The ship had arrived at the Land of Water.
Along the way, Momochi Zabuza tried to test Uehara Naraku many times, still unsure if the name Hoshigaki Kisame mentioned by him was true or false.
If it's not Hoshigaki Kisame, could it be Hozuki Mangetsu?
But that guy Hozuki Mangetsu is an undeniable genius, also the most promising candidate to become the Fifth Mizukage in the village. Would he really risk assassinating the Fourth Mizukage?
Among the current Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza still believed that only he wanted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, as Hozuki Mangetsu and Hoshigaki Kisame seemed so loyal. If word slipped out, it would hinder his plans.
After stepping onto the land of the Land of Water, Zabuza proactively made a request of Uehara Naraku, "I can only provide you with Hoshigaki Kisame's route once, but I won't take you to see him; besides, if I took you to see him, you wouldn't trust me, would you?"
"Hmm, Mr. Zabuza's credibility is indeed questionable."
Uehara Naraku nodded with a furrowed brow, ignoring Zabuza's suddenly unpleasant expression, and softly continued, "Then let's set a time for our next meeting! Let's meet here again in three days!"
"Alright."
Zabuza agreed to his proposal.
The reason Zabuza agreed to help instead of dying to prove his resolve is that he recognized Uehara's strength and wanted to take advantage of him.
Hoshigaki Kisame is the most loyal ninja to the Fourth Mizukage within the entire Hidden Mist Village. If Uehara Naraku could delay Kisame, Zabuza could immediately proceed with his assassination of the Mizukage.
In the whole Hidden Mist Village, only Hoshigaki Kisame is willing to protect that idiot Mizukage Yagura; who else would dare approach him?
The opportunity was rare.
"Then here's to our successful cooperation."
Uehara Naraku looked at Zabuza and extended his hand.
Zabuza glared at him, refusing the handshake, and instead said coldly, "We're not cooperating. I'm just providing you with information once."
"That's quite a pity..."
Uehara Naraku sighed, his expression somber, "Before we part, let me remind you, while I like to deceive others, I dislike being deceived myself."
"... I got it."
Zabuza agreed verbally, cursing him inwardly for being so arrogant for his age!
Uehara Naraku wasn't too worried about Zabuza deceiving him. Even if he brought a group of Mist Village Ninja to encircle him, Uehara was confident he could escape. He would just activate The Moment of Holy Judgment for invincibility, then use the Mayfly Jutsu to slip underground and escape.
There were still three days before the information exchange with Zabuza. Since he was in the Land of Water, there was no reason to leave empty-handed.
On the map of the Land of Water, the most popular figures are Terumi Mei and Haku. Uehara Naraku didn't expect to meet the future Fifth Mizukage, but he hoped to find Haku, who possessed the Ice Release Bloodline.
The current Haku should be wandering the streets and alleys of the Land of Water, carefully hiding his heritage of the Ice Release Bloodline.
His activity range was rather large.
Uehara Naraku persevered in looking for several days in the most dirty, messy, and poor areas, without finding any trace of Haku.
Feeling somewhat lost, Uehara Naraku decided to temporarily give up searching for Haku. As he was about to wait for Zabuza's information, he noticed a strand of brown hair in his line of vision.
The youngster looked up slowly following the strand of brown hair, seeing a gentle-faced, brown-haired young female ninja. She smiled at Uehara, and as if performing a magic trick, she opened her palm to reveal a packet of cookies.
The woman bent down, extending her hand with the cookies forward, "Little guy, come eat. These are for you!"
"Hmm?"
Uehara Naraku was full of question marks.
This young woman with brown hair was the future Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei. Uehara hadn't expected to meet her in such a place at this time.
But what did Terumi Mei mean by giving him cookies?
Uehara Naraku tilted his head and glanced at the two accompanying ninjas behind Terumi Mei. One of the ninjas blushed and looked at the female ninja with worship in his eyes, "Ah... as expected of Lady Terumi Mei, she's so charmingly gentle!"
The other ninja's expression was rather complicated: "If it weren't for Lady Terumi Mei's Jutsu being too frightening, I'm sure many in the village would admire her!"
The air suddenly fell silent.
"Shut up, you're too noisy!"
The originally gentle Terumi Mei's expression turned furious upon hearing one of her subordinates defame her, and she turned to knee the person away!
Terumi Mei looked coldly at the other ninja who was now sweating bullets, snorting dismissively. She then adjusted her hair and turned back to face Uehara Naraku, her demeanor once again becoming gentle and amiable.
The speed at which she changed expressions was truly astounding!
The brown-haired ninja seemed to realize her earlier actions were somewhat ungraceful. She gracefully walked toward Uehara Naraku, pulled up his arm, placed the cookies in his palm, and kindly ruffled his hair.
"Little brother, don't be afraid, this sister is a good person!"
With a motherly smile, Terumi Mei squatted down and softly said, "You must be hungry, right? These are for you, go ahead and eat!"
"..."
Listening to her urging, Uehara Naraku woodenly put a cookie in his mouth, his mind blank. Was it because his youthful appearance was too charming that he attracted Terumi Mei's attention?
Seeing the young man nibble on the cookies, Terumi Mei nodded in satisfaction and softly continued, "Little one, do you have a home... now?"
"..."
Uehara Naraku silently shook his head, then nodded, perhaps the Akatsuki could also be considered his home? Both Konan and Pain treated him decently.
"Understood."
Terumi Mei patted his forehead, seemingly lost in her own thoughts, and sighed, "If you ever encounter difficulties in the future, you can come to the Hidden Mist Village to find me. You mustn't scavenge food from garbage, I'm Jonin Terumi Mei of the Hidden Mist Village, remember?"
"... I remember."
Uehara Naraku took a bite of the cookie, his expression gradually souring.
How did this woman deduce that he was scavenging food from garbage? He was a wealthy man with a million paper bombs!
"That's good then."
Terumi Mei nodded contentedly and left with her subordinates, "Alright, let's go."
One of the ninjas complimented, "I have never seen Lady Terumi Mei so gentle! If Lady Terumi Mei were as gentle as she was to that little guy, even one-tenth as much, many in the village would propose to her!"
"Hm, no good men in the village!"
Terumi Mei disdainfully raised her head, her voice fading into the distance, yet still heard by Uehara Naraku, "Don't you think that little guy is interesting? He's a beggar picking food in the garbage, yet his shabby clothes are very clean, and even in such a plight, he still shows ambition..."
"..."
Crack!
Uehara Naraku suddenly clenched his fist, crushing the cookie into pieces. How did this woman with such poor eyesight detect the Fourth Mizukage had fallen to Genjutsu, and how did she become a Mizukage in the future?
Swish!
As Uehara Naraku's frustration lingered, a figure suddenly darted in front of him, snatching the crumbs from his hand, and fled swiftly!
"..."
Uehara Naraku was stunned, then noticed not far from him, a vagabond devouring the crumbs hungrily, and his eye couldn't help but twitch.
Do all the people in the Land of Water have such poor judgment?
Someone actually dared to steal from him!