"Kid, you really should be dead," Zabuza muttered under his breath, a cold frost lingering in his words.
A murderous glint flashed in his eyes. As an assassin… Uchiha Genya was truly courting death.
He couldn't hold back any longer. He had to kill him first.
Damn it!
Zabuza cursed silently in his heart.
That brat from the Uchiha clan… he should have been dead a long time ago, yet here he was, jumping around recklessly!
He had originally planned to slowly torment the kid, to let him taste the pain of neither living nor dying. But now, it seemed unnecessary. He would kill him first.
Zabuza's body flickered, moving like a phantom toward Genya, his massive sword slicing through the wind as it swung down.
The blade shimmered, nearly tearing through the surrounding mist. The air itself grew turbulent from the force of his strike, the fog churning violently.
Zabuza believed that once his blade landed, this noisy brat would be split in half.
But, things didn't go as planned, and it caught him completely off guard.
Bang!
A muffled sound rang out. The blade cut through nothing but air, stopping just a foot away from Genya.
Immediately, a powerful force rebounded from the sword, hurling Zabuza backward. His body traced an arc through the air, crashing ten meters away, finally slamming onto the ground with a heavy thud.
"What?" Zabuza's face was filled with shock, his eyes wide in disbelief.
What had just happened?
He quickly scrambled to his feet, eyes fixed on Genya, trying to discern the strange phenomenon he had just encountered.
A shield?
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Could it be a shield that blocked his attack?
And it wasn't just a shield—it had sent back a force strong enough to throw him across the ground.
But… what was that thing?
What kind of ninjutsu created such a defensive barrier?
He had never seen a defense technique so unusual, and a deep unease rose in his heart.
"Haha. Is that all you've got? You can't even get close to me and you still want to kill me?"
Genya's taunting voice came through while Zabuza stood there stunned.
His tone dripped with mockery and contempt.
It sounded like he was laughing at Zabuza's incompetence.
Zabuza's brow tightened at the taunt and the killing intent on his body grew even stronger.
"Kid. No matter what trick you used to block my attack, I'm going to break your defense next!"
Zabuza snorted coldly and charged at Genya again.
Thud.
Another slash landed.
He was thrown back by the impact.
Then came a second strike, then a third.
Zabuza hacked at Genya again and again, every stroke driven with all his strength.
The wind from his blade howled and the force cut deep furrows into the ground.
It showed just how powerful Zabuza was.
Even so, whenever Zabuza's great sword was about to fall on Genya, an invisible force stopped it.
That force was like an unbreakable wall.
No matter how he struck, he could not get through.
Each time his attack was blocked, the rebound force would hurl him away, leaving him sprawled and embarrassed.
"What kind of ninjutsu is that?"
Zabuza was starting to feel numb.
Repeated failure had left him bitterly frustrated.
Right now Genya was like a hedgehog protected by copper walls and iron gates.
He couldn't be approached.
Shock and confusion filled Zabuza's mind.
What kind of ninjutsu was this, and why was it so strong?
With such a jutsu, he would be almost unbeatable.
"Because you're trash!"
Genya kept up his annoying taunt.
A faint sneer curled on his face and he made no effort to take Zabuza seriously.
The words were like salt thrown into Zabuza's wound, making his anger flare even hotter.
"Damn it…"
Zabuza ground his teeth, his fury reaching its peak.
He stared at Genya with murderous intent.
If he couldn't cut him, he'd use another method.
He would make this brat pay.
He quickly formed hand seals and muttered, "Ninjutsu — Water Prison Technique!"
As the seals finished, the air around them grew damp in an instant.
In just two breaths a huge sphere of water appeared out of thin air and wrapped around Genya.
The water inside the sphere shifted and flowed, forming a massive prison that trapped Genya within.
"Know that attacking ninjutsu won't work? Now you want to drown me?" Genya looked at the water prison, a small smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
There was no trace of fear in his eyes, only a hint of disdain.
This water prison technique seemed far too weak to him.
If Kisame had cast this water prison, he could almost cover the entire Mist's Zone, but this prison from Zabuza was nothing in comparison.
"Hmph, kid, let's see if you survive this!" Zabuza showed a ferocious grin. "You think just because you have a turtle shell, I can't deal with you?"
He seemed to already imagine Genya struggling inside the water prison, and a thrill rose in his chest.
"Drown? That's impossible!" Genya stood calmly in the water prison, his confident smile still present. He whispered softly, "Thorns~~"
As his words fell, his fingers curled upward.
Vines shot up from the ground.
They were covered with countless thorns, piercing through the water prison and voraciously drawing in its water.
As they absorbed more water, the vines grew rapidly, becoming thick and strong, then twisted toward Zabuza.
"Wood Release~~ So you're the Wood Release ninja in the team?" Zabuza muttered. He had vaguely suspected that a Wood Release ninja was in the group after seeing the previous assassins fall to wood techniques.
But he never expected that the Wood Release ninja would be Genya.
His eyes filled with shock and confusion; Wood Release was the Senju clan's signature jutsu—how could an Uchiha boy use it?
"I am a Wood Release user. Surprised?" Genya smiled, a teasing edge in his expression.
Zabuza shook his head and used his greatsword to cut away the thorny vines that had wrapped around him, his voice full of disbelief: "No. That's not right. You're from the Uchiha clan—how can you perform Wood Release!"
In his understanding, the Uchiha and Senju had always been opposing clans; Uchiha couldn't possibly use Wood Release.
"My mother is from the Senju clan. Isn't it natural that I can use Wood Release?" Genya said, looking at Zabuza.
His tone was as irritating as ever, as if he were deliberately trying to provoke Zabuza.
"Hmph. If that's true, then you're even more valuable. An Uchiha who can use Wood Release would fetch a high price!"
Zabuza licked his dry lips, greed in his voice as he muttered, "Of course. Even your corpse would be worth a lot—there are plenty who would buy it for research."
****
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