"Hah... hah..."
Zabuza Momochi, stripped to the waist, was currently running through the forest, carrying Haku on his back.
Not far behind him, a cacophony of voices grew closer and closer.
"Lord Zabuza, please put me down."
On Zabuza's back, Haku spoke weakly.
It had been over a day since their defeat at Kakashi Hatake's hands, and they hadn't closed their eyes once. Haku knew that even with Lord Zabuza's physical strength, he was probably reaching his limit.
Not to mention, he was carrying a burden just as heavy.
"...Shut up."
Zabuza just said quietly, his pace not slowing in the slightest.
That damn Gato.
He silently etched the employer's name into his mind.
Time rewound.
Zabuza, his chakra completely depleted, was saved by Haku's self-sacrifice. The two sank to the bottom of the water and, under the cover of the lingering mist, managed to escape.
Battered and bruised, the two spent the entire night returning to the base of their employer, the great merchant Gato.
"Get us a room," Zabuza said curtly, supporting Haku as Gato approached with a smile.
To his surprise, upon seeing their miserable state, Gato didn't even bother to have someone show them to a room to rest; instead, he chuckled lightly.
Then, dozens of figures suddenly emerged from behind him.
Zabuza recognized these ill-intentioned men—they were local thugs, gangsters, and some third-rate ninja from small villages.
Normally, he could kill as many of these rookies—who were even weaker than the Demon Brothers—as they could throw at him.
But now, the two of them were in a precarious state, and Zabuza's Kubikiribocho was still missing.
It was a classic case of a tiger being bullied by dogs on flat ground.
"Go, kill them!"
At Gato's command, this mob of rabble swarmed forward with malicious smiles.
The first few were pierced through the throat by kunai thrown by Zabuza and fell to the ground silently.
But the men behind them didn't even glance at the fallen, some stepping on corpses and blood to continue forward.
With the heavy reward promised by Gato, every person fewer to split the money meant a larger share for the rest.
As the saying goes, enough ants can kill an elephant. And in Zabuza's current state, the gap in combat power wasn't as wide as before.
After sacrificing a few more lives, the group finally reached Zabuza.
At this distance, thrown kunai and shuriken were no longer a threat, and Zabuza had almost no equipment left.
"Ice Style: Icicle Swallow."
Behind Zabuza, Haku gritted his teeth, enduring the pain of his injuries to complete the hand seals.
An icicle shot towards the thugs rushing Zabuza's side, and after hitting one, it fanned out, spreading wide.
The move instantly took out a few unlucky ones, but it also exposed Haku.
A short ninja had snuck up behind Haku at some point. Seeing him form seals and release a ninjutsu, the ninja seized the opportunity and slashed Haku's back fiercely with a short sword.
Blood instantly soaked through Haku's clothes.
The intense pain forced Haku to his knees, the agony nearly overwhelming his consciousness.
Zabuza, in front, also noticed what had happened behind him. After slitting a man's throat with a kunai, he turned his head to look at Haku.
What he saw was the short ninja, having succeeded in his strike, preparing to sever Haku's head completely.
Seeing this, Zabuza's eyes turned blood-red.
It wasn't a visual jutsu like the Sharingan, but a side effect of becoming a murderous demon in the "Bloody Mist."
The scent of blood almost completely dyed Zabuza's vision. His skin seemed to turn red, and he looked like a true "demon."
This was also the origin of his title, "Demon."
"Die!"
Without even using a weapon, Zabuza directly caught the blade aimed at Haku with his bare hands. He twisted with great force, breaking the blade, then used the sharp tip to pierce straight through the attacker's head.
"Hah—"
The enemy's blood completely stained Zabuza's upper body. He turned to look at the thugs fighting for money, and his ferocious appearance momentarily stunned them, preventing them from advancing.
Haku also endured the pain and dizziness from blood loss, lightly placing a hand on Zabuza's back.
"What are you afraid of? There are only two of them! Go!"
"Whoever cuts off their heads first, I'll give them fifty million ryo!"
Money moves hearts. Faced with the high bounty offered by Gato, the group of thugs seemed to regain their courage.
Just as they were about to surround them again, Haku, standing behind Zabuza, spoke.
"Ice Style: Black Secret Technique in the Mist."
The hand hidden behind Zabuza had completed a one-handed seal. Haku used his remaining chakra to release one last ninjutsu.
A large cloud of ice and snow scattered around, instantly obscuring everyone's vision.
By the time they reacted, Haku and Zabuza had already disappeared.
Gato, furious, walked forward and roared at the thugs.
"Where are they?! Where did they go? You bunch of wastes! Go and finish them for me!"
Although Gato knew nothing about fighting, he understood the principle of getting what you pay for. The gap between Zabuza and this group of men was not something that could be solved by numbers.
The thought of them escaping and recovering, and then facing endless assassinations, made Gato extremely anxious.
He angrily pounded the floor with his cane, but suddenly felt that the texture was wrong.
Lifting his cane and seeing the bloodstain on the tip, his gaze turned to the ground.
A large pool of blood remained where the two had been standing.
"Go after them! They're heavily injured, they can't have gone far!"
At Gato's command, all the thugs in the base swarmed out, quickly following the trail of blood on the ground.
Gato, annoyed, found a sofa to sit on. He wanted to have a servant pour him a drink to calm his nerves, but found that no one answered after he called several times.
"Where is everyone? Where did they all die?"
He stood up, furious, only to hear a strange voice from behind him.
"Mmm—as expected of a great villainous merchant. The wine you drink is much better than what's sold outside."
Gato's first reaction was to yell in anger, but then he came to his senses, and cold sweat instantly streamed down his forehead.
Looking at the stranger who had silently entered and was leisurely drinking wine, Gato held his hands up in front of him and shouted.
"Don't kill me! Whatever they paid you, I'll give you double! No, I'll give you five times, ten times!"
He was already regretting sending everyone out. Unfortunately, the situation was out of his hands, and the only thing to consider was how to survive.
He hadn't lived enough yet. He still wanted to continue enjoying this extravagant life.
And Gato's thoughts stopped at this final moment.
"Idiot. If you're dead, the money is mine anyway."
Looking at the fallen Gato, the man gently swirled his wine glass, took a sip, and then said.
Then, he glanced at the liquid in the cup again.
"Tsk, still can't get used to it."
Putting the glass aside, he walked out of the door in his geta sandals, looking in the direction Zabuza and Haku had left.
"Zabuza and Haku, huh..."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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