Wok Shadow Ninja

Chapter 77: Arrival in the Land of Waves

The incredible speed displayed by Raiga Kurosuki during the battle left a deep impression on Ino. His movements were so fast that she could only resort to large-scale Water Release techniques to counter him. Many times, she could anticipate his attacks, but her body simply couldn't keep up.

At her current level of strength, it was unlikely that the Chunin Exams would pit her against Sakura again. Instead, she was more likely to face off against taijutsu specialists like Neji or Lee. Taking all this into consideration, she decided to allocate one of her skill points directly to "Speed."

Ino's stats now looked like this: Ninjutsu 9, Taijutsu 3, Genjutsu 4, Intelligence 6, Strength 2, Speed 6, Stamina 8, and Hand Seals 6, totaling 44 points.

After receiving confirmation of their mission's completion, Ino and her team took the heavily injured Raiga Kurosuki and Ranmaru along a small path, heading to the Land of Waves to rendezvous with Kakashi's Team 7.

Originally, Danzo had suggested that they return to the Leaf Village first, but the other two advisors vetoed the idea. Since they had decided to foster good relations with the Hidden Mist Village, it was best not to complicate matters. They were also wary of Danzo secretly stirring up trouble, so the Third Hokage directly ordered Team 10 to skip returning to the village and head straight to the Land of Waves.

Ino's recently learned "Donkey Cart Drift" technique finally came in handy. They hired a donkey cart in the Land of Rivers, with Ino, who possessed sensory abilities, taking the reins. Asuma stayed inside the cart to guard the severely injured Raiga and Ranmaru, while Choji brought up the rear. Shikamaru sat on the roof of the cart, keeping an eye out for any suspicious individuals following them.

Raiga, aware that he had become a bargaining chip for the Leaf to improve relations with the Mist, let out a cold laugh but otherwise remained silent.

It had to be said that the physical resilience of psychopaths was generally impressive. Despite losing an arm, Raiga's face was merely pale, and he showed no signs of kicking the bucket anytime soon.

As for Ranmaru, he had no objections to returning to the Mist Village. According to him, as long as he could die alongside Raiga, the location didn't matter.

Their indifferent attitude made Team 10 seem like the villains in this situation.

The journey was arduous, with the road conditions being far from ideal many places didn't even have proper roads. Ino drove the cart for two days, followed by Choji for a day, then Shikamaru for a day, and finally Ino again for another two days. If they had traveled as ninjas, the trip from the Leaf Village to the Land of Rivers would have taken only two days. However, with the heavily injured Raiga and the physically weak Ranmaru in tow, it took them a full six days to reach the Land of Waves and locate Team 7.

The situation in the Land of Waves was much more stable compared to the original timeline.

In a straight-up fight, Kakashi's strength surpassed Zabuza's. If Zabuza used the Hidden Mist Technique, Kakashi would do the same. If Zabuza used the Water Prison Technique, Kakashi knew that one too!

Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu? What a coincidence Kakashi had just "borrowed" a simplified version of the Water Dragon Jutsu from a certain girl named Ino using his Sharingan! Who would bother with 44 hand seals when you could get the job done with just 12?

Zabuza and Haku were operating from the shadows, while Team 7 was in the open. Although Zabuza had the advantage of ambush, Kakashi immediately countered with the Hidden Mist Technique and then used his Sharingan to locate Zabuza within the mist. Zabuza was completely caught off guard, and the battle quickly turned into a repeat of Team 10's fight against Raiga Kakashi led the charge, with Naruto and Sasuke providing support. Within a few rounds, the three of them had beaten Zabuza to the point where even his own mother might not recognize him.

At the critical moment, Haku feigned injury and played dead. Sakura, being kind-hearted, left a gap in their encirclement. Haku removed his mask, stunning Naruto and Sasuke momentarily with his striking beauty, and then used his Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to swiftly escape with the heavily injured Zabuza.

Kakashi's Sharingan had been overused, leaving him physically exhausted. He stopped Naruto and Sasuke from pursuing any further.

Team 10's mission was clear: eliminate the rogue Kurosuki clan that had taken over the mines. Team 7's task was simply to escort and assist in building a bridge, which had no direct connection to Zabuza.

According to Kakashi's thinking, completing the mission at hand was enough. Whether Zabuza lived or died was none of his concern.

However, he couldn't ignore the subsequent orders from the village.

Kakashi was in a dilemma. If he went off to search for Zabuza alone, he risked leaving Naruto and the others vulnerable to an ambush. If he split the team up to search, it would be even more dangerous. Using ninja dogs to track Zabuza was also futile, as the Land of Waves was surrounded by ocean, and Zabuza could easily hide underwater, rendering the dogs' keen noses useless.

All he could do was wait for reinforcements.

Homura Mitokado was the first to arrive. The advisor didn't stay long in the Land of Waves. After issuing the order to capture Zabuza and Haku alive, he immediately headed to a small country affiliated with the Land of Water, the Land of Sea.

He had arranged to meet with ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village there.

It was necessary to personally gauge their attitude. If the Hidden Mist Village decided to turn hostile, Homura's combat experience and the two Jounin bodyguards accompanying him would allow him to adapt to the situation. However, bringing a group of children along would only complicate matters.

Without hesitation, the old man set off to scout the situation.

Homura had visited the Hidden Mist Village in his youth and had dealings with the elder. He believed he understood her personality well enough to complete the mission successfully.

When Team 10 arrived in the Land of Waves with their donkey cart, Team 7 was in the middle of training.

Naruto and Sasuke had already mastered tree-climbing and were now practicing water-walking. Sakura had completed both exercises long ago and was learning the Water Prison Technique under Kakashi's guidance.

As Team 10 arrived, Asuma exchanged a few quiet words with Kakashi.

Asuma nodded to Ino.

"Ino, I'm counting on you."

"Got it. Sensing!" Ino closed her eyes, forming the "Ram" seal with her hands, and began scanning for chakra signatures within an eight-kilometer radius.

After five minutes, she opened her eyes and slowly shook her head.

"They're not within my detection range. We'll have to search by sea."

The Land of Waves was a tiny island nation surrounded by ocean. Zabuza could easily hide on any small island, making him difficult to find.

The situation was urgent, but not to the point of being a life-or-death emergency. Team 10 had traveled a long distance and were exhausted, so Kakashi took over the task of guarding Raiga, allowing them to rest for a day and explore the local market to unwind.

Shikamaru went back to his room to sleep, Choji went off to eat, and Ino, with nothing else to do, decided to go shopping alone.

The market was filled with locals selling handmade straw hats, homegrown vegetables, and freshly caught seafood.

She bought a straw hat and a large pack of seaweed from a shop that claimed to be a "century-old establishment." The seaweed was for Choji. From a nearby fish vendor, she picked out two mackerel and two saury the former was Shikamaru's favorite, while the latter was Kakashi's. Maintaining friendships required attention to the little details of daily life. As for Kakashi, she simply wanted to ask him for advice on the Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall technique, as he had considerable expertise in that area.

Later, she spotted a shop selling cinnamon rolls and happily bought a large pack, planning to share them with Hinata later.

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