Chapter 96: Zabuza's Crushing Defeat

Mei Terumi silently grumbled, yet her heart quivered with fear.

Even though Zabuza launched his ultimate attack directly at the enemy, he was defeated in an instant.

This is just crazy!

"This is the strength of Konoha's number one genius? He's way stronger than us from Mist!" As their shock set in, they suddenly noticed Seiki shift his gaze toward them and immediately felt nervous. "What are you planning to do?"

Unexpectedly, Seiki didn't seem threatening at all. Instead, he wore an apologetic expression. "Don't be tense. Honestly, I might've overstepped by interfering. After all, killing isn't prohibited during the Chunin Exams..."

"But everyone here came because of Konoha's invitation, and this exam was never meant to be a fight for survival. It'd be such a waste if someone died like this, so I'm privately asking all of you to show mercy."

"You're... begging us?" Mei Terumi found it hard to believe. In their experience, power always ruled everything.

Even if someone breaks the rules, as long as they're strong enough, everything can be forgiven!

That was Mist's law of survival!

But that didn't mean they liked those coldhearted rules. Regardless of who they were, people naturally longed for compassion and warmth.

Seiki smiled gently. "Okay?"

Facing that warm, gentle smile, the two girls couldn't help but feel unexpectedly moved. "So... genuinely kind!"

Compared to teammates like Zabuza, this 'enemy' in front of them seemed ten thousand times better.

Wait, speaking of Zabuza...

At some point, the Zabuza sliding down from the tree had already transformed into a clone, while his real body quietly circled around behind Seiki into the woods.

"Didn't expect those two women to actually be useful, managing to distract that guy's attention!"

When they saw Zabuza leap out with a deep red handprint on his face, attacking Seiki from behind, the two women almost cried out instinctively... Then suddenly realized that warning the enemy probably wasn't the smartest idea?

As they hesitated, without even turning his head, Seiki casually backhanded him again, swatting Zabuza away like a fly.

Using Sage Mode combined with Eight Gates—opening only the first three gates—was still overwhelmingly powerful.

Mei Terumi and Shiyaya twitched their lips. Haha, how could they have believed that dumbass Zabuza could pose any threat?

Without further hesitation, both spoke in unison, "We're leaving now!"

After saying that, they turned around to leave.

Then thought again, walked over to where Zabuza lay, each grabbing a pant leg, dragging the unconscious Zabuza away.

Seiki sighed helplessly. If only Zabuza would stop ambushing and face him head-on, he might at least cause a little trouble.

Well, maybe get hit more than once.

Just then, the three stunned shinobi from Takumi finally snapped out of their daze.

"Lord Seiki! Thank you so much!"

"Your great kindness will never be forgotten by us!"

Shaking his head slightly, Seiki said, "I'm merely fulfilling my duty as a host—I don't want you dying here for such a reason."

"You've truly saved us, no matter what happened!" The three of them said with unwavering determination.

"Don't overthink it. Let's just restart the exam." After saying that, Seiki quickly treated the three of them.

Then, he received three pairs of even more grateful eyes.

When the three Takumi shinobi finally left, Asuma and Kurenai arrived shortly after.

"Phew-phew, Seiki, is this the place? Where did they go?"

"It's already been settled!"

"That was fast!" Asuma muttered in surprise. "Wait, but Zabuza still attacked other examinees?"

Kurenai gave him a sidelong glance. "Didn't he say beforehand?"

Asuma snorted. "Circumstances changed! Who expected Orochimaru-sama to start hunting like this? I can't imagine anyone but Seiki handling Manda!"

"Don't flatter me too much. Truth is, I'm still missing techniques for dealing with something that huge," Seiki said with a wry grin.

"Seiki, I know you're trying to keep us on our toes," Asuma said, placing both hands on Seiki's shoulders, his eyes shifting sideways comically. "But do you really think I'd buy your story?"

Sighing helplessly, Seiki changed the topic. "Back to Zabuza. He's strong. If all he wants is to escape, he'll stand a real chance against Manda."

Kurenai added beside him, "With so many 'preys' in the forest, Manda wouldn't stick to one target forever. If he finds capturing one prey too difficult, he'll naturally switch targets."

"Right. And that man doesn't strike me as someone who would care about his teammates," Asuma muttered, then asked, "Hey, Seiki, so are we going to follow behind them continuously and rescue people?"

Shaking his head with a smile, Seiki answered, "Of course not. Releasing captives twice would raise suspicion."

Still puzzled, Asuma asked, "But what if we don't follow them? What if Zabuza kills them? Then how can we rescue them?"

A faint smirk tugged at Seiki's lips. "Don't worry. While knocking him out, I seeded a suggestion in his mind."

Asuma sighed. "Seiki, could you stop thinking everything through every time? At least leave some room for me to contribute!"

Rubbing his chin, Seiki continued, "The seeds of influence on Zabuza have already been sown. Those who could interfere have been sent toward the finish line ahead of schedule. Next, we need to rescue our Konoha comrades who might be devoured by Manda. It's up to you now, Asuma."

Asuma immediately looked alarmed. "Rescue work? Sounds overly important! Wait, Seiki, this contribution space feels too big. How about reconsidering?"

...

Across the river.

Shiyaya yanked Zabuza's pant leg and yanked him down, puffing her chest out triumphantly. "We were the ones who saved him this time. Let's see if he dares call us a burden again!"

Mei Terumi flipped her hair. "Better not provoke him. He might kill you to shut you up!"

Shiyaya shivered. "Come on, if we hadn't dragged him away earlier, those Takumi shinobi would certainly have finished him off!"

Rolling her eyes, Mei replied, "You should know exactly what kind of place Mist really is." [The Hidden Mist Village wasn't known for mercy.]

Hearing that, Shiyaya quickly closed Zabuza's legs which she had spread apart in her emotional outburst.

Seeing Zabuza's posture change from spread apart to tightly crossed, Shiyaya cautiously let out a sigh of relief. "Sigh, I really envy Shimaseki Seiki's teammates. It must be amazing to have such a powerful, gentle, and handsome person as your team leader!"

She added with a look of disdain at Zabuza.

He used to at least have strength going for him, but now, compared to Shimaseki Seiki, he was completely overshadowed in every way.

Mei Terumi nodded in agreement, secretly wishing she could swap Zabuza for a used Genin from Konoha.

At this moment, Zabuza's body twitched, and he regained consciousness.

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