Whether Zabuza was reliable was indeed something worth pondering. At least for now, he seemed quite outrageous.
Were they somehow cursed?
"Why are these guys here again?"
Looking at the two white-haired figures, Obito genuinely felt his fists clench. These guys were truly like lingering spirits.
Could they be encountered everywhere he went?
"What do we do now?"
Kisame also felt a bit embarrassed. He asked in a low voice, but he didn't notice that Itachi had already clenched his fist.
"Sasuke… has he graduated already?"
The moment he saw Sasuke, he was a bit dazed, because he really hadn't expected to see Sasuke in this place.
But seeing Sasuke's current appearance, seemingly relaxed and off-guard, his eyes following Kakashi and the others as they watched Zabuza make a fool of himself, he took a deep breath.
"Too relaxed. This is not the mindset a revenger should have."
In his opinion, Sasuke couldn't afford any slack. He had to constantly maintain his hatred, only then could he continuously grow, especially the growth of his eyes.
Sasuke's path, he had already arranged it!
"Let's make our move."
Thinking of this, he suddenly spoke, "I didn't expect to encounter Sasuke here. No matter what, I have to try. He is my reserve eye."
"Oh?"
Obito raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Itachi, his heart full of disdain.
Itachi, however, appeared very calm. He looked at Zabuza, who was scrambling to his feet in a disheveled state, and spoke, "Besides, isn't Zabuza the target you want to recruit? If we don't do something now, it will be very difficult."
"Do you have any ideas, Itachi?" Kisame spoke in a low voice.
He actually didn't want to make a move at all, after all, they couldn't win.
"I'll go check on Sasuke. You guys stall them for a bit, just one minute is fine." Itachi quickly said, his gaze fixed on Obito.
"Moreover, if I deal with those brats, it can also divert their attention, which will make it easier for us to retreat, right?"
"Let's do that then." Obito didn't object. He simply nodded.
"Then, let's act."
"What a hassle."
Kisame cursed under his breath, but he instantly began to form hand signs.
Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
Accompanied by the surging Chakra, a torrent of water, like a lake, instantly poured out, rushing towards Takemi and the others.
"What is this?"
Such a massive torrent of water instantly startled Naruto and Sasuke. Such a rapid flow of water really gave them a fright.
But Kakashi was very calm. He quickly formed hand signs and pressed his hands to the ground.
Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!
Boom—
A massive earth wall instantly rose from the ground, blocking their path and giving them enough time to prepare.
"Be careful. It seems this time won't be easy." Takemi reminded them, his gaze shifting to Sasuke.
"Especially you, Sasuke."
"Me?"
Sasuke was a bit confused, but Takemi's gaze had already moved away, because his system had popped up at that moment.
[Received Sasuke's Exclusive Side Quest]
[The Uchiha Brotherhood is Like This]
[Help Sasuke deal with Itachi]
[Accept?]
"…"
Seeing this mission, Takemi could only lament that, as expected, once these brats became Ninja, the missions became much more normal.
"That's right, it looks like someone has come for you."
No sooner had he spoken than Sasuke's gaze followed, and almost instantly, his fists clenched.
"Itachi!"
Sasuke let out a roar, almost uncontrollably charging forward.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto looked at Sasuke's actions, hesitated for a moment and then instantly followed. Itachi, seeing this, didn't hesitate at all and rushed towards Sasuke.
"Hey, be careful!"
Kakashi was frantic seeing Sasuke act so impulsively, but Obito had already blocked his path.
"Kakashi, your opponent is me!"
"Damn it…"
Kakashi was incredibly annoyed. He now suspected that Takemi's words were correct.
His choice of missions was truly problematic. The last time, in a C-rank mission, they encountered the Akatsuki, and this time, another C-rank mission, and it's the Land of Waves again.
"And again, we run into them!"
But thinking too much was useless. Kakashi could only act, but he was still relatively at ease.
After all, Takemi was there!
"Sakura, watch Tazuna."
Takemi rotated his neck, his gaze fixed on Kisame and Zabuza.
Suddenly, he smiled and said, "What a coincidence, you're all familiar faces."
"Zabuza, your mission conflicts with his. I suggest you team up with me." Kisame showed no arrogance at all. He spoke in a low voice.
"Otherwise, neither of us will be able to leave. This guy's terror…"
"You don't need to tell me, I already know." Zabuza shook his head.
"You should consider that you yourself are going to die. He's here!"
Before Zabuza finished speaking, Takemi had already vanished. They knew exactly what was happening.
Zabuza cursed under his breath, feeling incredibly unlucky, and Kisame felt much the same.
Both of them simultaneously drew their swords to block, but they were still a bit slow.
Buzz—
Takemi silently appeared in front of Zabuza, his short sword quietly slicing across Zabuza's chest.
Splash—
However, with one strike, Zabuza had already turned into a Water Clone, but his blade continued its trajectory towards Kisame.
"Damn it!"
Kisame's eyes widened. Seeing the sharp blade, he gritted his teeth and raised his sword to meet it.
"Ninja don't rely on brute force."
But in an instant, Takemi had already vanished from his sight, and this strike missed.
At the same time, Takemi's voice sounded behind him, and the next moment, he was kicked away.
"Also, using Water Release in front of me doesn't seem like a good idea, does it?"
Takemi appeared in his original spot, his hand pressed onto the water surface. In an instant, the entire water surface froze.
"Ice Release? How is that possible?"
Zabuza, hiding underwater, was startled. He had no idea what was going on.
He immediately took advantage of the water surface not being completely frozen and leaped up. However, the moment he appeared, Takemi's short sword had already arrived.
"Zabuza-sama!"
Not far away, Haku's voice suddenly rang out, and at the same time, a wall of ice blocked Zabuza's path.
"Too bad, just a little off."
However, this ice wall could not stop Takemi's blade. In an instant, it was pierced through, stabbing Zabuza in the shoulder.
"Damn it…"
Purple Lightning erupted, and Zabuza felt his entire body go numb. If not for his excellent physical conditioning as a Jonin, he wouldn't have been able to move at all after that hit.
Haku also appeared at this moment, supporting him and moving him backward.
However, Takemi, who had just been heavily striking Zabuza, suddenly vanished.
In an instant, he had appeared beside Kisame.
"Hm?!"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Kisame. Only then did he notice that a kunai had appeared on the ground beside him at some point.
"Damn it!"
But before he could even raise his sword to block, Takemi's blade had already slashed across.
Swish—
Blood splattered, Kisame rolled with the momentum, then quickly jumped away. He needed to dodge Takemi's kunai now, but Takemi had already run to Zabuza's side.
"What kind of battle is this, exactly?"
The scene seemed to have spiraled out of control, yet all of this seemed to have no relation to Sakura and Tazuna. The two of them, on the contrary, became the safest ones.
However, watching the battle before them, especially Takemi's battle, which was closest to them, completely stunned them.
This was Sakura's first time seeing Takemi in combat, and that ghostly fighting style simply didn't seem like something a human could do.
"Is this Takemi's strength?"
And Tazuna was completely numb now, he had never seen a scene like this.
"I just wanted to trick Konoha into protecting me while I built the bridge…"
Looking at Takemi, who was like a ghost, single-handedly beating up three people, he suddenly felt a chill.
"He seemed to say… he was going to kill my whole family?!"
At this moment, he panicked.