The Future Holds Promise, After All!

Watching the two leave, Zabuza let out a breath and relaxed. At once, a throbbing pain surged through his arm. He frowned and drew in a quiet breath of cold air.

"Lord Zabuza!"

Haku looked at him worriedly. Unfortunately, her body was far too weak; after barely managing a few movements, she was left powerless.

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Focus on recovering first. That guy was right—any ninja who acts rashly without sufficient intelligence is unqualified."

Zabuza sighed, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes as he sorted through the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

First, they had been brought back to life. Second, the other party needed them. At least for now, they had value, so their lives were not in danger.

But...

Zabuza slowly opened his eyes and looked at his chest with a complicated expression. This was far too burdensome.

And his once-rough palms had become smooth and tender, stirring an indescribable feeling within him.

He had become a woman. It was a reality too unbelievable to accept. Just how had that guy done it?

Was it a forbidden technique, or medical ninjutsu?

Was this body still his own?

Seeing Zabuza lost in thought, Haku gave a gentle smile and quietly lay on the hospital bed.

As long as Lord Zabuza was here, she did not need to worry about anything else. It was just... was she no longer a "tool"?

The image of that blond brat with whisker-like marks flashed through her mind, along with some of the things he had shouted. Before long, she drifted into sleep.

Meanwhile.

Neji and Izumi were finishing up the base, dividing it into several sections and placing various items throughout.

Several groups of Shadow Clones were doing the same, carrying out the tedious work.

"Lord Nen, the things inside have mostly been arranged. Is there anything else you need?" Izumi dispelled her Shadow Clone and reported the situation to Neji.

"Mm. Good work."

After responding to Izumi, Neji fell into brief thought.

The base was more or less complete. The bridge outside was still under construction, but it would be finished in about two weeks.

They understood the importance of having a good trade route. If you wanted to get rich, you built roads first.

Only with bridges and roads could there be trade and merchants. And once construction was complete, it would be the perfect time to move in.

As for trade...

Gato.

Neji's gaze sharpened slightly. He had to take control of the island's trade—it would make things easier in the future.

Establishing the base merely gave them a foothold. It was only the beginning.

Developing external forces was necessary. That was why he had recruited people in the first place; those matters could be handed over to them.

"Lord Nen, do we really not need to worry about them?" Izumi gently reminded him. She was somewhat concerned, considering they came from the Hidden Mist.

"It's fine. Zabuza is smart. He was only somewhat stubborn because of his failure and pride. After dying, he let go of it. He definitely won't be thinking of running away now."

"Is that so?"

Izumi had thought they would not run because they had become women. It seemed she had misunderstood.

"Prepare the necessary things. Once they recover, we won't be staying here much longer."

"Yes!"

Izumi began acting according to Neji's plan, while Neji started preparing for the base's continued development after their departure.

One week later.

Zabuza and Haku had both recovered well, and they were now in the training ground.

Zabuza's rather tall figure moved as he swung the Kubikiribōchō, carrying a faint air of dominance.

Beside him, Haku held senbon needles. With a flicker in her eyes, the senbon in her hand shot out like phantoms, all embedding themselves in the wooden target.

"Looks like you've mostly recovered. At least the time I spent treating you wasn't wasted."

Neji entered through the doorway with Izumi. The two stopped training and turned their eyes toward him.

Zabuza lowered the great sword in his hand, smashing it against the ground, while Haku put away her senbon and stood beside him.

"Not bad," Zabuza said stiffly.

Neji smiled. This guy had been acting rather strangely lately, often staring into a mirror or lowering his head in a daze.

Who knew what he was thinking about? But every time afterward, he doubled the intensity of his training.

"Alright, I'm here to inform you that Izumi and I will be leaving this place before long. This base will be entrusted to you by then."

"Huh?"

Zabuza stared at Neji in disbelief, letting out a startled sound. Even Haku was slightly stunned.

"Is there a problem?"

Zabuza truly could not understand him. They were leaving and entrusting the entire base to newcomers like them without hesitation? Did they not have any older members?

What was going on?

"You trust us that much?"

Zabuza voiced his doubt. Was he not afraid they would run? Or leak information?

"Mm. I trust you."

Zabuza had nothing to say to that, but his heart grew uneasy. Impossible!

For a Moment, he felt it was impossible. Yet he had indeed checked his body several times for seals or anything similar.

There had been nothing. But now, he was no longer sure.

"You're overthinking it. This organization is merely a group formed to make itself stronger."

"You can understand it this way: everything here will be under your full authority. Whatever you obtain or gain, I won't interfere."

"But you will need to complete the missions assigned by the organization and provide sufficient resources. In return, you can obtain what you want, such as..."

Neji casually played with a syringe in his hand, drawing Zabuza's gaze toward it.

"This is Male Hormone. Just like the Female Hormone you were injected with, once a woman injects it, she will completely become a man without any side effects."

A look of understanding appeared in Zabuza's eyes. Since the other party could turn them into women, he could certainly turn them back.

"What do we need to do to exchange for it?" Zabuza could not help asking.

"Complete missions to earn contribution points. With enough contribution points, you can exchange them for whatever you want. Izumi!"

Izumi, standing beside Neji, took out two sheets and handed them to Zabuza and Haku. Their eyes fell upon them.

All kinds of ninjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, forbidden techniques, even strange ninjutsu they had never seen before.

There were also Taijutsu, peculiar materials, and even Kekkei Genkai exchanges.

It was a list that would make countless ninja green with envy, and even Zabuza's breathing grew heavier.

However, he noticed that aside from the two hormones, there were other hormones as well, each with different effects.

Male Hormone required one thousand contribution points. That seemed like quite a lot, and he did not know whether contribution points would be easy to obtain.

"Alright, that's everything. Bring me your masks. I'll improve them a little."

The two were taken aback. They took out their rather large masks and handed them to Izumi, who passed them on to Neji.

Using some unknown method, Neji directly transformed the masks into necklaces before tossing them back to them.

The design was simple: a white stone disk the size of an egg and over a centimeter thick hung from each one, with their codenames written on them.

"Inject Chakra into them, and they'll return to their original form. They can block others from spying on you, and they're also communication tools."

This was a simplified technological version of Germa's transformation suit. The material was Iron Cloud from Sky Island in the One Piece World, a rather rare type of cloud.

As for the exchange list, it was fake—all fake. Empty promises. They had no contribution points to exchange anyway, so he might as well put it on there.

After all, the future held promise, didn't it?