Second Chance | COTE x Naruto

Chapter 7

In a fight, the most important thing was not strength or speed. The most important thing was to never let your guard down.

A ninja, despite their miraculous power, was still a human. If their heart was stabbed, they died. If their neck was sliced, they died. If their head was crushed, they died. If their body was cut in half, they died. If they were poisoned, they died. Even a genin could kill a kage should the kage let down his guard.

And, therefore, to never let down your guard was the most important thing in a fight.

Zabuza, despite his status as a veteran elite jounin, was shocked when his soulmate---his beloved sword---disappeared in a poof of smoke. And so, it's inevitable that his guard was down.

Naruto wasn't someone to let the chance slide. The kanji in both of his eyes shifted from 五 to 一. Zabuza felt the threat, but he was a little too late to move. Ethereal golden chains manifested on his body, binding him in his place.

"This...how?" Zabuza couldn't believe it -- his chakra was sucked and suppressed at the same time.

"Kakashi-sensei, can I assume that he is the Zabuza you mentioned previously?"

Kakashi was stunned. Even though it was for a different reason, he was also in disbelief. What happened shocked him. Was it this easy to subdue Demon of the Mist? Wasn't he one of the infamous seven swordmen of Kiri?

However, Kakashi couldn't help but imagine himself in Zabuza's situation. If his Icha Icha Paradise book suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, he would be too shocked to put up his guard. Naruto...he's scary.

Meanwhile, Sasuke clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. Naruto was too strong. The gap between them was increasing. Even with sharingan, he wasn't a match for Naruto without his doujutsu. And when he used his doujutsu, it felt like he was staring at another Itachi.

On the other hand, hiding almost a hundred meters away, Haku's body trembled. This...this was not according to the plan. What kind of power was that? How could one avoid an attack that aimed directly at the body out of nowhere?

You had to become a sensor to be able to do that. You had to feel the chakra to avoid such attack. Experience and instinct alone weren't enough. And even if you're a sensor, you had to be faster than the jutsu itself.

This world was too crazy. Haku, or the soul that had taken over Haku's body, felt fear.

Back in ANHS, he was trying his best to graduate from Class A. He went as far as betraying Sakayanagi just to secure his future. Yet, that future had gone. Somehow, in the middle of the special exam, he died.

And miraculously, he woke up inside the body of Yuki Haku. Hashimoto was freaking out at that time. He was lucky that Haku's memory surged into his brain when he needed it the most, otherwise he might have been killed by Zabuza.

"I guess now is my chance to run away," muttered Hashimoto. Since no one except Zabuza knew Haku's name, there's no one to judge him. And so, rather than using Haku's name, he would live as Hashimoto.

Although Zabuza's plan ended up in failure, this was an opportunity for him.

There's no way that Hashimoto would live forever as Zabuza's tool. Fucking no.

Kirigakure had been taken over by the new mizukage since a few months ago. Hashimoto would take his chance to return to Kiri. The new mizukage was rumored to be kind, perhaps he would be able to secure a new future for himself.

Perhaps this was a miracle given to him. Hashimoto wasn't send here to be punished. He was sent to be a protagonist. This was like an isekai-anime. He's sent here to save the world. Although he wasn't interested in saving the world, but the point remained.