I, The New Hokage of Konoha - Chapter 243
“When?”
Haku was suddenly startled and was about to dodge, but it was already too late.
“Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!”
In an instant, a huge water sphere engulfed Haku’s entire body, rendering him immobile and unable to form hand seals.
Behind him, the real Zabuza, who had just spoken earlier, had one hand pressed against the water sphere, maintaining the jutsu.
However, what had initially appeared was actually Zabuza’s water clone, which was now swinging a blade toward Haku within the water sphere, mercilessly striking.
As the man who had fought Kakashi evenly from a young age and even once nearly killed him, Zabuza, although he no longer possessed the Executioner’s Blade, was still among the elite of Jonin-level ninjas.
In his eyes, while Haku displayed surprising strength for his age, there was still a long way to go compared to himself.
Of course, he wouldn’t give Haku any more opportunities now.
“It’s over,” he declared.
However, the next moment, his expression changed.
When the water clone swung the blade, not only did no blood flow when Haku was split in two, but the latter also instantly turned into nothingness like a bubble.
“How is this possible?”
“Nothing is impossible!”
Suddenly, countless ice needles gathered around Zabuza and flew rapidly toward him.
Caught off guard, Zabuza’s water clone was pierced directly, turning into a puddle of water. After being hit by a few ice needles, his main body quickly broke free and then looked towards the other side.
There, another Haku gazed coldly at him.
“Ninjas should never turn their backs on enemies. That’s the rule. My teacher taught me this and how to use it to lure enemies and set traps. Now, this is your real opponent.”
“Then, Body Flicker Technique!”
Haku swiftly formed hand seals in front of his chest for the first time.
Immediately, four completely indistinguishable, solid clones appeared around him.
The moment Haku moved, the four clones followed suit.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Loud explosions echoed.
The next moment, Haku and his clones quickly rushed toward Zabuza.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In no time, the five lightning-fast strikes engaged Zabuza in relentless combat.
Unlike their previous ease, Zabuza now faced them with a changed expression, struggling to defend himself. However, the constant bloodshed around him showed that he was in a dire state.
“Is this… Uchiha Shisui’s Body Flicker Technique?”
As Zabuza narrowly avoided another attack, his cheek was cut open, and he finally realized the origin of this jutsu.
Uchiha Shisui was once famous for his unique instant techniques on the battlefield.
Shisui’s Body Flicker Technique allowed for the creation of multiple tangible clones, making it difficult for enemies to discern the real one. Both the main body and all the clones could continuously employ the technique.
One could imagine the despair of facing several high-speed attackers.
Although Zabuza had participated in the Third Great Ninja War, he had never faced Shisui. It was only now, under the immense pressure from Haku, that he realized this.
Haku didn’t reply; his increasingly rapid attacks spoke for him.
As someone who had followed Shisui since childhood, Haku had learned his unique techniques and inherited his skills.
The Shisui’s Body Flicker Technique was one of them.
The water clone that had been hit by Zabuza’s Water Prison Jutsu earlier had been created by Shisui’s Body Flicker Technique.
Due to its tangible nature, Zabuza had mistaken it for the real body.
Taking this opportunity, Haku had identified the location of Zabuza’s real body.
After all, according to the intelligence gathered by Konoha, Zabuza was known for using clones to deceive his enemies and then reveal his true self in the end, much like Kakashi, their senior from their own village, who liked to use shadow clones for surveillance in the initial stages of a battle.
Now, Haku had finally caught Zabuza’s main body in a full-scale attack.
During the subsequent onslaught, he seized Zabuza’s old, weakened sword without waiting for him to retrieve it and, without hesitation, encased the blade in a bone-chilling layer of ice that rapidly spread from his hand.
Seeing this, Zabuza’s expression changed. He grasped the blade’s hilt, twisted his wrist, and deflected Haku’s outstretched hand. He was about to retrieve the sword.
Haku didn’t stop him but simply flicked his fingers on the already fully frozen blade.
The next moment, a cracking sound rang out incessantly.
When Zabuza tried to retrieve his weapon, only the hilt remained.
As for the blade, it had turned into fine ice shards scattered on the ground.
“Damn it! If only I had the Executioner’s Blade!” Zabuza cursed.
At this moment, Zabuza was no ordinary opponent. He had once escaped the village after assassinating the Mizukage and had even managed to elude the pursuit of Kirigakure’s hunter-nin.
If Shisui had used the Body Flicker Technique personally, there was a high chance he would have been defeated on the spot.
But Haku was still too young at this point. Perhaps he could achieve it after a few more years of experience, but right now…
Boom!
Suddenly, accompanied by a dreadful roar, Zabuza’s body erupted with an intensely crimson chakra flow.
Haku and his clones were blown away before they could react.
At the same time, Zabuza raised his head, his eyes as cold as ice, exuding a ruthless killing intent.
“It seems I underestimated you, little brat, to push me to this extent. From now on, I’ll treat you as a true enemy.”
“So, Silent Homicide Technique!”
As soon as Zabuza uttered these words, a large amount of white mist rapidly spread from him, covering the surroundings.
In just a few moments, the Mist Jutsu, far more powerful than before, shrouded the area once again.
This forced Haku, who had been charging toward Zabuza, to stop and remain vigilant.
“Throat, spine, lungs, liver, carotid artery, clavicle, kidneys, and heart. Where would you like me to strike first, little brat from Konoha?”
The familiar words echoed from Zabuza’s mouth within the thick fog, just as they had before, but now they carried even greater pressure on Haku.
Not daring to be careless, he immediately created ice mirrors on the surrounding ground, just as he had done before.
However, this time, when Zabuza’s chilling laughter came from the mist again. Haku was prepared.
“I knew you had this trick,” Zabuza’s voice echoed from the mist.
Hearing this, Haku pursed his lips, feeling the dwindling chakra in his body due to the earlier battle. He realized he couldn’t sustain the Wind Release jutsu any longer.
Not everyone had an endless well of chakras like Naruto and others.
While Haku had a larger chakra pool thanks to his bloodline limit, it was still within the normal person’s range. Moreover, he was still growing, so his chakra reserves were not at their peak.
When it came to chakra consumption, he naturally couldn’t compare to Zabuza, an elite Jounin in all aspects.
“It seems your limit is just this,” Zabuza said from within the fog.
Hearing this, Haku shook his head inwardly.
“Looks like I got too cocky. In that case…”
Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome!
Using the last chakra, Haku instantly created a massive ice dome encasing him.
Now, he could only delay for as long as possible.
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