Haku, who was standing to the side, felt moved after overhearing their conversation.
"God King, may I join the organization as well?"
She wanted to work for him. By helping him achieve his goals, she would find her own sense of purpose.
Ryōsuke smiled at her request.
"Of course you can."
Haku was a Kekkei Genkai user.
Her potential was immense; with proper training, she would reach the level of an Elite Jōnin at the very least.
Haku beamed.
"Thank you, God King."
The prospect of becoming his subordinate and serving him filled her with joy.
Ryōsuke was equally pleased.
"Now The Illuminati has three members. In the future, we will surely achieve great things."
Zabuza remained silent. To him, she was just a child.
She might possess some extraordinary trait that the God King valued, but it would take time for her to become a viable combatant.
He also didn't consider himself part of the high-end power bracket.
He had enough self-awareness for that.
While Jōnin held a certain status in the shinobi world, they weren't exactly rare.
Each village had hundreds of them.
Since The Illuminati's objective was to bring peace to the world, conflict with the Five Great Ninja Villages was inevitable.
In his mind, the only true pillar of strength in the organization was the God King himself.
Ryōsuke turned his gaze to Zabuza.
"I'll leave Haku's training to you. She possesses the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai."
Though he knew Haku was inherently kind and disliked fighting, she still needed the strength to protect herself.
Besides, Ryōsuke wasn't much of a teacher.
Zabuza raised an eyebrow in surprise. Another Kekkei Genkai?
That was interesting.
"Haku, care to show me what you can do?"
Haku tensed as the shadows of her past resurfaced.
It was the revelation of her Kekkei Genkai that had driven her father to lead the villagers in killing her mother.
She instinctively looked toward the God King.
Ryōsuke offered a reassuring smile.
"No one will ever dare hurt you again. And if they try, you'll just have to beat them back."
Hearing those words, Haku's heart eased.
She extended her hands forward.
A familiar energy began to circulate within her.
Suddenly, smooth ice crystals formed in the center of her palms.
Zabuza's expression shifted to one of genuine astonishment.
She performed it that easily?
She hadn't used a chakra extraction method to blend two types of nature energy; she had manifested it through pure instinct.
She was a true Ice Style genius.
Given time to grow, she would easily reach his level.
This realization made Zabuza more than willing to mentor her.
"Very well, God King. I will take her under my wing and forge her into an exceptional ninja."
Ryōsuke was satisfied.
"Then I'll leave her in your care."
Judging by Zabuza's reaction, Haku's talent was indeed formidable. In the original timeline, she'd had the opportunity to kill the two protagonists, Naruto and Sasuke, which would have ended the story right then and there.
She had only failed because she held back.
Haku felt a surge of excitement. Although Zabuza seemed cold and aloof, she could feel the power radiating from him as a seasoned shinobi.
For the next two days, Ryōsuke took Haku around the port, treating her to various seafood delicacies.
By the end of it, her condition had visibly improved, and a bright spark had returned to her eyes.
He then saw her off as she boarded a ship with Zabuza, heading for the Land of Lightning ahead of schedule.
Ryōsuke asked the ship's captain for the specific route and their destination port in the Land of Lightning to make it easier to regroup with them later.
The reason he didn't want them staying at this port was simple: he had just targeted the Fourth Mizukage.
Would the Mist Village simply let that slide?
They would undoubtedly retaliate.
While he had nothing to fear as long as he was by Haku's side...
He was about to head back to the Mist Village to stir up more trouble. Even with Zabuza there to protect Haku, it didn't feel entirely safe.
The Mist Village had many Jōnin.
And they wouldn't fight fair; they would use numbers to their advantage.
He understood that even the strongest can be overwhelmed if they are outnumbered.
After the two had departed, Ryōsuke slowly activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
He felt an unprecedented sense of ease.
It was far less taxing than his previous Mangekyō, with minimal burden on his body.
Furthermore, his ocular power was undeniably greater.
It was an interesting prospect. _I wonder if these eyes alone could now overpower Nagato's Rinnegan._
However, such a comparison was ultimately pointless.
The disparity between the users was simply too vast.
Even if Nagato possessed the higher-ranked Rinnegan, he wouldn't be his match.
Dismissing those idle thoughts, he channeled ocular power into his right eye and activated his dōjutsu: Teleportation Technique.
A portal manifested in front of him.
It opened in the direction of the Mist Village.
He could see the landscape on the other side through the gateway.
Ryōsuke stepped through.
After a few more consecutive uses of the Teleportation Technique, he finally reached the outskirts of the Mist Village.
He felt a slight strain now, having consumed more than half of his ocular power.
But he could feel it gradually replenishing.
He felt relieved; he no longer had to fear the threat of blindness.
With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, his mobility was vastly enhanced. The shinobi world was his to traverse.
Anywhere he wanted to go was just a few teleports away.
He recalled the location Zabuza had mentioned, situated to the east of the Mist Village.
That was where Utakata was located.
He immediately set off, heading toward the east.
Before long, he came upon a solitary stone building.
Through his incredible sensory perception, he detected two individuals inside.
Believing these were the people he was looking for, he stepped inside.
Inside was a young man who was quite handsome—though he still fell a bit short compared to Ryōsuke—and an elderly man with long hair and glasses.
That would be Utakata's master, Harusame.
The two of them immediately noticed the intruder.
Harusame's expression became agitated.
The White-Masked Man in Black. This was the individual who had abducted the Fourth Mizukage and extracted the Three-Tails from him, all without killing him.
That meant he could surely extract the Six-Tails from his disciple as well.
He could finally allow his student to lead a normal life, rather than being ostracized as a monster by the villagers.
In contrast, Utakata was filled with a mix of fury and shock.
He, too, recognized the man.
"What are you doing here?"
A dark suspicion took root in his mind. He carried the Six-Tails within him; surely this man had come for it?
If that were the case, neither he nor his master would be able to stand against him.