***
Carrying the ingredients she'd bought, Touye grumbled on her way back. "That damned swindler. He took one look at how young I am and acted like he had me right where he wanted me, ripping me off like that! Damn it, if I wasn't worried about Haku, I'd teach you a thing or two..."
The return trip was uneventful. She soon reached the small grove where she had left Haku.
It was quiet. Not even the chirping of birds or insects could be heard.
*Something's wrong... Haku didn't come out to greet me... And it's... too quiet... unnaturally so... Damn it!*
The girl dropped the food she was carrying and sprinted into the woods.
"Haku!" she shouted.
But the first thing she saw wasn't the small girl, but the towering back of a man, bare-chested and wrapped in bandages, a trademark greatsword strapped to his back.
It was... Momochi Zabuza!
A short, stifled cry escaped Touye's lips. She bit down hard, her hands forming a grip in front of her as an ice knife rapidly materialized with a series of cracks.
The tall figure slowly turned. With half his face covered by bandages, his expression was unreadable. Touye only heard a quizzical grunt. "Hm?"
"Sister?" a faint voice called out from behind the large figure.
Touye fought back her fear and yelled, "Haku! Run!"
"Heh..." The tall figure let out a laugh, its meaning unclear. A pair of grim eyes fixed on Touye. She felt an overwhelming killing intent wash over her, as if the world had gone dark, leaving only the man before her, his form magnified to an impossible size. Illusions flashed through her mind—visions of herself being slaughtered in countless ways.
*I'm going to be killed... I'm going to be killed! I'm going to die!*
Touye felt as if her breath had been stolen, and cold sweat drenched her body. *No, if this keeps up, I'll break down before he even makes a move... I have to... I have to attack first!*
Forcing down the terror in her heart, Touye let out a yell and charged at Zabuza, ice knife in hand.
"Heh..." another ambiguous laugh. Zabuza didn't even bother to dodge, simply watching her with a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes.
When she was just a few steps away from the man, Touye flicked her wrist, throwing the ice knife. At the same time, she formed hand seals with her other hand. In this moment of crisis, she broke through her previous limits, reaching a speed of three to four seals per second.
"Ice Release: Ice Fang Bite!"
Suddenly, two clusters of ice spikes erupted from the ground on either side of Zabuza, lunging toward him. Based on their shape, the two sets of spikes would mesh together perfectly if they connected.
*He'll have to jump back. That's his only way out. I hope he underestimates me because of my age... Otherwise... this is really it...*
She had no illusions of defeating or killing Zabuza; she just hoped to injure him and create an opening to escape with Haku.
As she predicted, Zabuza didn't draw his sword to block the incoming ice knife and spikes. Instead, he leaped backward.
*Perfect!* A wave of elation washed over Touye. She then threw herself forward. Just as she was about to hit the ground, an ice mirror materialized in front of her. She fell onto it—no, not onto it! She fell *into* it! Her entire body merged with the mirror!
A moment later, she shot out from the mirror, hurtling toward Zabuza's back at incredible speed.
*Did it work?*
Clutching another ice knife, Touye ruthlessly stabbed at the man's back. Just then, the man turned his head and gave her an eerie smile. "Not bad."
His voice was a little hoarse, somewhat sinister, but Touye had no time to care. The knife sank smoothly into his back, but her expression twisted into one of despair. The man she had stabbed wasn't bleeding red blood, but clear water!
"This is... a Water Clone...?"
An aura that made her blood run cold emanated from behind her, like a man-eating beast pressing against her back, its crimson maw wide open.
Touye desperately spun around, trying to raise her arms to block the attack, but... it was too late.
The man's knee broke through her defense and slammed into her abdomen. She flew backward limply, crashing hard against a large tree before bouncing back to the ground.
She landed on all fours, struggling to push herself up, but the man's single blow seemed to have drained every last ounce of strength from her body, making it impossible to rise.
"Gah..." After several failed attempts, she coughed up a large mouthful of blood and collapsed, her body feeling as if it were filled with lead. A searing pain burned through her organs. Her vision blurred, and a roar filled her ears as blood trickled from her nose and mouth.
But still, she forced her head up, watching as the man walked toward her.
Haku rushed forward, crying out, but the man casually pushed her aside.
"I have something important to do, so I need a useful tool," the tall man said, standing over Touye. "I've been observing you two for a few days. In terms of talent, you are undoubtedly the better choice, but..."
He paused, then continued, "Unfortunately, I need a tool, not a comrade. I don't know what experiences have given you such a mature mind at such a young age, nor do I care to find out. A tool doesn't need a will of its own; it only needs to complete its tasks. A tool with thoughts is no longer a good tool, so..."
The man took the greatsword from his back, slowly raised it, and sighed. "Well, what a pity..."
Touye stared blankly at the Executioner's Blade above her. *Is this... how it ends for me... I can't accept this!*
"Farewell..."
The Executioner's Blade fell with blinding speed. Just as it was about to strike her down, a hoarse shriek made the man's blade halt.
"Stop!"
The man turned to see the small girl standing behind him. She was holding a small ice knife, its point pressed against her own throat. The sharp tip had pierced her tender skin, and a startlingly bright stream of red trickled down the blade.
Touye stared dazedly at the massive blade suspended above her. Before she could feel any relief at her narrow escape, she saw the little girl. "Haku!" she screamed hoarsely. "What are you doing! Put the knife down!"
Tears streamed down the girl's face as she looked at Touye. "Sister..." Then she fearlessly looked up at the tall man. "You want a tool, don't you! Fine! I'll go with you. I'll work hard to learn how to be a perfect tool! But, I have one condition!"
She looked at Touye with reluctance, then spoke with determination. "Let her go, and I'll go with you! If she dies, I will follow her! I know you're strong enough to stop me from killing myself right now! But I doubt you want a tool that's trying to commit suicide every second of the day!"
The girl on the ground struggled to get up. "Haku! What are you talking about! Put the knife down—ghk..." She coughed up another mouthful of blood, gasping for air.
The man stared coldly at the girl behind him, and she stared back without flinching, pressing the knife harder against her throat. The wound widened, and blood flowed freely.
For a moment, the scene was frozen, the only sounds being Touye's ragged breaths and coughs.
Finally, as if tired of the standoff, the man looked away. "Fine," he said in a flat tone. "My only intention was to find a useful tool. If she hadn't overestimated herself, I wouldn't have tried to kill her. Since you've made your decision, I have no reason to kill her."
He withdrew the blade from above Touye and strapped it back onto his back. "Now, let's not waste any time. We're leaving."
The knife in the girl's hand fell to the ground. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry. Please, just give me a little more time..."
The man said nothing, simply stepping aside in silent agreement.
The girl knelt by Touye's side and held her, crying softly. "Sister... I'm so sorry... I have to leave you alone now... No matter what... you have to live..."
She took a small handkerchief from her pocket. Inside was half a rice ball. She wrapped it up and placed it in Touye's arms. After one last, tight hug, she gently laid her down and walked over to Zabuza.
The tall man was leaning against a tree, gazing up at the sky, lost in thought.
The girl walked to his side. "Sir, I'm ready. We can... go now..." As she spoke, she glanced back one more time.
The man's voice was cold. "A tool has no need for emotions. They only interfere with its performance. If you dare to look back again, I'll consider you an unqualified tool. And then, I'll kill that little brat immediately."
The girl, who had been about to turn her head, froze. She quickly faced forward again, head bowed, not daring to look back.
The man nodded. "Acceptable. Let's go." He started walking out of the forest at a brisk pace.
The girl had to jog to keep up.
After a few steps, the man stopped again. Without turning, he spoke coolly, "Do you know why this happened?"
He didn't wait for an answer. "Because you're too weak. The weak can only be trampled upon in this world. You want to take her back? Then get stronger. Strong enough to take her back from me!"
With that, he continued walking without waiting for a reaction.