"What a sharp blade."
Shocked in his heart, Momochi Zabuza did not dare hesitate.
Whoosh.
At the very moment Yagyu's chakra blade was about to hit him, Zabuza quickly retreated.
Slash.
However, something Zabuza never expected happened.
The instant he retreated, Yagyu's chakra blade had already cut through the Executioner's Blade, and a five to six meter long blue blade energy tore through the air.
Moving far faster than him, it slashed directly across his body.
Boom.
After passing through Zabuza, the blue blade energy continued forward, cutting down more than ten large trees in the forest behind him before finally dissipating.
Whoosh.
A strong gust of wind blew past.
The dust raised by Yagyu's attack was scattered.
"Cough..."
Thick blood stained the bandages red.
Zabuza held his waist with one hand, preventing his body from splitting apart.
His eyes stared at Yagyu in disbelief.
Although the young man was taller than most people his age, anyone could tell that he had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy.
Yet he had killed him with a single strike.
"Unbelievable..."
His voice was low and quickly growing weaker.
"With just one move, you not only cut through the Executioner's Blade, but also killed me. Is this... what a Konoha Genin is like?"
Hearing Zabuza's words, Yagyu slowly sheathed his sword and spoke calmly.
"That's right. This is what a Konoha Genin is like. As the first Jonin to die by my hand, you have the qualification to take my name with you to hell. Remember it well, the one who killed you is Yagyu Sōsuke of Konoha."
Zabuza's eyes rapidly lost their light.
He remembered that name.
Tap.
With a dull sound, Zabuza's body fell to the ground and split into two pieces.
From his right shoulder to his left waist, his body had been completely severed by Yagyu's strike.
The battle from beginning to end lasted less than two seconds.
A ninja who had once possessed considerable fame in the shinobi world, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Demon of the Hidden Mist Momochi Zabuza, died completely in the unknown Land of Waves.
Whoosh.
The moment Zabuza's body fell, another figure landed beside him and knelt down.
It was Haku.
Yagyu was not surprised by his appearance.
Zabuza had been Haku's spiritual pillar, now that pillar was gone, there was no meaning left in his life.
This could be seen clearly from Haku's lifeless eyes.
"Zabuza-sama..."
Looking at Zabuza's body, Haku's voice was filled with complicated emotions.
Those were feelings that Yagyu could not fully understand.
After carefully placing Zabuza's body together, Haku looked at Yagyu.
"Please allow me to die under the same blade as Zabuza-sama."
Yagyu looked at Haku's pleading expression.
After a brief moment of thought, he nodded.
"Alright."
Clang.
Slash.
A flash of blade light appeared.
Yagyu turned around and walked toward the Executioner's Blade that Zabuza had thrown earlier.
This weapon was his trophy, and also proof that he had killed Zabuza.
It needed to be brought back to Konoha.
As for Haku, who lowered his head and died quietly after Yagyu's strike, Yagyu had no interest at all.
He was not a gay man, nor did he have any strange preferences.
Even if Haku was more beautiful than many girls, so what.
After sealing the Executioner's Blade inside a sealing scroll, Yagyu turned toward Tazuna.
Tazuna had been stunned the entire time, as if frightened senseless.
"Mr. Tazuna, let's go."
Looking at him, Yagyu spoke calmly.
"Hurry back to your home. Tonight I will arrange everything, tomorrow this mission will be finished."
Next, all that remained was to deal with Gatō.
Once that was done, the mission would be completely successful.
"Ah... oh... alright."
Tazuna finally regained his senses.
After glancing at the bodies of Zabuza and Haku, he quickly followed behind Yagyu.
Although the short battle earlier seemed too fast for him to fully understand, one thing was certain.
Yagyu Sōsuke was truly powerful.
The next morning.
Yagyu had already boarded a ship leaving the Land of Waves.
As for the remaining dangers of the mission, they had all been resolved the previous night.
Even though the Land of Waves would eventually fall under new capitalist control again, at least until the bridge was completed, Tazuna's safety would not be threatened.
[Ding, sign in successful. Congratulations, you have obtained sixty days of swordsmanship training.]
The system's voice sounded.
Yagyu immediately felt his already master level swordsmanship improve further.
"That feels great."
After saying this happily, Yagyu sat at the bow of the ship and looked toward the distant shoreline.
He began thinking.
"In a while the Chunin Exams should begin. The Konoha Crush plan will also start soon."
When he thought about the events after the Konoha Crush plan, an elegant and stunning woman appeared in Yagyu's mind.
One of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Tsunade.
"Speaking of which, she is technically my senior sister."
Yagyu's expression became somewhat strange.
"That woman should be extremely beautiful, and most importantly, she should be... very large."
What was Tsunade most famous for.
Naturally, it was the pair of treasures unmatched by any woman in the shinobi world.
With a smile on his lips, Yagyu thought quietly.
"Before Tsunade, there is still Orochimaru to deal with. Slowly, there is no need to rush."
Putting those thoughts aside, Yagyu quietly waited for the ship to reach shore so he could return to Konoha.
One day later.
After returning from the Land of Waves, Yagyu went directly to the Hokage Office.
Standing before the Third Hokage, Yagyu reported the entire process of the mission.
"That is everything that happened during this mission."
Looking at the Third Hokage, who had fallen into thought, Yagyu handed over a mission report scroll.
He also handed over a sealing scroll containing the Executioner's Blade.
"Inside this scroll is one of the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure, the Executioner's Blade. I will leave it to you, old man. As for the payment I do not mind, but this mission should at least be recorded as a B rank mission."
Hearing Yagyu's words, the Third Hokage nodded while smoking his pipe.
"Yes. This mission has indeed reached the level of a B rank mission. Do not worry, as your teacher, how could I possibly treat you unfairly."
While saying this, the Third Hokage looked at Yagyu with slight helplessness.
Facing that look, Yagyu shrugged.
"Since the mission is finished, I will head home."
The Third Hokage naturally had no objections.
After Yagyu left, he opened the sealing scroll.
"It seems he really did encounter the Demon of the Hidden Mist."
Looking at the damaged but partially restored Executioner's Blade, the Third Hokage spoke slowly.
"This kid's luck is truly something else."
After that, he had the Anbu store the Executioner's Blade.
Then the Third Hokage began planning another round of publicity for Yagyu's achievements.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Elite Jonin Demon of the Hidden Mist Momochi Zabuza, had been killed by Yagyu.
If such a record were announced, it would bring tremendous fame.
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