Land of Waves, Great Naruto Bridge.
Gloomy cumulonimbus clouds hung low over the sea, the gray sky weighing so heavily on people that it was hard to breathe, and the air was filled with the salty, damp scent before a storm.
On the bridge, two figures wearing black cloaks adorned with red clouds walked unhurriedly against the flow of the crowd.
"Tch..."
Hidan hoisted his massive, bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe, looking at the prosperous scene on the bridge before him with inexplicable displeasure.
"There's a sickening stench of money everywhere."
"The eyes of these people are filled entirely with desire, without a single shred of reverence for death."
He gestured with his scythe toward the front, as if wanting to slash away the prosperity right before his eyes.
"Kakuzu, wouldn't it be so much better to turn this place into a sea of blood?"
"Lord Jashin will definitely love a sinful place like this."
"Shut up, you idiot."
Kakuzu's eyes scanned every corner of the port, silently calculating the value contained within.
Soon, he cast his greedy gaze toward the tallest building in the distance.
"Don't alert the enemy."
"Let's drag out that guy named Zabuza Momochi first."
"That's the biggest bounty we've accepted from the underground exchange."
The two walked straight toward the checkpoint ahead.
"Halt!"
"Ahead is the jurisdiction of the Mutual Aid Society, please present—"
The guard on duty was just stepping forward to block them.
"Ah... What a pain, go to hell!"
Hidan complained impatiently, and in the next instant, he casually hurled the Triple-Bladed Scythe in his hand.
Clang!
The steel guard booth, along with the weapon in the guard's hands, was instantly sliced apart by the scythe.
But the guard reacted with lightning speed, rolling across the ground to dodge the fatal blow while slamming the red button beside him.
Wooo—!
A shrill alarm rang out frantically.
Land of Waves, Mutual Aid Society Headquarters.
Inside a spacious, luxurious office, floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the entire Land of Waves.
Behind the desk, Zabuza wore a well-tailored, high-end custom suit and sat in an expensive executive chair, intently reviewing document after document.
The once blood-soaked demon now looked entirely like a composed underworld godfather at the helm.
On the genuine leather sofa opposite him, Suigetsu Hozuki was slumped lazily without a shred of dignity.
Propping his feet up on the expensive coffee table, he held a cup of water and swirled it back and forth, his face dripping with annoyance.
"Ah... So boring!"
Suigetsu Hozuki let out a long sigh, transforming the water in the cup into various shapes.
"I say, Senior Zabuza, the Land of Snow is completely packed with monsters right now—Kimimaro, Yakushi Kabuto, and that freaky Orochimaru..."
"There's simply no chance for me to shine over there!"
Zabuza didn't even look up, his fountain pen scratching against the paper as he spoke coldly.
"So you ran over to my place to seek refuge?"
"Seek refuge?!"
"I applied for this transfer myself!"
"It's an official foreign assignment!"
Suigetsu jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, complaining with an aggrieved and indignant expression.
"Do you know what I was doing over there?"
"Making stage smoke!"
He pointed at his own nose, trembling with anger.
"I am a genius of the Hozuki Clan!"
"The future leader of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
"And yet, they actually made me work as a special effects artist for Koyuki Kazahana's concert?!"
"Just because the mist I create looks pretty?!"
"This is a total insult to ninjutsu!"
"It's an insult to me!"
"Heh."
Zabuza curled the corner of his mouth into a sneer.
"Idiot, you can't even control mist properly."
"Your value right now is nothing more than an oversized humidifier."
"You bastard old man..."
Suigetsu was so furious his teeth ground together.
"To think I even used my accumulated points to redeem a chakra weapon for you!"
"If I had known earlier, I would have melted that blade down!"
"Unhappy?"
"Then return the Executioner's Blade to me," Zabuza said indifferently.
"Tch..."
Suigetsu curled his lips, flopped back onto the sofa, and patted the massive severed blade beside him.
"If it weren't for my goal of collecting all Seven Swords of the Mist..."
"Hmph, a blade forged from chakra metal is way more useful than the Executioner's Blade anyway—it's both lightweight and razor-sharp."
Zabuza didn't bother to refute him.
Just at that moment...
Wooo—!!!
The shrill alarm pierced right through the glass and filled the office.
Zabuza's hands froze instantly.
In an instant, the shrewd calculation in his eyes faded away.
It was replaced by a long-dormant, chillingly ferocious aura.
Suigetsu's eyes lit up as well.
"Oh?"
He sprang up from the sofa, baring a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth as he grinned.
"Hehehe..."
"This place really is better."
"There's action as soon as I show up."
Zabuza stood up, yanked off the tie around his neck, and casually stripped off his suit jacket, revealing the rock-solid, muscular physique beneath his shirt.
He picked up the heavy chakra-metal blade beside his desk—which shared a shape similar to the Executioner's Blade, but gleamed with a cold silver light—and casually hoisted it onto his shoulder.
"Let's go, Suigetsu."
Zabuza walked toward the door.
"Time to teach those intruding bastards a lesson..."
"...breaking the rules here comes with a price."
Commercial Street Plaza.
"Hahahaha!"
"So exhilarating!"
"Let me send you into Lord Jashin's embrace!"
Hidan rampaged wildly down the street, his scythe spinning into an impenetrable defense that deflected incoming kunai one after another.
After cutting down a few guards, he quickly realized something was off.
This group of guards didn't crumble at the first strike like cannon fodder elsewhere.
Instead, they quickly took cover behind nearby buildings and launched an organized counterattack.
"A bunch of ants!"
Hidan didn't care about their attacks at all, brandishing his scythe as he charged forward to indulge in the thrill of slaughter.
"Counterattack!"
As the command echoed...
...several massive nets woven with chakra-metal threads fell from the rooftops, trapping Hidan with pinpoint precision.
At the same time, several Earth Release ninjas formed hand seals in unison, causing the ground beneath him to instantly soften.
Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!
Hidan's feet sank deep into the mire, halting his momentum.
Immediately after, the massive metal nets tightened violently, binding him fast.
"What?!"
Hidan yanked furiously at the net, only to find that the thin metal wires were terrifyingly tough, digging straight into his flesh.
"What kind of crappy net is this?!"
"Why won't it cut?!"
The surrounding bystanders didn't scream or scatter in panic.
Instead, they paused their retreat and began watching from a distance, displaying absolute confidence in the security of the Mutual Aid Society.
Just as the security team was about to fully subdue Hidan...
"Sigh..."
Kakuzu, who had been standing back without lifting a finger, let out a sigh, his eyes cold and brimming with impatience.
"How embarrassing, Hidan."
Kakuzu's arms suddenly detached as a swarm of black Earth Grudge Fear threads surged out from his body like a tide.
Those threads instantly tore apart the tough metal nets, freeing Hidan.
Maintaining their momentum, they impaled the chests of more than a dozen guards like spears in a single breath.
Blood splattered everywhere.
With a single strike, the previously orderly defense line collapsed instantly.
Just as Kakuzu prepared to press his advantage and wipe out the rest of the security team...
...a thick mist rose without warning.
It was so dense it felt almost tangible, instantly engulfing the entire plaza.
Visibility plummeted to zero.
Kakuzu retracted his threads, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Hidden Mist Technique?"
"Daring to run rampant on my turf..."
Zabuza's murderous voice echoed from every direction through the fog.
"...have you decided how you want to die?"
At the same time, a teasing voice rang out right beside Hidan, who had just dragged himself out of the mud pit.
"Yo, that scythe of yours looks pretty sharp..."
Hidan snapped his head up.
Suigetsu Hozuki stood there holding the massive Executioner's Blade, half of his body liquefied and merged with the mist as he stared greedily at Hidan's scythe.
"Just right, my collection is still missing a polearm weapon."