Chapter 44

"Qiu! Your actions today were extremely inappropriate." Kakashi leaned forward, staring intently at Su Zhong, who was sitting opposite him, with a serious expression.

They had already arrived at Tazuna's house.

In Kakashi's view, Su Zhong's actions were very rash, letting a rogue ninja go on his own, which violated the public agreements of the ninja world.

If he had ignored it from the beginning, it wouldn't have been a problem. Zabuza, after all, was a rogue ninja from another village.

But since he had already captured him, releasing him so openly would easily become a pretext for some people.

It would cause trouble for both Konoha and Su Zhong himself.

Kakashi decided to persuade Su Zhong properly.

"As a Konoha ninja, you need to think about the bigger picture. Even if you don't care about Konoha's reputation, you should consider yourself. You definitely don't like trouble. If someone with ill intentions finds out about today's incident, you will face criticism from all sides. Qiu, you need to..."

Su Zhong casually waved his hand, interrupting Kakashi's incessant nagging: "Alright, Kakashi. You've got one thing wrong. You need to understand, I am not a ninja, and I am not bound by your rules."

Kakashi was taken aback, suddenly remembering that this guy couldn't synthesize chakra and had never been a ninja from the start.

In this world dominated by ninjas, a person with such formidable strength would definitely be a ninja. That was common sense. But Su Zhong was an exception.

Even Kakashi had subconsciously forgotten Su Zhong's identity.

"Even if you are not a ninja, you are an Uchiha..." Kakashi continued to persuade.

Su Zhong gave a wry smile and interrupted Kakashi again: "I am indeed an Uchiha, but I am also Su Zhong. If I don't care, the Uchiha don't care either!"

Kakashi was stunned again. The person in front of him was one of the few remaining Uchihas. The so-called honor and reputation were ultimately his own affairs. These things couldn't bind Su Zhong at all.

After a few days of interaction, Kakashi realized that the boy in front of him, only nine years old, had an extremely mature and steady mind. Beneath his calm exterior lay a wild heart.

As he himself said, he cared about power.

And he only cared about power. Everything else was of no concern to him.

Kakashi was momentarily speechless.

After the incident, Su Zhong hadn't thought about it anymore. He was just looking forward to the arrival of Haku.

Looking up at Kakashi, who was still in a daze, Su Zhong suddenly said, "Kakashi, weren't you going to teach Sasuke the Chidori? There's plenty of time during this mission. Don't forget."

Kakashi snapped back to reality. He had been feeling somewhat annoyed about this, always feeling like he was being pressured.

Despite this, he had never intended to break his word: "Don't worry, I will teach Sasuke well."

Not just Sasuke, but Naruto and Sakura as well.

He had seen Sasuke's efforts and his outstanding abilities.

Among the three, Sasuke was the strongest. Three Narutos couldn't even match one Sasuke. In comparison, Naruto and Sakura were just a burden.

The more Kakashi thought about it, the more he felt that Sasuke was like himself. Back then, he had also been far ahead of his two teammates at this age.

This was not good for team unity.

Kakashi decided to train Naruto hard. After all, he was a jinchūriki and couldn't be so weak.

As for Sakura, Kakashi scratched his head: "This is really difficult. We'll see how it goes."

...

In the dense forest.

Naruto looked at Kakashi with eager eyes: "Teacher, are you going to teach us advanced jutsu?!"

He really hoped Kakashi would teach him a super powerful jutsu so he could show off in front of everyone, especially Sasuke.

Kakashi smiled inwardly. Naruto was still as straightforward and enthusiastic as ever.

Sasuke, though appearing calm, his eyes betrayed his eagerness.

Kakashi finally felt some satisfaction.

Feeling somewhat annoyed by Su Zhong's coercion, Kakashi finally felt a sense of fulfillment as a teacher when he saw Sasuke's eager eyes.

Sakura, besides being happy and curious, didn't show much enthusiasm.

Kakashi shook his head inwardly: "Sakura still doesn't understand the importance of power. Naruto wants recognition from others, and Sasuke wants revenge. Regardless of the reason, they both desire power. It seems Sakura still needs more training."

Back then, many of his classmates were quickly eliminated by the war due to their lack of the right attitude. The cost was their lives.

If it were during that turbulent era, Sakura's aimless mindset would have cost her her life.

"Peace has saved many lives. This is very precious and should be cherished," Kakashi sighed. Having experienced war, he knew how valuable it was to live a stable life.

"Naruto, don't think too much. Your task is to complete the tree-climbing exercise. Sakura's task is to practice water-walking. Sasuke, come with me later; I have other plans for you," Kakashi quickly assigned the training tasks.

"Still practicing that? Can't you teach me a powerful jutsu? You're favoring Sasuke!" Naruto grumbled, then charged at the tree with determination.

After seeing Sasuke perform water-walking for the first time, Kakashi had started teaching the group chakra control.

Sakura had a good talent and completed the tree-climbing exercise in one go. Kakashi was already considering arranging for her to learn medical jutsu.

But that would have to wait until they returned to Konoha. For now, she would continue practicing chakra control.

Naruto, on the other hand, was still struggling with the tree-climbing exercise.

Ignoring Naruto's complaints, Kakashi took Sasuke away from the others.

"I'm going to teach you my original jutsu—the Chidori. You should be familiar with it," Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded, feeling excited, and began to explain: "Qiu once described this jutsu to me. It's essentially a thrust. The key lies in the nature and form transformation of chakra, specifically lightning..."

Kakashi nodded inwardly: "Qiu didn't lie; Sasuke's theoretical foundation is indeed solid."

"Your foundation is very strong, but learning the Chidori is still too early. For now, I will teach you the Chidori's parent jutsu—the Chidori. This is an A-rank jutsu, and you shouldn't expect to master it in a short time. Train in moderation to avoid permanent injury, which could affect your strength improvement," Kakashi reminded him.

Sasuke was taken aback. He had indeed planned to train hard: "It seems I still need to proceed step by step. As Qiu said, haste makes waste."

...

Su Zhong sat on the ground, the green grass beneath him, surrounded by lush trees.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on Su Zhong.

His right elbow resting on his thigh, his hand supporting his chin, his eyes vacant, indicating he was deep in thought.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind him. A kunai moved like a snake, circling his neck and lightly resting on Su Zhong's throat.

Su Zhong's body didn't move, but his eyes regained their shine: "Stab it. Why not stab it? Stab it, and you'll be free. You can return to Zabuza or wander the world."

The person behind him remained silent.

After a while, the hand holding the kunai slowly withdrew.

But Su Zhong suddenly reached out, grabbed Haku's hand, and thrust it forcefully toward his own neck.

Clang!

A short, dull sound echoed clearly in the quiet forest.

The kunai pierced the soft flesh of his neck, leaving only a white mark, but he was unharmed!

Su Zhong's right elbow suddenly thrust backward.

Bang!

Haku was sent flying, rolling more than ten meters on the grass before stopping. He was covered in grass and coughing uncontrollably.

Su Zhong stood up, staring coldly at Haku.

"Your attacks are like mosquito bites to me. With just a little strength, I can crush you like an ant! Including Zabuza!"

Haku coughed hard, his face pale and silent.

"I didn't bring you here to see your attitude, but to give you a task."

Su Zhong was unconcerned by Haku's passive resistance: "If you fail to complete the task I give you, I will still use half of the Uchiha's wealth to buy Zabuza's head!"

Haku's face finally changed: "You're not keeping your word! You promised one life for one life, you... you..."

For a moment, Haku's face turned red with anger.

Su Zhong grinned wickedly: "The final interpretation is mine."

Hearing Su Zhong's shameless words, Haku was furious. With a swift movement, a steel needle appeared in his hand, ready to fight to the death.

Su Zhong's face turned cold: "Go ahead and attack. As long as I don't die, Zabuza is dead!"

Haku struggled for a long time, then slowly put down the steel needle, looking at Su Zhong with a stubborn and humiliated expression.

Su Zhong smiled in satisfaction: "Work for me properly, and we'll get along fine. If you try anything, you know the consequences. I have half of the Uchiha's wealth, after all."

Haku stood there, his face expressionless, hiding his inner struggle.

Su Zhong didn't care what he was thinking. This series of threats was to suppress Haku's resistance and make him work diligently.

As for the half of the Uchiha's wealth? Su Zhong chuckled inwardly.

Was the Uchiha's wealth substantial? Yes, very substantial. Even after some of it was taken, there was still a lot left.

But all of this belonged to Sasuke, the legitimate heir and current clan leader of the Uchiha.

The claim of half the Uchiha's wealth was purely a bluff!

"What jutsu do you know?" Su Zhong asked, knowing the answer.

Haku replied coldly: "Ice Release."

Su Zhong nodded, thinking to himself: "As long as he responds, it's good. If he were to resist passively, I'd be at a loss."

Although Su Zhong was strong, he wasn't a killer. He would only kill those who stood in his way. As for others? He cared about little besides power.

"Use a slightly weaker Ice Release to freeze me," Su Zhong said.

Haku hesitated, finding the request hard to understand. Was this a test? Or a further display of his overwhelming strength?

Su Zhong frowned: "Hurry up!"

Haku bit his lip, his eyes flashing with determination, and quickly formed hand seals.

"Ice Release! Cold Moon Frost!"

White mist suddenly gathered from all directions, quickly wrapping around Su Zhong. In the blink of an eye, Su Zhong turned into a human ice sculpture.

This jutsu was far from weak! Haku's eyes flickered with struggle.

At this moment, if he fully activated the jutsu, the ice crystals would shatter, and the person frozen inside would be crushed along with them.

After much hesitation, Haku finally abandoned the idea. He had never killed anyone, and even though he found Su Zhong despicable, he still didn't want to kill him.

Just as he was about to release the Ice Release, something astonishing happened.

Crack...

Bang!

The human ice sculpture suddenly exploded, sending small ice crystals flying everywhere. Haku quickly turned and bent over, covering his face to avoid being cut by the ice crystals.

After the ice crystals fell to the ground, Haku turned back and saw that Su Zhong had broken free from the Cold Moon Frost!

His skin was tinged with a bluish-black hue, his face twisted with a manic smile, and his lips moved as he muttered to himself.

"Good, good. This method really works. First, use Ice Release to freeze myself, then use force to break free. Pressure and resistance. Indeed, it's a path to training! Hahaha..."

When he broke free from Zabuza's Water Prison Jutsu, he had this idea. Now, the experiment proved that his idea was feasible.

Su Zhong turned to look at Haku with eager eyes, like a hungry wolf who had found long-awaited fresh meat!

...