Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 107
🕑 Added 2024-12-30 22:39:39 +0000 UTCMasashi teleported directly to the entrance of the Hokage Building using the Flying Thunder God.
However, the moment he used it, Masashi regretted it. He had become so accustomed to using it that he forgot he was holding a child.
Looking down, he met a pair of curious eyes. Instead of the expected disorientation or nausea, he saw only wonder.
"Karin, do you feel okay?" Masashi asked in surprise.
The first time he used the technique with Itachi, the boy had been slightly overwhelmed.
However, Karin seemed perfectly fine.
This timid child instead appeared to find the teleportation interesting, with an added sparkle in her eyes. Her small hands weren't even trembling.
He knew the Uzumaki clan generally had excellent physical constitutions, but Karin's reaction seemed especially rare.
This child must have exceptional talent.
Masashi was increasingly convinced that Karin was indeed Karin.
In the original timeline, after Kushina's death, the Uzumaki clan members who appeared—whether Naruto, Nagato, or Karin—had never received formal training in the clan's techniques.
Among them, only Karin showed even a slight resemblance to the clan's abilities.
Although this was partly due to Orochimaru's obsession with collecting the Uzumaki clan's heritage, it still demonstrated her extraordinary potential.
Holding Karin's hand, Masashi walked along the street in front of the Hokage Building toward a nearby building known as the Hokage's House. He could feel her small fingers gripping his with nervous energy.
Of course, Hokage's House wasn't its official name. But somehow, the people of Konoha started calling the building that—it just felt more approachable.
Arriving at the front door of the Hokage's private duplex, Masashi knocked.
"Coming." A warm and energetic voice came from inside.
After a moment, the door opened, and Kushina appeared.
"Masashi, you're so punctual."
She had been waiting for a while. After learning about Karin, she had already made up her mind. Her eyes immediately sought out the girl. "Where's the child?"
"Kushina-nee." Masashi nodded, then tugged at Karin, who was hiding behind him. "Karin, don't be afraid. This is your big sister."
When the door opened, Karin instinctively hid behind him. Hearing what he said, she carefully peeked out.
"Your name is Karin?" Kushina squatted down. The moment she saw Karin, she knew this child was from her clan. Squatting to meet her gaze, she looked at her gently. "Karin, from now on, this will be your home."
Karin tilted her head in confusion at the statement and looked up at Masashi.
He gave her a reassuring nod.
In his view, leaving Karin in Kushina's care was the best choice.
It wasn't just because Kushina was an Uzumaki too—she knew what it was like to lose a family as a kid and end up alone in a strange place.
Karin started to say something but only got out an "ah" before stopping herself.
"This child has been through a lot. You'll have to take good care of her," Masashi said.
"Don't worry. I've got experience." Kushina's heart was already full of compassion as she looked at Karin.
She remembered the time she first arrived in Konoha. Back then, Mito was still around and helped her through the toughest days.
And now it was my turn to pass that kindness forward.
"Alright, I'll leave now." Masashi said this to her before squatting down again and ruffling Karin's hair. "I have to go take care of some business. Listen to your big sister, okay? She's your real family. Look, your hair is the same color."
Hearing that, Karin looked at Kushina's fiery red hair hanging over her shoulders and curiously touched it.
Then she pulled up her own hair and carefully compared it, a small smile finally breaking through.
Kushina gently pulled Karin into her arms.
Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Masashi stood up and teleported away.
After all, Kushina had been a mother for over two years. She could handle this.
---
Back in the Uchiha clan's territory, Masashi headed for Shisui's house.
Upon arriving at the house, he heard a shout from upstairs.
"Masashi-nii, are we leaving now?"
Masashi looked up. Shisui's bedroom window was open, and he was waving at him, already fully equipped for travel.
"Yeah, let's go. Are you ready?"
"I've been ready for a while." Shisui jumped out of the window and landed steadily.
"Which route are we taking?"
"What route? I'll take you there."
Masashi placed his hand on Shisui's shoulder, and the two of them disappeared.
When they reappeared, they were outside the village.
Before Shisui could say anything, Masashi used the Flying Thunder God again.
Holding onto him, Masashi followed the Flying Thunder God markings he had set along the route during his previous trip, heading south.
With Shisui's physical constitution, he naturally felt no discomfort as the scenery around them kept changing.
After the final teleportation, they found themselves on the coastline.
"We'll walk from here," Masashi said, removing his hand.
"No more Flying Thunder God? I think it's quite convenient."
"No. Kiri is probably a mess right now, and we're close to the Land of Whirlpools. Let's just walk."
"Got it." Shisui obediently agreed. Mainly because… he didn't recognize this place.
When he fought against Kiri before, he had traveled with the main forces.
It wasn't that he couldn't remember the route—it was just that they hadn't taken this one.
Following behind Masashi, Shisui moved along the coastline and through forests. Along the way, he began to see how Kiri's chaos had affected the Land of Fire's borders.
The Land of Fire had a robust fishing industry.
In the shinobi world, there were three major fishing zones: one between the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, another shared by the Fire, Wave, and Whirlpool countries, and the last one offshore, monopolized by the Land of Water.
Shisui and Masashi passed through several towns, all of which were noticeably desolate. Empty boats lined the docks, nets lay unused.
If the Land of Fire was like this, the Land of Whirlpools would be in an even worse state.
After all, they no longer had a ninja village.
As the two of them approached the Land of Whirlpools, they began to see refugees in the towns they passed.
Absorbing refugees from neighboring countries was an important task for local governors.
The Land of Fire had enough land to accommodate them.
In reality, the shinobi world had abundant land and few people.
The small countries lacked not land but peaceful environments. However, unless absolutely necessary, people still preferred to stay in their homeland.
For the Land of Fire to see refugees, it meant that the Land of Whirlpools was already in chaos. This kind of population movement was actually beneficial for the larger nations.
Masashi and Shisui continued forward.
After passing through the final border town, they approached the Land of Whirlpools.
Just as they were about to set foot on its land, they spotted ninjas.
It was a group of ninjas chasing someone.
That person—Masashi recognized.
"What's he doing here?" he muttered, confused as to why this guy had come back.
"Masashi-nii, you know him?"
"Look closely. You know him too," Masashi said.
The person in question seemed to have had a rough time recently, his appearance drastically changed, which was why Shisui didn't recognize him immediately.
"Hm?" Shisui activated his Sharingan and looked carefully.
"Isn't that Zabuza? Didn't intelligence say he was already in the Land of Fire?"
"Good question," Masashi said, looking at the ninjas chasing the figure. "Why don't we ask him ourselves?"
---
Zabuza was in a very sorry state.
Behind him, a group of Kiri ANBU were chasing.
The assassination of the Fourth Mizukage... no, rather, the rescue of the Fourth Mizukage had failed, and he had fled all the way into the Land of Fire.
But!
The Kubikiribōchō was a gift from the Mizukage. Unless the real Mizukage himself said so, no one could take it from him.
So, after the Kiri pursuit squad withdrew, Zabuza sneaked back in.
He had no choice. The blade had been left behind in Kiri.
What kind of ninjutsu was that Obito using? Nothing could touch him. Why couldn't the blade hit him?
Not only had he missed, but the blade was stolen.
But it didn't matter—Zabuza grew up in Kiri.
Didn't he retrieve it himself in the end?
The Demon without the Kubikiribōchō was incomplete. Gripping the the blade tightly, he felt a hint of satisfaction.
But even with blade, when it was time to run, he still had to run.
Behind him, the sound of shuriken cutting through the air approached again.
Hah! They're panicking.
They knew that if he ran into the Land of Fire again, they would return empty-handed.
At this moment, Kiri's ANBU did not dare enter Konoha's territory. Because Konoha was unnaturally strong right now.
Kiri was no longer capable of a confrontation with Konoha.
Zabuza kept running, swinging the blade to deflect the shuriken flying from behind.
Suddenly, he noticed two people standing ahead of him.
Those green vests—they were Konoha ninjas.
Daring to block the escape route chosen by the Demon—did they have a death wish?
Fine. He'd cut them down, too.
Whether he was pursued by Kiri or Konoha, debts piling up didn't make a difference.
He sped up, chakra pulsing through his legs as he readied his blade.
But as the distance between them closed, his smile disappeared.
The White Ghost and the Teleporter?
What kind of crazy setup is this? No, why were these two jinxes here?
---
Masashi and Shisui looked at Zabuza, who was charging at them filled with killing intent. However, the closer he got, the slower he moved. Finally, he stopped, and his killing intent evaporated like morning mist.
"Zabuza, what a coincidence," Masashi said, staring at him with those calculating eyes. "Were you planning to cut us down?"
Shisui, on the other hand, glanced at the Kiri ANBU closing in behind them. In an instant, he disappeared from where he stood.
Zabuza couldn't even be bothered to look back.
Either the ANBU would be stopped, or they'd be killed.
Killing the Teleporter? Those guys behind him? Give me a break.
Then he heard Masashi speak.
"Didn't I already tell you not to act recklessly last time? And you still went to assassinate him?"
Zabuza was silent for a moment before asking, "What kind of ninjutsu is your clansman using?"
"The Mangekyō Sharingan is unique to each user. Your techniques are useless against him." Masashi didn't reveal any information about Obito. "I won't give you any more unnecessary intel. Based on your actions and current situation, you're no longer a viable ally in this matter. Now tell me, what are you doing in the Land of Fire?"
"You're so arrogant, White Ghost. I still have connections in Kiri," Zabuza said, watching Masashi's reaction. "My value is beyond your imagination."
"Enough with the nonsense. Assassinating the Mizukage? If you had connections, they're mostly dead by now. Answer my question properly."
"I'm just resting on this land for a while," Zabuza said, using the fiercest tone to say the politest words of his life. "Once I'm rested, I'll leave."
"Fine, go ahead." Masashi stepped aside. "As long as you don't cause trouble in the Land of Fire, we won't bother you."
"Alright, I'll give you that respect—"
"If you keep pretending, I'll beat you up right now."
Without another word, Zabuza disappeared like the wind before Masashi.
He watched Zabuza's retreating figure, and then walked toward the Kiri ANBU, who were now facing Shisui.
Well, it could be called a standoff in a sense.
One person standing, a group lying down.
No one was dead, so it counted as a standoff.
"Who are you?" Masashi pretended not to see their obviously Kiri ANBU uniforms.
The Kiri ANBU lying on the ground looked up at the two of them.
They had the same thought as Zabuza. What kind of crazy setup is this!?
"I'm talking to you. Be nice and speak, please. I don't want to repeat a second time." Masashi smiled warmly. "If you don't answer, I'll kill you."
"We are Kiri ANBU," one of the ninja said.
He would've liked to stand up and say this with some dignity. But one of his partner who tried had been knocked out cold by Shisui's sword hilt. The strike had been so fast, most of them hadn't even seen it happen.
At this moment, Shisui didn't resemble the "nice guy" he usually was in the village.
His strikes were quick and ruthless.
This Kiri ninja even wondered if his comrades were knocked out or just dead.
"Wearing masks and claiming to be Kiri ANBU—that's too easy, isn't it?" Shisui said flatly. "Without permission from Konoha, foreign ninjas are not allowed to enter the Land of Fire. That's the rule."
"We really are Kiri ANBU. We came to capture Zabuza," the ninja said immediately.
It wasn't out of fear of death; it was just that dying here for no reason seemed pointless. Besides, they hadn't even entered the Land of Fire yet—they were still a few steps away.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it," Masashi said, tapping the forehead protector on his head. "I am Masashi from Konoha, and this is my companion Shisui. We're here representing Konoha to visit Kiri and discuss renewing the treaty between our villages. Since you're here, why don't you show us the way?"
"If that's the case, then why attack us?" the Kiri ninja asked, though he still didn't dare to stand up.
Shisui's Sharingan scanned him repeatedly, as if deciding where best to knock him out.
"Attack?" Masashi formed a hand sign and spat out a massive Fireball Jutsu in an empty direction.
Boom—!
A mushroom cloud of fire erupted, and the heat wave blew across the area. A few ninjas who weren't lying flat enough got flipped over.
The ground beneath the impact cracked and melted, creating a glowing crater.
"See that? Do you have a misunderstanding about what an attack is?" Masashi gestured to the Kiri ninjas to stand up and take a good look. "We merely stopped you to prevent unnecessary escalation of the conflict."
The ninjas who stood up swallowed hard as he stared at the crater big enough to hold all of them.
"Sorry, it seems I misunderstood. But Zabuza is very dangerous. Entering the Land of Fire will bring trouble to Konoha."
"Oh? That guy just now was Zabuza?" Masashi said sincerely. "I saw he had no eyebrows and thought he was a refugee."
"..."
"Can my comrades get up now?"
"Shisui, stop staring at them. These are friends from Kiri," Masashi said, patting his companion on the shoulder. "You're going to give them the wrong impression."
Shisui sheathed his small blade and stepped back, though his Sharingan remained active.
The Kiri ninja on the ground hurried to their feet, some still rubbing their necks where Shisui had struck them.
No one mentioned Zabuza again.
This was already beyond their ability and their jurisdiction.
"Please, go ahead."
