidst her furious glare.
"This is the treatnt for losers," he said with a cheeky grin.
Finally, he got a chance to pat soone's head other than Kurenai!
"You bastard! Just you wait!"
Terumi i was trembling with anger. If Tsunade hadn't restrained her, she would've bitten him on the spot.
"Sure," Hanekawa replied nonchalantly.
Looking around, he spotted her wallet and snatched it.
"You shaless thief!" Terumi i gritted her teeth in frustration.
"Want to keep insulting ?" Hanekawa raised an eyebrow and added nacingly, "Do you believe I'll..."
Before he could finish, Terumi i went completely silent, shivering slightly.
She had no doubt this guy was capable of sothing even more outrageous.
"Princess Tsunade, let's make a deal," Jūzō Biwa suggested. Glancing at Terumi i, he continued, "Return her to us, and I'll let you leave unhard. You may be strong, but we have numbers. If we fight, you won't be able to protect the other two."
As he spoke, another squad of Kirigakure Anbu appeared nearby.
The stolen intelligence wasn't particularly significant; it was only because they wanted to test Terumi i that this pursuit had escalated.
"Fine," Tsunade agreed without hesitation.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Jūzō said, extending his hand in a gesture of goodwill. "Please, go ahead."
"You two, leave now," Tsunade instructed Hanekawa and the injured intelligence carrier.
"Yes," Hanekawa replied reluctantly, seeing there was no room for negotiation in her eyes.
The two of them turned and ran toward the coastline.
Tsunade remained behind, waiting. True to their word, Jūzō Biwa and his n didn't give chase.
"It seems this young lady is very important to you," Tsunade remarked with a light smile as she glanced at Terumi i.
"Her performance just now wasn't bad at all."
"Likewise," Jūzō said with a smirk. "Your student was quite impressive, Princess Tsunade."
Tsunade casually tossed Terumi i back to them and stepped backward, disappearing into the forest.
Cod, one of the Kirigakure ninjas, quickly stepped forward.
"I'm fine," Terumi i said as she landed steadily on her feet.
She glanced toward the shoreline, her expression dark and uncertain.
"His na is Hanekawa. He's Tsunade's student and quite well-known in Konoha," Jūzō said with a sinister smile. "Losing to him isn't sothing to be ashad of."
Hanekawa...
Terumi i clenched her fists tightly.
I'll rember you, you damned bastard!
The humiliation she suffered today—she would pay it back tenfold in the future.
---
On the boat by the shore
Hanekawa felt a bit anxious until Tsunade appeared. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Let's go," Tsunade said as she boarded the boat. "Our mission is complete. There's no need to keep tangling with them."
There was one thing she didn't say aloud.
Judging by how much they valued Terumi i, killing her might lead to a war between Konoha and Kirigakure.
Kirigakure's strength wasn't on par with Konoha, but if Kumogakure decided to exploit the situation, things could get ssy.
More importantly, Tsunade prioritized Hanekawa's safety. She wouldn't risk putting him in danger.
"Understood," Hanekawa nodded slightly.
He understood why Tsunade had chosen not to fight.
At that mont, two lines of text appeared before his eyes, catching him off guard and filling him with joy.
[D-Rank Talent: So Much Water]
[Trigger Condition: Defeat a young Terumi i.]
[Effect: Water Release proficiency increased by 30%.]
As expected of the future Mizukage!
He had skipped past E-Rank and directly gained a D-Rank talent.
-
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