The More Dangerous the Plot, the Louder You Should Conspire

"Hey, Mr. Zabuza, don't you think you're being a little too conspicuous?"

There were plenty of ninja throughout the Shinobi World who used all manner of outlandish weapons, but in the Land of Water, a bandaged man with a vicious glare and a weapon the size of a door strapped to his back could only be Zabuza Momochi!

"Hey, hey, those kids over there are obviously scared to tears!"

Dōmeki chattered away at Zabuza, who had silently resisted him all the way.

"What's the problem?" Zabuza found Dōmeki's voice just as irritating as those brats'. "This is how we've always been in Kirigakure!"

Dōmeki was speechless. Why were the ninja of both the Land of Water and the Land of Wind a bunch of guys like this?

"Brat, I brought you into Kirigakure, just like we agreed. What are you going to do next?"

Unwilling to give up, Zabuza probed Dōmeki about his purpose whenever he had the chance. The boy, however, was always unhurried, as though he had simply come to sightsee.

"It's not every day I get to go on a trip on the company's dime. I have to get my money's worth!" Dōmeki bought a local Kirigakure snack and nodded in satisfaction. Orochimaru wouldn't care about such details anyway.

"Besides, sometimes, even if you don't go looking for something, it comes looking for you!"

"Hmph!" Zabuza snorted in displeasure but continued to follow the boy.

And so Zabuza actually spent the whole morning following Dōmeki around the busiest part of Kirigakure before they finally stopped to rest at a restaurant.

After a trembling server brought them fresh seafood, Dōmeki had no qualms about making Zabuza pay for the meal and dug in.

The restaurant owner watched the customers flee in fright, wanting to cry but having no tears. His heart was bleeding.

Suddenly, the wind chime at the entrance jingled.

The owner's eyes immediately lit up. "Welcome-"

A mature beauty of incomparable allure walked gracefully into the restaurant. Her long brown hair covered her right eye, and her green eye was full of charm. She moved with delicate steps, her waist slender and her shapely figure utterly enticing.

Compared with the beauty, the plain, one-eyed middle-aged man beside her went completely unnoticed.

The bored beauty looked around. Suddenly, her gaze swept over a certain handsome boy, and her eyes locked on him.

She slowly walked up to Dōmeki and looked at the red-haired boy with a gentle smile.

"What a pretty little brother. There's a boy like you in the village? Why haven't I seen you before?"

"Pretty?" Dōmeki looked at the woman in bewilderment. "Isn't that a strange way to describe a man?"

"Hehe!" The woman bashfully half-covered her smiling face. "A man, hmm? Little brother, let me feel whether you've grown up..."

"Am I being flirted with?" Dōmeki was taken aback. This was a rare experience, but it was wonderful.

"Mind your image!" The one-eyed man followed her with a helpless look, but she ignored him completely.

"You're a disgrace to Kirigakure's geniuses, Mei Terumi!"

Just as the woman was smiling and flirting with the boy, a cold voice suddenly came from beside them, interrupting her.

"No wonder you can't get married..."

"Bastard! Who are you calling unmarriageable?"

The words struck a sore spot, and veins bulged on Mei's forehead. Her smiling face darkened as she lashed out with a roundhouse kick.

But someone blocked her fierce strike. Her brows knitted slightly as she saw who it was.

"Tch, it's you, Zabuza-senpai!"

The moment Mei saw the bandaged man's face, she clicked her tongue.

Seeing how differently the woman treated the red-haired brat and himself, Zabuza immediately felt anger rise in his chest.

The steady middle-aged man immediately stepped forward to put an end to their conflict.

"Ao, for your sake, I won't stoop to this woman's level!"

The man and woman, each loathing the sight of the other, snorted. The atmosphere immediately turned awkward again.

At that moment, Ao lowered his voice. "Zabuza, about our proposal..."

"Hmph, can't you ninja clans stand it anymore either? You helped carry out the Blood Mist Policy yourselves, didn't you?" Zabuza sneered.

Whoa! Something's going on!

Dōmeki watched with interest as the group discussed their dissatisfaction with the Mizukage's Blood Mist Policy in public. He knew Kirigakure's ninja had reached the limit of their dissatisfaction with the Mizukage, but was it really all right to conspire so loudly in broad daylight?

Fortunately, all three were cautious by nature. They immediately realized the topic was inappropriate and promptly fell silent. Ao merely gave Zabuza a covert signal agreeing on a time and place, then said nothing more.

"What a shame. If you were a few years older, little brother, I'd definitely..."

Ao stopped Mei from continuing to flirt with Dōmeki and pulled her straight out of the restaurant. At that moment, Dōmeki seemed to hear the sound of the owner's heart breaking.

Then...

"Please come again often! You haven't tried our restaurant's signature dish yet. Next time..."

The reluctant owner waved enthusiastically as he bid Dōmeki farewell. Even the vicious-looking bandaged man, who had paid a hefty sum, now looked adorable to him.

"Brat, you sure can eat!"

Zabuza felt as though his wallet had been flattened, and he was in a foul mood. Ever since he met this brat, nothing good seemed to have happened!

"Brat, from here on, you're on your own..."

Zabuza, intending to leave Dōmeki behind and go attend to his important business, decided to ignore the brat for now. Once he had taken care of things...

Dōmeki nodded indifferently, knowing that Zabuza was going to carry out the major task of assassinating the Mizukage. But with that guy's skills...

It wasn't that Dōmeki looked down on him. All right, the bandaged man's strength really was a little lacking!

For him to have escaped unscathed after failing the assassination, he must have had help from others, such as the ninja clans behind Mei and her associates.

Besides, what a coincidence. Wasn't the Kaguya Clan's movements exactly what Orochimaru had sent him to investigate?

Zabuza watched the boy leave without a care, then waited where he was and kept watch for a long time. Only after he confirmed that there was no trace of the boy did he leave at top speed.

What even Zabuza failed to notice, however, was that dozens of small snakes scattered nearby.

That night, in an extremely remote grove, Zabuza appeared in a flash. He tapped a tree and sneered softly.

"I'm here. Are you cowards still not going to show yourselves?"

Then the rustle of footsteps came from every direction. Before long, a group of Mist Ninja appeared one after another, their faces hidden beneath cloaks.

"You don't even dare show your faces at a time like this?"

Zabuza sneered. "And you still dare say you're going to overthrow the Mizukage?"

The people exchanged glances and removed the coverings concealing their faces. They were all from the ninja clans that formed the backbone of the village.