____________
[—
"Goodbye!! Please take care of Naruto."
"He's pushed his body to the limit. I don't think he'll be able to move today."
"Alright. Let's go."
Kakashi said to Tsunami before leaving with everyone.
…
"Is the ambush ready?!"
Elsewhere, Gatōu was trying to contact Zabuza through a communication device.
"Hey, Zabuza!! Are you listening?! Hey?!!"
Zabuza ignored the device lying on the ground and turned to Haku.
"Shall we go, Haku?"
"Yes," Haku replied.
…
"Ahhhh!! I overslept!!!" At that moment, Naruto woke up and realized how late it was.
"Hey! Hey! Where is everyone?" he asked, looking around the empty room with wide, panicked eyes.
"Oh! Naruto, you're already awake?"
"Sensei said you should rest…" Tsunami said softly, but she could already see from his expression that he had no intention of listening.
"I knew it! I knew it! They left me behind!!" He quickly changed his clothes and ran outside. "I'm off!!"
…
"Damn it!! They should have woken me up!!!" As Naruto rushed from branch to branch at high speed, his irritation kept pace with him. But then something caught his attention and forced him to stop.
"Huh?"
'What the…?'
—]
The manga pages were flipping rapidly here in Kirigakure, as readers quickly reached this scene—one that clearly set the stage for the second clash between two opposing groups.
One group sought to protect Tazuna and complete the noble mission of finishing the bridge.
The opposing group aimed to annihilate them and prevent the bridge from being completed.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Jinin Akebino, stared at the manga page with curiosity, drumming his fingers slowly against its cover.
"Come on… show me what you'll do this time, wielder of Kubikiribōchō…"
A deep smile formed on Jinin's face as he followed the events—the second battle had officially begun.
…
Among a group of children stood one who appeared isolated, the others clearly keeping their distance from him.
The reason was obvious—his appearance closely resembled that of a shark in a human body.
He had inherited his clan's traits to such an extreme degree that he barely looked human at all.
A member of the Hoshigaki clan, destined for a bright future—Kisame Hoshigaki!
"Here they come!!"
The eyes of seven-year-old Kisame widened as he shouted excitedly, acting exactly like the child he was, completely forgetting for a moment how intimidating he looked to those around him.
"Hahaha! Is the Uchiha brat already shaking?!"
Kisame laughed joyfully when he saw Sasuke visibly trembling as the mist surrounded them.
"Yes! He's alive—and he's really here! Come on, show me another amazing battle… I want to see how real shinobi fight!"
Kisame shouted in excitement, gripping the edges of the page a little too hard.
He was a huge fan of Zabuza's character. Ever since watching the battle between Zabuza and Kakashi in the previous part of the series, he had become almost obsessed with Zabuza.
Even more than Zabuza himself as a child!
(Zabuza was five years old as a child—Kisame was roughly two years older.)
As the mist began to envelop the bridge and everyone on it in the manga panels, the readers in Kirigakure felt chills run down their spines.
Almost all of them were cheering internally.
They no longer saw Zabuza and Haku as missing-nin, but as one of their own—facing enemies from Konoha. The bridge felt less like a foreign land and more like home turf in their minds.
Long time no see, Kakashi.
I see you're still with those brats… He's shaking again… poor kid…
Zabuza's first words caused the readers' breathing to quicken. It felt as though they could hear his voice and heavy tone, rather than simply reading words on paper.
The next scene widened everyone's eyes.
Kakashi, Sasuke, Tazuna, and Sakura were completely surrounded by numerous Zabuza clones—a meticulously drawn formation that sent chills down the spine. The artist had spared no detail.
…
Young Zabuza stood frozen within the mist.
"This…"
He couldn't explain what he was seeing, but he could feel a strange familiarity.
Dozens of clones of his future self surrounded Kakashi, Sasuke, and the others in a strict battle formation.
He could see Sasuke's hair swaying in the wind, sweat dripping from the terrified old man, Tazuna, and even smell the fear coming from Sakura.
"So… he was trembling from excitement?"
Young Zabuza tilted his head in confusion when he saw the confident smile on Sasuke's face as he confronted one of the clones head-on.
He also saw confidence in Kakashi's eye, which curved into a crescent as he said:
"Do it, Sasuke."
Before he could fully grasp what was happening, the scene exploded into bloody chaos—then the blood turned into water.
Somehow, Sasuke had destroyed all of the water clones.
"This… is impossible!"
The intense spectator's illusion shattered, and young Zabuza returned to reality—the manga page in his hands. He blinked, looked around, then looked back down at the page as if confirming he hadn't imagined what he'd just witnessed.
With all the water clones gone, Sasuke stood with his arms spread, a kunai in each hand.
Young Zabuza followed his counterpart's next words with intense focus, reading each line twice.
"So he saw through the water clones…"
…
It looks like a rival has appeared… eh, Haku?
It does indeed.
"So the battles will be split across multiple battlefields…"
Hōzuki Mizuru smiled dryly as he stared at the final page of the chapter.
"What do you think, Ao…?"
The Third Mizukage asked his assistant with curiosity.
"It will definitely be a difficult battle… I wonder how it will end," Ao replied.
"Can't you predict it?"
"It's hard to say…"
"Then let's move on to the next chapter."
…
In Konoha, members of the Uchiha clan felt excitement after witnessing Sasuke destroy Zabuza's water clones.
"He's matured a bit…"
"I almost lost hope when I saw him trembling…"
"An Uchiha should never fear anything."
"Once is enough."
"He looks extremely fired up…"
"So in the end, his opponent is Haku…"
"And what did you expect?"
"Did you really think he was qualified to fight a jōnin?"
The Uchiha exchanged words among themselves, some with pride, some with residual doubt, but all of them were watching with far more interest than they would ever openly admit. Among them all, the happiest was the clan head, Hugaku Uchiha.
"That chakra control training benefited him greatly," Fugaku said while looking at his father.
"Indeed… but it's still not enough," replied Hugaku.
"How long does he intend to keep holding it back…?"
"You mean…?"
"Yes."
"He must have awakened it at some point…"
"The Sharingan…"
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 90: The Battle of the Bridge!
Chapter 91: Demonic Ice Mirrors!
Chapter 92: Chaotic Reactions
Chapter 93: Just a Tool.
____________
BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 119.
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