Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

"Hmph, just three genin?" A hint of contempt flashed in Zabuza's eyes. "Uchiha, and a member of the Hyuga main family? Konoha has certainly given me a generous gift."

Zabuza licked his lips: "I'll accept your eyes."

"What a coincidence, we were just planning to use you to get back the Byakugan that you rogue ninjas stole from our clan," Neji said with a cold laugh after summoning his sniper rifle.

"Heh, arrogant brat." Zabuza said, his hands rapidly forming hand seals, and a thick fog rose from nowhere, completely enveloping the area.

"The Hidden Mist Technique?" Neji calmly surveyed the thick fog around him. "Do you think this technique would be of any use against my Byakugan?"

Zabuza didn't say much. Under the cover of the thick fog, he instantly appeared behind Naruto. In his opinion, both the Sharingan and Byakugan were effective against the Hidden Mist Technique, the signature assassination technique of the Hidden Mist Village. Therefore, it was the right thing to do to deal with this blond guy who didn't have any eye techniques first, and then confront him head-on.

"Kid, behind you." The Nine-Tails' voice rang in Naruto's mind.

"I can see!" Naruto, wearing a vision-sharing ninja tool, turned around and delivered a heavy kick to the side of the Executioner's Blade, changing its trajectory. He then used the momentum to twist his body and punched Zabuza in the temple. Zabuza raised his other hand to block, but the immense force he felt in his arm surprised him greatly.

The next instant, a cold light flashing with purple lightning and a palm wrapped in strong wind arrived in an instant. Seeing this, Zabuza could only use the Substitution Jutsu to dodge away.

Zabuza, now back in the thick fog, shook his hand, his face full of astonishment. Could these three really be genin?

However, before he could recover, several bolts of lightning struck down from the sky. Zabuza hurriedly dodged, and the lightning blasted deep craters behind him.

"This fighting style..." Zabuza struggled to dodge the barrage of lightning while frowning as he looked at a figure not far away, surrounded by thick purple lightning and with crimson light flashing in his eyes. This figure slowly overlapped with the figure of the person who had cast a deep shadow over Kirigakure years ago.

"Sasuke, watch out, don't forget we need to capture him alive." Neji said as he threw several strangely shaped metal rods that kept appearing around him.

"Alright." Sasuke nodded, slightly restraining his lightning, but before Zabuza could even catch his breath, a blond figure roared and charged out from the surrounding thick fog.

Zabuza swung his sword and cleaved it in two, but the next second, another blond-haired guy rushed out from another direction.

[Shadow clones, shadow clones, shadow clones, damn it, where did this kid get so many shadow clones?!] After Zabuza had slashed more than ten of Naruto's shadow clones into smoke, he couldn't help but get anxious. What normal person could have so many shadow clones? Moreover, if an ordinary person could create so many shadow clones, each of them should have very little chakra and wouldn't be able to use any decent attacks. But the attacks launched by the shadow clones that rushed towards him just now forced him to be on high alert.

Zabuza had no choice but to release the Hidden Mist Technique. After the thick fog dissipated, Zabuza looked at the surrounding yellow ocean, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Seeing that the thick fog had disappeared, Naruto's shadow clones swarmed forward, and Zabuza could only quickly form hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique".

Not far from Zabuza, a giant dragon formed from seawater bursts forth from the ocean and roars toward Naruto's shadow clones.

Naruto's shadow clones shattered one after another under the impact of the giant dragon, and Zabuza breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

[Thank goodness we're at the beach, or we would have really been in trouble.] Zabuza stepped on the thick layer of water left by the Water Dragon Technique, raised his hand to wipe the beads of sweat the size of soybeans from his forehead, and thought to himself.

"You seem to be getting a little too excited."

Zabuza looked in the direction of the sound, and when he saw the boy standing on the puddles, his long sword flashing with purple lightning, his pupils contracted.

Sasuke plunged the Purple Lightning into the stagnant water, and the purple lightning instantly began to spread along the water.

During the Third Shinobi World War, a saying circulated among the Hidden Mist ninja: never use wide-range water-style ninjutsu on Uchiha Tokō, because such ninjutsu would become the caster's death warrant.

Zabuza was too young to understand the meaning of those words back then, but now he does.

Zabuza could only leap high into the air, but in the next instant, six purple lightning dragons emerged from the water and roared towards him, sealing off all his escape routes.

Zabuza kept looking around. Even if he used the Substitution Jutsu, he couldn't find a place to escape. Within a radius of nearly a hundred meters, there was water flowing with high-voltage electricity. He would probably lose the ability to move the moment he landed. So, Zabuza could only grit his teeth, use his Executioner's Blade to protect his vitals, and plan to withstand this ninjutsu and then use the recoil to escape to a safer place.

His plan succeeded. After withstanding the attack, the shockwave from the lightning ninjutsu sent him flying far away. However, as a price, his Executioner's Blade was now covered in cracks, and Zabuza also spat out a cloud of blood mist in mid-air, clearly having suffered internal injuries from the impact.

After landing, Zabuza struggled to his feet. Ignoring the constant, excruciating pain, he turned and ran away in a disheveled state.

The two brats he just fought were both at the level of elite Jonin. That Uchiha brat was just like the dark cloud hanging over Kirigakure, Uchiha Tokage. What would happen in two years? He had to escape back to Kirigakure immediately, bring this news back to the village, and organize a manpower to hunt them down. Otherwise, once they grew up, Kirigakure would never have a chance to rise again.

However, before Zabuza could take two steps, a large number of strange runes suddenly appeared on the ground. His remaining chakra was drained in an instant, and chains of chakra emerged from the ground, completely binding his hands and feet.

Zabuza looked up at the edge of the area covered with runes. Every few meters along the edge of the area, there was a short metal rod stuck in the ground. Zabuza then understood what the purpose of those things that the Hyuga brat had thrown out earlier was.

"This thing works pretty well." Sasuke was the first to arrive at Zabuza's side, who was now completely bound, and examined the trap that Neji's subordinates had created, which could be linked together to form a sealing technique that briefly sealed chakra.

"This is a new ninja tool that Tenten and Karin developed, and it's still being tested. Tenten specifically asked me to take it with me before I left," Neji said.

"Let's tie him up first." Sasuke nodded and took out a bundle of specially made rope from his sealing scroll, intending to tie Zabuza up.

However, Zabuza suddenly sprang into action, wielding a kunai and lunging at Sasuke.

"Die! You Uchiha genius brat!" A resolute glint flashed in Zabuza's eyes. In the current situation, there was no way to escape, but if he could exchange his life for that Uchiha genius brat who was very likely Uchiha Tokō's personal disciple, he would die without regrets.

However, Zabuza suddenly saw that the three tomoe in Sasuke's Sharingan were slowly turning.

The next moment, Zabuza collapsed to the ground, powerless.

"Hey, Sasuke, this guy seems to really think of you as his teacher." Naruto, who arrived late, laughed when he saw the situation. "He actually dares to look directly into your Sharingan."

Neji's lips twitched slightly after hearing Naruto's words, and he warned, "Don't say things like that carelessly. If the teacher hears you, he'll probably beat you up again."

After binding Zabuza tightly, Sasuke placed two sealing techniques on him, completely sealing off any possibility of resistance.

"Sasuke, what should we do with the people over here?" Neji asked, turning to look at the surrounding village after Zabuza had completely lost his ability to resist. Tazuna and his grandson had disappeared in the chaos the moment the battle began, and many of the houses in the area had been damaged in the fight.

“We don’t need to worry about that. With the threat of ninjas gone, Uncle Gato will handle things.” Sasuke said.

……

A week later, news of Zabuza's imprisonment in Konoha reached Kitagiri Village. At the same time, news also came that Uchiha Touko wanted to save his life in exchange for the Byakugan in their possession.

Upon receiving the news, Mei Terumi was immediately in a panic. Konoha's move had completely struck at the Achilles' heel of Kitagiri Village.

Trading a Byakugan, which they had painstakingly acquired, for the life of an elite Jonin is a losing proposition from every angle. Although Zabuza is one of the strongest in Northern Kirigakure, the Byakugan is a bloodline limit capable of changing the course of a war. No leader of any ninja village would agree to such an exchange.

But the situation in Kitagiri Village is different. The current Kitagiri Village is barely maintaining its cohesion under the financial offensive of Nanigiri Village by relying on Mei Terumi's constant promises. If Zabuza dies in Konoha while he is still alive, because the higher-ups are unwilling to part with a Byakugan, it will be a huge blow to the morale of Kitagiri Village.

The ninjas of Northern Mist Village endure daily hardships of hunger and cold on marches, all for the bright future you, Mei Terumi, spoke of. Yet now, for the sake of a Byakugan, you refuse to even save your comrades. If Zabuza were to truly die, his subordinates in Northern Mist Village would definitely mutini.

"Lord Mizukage, Zabuza's subordinates have gathered around the Mizukage Building. What should we do now?" Kisame Hoshigaki asked with a sigh after arriving at Mei Terumi's office.

"Do we have any other choice?" Mei Terumi said with a wry smile. "Let's have Ao come over."

Mei Terumi's office fell into a long silence. After a while, she finally spoke and asked, "Do you know who killed Zabuza?"

"According to the information brought back by those who escaped from the Land of Waves, Zabuza was defeated by three Konoha genin," Kisame Hoshigaki said.

"A genin?" Mei Terumi's face showed disbelief upon hearing this. "Are you kidding me?"

“One of them is a brat from the Uchiha clan, and his fighting style is very similar to that of Uchiha Touko. This team is suspected to be Uchiha Touko’s personal disciples,” Kisame said.

"So, this is another genius from Konoha?" Mei Terumi gritted her teeth and said, "Konoha really seems to have an endless stream of geniuses, while our Kirigakure only produces..."

[Insect] When Kisame Hoshigaki heard Mei Terumi's words, he silently completed the two words that she hadn't said aloud.

Although I hate to admit it, Mei is right. If Konoha is the cradle of geniuses, then Kirigakure can be described as a breeding ground for insects.

Chapter 190 Female Star's Reclaim of the Kingdom? Sasuke's Exam

On their way back to Konoha, Naruto and his two companions escorting the prisoners happened to run into Shikamaru and his two companions who were helping Genji catch crickets all over the mountains.

"Sasuke? Naruto?" Ino rushed over as soon as she saw the three of them. She had really had enough these past few days. They had been searching in the forests around Konoha for almost a whole week to find a cricket that met the Daimyo's requirements. And that wasn't all. While they were feeding mosquitoes in the forest, their instructor was engrossed in reading bad books every day.

"Oh, it's Ino. Where are Shikamaru and Choji?" Naruto's face lit up with a bright smile as soon as he saw Ino.

"Look, over there," Ino said, pointing to two figures, one fat and one thin, that were faintly visible in the bushes.

“I heard you passed the Hokage’s test, so you don’t have to complete the D-rank mission,” Ino said. “I’m so envious. You can all leave the village to do missions, but we still have to help a kid catch crickets, not to mention our teacher is a middle-aged pervert who only knows how to read bad books.”

"Ahem, next time you cricket at me, could you perhaps turn your back a little?" As the group was talking, a figure suddenly jumped down from the tree branch above. The newcomer, with a deadpan expression, said, "Also, as ninjas of Konoha, I think we should show a little more respect to our Daimyo."

"Brother Kakashi!" Naruto greeted Kakashi warmly upon seeing him, then pushed Zabuza, whom he had been watching over the entire way back, forward with a boastful expression. "Look, we've captured an elite Jonin from the Hidden Mist Village rebels!"

"Really?" Kakashi looked closely and saw that it was an old acquaintance who dared to ambush him on the battlefield in the Land of Water. He immediately laughed, "So it was him."

Then, Kakashi turned to look at the Executioner's Blade that Naruto was carrying on his back. "Naruto, if you want to keep this sword as your trophy, you'd better ask your teacher or Karin to inscribe a sealing jutsu on it later. Otherwise, Kirigakure has ways to summon this sword."

Originally, this sword had become Kakashi's trophy during the battle in the Land of Water. However, less than three days after that battle, the sword, which he had stored in the Kamui dimension, was retrieved by Kirigakure using a special summoning jutsu.

It was at this moment that Kakashi learned that each of the seven swords of Kirigakure had its own summoning contract. This was why the seven swords of Kirigakure had been passed down for so many years, and why, even though some swordsmen had died while carrying their swords, the lineage of the seven swords of Kirigakure had never been broken.

“However, if we do that, the sword’s special abilities will likely be greatly affected by the sealing technique,” ​​Kakashi cautioned.

"Is it really that troublesome?" Naruto looked down at the Executioner's Blade with a regretful expression. Ever since Sasuke received the Purple Lightning Blade as a graduation gift, Naruto, wanting his best friend to have it too, had started thinking about getting a ninja sword to show off. After capturing Zabuza, the imposing Executioner's Blade naturally caught his eye. However, after hearing Kakashi's words, Naruto immediately lost interest.

“Or you could ask a craftsman to melt it down and reforge it into a new sword,” Kakashi said.

When Kakashi first obtained the Executioner's Blade, he considered melting it down and using the special metal to reforge White Fang. However, due to a momentary oversight, the blade was taken back by Kirigakure, and the idea was abandoned.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore!" Naruto quickly put the troublesome matter out of his mind and turned to Ino, saying, "Ino, let's go to Ichiraku Ramen when we're done. To celebrate my first successful mission, I'll treat everyone to ramen!"

"If you want ramen, just say so. Don't make up these excuses." At this moment, Shikamaru also came to Naruto's side and said lazily.

"Hehe, you caught me." Naruto scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "By the way, where are Kiba and the others?"

"Their class's mission is to help the Minister of Construction's wife find her lost pet dog. They're searching all over Konoha," Shikamaru said.

“Alright, let’s go back and turn in the mission first,” Naruto nodded. “If you see them later, remember to tell them that I’ll treat them to ramen tonight. See you later.”

"See you later." Shikamaru waved goodbye to Naruto and the others before getting back to his work of helping Genji find crickets in the bushes.

……

After Sasuke and his two companions escorted Zabuza back to Konoha, Touko Uchiha and Mei Terumi's negotiations officially began. After some back-and-forth, the two finally finalized the details of the exchange, in which Kitagiri would exchange a Byakugan for Zabuza.

When Ao's Byakugan was returned to the Hyuga clan's shrine, more than a month had passed. During that month, Sasuke and his two companions had completed two more C-rank bandit-suppression missions outside the village.

Until Uchiha Touko encountered an interesting mission in the mission request.

[Escort movie star Fujikaze Yukie to the Land of Snow to complete filming. Client: Asama Santayu]

Upon seeing the mission, Uchiha Touko casually tossed the report onto the table and then called out loudly, "Inahikasa, have Sasuke come to me."

"Yes!" Uchiha Inahi, who was outside the door, accepted the order and left.

Before long, Sasuke arrived at the Hokage's office.

Upon arriving at the Hokage's office, Sasuke saw that Uchiha Touko was still looking at documents, so he didn't disturb him directly. Instead, he went to the cabinet where Uchiha Touko kept tea, opened it, and then asked, "Sensei, what would you like to drink today?"

"It's Snowdrop Tea. The tea is in the fourth box from the left on the second shelf," Uchiha Tobi said without looking up.

"Yes." Sasuke nodded, took the tea leaves from the cabinet, and went to the tea table where Uchiha Touko usually brewed tea. He lit the charcoal fire and started boiling water.

Before long, the aroma of tea filled the office, and Uchiha Touko rose and came to the tea table with a document in his hand.

Sasuke respectfully presented a cup of hot tea to Uchiha Touko.

Uchiha Touko picked up the teacup, took a sip, and nodded: "Not bad, your skills have improved a lot since then."

"Compared to you, teacher, I'm still far behind," Sasuke said, bowing his head.

"I wonder what brings you here, Master?" Sasuke asked.