Zabuza Momochi clutched his burnt left arm, ignoring the scorching pain spreading through his body as he stared coldly at Renji and sneered.
"A bounty of a billion is indeed hard to claim."
After that brief exchange, he already understood that Renji was extremely strong, even far stronger than the rumors suggested.
He could use Fire Release and Earth Release without hand signs, and even a casually used Fire Release technique had power comparable to S-rank ninjutsu.
In all his years of hunting bounty targets, this was the first time he had encountered such a ridiculous monster.
If the fight continued, he would definitely die.
But what did that matter?
He was only a tool called a ninja, someone who would complete his mission even if it meant death.
"I'm curious who put a bounty on me," Renji casually twirled his silver-white hair and said with mild curiosity.
"Although it sounds conceited, I don't think anyone in the Five Great Nations would dare to put a bounty on me.
Even if I offered my neck myself, those useless people wouldn't dare touch me."
Although he had many enemies in the ninja world and countless people wanted his life, very few actually dared to place a bounty on him.
His strength alone was enough to intimidate them.
For example, when the First Hokage was alive, would anyone dare to place a bounty on him?
Kirigakure once placed a bounty on Renji before.
He immediately went there and caused chaos until they withdrew it.
Since then, no one had dared to try again.
It was normal for a ninja to have a bounty on his head.
Even the Third Hokage once had one.
"Stop being so narcissistic, you trash! Plenty of people want you dead! Whether it's Kirigakure or Iwagakure, those people all want you gone!
No matter who the employer is, it's completely normal!" Zabuza Momochi's Chakra suddenly erupted as he disappeared into the pale mist.
In the next instant, he appeared behind Renji and slashed fiercely toward Renji's waist with a kunai.
"That's strange," Renji remained completely still as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
It was true he had many enemies among the Five Great Nations.
But Mei Terumi, Onoki, and the Raikage were all arrogant powerhouses who clearly understood his strength.
How could they possibly hire a mere A-rank rogue ninja like Zabuza?
And the bounty had appeared so suddenly.
Could it be Orochimaru or Danzo?
Orochimaru seemed very likely since he planned to destroy the village soon, so hiring someone to stall Renji would make sense.
But Orochimaru already controlled many strange Bloodline Limit users.
There was no need for him to hire someone like Zabuza.
The same applied to old dog Danzo, who controlled the entire Root Anbu.
He also had no reason to hire an outsider.
Strange.
Just as Renji was deep in thought, Zabuza's kunai sliced cleanly through Renji's waist.
"Teacher Renji, watch out!" Team 7 shouted.
A cold flash appeared as Renji's body was cut in half.
His upper body crashed heavily to the ground and kicked up dust.
"Damn it, I was too careless," Renji coughed weakly as blood flowed from the corner of his mouth and he stared at Zabuza in disbelief.
"I didn't expect your speed to be this fast."
"Did I win?" Zabuza Momochi froze.
He stared at Renji's body on the ground.
There was no smoke.
No disappearance.
No clone.
This was the real body.
If it was real, then Renji was definitely dead.
He actually won.
"Hahahaha, you foolish fellow, you dared to think while fighting me!" Zabuza Momochi laughed mockingly.
"Renji, listen carefully! I am Zabuza Momochi, known as the Demon of Kirigakure! After you die, I'll kill everyone else too, including those three trash Genin!"
Zabuza picked up the Executioner's Blade with cold killing intent filling his eyes.
He never expected victory to come so easily.
Rumors were only rumors.
Renji was nothing more than someone with enormous Chakra.
"Your death will fund my ambition! That billion-ryō head is mine!"
Zabuza raised the Executioner's Blade and prepared to cut off Renji's head.
With that money, he would finally have the chance to rebuild his strength and change Kirigakure.
He had finally reached this step.
Renji coughed violently and spat blood before speaking weakly, "Before I die, tell me who wants my life."
"It doesn't matter if I tell you. You're going to die anyway," Zabuza said indifferently, "An organization wants your life."
He did not know which organization it was.
He only knew it was an organization.
That was enough.
Completing the mission and receiving payment was all that mattered.
"I'll kill you!"
Naruto Uzumaki recalled everything he had experienced with Renji as his expression twisted with rage.
Blood-red Chakra erupted around him as his eyes sharpened with fury while he glared at Zabuza.
"I see, so you've had contact with the akatsuki organization."
Renji's severed body suddenly transformed into azure lightning before instantly restoring itself completely.
Elementalization.
Everyone froze.
All of them stared blankly at Renji, who now stood calmly with his hands in his pockets, completely unharmed.
For a moment, nobody could even think.
"I was just joking earlier, don't look so surprised," Renji licked the strawberry jam from the corner of his mouth and smiled slightly at Team 7.
"I've always wanted to experience what failure feels like, because constantly crushing others gets boring."
So it really was the akatsuki organization.
Had they become restless after he took control of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?
"You!" Zabuza Momochi stood completely stunned.
Why wasn't Renji injured?
Why was he completely fine?
Why was he still alive?
He clearly felt the blade cut through flesh.
There was no clone.
There were no signs of gengutsu.
What exactly happened?
Was it a Bloodline Limit similar to the Hōzuki Clan?
But Renji was from the Hyuga Clan.
"I clearly won, so why is he still alive? I'm the Demon of Kirigakure!"
Renji covered his mouth and chuckled as he turned his head slightly, "Just thinking about your victory speech earlier makes me feel embarrassed for you."
"Eh eh eh eh?" Naruto Uzumaki stared blankly as the leaking red Chakra around him disappeared completely.
Teacher Renji had instantly recovered after being cut in half.
"A Bloodline Limit," Sasuke Uchiha stared intensely at Renji with his Two-Tomoed Sharingan.
"His entire body turned into lightning before restoring itself. That definitely isn't medical ninjutsu."
"It must be a Bloodline Limit."
Sakura Haruno took a deep breath as her chest rose and fell before glaring angrily at Renji with slightly reddened eyes.
"Teacher Renji, please be serious! You almost scared me to death!"
"What are you talking about? Are you a monster!" Zabuza suddenly jumped backward to create distance from Renji.
Just as he raised his Executioner's Blade again, he realized the sword had disappeared from his hand.
A lollipop had replaced it.
Zabuza angrily threw the lollipop to the ground and stared at the Executioner's Blade now resting in Renji's hand.
When did he take it? Damn it.
"We're all human here. Calling me a monster is a bit excessive, isn't it?"
Renji casually rested the Executioner's Blade behind his back and raised a finger as azure lightning flowed from it.
"I can turn my entire body into lightning through Elementalization. With your brain, you probably can't understand a power that goes beyond the limits of a ninja.
If you want to treat it as a Bloodline Limit, that's fine. In short, I can ignore all physical attacks. You can't hurt me, but I can easily hurt you.
It's a very unfair ability, isn't it?"
The Elementalization ability allowed him to ignore all physical attacks entirely.
To damage him with physical force, one would first need something like Haki.
Unfortunately, that power did not exist in the ninja world.
So if someone wanted to harm Renji, they would have to rely on ninjutsu.
But ordinary ninjutsu still could not hurt him.
...
Author's Note:
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3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
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