At this moment, Momochi Zabuza was extremely angry.
He had arrived a step too late and missed the scene where Goku appeared in front of Naruto.
But from their body language, he could tell they didn't know each other.
Combined with the fact that there was no information about this man in his intelligence, he judged that this was just a passerby.
So, taking advantage of the fact that the Copy Ninja Kakashi was not next to Tazuna, he threw his Executioner's Blade, aiming to decapitate his target in one strike.
At the very least, he could take out one of the brats protecting the target, saving himself trouble later.
But unexpectedly, just as his primary objective failed and his secondary objective was about to succeed, this nobody he hadn't paid any mind to actually knocked his sword away and ruined his almost certain success.
Thinking of this, he raised his Executioner's Blade, pointing the tip directly at Goku.
"You bastard, you've really pissed me off."
However, Goku ignored him and looked at Kakashi to ask,
"Um, excuse me, what place is this?"
Shenron hadn't told him what kind of world this was when it sent him over, only telling him to find out for himself, so he asked this question now.
But Kakashi had already focused all his attention on Zabuza and had no time to respond to Goku's question.
Seeing that Kakashi didn't respond, Goku scratched his head and looked at Naruto.
"Ah, here, this is the Land of Waves."
Seeing Goku look at him, Naruto thought for a moment before giving an answer.
"The Land of Waves?"
Goku pinched his chin, looking thoughtful.
What he was thinking right now was:
'Is there any good food here?'
It must be noted that he hadn't eaten for a long time, and his stomach was completely empty right now. He wished he could have a big meal immediately.
Zabuza, who was being ignored by Goku, felt veins throbbing on his forehead, pure rage shooting to the top of his head.
Him!
The famous Momochi Zabuza!
The Demon of the Hidden Mist who strikes fear into the hearts of many shinobi!
Today, he was being ignored by a nobody?
Thinking this, he could no longer suppress his anger. Regardless of his mission target, he swung his large sword and charged at Goku.
"Watch out!"
Kakashi, who had been watching Zabuza the whole time, growled a warning, then grabbed Naruto and retreated.
Earlier, Goku's ghostly speed had convinced him that this was a master.
So he only gave a warning and didn't follow up.
Right now, he also wanted to see how Goku would handle this.
Would he continue to rely on his ghostly speed to retreat, or would he face it head-on?
THUD!!
The next moment, his pupils dilated, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Wearing the same expression were Naruto, whom he was holding by the scruff, Sasuke and the others who had also retreated, and Zabuza, who was attacking Goku head-on.
They saw Goku raise his right hand, extend his index finger, and use just that single finger to steadily block Zabuza's Executioner's Blade.
"What is this?"
Zabuza's eyelids twitched. Although he found it unbelievable, he did not pull back his sword and retreat.
Instead, he hardened his heart and launched successive slashes at Goku from various directions.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!!
But without exception, every strike was steadily blocked by Goku's single finger.
Whether he attacked from the front, the side, or even from overhead and behind, Goku didn't move a single step, not even turning his body or head a fraction, as if he had eyes all over his body, blocking every attack without missing a single one.
Whoosh!
After multiple failed attacks, Zabuza finally pulled back his sword and retreated, looking at Goku with a grave expression.
"Just who are you?"
Now, he finally stopped treating Goku as a nobody, instead considering him a person with the same level of threat as the Copy Ninja Kakashi.
"I'm Son Goku."
Goku put his hands behind his head and grinned his simple, honest grin.
"Son Goku, I've never heard of anyone by that name in the shinobi world."
Zabuza narrowed his eyes.
He basically knew all the famous and powerful figures in the shinobi world, but he had never heard of anyone named Son Goku.
Just from the way he blocked his attacks earlier, he could determine that his strength was not ordinary.
'How could I not have heard of such a person?'
'Was the other party some village's hidden secret weapon?'
Thinking this, he couldn't help but glance at Kakashi and the others not far away.
'From Konoha?'
'No, that's not right. Judging by their reactions, they really don't know this guy.'
'Then from Iwagakure or Kumogakure?'
He didn't even consider Sunagakure or Kirigakure he had defected from.
In his opinion, these two villages simply couldn't have any secret weapons.
But another question arose: if Goku was really a secret weapon of Iwagakure or Kumogakure, why would he appear here and help the Konoha side?
If he couldn't figure it out, then he wouldn't bother.
As long as he captured Goku, wouldn't the truth come out?
With this in mind, he looked at Goku and said coldly,
"Son Goku, I admit your taijutsu is strong, but don't think that means you can win against me. You should know that this isn't even what I'm best at!"
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a thick, white mist suddenly rose all around, enveloping everyone.
"Be careful! This is the Kirigakure's Silent Killing Jutsu!"
Kakashi shielded Naruto and the others, his tone grave.
Saying that, he lifted his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan he had been hiding.
In this situation, if he didn't use this eye, he would be blind.
If Zabuza decided to attack them first, he wouldn't be able to react in time.
"Dammit, how can there be a jutsu like this!"
Cold sweat broke out on Naruto's forehead as he stared intently at his surroundings, but he couldn't see anything.
"This killing intent..."
Feeling the bone-chilling killing intent faintly palpable in the air, Sasuke felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.
It was fortunate that Zabuza's killing intent was almost solely focused on Goku, so he wasn't stimulated into freezing stiff by it.
"Huh? Why did this heavy fog suddenly appear?"
Only Goku was the most calm, looking around like a curious child, his body showing not a bit of alertness.
Suddenly, his eyes moved, and his figure instantly disappeared.
A large sword swept out from within the mist, slashing directly at the spot where Goku had been standing just moments before.
But clearly, this strike cut through empty air.
Zabuza's figure appeared, his face looking even darker as he saw this.
"Hey, are you looking for me?"
Abruptly, a large hand landed on his shoulder, causing his expression to change.
Immediately after, his body turned into a stream of water.
"Eh? Why did it turn into water?"
Goku, who had appeared behind him at some point, looked at the water stain on his hand and scratched his head in confusion.
Then, he suddenly shifted one step to the right, and a large sword sliced down practically grazing his left arm, striking the ground.
"Tch, failed again?"
Seeing that his attack had failed, Zabuza pulled his sword back and retreated, disappearing into the mist once more.
Then, Goku tilted his head slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through the heavy fog and see something.
Behind Tazuna, Zabuza's figure suddenly appeared.
Kakashi, who had activated his Sharingan, noticed this situation immediately. He flashed in front of Zabuza, his kunai clashing against the other's large sword.
"As expected, he's coming for us after all."
He stared tightly at Zabuza, his voice low.
"Tch, Copy Ninja Kakashi, as expected, your Sharingan can also see my movements."
Seeing his action fail once again, Zabuza spoke with a dark expression.
After his two previous attacks on Goku failed, he knew he couldn't defeat the other party quickly, so he turned to attack his mission target instead.
But now it seemed that Kakashi, just as the intelligence reported, was also a troublesome opponent.
Thinking that there were two opponents here with strength comparable to his own, while he was alone and would find it difficult to fight two against one, he began to consider retreating.
Although Haku was nearby and would come if he signaled, he and Haku together weren't guaranteed to defeat the other side. He needed to go back, plan properly, and then face them again.
And so,
After throwing out a line, "I'll be back," he disappeared into the mist and left the area.
Without the Chakra sustaining the jutsu, the heavy fog quickly dissipated, revealing a bewildered Tazuna and the three young genin, a solemn-looking Kakashi, and,
Goku, who was rubbing his stomach and smiling somewhat apologetically.
"I'm so hungry, do you guys have anything to eat?"