The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

"What an arrogant young man! He's so confident that he dares to go up and exchange blows with any enemy he encounters, without even fear of recklessly killing himself." Zabuza chuckled and mocked Sasuke's words.

"Don't forget, your previous defeat was thanks to my two students. Besides, they're not the same people you saw before. They might be a bit different from that boy named Haku, but they're definitely not so different that they're invincible," Kakashi said confidently to Sasuke.

"Is that so? Whatever. You'll be dead in my hands soon anyway. Even if Haku doesn't deal with your two students, I can still take care of sending them down to keep you company," Zabuza said confidently.

"That's hard to say." Kakashi revealed his Sharingan.

"Then let's prove it with facts."

The next moment, Zabuza's figure disappeared into the mist once again...

Without hesitation, Haku formed a hand seal and unleashed a Thousand Kills Water Surge attack on Sasuke, Tazuna, and Sakura.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Sasuke dared not dodge, because behind him stood Tazuna, the employer of this mission, and since the other party was just an ordinary person, if he just let go, Tazuna and Sakura would only be killed by the senbon needles in front of them. Therefore, he could only use ninjutsu to fight and defend.

Then, a blazing fireball erupted, its intense heat melting the ice senbon that flew in front of him, while the rising steam also blew the surrounding senbon aside, thus averting the danger.

Haku ignored it and instantly teleported to attack Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled out a kunai to resist.

The fight between the two quickly turned into a contest of physical skills.

"Little girl, we'd better leave now," the experienced Tazuna reminded Sakura, who was looking at Sasuke with concern.

“Let’s go over there.” Sakura understood that staying behind would only hold Sasuke back, so she didn’t refuse. She covered Tazuna as they retreated to one side until both of their figures were shrouded in thick fog.

Both sides were completely absorbed in the battle, the clanging of weapons echoing around them like a death knell...

……

There's not much to say about the battle that followed; it was pretty much as it was in the original story!

Because of the difference in strength, Sasuke was impaled by Haku's Bloodline Limit Technique, the Mirror of Ice, and lay on the ground feigning death, with no one coming to his rescue...

Because Naruto was still fast asleep at Tazuna's house at that time!

After all, Ishihara Sho isn't Gato; he couldn't possibly send people to capture Tazuna's family while Zabuza was attacking Kakashi.

Even if he had considered taking hostages to threaten Kakashi into not killing Zabuza, that was without directly intervening in the fight between two renowned Jonin. What about now?

There's no need for that.

Therefore, Naruto Uzumaki wouldn't be woken up by the samurai, and thus wouldn't know what happened on the bridge. Even if he did know, it would be much later. So Sasuke's fake death was successfully confirmed. However, Haku had no interest in killing an old man because he had no intention of killing anyone. Therefore, Sakura and Tazuna were still safe.

Therefore, the only thing to worry about is the battle between Zabuza and Kakashi.

Then Kakashi summoned his summoning beast—a ninja dog—and, just like in the original story, caught up with Zabuza's movements, unleashing his Lightning Blade and charging towards Zabuza, whose body was bound...

"Zabuza-san!" Haku exclaimed, and at the same time, he instantly appeared in front of Zabuza, blocking Kakashi's path.

"White!" Zabuza shouted.

"Give me some face, how about we stop here?" Immediately afterward, a tall and burly figure appeared beside Bai and Kakashi, grabbing Kakashi's wrist as his hand crackled with lightning, and speaking in a calm tone to persuade him.

Chapter 81 Giving Up

Kakashi's expression changed upon hearing this—

He didn't even notice how the man in front of him had appeared!

What's even more terrifying is that the other party could easily grab his wrist without making him feel any pressure. This control and manipulation of power is something that not just anyone can do easily.

At the very least, Kai shouldn't be able to handle his own Lightning Blade so effortlessly.

"Kid, why don't you hurry up and take him away?" Hayato Furinji didn't care whether Kakashi agreed or not, and directly said to Haku, who was relaxing and vaguely looked like he had just survived a disaster.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, sir," Bai said gratefully.

Without hesitation, he immediately knocked away the Shar Pei dogs surrounding Zabuza, then grabbed Zabuza and instantly escaped from the spot...

Then the thick fog gradually dissipated, slowly revealing the original state of the bridge.

"Sir, sir, can you let go of my hand now?" Knowing that continuing the stalemate was futile and might even anger the other party and turn Furinji Hayato into his enemy, Kakashi released the squeaking Raikiri from his hand and turned to Furinji Hayato, whose size was quite imposing to him, and said.

"I apologize, it was my oversight." Hayato Furinji smiled and released Kakashi's wrist.

Kakashi then straightened up and covered his Sharingan with his headband.

"May I ask your name, sir?" Kakashi asked tentatively.

"I am Hayato Furinji."

There's no point in hiding it. He's an unregistered resident anyway, and even if Kakashi or the Third Hokage worked themselves to death, they still wouldn't be able to find out his background.

"Does the old man know those two people from earlier?" Kakashi asked again.

He didn't believe that a master like Hayato Furinji would intervene to save people simply because he didn't want to see the two killing each other.

While it's certainly possible that there are such good people in the world!

But in a place like the Land of Waves, on a bridge under construction surrounded by water, it was utterly unbelievable that an old man of at least the elite Jonin level in taijutsu would suddenly appear.

"I don't know him," said Hayato Furinji, shaking his head.

"Then why did the old man stop me?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I do not wish to see any lives lost. Moreover, the Sage of Six Paths passed down the Chakra Seeds with the hope that everyone could understand and communicate with each other through chakra, ultimately achieving peace and eliminating conflict. This aligns perfectly with my pursuit of the Way of the Living, so I do not wish for anyone to use the Sage of Six Paths' power to commit acts of slaughter, especially not in my presence," Hayato Furinji replied with a serious expression.

"Living Man Fist..." Although it is not clear what school of martial arts this is, you can tell what Furinji Hayato's philosophy is just from the name.

It can be said that its current path as a ninja, and even its social environment, is vastly different, making it worthy of being classified as a rare beast.

Before he could ask any further questions, Sakura's voice, slightly choked with tears, suddenly rang out: "Kakashi-sensei, come quick! Sasuke seems to be dead!?"

Upon hearing this, Kakashi's expression immediately changed. In a flash, he arrived at Sakura's side and looked at Sasuke, who was lying on the ground, covered in countless ice needles like a hedgehog, and had stopped breathing.

Then her pupils contracted, and she quickly squatted down to examine Sasuke.

"Sage of Six Paths, please don't let Sasuke really die," Kakashi prayed silently, his heart filled with anxiety.

Putting aside Sasuke's status as the last descendant of the Uchiha clan, the existence of his older brother Itachi Uchiha alone is enough to prevent Kakashi and even Konoha from letting anything happen to Sasuke. Otherwise, who knows if Itachi would take his anger out on Konoha after finding out the news!

In addition to Kakashi's friend Obito, even without the unstable factor of Itachi Uchiha, just out of emotional attachment to Obito, he couldn't just watch another Uchiha die before his eyes.

It's just a pity...

It seems Sasuke is really dead.

Upon confirming Sasuke's death, Kakashi was dejected and sat down on the ground.

"Teacher?" Sakura asked, somewhat apprehensive.

"Let me have some peace and quiet first," Kakashi said, waving his hand.

It took him a while to perk up and turn to look in the direction where Furinji Hayato was—

But at this moment, besides them and Tazuna, who else was on the bridge?

Unable to find any trace of Hayato Fuurinji, he could only sigh, pick up Sasuke's body, call to Sakura and Tazuna, and together they headed back to Tazuna's house.

After all, Zabuza's attack was already a fact. Although it has been stopped now, who knows if he will come back later?

So just in case, it's better to bring Tazuna along.

Anyway, the construction of the bridge is pretty much on track, and everything can proceed step by step. Whether or not Dazner is on-site to supervise and guide is not that important.

……

"boom!"

"Who goes there!" Zabuza and Haku looked at the two people who had landed on their ship.

"It's you!" Zabuza exclaimed, frowning.

"Old sir!" Bai exclaimed in surprise.

"If I asked you to come with me to the Land of Water right now, you probably wouldn't refuse anymore, would you?" Ishihara Akira said with a smile, looking at Zabuza, whose wounds were being treated by Haku.

"Are you saying that even if I go after Kakashi again, the result will be the same as today?" Zabuza was silent for a while, his voice calm, but one could hear the resentment in his voice as he asked.

"After this battle, I think you should have realized the gap between yourself and Kakashi," Ishihara Akira said calmly, sitting down on the ship's railing.

It's not a matter of strength. Zabuza is confident that he is on par with Kakashi in terms of actual strength, but in terms of intellect and battle strategy, he seems to be somewhat inferior to Kakashi.

This disparity was even more pronounced in this battle, leaving Zabuza with no choice but to acknowledge it.

Add to that the difference brought about by the Sharingan...

"The daimyo isn't as easy to deal with as you think." Zabuza sighed inwardly, finally stopping talking about Kakashi and instead mentioning Ishihara Sho's goal.

This is tantamount to implicitly acknowledging Ishihara Sho's words—that he would no longer cause trouble for Kakashi.

Besides, Gato is now Ishihara Sho's puppet and doesn't get paid. Why would he risk his life against Kakashi for the sake of a little pride?

"That's why I chose you, someone who knows the Land of Water so well, to be my partner," Ishihara Akira laughed.

"Hmph, I hope you won't forget your promise then," Zabuza sneered.

"Don't worry, as long as you can defeat the Mizukage, I guarantee I'll get the Daimyo to issue you an imperial edict, I swear."

Chapter 82 The Land of Water

After Zabuza recovered from his injuries, he obediently boarded the ship prepared by Gato and headed to the Land of Water with Ishihara Sho.

"By the way, don't you need to disguise yourself?" On the way, with nothing else to do, Ishihara Sho asked Zabuza, who was also out getting some fresh air.

It doesn't matter what kind of person he is. He's just an ordinary missing person in the Hidden Mist Village, not even a defector. So even if he enters the country with his original appearance, there's no need to worry about causing any trouble.

Zabuza is different. As the wielder of the Executioner's Blade among the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, a key figure in the reform of the Mist Ninja Exam System, and the assassin of the Mizukage, his reputation in the Mist Ninja is far more resounding than that of an ordinary S-rank rogue ninja!

It's so well-known that it's practically known to everyone in the world (the ninja of the Mist).

If they didn't disguise themselves, Ishihara Akira worried that they might be hunted down by the Kirigakure pursuit force as soon as they landed.

“I’ll be disguised before I disembark,” Zabuza said calmly, glancing at Ishihara Sho.

Clearly, he knew his target was too big and he needed to disguise himself to move freely within the Land of Water.