Chapter 43

Stepping on the water surface three times in succession, Zabuza quickly distanced himself from Su Zhong, staring intently at the latter standing in the water, his face grave: "Hmph! Pretending to be a god, don't think breaking the water prison is that impressive. Can you break any ninja technique? Too arrogant! Water Style: Great Waterfall!"

The river water beneath Zabuza's feet rose and swirled, converging into a hollow circle in front of him. The swift current suddenly burst out of the circle, like a high-pressure water jet. The water, carrying more of the river, spun and surged forward, growing larger and faster.

Su Zhong stood in the river, half his body submerged, completely unafraid.

Water Style techniques utilize the density, impact force, pressure, and deformability of water to injure the enemy. But all of this is physical attack, the type of attack Su Zhong was most familiar with.

"If it were Fire Style or Lightning Style techniques, which involve heat or electric shock, I would need to avoid their full force. But Water Style? It won't be a problem for me." Su Zhong smiled confidently: "Zabuza, your Water Style can't withstand my fist. Prepare to die!"

Su Zhong kicked the ground several times in quick succession.

Bang!

The water within two meters of him was instantly pushed away, forming a cylindrical water-free zone. Su Zhong's figure blurred and suddenly disappeared from his original spot.

Bang, bang, bang! His feet kicked the water surface repeatedly, creating water lilies. Su Zhong charged straight toward the massive water column rushing toward him.

His body leaned forward, his fist drawn back to his ribs. He moved so fast that his figure was indistinct. From a distance, it looked like a giant arrow speeding across the water.

"Ha ha ha, the Great Waterfall may seem impressive, but its power is scattered. I am the pillar in the middle of the stream. What can your temporary torrent do to me?" Su Zhong laughed heartily, his figure never stopping.

His fist, drawn back to his ribs, suddenly shot out, his entire body's blood converging into his right fist. The skin on his arm, already dark blue, turned pitch black. Veins bulged as if they would burst through the skin.

"Rushing Momentum! Great Dragon Fist!"

As if recalling the neighing of a dragon, Su Zhong transformed into a fierce black dragon, charging violently into the oncoming water column!

Boom!

Su Zhong stood firm like an unbreakable iron pillar, the massive water unable to budge him an inch.

His figure darted through the water column, the torrent like butter, while Su Zhong was a red-hot knife. Without any resistance, he almost instantly pierced through the layers of water, appearing before Zabuza.

His pitch-black fist struck Zabuza's abdomen heavily.

Bang!

Zabuza's body folded like a shrimp, as if hit by a giant hammer, he was pushed back along the water's surface, leaving a white trail of water.

Bang, bang, bang! He crashed through three giant trees and rolled dozens of meters before stopping.

"Amazing!" Naruto shouted, his mouth agape, stunned.

He had seen Su Zhong and Kakashi fight before, and Naruto knew Su Zhong was strong. But he didn't expect him to be this strong.

Sakura's eyes widened, her heart filled with surprise: "Kakashi-sensei has to take Zabuza seriously. I didn't expect him to be so easily defeated by Su. Is he really only nine years old? He's so tall, and he can grow even taller. What kind of ninja technique is this?!"

Sasuke clenched his fists, his heart filled with excitement: "Power, this is power. One day, I will have this power too!"

He watched Su Zhong train from nothing to something, from a wooden stick to an iron stick, his hard qi gong becoming increasingly powerful.

Su Zhong's process of gaining strength was the best motivational journey. Sasuke was involved in it from start to finish.

Sasuke's heart was filled with excitement: "Without chakra, just physical strength can achieve this. I not only have chakra but also the Sharingan, a top-tier bloodline. I will have this power too. Itachi, wait for me!"

Every success of Su Zhong gave him a strong sense of confidence. The stronger Su Zhong became, the more he believed he could also become strong.

Jumping to the shore, Su Zhong took two steps and approached Zabuza. Grabbing Zabuza's neck, he lifted him with one hand.

With his full hard qi gong activated, Su Zhong, standing at over 1.9 meters tall, easily lifted the heavily injured Zabuza into the air.

Breathing difficult, Zabuza's face gradually turned blue.

"I told you, your Water Style can't withstand my fist," Su Zhong said confidently. "Breaking all ninja techniques is not arrogance, but fact. At least, I broke yours."

Hearing this, Zabuza's body trembled, and he struggled violently.

Su Zhong tightened his grip, and Zabuza immediately suffocated. A punch to Zabuza's stomach made his eyes bulge, and he opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound.

Swoosh!

Two steel needles pierced the air, whistling sharply.

A hint of a mysterious smile flashed in Su Zhong's eyes: "I was waiting for you!"

His left hand shot out, his index and middle fingers forming a scissor, like a seabird diving to catch fish, swift and agile.

Sizzle!

A streak of sparks flew, and Su Zhong's fingers, as hard as iron, firmly clamped the two steel needles!

Su Zhong turned his head and stared at the attacker standing on a tree branch with interest.

"Who!" Naruto exclaimed, already on edge from the intense battle.

Kakashi watched the newcomer warily: "The mask suggests he's from the Mist Village's Hunter-nin."

"Hunter-nin? What's that?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Ninjas who hunt down rogue ninjas. Idiot!" Sasuke sneered, "I don't know what you learned in the Ninja Academy."

Naruto, too preoccupied to argue with Sasuke, noticed that this attacker seemed very strong and was likely not much older than Su Zhong.

A strong sense of frustration rose in his heart.

When he realized Sasuke was stronger, Naruto told himself that Sasuke was always a genius. When he realized Su Zhong was stronger, Naruto told himself that Su Zhong was older and also a genius from the same clan as Sasuke.

But when he realized a stranger, someone around Su Zhong's age, was also very strong, Naruto could no longer deceive himself.

"Why am I so weak?!" He felt a sense of frustration and injustice he had never experienced before.

"Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time. I've always hoped to kill him completely. Please hand him over to me," the masked youth said emotionlessly.

Kakashi nodded, understanding. In peacetime, it was best to avoid conflict with other villages while maintaining vigilance.

"Su. Hand Zabuza over to him. This is a private matter of the Mist Village."

But Su Zhong ignored him, his eyes fixed on the masked youth: "Why should I let him go?"

Kakashi's face changed. If Su Zhong didn't hand Zabuza over, it could escalate into a conflict between the Mist and Leaf Villages.

"Su! Don't act on impulse. Hand him over," Kakashi urged anxiously.

Su Zhong ignored Kakashi, his face playful as he asked the masked youth: "You're from the Mist Village's Hunter-nin?"

"Yes!"

Ha! Su Zhong chuckled inwardly. This was Haku, the Ice Release bloodline user.

While he didn't plan to rely on the plot to create chaos, the inherent information advantage always kept his mind clear.

"Alright. I'll give you his head. That should meet the requirements of the Hunter-nin, right?" Su Zhong's face bore a mysterious smile as he placed his left hand on Zabuza's head.

It looked like he intended to twist Zabuza's head off.

"No!" Haku couldn't help but react, throwing a flurry of steel needles.

Su Zhong stood still.

Clang, clang, clang...

The steel needles bounced off Su Zhong's body and fell to the ground.

Everyone stared at Su Zhong in disbelief.

Kakashi's face was grave: "This youth is not from the Hunter-nin, or even the Mist Village."

He blushed, thinking, "I was too careless, almost letting the enemy escape."

Seeing Su Zhong stand still and deflect all the needles without a scratch, Kakashi's face twitched.

His Sharingan gave him sharp vision, but at that moment, he wished he didn't have it. He clearly saw a needle hit Su Zhong's eyelid!

Is that an iron eyelid?!

"Who are you?! Speak up!" Kakashi demanded sternly.

Haku ignored Kakashi, his eyes fixed on Su Zhong.

Su Zhong smiled knowingly: "You want to save him," he stated rather than asked.

"How do you know?" Haku was anxious but didn't show it.

Su Zhong loosened his grip slightly, preventing Zabuza from suffocating: "I train my body. In terms of understanding the human body, there are only a handful of people in the entire ninja world who surpass me."

This wasn't boasting. By controlling his blood flow, he could inspect any part of his body. He knew the human body inside and out.

"Your first two needles weren't to kill him but to put him in a false death state, undetectable by others. Unfortunately, you met me." Su Zhong's face turned serious: "You're accomplices. Why should I let him go?"

Haku took a step forward in anxiety but stopped when he met Su Zhong's cold gaze.

"What do you want? You keep asking why I should let him go. You want to make a deal," Haku said confidently.

"Smart!" Su Zhong's face showed a hint of a smile, which quickly vanished. "I want you!"

"What?!"

Everyone was stunned again.

They thought they had misheard.

"Su! Stop fooling around!" Kakashi said sternly. "Zabuza is a rogue ninja from the Mist Village. We can't release him easily. It goes against the agreements between the villages."

"What do you think?" Su Zhong ignored Kakashi's roar.

"Fine!" Haku agreed before Kakashi could protest.

Kakashi was about to persuade Su Zhong again but saw him throw Zabuza to the masked youth.

He didn't have time to stop it, or perhaps they simply ignored him.

"Heal his injuries, then come find me. This is a life for a life. Your life is now mine," Su Zhong said, staring at Zabuza, who was about to pass out. "If you don't let him go, I'll offer half of the Uchiha clan's wealth for your head!"

Zabuza's already pale face turned even darker.

Su Zhong turned and walked away.

This decision was spontaneous but not unreasonable. He had some ideas about Ice Release.

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