Zabuza clutched his scorched left arm, ignoring the burning pain as he stared coldly at Ayato.
"A head worth ten billion ryō… sure enough, taking it won't be easy."
After the previous exchange, he had already accepted one thing:
Ayato wasn't just strong — he was far stronger than any rumor dared claim.
Fire Release and Earth Release without hand seals…
Casually unleashing a fire technique with S-rank power…
In all his years hunting targets, he had never encountered a monster like this.
Continuing the fight meant certain death.
Even so —
he was a tool forged by blood and purpose. A tool that moved forward even if it meant dying.
"What I'm curious about," Ayato said, toying with a strand of silver hair, "is who posted a bounty on me. Not to brag, but in the Five Great Nations… I doubt anyone has the guts."
He shrugged lightly.
"Even if I lay my neck out, they wouldn't dare swing."
It was true. Though he'd made countless enemies, very few ever placed bounties on him — because his strength was simply too overwhelming.
Hashirama in his era:
Would anyone dare post a bounty on him?
Once, Kirigakure had tried putting a price on Ayato's head.
He responded by storming the village and causing so much chaos that they withdrew the bounty out of sheer fear.
Since then, no one had been foolish enough to try again.
Being a ninja meant being targeted. Even the Third Hokage had bounties on him.
"Stop flattering yourself, brat," Zabuza snarled. "Plenty of people want you dead. The Mist, the Stone — all sorts of villages! Whoever hired me is nothing surprising!"
He surged forward, chakra bursting as he vanished into the mist.
A heartbeat later, he reappeared behind Ayato, his kunai slashing toward Ayato's waist.
"Hm. Strange."
Ayato didn't move, chin resting casually on his hand.
Sure, he had enemies in the Great Nations — but people like Terumi Mei, Ōnoki, the Raikage… all of them were proud, strong leaders.
They would never stoop to hiring an A-rank rogue ninja for something like this.
And the timing, too…
Orochimaru? Danzo?
Maybe Orochimaru wanted to delay him while preparing the Konoha Crush?
But Orochimaru had plenty of bizarre bloodline ninja. No need to outsource.
Danzo? He had Root. Why hire outsiders?
It didn't add up.
While Ayato's thoughts wandered, the kunai finally struck —
"Sensei, look out!"
Shing—!
The blade sliced cleanly through Ayato's waist. His torso separated from his legs and crashed heavily to the ground, dust bursting upward.
"Damn… that was careless."
Ayato's upper body lay on the dirt, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth as he looked at Zabuza with feigned disbelief.
"I didn't expect you… to be that fast!"
"I—I won?"
Zabuza stared blankly.
The body didn't vanish. No smoke. No dispersing chakra.
This was no clone.
It was the real thing.
He'd actually—
won.
A grin split his bandaged face.
"Hahahahahaha! Idiot! Fighting me while absent-minded!"
Zabuza's laughter echoed through the mist.
"Listen well, Ayato. I am the Demon of the Hidden Mist — Momochi Zabuza!"
"When you're dead, I'll kill every last person here — including those three useless brats!"
He bent down, gripping the Executioner's Blade.
At last!
After so many years, his ambition finally had a chance. With ten billion ryō, he could rebuild everything — start anew — reshape the Mist Village itself!
He raised the blade—
"Before I die…" Ayato coughed violently, spitting blood. "Tell me — who wants me dead?"
Zabuza scoffed. "Fine. Since you're on your way out anyway — a certain organization."
He didn't know who exactly. Only that an organization was involved.
But who cared? He just needed the money.
"You bastard!"
Naruto's memories of Ayato flashed before his eyes. Rage twisted his face as scarlet chakra erupted around him, his eyes turning fox-gold.
"You hurt sensei — I'll kill you!"
"So… you've met the Akatsuki."
Ayato's bisected body dissolved into crackling blue lightning — then reformed in a flash, perfectly intact.
Elementalization.
"..."
Everyone froze.
The entire forest went silent.
Minds stopped.
Thoughts halted.
Ayato stood there, hands in his pockets, completely unharmed.
"…Huh?"
Naruto's rage halted mid-eruption. The red cloak of chakra vanished like smoke.
Sakura's legs gave out again.
Even Zabuza was stunned stupid.
Ayato dusted himself off. "Come on, don't look so shocked. I just wanted to experience what losing felt like for once. It gets boring always winning."
Akatsuki, huh.
So they'd finally gotten impatient after seeing him take custody of the Nine-Tails brat?
"You…" Zabuza stepped back in horror.
Why wasn't he hurt?
Why was he whole?
Why wasn't he dead?
He'd felt the cut — the meat, the bone, the life!
This wasn't genjutsu. Not a clone. Not substitution.
What was he?
"I was supposed to win… I'm the Demon of the Hidden Mist…"
Ayato turned away, covering his mouth — shoulders trembling.
Then—
Pfft.
He burst out laughing.
"Your victory declaration… oh man, secondhand embarrassment is real."
"Wh—WHAT!?" Naruto sputtered.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun furiously. "A bloodline ability… lightning—no… he turned into lightning itself."
He'd seen it — Ayato's entire body becoming pure crackling light.
Impossible for normal shinobi.
Definitely not medical ninjutsu.
Some kind of advanced kekkei genkai?
Sakura's eyes brimmed with tears as she yelled, "Sensei! Please take this seriously! I nearly died of fright!"
Zabuza's survival instincts screamed. He leapt back, widening the distance — then froze when he discovered the sword in his hand had turned into…
A candy stick.
He glanced at the ground — the discarded lollipop stick lay where the Executioner's Blade should've been.
When had Ayato taken it back?
"You really shouldn't call people monsters," Ayato said lightly. "We're all human here."
He slung the massive sword over his back, raised a single slender finger, and blue lightning crackled at its tip.
"When I turn into lightning — elementalization — well, explaining it is a waste. Just think of it as a bloodline limit."
"In short: physical attacks can't hurt me."
A smile — sharp, predatory — curved his lips.
"You can't touch me."
"But I," he lifted the blade lightly, "can easily hurt you. Pretty unfair, right?"
Natural Logia-type elementalization — untouchable without Haki.
And unfortunately for the shinobi world…
No one here had Haki.
Which meant one thing:
Nothing physical could harm Ayato.
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