In the forest on the outskirts of the Land of Waves, inside a hastily built wooden hut shaped like a pyramid, Momochi Zabuza lay resting on the only bed. At his side, Haku kept silent watch. The creak of the wooden door opening made Haku turn his gaze sharply toward the entrance.
The one who entered was none other than the man who had secretly hired them both to assassinate Tazuna—
Gatō.
"So, even you were defeated and came crawling back in disgrace," Gatō sneered as soon as his eyes landed on Zabuza lying on the bed.
As far as Gatō was concerned, Tazuna's death would mean far more than the halting of the bridge's construction. It would strike fear into the hearts of the people of the Land of Waves, making them understand one thing clearly: anyone who defied Gatō would meet only a miserable end.
Yet not only had the Demon Brothers failed, but even Zabuza himself had been thwarted.
This man boasted endlessly of being an S-rank missing-nin, master of the Silent Killing technique, someone who had never once failed a mission.
To Gatō now, those claims were nothing but hot air.
"You couldn't even clean up this mess. Demon of the Mist? Hah! If you're the best Kirigakure has to offer, then the Mist Village is full of worthless trash. I can't believe I actually relied on you. It's laughable."
His words were laced with contempt, not even pretending to spare Zabuza or Haku's dignity. In Gatō's eyes, Zabuza was no better than a beaten dog. If not for the fact that Zabuza had proven useful a few times in the past, Gatō would have discarded him long ago.
"Oi, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Gatō barked. Irritated at being ignored, his temper flared, and with a sharp gesture he ordered the two samurai flanking him to move in.
The two samurai acted without hesitation. But before their hands could even close around their blades—
—they suddenly froze, cold steel already pressing against their throats.
"What—impossible… so fast?!"
Their eyes went wide with shock. In the blink of an eye, Haku had vanished from Zabuza's side, snatching their swords and crossing them against their necks in a dual-blade stance.
One wrong step, and blood would spill.
"You'd better not come near Zabuza-sama again," Haku's voice cut through the air like the edge of a demon's blade, cold and merciless. "I am angry."
The sight made even Gatō recoil in terror. His legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor with a thud. He had never expected the androgynous youth beside Zabuza to be this terrifyingly capable.
"Mon…ster…" Gatō gasped, sucking in a sharp breath. Hastily throwing out a final bark—"This is your last chance!"—he stumbled away without looking back.
The two samurai dared not reclaim their swords, scurrying after their master like frightened dogs.
Only after Gatō's group vanished from sight did Haku casually toss the stolen blades aside.
"Haku, there was no need for you to move," Zabuza growled in his low voice, though his hand had already gripped a kunai tightly. His body needed rest, but for dealing with a pair of common samurai, he was more than enough.
"I know."
Haku's expression shifted faster than flipping a page—one moment an icy demon, the next blooming into a bright smile.
"But now isn't the time to kill Gatō. If we do, it'll only stir chaos and send hunters after us again. Better to endure for now… until Zabuza-sama has fully recovered."
Meanwhile…
Gatō stormed out of the hut with his two shaken bodyguards in tow, rage simmering as he shot a venomous glare back at the door. Out loud he had declared that Zabuza had one last chance, but in truth, Gatō's patience had already run dry.
"Damn it… I thought a missing-nin would be cheaper, but cheap trash is all I got! Can't even kill a bridge builder, and he dares call himself the Demon of the Mist? Pah!"
He spat toward the wooden hut in disgust. Still wary of eavesdroppers, he didn't voice his true thoughts until they had moved further away.
The bridge Tazuna was building threatened his control over the Land of Waves. No matter what, Gatō couldn't allow it to be completed.
And now, his tolerance for Zabuza was gone.
If that was the case, then why not hire real shinobi? Ones who could kill Tazuna, Zabuza, and those troublesome Konoha brats all at once?
The thought of the cost made his chest tighten. Gatō was one of the richest men in the world, but to him, money was life itself. The idea of paying exorbitant fees to hire top-ranked shinobi nearly made him choke.
"Boss…" one of the samurai at his side hesitated, then spoke. "Zabuza is a missing-nin, and Kirigakure has been trying to get rid of him for years. Yet even now, he's still alive. That should tell you—ordinary shinobi can't deal with someone like him. And if you want top-tier squads… the price is steep."
Seeing Gatō's pained expression, the samurai leaned closer, lowering his voice as if revealing a secret.
"But, boss… I know of another option. There's a certain mercenary group—unbelievably strong, but they charge far less than the shinobi of the Five Great Nations."
"A mercenary group?" Gatō frowned. As one of the world's wealthiest men, his intelligence network was no less than any nation's. He knew well that most mercenary groups were just rabble—thugs obsessed with coin, all reputation and no substance. If they were truly powerful, he wouldn't have needed to hire Zabuza in the first place.
But the samurai shook his head firmly.
"No, boss. This one is different. They move from war to war across the nations. Their core members are all S-rank missing-nin. They're so strong… they've even brought down an entire country."
"An entire country…"
Gatō's eyes widened in disbelief. Most mercenary groups at best were bodyguards for some high official. To annihilate an entire nation? This was something he had never even imagined.
"But… aren't S-rank missing-nin like Zabuza as well?" Gatō asked, uneasy, drawing in a sharp breath.
"That's true," the samurai admitted. "But don't be fooled—S-rank is the highest official classification, but compared to these people, Zabuza is nothing. If we hire them, this problem will be solved. Without fail." He thumped his chest in assurance.
Gatō studied him for a long moment. Unlike Zabuza, this man had earned his place at Gatō's side not just through skill, but through absolute loyalty. If he vouched for something, it was worth considering.
"Fine. This job is yours. Contact them, send their core members here. I don't care what it takes. I want Tazuna dead. I want Zabuza dead. And I want those Konoha brats dead as well."
His voice rose into a furious roar, spitting his hatred into the night.
"I want them all dead!"
"Understood."
The samurai bowed low.
"By the way," Gatō demanded, narrowing his eyes, "what's the name of this so-called group?"
The samurai hesitated only briefly before answering:
"As far as I know… they call themselves the Akatsuki."