Bone shards scattered like snow, and a broken section of a blade was stabbed into the dirt.
Takizo's hands were trembling uncontrollably, the webbing between his thumbs and index fingers torn open. The bone sword in his hand was covered in spiderweb cracks.
Zabuza stared at the broken Executioner's Blade in his hand, his expression unreadable.
He looked up at Takizo. "Not bad, kid. Now I'm going to get serious."
Takizo immediately tossed his sword aside, tilted his head back, and grinned. "I give up!"
Zabuza, who was midway through forming a hand seal, froze. "What did you say?"
Takizo held up his bloody, trembling hands. "Can't fight anymore. I surrender."
Zabuza frowned. "We can continue with a Ninjutsu duel."
Takizo spread his hands helplessly. "Can't do it!"
A question mark popped up over Zabuza's head again. "What do you mean 'can't do it'?"
Takizo plopped down on the ground. "First off, I'm eight. Second, the Kaguya Clan doesn't exactly have a library of 'normal' Ninjutsu."
"The only thing I can use is some low-level Lightning Release," Takizo explained. "And I only learned that because..."
"...Because you wanted a counter to the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique," Mangetsu finished the sentence as he walked back onto the field.
Suigetsu tagged along, running over to yank the broken blade shard out of the ground.
He trotted up to Zabuza with a shit-eating grin. "Senpai, Senpai! Since the Executioner's Blade regenerates from blood anyway, can I keep this piece? Please?"
Distracted by the interruption, Zabuza stopped forming his seals and bonked Suigetsu on the head.
He turned back to Takizo. "Are you sure you won't stay in the Mist?"
"I'm sure," Takizo said.
"Pity," Zabuza shook his head. "With your talent, give it a few years, and you could inherit the Lightning Blades: Kiba. You'd make a fine member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
Mangetsu started wrapping bandages around Takizo's injured hands. "Which village are you planning to go to?"
"Probably the Hidden Cloud," Takizo replied. "It's close to the Mist, and they actually value kekkei genkai clans."
Suigetsu, hugging the broken sword piece, chimed in. "Hey, if you deliver yourself to their doorstep, at least they won't have to kidnap you."
Everyone laughed.
The Hidden Cloud's habit of kidnapping geniuses from other villages was practically an open secret in the ninja world. Their philosophy was basically "Kidnapping is recruiting."
Zabuza got back to business. "When will the Kaguya start the uprising?"
Takizo thought for a moment. "Hard to say exactly. My clan is famous for being unstable."
Zabuza nodded. That tracked.
"However," Takizo continued, "this Sunday is the clan meeting. It'll likely happen then."
Mangetsu was surprised. "That's only three days away. So soon?"
"Delays breed disaster," Zabuza said. "With the Kaguya helping us, we don't need to waste time gathering more forces. The longer we wait, the more likely something goes wrong."
He looked at Takizo. "How many bodies can the Kaguya throw at this?"
"Around two hundred ninjas," Takizo estimated. "About ten Jonin. The rest are Chunin."
The numbers confirmed the clan's decline. For context, the Uchiha Clan—another major noble family—had over thirty Jonin-level fighters.
Zabuza nodded. It was within his expectations.
"The village has about fifty Jonin total. Excluding those away on missions, there are maybe thirty-something in the village right now," Zabuza analyzed. "But there are over seven hundred Chunin. The Kaguya are going to face massive pressure."
Mangetsu added, "I can mobilize some ninjas when the time comes. It's a shame Kisame has been busy with... whatever he's doing lately."
Takizo stood up and dusted himself off. "Don't worry about us. Focus on your objective. Dying on the battlefield is a gift to the Kaguya."
"Alright. Now that it's settled, I should head back," Takizo smiled.
"Stay for dinner?" Mangetsu offered.
Takizo shook his head. "Every second I stay in the village increases the risk of exposure."
He paused, looking at Suigetsu playing with the broken sword in the distance. "What are you going to do with Suigetsu?"
"I'll think of something," Mangetsu said.
Then, he looked at Takizo curiously. "You sound absolutely certain we're going to fail."
"I just make a habit of planning for defeat before victory," Takizo deflected.
Mangetsu was silent for a moment. "Wait here."
He went back into the house and returned with a scroll, tossing it to Takizo. "These are some of the village's Water Style jutsu. Take it. I can't help you with Lightning Style, though."
Takizo caught it.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Mangetsu grinned.
Takizo unrolled a bit of the scroll, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Mangetsu with genuine gratitude. "This is a huge help."
Looking at the three of them, Takizo felt a sudden wave of emotion.
Zabuza and Mangetsu were heading off to assassinate a Kage—a suicide mission with slim chances of survival.
Takizo was about to lead a bunch of kids on an escape across the ocean while being hunted—also a deadly gamble.
"This might be the last time we see each other in this life," Takizo said softly.
He held out his fist. "I wish you all victory. May your martial fortune be long and prosperous."
Mangetsu smiled and bumped his fist against Takizo's. "That sounded way more sincere than your earlier speech."
Zabuza extended his fist too. "Stay alive, kid."
"Me too! Me too!" Suigetsu ran over and added his fist to the circle.
Together, they said it:
"Victory. Fortune."
Takizo smiled and left. Zabuza departed shortly after. The Hozuki brothers went back inside.
The training ground fell silent again.
Only the bone sword Takizo left behind remained as proof that anything had happened at all.
Suddenly, the ground rippled.
A high-pitched, goofy voice echoed from the earth. "Ehh~ looks like we heard something super interesting~ Should we tell Obito?~"
"Remember," a deep, raspy voice corrected. "Call him Madara."
"Right~ right~" the first voice mocked. "Madara~ Madara~"
"Shut up. Let's go before we're spotted."
The ground rippled again, and silence returned.
A long time later.
Zap.
The bone sword on the ground sparked with lightning and disintegrated into dust.
Far away in the forest, Takizo's expression darkened.
Just as I thought.
Zetsu.
Their entire plan had been bugged. This was probably exactly how Zabuza failed in the original story.
But it didn't matter.
Takizo never thought they would succeed anyway.
The combined might of the Kaguya and Hozuki clans wasn't even close to matching the full force of the Mist Village.
And Zabuza and Suigetsu? They stood no chance against Yagura (a perfect Jinchūriki), Kisame Hoshigaki, and Obito Uchiha.
All Takizo needed was chaos. He just needed the Mist Village to be in turmoil so he could fish in troubled waters.
Now, he had to focus on the Kaguya problem.
How do I ignite the clan's rage against the Mist to the point of no return?
I need to polish my rhetoric a bit more.
Takizo pondered as he ran.
seeing the clan compound in the distance, he slowed down.
Compared to yesterday, his mood was completely different.
Alright.
Time to face my original family.
Takizo, no longer suppressed by fear, felt a dark amusement rising in his chest.