Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

In the next two days, Tazuna led more and more workers to join the bridge construction, including former workers who had once left, as well as newcomers. Even children, though too young to help build, came to carry wood.

The town's residents were more spirited than before. They no longer hung their heads in fear but walked tall and proud.

Naruto and the others were naturally happy to see this.

Naruto, in particular, was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

However, the peace didn't last long. On this day, a thick, white mist quickly enveloped the bridge.

While mist was common near the sea, this one was unusually dense, to the point where one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face.

"This mist feels familiar..." Sakura said, unable to suppress her unease.

Hearing this, Kakashi's face suddenly changed, and he said in a deep voice, "Not good, Zabuza must be back. Sasuke, go protect Tazuna-san. Sakura, you come with me to protect the other workers. Naruto, you act according to circumstances, and try to locate Zabuza as quickly as possible."

'The heavy mist made visibility extremely low. Given Zabuza's Silent Killing, who knew how many people might fall.'

"Kakashi, this method is too slow. The three of you should stay and protect Tazuna. I'll gather the rest of the workers."

Naruto said as he quickly performed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and hundreds of clones rushed into the mist, bringing the workers back to Tazuna one after another.

"I've got everyone. You three form a shield formation around them. I'll go after Zabuza."

Naruto instructed Kakashi and the others, before diving back into the thick mist.

Yet, just as he left their sight, Naruto's expression changed from tense to pleased.

He smirked and called out, "Come out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two figures appeared in front of Naruto.

It was none other than Zabuza and Haku.

"Greetings, Naruto-sama!"

"Good. If there are no issues, stick to the plan. I'm heading out first!"

Naruto formed a hand seal before vanishing in a puff of smoke. It turned out that he was just a shadow clone.

As for Naruto's main body, he had used a Transformation Technique to blend in with the workers while he was rescuing them.

He had no intention of participating in this fight himself.

In fact, this was all part of a plan he had carefully orchestrated.

Two days earlier, he had specifically assigned a task to Zabuza and Haku, setting the stage for today's battle.

The first objective is to improve Sasuke's combat ability!

Now that Sasuke has two-tomoe Sharingan, he is much stronger than his counterparts in the original work. So Naruto was eager to see how Sasuke would fare against Haku.

Whoosh!

Just then, a sound of breaking air came from the thick mist.

Several senbon shot toward Sasuke's vital points.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sasuke's reaction was very quick. He pulled out his kunai and knocked down all the flying senbon in an instant.

But after the senbon fell to the ground, they turned into puddles of water.

These senbon were not actually ordinary senbon, but ice senbon formed from condensed water.

"Sasuke, stay on guard. That is a Kekkei Genkai, the Ice Release. It means there's more than just Zabuza here. We're dealing with another powerful Shinobi!"

Kakashi warned in a deep voice.

"If that's the case, Naruto could be in trouble. No, I need to take this guy down quickly before things get worse!"

Sasuke said with a frown. Then, without further hesitation, he launched himself toward the direction from which the senbon had come.

Kakashi tried to stop him, but he was too late.

"Sakura, we have to guard these workers. No matter what happens in this mist, do not leave this spot. Understood?"

Kakashi was somewhat dissatisfied with Sasuke's impulsive behavior of not following the arrangements.

Naruto, who was standing among the group of workers, also frowned.

'With the enemy's numbers unknown, Sasuke's impulsive approach was bound to get him into trouble.'

'Even for the sake of his teammates, such recklessness was unacceptable!'

Fortunately, Naruto had orchestrated this entire encounter, so he wasn't too worried about Sasuke's safety.

But the outcome of Sasuke and Haku's duel was still uncertain… it was anyone's guess who would come out on top.

Haku had mastered Zabuza's Silent Killing repertoire and even developed Ice Release on his own, so his true strength is actually above Zabuza's.

In the original work, it was only Naruto's rampage that ultimately defeated Haku, as Sasuke had already been seriously wounded by that point.

But now, Sasuke was equipped with two-tomoe Sharingan and had undergone additional training with Naruto, making him much stronger than his original counterpart.

Still, Naruto believed that Haku still held the upper hand.

Of course, this was only Naruto's subjective assessment, and everything would depend on their actual performance in combat.

Naruto discreetly put in his special contact lenses to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan, enhancing his visual clarity to a level far superior to Kakashi's three-tomoe Sharingan in just one eye.

To him, the thick mist was no obstacle, and he could clearly observe what was happening within it.

At this moment, Sasuke had already rushed into the thick mist, tracking Haku's location by following the direction from which the senbon had been thrown.

Or rather, Haku was allowing himself to be found. Had Haku truly wanted to stay hidden, Sasuke would never have been able to locate him, no matter how skilled his tracking.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

As soon as they met, Sasuke quickly formed hand seals and unleashed his Ninjutsu.

Haku sidestepped gracefully, evading the attack with ease.

However, the smile on Sasuke's face remained unchanged, and he didn't stop casting his Ninjutsu.

Naruto, watching from a distance, was puzzled for a moment, and then understood.

Sasuke hadn't aimed to hit Haku directly, as his target from beginning was the thick mist.

With such low visibility, Sasuke couldn't fight effectively. But by using his Fire Release Ninjutsu to burn away the water vapor, he created a clear area about ten meters in diameter… a small arena where they could fight freely!

'Not bad, Sasuke. Realizing the need to adapt the battlefield to suit himself, one point for combat awareness!'

Naruto said silently in his mind.

"Got you now, hiding in the mist won't save you."

Sasuke smirked, looking every bit the cool-headed fighter.

In the next instant, he whipped out two shuriken, throwing them rapidly toward Haku.

But Haku was faster, dodging the shuriken with ease.

But the smile on Sasuke's face did not diminish. He gave a quick tug with his hands, and the shuriken suddenly looped back around.

This is the shuriken controlled by steel wires. With the help of the light mist, the steel wires are perfectly hidden.

By the time Haku noticed it, it's too late.

With the steel wires wrapped around him, Haku was momentarily immobilized.

Then, Sasuke immediately formed new hand seals.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Flames shot from Sasuke's mouth, following the steel wires straight toward the bound Haku.

If the attack connected, Haku would suffer severe burns.

Yet, in that critical moment, Haku, with one hand free, quickly formed a one-handed hand seal.

"Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"

Haku's voice was calm as he cast the Ninjutsu, causing an ice wall to materialize in front of him.

The Ice Release, by nature, countered Fire Release.

Because of this, Fire Release of the same level couldn't melt Haku's Ice Release.

The intense yellow flames extinguished upon contact with the ice wall.

Sasuke was stunned and exclaimed in shock, "Impossible! You can use one-handed hand seals?"

'Even in the Uchiha Clan, which is full of geniuses, only that man can do it.'

'Could the opponent before me be a genius of the same caliber as that man?'

With that thought, a renewed fire ignited in Sasuke's eyes.

'No matter what, I have to win this battle!'