Chapter 49: Reserved Leveling and Boss Fight - The White Eyed Princess of Konoha

Chapter 49: Reserved Leveling and Boss Fight A thick and heavy fog hung over the sea, blanketing everything in white, as if the world itself was shrouded. Hinata sat sullenly at the bow of the boat. Team 7 had decided, by a vote of three to one, to continue with the mission, making Hinata wonder if something was wrong with Kakashi's head. Had he been infected by Naruto? The small boat moved slowly forward, and through the mist, a towering bridge, already half-completed and standing dozens of meters high, loomed faintly. Hinata looked up and found it rather impressive. Suddenly, Hinata turned back and asked, "Tazuna, is the entire Land of Waves under Gato's control now?" Tazuna sighed with a frown, "Yes! Not even the daimyō can do much about Gato. The only thing that could threaten Gato is the completion of this bridge under construction." Hinata was slightly puzzled, "But even if the bridge is completed, with Gato's influence, couldn't he easily control it? Plus, Gato is a dangerous person who can even hire ninjas. With their destructive power, destroying the bridge seems easy, doesn't it?" Tazuna: "..." Who is this little girl, and why is she so infuriating? Do you have to dampen my spirits to feel happy? With a serious expression, Tazuna said, "The reason I must build this bridge is to awaken the courage that sleeps within the people of the Land of Waves. With courage, Gato is no longer frightening!" Hinata shrugged, bored, "What a hassle! Instead of paying us to protect you while building the bridge, why not spend more money on hiring ninjas to assassinate Gato?" "If you want to assassinate Gato, I'm sure many people in the Land of Waves would be willing to contribute money!" Hinata thought Tazuna was somewhat foolish and quite annoying. As long as Gato was alive, building the bridge was pointless. Since Gato controlled military power, he would certainly rule over the bridge using force. Awakening the courage of the people, he says. If Gato started killing people, who would dare to resist? Even if there was an uproar, Gato could simply hire ninjas to destroy the bridge. It was such a simple matter! So, it would indeed be more practical to hire ninjas for an assassination rather than for bridge protection. Did Tazuna overestimate Gato, or underestimate ninjas? "Hinata!" Kakashi reminded, "Nations have their own orders, and ninjas have theirs. Even if ninjas wield power, they cannot act recklessly, or it would lead to chaos." Gato was, after all, a wealthy man. If such people were casually assassinated by ninjas, it would cause widespread panic. After all, ordinary people are the majority, and they are who pay for the ninja missions. "Alright, alright," Hinata said dismissively, "I won't say anything more." Ten minutes later, the five of them disembarked at the pier, and as soon as they stepped ashore, Naruto became restless again. He had already shown off in front of Sasuke beforehand and was now looking around, eager to find the enemy and gain some glory again. "Huh?" Hinata and Kakashi both discreetly glanced in a certain direction. Naruto, much like a lucky cat, blindly flung a shuriken and shouted, "Over there!" Kakashi glanced at Hinata, nodding slightly. "Byakugan!" Hinata: "..." Not turning on the Byakugan was better—once activated, she realized the situation in the Land of Waves was quite deep. Zabuza and Haku? They might as well prepare a coffin now. Within Hinata's Byakugan range, aside from Zabuza and Haku, there were also two squads of Konoha's Anbu and a team of Hyuga clan ninjas. These people were hiding very well. Without the Byakugan, they would've been hard to detect. Thinking about it, it made sense. Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Hinata was the heir to the Hyuga main family, and Sasuke was the last of the Uchiha clan. If anything happened to any one of the three, Konoha would suffer a tremendous loss. The first mission away from home for these three rookies—there was no way Konoha wouldn't send people to protect them in secret. Seeing the Hyuga clan ninjas made Hinata feel as sweet as honey—her convenient father did care for her after all! Which meant, Zabuza and Haku were merely small bosses in the starter village, their existence solely for Team 7's training. Time to fight the boss, fight the boss! Hinata felt as if she had the whole field to herself for leveling up against the boss. In the forest, Zabuza noticed the young girl, Hinata, with her pure white eyes he knew all too well. "Today is a good day. To think I'd encounter the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan from Konoha here!" "In that case... there's no point in hiding anymore!" "Also, isn't that Konoha's Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi? No wonder the Demon Brothers were defeated!" With these thoughts, Zabuza suddenly hurled his giant executioner blade outward. Outside the forest, just as Hinata had found Zabuza and Haku, she sidled up to Kakashi and whispered, "There are two enemies..." She didn't finish her sentence before Kakashi shouted, "Get down!" On hearing this, the four of them immediately crouched low to the ground as the executioner blade spun above them, kicking up a fierce wind. Kakashi, hands in his pockets, teased casually, "Ah, so it's the rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza!" Naruto wanted to rush forward to duel Zabuza but was stopped by Kakashi. Kakashi was about to explain to them the power and danger of Zabuza when he saw Hinata leap into the air, her hands gathering bright blue chakra into her fists, now not more than five meters from Zabuza. Step aside, I've got the spotlight now. "Twenty Palms of the True Strike!" Hinata shouted her attack name as five chakra beams fired from her fists, instantly blocking all of Zabuza's escape routes. Zabuza had sensed something the moment Hinata leapt into the air. Zabuza glanced sideways. Oh! A little Byakugan girl still. In a chilling tone, Zabuza said, "A little girl like you should be home playing with dolls. Let me show you what it means to be a true ninja!" Zabuza didn’t even bother drawing his blade against Hinata. To him, she was just a rookie ninja, and he could defeat a thousand like her with one hand. And then... Zabuza saw Hinata's fists fire from her body, with the five beams of chakra coming at him fast. "What!!!" Zabuza had never taken Hinata seriously. When she suddenly unleashed her special move, he had no way to dodge, let alone perform a jutsu to block it. In that moment, Zabuza could only try to gauge the trajectories of the chakra beams, aiming to minimize any potential injuries. "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" A tremendous explosion resounded, shaking the ground violently, dust scattering everywhere. Even Hinata was forced back by the shockwave of the blasts, finally coming to rest against a tree behind her.