Zabuza walked down the bustling street, watching the flow of people, and then looked at his own familiar yet strange reflection, sighing at how quickly time passed.
He weaved through the crowd, arriving at an alleyway. He glanced around, then slipped into the alley. Deep within this alley was a door.
Zabuza opened the door and stepped inside. It was lively within. Just past the entrance were ten tables, all occupied by bounty hunters.
"Business is slow these days."
"Did you hear? Kakuzu, the strongest bounty hunter, killed another ninja and got a huge reward."
"I still think the strongest bounty hunter has to be the Xuanyuan Group."
"I still think Kakuzu is stronger than the Xuanyuan Group."
"How can that be? The Xuanyuan Group is a team, and Kakuzu is just one person."
...
When Zabuza entered, someone saw him and asked, "Yo, Zabuza, long time no see. Haven't seen you at the Bounty Station lately."
Zabuza nodded, said nothing, and went to the intelligence counter to buy information.
At this time, Zabuza was still dressed like a rogue ninja. Following Zero's warning, he wouldn't reveal his identity as part of the Nine Faces. Zabuza understood this, as in his view, the Nine Faces was the Mechanical Empire's intelligence agency.
Zabuza used to be a regular at the Bounty Station. After all, he needed money. When Gato didn't have missions for him, he would take on extra jobs, kill some people, and earn some cash.
Passing the area where bounty hunters drank, Zabuza finally arrived at a door. This was the Bounty Station's intelligence trading post.
As a Bounty Station spread across the five great nations, its strength was unclear, but its intelligence capabilities were very high. The Bounty Station collected a huge number of bodies, and the information they obtained by extracting memories and souls was countless.
Zabuza opened the door and met a staff member. The staff member saw Zabuza's arrival, stood up, bowed, and said, "Zabuza-san, do you need anything this time?"
"I want information about Shinno."
"Shinno's information, right? Alright, Zabuza-san, please wait a moment, I'll be right back." The staff member heard Zabuza, bowed again, and then went to the back information room to get the intelligence.
As the staff member went to get the intelligence, Zabuza also prepared his money. As a regular customer here, Zabuza naturally understood that it was always cash on delivery.
When the staff member came out of the information room, he was holding a stack of documents.
The staff member confirmed the documents and said, "Zabuza-san, this intelligence is worth 100,000 ryo."
Zabuza took the stack of documents and said, "I know the rules, here's 100,000 ryo."
The staff member took the 100,000 ryo, counted it, and after counting, put the money into a drawer.
At the same time, he looked up, smiling, and asked Zabuza, "Zabuza-san, is there anything else you need help with?"
"Not this time, maybe next time."
Zabuza glanced at the intelligence, tucked it into his pocket, and walked towards the door.
After leaving the Bounty Station, Zabuza went to the Free Trade Company headquarters. Zabuza needed to make some preparations and also check on Shinno's whereabouts.
Zabuza arrived at the Free Trade Company headquarters, went to his office, and sat down to check on Shinno's whereabouts.
Taking out the documents provided by the Bounty Station, Zabuza analyzed the intelligence. As he continued to analyze, Zabuza learned more and more about Shinno.
At the very end of the intelligence, it was detailed that Shinno was currently in a certain village in the Land of Rivers and had not yet left.
Zabuza finished reading the intelligence, packed his things, and prepared to head to the Land of Rivers.
Zabuza left the capital, glanced back at it, and then quickly headed towards the Land of Rivers.
Along the way, Zabuza traveled non-stop to Shinno's location. The journey almost exhausted Zabuza. If it weren't for his transformation into a Mechanical Race member, Zabuza wouldn't have reached the Land of Rivers so quickly.
After arriving in the Land of Rivers, Zabuza rested briefly, then headed to Shinno's location. Soon, he found the village where Shinno was.
The journey, which normally took a day and a half, was completed in half a day with Zabuza traveling at full speed.
After realizing he had reached his destination, Zabuza rested for a while on the spot.
Once he felt he was in his best condition, he stealthily entered the village, looking for Shinno's exact location.
At this time, inside a house in the village, Shinno was performing surgery on a villager. The villager lay on the bed, covered in surgical marks, looking particularly gruesome.
Suddenly, Shinno's hand paused, then he continued his surgery. Just as Shinno's scalpel was about to descend again, a voice sounded from outside the door.
"I never thought the famous leader of the Sky Ninja Village would be here."
Shinno heard this, his hand stopped. He looked towards the door. He wanted to know who knew he was from the Sky Ninja Village. He had kept this identity a secret, only people from the Sky Ninja Village knew it.
Had someone from the Sky Ninja Village betrayed them? As Shinno wondered, the door suddenly opened.
Zabuza opened the door and entered from outside, wearing a black suit, a silver mask, and carrying a large sword on his back. He walked straight into the room and looked at Shinno.
Shinno saw his attire and immediately wondered which faction Zabuza belonged to.
"May I ask, sir, what brings you here?"
"Nothing much. You are Shinno, right?"
"Yes, sir, I am Shinno, I don't know if you..." Before Shinno could finish speaking, Zabuza suddenly charged forward. After reaching Shinno, his large sword swung straight towards Shinno's neck.
Shinno looked at the incoming sword in terror. At the last moment,
"Forbidden Jutsu, Physical Activation!"
As Shinno activated his forbidden jutsu, a scalpel blocked Zabuza's large sword.
As the two clashed, Shinno instantly crashed through a large hole in the house wall, flying out of the room.
Shinno stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said to Zabuza, "What do you mean, sir?"
Zabuza slowly walked out of the room. Facing Shinno, who was in a fighting stance, Zabuza, with a smile under his mask, said, "My mission is to capture you. If you come with me, there won't be so much trouble."
"Sir, don't be too overbearing. We mind our own business. If I have offended you in any way, I will visit you another day. What do you think?"
Shinno said seriously. For him, his plan was about to succeed. As long as he completed his medical forbidden jutsu and developed the Zero-Tails, he wouldn't fear even the five great nations, let alone this small, unknown faction hiding its face.
---
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