I, The New Hokage of Konoha - Chapter 244
“Oh? Freezing oneself with Ice Release, are you preparing to wait for death like this?”
In the thick fog, watching Haku sealing himself inside the ice rocks, Zabuza disdainfully said, “Nozomi, are you ready to die?”
Once again, he swiftly approached Haku with a kunai in his hand.
Clang~~
As if colliding with an iron wall, the moment Nozomi’s kunai touched the ice rocks produced a harsh screeching sound.
In the end, the ice that enveloped Haku remained intact, while Nozomi’s kunai snapped under the pressure.
“So tough?”
Looking at the half-broken kunai in his hand, Nozomi was quite surprised.
“Come again!”
Seeing that Haku had sealed himself and was not worried about any danger to himself, Nozomi revealed himself and formed seals again.
“Water Release: Water Fang Bullet Jutsu!”
Instantly, several compressed water pillars rose from the water surface beneath his feet, spinning rapidly as they charged toward Haku’s ice rocks.
The fierce impact sounds continued incessantly.
However, when the power of the Water Fang Bullet Jutsu dissipated, and he saw that the ice rocks had hardly diminished as expected, Nozomi’s expression became grim.
“Water Release is too ineffective against Ice Release. It would be better to use Fire Release.”
But even though Nozomi was an elite ninja, he couldn’t compare to the likes of Kakashi, the Third Hokage, or Kakashi, who had mastered all chakra nature transformations early on.
He had little knowledge of the natural transformations of Fire Release, as he had spent his life on the seas.
Even if he were to use it now, it would likely be as effective as scratching an itch, with no real impact.
However, continuing to use Water Release ninjutsu would waste time and effort.
“I wish I had my decapitating cleaver with me now,” Nozomi sighed again.
The life-preserving technique Haku used, Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness, was really getting on his nerves.
Pure physical attacks were useless without a proper weapon, and his water-based ninjutsu couldn’t easily overcome the opponent either.
Furthermore, not only did Haku’s techniques consume a lot of chakra, but also using multiple wide-range ninjutsu in succession, along with his Silent Killing technique, drained him significantly.
Although he could probably wear Haku down with prolonged combat, he hadn’t forgotten that Haku, as a Konoha ninja, showing up here was not an isolated incident.
If it took too long, other Konoha ninjas might arrive, and he would have a hard time surviving in his current state.
At this moment, Nozomi’s expression changed drastically.
Not only had he failed to recruit the little devil named Haku in front of him, but now he couldn’t even accomplish the task of killing him.
But there was no other way now.
After scanning his surroundings, he finally, with a deep look at Haku inside the ice rocks, disappeared into the mist.
One minute later, the white mist dispersed, and sunlight returned.
A few minutes later, two fast-moving shadows rushed from a distance and stopped in front of Haku.
At this moment, the cracking sound of the ice rocks could be heard, and a seemingly weakened Haku walked out from inside, greeting the man and woman in front of him, “Captain Inabi! Amaru!”
“Haku, it’s rare to see you in such a sorry state!” Amaru, who had transformed from a tomboy into a more feminine appearance, with her now tanned skin and wearing a green chuunin vest, greeted Haku while nudging him and jokingly said.
Of course, joking aside, as a medical ninja, she hadn’t forgotten to use her Palm Sage Jutsu to treat his wounds.
Haku could only grit his teeth and swallow the huge military ration pill she had stuffed into his mouth.
Fortunately, this time, it didn’t get stuck in his throat like the last time, almost choking him to death.
After reluctantly swallowing the military ration pill, Haku felt his chakra recovering slightly faster than a regular ration pill.
Seeing this, Inabi, an Uchiha, asked, “It looks like you’ve encountered an unexpected opponent. Do you know the identity of the enemy?”
Inabi, as a member of the Yuki clan and an orphan from the Land of Snow, was well aware of Haku’s background. Although Haku’s current rank was only chuunin, his true combat power had already reached the level of a high-ranking ninja.
To be able to push him to this extent clearly indicated that the opponent was among the elite upper-ranked ninjas.
Such a person couldn’t be allowed to roam freely in the current situation.
“It’s Zabuza Momochi, a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist Village,” Haku replied, revealing all the information he had.
“A demon man? Although he’s a rogue ninja, we can’t let him hide here. Amaru!” Inabi gave the order.
“Here!” Amaru’s complexion immediately changed, and she responded.
“You’re in charge of treating Haku. As soon as you and Haku regain your mobility, the two of you will take the Mist Village spy back with you.” Inabi then turned to look at the unconscious Obito Uchiha nearby, who had been ignored all this time. Then he turned his gaze into the distance. “As for me, I will go after Zabuza Momochi and eliminate this hidden threat.”
As an Uchiha, Inabi had opened the Three Tomoe Sharingan and was previously an assistant to Fugaku Uchiha, one of the Uchiha clan’s leaders. Inabi was already ranked among the top ninjas in terms of strength.
Facing an opponent who had pushed Haku to this extent, Inabi was confident in his abilities.
Seeing this, Amaru immediately nodded and said, “Understood!”
After nodding to Amaru and Haku to signal his intentions, Inabi, who had once been a member of the Uchiha combat team during his school days and was now a full-fledged member of Konoha, disappeared from their view.
“Phew~” Seeing their usually serious captain leave, Amaru finally relaxed her expression.
She quickly healed the wounds on Haku’s body and then patted his shoulder, saying, “All done!”
“Thanks, Amaru,” Haku smiled slightly.
“We’re teammates, no need to thank me.” Amaru waved her hand nonchalantly, then approached Obito Uchiha, took out a sleeping pill from her ninja pouch, and stuffed it into his mouth. Only then did she finally relax.
Although she behaved like a boy most of the time, she had an unexpected attention to detail.
Seeing this scene, Haku smiled knowingly.
As classmates during their school days, teammates after graduation, and partners even after becoming chuunin, Haku knew Amaru very well.
Afterward, with Haku and Amaru able to move again, they took Obito Uchiha back.
On the way, Haku asked, “Has your mission been completed, Amaru?”
“Of course, all of the Mist Village spies in the Land of Waves have been eliminated. They won’t know anything about the current situation here for a while.” Amaru reported.
Their team was not the only one sent to eliminate the Mist Village spies, as there were multiple teams deployed. After all, it was impossible for one person to handle all the spies the Hidden Mist Village sent to the Land of Waves.
“Originally, we had all completed our missions and were returning. However, when we saw that you hadn’t returned within the expected time, we came to look for you.” Amaru continued, using the excuse of Haku’s injuries to refuse his request to treat him.
“You worried, you guys,” Haku said apologetically.
“No problem! After we return, treat me and Captain Inabi to a meal… No, barbecue!”
Originally, Amaru wanted to suggest Ichiraku Ramen, but she quickly thought that barbecue would be more expensive, so she changed her mind.
After all, she knew that Haku had never been concerned about material things, and the money he had saved up over the years from his salary and allowances had hardly been spent.
Such a wealthy guy had to be taken advantage of.
“No problem.”
Indeed, Haku didn’t care much about money, so he readily agreed. Then he thought of something and said, “But, to treat you, we probably won’t be able to do it soon.”
The Fourth Great Ninja War had broken out, and all the Konoha ninjas who had left knew about it.
Combined with their past experiences, it was clear that they wouldn’t be able to return to the village anytime soon.
“In that case, let’s postpone it. Anyway, I believe this war won’t last long. You know, our Konoha is stronger than ever!” Amaru said confidently.
“That’s true.” Thinking of the Lord Hokage, Toshui-sensei, and many talented Konoha comrades, Haku was also full of confidence.
This reflected the mindset of all Konoha ninjas at the moment.
Unlike the three previous Great Ninja Wars, where there was anxiety and unease, now, under the leadership of Yuki Senju, Konoha faced the siege of almost the entire ninja world without fear or panic. Instead, they were filled with confidence.
They firmly believed that victory would ultimately belong to them!
“By the way, Amaru, I heard you’re close with Kakashi-senpai?”
“Why suddenly mention that guy who reads adult books all day and is still single?”
Haku and Amaru’s conversation continued.
At this point, Haku fell momentarily silent before saying, “I just want to ask Kakashi-senpai for advice on summoning nin-dogs.”
After the recent lesson on Zabuza’s Silent Killing technique, Haku realized the need to quickly address his weaknesses.
The best way to do this was undoubtedly the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.
No matter how Zabuza tried to hide, the so-called silent assassination was nothing but a joke.
But Haku knew he couldn’t obtain the Byakugan, so he had to look for alternatives.
He didn’t have a contract with any summoning animal at the moment.
Although Toshui-sensei had raised a summoning beast, a crow, and Jiraiya-senpai had also chosen a crow, Haku wasn’t particularly fond of black crows.
Nin-dogs were a good choice, especially since the Inuzuka clan was nearly bankrupt due to their overspending on nin-dogs. With a simple request, they would quickly come to the front lines.
“When you get nin-dogs, get the white ones.” Haku thought to himself.
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