"Zabuza, you're already a rogue ninja. Why not join us?"
In a forest within the Land of Waves, Kisame Hoshigaki coldly addressed Zabuza Momochi, who stood not far away.
Standing silently nearby were Obito Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha.
Although both Itachi and Kisame had only recently recovered—Itachi's health still being far from ideal—they were the most familiar with rogue ninjas from Kirigakure.
"Hmph, why would I join you?"
Zabuza didn't seem interested at all.
"But I didn't expect you to join them. Seems like you're the one who killed Fuguki Suikazan?"
"That's right. I killed him."
Kisame didn't deny it. His gaze fell on the Kubikiribōchō (Headsman's Cleaver) behind Zabuza, and a grin spread across his face.
"You're no better, though. You staged a coup, and after Jūzō Biwa's death, that blade should've been back in Kirigakure. Seems like you still have some attachment to the Mist Village."
Zabuza remained silent. After Jūzō Biwa's death, the Kubikiribōchō had indeed returned to Kirigakure. He had retrieved it while infiltrating the village to investigate.
Currently, he was still in the process of amassing funds, which had temporarily led him to work under Gato. He hadn't expected to be tracked down by "old colleagues."
"I'm not interested in your business. I suggest you don't interfere with mine. Otherwise..."
Zabuza's hand moved to the large blade on his back, his cold gaze fixed on the trio before him. His words, however, made Obito shake his head.
"You Mist ninjas are really something. Every single one of you insists on fighting before talking things through. Jūzō Biwa, Raiga Kurosuki, and now you."
"Oh, Raiga Kurosuki?"
Hearing the name, Zabuza's brow twitched. It seemed like these guys were specifically targeting rogue ninjas from Kirigakure for recruitment.
"Sir..."
Just as Zabuza was pondering, a masked figure appeared beside him.
"We've located Tazuna. Gōzu and Meizu have already made their move, but it seems Tazuna hired some Konoha ninja."
"Konoha ninja..."
At the mention of Konoha, Zabuza instinctively clenched his fists, unpleasant memories flooding his mind.
He hadn't forgotten how he was once cornered by Jiraiya, Kakashi, and a brat, forcing him to flee back to Kirigakure.
"Konoha?"
Obito and the others also showed a change in expression. Could it really be that coincidental?
Over the years, they had developed a certain understanding: running into "randomly spawned" Konoha ninjas outside the village rarely ended well.
"I don't have time to waste on you lot."
After a moment of silence, Zabuza finally spoke.
"I'm going to check things out. Do as you please."
With that, he turned and walked away without looking back, leaving Obito and his companions standing there.
"What do we do now?"
After a long pause, Kisame finally asked.
"Should we check it out? But given our current condition, fighting might not be the best idea."
"True. We've only just recovered; it's not ideal. Besides, don't you have other plans?"
Itachi spoke in a low voice, his words making Obito frown. After some hesitation, he finally said,
"Let's go take a look. I refuse to believe we'll run into that group every single time!"
"After all, even Hiruko is still alive..."
"Kakashi-sensei!?"
Suddenly, two figures lunged at Kakashi, prompting a startled scream from Sakura, who was walking behind the group.
"What?"
The next moment, she saw a spray of blood erupt from Kakashi's body!
The sight left her frozen in place. It was her first time witnessing such a brutal scene.
She didn't notice, however, that Sasuke and Naruto remained relatively calm.
The two Mist ninjas didn't hesitate. After dealing their supposed blow, they turned their attention to Kitagawa Minamoto. But as they swung their chains, the figure in their sights vanished.
"Where'd he go?"
"Doesn't matter. Let's complete the mission first!"
Though momentarily startled, the two assassins quickly regained their composure. Trained killers from Kirigakure, they immediately refocused on their target, Tazuna, and moved to strike.
"Damn it..."
Sakura, already uneasy about taking on such a mission right after graduation, now felt her concerns were justified.
Seeing the enemies closing in, she gritted her teeth and positioned herself in front of Tazuna. Sasuke and Naruto also sprang into action.
"Kakashi-sensei, it looks like you only managed to fool Sakura and that old man. No one else bought it," Minamoto's voice suddenly echoed from the treetops.
Kakashi, who had been observing the situation from above, replied lazily,
"Kids these days really aren't as gullible."
Rubbing his chin, he added,
"But that old man deceived us too. He never mentioned there'd be ninja involved."
"This mission was suspicious from the start," Minamoto said, crouching beside him and nodding.
Tazuna's mission had a low reward, was classified as C-rank, and yet requested the involvement of a Jōnin. Such a request would rarely be accepted in Konoha and would usually be returned after some time.
In his memory, this mission was only assigned to Naruto's team after they had completed a month's worth of D-rank missions and Naruto had thrown a tantrum.
This time, however, Tazuna had submitted his request just as Kakashi was looking for a mission to train his team.
"Kakashi-sensei, I remember you took on our first mission too. And that turned out to be..."
"Ahem!"
Before Minamoto could finish, Kakashi cleared his throat tactically.
"That was just a fluke. Besides, Naruto and Sasuke have been training under Jiraiya-sama for so long. This level of mission shouldn't be too much for them."
"True, it's not too much. But we can't let this slide. I don't have a good impression of that old man."
"What are you planning to do?"
"You'll see. Just follow my lead."
"...?"
"Alright, time to wrap this up."
Minamoto didn't elaborate further. With a glance at the battlefield, he disappeared in a flash.
Sasuke and Naruto were holding their own, but the Demon Brothers, though not particularly strong, were seasoned assassins trained in Kirigakure's brutal methods.
The two sides were locked in a tense stalemate.
"These brats aren't bad. We need to finish this quickly."
"Yeah. Let's kill the old man first!"
The Demon Brothers exchanged a glance and launched another attack.
But just as they moved, the ground beneath them turned to mud, trapping them instantly!
"What the...?"
Sasuke and Naruto merely pursed their lips at the sight, while Sakura and Tazuna's eyes widened in shock.
"Minamoto-senpai? Kakashi-sensei?"
"Yeah," Minamoto replied with a nod, while Kakashi emerged from the forest.
"You guys need to work on your awareness. These two were poorly disguised, yet none of you noticed."
"Kakashi?"
Hearing the name, the Demon Brothers' faces turned pale. They looked at Minamoto in disbelief.
"Then you must be the new 'White Fang of Konoha,' the 'Silver Flash,' the wielder of purple lightning—Kitagawa Minamoto!"
"...Huh?"
Minamoto blinked. Did his title really have to be that long?
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were equally wide-eyed. The earlier battle had been intense, but this revelation was just as surprising.
Even Tazuna was stunned. He hadn't expected the young white-haired ninja to have such a reputation.
"Well, you got most of it right. I am Kitagawa Minamoto," Minamoto admitted, scratching his chin.
His confirmation left the Demon Brothers utterly despondent.
"Alright, enough chit-chat. Your target is this old man, right?"
"Y-Yes. Our orders were to kill him," they confessed without hesitation.
Their words sent Tazuna into a panic.
"I can explain!" he stammered, waving his hands frantically.
"Relax. If we didn't want to hear your explanation, Kakashi-sensei would've killed you already," Minamoto said, earning an eye-roll from Kakashi.
Tazuna gulped and quickly began to explain.
"There's a businessman named Gato who's taken control of the Land of Waves. He's cut us off from the outside world..."
He described Gato's oppressive rule, the poverty of the people, and their failed attempts to resist.
"That's why I had no choice but to deceive you. With Konoha ninja protecting me, I can build a bridge to free the Land of Waves from its suffering."
After finishing, he knelt down, seemingly in genuine remorse.
"However, it's fine now. If I die, the Land of Waves will remain impoverished. At most, my granddaughter will cry herself to sleep, but she won't hate you..."
"..."
Minamoto rolled his eyes, Kakashi's dead-fish stare returned, and Naruto's team was left speechless.
"Kakashi-sensei, why don't we help him out?" Minamoto suddenly suggested.
Tazuna's face lit up, but his hope was short-lived as Minamoto added,
"If he's suffering so much, I could waive the fee and just take out his entire family. That way, no one will suffer anymore."
"..."
Everyone froze, Tazuna paling in terror.
"Minamoto, stop joking around. We... huh?"
Kakashi suddenly tensed, sensing something.
"Careful!"
He pushed Naruto's team and Tazuna down just as a spinning blade flew past, embedding itself in a tree.
A figure landed atop the blade, his back to the group.
"Looks like the Demon Brothers failed."
Zabuza's calm voice broke the silence as he slowly turned around.
"But I'm afraid this old man is mine... Huh?!"
The moment his gaze fell on the two white-haired figures, memories he'd rather forget came rushing back.
"No way..."
"It's been a while, Zabuza," Minamoto said with a grin.
"Long time no see!"
Before Zabuza could react, several kunai crackling with purple lightning flew toward him.
Caught off guard, he barely managed to dodge, but the remaining kunai forced him into a defensive frenzy.
Unbalanced and overwhelmed, he lost his footing and crashed to the ground with a loud thud, sending birds scattering from the trees.
His eyes widened in pain, bloodshot and filled with disbelief.
"..."
Kakashi and the others were stunned.
"What just happened?"
Meanwhile, Obito and his team, who had just arrived, watched from the shadows, equally bewildered.
"Is this guy... reliable?"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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