Kazama walked under the tree, looked up at the Demon Brothers, and said, "Sakura, dissections and stuff are too much trouble. Why not use them to test your newly formulated poison."

Hearing this, Sakura's eyes lit up, and she casually pulled a small green bottle from her Ninja Tools pouch. "Teacher Kazama is still the thoughtful one. I happen to have a bottle of new stock that needs someone to test it."

As she spoke, Sakura pinched Gōzu's chin, preparing to pour the liquid from the bottle into his mouth.

"Don't! Don't pour it! I'll confess! I'll confess everything!"

Gōzu's face turned green with fright, and he wailed at the top of his lungs, "It's Gato! Gato from the shipping company hired Lord Lord Zabuza Momochi! Our mission is to assassinate Tazuna and stop him from building the bridge!"

Meizu nodded frantically along. "Right, right! Lord Lord Zabuza is nearby! Quickly get this crazy woman away, and we'll give you all the intelligence! Just give us a quick release!"

"Alright, Sakura, stop your hand." Kazama waved his hand.

Sakura regretfully stuffed the bottle back into her pouch. "How boring."

Kazama turned to look at Tazuna, twitching the corner of his mouth. "Uncle Drunkard, the Hidden Mist Village Elite Jōnin Zabuza Momochi, plus a Gato whose wealth rivals a nation... You call this a C-Rank Mission?"

Hearing this, Tazuna dropped to his knees with a thump.

"I'm sorry! I kept it from you! The Land of Waves is too poor; we simply couldn't scrape together the money for a B-Rank Mission!"

"But if this bridge isn't built, all the common people in the country will be driven to death by Gato!"

Tazuna's face was smeared with tears and snot. "If you give up now and return to the village, I will never resent you! This was originally my selfish request!"

Hearing this, Naruto wouldn't have it, patting his chest so hard it made thumping sounds. "Old man, rest assured a hundred times over! The mission accepted by This Great One will never be abandoned halfway!"

Sasuke had his hands in his pockets. Hearing the words "Elite Jōnin", the corners of his mouth curved into an arc.

Kazama grabbed Tazuna's collar with one hand and hoisted him up from the ground.

"Alright, stop crying. The mission continues. As for the price difference of a B-Rank Mission, I'll go collect it from that Gato."

"Hey, Teacher Kazama, something is wrong with the surroundings." Sasuke spoke up suddenly.

The forest path, which had been fairly clear until now, had somehow started drifting with wisps of white mist.

The fog grew thicker and thicker, and in the blink of an eye, nothing could be seen beyond ten meters.

Kazama let go of Tazuna and stretched lazily. "Yo, the head-deliverers are here."

Just as his voice fell.

On the thick tree trunk ahead, a tall, dark figure slowly materialized.

The lower half of the man's face was wrapped tightly in bandages, and he carried a door-sized, broken-edged massive blade on one shoulder.

He stepped on the towering branches, looking down condescendingly at Team 7 below.

"Truly two pieces of trash, unable to handle even a few brats."

Zabuza Momochi gripped the hilt, unshouldered the Executioner's Blade, and pointed the tip directly at Kazama.

"Konoha Ninja, hand over that old man, and I will consider leaving your corpses intact."

"J-Jonin lad! H-He is the Demon of the Hidden Mist! Let's run quickly!"

Before Kazama could reply, the three students in front got all revved up first.

Naruto stared at Zabuza, his hands cracking in front of his chest, looking ecstatic. "He's an Elite Jōnin? Awesome! This Great One didn't get to fight enough with those two pieces of trash just now!"

In Sasuke's eye sockets, the One-Tomoe Sharingan spun. "This guy's Chakra volume is indeed much stronger; it's just right to test the limit of my half-month of training."

Sakura adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses. "Looking at this physique, his drug resistance certainly isn't low. It's just the time to test my newly mixed nerve-inhibiting toxin."

Tazuna looked at these three eager brats and felt a complete despair for life.

Are the brains of these Konoha brats all diseased?! The opponent is a cold-blooded Elite Jōnin who kills without blinking an eye!

Tazuna tugged at the corner of Kazama's clothes and asked tremblingly, "J-Jonin lad, aren't the three of them a bit too confident? Aren't you going to do something about it?"

Kazama shrugged. "What's there to manage? Young people have high tempers and love to pick difficult challenges."

Blue veins bulged on Zabuza's forehead on the tree.

A few newly graduated Genin were actually discussing testing medicine and blades on him right to his face?

"Arrogant brats, you're courting death!"

Zabuza couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense, directly swinging the Executioner's Blade and hurling it toward Kazama.

"Hey, hey, hey, they provoked you, why are you coming at me?"

Kazama yawned, raised his hand to extend two fingers, and gently flicked the back of the flying blade.

The exaggeratedly sized Executioner's Blade instantly deviated from its trajectory and flew spinning toward the right side.

With a loud crash, the large blade buried itself entirely up to the hilt into a thick tree trunk a few meters away.

The next second, Zabuza arrived via the Body Flicker Technique, his feet landing steadily on the hilt.

He stared at Kazama, his brows furrowed tightly.

This guy is strong. He flicked away his blade with just two fingers.

The intelligence didn't mention that Konoha had such a character.

Kazama walked over to a large rock nearby and sat down, casually pulling a handful of melon seeds from his pocket.

"Disciples, don't just stand there, the monthly exam has arrived."

"Exchange a few proper moves with this bandage guy. Whoever performs below a passing grade will have their training suspended for half a month after returning to the village."

"Tch, just say you want to slack off." Sasuke retorted without even turning his head.

The corners of Zabuza's eyes twitched uncontrollably.

He, the majestic Demon of the Hidden Mist, had assassinated countless masters. Now he was actually being used by a Konoha squad-leading Jonin as a sparring partner for Genin?

What does he take this daddy for?!

"You will pay the price for your arrogance! Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"

Zabuza formed Hand Seals with both hands, and the surrounding white mist instantly thickened.

In the blink of an eye, the visibility in the woods dropped to less than a meter.

Tazuna was so scared that he dropped straight to the ground, hugging his head with both hands and curling up into a ball.

Inside the thick fog, Zabuza's voice came from all directions, echoing through the forest.

"Throat, spine, lungs, liver, carotid artery, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart."

"So, which vital spot should I choose?"

Sasuke's Sharingan spun rapidly, capturing the changes in the surrounding airflow.

Soon, he locked onto a slight anomaly in the airflow to his rear right. He gripped his Kunai tightly and exchanged a look with Sakura beside him.

As for why he didn't signal Naruto? Sasuke seriously doubted that guy's IQ. In case he couldn't understand and directly shouted it out at the top of his lungs, everything would be ruined.

After listening to Zabuza's lines, Sakura pushed up her glasses.

"Mister, your technique isn't very professional. If you really want a quick death without leaving a trace, I suggest you cut between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae."

Zabuza deep in the thick fog was visibly stunned for a moment.

What the hell kind of psycho is this?!

This daddy is intimidating you guys! How come you're turning around and teaching this daddy how to kill people instead?!

But whatever, as long as the client is dealt with first.

A human figure composed of flowing water appeared silently behind Tazuna, raising a hydrated short blade high up.

At the very moment when Zabuza's Water Clone was about to slice off Tazuna's neck with a single blade.

Sakura backhanded a small green bottle, hitting the Water Clone square in the face.

Snap.

The glass bottle shattered.

A cluster of purple-gray powder instantly burst open, smearing all over the Water Clone's face.

The Water Clone's originally stable Chakra structure reacted the moment it came into contact with the powder.

In less than a second, that Water Clone dissolved with a splash into a puddle of clear water, crashing onto the ground.

Seeing this, Sakura nodded in satisfaction.

"Chakra Interference Powder Formula No. 5, took zero point eight seconds upon contact with the Water Clone to cause it to collapse."

"The effect is slower than expected. Next time, add some white phosphorus and inhibitors, striving to short-circuit the Chakra pathway within zero point five seconds."

Zabuza, hidden deep within the thick fog, had his eyelids twitching wildly.

This pink-haired lass is definitely a dangerous toxicologist; she cannot be approached lightly.

Zabuza quickly relocated within the thick fog, his gaze locking on.

Hm, it'll be that yellow-haired brat.

Standing right at the front and shouting blindly, looking the most brainless, let's start with him!

Zabuza gripped the Executioner's Blade tightly with both hands, using the cover of the thick fog to silently circle around to Naruto's left blind spot.

The massive blade split the white mist, carrying a wind-breaking sound straight toward Naruto's neck.

"Naruto! Left!" Sasuke shouted loudly.

Naruto reacted extremely quickly, dropping into a squat right on the spot. The wide blade edge swept past almost brushing his scalp, shearing off a few strands of yellow hair.

Immediately after, Naruto sharply contracted and exerted force from his waist and abdomen.

His right leg stirred up a gust of wind, kicking straight toward Zabuza's chest.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

Bang!

Zabuza never expected this brat to be able to react, and he took the kick squarely.

He retreated seven or eight steps before barely stabilizing his figure, a fishy sweetness welling up in his throat.

Naruto straightened his body up and clamored with a face full of disappointment.

"Hey! Big guy, is this all the ability you have? This monthly exam is too boring!"

Kazama, sitting on the rock, spat out a melon seed shell and turned his head to look at the shivering Tazuna beside him.

"Uncle, look, what did I say, these kids are full of vitality."

Tazuna wiped away cold sweat. "Um... indeed..."