"Are you saying you want me to take you to kill Gato and split his money?"
After hearing Naruto suggestion, Zabuza was stunned for a moment, then let out a piercing, mocking laugh:
"Hahahaha! Kid, are you still dreaming?"
"I am the Demon of the Mist, and you are a Genin. You actually want to talk about splitting profits with me?"
"Are you looking down on me?"
Zabuza suddenly gripped his Kubikiribocho, his eyes showing an unprecedented coldness and sarcasm:
"And... are you really a shinobi of Konohagakure?"
"As a shinobi living in the light, you actually took the initiative to find a nukenin to plot the assassination of your employer and split the spoils..."
"You brat, you have even fewer bottom lines than us killers."
Although Zabuza was cold and cruel, he prided himself on being a pure shinobi.
Therefore, he placed extreme importance on the basic ethics of a shinobi.
He had never thought about turning against his employer; after all, he had to rely on his reputation to make a living in the future.
Thus, he scoffed at Naruto proposal, which lacked any professional ethics.
He even felt it was an insult to the word "shinobi."
"Bottom lines and such... they're just things to talk about, Zabuza-san."
"You, a nukenin with hands stained with blood, are actually talking to me about ethics and bottom lines?"
Naruto adjusted his glasses, and there was not a single ripple in his azure eyes behind the lenses:
"Besides... I'm getting rid of a public menace."
"Go rid the world of menaces in hell!"
Zabuza let out a roar, his figure moving like lightning, the Kubikiribocho slicing down with the sound of breaking air.
Boom!
The tree trunk beneath Naruto feet was hacked into pieces, but Naruto figure had already vanished.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
With a burst of dense white smoke, over a dozen Naruto scattered everywhere like phantoms.
"Kid, do you want to use this kind of trick to stall for time?"
Zabuza snorted coldly, his feet exerting force as he suddenly jumped back, trying to create distance.
However, the moment he landed, Zabuza's expression changed.
The soil beneath his feet instantly turned into a mess of swampy mud, and a strange suction force tightly entangled his ankles.
"Doton: Yomi no Numa!"
"Damn it!"
Zabuza roared.
Relying on his powerful physical strength and explosive power, he thrust the Kubikiribocho into the ground before fully sinking, using it as leverage to pull himself out by force.
Before he could even land, two Naruto had already blocked his landing point.
"It's not over yet."
The two Kage Bunshin formed seals simultaneously.
"Futon: Daitoppa!"
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"
The wind fueled the fire, expanding the already massive flame into a sea of crimson fire.
That terrifying high temperature instantly evaporated most of the surrounding thick fog.
The entire forest was reflected in a bright red hue.
Zabuza was forced to twist his body in mid-air, using the broad blade of the Kubikiribocho as a shield.
Although he barely blocked the high temperature, the violent air current still pushed him hard against a tree trunk behind him.
"Tsk, endless!"
Zabuza became ruthless, enduring the churning of his blood the moment he landed, and quickly formed seals:
"Suiton: Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A Mizu Bunshin remained in place to fight and maneuver with Naruto Kage Bunshin.
The main body turned into an afterimage and quickly left the battlefield, jumping wildly among the trees.
He was searching, searching for the one and only original body.
Just then, he saw it.
Under the shade of a distant tree, a blond figure was leisurely reading a book, with two clones guarding him.
"Found you!"
Zabuza did not hesitate.
In his view, this kind of opponent who excelled at calculation would be at a dead end once someone got close!
"Go to hell for me!"
He poured all his strength into swinging the Kubikiribocho in a full circle.
The heavy blade sliced through the three Naruto in front of him at the waist.
However, the expected splash of blood did not appear, and he didn't even feel any physical resistance.
"A trap?"
In the next instant, Zabuza's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinheads.
Because he heard the sound of sizzling burning by his ear.
Boom!
A huge blast of air erupted at close range, directly shattering the surrounding trees.
Although Zabuza used the Kubikiribocho to block most of the impact, he still flew out like a kite with a broken string.
Zabuza hadn't even landed yet.
Between the surrounding tree trunks, countless strands of exceptionally tough steel wire had already opened a net in the air.
When Zabuza fell heavily to the ground, he found that this steel wire, stuck with a large number of exploding tags, had already bound him like a zongzi.
The steel wire tightened against his flesh, and blood seeped out along the wounds.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several Kage Bunshin appeared simultaneously, pinning him to the ground, with kunai pressed against every vital point.
At this time, Naruto original body walked out slowly from the shadow on the other side.
He adjusted his glasses, his tone still gentle and polite:
"Zabuza-san, now... can you re-examine my proposal?"
Zabuza stared fixedly at Naruto, his chest heaving violently, blood dripping down from his charred bandages.
He had never seen such a shinobi.
Massive Chakra, hair-raisingly precise calculations, and an endless stream of combined ninjutsu... and you call this a Genin?
"...The proposal to split it?"
Zabuza's voice was raspy, and a hint of submission finally entered his tone.
"Well, it's changed."
Naruto held up a finger:
"Given that you've wasted a lot of my Chakra, consumed my precious physical strength, and used several expensive exploding tags that I made by hand..."
"So, the current split plan is—90/10."
"I get ninety, you get ten."
"You bastard!"
Zabuza's eyes were nearly splitting, and just as he wanted to struggle, the kunai against his throat pressed a bit deeper.
The cold sensation made him freeze instantly.
"Don't misunderstand, ten percent is already given out of respect for your big sword; I originally thought you were quite capable of fighting..."
Naruto smiled, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes:
"Or... do you feel that you don't even need ten percent?"
A long silence followed.
Zabuza lowered his proud head and said in a muffled voice:
"...Deal."
At an angle Naruto couldn't see, Zabuza's teeth were about to shatter from clenching.
"Damn kid, once Haku gathers my subordinates and I figure out your background... I'll definitely make you spit out all the money you swallowed, along with your intestines!"
Naruto, however, sensed the violent emotions erupting like lava in his heart, and his own heart remained unruffled.
"Unwilling? Raging? Backstabbing? Very normal reactions."
"After all... once we find Gato, you'll lose your value."
"So, enjoy your final moments, Zabuza-san."
As the two left, Zabuza silently used the only finger he could move to smear blood on the tree bark, drawing a secret code.
He was notifying Haku, who was hidden in the shadows: assemble all hands and prepare for an ambush.
Naruto glided past that touch of red from the corner of his eye but did not stop him, his smile only deepening...
Meanwhile, at Tazuna-san's home.
Kakashi sat at the table, one hand on his forehead, his expression extremely serious.
Sasuke gripped a kunai tightly, guarding by the window, his eyes occasionally scanning the thick fog outside.
Sakura was nervously setting up traps in the backyard.
Kakashi was holding a temporary combat meeting.
"Zabuza could attack at any time."
Kakashi expression was tense.
"A killer of this level will never give up on a mission easily."
"Tonight, everyone stay alert!"
"Yes."
Sakura responded nervously.
Sasuke and Sakura were so tense that fine beads of cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
Only Naruto, who was sitting to the side—specifically, the Kage Bunshin that had been left behind—was pouring a cup of tea for everyone present.
Kakashi looked at Naruto suspiciously.
"Naruto... isn't he a bit too calm?"
Given Naruto cautious style, facing the threat of Zabuza, he should have at least dozens of Kage Bunshin out patrolling right now.
And then set up several emergency plans, instead of leisurely making tea here.
Unless... a startling conjecture flashed through his mind.
Unless, he had already eliminated the threat of Zabuza?
No, that's too far-fetched.
"Naruto, do you have any thoughts?"
Kakashi asked tentatively.
"I think... Zabuza probably won't be coming."
Naruto took a sip of tea, his tone gentle and composed:
"Because, he is also a person who... knows how to cut his losses."
"?"
Kakashi was completely confused, not understanding why Naruto would come to this conclusion.
"Cut losses?"
"Are you really evaluating that bloodthirsty demon Zabuza?"