Haku's brows furrowed. For some reason, that line sounded strangely familiar.
"Who exactly are these people?"
Zabuza seethed internally. What did these two mysterious figures really want to use him for?
These shadowy individuals had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The last time they met, they also claimed they were "using" him—but not only had they spared him, they'd even revealed the secret that the Fourth Mizukage had been manipulated from behind the scenes. It almost seemed like they were extending a hand of goodwill to Kirigakure.
More than that, they clearly knew a great deal about Mist's internal affairs—especially about Zabuza himself. Otherwise, they wouldn't have known that Hōzuki Mangetsu and Kisame Hoshigaki had been Zabuza's closest allies.
After the fall of the Bloody Mist regime, Zabuza had been the front-runner to become the Fifth Mizukage. But the surviving Kekkei Genkai clans, who had endured the Fourth Mizukage's oppressive rule, rallied together and nominated Mei Terumi as his rival candidate.
For now, Kirigakure was under the control of an elder named Genshī. As an Elder, he held authority on par with the Mizukage, and village regulations required all critical decisions to go through him. Genshī had declared that Kirigakure was now too weakened to endure internal conflict.
With the death of the Fourth Mizukage, the village had not only lost the Three-Tails, but also failed to locate the Six-Tails Jinchūriki who had defected a year ago.
In essence, Mist had lost its claim to being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Had the current political climate not been so chaotic, the village might have already collapsed. That's why Genshī had stated:
"Whoever brings back the Six-Tails Jinchūriki will become the next Mizukage."
That was the real reason Zabuza had come to the Land of Waves. After yet another failed attempt to track down the Six-Tails with Haku, he heard that Gato had become the daimyo of the Land of Waves—instantly, he thought of those two mysterious figures. Considering what they had said about the Fourth Mizukage, he decided to gamble on a second encounter.
The mysterious duo had indeed appeared again—but instead of intel on the Six-Tails, he was once again told that he was being "used".
"We're leaving,"
Zabuza growled, suppressing his irritation.
"Wait."
Naruto's voice stopped him just as one foot crossed the threshold.
"I may not know where the Six-Tails is… but I can give you a crucial piece of information about him."
Zabuza turned around, unsure.
"What kind of information?"
Sasuke perked up as well. He'd barely spoken since returning to the daimyo's mansion, and had only understood one thing—that this man, Zabuza Momochi, was a candidate for Mizukage.
But this Six-Tails Jinchūriki… what even was that?
Naruto smiled at Zabuza's conflicted expression.
"What's wrong? Still can't let go of the Mizukage seat?"
Zabuza's eyes flickered with complexity. He sighed.
"The upper echelons of the Mist don't support me. If not for Elder Genshī's declaration…"
"Relax," Naruto waved his hand.
"You still have a chance. After all, Genshī made it clear—whoever finds the Six-Tails first becomes the Mizukage. But here's the thing: your village didn't tell you why the Jinchūriki left. Even if you do find him, you're just paving the way for someone else."
Zabuza's brows furrowed.
"Didn't he kill his teacher and defect…?"
"Oh, he did kill his teacher."
Naruto said flatly.
"But only because he was manipulated by others in the village. He was led to believe his teacher wanted to extract the tailed beast from him. It ended in tragedy."
"What?!"
Zabuza and Haku's faces darkened.
That kind of critical intel had been hidden from them?
If what Naruto said was true…
After a long silence, the two left the daimyo's residence—still skeptical, but clearly shaken. The hidden observers tailing them also withdrew.
"Isobu, I don't think that information will be of much use,"
Naruto muttered as his consciousness entered the sealing space.
"The higher-ups in Mist don't value them. They've probably got others hunting the Six-Tails anyway."
"Let's hope it helps," Isobu—the Three-Tails—closed his left eye. Suddenly, his right eye snapped open.
"I told you to reveal that because they have your Flying Thunder God mark. If they find Rōshi, you'll be able to teleport to them instantly. If the Akatsuki get to him first, we're screwed."
"We?"
Naruto glanced toward Kurama and Mu Wang, both frozen like statues.
"This Zabuza guy's ambition is too big. If he had any real awareness, he'd stop aiming for Mizukage and just serve as an advisor or strategist. Mist could've already found the Six-Tails by now."
Isobu said nothing. Naruto looked up and noticed his expression had gone vacant. With a sigh, Naruto exited the seal.
"What are Jinchūriki and Tailed Beasts?"
The moment Naruto regained awareness, Sasuke asked the question with a stern face.
"That's not something you need to be curious about just yet."
Naruto found Sasuke's seriousness amusing.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Naruto's smug tone irritated him.
"Even if you won't tell me, I'll figure it out myself!"
"If you look it up elsewhere, that's your call. But if you investigate this in Konoha… that's a death wish."
Naruto stood, his voice sharp and unflinching.
Sasuke froze. Naruto didn't seem like he was joking. His mind flashed back to the conversation he'd just overheard—was this information forbidden knowledge?
"I'm going to train,"
Sasuke grumbled, walking over to Naruto.
"You coming with, or sending me back to Konoha to dig around?"
Naruto smirked and created two Shadow Clones, assigning them to continue monitoring Zabuza's group en route to the port. Then he laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder—
Poof!
The two instantly appeared at a secluded training ground deep in the forests of the Land of Waves. After creating clones of their own, Naruto vanished again using Flying Thunder God.
Suddenly, he stood atop a glacial plateau. Towering ice peaks surrounded him, glittering beneath the sun.
Naruto raised his right arm, fingers splayed.
A Rasengan formed instantly in his palm.
WHIRRRR—!
Violent winds kicked up. The Rasengan quickly expanded into a massive, one-meter wide chakra shuriken, spinning at blinding speed.
"Didn't you figure out how to throw that thing six months ago?"
A familiar voice rang in his head. Naruto hurled the giant Rasenshuriken toward a smaller glacier—
BOOM!
"Kurama, why are you out? Got something good from a reward, huh?"
Naruto returned to the seal. Kurama flashed his white fangs in a grin.
"Of course. This reward is… something special."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Your smile looks suspicious."
Kurama slumped lazily, then pushed a fist toward Naruto.
"This reward's meant for that Uchiha brat."
Naruto blinked.
"You mean… Izanagi? Are you sure you want me to teach Sasuke a forbidden Uchiha jutsu?"
Kurama cackled.
"Absolutely. The moment I got it, I thought of him."
"…Why?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Kurama deflected.
"By the way, what're you doing in the Land of Snow?"
Naruto's face turned serious.
"I had a thought. I came to test something."
"What is it?" Kurama asked, leaning in.
"Watch."
Naruto raised a Rasengan overhead. Kurama's pupils dilated. He couldn't detect anything unusual—until the orb burst into radiant light, forcing him to shut his eyes.
"What the hell was that?!"
Kurama growled, eyes still stinging.
"I infused Storm Release into the Rasengan. Nailed it on the first try."
The orb sparked with tiny lightning arcs. It felt like it could be thrown like a Rasenshuriken.
Kurama snorted.
"So it's just a lightning Rasengan? Weaker than the Rasenshuriken. Worse than Rasendan too."
Naruto smirked.
"I can evolve it later into Storm Release: Rasenshuriken. But that's not the point. I'm testing whether Rasengan's neutral nature can fuse other elemental chakra types—maybe even create new Kekkei Genkai."
Kurama stiffened.
"You're trying to use Rasengan to develop new bloodline limits."
Naruto nodded.
"What do you think?"
Kurama pawed the ground.
"How the hell should I know? I don't even use ninjutsu. Just don't forget to teach Izanagi to that Uchiha kid."
Naruto gave him a knowing look.
"You just want his Sharingan to go blind faster. You sure this jutsu won't just give him another extra life?"
"Heh. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Then Kurama's fox face went blank—his consciousness had slipped into the mirror world.
Naruto shook his head, dismissing the Storm Release Rasengan.
Just as he exited the seal, he received a message from one of his Shadow Clones stationed in the Land of Waves.
Zabuza and Haku had boarded a ship and departed.
But the group that had been tailing them?
They'd turned around mid-sea—and were now nearing an abandoned port.
"So sneaky. They're definitely up to something…"
In a flash, Naruto returned to the forest.
"We've got uninvited guests. You coming?"
he asked Sasuke, who was still experimenting with chakra nature changes.
Sasuke dismissed his clones immediately.
"How many?"
"Six," Naruto replied, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Poof!
The two reappeared at the port. Naruto's remaining clones dismissed themselves.
A moment later, six figures raced across the ocean toward the dock. Naruto sensed the chakra of their leader—definitely a jōnin. The others were likely chūnin.
Naruto made a hand seal and summoned ten Shadow Clones. Sasuke had already drawn his sword when—
The six approaching figures suddenly halted.
"Hmph. They've got a sensory ninja too,"
one clone commented, observing their position—about 500 meters out.
Sasuke spun his blade.
"Then let's go to them."
But before Naruto could reply, the six enemies turned and bolted in the opposite direction.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He unfurled a scroll from his waist.
Puff!
A cloud of smoke. Sasuke was now clad in sleek, jet-black flight armor. With a sharp flutter, black wings sprouted from his back—he soared skyward.
Naruto chuckled.
"Black looks too grim. I should repaint those wings white…"
He took out an identical suit of armor and launched into the sky.
Ten minutes later.
Sasuke returned carrying two massive broadswords.
Naruto held a severed head—still wearing an eye mask.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.
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