"..."
Zabuza slowly opened his cold eyes and looked at the Anbu in front of him.
He had been secretly watching this guy for days, but whether it was because of caution or suspicion, the man never took off his mask.
Zabuza didn't know who he really was or what he was after.
If he could knock Zabuza out in an instant, his abilities might be way above Zabuza's own.
After they were taken off the bridge, they ended up here. Other than the medical ninja from Kirigakure, they hadn't seen anyone else.
The room was completely sealed off, and judging from the building style, Zabuza could barely tell that they were still in the Land of Waves.
Two failed missions in one go — and Gato's job was even supposed to be long-term.
Now the Mizukage had sent this scary Anbu with unknown skills. No matter how you looked at it, this was a huge problem.
"I noticed you've been watching me~ Trying to figure out how strong I am?"
"You failed your mission and don't want to go back with Haku and get blamed, so you're planning to run after you recover?"
Hatake Satoru tilted his head slightly, smiling as he bluntly exposed Zabuza's plan.
"Well, since you noticed, I guess I can't hide it. That really was what I was thinking. But what I don't get is why you bothered saving us."
He even arranged for medical ninja to heal them.
For someone who failed a mission, that kind of treatment was just plain weird.
Zabuza didn't bother pretending anymore. He threw off the blanket and sat up.
If no one noticed, he could've kept faking it, but now that he'd been called out, there was no point.
Haku was still lying motionless on the other bed.
Even though Hatake Satoru had made Kakashi's hand shift slightly, changing Raikiri's path, it was still a serious wound.
The only reason Haku survived was because Hatake Satoru could teleport, letting him give emergency treatment right away.
"You're really good at lying around. You could've just gotten up and asked me, you know?"
Hatake Satoru shrugged, looking a bit helpless.
He wasn't a ninja, so he didn't really get why Zabuza acted the way he did.
"The mission doesn't really count as a failure. I'll take care of things with Hozuki Man— I mean, with the Mizukage."
"It's true you didn't bring back the Jinchuriki or the last Uchiha, but—there's still a way to make up for it~"
He almost said Hozuki Mangetsu's name out loud. Well, in his mind, Mangetsu still felt like a kid, like a student.
Calling him "Lord Mizukage" just felt kind of awkward.
Zabuza probably never imagined that the guy he was talking to right now was actually the real mastermind behind Kirigakure Village.
He had even briefly considered taking this guy out with Haku to keep him from reporting their failure to the Mizukage.
Luckily, Haku woke up later and didn't get a chance to see how terrifying this guy really was.
"A chance to make up for it?"
Zabuza felt like the way this guy talked was kind of casual, like he was just saying whatever popped into his head.
It felt a little weird, but still — this Anbu was directly under the Mizukage and here to give out missions.
Since he even brought medical ninja, it probably meant the Mizukage gave the okay.
If this was a way to redeem themselves, then it made sense.
Zabuza wasn't stupid. Staying in a village was clearly better than being a rogue ninja with no place to go.
"You're still in the Land of Waves, so just finish the long-term job you were doing before~."
"Kill Gato, move his money."
"Having money like that could be your ticket to buying your lives back in front of the Mizukage."
"If he's in a good mood, he might even drop the whole Jinchuriki thing."
Hatake Satoru smiled and made a little gesture toward Zabuza like he was painting a nice picture of the future.
Zabuza looked at Hatake Satoru, thinking it over. What he said wasn't wrong.
As long as the Mizukage still needed them, there was a chance they'd be forgiven.
To be honest, the Mizukage never said they'd be killed if they failed the mission.
Zabuza just didn't want to go back and be looked down on for not getting the job done.
"Got it. We'll go once Haku wakes up."
Zabuza gave a small nod as he answered.
Hatake Satoru stood up slowly and calmly, rubbing his chin with a look like everything was settled.
"Just do what you need to do, then go back and tell the Mizukage the truth."
"Oh, my code name is 'Go'—be sure to mention me. I've got other work to do here~."
Before walking out, Satoru glanced at the headband lying next to the sleeping Haku and squinted thoughtfully.
Still just a genin, huh... This is gonna get interesting later.
…
"What?! Those ninja are helping them too?!"
Gato nearly stabbed a hole in the floor with his little cane, fuming as he glared at his men.
Because he was scared of Kakashi, he had secretly been gathering more people on his side.
He spent a lot of money hiring and buying help, pulling together a bunch of criminals to fight back.
"Y-yeah... the bridge is almost finished now, since that old guy Tazuna is still working on it..."
One of his men looked up nervously. Their building speed really was kind of crazy.
The main reason the bridge was delayed was because Gato kept messing things up. But once he was out of the way, everyone had been working non-stop.
"If we wait any longer, it won't matter how many people we throw at it."
Gato knew that the moment the bridge was finished, his monopoly would fall apart.
Even if he placed guards on the bridge, people would still sneak across.
And the so-called loyal fighters he hired? All of them only cared about money.
"Gather everyone we've got. Bring in as many as we can. Get as much dynamite ready as possible!"
"Head to the bridge right now!"
Less than an hour later, a huge crowd had formed near Gato's place.
Gato adjusted his sunglasses and jumped off the couch, heading for the door.
*Whoosh! THUNK!*
As soon as Gato stepped outside, a giant blade—bigger than him—flew over his head and slammed into the door next to him.
The noisy crowd instantly went silent. A few of the people standing in front of Gato were sliced clean in half.
Thanks to his short height, Gato barely survived. But his hair was completely shaved off the top of his head.
A dark shadow flashed by and landed firmly on the giant blade stuck in the wall.
A deep, mocking laugh echoed out of nowhere.
"Gato, where are you going with all these people?"
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