Chapter 136: White Fang Foundation [Continued] (Patreon)

Chapter List: Naruto: Sakura Blizzard

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"These three brats indeed have remarkable courage!" Zabuza praised. It was rare for these Genin to remain unfazed in the face of his presence. It was quite impressive.

"Thank you for your praise..." Sakura smiled. As the last word fell, she swiftly dashed forward, and Starry Night swept upward. However, Zabuza evaded it with a quick dodge.

"Although your courage is commendable, you will still die today..." Zabuza sneered. His Kubikiribocho clashed with Sasuke's White Fang short knife. "Alternatively, you can choose to defect from the village, become rogue ninjas, and work under me. I won't kill you then!"

"Don't be so full of yourself!" Naruto charged forward, executing a Konoha Whirlwind Kick. Zabuza forcefully redirected the Kubikiribocho, and its blade grazed Naruto's chest.

"Bang..." The injured Naruto turned into a puff of smoke, disappearing. It was just one of his shadow clones used for testing. After years of training with Kakashi and the others, Naruto wouldn't recklessly charge forward like in the original story. Testing with shadow clones was the logical approach.

In the ninja world, battles always started with various clone techniques to gauge the opponent's combat ability, followed by the use of kunai, shuriken, or fists to resolve the conflict. Occasionally, Tailed Beast chakra and techniques like Tailed Beast Rasengan, Indra's Arrow, Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken, Perfect Tailed Beast Transformation, Susanoo, Six Paths Sage Mode, or even the Buddha statue were involved. Overall, it was a typical battle strategy.

"Shadow clones? It's a common tactic!" Zabuza chuckled lightly. In battles, he had encountered this kind of probing behavior numerous times, so he didn't feel surprised or astonished.

"Whether it's common or not, it works!" Sakura formed a few simple hand seals with her left hand, causing a layer of water-based chakra to envelop Starry Night's blade.

"Be careful..." Zabuza was reminded, but he didn't hold back in his attack. His blade came down mercilessly. Zabuza felt a sense of danger and quickly retreated. The blade of Starry Night grazed his clothes, tearing off a piece of his hem.

"Is this... a change in chakra nature?" Zabuza's pupils contracted. Sakura's use of chakra surprised him. When did a Genin learn to change the nature of chakra?

"Yes, it's a change in chakra nature to the water element. I condensed water-based chakra on the blade and made it rotate rapidly. The high-speed rotation greatly enhances its cutting power. Moreover, due to the rapid rotation of chakra, when the blade touches something, it creates a tearing effect similar to a whirlwind. Although I think this move would work better with a staff, using a sword is still effective. Ultimately, it depends on the chakra!" Sakura explained briefly. While water-based chakra wasn't ideal for nature transformation with weapons, she had no other choice. She hadn't yet developed her own wind-based chakra, so she had to make do for now.

"You have such talent at such a young age! Impressive!" Zabuza was amazed by Sakura's strength and talent. She had only recently graduated and could already perform nature transformation with chakra. That was no small feat.

"You flatter me..." Sakura modestly smiled. Achieving this level was thanks to the Power Stone. The perfect control of energy was simply terrifying.

"Don't you want to consider my previous proposal?" Zabuza spoke again. "With your talents, you won't experience much growth in a peaceful place like Konoha. Only by joining me can you grow faster and not waste your potential."

"It's a pity, but we have no intention of becoming rogue ninjas!" Sakura shrugged. She had no desire to live a chaotic and unstable life. Why would they defect and become rogue ninjas? Besides, Konoha hadn't done anything to wrong her. Only when she had nothing to do would she consider defecting and following Zabuza.

"Are you worried that Kakashi Hatake will interfere?" While dealing with Sakura and the others' attacks, Zabuza found time to speak. "As long as you're willing to defect with me, we can work together to keep him here. We can disguise the scene, and nobody will know that you were once Konoha ninjas."

"Although Kakashi-sensei is lazy and always reads certain questionable novels in front of his students, and Tenten is often late..." Sakura's words caused Kakashi to have a massive sweatdrop. Fortunately, Sakura's words took a turn at this moment. She continued, "But I think Kakashi-sensei is pretty good. He hasn't done anything to wrong us. We consider him as family. So, I suggest you drop your proposal as soon as possible!"

To be honest, Kakashi had been diligent and responsible to Sakura and the others. He knew so many secrets, yet he never revealed them to the Third Hokage. He chose to stand with Sakura and helped her keep the secrets. Sakura naturally regarded him as family, which was why she even brought him into her inner world.

"That's a shame..." Upon hearing Sakura's words, Zabuza knew it was impossible to recruit them. A strong killing intent flickered on his face. "Since you won't become comrades, I'll have to keep you all here!"

"Thinking of killing us? It won't be that easy..."

As Sakura's attacks intensified, Naruto and Sasuke also increased their speed. Sasuke's Three Tomoe Sharingan predicted Zabuza's movements, and the lightning flashed on his White Fang short knife. He launched a series of rapid attacks that kept Zabuza busy. Naruto wasn't skilled in swordsmanship, but he excelled in taijutsu. Coupled with his danger perception ability, most of his movements relied on instinct, making it difficult for Zabuza to anticipate his next move.

Kakashi stood by Tazuna's side, watching the three battling Zabuza. His eyes were filled with satisfaction. It was already impressive for these Genin to reach this level. Although they could quickly defeat Zabuza with full power, doing so would mean missing out on the experience of fighting an enemy. Ninjas who hadn't experienced life-or-death battles could never become stronger. Sakura's decision to forego overpowering the enemy and focus on honing their combat experience made Kakashi happy.

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Next Chapter >>Chapter 137: White Fang Foundation [Continuation]