Thank You, Momochi Zabuza, for the Beheading Sword!
At the same time, Momochi Zabuza, who had originally planned to make a grand entrance, turned sharply in the direction where his Beheading Sword should have been.
However, just as he was about to land smoothly, he suddenly felt empty air beneath his feet—and in the next instant, he crashed to the ground.
Luckily, as an Elite Jōnin of the Mist, Zabuza still had his reflexes. Otherwise, stepping on thin air like that would have been downright humiliating.
As he regained his footing, Zabuza looked up at the tree where he had last left his sword. The moment he saw the empty trunk, his heart filled with rage.
"What the hell?! Where's my Beheading Sword?! Where's the massive sword that belongs to me?!"
His eye twitched in frustration. But before he could fully process what had happened, a voice rang out from behind him.
"Yo! Thanks, Momochi Zabuza, for the Beheading Sword!!!"
Hearing those words, Zabuza whipped around, eyes widening.
And there it was—his Beheading Sword—firmly in the hands of a grinning Kaito.
"What the hell is going on?! How did my sword end up in his hands?!"
For the first time, Zabuza found himself at a complete loss. Without his sword, how was he supposed to fight Hatake Kakashi?
Seeing Zabuza frozen in disbelief, Naruto, who had been watching from the side, suddenly got excited.
"I can't let Sasuke steal the show this time—I have to make the first move!"
With an exaggerated smirk, Naruto called out,
"Yo! If it isn't the infamous Demon of the Hidden Mist—Momochi Zabuza! What's wrong? Did you forget to bring your big, scary Beheading Sword today?"
Kakashi, now back on his feet, let out a chuckle at the sight of Zabuza's dumbfounded expression.
"Looks like someone's having a rough day," Kakashi mused. "I'd say this mission just got a whole lot easier."
Meanwhile, Kaito, gripping the oversized sword, nearly burst out laughing.
"Man, I never expected Kakashi to be the type to troll his opponents. Guess reading Jiraiya's 'Icha Icha' books all day gave him a sense of humor too!"
Zabuza, on the other hand, was fuming. His eye twitched uncontrollably as he glared at Kakashi and Kaito.
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!"
Originally, he had just wanted to make an intimidating entrance. That was the whole reason he had tossed his sword into the air in the first place…
But now?
Now he looked like a complete fool.
As a result, not only had the Executioner's Blade been taken away, but Zabuza had also been mocked by Kakashi. How humiliating!
On the other hand, when Naruto heard Kakashi refer to Zabuza as a "missing-nin," he was a little confused and muttered to himself:
"Missing-nin? What's that? Ah, whatever… I'll figure it out later! For now, time to show what I can do!"
Thinking this, Naruto crouched and prepared to charge forward. However, just as he moved to attack, Kakashi blocked his path.
"Huh? Kakashi-sensei, what's the deal?"
Naruto, who had been abruptly stopped, looked bewildered. Seeing his clueless expression, Kakashi sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Honestly… how can someone as smart as my teacher have such a reckless son?"
Looking at Naruto, who clearly didn't understand the situation, Kakashi exhaled sharply and instructed,
"Stay out of the way. Step back."
Hearing this, Naruto pouted in frustration and shouted,
"Why?! I can fight too!"
Kakashi felt a headache coming on. Why did he have to be the one to train such a hot-headed student? But since Naruto was Minato's son, he had no choice but to explain patiently,
"This guy isn't like the enemies we faced before. If we take him lightly, we won't stand a chance."
With that, Kakashi reached for his forehead protector, preparing to reveal his Sharingan.
"I didn't expect to encounter the famed Sharingan Kakashi today. Unfortunate… but, I still need to take that old man."
Despite losing his sword, Zabuza had no choice but to maintain his air of intimidation. He smirked, forcing himself to sound confident.
"Sharingan? What's that?"
Naruto, who had never heard of the legendary dojutsu, was baffled.
"Is this guy really that strong?"
Haruno Sakura, coming from a civilian background, had also never heard of the Sharingan, so she was just as confused as Naruto.
As for Tazuna… well, he didn't even know the basics of ninjutsu, so there was no way he would recognize the term.
Only Sasuke, upon hearing "Sharingan," felt a jolt of shock. His pupils shrank, and he quickly turned his gaze to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei…"
"Form a defensive perimeter and protect Tazuna. Do not interfere in this fight!" Kakashi ordered.
With that, he lifted his forehead protector and opened his left eye, revealing the crimson glow of his Sharingan.