And so, on the evening of the fourth day, as we were passing by yet another tavern, my clone, disguised as a sparrow, heard the word 'Tazuna'. I immediately paid attention to it and managed to overhear the conversation of informants who were planning to report his appearance to someone. I didn't interfere in this situation, but I was able to track the flight of a carrier pigeon that delivered the message to a bandit camp. There, it was handed over to a couple of rogue ninjas from the Land of Water. This pair turned out to be the same idiots who were supposed to attack us from a puddle in the middle of a drying forest.

The next day, we continued along the road and by around ten o'clock, we reached the 'ambush'. Sasuke and Sakura were aware of this situation, so they had been looking out for puddles along the road for a while. And with their Sharingan, it was impossible not to notice the enemies. Besides, we had Kakashi with us, who also couldn't miss such an obvious trap. But when the coveted puddle appeared around the next bend in the road, I said to my companions.

"Don't interfere. I need to test my ability."

Without hiding, I rushed forward and summoned the parasite's tentacles as I approached the ambush. They immediately lunged at the targets, ensnaring the two rogue ninjas and pulling them out of the water. The victims tried to resist, but they had no chance. The tentacles began to act like worms, literally gnawing their way through the bodies of the rogue ninjas. Despite this, they remained alive and conscious, even though the parasite was damaging vital organs. The ninjas screamed and thrashed, emitting such cries that it was hard to believe they came from human beings. It was the scream of a devoured soul manifesting in the material world.

The 'worms' gnawed through the bodies, turning them into something resembling Swiss cheese. Even the gaping holes in their brains didn't allow the rogue ninjas to lose consciousness. The parasite didn't hurry, letting these two enjoy the madness of agony. With each passing second, the 'pieces of their souls' grew smaller, and the pain they experienced increased. Finally, the 'feast' ended, and the parasite hid its tentacles in a spatial pocket. I checked to ensure that nothing was left of the rogue ninjas, then turned around and saw three pairs of blazing Sharingans staring at me with expressions of superstitious horror on their faces.

"Are you OK?" - I asked.

"What... what was that creature?" - Sasuke asked in a trembling voice. He had seen the parasite before, but his Sharingan hadn't been activated then.

"That's our trump card, guaranteeing victory in the game" - I replied.

"That creature... it's pure evil!!!" - The impressionable Uchiha exclaimed. - "How can you subject people to such suffering? That creature devours souls! The fate of those two is a thousand times worse than death."

"If you lose, you'll experience much greater pain, and it will last not seconds, but tens or even hundreds of years."

"It doesn't matter! I won't let you kill people in such a way."

"Oh... and what will you do?" - I squinted at him. Sasuke's genjutsu couldn't affect me, so I boldly looked him in the eye.

"I... I'll find a way" - The apostle of Goodness couldn't withstand my gaze and turned away.

"If you interfere with me, you risk becoming food for my pet yourself."

With that, I turned and walked away, considering the conversation over. I wasn't going to tell everyone that the question of 'to devour or not to devour' essentially didn't exist for me.

A week after leaving Konoha, we finally reached the sea coast. The Land of Waves was only five hundred meters from the continent, and I couldn't understand how the construction of a bridge could affect the local economy. At the very least, claiming it was the 'last hope' for economic prosperity was the height of stupidity.

Tazuna found some homeless acquaintance of his who took us to the island, having informed all interested parties beforehand. I didn't interfere with him because we were already awaited ahead, and such 'betrayal' only affected the fate of the traitor himself, whom I intended to eliminate immediately after the crossing.

Landing on the island's shore, we found ourselves in a dense fog. Since there was no point in standing still, we moved forward along a well-trodden path. After about ten minutes, a whole herd of white rabbits jumped out at us from the underbrush, which Sasuke immediately roasted with a fireball, turning the animals into charred carcasses.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Come out already, stop hiding. We can see you anyway" - I shouted, though the chakra-infused fog surrounding us concealed everything beyond ten meters. And indeed, the enemies fell for this simple trick, revealing their presence.

"And who do we have here? Four Uchihas? I heard you were all slaughtered like pigs."

The fog ahead cleared a little, and I was able to see a trio of ninjas. In the center stood a man with a face wrapped in bandages, and on his shoulder rested a huge sword. With minimal effort, he could be recognized as Zabuza - one of the great swordsmen of the Mist. And according to the canon, he should be lurking around here somewhere. The second opponent was presumably Haku. He could be identified by his long black hair and almost feminine face. And the ice crystals floating around him kind of hinted at that. But the third shinobi was dressed in a red yukata and exuded a macho aura. He had short lavender hair, and behind his back was some weapon, the handle of which peeked out from over his shoulder.

"So, I recognize Zabuza and Haku" - I replied. - "But who is this gay guy in pink?"

"I am Chojuro!" - he snapped, losing all his luster. - "The great swordsman of the Mist, wielder of Hiramekarei!" - To confirm his words, he pulled out his 'sword,' which looked like a flounder wrapped in bandages. - "And with this sword, I'll shove your words back down your throat!"

If I understand anything, it's that we are facing a team from the Land of Water. At least in the canon, Chojuro was the right-hand man of Mizukage Terumi Mei. And of course, these three were game figures because they were surrounded by a barely visible rainbow aura that I could see around Sasuke and Sakura as well.

"And you don't want to introduce yourselves?" - Zabuza asked.

"Tremble, mortals, before you is the great and terrible Uzumaki Naruto!" - I struck a 'cool' pose. - "And this is Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi" - I nodded, cutting off my companions from a grand introduction.

"I'll take that clown" - Chojuro growled.

"Haku, your fate is to die by my hand" - Sasuke declared pompously.

In response, the ice clone representing Haku ran to the side, disappearing into the fog. Uchiha chased after him, leaving us behind.

"And don't forget, I need him alive" - I called after him. - "Sakura, Kakashi, take these fūins and use them on the enemy if he starts to die. I need their souls, and these seals won't let them die completely" - I handed two fūins to my companions. - "Kakashi, don't engage in close combat and try to hit someone with a technique or some metal."

"Are you done with your conference?" - Zabuza asked mockingly, removing the sword from his shoulder and taking a combat stance.

"Yeah, we can start to fight" - I smirked in response.

And in an instant, we rushed at each other, attacking with all our might.

Following an unspoken agreement, Sakura decided to take down Zabuza, while I made Chojuro my main target. And he managed to surprise me. I attacked him with my chakra chains, creating no less than three dozen of them. But in response, he began to attack me with 'chakra tentacles' that his sword released. As a result, each of my chains was blocked by a tentacle, and we started a positional battle, trying to break through the enemy's defense and not let him do the same.

Sakura used her Waaagh, but surprisingly, Zabuza managed to block the attack with his sword. He was thrown back, and Sakura rushed after him, preparing for another strike. Over the past week, we had pushed her hard, so now her speed of movement and strikes was at the level of an elite jonin. Typically, in battle, she relied on chakra-based Earth-style defense and her signature attack, which could destroy a hundred people at once.

My clones were now observing the enemies and the surroundings, so I focused on my opponent. If a new enemy appeared or something threatened my allies, the clones would let me know.

In the battle with Chojuro, a stalemate had formed, so I decided to add more chains and strengthen their attacks. For me, this battle was supposed to be good training and a test of my abilities. But at that moment, the opponent decided to use a 'secret weapon.' Waving his flounder, Chojuro sent a dozen and a half glowing crystals at me, shaped like short spears.

I tried to block these crystals with my chains, but they literally tore through all obstacles. I had to urgently substitute with a clone to avoid the strike. But the clone managed to convincingly act out a scene of a mortal wound. One of the crystals pierced its chest, from which a whole stream of crimson blood gushed out. At the moment of substitution, all the chakra chains dissipated, making the 'victim' act even more believable. At the same time, I began scanning this crystal, which emitted rather unpleasant pulsating energy. If such a thing indeed stuck into the body, it would be very painful, plus it would start destroying the chakra channels.

"Ha! Weakling!" - Chojuro rejoiced at his success, approaching to finish me off with his sword.

He didn't lose vigilance, didn't get too close, and didn't slow down, but all this didn't help him avoid my attack. I simply passed my chains underground and attacked him from below while he was in mid-air. Five chains burst from the ground, moving so swiftly that he had no chance to block them. More precisely, he blocked four chains, but the fifth struck him in the stomach, simultaneously releasing my 'medical' chakra, which penetrated his central chakra system, disrupting his concentration.