Sasuke stepped out of the hospital and took a deep breath of warm summer air. He'd had enough of lying in bed. Unlike seasoned shinobi who snuck out of their rooms (right through the window) on day two or three, the Uchiha spent nearly a week in the hospital until official discharge. First, he was so obedient because the treating medical ninja strictly forbade him from leaving due to concussion, threatening two more weeks locked up if he disobeyed. Second, his room was on the top floor, so jumping to the street in his condition was unwise; and Sasuke couldn't walk vertical surfaces yet.
"Damn medical ninjas. Finally I can get back to training. Oh, and I need to learn more about Naruto's mentor..." he thought.
"Sasuke-dork! You're finally better, dattebayo!" came a voice from the side. The boy didn't react in time.
After that joyful shout, the Uchiha's neck was clamped tight like in a vise, and his head was mercilessly rubbed, tousling his hair. The last of the great clan thought his scalp would be torn off, his skull crushed into his torso, and his neck snapped.
"Kh... Naruto," Sasuke rasped, trying to breathe or escape the steel grip.
Right. It wasn't some elaborate assassination attempt on the last Uchiha by sneaky enemies—just friendly hugs from Konoha's most famous blond.
Naruto finally released the brunet's carcass—he coughed and wheezed, greedily gulping air while rubbing his neck. His hair was now styled "Big Explosion in a Tiny Ramen Shop."
Sasuke eyed his teammate warily—the guy grinning like a bijuu after an enema.
"Whew, Sasuke, I'm so glad!" Uzumaki beamed. "I'm really glad you're better. Can you imagine? They wouldn't let me see you!..."
"Thank kami," the Uchiha thought, "or I'd be dead for sure. Where does this idiot get all that strength?"
But aloud he asked grumpily:
"Why'd you come?"
"What do you mean why, dattebayo?" Naruto didn't get it. "To apologize. And thank you, of course."
The Uchiha froze. Apology made sense, but there was nothing to thank him for.
He tried putting himself in Uzumaki's shoes, thought about it, gave up, and decided not to dwell on the triviality.
"I forgive you, Naruto," the Uchiha nodded cautiously, stepping back. Just in case the blond wanted more hugs. "But thank me for what?"
"What do you mean?" Uzumaki was surprised. "For throwing the spar!"
Sasuke didn't process it right away. Probably concussion aftereffects—he misheard or didn't grasp what the blond meant.
"Explain," the Uchiha demanded, regaining composure upon seeing his teammate's relatively balanced behavior.
"Well, y'know," Naruto hesitated, scratching his sun-bleached blond head. "You always beat me before, but this time you obviously took the hit on purpose and got hurt."
The Uchiha's eye twitched. Meanwhile Uzumaki continued:
"I noticed Sakura-chan annoys you. Especially when she gets too... uh, pushy." Sasuke nodded on reflex, though he didn't see Sakura's relevance. "So during the spar, you showed I'm stronger and threw it so she'd switch to me..."
The Uchiha usually kept a straight face well. But now his brows involuntarily rose, mouth slightly agape.
"Thanks, Sasuke. But it didn't help anyway," Naruto shook his head sadly. "Sakura-chan yelled at me for not controlling my strength. By the way, she spent most of her time at the hospital, even signed up for medical ninjutsu courses. Oh yeah, we did D-rank missions together while you were laid up, but..."
Sasuke let the rest of Uzumaki's monologue go in one ear and out the other.
"This moron thinks I threw it? For him?"
Uzumaki logic wasn't for ordinary genin to comprehend. Sasuke realized that now.
"So what do I do? Admit I'm just not his level? Or pretend it was planned?"
On one hand, Uchiha pride wouldn't let him openly admit weakness—especially to this idiot. On the other, a week had passed since their last spar. So Naruto might've gotten even stronger, and if they "trained" again, Sasuke might not survive.
Without a behavior plan, the Uchiha decided to leave it. It didn't matter. Right now, he needed to learn more about Naruto's teacher—Saitama—to know if he had a shot at being second student. And how. After all, the main reason he bothered with Uzumaki was power.
"Ahem," Sasuke cleared his throat, interrupting Uzumaki's word flood. "By the way, Naruto, where's your master? He back from the mission?"
"Huh? Master Saitama?" the blond echoed, tousling his sun-faded hair. "Nah, unfortunately he's still on mission, no idea when he'll return."
The Uchiha wanted to probe more about Naruto's mysterious teacher, but...
"Mm-mm... congrats on recovering, Sasuke," a voice said behind the brunet. The genin barely flinched—he hadn't sensed their jonin sensei arrive at all.
"One-eyed sensei," turning, Uzumaki grinned predatorily. "What're you doing here, dattebayo? Finally remembered you have genin team? Or wanna train us?"
Kakashi's eye twitched slightly (or Sasuke imagined it), but the jonin deemed some of Naruto's questions worth answering.
"Not quite, Naruto. We have a mission," he said firmly.
"Weeding beds?" the blond asked slyly. "Or cleaning Inuzuka kennels? Gonna send a clone again? Hey, you gonna pay for those missions or keep ripping off poor orphans?"
Uzumaki's tone dripped sarcasm by the ladle, but Hatake just shook his head:
"Wrong, Naruto. This time it's a C-rank in the Land of Rice Fields. My clone notified Sakura. So, kids, two hours to pack—meet at the village exit," Kakashi flashed an eye-smile. "D-rank pay's at the Hokage Tower first floor," he added amiably.
Kakashi poofed into smoke with a clap. Naruto tsked annoyedly:
"What a jonin we got. Wonder if he'll send a clone on the mission too?"
Sasuke just hmmed at the rant. Recalling the bell test and sensei's lateness habit, he muttered thoughtfully:
"I'm more worried how much real time we have till mission. Maybe I can train, eat, and nap?"
Naruto whipped around and stared at the Uchiha in shock. The blond's eyes became saucer-wide.
"What?" Sasuke didn't get it.
Uzumaki poked him and frowned:
"Spill—who are you and where's Sasuke? Sasuke's always grumpy, quiet, never jokes!"
"Pf," the brunet replied, arms crossed.
Naruto laughed.
"C'mon, don't pout," he waved and strode toward the village center energetically. "Let's hit the Tower for cash. Gotta stock up good for the mission."
"Uh-huh," Sasuke grunted, following the blond.
"And I'll tell you about Master Saitama," Naruto said proudly. "He's a great guy, y'know..."
"...Total failure," the red-haired guy with piercings said calmly on his immobile face. This shinobi was known as the Akatsuki Leader. He called himself Pain.
In the dark spacious room with stone walls stood only three large chairs, occupied by black-cloaked people with red clouds. After lengthy discussion of recent events and mounting problems, a heavy silence finally fell.
And the problems were serious. One highly promising lucrative contract failed. Or rather, crashed spectacularly. Four S-rank fighters couldn't handle one unknown bald shinobi with zero prior intel.
Worse, the shinobi suffered crushing defeat, unable to even scratch their target. The mercenaries retreated tail-between-legs in disgrace and later abandoned the bald guy's elimination mission.
"Madara, any ideas where this guy came from?" the pale blue-haired girl asked coldly, glancing at the spiral-masked man.
He didn't answer. Tobi, aka Madara, was pensive and taciturn now. Clearly, he hadn't expected such a flop.
"Madara?" Pain spoke again.
"Unaccounted factor..." a deep voice came from under the mask. Tobi turned to the blue-haired girl. "Hm... no clue, Konan. At a loss. You know our mercenaries' power level well, and I needn't remind they're no weaklings. However..."
"However, they got tossed around like snot-nosed genin. Didn't even kill them," Pain finished indifferently.
"Right," Tobi nodded. "Worst part: we lost combat power. Kakuzu lost four hearts, so he'll need to hunt other shinobi soon to regain relative immortality and former strength. Hidan's artifact scythe was destroyed—per Itachi, by that bald guy's teeth. Only hilt and chain left."
Konan raised a brow in surprise, glancing at the official Leader. Pain's face stayed impassive. They knew of the mission failure but not details.
"Kisame's Samehada burned in Itachi's Amaterasu aimed at Saitama. Pointless. He was immune to chakra-based techniques—even Mangekyo Sharingan jutsu; physical attacks did zero damage. Bottom line: Kakuzu took the worst hit among the four S-rankers. Others just bruised egos and confidence. We'll restore their weapons soon. Itachi recounted the whole fight and post-talk with the bald guy to me..."
Tobi pondered, recalling the Uchiha's tale.
No one rushed him.
"Hm... this... well..." Madara hesitated. Konan and Pain exchanged glances. They'd known the masked man years; he'd never seemed so pensive... uncertain. He always had precise plans and orders. Not now.
"Madara?" Pain prompted.
"Yes-yes. Anyway," Tobi snapped out of it, "Itachi thinks we ran into some god. His view: even an S-rank shinobi army couldn't beat the bald guy, 'cause he's not human."
Silence hung again. Soon Pain broke it.
"This world has only one God. I must meet this Saitama personally..."
"Nagato," Madara interrupted, "you're a mighty shinobi and your Rinnegan lets you fool the Land of Rain populace, but..."
"You doubt my power?" Pain asked, fixing an emotionless gaze on Tobi. His tone stayed level, but he involuntarily leaked bloodlust. "I've never lost a battle..."
Tense silence filled the air, but Pain calmed and added:
"Besides, I wasn't planning to fight—just talk and offer him join our organization."
Madara tapped his armrest thoughtfully and shook his head:
"Doubt it'll work. Itachi already offered Akatsuki membership."
"What'd he say?" Konan asked.
Tobi hmmed, then after a pause:
"He said he's not playing villains."
"So it's all a game to him. And that Land of Waves battle was some joke?" the girl asked.
Pain took the floor:
"That site post-Itachi and Kakuzu techniques was scorched earth. News spread far beyond Land of Waves. Clash with the bald guy resonated in shinobi world. Though details hidden."
"Zetsu was there, confirmed Itachi's words," Tobi said. "Watched from start. Bald guy toyed with them, mocked, didn't take our shinobi seriously. During explosion, Saitama in split-seconds moved everyone who could've been hit by Itachi-Kakuzu triple combo. Among saved: couple Konoha Root observers, some civilians... and Zetsu himself."
"What?" Pain's emotionless mask seemed to crack. "But Zetsu merges with natural energy—no sensor detects him?"
"Yeah, I thought so too," Madara nodded. "But facts are facts. Saitama yanked him from underground as Zetsu tried retreating."
"..."
"..."
Tobi sighed heavily.
"Good news: we followed Kakuzu's pragmatic suggestion, killed Gato, took all his money. Now we have funds for the plan."
"Can we start bijuu collection?" Konan asked. "Or too early? Per your forecast, in two-three years."
Madara nodded curtly and scratched his mask's lower part.
"You're right. Plans shift slightly. Can start gathering tailed beasts, but... not immediately. First restore Kakuzu. On weapons," Tobi interlaced fingers, "new scythe for Hidan we can order here—week and he'll slice for Jashin glory cursing merrily. But Samehada needs artifact master for Kisame. Nearest in Land of Rice Fields. Also gather more intel on bald guy, his goals; maybe contact him. I doubt he's a god—gods don't wander earth. Likely Saitama got insanely strong from unknown experiment, so try recruit or avoid conflict till all tailed beasts gathered..."
Saitama hadn't been this happy in ages. Before him on a long table sat no fewer than ten huge steaming bowls of fresh hot french fries. Best part: all pieces were long! No shorts or bits. He didn't know how, but deciding to ponder later, he dug in.
"My favorite fries! Been so long since I had you... Itadakimas!" Saitama thought through tears of joy.
The bald guy ate and ate, one bowl after another, another after third, third after fourth; fourth swapped with fifth... but fries didn't end. Hunger didn't retreat either. He almost thought he'd hit heaven when a distant fishy smell hit his nose, then some weird spices...
"Achoo!.."
Saitama, unfortunately, didn't manage to cover himself this time, as his own sneeze caught him completely off guard.
The Caped Baldy sat up in bed. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, he saw... that the ceiling and part of the wall in the house where he'd been staying were gone. In their place was a view of the misty terrain and a pale gray sky.
"Damn it," Saitama thought, a chill running through him, "if they find out it was me, they'll make me pay for the property damage..."
The Caped Baldy jumped up, shaking off the last traces of sleep, and hurried to get as far away as possible before the owners showed up. But he hadn't gone far when he heard:
"No, teacher! Don't die!"
Saitama turned toward the source of the sound. It turned out to be... someone—with long hair, in a green haori and mask—trying to revive a man lying on the ground.
Considering it his duty as a hero to help those in need, Saitama went to find out what had happened to them. Approaching the strangers, he in no way expected this someone to hurl several needles at him for no reason.
Saitama caught the needles mere centimeters from his body.
"Hey, I didn't order any acupuncture," he drawled discontentedly, tossing the thin iron pieces aside. "I was trying to help, and you start flinging needles everywhere."
"Don't come any closer!" the stranger said firmly, assuming a fighting stance in front of the man's body. Saitama noted to himself that the long-haired one was probably a kid, since he was just a bit over one and a half meters tall.
"This is all because of you! Zabuza-san flew out of your house! Now he's barely breathing."
"Huh??" Saitama didn't get it. "What are you talking about, kid? I've never seen this guy before in my life."
"Khe... Haku," the ninja on the ground showed signs of life. His affiliation with the shinobi was confirmed by the forehead protector. "I'm... fine..."
"Like hell you're fine, man!" Saitama exclaimed. "You need to get to a hospital... uh..."
Saitama suddenly remembered that there were no hospitals in the village where he was. And among the locals, there were no decent healers, while among the visitors who could provide more or less quality medical help, there were probably only two kunoichi from Konoha.
"Right! We need to call Anko," the bald guy thought aloud and slapped his fist into his palm. "Or, worst case, that one... what's her name, Pen-Pen. Yeah. They should be able to help."
"Her name is Tenten," came the tired voice of Mitarashi, who had arrived at the noise. "Saitama, what happened here? Can't leave you alone for an hour. As soon as I heard the explosion, I came running. Gai's still with the architect at the Bridge."
The kunoichi grimly surveyed Tazuna's wrecked house, where she'd left the bald jonin. Then she shifted her gaze to the pair of strangers. Noticing their Kirigakure hitai-ate, she tensed up at first, but remembering Saitama was nearby—who had forced a quartet of S-rank shinobi to retreat just last week—she relaxed a bit.
Recalling the genins' story and piecing it together with the info she had, the puzzle finally clicked in Mitarashi's head.
"You're Zabuza?" Anko rudely jabbed a finger at the bandaged wreck. "Demon of the Hidden Mist?"
At those last words, the kunoichi barely suppressed a smirk, since in his current state the man looked nothing like a demon—more like a half-dead zombie. Pale face, blood trickling from under the bandages, arm twisted at an unnatural angle; probably plenty of internal damage too, which she could tell even without her "mystic hand." But one of the legendary swords—Kubikiribōchō—was nowhere nearby.
"Khe... yes. I'm Momochi Zabuza," he rasped quietly.
All this time, the boy (or girl?) in the mask had been scrutinizing the arrivals intently. The air temperature around him began to drop slightly. If his teacher didn't need urgent treatment and if he could be moved, Haku would have long since shunshin-ed away with Zabuza. But the situation was complicated now.
"The guy doesn't look good," Saitama said worriedly. "Anko, we need to help him. By the way, who beat you up like this?" he asked the Mist ninja.
Zabuza propped himself up on one elbow and, rasping, let out something profane before answering:
"Actually, you."
"Hm... nah," the bald hero shook his head. "I didn't lay a finger on you. Sure, I don't usually remember the faces of everyone I beat up, but I'd definitely remember your bandaged mug."
"Saitama, this is the rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza," Anko said in a cold tone. "He's killed plenty of people, including from Konoha. He needs to answer for his actions. Blood for blood!"
Anko drew a kunai. The masked Mist ninja reacted instantly—forming a one-handed seal, several ice needles appeared in the air around him. Haku was just about to drive the needles into the kunoichi when...
"Dynamic Entry!" Haku was knocked aside by the powerful strike, and his porcelain mask cracked and shattered into fragments. The Hyoton ice needles fell to the ground.
"Damn, bushy-brows kid!" Saitama fumed, waving his arms. "Where are your manners? Not only do you attack mid-conversation from the side, but... to a girl?!"
"Saitama-sama!!" Lee bellowed at full volume. "Sorry, Saitama-sama!!" The genin bowed low to the bald guy. Curiously, he bowed with the log on his shoulder. The previous move had also been done with the log, so Saitama was genuinely concerned for the little Mist ninja's... or ninja girl's? (he still hadn't figured out the long-haired one's gender, and frankly didn't care) health.
The hero's eyelid started twitching slightly. He generally didn't like being addressed like some venerable elder, and he couldn't stand noise. So in the last few days, Saitama had been barely containing his irritation whenever he saw one of the bushy-brows family (he had no doubt Gai and Lee were related; they looked like two peas in a pod, just one bigger and one smaller).
"Lee," Saitama said, composing himself. "You should apologize not to me, but to... her... him... whatever, bow over there," he managed, waving toward Haku, who had gotten up from the ground.
"Yes, Saitama-sama!" the bushy-brows genin barked energetically.
Turning ninety degrees, Lee froze in place. His cheeks flushed, and his eyes got a bit teary and widened.
Haku's mask fragments now lay on the ground, and the young shinobi's face was fully exposed.
"Sorry, beautiful!.. Uh... what's your name?" Rock Lee suddenly broke into a seductive smile. At least, the genin thought it was seductive.
"Um... I'm Haku," came a tender voice in response. "But I'm not..."
"Haku-san," Lee's cheeks reddened even more. He loosened his grip, and the log fell... right onto Zabuza.
"Ow, yo!" the swordsman rasped as the log's edge landed between his legs.
Malice flashed in Haku's eyes, and he was about to launch ice needles at the bushy-brows, but Rock Lee's verbal torrent poured out:
"My love, Haku-san, you're an angel. Please don't reject me. I beg you, be my girlfriend!"
After those words, Lee bowed, awaiting a reply. The genin probably wasn't too bothered by the fact that he'd just smacked his chosen one in the face. Haku just blinked... his big brown eyes, stunned...
"Oh, so it is a girl after all," Saitama noted, thinking to himself: "Kid picked an original way to hit on her: smack her in the face first, then say 'let's date'..."
"What's going on here?" Neji asked phlegmatically, approaching the bald jonin.
"Oh, it's you, white-eyes?" the guy asked lazily. "Nothing much yet. Thought there'd be a fight, but nope—seems it fizzled out. They say love will save the world, huh."
Hyuga nodded seriously at his sempai's words and began listening and peering into what was happening in the architect's yard.
Meanwhile, Haku snapped out of it:
"Um... sorry... but..."
Lee raised a pleading gaze to Haku, then the genin pondered and, apparently deciding to change tactics, a slightly smug smirk crept onto his face. He straightened up, struck a good-boy pose, winked at the girl, and blew her an air kiss.
But along with the kiss, a small pink heart flew toward Haku. It flew relatively slowly, so Haku dodged the love projectile in advance.
"Love genjutsu?" Haku whispered in a trembling voice. "What a terrifying technique," she added barely audibly.
"Impressive," Lee said firmly. "But I won't give up that easily! In the name of the Power of Youth, Haku-san, you will be my girlfriend!"
In the next instant, the bushy-brows smiled, then began sending air kisses one after another and winking alternately with each eye. A multiple series of large hearts rained down on Haku. They flew much faster than the last one and were noticeably bigger.
Haku initially tried to put up an ice shield, but the hearts passed right through the Hyoton technique as if ignoring the barrier. The girl managed to dodge the love projectiles at the last second...
"Guys," Saitama addressed the nearby shinobi warily, "you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Uh-huh," Anko, Neji, and the just-arrived Tenten chorused.
"Oh, then we're good," the bald guy relaxed, rubbing his cheek...
Meanwhile, the pink hearts shower ended.
"What moves, what grace! You're beautiful, Haku-san!" the genin kept raving. "Goddess, angel! You're perfection! Please, don't reject my love!..."
Rock Lee kept praising his goddess and singing her love odes nonstop, and Neji finally decided to use Byakugan. Activating the dojutsu, he scanned the love battlefield... and immediately deactivated it. Then activated Byakugan again and immediately turned it off again.
Rolling his eyes, he shook his head and slapped his face with his palm. Then he slowly approached his teammate.
When Lee was one step away from proposing to Haku, Hyuga placed a hand on his comrade's shoulder.
"Huh? Neji? What?"
Hyuga whispered something barely audible.
"What?" the bushy-brows asked. "I didn't hear. Speak louder."
Neji said it more emphatically, a bit louder, but Lee still didn't hear.
"Sorry, Neji, but I'm busy right now," Rock Lee frowned. "I've finally found my love. Can we talk later?"
Hyuga rolled his eyes, then said it loud enough for everyone to hear:
"He's not a girl! He's a guy, a guy!"
Then Neji pointed at Haku so Lee had no doubts about the truth of the statement.
"No!" the bushy-brows shook his head stubbornly. "You're lying! Haku-san is a girl!"
"Guy," Hyuga said calmly.
"No, she's a girl!"
"Guy."
"Girl!"
Neji activated Byakugan and scanned Haku from head to toe. The latter blushed slightly, and Hyuga, nodding to his thoughts, "finished off" Lee:
"Sorry, Lee, but you can't fool Byakugan. Haku's a guy."
It was like the bushy-brows had been clubbed over the head with a sack. He dropped to his knees, eyes wide in shock, face paling. Lee turned a lost gaze to Haku, who nodded confirmingly in response.
The genin gulped noisily. Getting up from his knees, he staggered over to the log to drown his pain in training and try to restore his worldview.
"So, guy after all," Saitama stated. "Love is blind, huh."
Anko quietly giggled into her fist but suppressed the laugh under the bald guy's stern gaze and put on a serious face.
"Guys, let's help this poor bastard already," Saitama suggested, approaching Zabuza. "Or he'll croak..."
Lately, Momochi Zabuza had been in a foul mood. Very foul. The first assassination attempt on the architect had failed. The mercenary was lucky that Haku had carried his unconscious body away, giving them a chance to strike again when no one expected it.
Zabuza had come to almost immediately after the clash with the Green Beast. The swordsman had heard the echoes of a great battle. Like armies of shinobi colliding, but he knew mighty mercenaries had joined in, including his acquaintance—Hoshigaki Kisame, also known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist.
He'd been warned not to get involved, that the architect's guard would be too much for him and his men. But Zabuza had been too overconfident. And the thirst for profit outweighed sober judgment. Moreover, he'd made the same mistake twice. First against Might Guy's team, and second now, when he'd decided to take out the guards one by one to get to Tazuna...
At first, everything seemed to go smoothly. Gai had gone berserk with insane training, spending nearly ten hours outside the village or helping workers on the construction site. The man often hauled massive stone blocks, several at a time. Gai's student wasn't far behind his sensei, adjusted for intensity. Occasionally the bushy-brows genin showed up for meals and rare spars with Hyuga, and he often bugged the bald tokubetsu-jonin to take him and Gai as pupils. The bald guy was adamant and always refused. Might Guy had only asked to be the weird bald guy's pupil named Saitama a couple times that week, then dropped it and focused on training. The architect's guard duty fell to the genins and the purple-haired kunoichi. Saitama patrolled the outskirts evenings and early mornings, when attack risk was highest... Gai patrolled nights.
Zabuza wasn't worried about the kunoichi. She posed no threat, but the bald guy... was a mysterious shinobi. His stealth was beyond praise. The skill was too good—in Saitama's location, nothing was felt, not the slightest chakra fluctuation. But that's exactly what gave him away.
Timing it for when only Saitama would be left in the architect's house, Momochi decided to take him out first, as the most dangerous in the swordsman's opinion. The Green Beasts were training on the site, the architect's daughter and son had gone to market, and the bald guy was sleeping off patrol and a hearty breakfast. No Hyuga nearby either.
Grinning under his mask, Zabuza released a light chakra mist to sense approaching enemies if he couldn't quickly dispatch the bald guy...
Quietly opening the front door, he entered the room where the jonin lay. Seeing Saitama snoring peacefully with a content smile, the swordsman decided to play it safe and properly sedate the target if he was faking.
Attaching a fuin-scroll to the floor by the threshold, he closed the door. Activating the seal, he heard a faint hiss signaling the release of sleep gas. The gas's advantage was it was almost odorless and acted almost instantly. Zabuza himself was masked, so all he needed was to stab his victim in his sleep while holding his breath. Momochi had prudently left his sword outside the house.
Dirty? Absolutely. But no time for fair duels, and the odds weren't even this time. He needed to deliver the architect's head to Gato ASAP... and take out the smug mafioso while at it. The shorty had rubbed Zabuza the wrong way too much. Plus those cloaked mercenaries might beat him to killing Gato. So he had to hurry.
The swordsman cracked the door and was about to enter to carry out the "sentence" when suddenly the bald guy stirred, his chest heaving rapidly, and then the house echoed with a mighty:
"Achoo!.."
Zabuza never figured out what happened. This Saitama must've used some powerful Futon technique, and in the next instant the architect's house exploded, hurling the swordsman dozens of meters into the yard.
The swordsman's head rang, ears buzzing, moving even a finger was a huge achievement. Momochi saw Haku leaning over him, saying something; what exactly—he couldn't hear. But soon consciousness faded, and moments later Zabuza blacked out briefly...
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan