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Mastermind of the Akatsuki 334
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 07:00:03 +0000 UTCChapter 334: Kubikiribōchō
Upon seeing Byakuya and Jūzō, Haku's face immediately changed, and he reached out to close the wooden door, but the door was swiftly removed by Jūzō.
Seeing this, Haku became flustered.
After a quick glance at Zabuza, Haku took out the kunai hidden in his sleeve, preparing to fight with the two intruders and buy time for Zabuza's escape.
Jūzō noticed Haku's small movement and looked up at him.
Once locked onto by Jūzō, Haku felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His body began to tremble uncontrollably, and even the kunai was difficult to hold steadily.
Quickly, Haku adjusted his mindset. He knew he was no match for these two. But if he used his Ice Release kekkei genkai, he could certainly buy time for Zabuza. After all, that was a power praised even by Zabuza himself.
While Haku's mind was racing, Zabuza was also staring intently at Byakuya and Jūzō.
Although the two appeared to be part of the Kirigakure's Anbu, they didn’t have the usual strong fishy smell, clearly not being pursuit ninjas from Kirigakure. Also, there weren’t any ninjas among them that felt particularly dangerous.
Therefore, Zabuza was certain that these two weren't pursuing ninjas from Kirigakure, though he still didn't know who had sent them.
Soon, Zabuza noticed Kubikiribōchō, the Decapitating Carving Sword, behind Jūzō. If he remembered correctly, Kubikiribōchō was one of the Seven Ninja Swords, belonging to Jūzō. Could it be that this person was Jūzō himself?
After a brief moment of hesitation, Zabuza cautiously asked, "Are you Jūzō-sanpai?"
Jūzō glanced at Byakuya. After receiving a nod of permission, he answered, "Zabuza, it’s been almost a year since we last met. I didn’t expect you to dare challenge the Mizukage… I must say, I’m surprised."
With that, Jūzō dispelled his transformation jutsu.
Upon seeing the familiar figure, Zabuza sighed and said, "I didn’t want to challenge the Mizukage, but Kagura Karatachi has completely stopped managing things these past years. I had no choice but to challenge him and try to become the new Mizukage. However, I just didn’t expect Kagura Karatachi to be so powerful. In front of him, I felt like a Chūnin facing a Jōnin, with no chance of victory."
Pausing, Zabuza then asked, "By the way, where have you been recently? Your defection caused quite a stir, and you’re probably still thinking of returning to the village, aren’t you?"
Upon hearing this, Jūzō froze, unsure of how to respond to Zabuza.
Zabuza, sensing Jūzō’s hesitation, was puzzled, but didn’t press further. Ninja with a village and rogue ninjas were entirely different concepts.
The former, although they might have to divide the mission rewards with their village or perform tasks for the village without pay, at least had the backing of a village. Rogue ninjas, however, had to remain on constant alert at all times.
The long-term tension eventually took a toll, and the mental strain would break anyone.
As Zabuza and Jūzō caught up, Byakuya and Haku were sizing each other up. Haku found the young man in front of him quite mysterious. Although he didn’t seem very old, there was a calmness about him that didn’t match his age.
Whether outside or inside the wooden house, the other hadn’t shown any signs of nervousness.
While Haku was trying to figure out Byakuya’s identity, Byakuya had already gathered most of the information about him. Judging by the chakra signature, Byakuya figured the youth who resembled a girl must be Haku.
After all, there weren’t many ninjas in the ninja world who were both cute boys and had the Ice Release kekkei genkai.
Ice Release was a relatively strong bloodline limit in the ninja world. Although from the original work, Haku's abilities appeared to be at the upper Chūnin level, the potential of Ice Release was definitely more than that.
Any ninja with a bloodline limit, as long as they developed it properly, could reach the strength of an Elite Jōnin.
Considering the interaction between various nature transformations, Haku’s Ice Release would be extremely effective in the Land of Water. This was perhaps one of the reasons why Haku’s clan, the Yuki Clan, had suffered.
From his time in Kirigakure to his life as a rogue ninja.
After half an hour of conversation, Zabuza turned to Byakuya and said to Jūzō, "Jūzō-senpai, this person must be a new subordinate of yours, right? Is he a ninja from Kirigakure?"
Hearing this, Jūzō broke into a cold sweat and quickly explained, "Zabuza, he’s not my subordinate, nor is he from Kirigakure. Our relationship isn’t that simple."
Zabuza, confused, glanced at Byakuya and then at Jūzō.
"Not your subordinate, not from Kirigakure… then how did you two end up together, and why did you bring him here to find me? Could it be that you’re here because of him?"
Jūzō hesitated for a moment, then, receiving Byakuya's permission, spoke, "The reason we came to find you is because of Byakuya-sama’s request. You asked me where I’ve been recently, didn’t you? I’ve been working for Byakuya-sama."
Byakuya… Zabuza found that name vaguely familiar.
However, for someone like you, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, to become someone else’s subordinate, what’s going on here? Did you give up your pride as a ninja to become a bodyguard for a noble or a wealthy merchant?
After pondering for a moment, Zabuza suddenly became alert and looked at Jūzō, saying, "Byakuya? Isn't that the name of a Jōnin from Amegakure? Jūzō-senpai, you actually joined Amegakure? How could you join that village?"
For Zabuza, it was acceptable for him to be a rogue ninja. He could accept commissions from the black market to survive. But he would never accept joining any other ninja village besides Kirigakure. While he had become a rogue ninja, it was simply because he couldn’t stand the current leadership of the Kirigakure. Jūzō joining Amegakure was undoubtedly the greatest form of betrayal.
Byakuya, leaving Haku's side, spoke deliberately to Zabuza, "Jūzō didn’t join Amegakure. He is now a member of the Akatsuki organization."
"Akatsuki? Isn’t that an organization under Amegakure’s control? What’s the difference?"
Zabuza turned his attention to Byakuya. He understood that Byakuya was the real reason he had been approached, and the other’s identity as a Rain ninja made him wary.
Byakuya smiled and said, "Of course, the Akatsuki is different from Amegakure. Amegakure is just one of the many ninja villages under the Akatsuki’s influence. There are several others, and in the future, even the Five Great Shinobi Countries will be included."
Hearing this, Zabuza chuckled dismissively.
There might indeed be several smaller ninja villages under the Akatsuki, but the Five Great Shinobi Countries were far from being subordinate to any organization like Akatsuki.
Not even the God of Ninjas or the Shura of the Ninja World back in the day could have completely overshadowed the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
With that thought in mind, Zabuza looked at Jūzō with a more mocking gaze. He sighed softly and slowly spoke, "Jūzō-senpai, I thought you would be living better than I am, but now it seems you’re in a worse situation. Not only have you become a rogue ninja, but you’ve also abandoned your original ideals as a Kirigakure ninja."
Narrowing his eyes, Zabuza grinned, "I’m very disappointed in you."
