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NBB Chapter 168: Slice, Dice, and Frozen Rice
🕑 Added 2025-08-22 04:54:24 +0000 UTC“Sakura, keep an eye on Tazuna.”
Kitagawa Gen rolled his neck, his eyes shifting toward Kisame and Zabuza. Suddenly, he laughed.
“What a coincidence. All familiar faces.”
“Zabuza, your mission conflicts with his. I suggest you and I join forces.”
Kisame didn’t show a trace of arrogance. He spoke in a low tone.
“Otherwise, none of us will be walking away. This guy is terrifying…”
“You don’t need to tell me—I know.”
Zabuza shook his head.
“You’d better worry about yourself. Damn it, he’s here!”
Before Zabuza had even finished speaking, Kitagawa Gen vanished. The two of them didn’t need to be told what that meant.
Zabuza cursed under his breath, feeling utterly unlucky, and Kisame wasn’t any better.
Both drew their blades at once, moving to block—yet they were still a step too slow.
[Buzz—]
Kitagawa Gen appeared before Zabuza in silence, his short blade slicing across Zabuza’s chest.
[Splash—]
But with a single cut, Zabuza’s body dissolved into water—it was only a Water Clone. Kitagawa Gen’s blade, however, carried on, slashing toward Kisame.
“Damn it!”
Kisame’s eyes went wide. Seeing that razor-sharp blade, he gritted his teeth and raised his own sword to meet it.
“Ninja don’t rely on brute strength.”
But in that fleeting instant, Kitagawa Gen vanished from his sight. His strike cut nothing but air.
A heartbeat later, Kitagawa Gen’s voice sounded behind him—and then a kick sent Kisame flying!
“And besides… don’t you think using Water Release in front of me is a bad idea?”
Kitagawa Gen reappeared where he had stood before, his palm pressing against the water’s surface. In that instant, the entire stretch of water froze solid!
“Ice Release? Impossible!”
Hiding beneath the water, Zabuza was startled—he hadn’t even figured out what was happening.
He immediately leapt up before the surface froze completely, but the moment he broke out, Kitagawa Gen’s White Fang short blade was already upon him.
“Zabuza-sama!”
From not far away, Haku’s voice rang out sharply. At the same time, an ice wall rose in front of Zabuza.
“Too bad. Just a bit too slow.”
But the wall couldn’t stop Kitagawa Gen’s blade. In an instant, his sword pierced straight through, stabbing deep into Zabuza’s shoulder.
“Damn it—!”
Purple lightning burst forth. Zabuza’s entire body went numb. If not for his elite jōnin physique, he would have been completely paralyzed from that strike.
At that moment, Haku appeared, catching hold of him and pulling him back.
But just as Kitagawa Gen had been relentlessly striking Zabuza, his figure suddenly vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he was already at Kisame’s side!
“What?!”
Cold sweat broke out on Kisame’s forehead. Only then did he notice that, at some point, a kunai had appeared on the ground right next to him.
“Damn it!”
Before he could even raise his blade to block, Kitagawa Gen’s edge had already swept across.
[Slash—]
Blood sprayed as Kisame rolled with the blow, then quickly leapt back.
Now he had no choice but to avoid Kitagawa Gen’s kunai. Yet by then, Gen had already moved back to Zabuza’s side!
“What kind of battle is this…?”
The whole scene seemed out of control. And yet, strangely enough, Sakura and Tazuna had become the safest people present—completely uninvolved.
But watching the fight before their eyes, especially Kitagawa Gen’s battle so close to them, left them utterly dumbstruck.
This was Sakura’s first time witnessing Gen in combat. That ghostly, inhuman fighting style was nothing she could have imagined a person pulling off.
“So this… is Gen-senpai’s strength?”
As for Tazuna—he was completely numb with shock. He had never in his life seen anything like this!
“I just wanted to trick Konoha into protecting me so I could finish building a bridge…”
Watching Kitagawa Gen, like some demon, single-handedly overwhelming three opponents, a chill ran down Tazuna’s spine.
“Wait—didn’t he say… he’d kill my whole family?!”
At that moment, true panic seized him.
...
“So your goal really is to recruit Zabuza, huh.”
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Obito’s fight raged on in deadlock. Kakashi held the advantage in tactics and skill, but Obito’s ocular power was greater still.
For the time being, neither could press the other back. Blocking Obito’s blade, Kakashi asked in a low voice,
“Your real objective—”
“Hmph. A worthless fool like you asking questions won’t change a thing.”
Obito sneered, tossing back the words carelessly.
“If it were just about recruitment, I could’ve taken Zabuza away long ago. Can you guess why I stayed?”
“Stayed…”
Kakashi’s gaze grew cold.
“Your target—Sasuke, or Naruto?”
“Who do you think Uchiha Itachi would be more interested in?”
Obito gave another cold sneer.
“You’ve already lost, you worthless fool.”
He said it deliberately. In his mind, Zabuza facing Kakashi was already a guaranteed loss, which meant their information would inevitably be exposed.
And since Itachi wanted to do something to Sasuke anyway, why not seize this opportunity to divert everyone’s attention?
“So it really is Sasuke.”
Kakashi nodded. While parrying Obito’s attacks, he suddenly spoke again.
“Are you planning to make a move during the Chūnin Exams?”
“!!”
Obito’s body stiffened for a moment, his face darkening beneath the mask that hid it all.
“What are you talking about?”
Dodging Kakashi’s Chidori, he feigned disdain as he replied. But Kakashi still caught a flicker of something.
“Don’t bother pretending. We’ve picked up signs of Orochimaru’s movements. You still dare to claim otherwise?”
Orochimaru…
Hadn’t that guy already withdrawn long ago?
Why was he tied up with them again?
And Orochimaru, targeting the Chūnin Exams?
At the mention of Orochimaru, Kakashi couldn’t help but recall Shimura Danzō.
That damned bastard—had he really kept quiet about Orochimaru?
“What an idiot.”
Obito forced himself to remain calm, letting out a cold sneer.
“Orochimaru defected from us long ago. Whatever he does has nothing to do with us.”
“Defected long ago?”
Kakashi was momentarily stunned, but Obito gave him no time to think further.
“More importantly—rather than worrying about that, shouldn’t you be asking yourself if you can still save Uchiha Sasuke, Kakashi?”
“…I might not be able to.”
Kakashi drew in a deep breath, then answered coldly, “But don’t forget—we still have Gen.”
And at the very instant his words fell, Obito suddenly caught sight of Kitagawa Gen, silently appearing at Uchiha Itachi’s side!
For a moment, true panic seized him.
...
'It’s about time.'
Though Gen had been holding off three opponents, he had never stopped keeping an eye on Sasuke’s situation nearby.
Sasuke had been far too reckless. A lesson was necessary—that was the reason Gen had made no move to stop him.
'Besides, both of them trained under Jiraiya for so long. They need to be tested.'
Taking a beating from Uchiha Itachi—such a test wasn’t bad.
But now… it was about enough.
'Well then—'
Turning his head, Kitagawa Gen looked toward Kisame and the others. His eyes had changed.
“Careful!”
With one hand raised in a seal, countless ice spikes suddenly erupted from the ground.
Haku was the first to sense it, and he shouted a warning. In the same instant, the three leapt into the air.
“Damn it!”
And at that very moment, Kitagawa Gen surged forward, his lightning-charged short blade stabbing straight at Zabuza!
Haku didn’t hesitate. His figure flashed in front of Zabuza, hands forming seals as he unleashed another burst of Ice Release.
[Boom—]
But with a single strike, Gen’s blade shattered the ice crystals—and with them, Haku’s mask splintered to pieces.
“Haku!!”
Zabuza roared, rushing to catch him. Seeing that pale, snow-like face coughing blood tore at his heart like a knife.
Yet Kitagawa Gen’s figure flickered again, already moving toward Kisame.
“Damn it!”
Kisame swung his massive sword in a rush, but Gen evaded with sharp precision and drove a fierce kick into his stomach.
[Boom—]
Kisame was sent flying, coughing up blood as he tumbled. But in that instant, Kitagawa Gen’s figure flickered and vanished again.
[Buzz—]
His blade thrust forward—this time, aiming straight for Zabuza and Haku!
“Zabuza-sama!”
Though unbearably weak, Haku still tried to shield him from the strike.
“Stay quiet here for now. I’ll come back for you later.”
But Gen’s White Fang short blade was faster than either of them could react. In a single flash, it pierced through both of their right shoulders, pinning them to the ground together!
“A perfect chance.”
Kisame’s eyes lit up at the sight. He immediately began flying through hand seals, preparing to unleash another Water Release to stall for time.
'Hurry up over there! Why isn’t it done yet?!'
But as he shouted inwardly, the next second he froze.
Because Kitagawa Gen had already appeared before him—like a ghost—without a sound, intercepting him mid-flight.
“Your sealing speed is far too slow.”
Gen’s words came lightly, almost casual. Then he grabbed Kisame’s hand as it formed a seal—and wrenched his fingers sharply.
[Crack—]
With the sound of bones breaking, Kisame’s fingers were snapped apart by Gen!
The searing pain tore through his nerves, but he forced himself not to utter a single cry.
Only one thought echoed in his mind: This… this isn’t even the same dimension of battle.
He had crossed paths with Kitagawa Gen many times before, but this was the first time they had clashed head-on—and the first time he had truly experienced the man’s overwhelming power.
