"Say something quickly," Naruto urged. Haruto raised his head and gazed sadly at the sky. "I've noticed I'm getting more and more handsome. If this keeps up, every woman I date will fall in love with me. Unfortunately, I can't be responsible for all of them, sigh! I'm just too good-looking."
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged an irritated glance. "Bastard, how dare you lie to me?" Naruto grumbled.
Haruto smirked.
"Why do I suddenly feel like strangling you? If you're gonna say something, just say it already!" Sasuke snapped.
Before Haruto could respond, a figure suddenly fell from the roof.
Haruto stared at Naruto, who looked deeply offended. He wasn't quite used to the intense reaction. "Okay, okay, I didn't mean it like that. Fine, I'll just give up on everything, and everything will be fine tomorrow."
Naruto continued to glare at him.
"Alright, alright, when I get back, I'll treat you to ramen for a week, so don't be mad."
Naruto laughed proudly. "I'm just waiting for you to say that."
Haruto couldn't help but shake his head, realizing that Naruto's simple mindset had its own charm.
"What an idiot, he falls for it so easily. He really deserves to be the tail of the crane." Sasuke taunted.
Naruto, visibly angry, shot back, "Sasuke, do you want to fight?"
As the argument between the two continued, Inari suddenly spoke up. "You're all on the verge of death, but you can still laugh?"
"What are you talking about, brat?" Naruto shot back. "I've been putting up with you for so long." He was ready to rush at him.
Haruto quickly grabbed Naruto. "Okay, okay. Tell us what do you want."
Inari snorted coldly and ran back to his room.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Why is this kid acting like this?"
"Inari's stepfather. He's known as the hero of this city."
After hearing the story about Inari and his stepfather, the group fell silent.
Suddenly, Naruto stood up and started walking upstairs. Before anyone could stop him, he declared, "I want to prove to him that there are heroes in this world."
Haruto watched with a blank expression. "Does this fit the plot?" he thought. "Well, whatever. It's probably best if things go according to plan, but if not, I've still got ways to help awaken courage in this country."
"Ah!"
In the forest, Haruto's shadow clone sneezed. In order to keep an eye on Zabuza, Haruto had created two shadow clones to roam the forest. He couldn't tell if the plot was changing or not. What he really wanted to know was: Was Haku a man or a woman?
"Hmm? There's a lot of fog here."
Suddenly, a white light flashed, and Haruto's shadow clone turned into smoke.
A black shadow appeared silently, flipping through the photos in his hand and sighing, "What a pity. I thought I could find the target here, but it looks like it's just a shadow clone."
"Sorry, that's the only one here, and it's accumulated a lot of chakra. I couldn't tell it apart."
"Forget it. It doesn't matter even if I scare the snake. It didn't see who I was, so let's find the Wave country first and then deal with the person who doesn't cut it out. Honestly, I really hate him. If I hadn't asked for his help, I wouldn't have come here, not even if I died."
After hearing the news from his shadow clone, Haruto's expression changed.
"What happened, Haruto?"
"My shadow clone was destroyed. Even though the clone wasn't very strong, it was destroyed easily. The enemy must be incredibly strong."
Haruto walked out without responding further, his mind racing. "The opponent used a Mist Concealment technique. If I'm right, it shouldn't be one of the assistants."
Kakashi frowned as well.
"In that case, it's not safe outside. Go call Sasuke and Naruto back. We need to stay alert. Starting from tonight, you'll be on night duty."
Haruto's frown deepened. "The plot seems to be shifting too much."
Haku, who was helping Zabuza change the gauze, was startled by the sound of footsteps outside the door. Didn't the warnings set up have any effect?
Zabuza pressed Haku's shoulder and said in a hoarse voice: "Haku, don't be nervous, we are old acquaintances."
As the door was pushed open, a pompous voice came: "It's really embarrassing. No eyebrows."
"I heard that you were defeated by a 12-year-old ninja, hahaha, it's so funny."
Zabuza's face was a bit ugly: "I was just being careless for a while, next time... I'll behead that kid with my own hands."
Raiga took off the hat on the cloak and revealed his crazy face: "Seeing you reminded us of our past memories. I really want to hold a funeral for you, eyebrowless."
Not to be outdone again: "I also really want to cut off your head as a trophy, thick lips."
"It's Lord Raiga," Haku saluted respectfully.
"So you're still alive. I thought a useless tool like you would have been abandoned by Zabuza long ago. Back then you were."
"Enough, I don't want to hear you say these things." Zabuza looked at Raiga gloomily: "I didn't come to you to hear you talk about these useless things."
"Do you think I want to help you? The person I hate the most is you, the one without eyebrows."
As he spoke, Raiga pulled out two Kiba Blades and placed them in front of Zabuza.
"If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have come to you even if I died."
Zabuza showed an ugly smile: "If I hadn't guessed that you have been looking for me because of this, I wouldn't have asked you to come."
He picked up the two Kiba Blades and looked at them for a while, then frowned: "What's going on here?"
"When I encountered a troublesome enemy, I had to overuse the mystery on the Kiba Blade. The blades were already unusable. Later, I found someone to repair them in the Land of Craftsmen. Although they can be used again, their power has dropped greatly.
"Haku."
Hearing Zabuza's shout, Haku took out a scroll from his arms, and after unrolling it, a bucket of pitch-black water appeared in front of several people.
Zabuza soaked the Kiba Blades in it, and after a while, they came out already bumpy. After finishing these, he placed the Kiba Blades down. The Executioner's Blade sliced through the air at a speed visible to the naked eye, but the two Kiba blades returned to their original state, now shining brighter than ever. Holding the blades, Kurosaki Raiga channeled his chakra slightly, and the blades crackled with the light of thunder.
"Haha, these are much easier to use now," Raiga laughed. Then, with a sudden motion, he pressed one of the Kiba blades to Zabuza's neck.
"You know, I could always hold a funeral for you now, as you can not even use the Executioner's Blade."
Zabuza stared at Raiga, his expression unmoving.
Raiga grumbled and withdrew the blade. "Sooner or later, I will hold a funeral for you."
"I'll keep my promise," he added before walking out of the room.
As Raiga reached the door, a voice called from behind him: "Raiga, be careful."
He froze and took a step back.
"You attracted these," Zabuza muttered, his gaze shifting to the door.
Six ninjas wearing the masks of Kirigakure's hunting squad stood at the entrance, completely still, like lifeless statues.
Even Raiga and Zabuza felt a bead of sweat trickle down their faces. They couldn't help but grow tense.
The six ninjas silently exchanged signals.
"What should we do? The report said only the seriously injured would be here, but why is Kurosaki Raiga here?"
"The intel was wrong. I'm afraid we can't take them down," one of the ninjas murmured. He closed his eyes in thought for a moment.
"New orders from above. The Mizukage wants to see them," another ninja whispered.
At those words, two of the ninjas stepped forward, each holding a scroll in both hands.
Raiga, now fully alert, tightened his grip on his blades. The situation had shifted. Running wasn't an option—they knew the enemy before them were expert trackers, and fleeing would only ensure their deaths. The only way out was to fight.
Moments later, a strange liquid began to spill out from the scroll. Slowly, it solidified into a human form.
"Ninja technique. Mind Transformation Technique."
The liquid began to take shape, transforming into the appearance of Terumi Mei, the Fifth Mizukage.
She stretched her body and gave both Zabuza and Raiga a seductive look.
"Long time no see, old friends."