Rise of The Phoenix Sage

CHAPTER 38: Baba Yaga - Part 4

(That Night... Some Unknown Location...)

"YOU FAILED...! YOU FAILED ...!? WHAT IS THIS...? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY I AM GIVING YOU...? I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HOTSHOT ASSASSINS..." shouted a midget man at the top of his lungs pointing accusingly at someone who was sitting before him. The midget man was dressed in a black suit and was wearing dark sunglasses. He had a subordinate standing behind him who was tall and bald and he was also dressed in a black suit with dark sunglasses.

"Stop whining..." The person sitting in a sofa in front of the midget man said in a dangerous tone and took a pause to point his huge sword at the neck of the midget man in a threatening gesture and continued, "This time, I will go personally... And this sword will be the last thing he ever sees..." The person sitting in the sofa was a tall and noticeably muscular man with short spiky black hair and dark brown eyes. He had very small eyebrows which are almost invisible making him look like he doesn't have eye brows at all. He had bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face. He was wearing his forehead protector sideways on his head. He was shirtless, and his chest was only covered by a belt which he uses to attach his huge sword. He was wearing baggy pants with striped pattern and he had mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers.

"(ahem)..." The midget man coughed nervously and then said, "You sure about that...? Apparently Tazuna has a high level ninja guarding him... And since your first attempt failed, they will be expecting it back... They'll be waiting, watching... It'll take someone with very advanced skills." His tone was mild compared to his earlier shouts.

"Who do you think you're dealing with...?" The person with the huge sword which was still pointed at the midget man said and gave a pause to let the reality sink in and then continued again, "I... am Zabuza Momochi... The Demon of The Hidden Mist..."

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(Next Day... Morning Time... The Land of Waves...)

"Alright Tazuna... As I said before... We'll carry on with the mission, but I'll decide the actual rank of this mission once the mission is over. When your village is back on track and becomes economically stable, you must pay The Hidden Leaf Village the amount required for the mission rank that I'll decide at the end of the mission depending on the risks and hardships we'll face during the mission time period... Deal..?" Kakashi reminded the bridge builder again to confirm their deal.

"Yes, Deal..." The old man agreed with a nervous smile.

The group was walking in the same diamond formation as before when they left the gates of The Leaf Village. After a few minutes of walking silently, Naruto narrowed his eyes a little and Kakashi also noticed something, but it was Hinata who was guarding the left flank that took the action by throwing a kunai in the left direction when she noticed a slight disturbance in that direction.

"Hinata... Why did you do that...?" Sasuke asked annoyed at the Hyuga.

Hinata ignored the Uchiha's comment and activated her Byakugan to look for any dangers in the direction she threw the kunai. Once she was sure that there are no dangers in the range of her Byakugan, she approached the bushes into which she threw her kunai and found a pure white rabbit which was terrified. She immediately grabbed the rabbit gently and started checking for any injuries the rabbit might have suffered. She released it once she was sure that the rabbit didn't have any injuries and was only terrified.

That's a snow rabbit... But the color... They only have white fur during winter when the days are short and there is little sunlight... thought Kakashi after having a good look at the rabbit and then he took a small pause to observe his surroundings and then thought again, This rabbit was raised indoors away from the light which can only be for one purpose... A Replacement Technique...

So, they're already here...? Kakashi finally thought as soon he drew the conclusion.

Hmm... No wonder The Demon Brothers failed in their mission... It's the Copy Ninja from The Village Hidden in The Leaves, Kakashi of The Sharingan...! thought Zabuza who was hiding on a tall tree branch which was located a few meters away from the Leaf ninjas and he was making sure to be in a certain spot that falls under the blind spot range of the Hyuga girl's Byakugan as per the intel provided by his old comrade Ao from the Mist Village back in the day. He grabbed his Huge sword and hurled it towards the group with great force.

"LOOK OUT...!" Shouted Kakashi alerting the group about the oncoming danger.

Kakashi and Sasuke dived to the ground immediately whereas Hinata grabbed Tazuna and then dived to the ground forcing him to do the same to save the old man from the danger. The huge sword flew past them and was heading towards Naruto who had his back to the team because he was taking the frontal position along with Eevee. The team didn't even get a chance to shout at the boy to get away from the danger before the blond boy simply turned his upper section of the body backwards a little and caught the oncoming sword with his extended right hand halting its advance to an absolute standstill.

Zabuza got a little wide eyed and thought, Hmmm...!? Interesting... That brat spoiled my entrance... The Demon of The Hidden Mist had an elaborate plan in his mind to make an epic entrance to scare the Leaf Ninjas.

Naruto... What are you...? Kakashi thought with genuine curiosity as he still couldn't figure out his unpredictable student whereas Eevee, Hinata, Sasuke and for some strange reason Tazuna were unfazed by the display of strength and speed.

Since his epic super villain entrance was spoiled, Zabuza had to land in front of the Leaf Ninjas like a regular shinobi. Naruto turned fully to face their new attacker still holding the huge sword like toothpick in his extended right hand palm.

"Well... Well... if it isn't Zabuza Momochi... Rogue Ninja from The Village Hidden in The Mist..." Kakashi thought out loud recognizing the person standing before them.