Chapter 31: I Hate Brats the Most!

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During the time Kakashi was injured, Naruto spent most of his days fishing at Tazuna's house or sleeping.

Occasionally, he would visit Sasuke, who was relentlessly practicing tree climbing.

However, rather than progressing smoothly, Sasuke repeatedly destroyed the trees with his sheer strength.

Since Sasuke was training while wearing weighted clothing, the tree-climbing exercise became significantly harder for him.

What should have taken him about seven days ended up lasting until Kakashi had fully recovered from his injuries.

This puzzled Kakashi. With Chūnin-level chakra control and Jōnin-tier taijutsu, Sasuke should have mastered this training easily.

Hell, he can even use Chidori—an A-rank technique that requires extreme chakra control—so why the hell is he struggling with something as simple as tree climbing?

Only Naruto knew the answer. Most of Sasuke's chakra was being used just to counterbalance the weight of his training gear, and his concentration was split between maintaining control over his body rather than solely focusing on climbing.

This made it difficult for him to distribute chakra properly on the soles of his feet.

As Kakashi's health improved, so did the progress on Tazuna's bridge.

On the surface, it appeared that Gatō had abandoned his plans to sabotage the project.

On this day, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura accompanied Tazuna to the nearly completed bridge. Despite the eerie silence, there was still no sign of Zabuza or Haku.

Kakashi exhaled slightly, relaxing his guard. Maybe I was wrong… Perhaps the body was retrieved by Kiri's Anbu for some reason, and that's why Zabuza hasn't returned.

Sakura also let out a sigh of relief. If nothing happens, that's for the best. She knew that among Team 7, she was the weakest.

If they encountered enemy shinobi, even Genin-level ones, she wasn't confident that she could handle them.

Of course, in her mind, she was good at thinking things through, so she took some comfort in that.

However, as soon as they arrived at the bridge, they saw a few workers lying unconscious, attacked before they could react.

"Not good! It's an ambush!" Kakashi immediately warned, his senses sharpening.

Suddenly, a thick mist enveloped the area, and a volley of senbon needles shot toward them.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he flickered into action, kunai in hand, deflecting the incoming senbon with precise movements.

Through the fog, a familiar masked figure emerged—Haku.

Kakashi's expression darkened. So, they really are working together.

Sasuke, however, simply scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. "What the hell is with that mask? Trying to act all mysterious? I hate pretentious brats like you the most."

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged glances. Pot, meet kettle…

"Go," Zabuza ordered, his voice carrying a sharp edge.

In an instant, Haku shot forward, moving in rapid circles, his movements almost like a tornado.

Ding!

Sasuke's kunai clashed against Haku's senbon.

Zabuza observed in mild surprise. "Hoh? He's fast enough to react to Haku's movements… Interesting. But that's the limit of his ability."

Haku spoke calmly. "I do not wish to kill you. If you leave now, I will let you live."

"Hmph! As if I'd run away from you," Sasuke sneered.

Haku formed a one-handed seal. "Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

Sasuke didn't bother countering with a seal. Instead, he channeled chakra to his feet, exploding forward with a sudden burst of speed, narrowly evading the incoming attack.

Meanwhile, back at Tazuna's house, two rogue ninja had broken in, intending to take Tsunami hostage.

However, what they found instead was Naruto, who had just woken up from a nap.

"Well, well, looks like today's your unlucky day, brat," one of the rogue ninja sneered. "Next time, don't mess with us—if you get a next time."

Both drew their swords, executing a precise Iai-style sword-drawing technique.

WHAM!

Naruto casually smacked both of them across the face, sending them sprawling to the ground.

He looked down at their unconscious bodies with a deadpan expression before glancing toward the bridge. "Well, I didn't agree to this fight, but since they insisted, I guess I had to convince them with 'reason.'"

With that, Naruto vanished in an instant, heading toward the battlefield.

Back on the bridge, after dodging Haku's attack, Sasuke's speed surged once more.

He dashed in and landed a powerful kick, sending Haku flying. Smirking, Sasuke arrogantly remarked, "Looks like I'm faster."

Zabuza's eyes narrowed. "Haku, stop playing around. If you continue underestimating them, you'll get killed."

"Yes," Haku responded, his voice calm as a cold aura began to seep into the air. With rapid hand seals, crystalline ice mirrors began forming around Sasuke.

Naruto, who had just arrived at the scene, deadpanned. Seriously? This guy just stands there and lets the enemy set up their strongest move?

Haku's body seamlessly melded into the mirrors. From multiple reflections, his voice echoed:

"Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

Instantly, a barrage of senbon shot out, striking Sasuke from all directions, leaving shallow wounds across his body.

"Tch!" Sasuke grit his teeth and tried to retaliate, but Haku's movements were too fast. He couldn't keep up.

Kakashi prepared to intervene, but something caught his attention. Sasuke's eyes had gone blank for a moment—then suddenly, he moved against Haku's attack pattern.

"Yo, he's reached that stage?" Naruto mused, intrigued.

Sasuke's body reacted purely on instinct. His minimal movements allowed him to weave between Haku's attacks, creating the illusion of multiple afterimages.

Zabuza's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible! No one has ever escaped once Haku's Jutsu is fully formed!"

In an instant, Sasuke's speed hit its peak, and he struck at Haku with his kunai once again.

For a moment, it seemed like victory was within reach.

Then, without warning, Sasuke's body faltered. He collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Naruto sighed. "Well, letting go of conscious control does increase your body's reflexive response… but at his current level, it burns through too much stamina. It's like going into a 'Zone' state. He's not ready to sustain it for long."

He was about to step in when he noticed something—then smirked and sat back down instead.

From the mist, a voice suddenly rang out:

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

A massive fire dragon erupted through the fog, crashing into the ice mirrors, creating deep cracks before shattering them entirely.

As the ice shards fell, two figures slowly emerged from the mist…

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