Chapter 15: This Killer Move... is a Wedding Room?
On the bridge.
Just moments ago, Zabuza had returned to the battlefield with a terrifying killing intent and clashed with Kakashi Hatake once again. On the other side, however, the situation was even more peculiar.
Dozens of massive ice mirrors rose from the ground, forming a semi-circular cage that tightly trapped Sasuke and the newly arrived Narutoinside.
"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals."
Haku's figure vanished into one of the ice mirrors, and then, every single mirror reflected his masked image.
This was a certain-death situation. Cold sweat broke out on Sasuke's forehead, and his Sharinganspun rapidly as he tried to find a way out.
But beside him, Naruto's reaction was completely off. Not only was he not afraid, but he actually had a look of intense heartbreak on his face.
Naruto sized up the smooth ice walls around them with an expression like someone touring a luxury model home.
[What a waste! This is simply an enormous waste!]
Naruto's inner self was roaring, his voice echoing directly in Haku's mind through an invisible heavenly curtain.
[Look at this luster, look at this transparency! How is this a killing Ninjutsu? This is clearly a Kinky Ice House prepared for couples!]
[If only the reflections in these mirrors weren't this masked guy, but Haku without the mask, wearing a kimono... or even wearing translucent pajamas...]
[Then being trapped here with her reflections on all sides would be absolute heaven!]
[But! Why! Why did I have to find out he's a guy! Why did such a perfect wedding room end up with two grown men fighting in it? God, you're playing with me!]
Hidden within the ice mirrors, the senbon Haku had just condensed were trembling violently along with his hand.
Wed... wedding room?
Kinky... ice house?
Despite wearing a mask, Haku felt his face beginning to burn, so hot it felt like it might melt the ice in front of him. As Zabuza's tool, he had never imagined that the Bloodline Limit secret technique he was so proud of would be seen as having such a purpose in this Blonde Youth's mind!
And besides, what on earth are translucent pajamas!
Shame mixed with an indescribable sense of absurdity, throwing Haku's breathing into disarray.
"I must... I must finish them quickly!"
Haku forced himself to steady his mind, trying to regain the coldness of an assassin.
"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
Countless sharp senbon shot out from all directions like a torrential rain, glinting coldly as they pierced toward the two people in the center.
"Naruto! Watch out!" Sasuke shouted, his body instinctively moving to dodge.
But what about Naruto?
He actually stood rooted to the spot! He covered his face with his hands, looking like he was ready to embrace his fate.
[Come! Shoot me to death!]
[Dying at the hands of such a beautiful youth is better than growing old alone. It's just a pity... my artistic soul was ultimately given to the wrong gender.]
[Even if it's just a needle, if it can make me feel the sting of love... Huh?]
Just as Naruto closed his eyes to wait for death and Sasuke was wide-eyed and prepared to save him—
Thud thud thud thud!
The sound of dense impacts rang out.
But the imagined scene of flesh and blood flying did not occur.
Those senbon that were supposed to aim for vital points seemed to suddenly lose their accuracy at the last moment. They all performed a perfect 'body outline,' precisely stabbing into the ground around Naruto's feet without even touching a loose thread on his pants.
The only damage was a single senbon that had strayed so far it grazed Sasuke's arm, leaving a shallow bloody scratch.
The air was terrifyingly quiet.
Sasuke: "...?"
He glanced at the ground at his feet, which had been turned into a pincushion, then at the completely unscathed Naruto who was still standing there with his eyes closed in rapture, and began to doubt his own vision.
Does this guy have an invisible barrier on him?
At this moment, Naruto peeked with one eye. Seeing the array of needles at his feet, the corners of his mouth curled up wildly.
[Haha! I knew it! I knew it!]
[Sure enough, it doesn't matter what the setting book says, the body is very honest! To miss everything at such close range, if this isn't because you can't bear to lose me, then what is it?]
[Haku, oh Haku, your heart is in turmoil. Since you can't bear to kill your husb—cough, kill me, then I'll play this wedding room game with you properly.]
Upon hearing the words "kill husband," Haku's foot slipped inside the mirror, and he nearly tumbled right out of the ice mirror.
With this slip, the entire Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals formation shook, looking like it might collapse.
Sasuke keenly caught this fleeting opening.
"Now! Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball swallowed one of the ice mirrors, but Haku's figure had already transferred to another. He was in a terrible state; as soon as he looked at that Blonde Youth, images of wedding rooms and pajamas would pop into his head, making even the senbon in his hands feel like they were burning.
How was he supposed to fight like this?!
[Ding!]
Just as Haku's mental state was about to collapse, the golden heavenly curtain ruthlessly refreshed once more.
[Detected that host 'Haku' is experiencing a cognitive dissonance between slaughter and flirting.]
[The protagonist has treated your killing array as an ambiguous world for two and has unilaterally defined this space with his shameless inner thoughts.]
[Emotional Judgment: Forced transition from extreme icy killing intent to extreme shameful heat. The intertwining of ice and fire, just as a mirror doesn't just reflect images, but can also refract the heart.]
[Reward Issued: Ice Release: Reflecting Mirror(Can reflect Ninjutsu)]
[Description: Since he's thinking so beautifully inside, then take all of this... along with the enemy's attacks, and bounce them all back!]
Haku froze for a moment, feeling a sudden surge of repulsive force within the ice mirrors.
At that moment, Sasuke's Great Fireball struck again.
Haku instinctively channeled the new power. The surface of the ice mirror, which should have been melted by the flames, suddenly rippled with a watery light, like a swaying lake surface.
Whoosh—!
The moment the massive fireball touched the ice mirror, it was actually bounced back like a ping-pong ball, heading straight for Sasuke and Naruto!
"What?!" Sasuke's expression changed.
But as Naruto watched the reflected fireball returning, not only did he not panic, but his eyes grew even brighter.
[Incredible! You even know this move?]
[Is this the legendary Flirting Mirror? Returning the love (attack) you gave me twofold? Nice, very spirited!]
Naruto stepped forward and grabbed Sasuke, who was trying to dodge.
"Don't move! Sasuke, this is our time of testing!"
"Are you insane! We'll be burned to death!" Sasukestruggled desperately, only to find to his surprise that Naruto's strength was terrifyingly high.
Boom!
The flames engulfed the two of them. But there was no imagined sensation of burning.
Because the moment the flames drew near, a powerful current of air erupted from around Naruto's body, forcibly blowing the flames away like a gale.
That was a sliver of the rhythm of wind he had just grasped in the forests of the Land of Waves, combined with the savage collision of the massive Chakra from his Uzumaki constitution.
As the smoke cleared, although the two were covered in soot, they were actually completely uninjured.
Sasuke stared blankly at Naruto standing in front of him. Although this back view was infuriating, for some reason... it was unexpectedly reliable.
[Hehe, as expected, you didn't let me down. This move of Haku's was also to test my strength, right?]
[With such good cooperation, it would be wrong not to get some rewards.]
[Ding!]
[Hidden Plot Achieved: The host displayed a mysterious confidence in the kinky wedding room when faced with a lethal attack and successfully used that confidence (thick skin) to protect a teammate.]
[Sasuke's opinion of you has wavered slightly: "This guy might actually be very strong," as well as confusion: "Is there really nothing wrong with this guy's head?."]
[Karma Reversal: You endured Haku's shame attack, nourishing yourself in return.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet (C-rank, instant cast)]
Naruto gently blew the dust off his bangs, looked up at Haku—who was currently in a state of mental shutdown—and gave a smile brighter than the sun.
"Um... I think it's getting a bit hot in here. Could you... turn the AC (ice) up a bit? I want to see you frozen."
Crack.
Haku heard the sound of his rationality snapping.
"Go to hell! You pervert!" Instantly, countless senbon shot toward them once again.