Chapter 87: The Swordsmen's Lament
The silence after the detonation was absolute, broken only by the crackle of small fires and the distant drip of moisture from shattered branches. The crater smoked, a raw wound in the forest floor. And from the swirling, acrid haze at its edge, a figure emerged.
Zabuza Momochi dragged himself forward, one hand clutching a snapped tree branch for support. His left leg was a ruin below the knee—a mangled mess of blackened flesh, splintered bone, and charred fabric. The rest of him wasn't much better; his torso was a canvas of lacerations and burns, his bandages smoldering at the edges. The killing aura was gone, replaced by the ragged, wet sound of his breathing and the pure, venomous hatred burning in his single visible eye. It wasn't directed at Kakashi anymore.
It was fixed solely on Ren.
[Tobirama Senju: Efficient placement. He must have tagged the blade during its flight. The boy has a thief's touch.]
[Uchiha Izuna: And the timing... he waited until Zabuza was mentally engaged with Kakashi and the orange distraction. A classic misdirection.]
[Uchiha Shisui: Actually, I think Naruto was part of the misdirection too. Ren deliberately undersold Zabuza's threat, didn't he?]
The chat, momentarily stunned by the sheer violence of the outcome, began to dissect it.
[Minato Namikaze: Shisui! What are you implying?]
[Tobirama Senju: Look who's back from spousal timeout. Did you grovel sufficiently, Fourth?]
[Minato Namikaze: Please, not now! Shisui, explain!]
[Uchiha Shisui: Well... Ren called Zabuza a 'runaway ninja,' which to Naruto just means 'coward.' He essentially handed Naruto a reason to charge in recklessly, ensuring Zabuza's attention would be split. It was... tactical use of Naruto's impulsiveness.]
[Minato Namikaze: HE USED MY SON AS BAIT?!]
[System Alert: User 'Uchiha Shisui' has been muted by the Streamer for 10 minutes.]
[Uchiha Kagami: ...My grandson...]
Ren's mental voice cut in, smooth as oil. Minato-sensei, please. Shisui is reading too much into it. Naruto is my brother. I'd never deliberately put him in harm's way. It was... synergistic teamwork.
[Minato Namikaze: Synergistic—!]
[Uchiha Fugaku: Don't believe him, Minato! He's a slick talker! He totally used your son as a—]
[System Alert: User 'Uchiha Fugaku' has been muted by the Streamer for 10 minutes.]
[Minato Namikaze: ...]
In the living world, the reaction was more immediate.
"Ren! How did you… the tag… there was no fuse!" Kakashi's visible eye was wide, his analytical mind racing. "Instantaneous detonation? A modified formula?"
Ren shrugged, the picture of modesty. "A little trick I picked up. The delay is a design flaw. I fixed it."
Sasuke stared at the smoldering crater, then at Ren, his Sharingan drinking in every detail. The gap between them, which he'd been desperately trying to close, suddenly felt like a chasm. He didn't even move. He just... spoke, and a Jonin was maimed.
Sakura looked from the crippled Zabuza to Ren with something like awe. "You... you saved us."
Naruto, picking himself up from where the blast wave had knocked him, scratched his head. "Uh... yeah! Good one, Ren! But next time, maybe warn a guy before you blow up the forest?"
Tazuna just whimpered, staring at the aftermath.
Zabuza's rasping voice cut through their chatter, each word dripping with blood and malice. "You... insect. I will peel the skin from your bones. Slowly."
[Tobirama Senju: Hmph. All bark from a crippled hound. He entered with fanfare, exits as a footnote.]
[Uchiha Madara: Pathetic. A three-second demon. At least I lasted ten against the tree-hugger.]
[Tobirama Senju: We are never letting that go, are we? Your ten-second legacy is now eternal.]
[Uchiha Madara: I WILL FIND A WAY TO MUTE YOU FROM THE AFTERLIFE, TOBIRAMA!]
[Tobirama Senju: You can try, Ten-Second-Tachi.]
The conversation was derailed by the arrival of new text, emanating from a cluster of users whose names were unfamiliar to many but carried a certain weight.
[Jūzō Biwa: …Well. That was a display.]
[Fuguki Suikazan: The Second Hokage is not wrong. The second generation of Swordsmen seems to have... declined in quality.]
[Kushimaru Kuriarare: Hey! Don't lump us all in with Zabuza's failure! The first generation had standards!]
[Jinpachi Munashi: Yeah! Our batch would never get caught by a genin's explosive tag! Probably!]
A new name appeared, its text sharp.
[Ringo Ameyuri: You fossils shut up. Zabuza is second generation. We had our hands full just surviving the Bloody Mist. Don't compare eras.]
[Hōzuki Mangetsu: Ameyuri's right. The second gen was only four strong by the end. Recruitment was... difficult.]
[Jūzō Biwa: Only four? What happened?]
[Ringo Ameyuri: What do you think? The Fourth Mizukage's 'reign.' The village ate itself. People fled. We were lucky to have four.]
[Yagura Karatachi: I WAS UNDER A SHARINGAN GENJUTSU! IT WASN'T ME!]
[Hōzuki Mangetsu: Being genjutsu'd is a skill issue, Yagura-sama. No offense.]
[Yagura Karatachi: …]
The chat devolved into a posthumous argument among the various generations of Kirigakure's elite. Accusations flew. Justifications were made. The tragic history of the Hidden Mist played out in abbreviated, angry text.
[Hyūga Hizashi: So that explains the Land of Water's isolationist period. Internal collapse.]
[Yūhi Shinku: What grudge did that masked man hold against Kirigakure, to orchestrate such a thing?]
[Yagura Karatachi: I wish I knew! One day I was fine, the next I was a puppet with bloody strings!]
[Kusano Uzuki: This 'second generation' of four… Zabuza, you two… who's the fourth?]
A pause.
[Ringo Ameyuri: …Kisame Hoshigaki.]
A collective psychic shudder seemed to pass through the Kirigakure contingent.
[Fuguki Suikazan: That traitorous shark-faced bastard!]
[Ringo Ameyuri: …Suikazan-san? You sound… personal.]
[Fuguki Suikazan: He's the one who killed me. My own subordinate. For 'security.']
[Ringo Ameyuri: …Oh. My condolences, Watermelon Bro.]
[Fuguki Suikazan: Don't call me that.]
[Tobirama Senju: ENOUGH!]
The Admin text boomed, overriding the squabble.
[Tobirama Senju: A gathering of failed swordsmen bickering in my stream? You're polluting the data stream with your collective inadequacy. One more word, and I'll have Konoha's green-clad lunatic brought back for an encore performance. He seemed to enjoy kicking your lot.]
[Might Dai: ???]
The chat from the Seven Swordsmen (and former Swordsmen) fell into a sulky, muted silence.
On the ground, Zabuza, oblivious to the posthumous roasting of his entire institution, was gathering his will. His good leg tensed. His hand, still gripping the branch, whitened. He wasn't done. A cornered animal was always at its most dangerous.
Kakashi recognized the look. He stepped forward, placing himself between Zabuza and the genin. "It's over, Zabuza. You're in no condition to fight."
Zabuza's bloody grin was a horrific sight. "Over? You think a leg is enough to stop me? The mist is my ally. The blood... is my fuel."
He bit his thumb, smearing blood across his palm, and slammed it onto the wet ground.
Kirigakure no Jutsu:
(Hidden Mist Technique)
But this was no ordinary mist. It erupted from the ground in a thick, churning, crimson-tinged wave, fueled by his spilled blood and profound hatred. It wasn't just obscuring vision; it felt alive, hostile, carrying the metallic scent of blood and the chill of a grave.
The world dissolved into a swirling, red-grey void.
From within the sanguine mist, Zabuza's voice echoed, directionless, cold, and final.
"The Silent Killing begins now. Say your prayers, Konoha dogs."