Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki both ignored Haku and Ranmaru. Severely injured, they chose to fight desperately against Gato and his men.
Sakura, who had taken Tazuna into hiding, also rushed to the scene.
Seeing Sasuke riddled with senbon needles, Sakura thought he was dead too and began sobbing heavily on top of him.
"Why? Why did you have to die like this? Sasuke!"
Naruto approached Sakura, wanting to tell her that Sasuke wasn't actually dead.
However, Sasuke woke up by himself.
"Sakura... you're heavy..."
Looking at Sasuke opening his eyes, Sakura kept repeating his name in disbelief while hugging him tightly.
"It hurts..."
Mustering strength, Sasuke tried to sit up. Sakura immediately said, "Sasuke! You're seriously injured—you shouldn't move around!"
"That doesn't matter. Naruto—how is Naruto?" Sasuke anxiously asked about Naruto's condition.
Naruto, with red-rimmed eyes, replied, "I'm fine, Sasuke."
Sakura felt a twinge of jealousy. Why would Sasuke's first question be about Naruto?
Weakly, Sasuke turned his gaze toward the battlefield. "What's going on now?"
Kakashi arrived beside Sasuke. "Don't move. The battle is mostly over already. Right now it's Zabuza, Raiga, and Gato's group fighting each other. Since we don't have a medical ninja here, I'll pull out these senbon needles first and do some basic bandaging for you."
As Kakashi started treating Sasuke's wounds, Naruto and Sakura recounted what had happened earlier.
Sasuke looked toward Haku, who stood motionless behind Shindai. So from the very beginning, that guy hadn't intended to kill them.
But… Sasuke felt frustrated. Naruto had beaten Haku, while he ended up unconscious after being struck by senbon.
Didn't that mean he was weaker than Naruto?
No way in hell was he going to accept that!
With Raiga's help, Zabuza managed to strap the Cleaver Sword onto his right arm, which still had limited mobility.
Raiga also picked up his Lightning Sword again.
Gato sneered at Zabuza and Raiga. "Two cripples still want to fight? Get them—finish them off!"
Just as Zabuza and Raiga were preparing to engage Gato's group, five ninja wearing masks appeared on the right side of the bridge.
[Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!]
[Water Release: Water Darts!]
One after another, Water Release techniques surged toward Gato's men, inflicting heavy casualties immediately.
Gato stared in shock at the sudden appearance of those five figures. "You—you're who?!"
Kakashi and Shindai exchanged serious glances.
Kirigakure Anbu!
The five Mist Anbu stormed into the fray, swiftly eliminating Gato's remaining men.
Only Gato remained.
Gato was literally pissing himself with fear. "No, don't kill—"
Before he could even finish saying "me," Gato was pierced through the neck with a kunai from a Mist Anbu.
Clutching his bleeding neck, Gato tumbled off the bridge and was swept away by the roaring current below.
Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki braced themselves and took up battle-ready stances.
As Rogue Ninja themselves, they knew that the arrival of Mist Anbu meant they were marked for elimination.
"There's no need to be so tense. I'm not here to kill you—I'm here to persuade you to return to the village."
A figure stepped forward from the mist—it was Mei Terumi, the new Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure.
Zabuza snorted coldly. "What? Are you here to ask us to eliminate those who oppose you in the village?"
Raiga Kurosuki snarled in agreement, "We just barely escaped from that disgusting place. What makes you think we'd want to go back? And who exactly do you think you are? Unless you want us to dig your graves, I suggest you leave now!"
The five Mist Anbu immediately wanted to attack after hearing such an insult toward Mei, but she stopped them.
Mei spoke seriously, "The Blood Mist policy has ended. I am now the Fifth Mizukage of Kiri. If you return to the village, everything in the past will be forgiven, and there will be no pursuit of responsibility."
Zabuza asked gravely, "Fifth Mizukage? Then what about Yagura Karatachi?"
Mei answered, "The Fourth has passed away. There's a lot that happened since then, but this isn't the right place to talk about it."
Mei glanced toward Shindai and Kakashi, who were watching the confrontation like it was some kind of spectacle.
Mei continued solemnly, "On behalf of the Fifth Mizukage of Kiri, I promise—I'll personally escort you to the village so you can witness with your own eyes whether the era of the Bloody Mist has truly ended!"
Zabuza had attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage due to his dissatisfaction with the oppressive rule of the village and became a rogue ninja after failing and fleeing. His ultimate dream had always been to overthrow the tyrannical regime under the Fourth Mizukage. If the Hidden Mist Village was indeed no longer under the Blood Mist policy, then he wouldn't mind going back.
Raiga Kurosuki felt the same way too. Both had left the village due to its brutal governance and become Rogue Ninja. If the village had truly changed, who would still want to remain a missing-nin?
Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki lowered their weapons and decided to follow Mei back to Kiri to witness the changes for themselves.
Smiling, Mei said, "Thank you for trusting me. I believe the current Hidden Mist Village won't disappoint you at all."
Then Mei turned her gaze toward Haku. "Now, may I please ask you to hand over this boy with Ice Release to us?"
Kakashi wanted to speak, but Shindai stopped him. "Let me talk to her."
Shindai took a step forward, sneering, "You people from Kirigakure really have some nerve. Just because you open your mouth do you think we'll hand over our spoils of war? What makes you think you deserve them?"
Mei Terumi replied solemnly, "That boy is under the protection of our Land of Water."
Shindai snapped aggressively, "Fine then! Hand over the Byakugan from your Kirigakure, or leave!"
Mei Terumi's face immediately darkened.
An Anbu ninja from Kiri suddenly leaped forward, shouting, "How dare you speak to our Mizukage like that!"
With a sharp tug of his right hand, Shindai pulled Kannazuki beside him. "I've always hated your Kirigakure lot. What do I care about your Mizukage? You're all scum anyway!"
Shindai continued taunting, "Come on! Fight me face-to-face! Don't tell me you Kirigakure types are all cowards. I heard your forces were crushed at the border by Shisui, Obito, and Itachi. Planning to send Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki back to bail you out? Now *that* is something to laugh about!"
Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stared at Shindai in stunned disbelief.
Naruto whispered in confusion, "Teacher Kakashi, does Shindai-nii have a grudge against them?"
Without taking his bored, half-closed eyes off the ranting Shindai, Kakashi nodded. "Back near the end of the Third Great Ninja War, some Kiri ninja teamed up with Sunagakure to assassinate Pakura."
"Ohhh, that explains it."
Naruto and Sasuke both knew just how vindictive Shindai could be, so now they understood why he was acting this way.
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