"What… what happened!?"
Squad Seven froze in place, eyes wide in shock. None of them had reacted in time — in the blink of an eye, Zabuza had been slapped across the forest.
If Ayato-sensei hadn't acted…
They'd all be dead.
"W-Who is that guy? He's insanely strong!"
Naruto held his kunai with trembling hands, staring at the distant Zabuza half-buried in broken trees.
Even he could tell—
This bandaged man was on an entirely different level than those three black-clad ninjas earlier.
"Kirigakure jōnin. A-rank rogue ninja.
The Demon of the Hidden Mist — Momochi Zabuza."
Ayato stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"They say he once killed a hundred ninja alone. I guess he's… decent?"
Defining "strong" was hard for him.
Below Six Paths, everything was an ant.
"G-Gui ren… tao di zai bu zhan…?"
Naruto butchered the name completely, confused.
What a weird name…
"He's a jōnin!?"
Sakura gasped, staring at Zabuza in horror.
No wonder he felt so terrifying — he was the same rank as Ayato-sensei!
She assumed all jōnin were as superhuman as Ayato.
Reality, evidently, disagreed.
"A-rank rogue ninja…"
Sasuke's expression darkened. In his mind flashed the image of another traitor — his brother, Uchiha Itachi.
Rogue ninjas who survived were monsters.
He glanced at Ayato.
The enemy was a jōnin like Ayato…
But the enemy held nothing back, while Ayato had to protect three genin and a defenseless old man at the same time.
The situation was terrible.
"Tch…"
Sasuke clenched his jaw, Sharingan glowing. He'd let fear slow him down.
He, an avenger of the Uchiha clan.
What a disgrace.
Ayato noticed Sasuke's grim expression and patted his head.
"We'll win."
Dragging them along?
Absolutely burdensome.
The old man? Even more troublesome.
But…
They'd win regardless.
This was barely a warm-up.
"Ayato-sensei…"
Everyone looked at him.
The moment they saw his relaxed confidence, their fear vanished — replaced by stability and calm.
Strange.
Just moments ago they were terrified.
But when Ayato said "We'll win", it simply felt true.
Even Zabuza wiped the blood at his lip, unsettled.
"To sense my intentions in this mist… Disaster Ninja Ayato, you live up to the rumors."
He stood, half his face marked by the red imprint of that humiliating slap.
But something troubled him.
Strange…
The intel stated Ayato had no Byakugan, despite being from the Hyūga clan.
That seemed true — the man's eyes were sky-blue, not the pale white of Byakugan.
So why…
Why could he track Zabuza's movements inside the chakra mist so perfectly?
His technique should hide all presence.
Even allow mist-based teleportation.
How was Ayato predicting his actions so precisely?
Was his intention to kill the old man completely exposed?
Zabuza's gaze sharpened.
"According to intel, you don't have the Byakugan, right?"
Ayato shrugged. "Your intel's correct. I don't have it."
True.
He didn't have the Byakugan.
He had the Rinnegan's evolution — the Tenseigan.
With it, he could see Zabuza clearly through the mist.
Nobody in the shinobi world understood what Tenseigan could do.
The misconception wasn't his fault.
"So you're saying… you predicted my moves?"
Zabuza stiffened.
His feint had been flawless — attacking Ayato on purpose while targeting Tazuna secretly.
But Ayato saw through everything.
Dangerous.
This boy was terrifying.
"These kids fear you. They think we're equals — two jōnin on even footing."
Ayato unwrapped a lollipop and pointed it lazily toward his students.
"As their teacher, I should correct that."
Squad Seven blinked, confused.
Correct… what exactly?
"You became a jōnin because you're skilled enough."
Ayato bit the candy.
"I became a jōnin because—
Above jōnin, there was no higher position available."
He wasn't interested in being Hokage.
Ranks?
They meant nothing.
"Humans differ by talent — ninja even more so.
If I am a first-class shinobi…"
Ayato smirked.
"…then you are bottom-tier trash."
Squad Seven:
Sensei… you really just wanted to insult him??
Zabuza's jaw twitched.
"To call me bottom-tier… You arrogant brat."
But he didn't charge.
He searched for weaknesses instead.
He'd never been insulted like this.
He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen — a demon who had slaughtered countless foes.
But—
Ayato still didn't move.
"Don't be mad. Trash talk is fun."
Ayato raised three fingers.
"No need to look for an opening.
You're a rare opponent, so I'll give you a chance."
"…Three minutes."
Zabuza's eye twitched.
"You intend to defeat me in three minutes? You're even more arrogant than the rumors."
His gaze swept to the lake — he needed water to unleash his full Water Style.
This brat wanted to die.
Ayato continued calmly:
"I'll give you three minutes.
Attack however you want.
Use your strongest techniques."
He looked back at his students.
"Let them see something educational."
He also wanted to test elementalization.
"You can't be serious…"
Zabuza finally lost composure.
Giving an enemy three minutes to attack freely?
Who did that!?
No one.
Ever.
Sakura grabbed Ayato's sleeve.
"Ayato-sensei! Please stop messing around!"
Three minutes?
She didn't know if she could survive three seconds.
Sasuke frowned deeply.
Sensei must have some plan.
Right…?
Ayato waved dismissively.
"Relax. Use whatever you like."
A small smirk curled on his lips.
"After all—
you're very weak."
Having overwhelming power meant one thing:
Trash-talking while completely untouchable.
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