Chapter 162 - Wilderness Survival Master — Maruboshi Kosuke (Final)
The mist thickened with every passing second, rolling in like a living force. On islands near the sea, fog was already a common phenomenon—but when stirred by Momochi Zabuza's chakra, it became something else entirely.
Something unnatural.
The world shrank around Darui, vision reduced to a few feet of swirling gray. Shadows warped and stretched. Every sound—his own breath, the soft ripple of the stream, even the hiss of his crackling lightning—felt muffled, swallowed by the dense shroud.
Then came the voice.
Deep, cold, and disembodied—it echoed from all directions at once, as if the mist itself had begun to speak.
"Eight points," Zabuza said softly.
"The throat. Spine. Lungs. Liver."
Another pause. Then:
"Carotid artery. Subclavian artery. Kidneys. Heart."
"So... which vital spot should I choose?"
Darui froze.
The clinical detachment in Zabuza's tone was worse than rage. He wasn't threatening Darui out of malice—he was analyzing him like a butcher deciding how best to carve a carcass.
Darui could almost feel the invisible scalpel tracing across his skin.
This guy... He's playing with me.
A tremor ran through him despite the electricity dancing along his arm. He grit his teeth and began staggering toward the stream, hoping to submerge himself, to vanish beneath the surface and escape the suffocating fog. His earlier composure had cracked—Zabuza had gotten into his head.
And Zabuza knew it.
The Demon of the Mist never missed an opening.
A hiss of wind. A surge of chakra.
"It's over!!!"
Body Flicker Technique — Mist Flicker!!
Zabuza's figure vanished into the mist—silent, seamless, lethal.
And in the blink of an eye, he was behind Darui.
There was no shout, no warning—just the roar of steel as Zabuza's massive executioner's blade came crashing down with the force to cleave mountains.
CRASH!
The blow struck true—Darui's body crumpled beneath it, shredded by the immense force.
But instead of blood, there was only water—splashes scattered across the rocks.
Zabuza's eyes widened.
A Water Clone?!
He spun instinctively—but it was too late.
A figure lunged from the mist behind him, eyes sharp, lips curled into a fierce grin.
Darui.
His left hand—wreathed in writhing arcs of black lightning—thrust forward with surgical precision, slamming into Zabuza's chest.
"I win," Darui growled.
Lightning Release: Black Panther!!
The moment the jutsu connected, black lightning burst forth like a snarling beast. Its roar echoed through the mist as it surged violently into Zabuza's body—
Only for his body to melt into water and vanish just like Darui's had.
Another clone.
Darui didn't curse, didn't falter.
His expression was calm as he spun with fluid grace, his hand still sparking with deadly chakra.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!!"
From his palm, a brilliant lance of blue light erupted—a concentrated beam of Storm Release chakra that carved through the fog like a blade through silk.
And this time—it hit.
The real Zabuza had appeared behind him, blade raised for another kill.
But the laser shot clean through the thick sword he'd raised to block, slicing off the edge of the blade and grazing his scalp with a searing, smoking gash.
Zabuza recoiled, barely managing to dodge fully backward.
The beam had missed his brain by inches. A moment slower, and his skull would have been split open.
But he didn't wait to savor the narrow escape.
Zabuza's body flickered again—and he vanished without a sound.
Darui, recognizing the movement, wasted no time.
He swung his arm again, firing a flurry of lasers in the direction Zabuza had escaped.
Zap! Zap! Zap!
Bolts of concentrated chakra shredded the mist in jagged streaks—but there was no satisfying cry of pain, no spray of blood. The enemy was gone.
Still, Darui didn't relax.
His eyes swept the landscape, flicking from shadow to shadow, from ripple to ripple. Even injured, he stayed sharp. Zabuza was a ghost in this fog—letting his guard down now would be suicide.
Only after several tense minutes—when the last traces of mist began to drift away and the wind began to stir again—did Darui finally allow himself to fall backward onto the damp grass.
He lay there, chest heaving, every muscle screaming in protest.
Then—he laughed.
A hoarse, relieved, almost delirious laugh that echoed through the empty clearing.
"Ha... ha... ha... ha... ha!"
His voice cracked, but the joy was real.
He'd lived.
He'd stared into death's foggy eyes, traded blows with one of the Mist's deadliest assassins, and come out alive.
For now... he was safe.
---
Elsewhere — Outside the Valley
At this time, all the Sand ninja outside the valley had been knocked flat by Jiriku and the others.
Benevolent as always, Jiriku had no intention of killing them. Even Might Guy wasn't particularly interested in finishing off such weaklings.
Of the remaining four, Maruboshi Kosuke had no strong opinions—he always went with the flow.
As for the three Uchiha ninja, they already understood their place.
With the boss Jiriku not giving the order, the underlings naturally kept quiet.
In the end, after some brief discussion, they all agreed to follow Jiriku's lead.
To prevent wild beasts from attacking the weakened Sand ninja, they used vines soaked in creek water to tie them securely in the trees.
To avoid attracting other ninja from enemy villages with any shouting, they gagged the Sand ninja with their own clothes.
After making sure everything was foolproof, they carried the captives far from the valley and hung them in the trees of a nearby mountain forest—where the patrolling observation ship could easily find them.
Whether Wind Shadow Rasa would choose to rescue them or leave them to die for the sake of saving face… was none of their concern.
After wrapping that up, the group returned to the valley to begin constructing their base for the seven-day survival challenge.
By now, most of the floodwater had drained from the valley. Looking at the corpses of Mist ninja littering the area, it wasn't hard to guess what had transpired here.
The ever-compassionate Jiriku muttered a brief prayer for their souls.
"Namu... Amida... Butsu..."
"Namu... Amida... Butsu... Datha Gaya... Datha Gaya..." But halfway through the chant, he realized he'd forgotten the rest.
ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ
Oh well, it's the thought that counts.
Still, while mourning them, someone had to clean up the camp.
Stifling his sorrow, Jiriku ordered the three Uchiha to cremate the bodies and return them to the earth.
Ah, what a kind and merciful sage I am!
Thanks to everyone's efforts, the camp was quickly completed.
It was constructed in the sturdiest triangular layout, backed against a rock wall.
To avoid rockslides during rest, they even drew two rockfall diverter lines above the camp.
A small cave was dug into the cliff, allowing part of the team to sleep inside while the others rested outside—ensuring both ventilation and safety.
Naturally, this was the work of our survival master—Maruboshi Kosuke.
From afar, the whole base looked like a sloped triangle—both practical and aesthetically pleasing.
Even the three Uchiha had to silently admit Kosuke's expertise.
Afterward, they all gathered to recap the day's events:
First, they were ambushed by Iwa-nin—who were all defeated single-handedly by Jiriku.
Then, they encountered Kumo-nin and Suna-nin near the valley and dealt with them as well. Finally, they discovered the bodies of the Mist-nin.
At this rate, it seemed only they—Konoha—were still standing on the island.
Even if any stragglers were left, they'd likely be too busy running for their lives to pose a threat.
With that realization, they figured: Konoha was now the sole surviving group.
Since no one else was left to interfere, Kosuke had no problem demonstrating more of his wilderness survival expertise for Might Guy and the others.
But recalling how Jiriku and Might Guy had interrupted his cliff demonstration earlier, Kosuke came up with a clever plan to get them out of the way.
Just as everyone finished setting up camp and sat down to rest—
Ahem!
Kosuke cleared his throat to draw their attention.
Seeing all eyes turn his way, he stood and said:
"Now that the camp's set up, the next step is to gather food and fresh water."
"So I suggest we split up into two groups."
"Jiriku, Might Guy—you two are strong. I'll trouble you to go collect dry firewood."
"I'll take the three Uchiha with me to gather food and fresh water."
Hearing the reasonable arrangement, Jiriku and Might Guy didn't object and nodded in agreement.
With those two successfully sent away, Kosuke was thrilled.
He led the three Uchiha—who had no say in the matter—on his journey of survival glory.
As they walked, Kosuke explained wilderness foraging principles while scanning for animal tracks.
Finally, his efforts paid off—he discovered fresh prints along a dry riverbed.
Pointing to them, he explained:
"These are marks left by something dashing through. They disappear into the forest. Very clear—likely left by a deer."
"See the heart-shaped print? Around here, it's probably a white-tailed deer."
"If we find more tracks nearby, it'll be the perfect place to set a trap."
Sure enough, a bit farther ahead, they found clusters of tracks.
Kosuke gestured and continued:
"Clearly, they move toward the water. See?"
The Uchiha nodded.
Kosuke added, "It's unwise to set traps at their drinking spot—they're most alert there. Better to catch them en route."
After some searching, he selected a spot and said:
"I'll set a simple trap here."
He took out a rope, a shuriken, and a branch.
First, he sharpened the branch with the shuriken. Then he threaded the rope through the shuriken's ring, tying one end to the branch and the other to a sapling.
Using small branches to guide the rope and tying a weight to the other end, he soon had a basic snare ready.
Pointing to it, he explained:
"If prey touches either trigger rope, the weight will drop, tightening the loop and hoisting the animal into the air."
He explained carefully, and two of the Uchiha listened attentively.
Wait—two?
Kosuke frowned and turned—one, two???
Where was the third?
Just then, the third Uchiha came running back, carrying a dead fawn.
Kosuke glanced at his newly set trap, then at the Uchiha with the deer—perplexed.
Before he could ask, the Uchiha said:
"Kosuke-sama, I used my Sharingan to follow the freshest tracks. Just as you predicted—there was a whole herd of fawns. No need to worry. I've marked their location. We'll have food for the entire week."
Kosuke looked at the trap... then at the deer.
He opened his mouth... then smiled bitterly.
→_→
Fine. So be it.
But while food was taken care of, they still needed fresh water.
Kosuke eyed the stream behind them—its surface covered in green algae.
Just as he was about to speak, he stopped himself.
Instead, he turned to the three Uchiha and cautiously asked:
"Do you know how to find drinkable water?"
The three shook their heads.
Phew!!!
Kosuke exhaled deeply. At last—no interruptions.
He stepped slowly to the stream, glancing back every few steps—worried someone might vanish again and return holding a jug of pure water.
Reaching the stream and confirming all three were still there, he finally relaxed.
Ahem!
Clearing his throat, Kosuke explained:
"Listen—don't ever drink untreated stream water in the wild."
"These waters are full of parasites. Drinking it can cause diarrhea—or worse, death."
He double-checked the headcount—still three—then continued:
"So, how do we make it safe to drink?"
He didn't expect these village-raised ninja to know.
Just as he was about to continue, the three Uchiha each pulled out a crystal wrapped in oil paper.
One said:
"Kosuke-sama, I know this!"
"This is a Water Purification Crystal invented by Lord Orochimaru."
"It kills parasites and 99% of harmful bacteria—plus, it changes the flavor. Mine tastes like apple!"
The other two chimed in: one had pear flavor, the other strawberry.
Kosuke's mouth twitched.
He resisted the urge to draw his sword, forcing a smile as he said:
"Well then, go collect water."
"Once that's done, we can head back. Jiriku and Might Guy are still waiting at camp."
"Yes, Kosuke-sama!!!" ×3