Zabuza came to his senses and used the chakra he had left to perform the Hidden Mist Technique one more time, preparing to get Haku out of there. Isho was proving to be an incredibly dangerous and troublesome opponent.
Gray mist quickly spread through the area, shrouding everything. Isho calmly turned his head, flexed his hands, and tested the strength he now felt coursing through him.
Even though the mist blocked his Three-Tomoe vision, the slightest movements of the two men opposite him came through loud and clear.
"Zabuza, it's your turn to guess where I am~ You're pretty good at the Hidden Mist Technique. Saves me the trouble of wasting chakra."
Isho's voice echoed overhead. Even though Zabuza had used the Hidden Mist Technique, he couldn't pinpoint where Isho himself was.
"Found you!"
Zabuza hurled the Kunai in his hand. There was a faint poof, and the target he hit vanished.
"Your little trick of making yourself seem to be everywhere is pretty good. You use Water Clones to talk and wear down your opponent's patience, while hiding the real you in the shadows, waiting for a chance to land a fatal blow."
Isho seemed to be everywhere, his voice coming from all around them.
"Kid, who are you really?! That chakra is even greater than mine was at my peak. Could you be a Konoha Jonin disguised with the Transformation Technique?"
As he questioned Isho, Zabuza secretly formed Hand Seals and summoned six Water Clones. His chakra was nearly gone, and the wound on his back had only been treated superficially.
He couldn't fight anymore. Even at his peak, he couldn't be sure he could beat Isho as he was now, let alone in his current, badly weakened state.
Realizing that Zabuza was planning to flee, Isho decided to stop toying with them.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A water dragon nearly two zhang tall emerged behind Isho's four Shadow Clones. He was giving it everything he had from the start.
Two water dragons blasted apart Zabuza's Water Clones. Another, to his utter disbelief, hurtled toward him and Haku.
At the last moment, Zabuza shoved Haku aside and raised Kubikiribōchō across his chest to block. Bang! Zabuza was sent flying, battered and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this, Haku held back his grief and started toward Zabuza to check his injuries. But another Water Dragon Bullet came out of nowhere and blasted him several meters backward.
"That really packs a punch."
To be safe, Isho sent only his Shadow Clones to check on their injuries.
"I know what you've been through. You aren't the ones at fault; the problem lies with the countries you live in.
"So I'll give you a choice: become my companions or face death."
Meeting their startled gazes, which showed little sign of wavering, Isho continued,
"I won't force you to do anything, and the things I ask you to do will all be good. But there's one condition: from now on, you must never do evil. I'll provide the money you need by issuing missions.
"You can decide for yourselves whether to take the missions I give you. There won't be many, and you'll be free to do what you want the rest of the time. And if you're in danger, you can call on me for help."
When he heard that they could call on Isho for help if they were in danger, Zabuza struggled to turn his head toward Haku, his expression wavering. Haku nodded to him, leaving the decision entirely up to Zabuza.
"Also, I'm thirteen this year. I'm not some Jonin in disguise. If you don't believe me, you can investigate me: Uchiha Isho. If you still want to change the Land of Water someday, I believe I'll be strong enough to overcome any obstacle."
The two stared at Isho in astonishment once more. At thirteen, he already had the strength of an elite Jonin. As long as he didn't die young, he was sure to reach Kage Level—or become one of the strongest at that level.
"I accept. I hope you keep your word. Urk!"
As soon as Zabuza finished speaking, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out. Clearly, he'd only been forcing himself to stay conscious until then.
Seeing this, Haku struggled to his feet and looked at Zabuza with deep concern. He shot Isho an angry glance and said coldly,
"If you don't get us treatment right now, you'll be burying us before long."
Isho scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. Two Shadow Clones each helped one of them, and they hurried toward the destination Haku had pointed out.
At Gato's headquarters, after Haku had worked on Zabuza for a while and used the healing medicine they had on hand, Zabuza's injuries finally stabilized.
"Uchiha Isho, stay here and watch Zabuza. Gato may come by with his men to check on things. If he does, I hope you can drive them away for me.
"We still don't have enough medicine. I'm going to gather some herbs."
Isho nodded seriously, and only then did Haku leave, reassured.
It was already evening. Isho gazed out the window, a little bored, considering what to do next.
Night had fallen, and Haku still hadn't returned. The door was suddenly kicked open without the slightest courtesy, and short, wiry Gato walked in, guarded by two fierce-looking samurai.
At the sight, Isho suddenly grinned. He'd been planning to rob someone, and here his prey had come right to him.
"Kid, what are you grinning about? Where did you come from? I've never seen you around before."
Gato questioned Isho suspiciously.
Isho couldn't be bothered to waste words. He snatched up Kubikiribōchō and suddenly used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing in front of the two samurai. With a single stroke, he cut them apart as easily as tofu.
"So... fast."
As their heads were about to hit the ground, the two samurai voiced the same awe-struck thought at once.
"What are you doing?! Stay back! I'll give you anything you want. Zabuza, do something about your subordinate!"
As Gato fell to the ground in terror, Isho grabbed him with his left hand and lifted him like a chick. Then, with a vicious look, he swept his blood-red eyes over him.
"Take me to where you've hidden your money. If you don't hand it over nicely, you'll end up worse than those two on the ground. Hahahahaha!"
Isho's crazed look and words made Gato tremble from head to toe. He kept repeating,
"I'll give it to you, I'll give you everything. Just let me live."
After leaving three Shadow Clones behind to guard Zabuza, Isho watched as Gato trembled and led the way.
Before long, all the samurai stationed at Gato's residence had gathered, surrounding Isho and Gato.
Most of Gato's fear instantly faded. He slowly turned to look at Isho, who expressionlessly surveyed the more than twenty samurai around them, his blood-red eyes gleaming in the darkness.
Isho couldn't help remembering the first time he'd killed someone. That had been during the B-Rank Mission that awakened his Three-Tomoe.
That B-Rank Mission had shown him what true scum looked like. The band of a hundred or so bandits had committed every kind of atrocity. They abducted the beautiful women from nearby villages, dragging them up to their stronghold to abuse them. Some of the girls were only fourteen or fifteen.
Whenever a family refused to hand over their money, the bandits saw no problem with it. It only meant a little extra trouble: they would kill the whole family, then search for the money.
The bandits had a fairly knowledgeable strategist, which was why they'd managed to settle along the border of a small country. The location was treacherous, easy to defend and hard to attack, and it was easy to hide there.
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