Haku's small hand clutched the cold kunai tightly, the rough paper of the Explosive Tag scraping against her palm.
Her little face had gone deathly pale with tension, but her gaze didn't waver.
"Throw it... and then what?" she asked in a weak but clear voice.
"There is no 'then.'" Mizuki Han's voice held no emotion. "It's an order. Just do it."
His plan was simple, almost crude.
Use Haku as bait to draw the attention of the jōnin outside.
At the same time, use the Explosive Tag to create chaos and test the opponent's strength and reaction.
As for whether Haku lived or died...
It wasn't something he considered.
A tool that couldn't be of use at a critical moment was nothing but junk.
Haku's body trembled slightly. She seemed to understand Mizuki Han's intentions.
She didn't cry or make a fuss. She simply raised her head and looked deeply at Mizuki Han.
Her expression was complicated, with fear and confusion, but above all, the sorrow of being abandoned.
Mizuki Han looked away.
He wasn't heartless, but he knew even better that in this bloody world, the slightest unnecessary act of mercy could send him plunging into an irredeemable abyss.
"Are you ready?" he asked coldly.
Haku closed her eyes, then nodded firmly.
"I'm ready, Brother Han."
Mizuki Han didn't hesitate any longer.
He took a deep breath and shoved Haku's frail body out through the narrow outlet of the sewage pipe!
"Now! Throw it!"
At his low shout, Haku's body arced through the air, falling toward the patch of light.
Almost at the same moment, a ghostly figure appeared at the outlet without warning!
He was an exceptionally tall man, carrying a strange, bandage-wrapped greatsword on his back. A mocking smile played on his sharklike face.
Kisame Hoshigaki!
The future "Tailed Beast without a Tail," and one of the members of the Akatsuki!
Mizuki Han's pupils contracted sharply. His heart nearly leaped into his throat.
Why is he here?!
According to his memories, Kisame should have been the Fourth Mizukage Yagura's most loyal subordinate at this time, an Anbu executioner tasked with dealing with "their own people."
There was only one explanation for his appearance here—this was a trap through and through!
"Oh? Looks like one got away."
Kisame looked at Haku as she was thrown out and grinned, baring a row of sharklike teeth.
His gaze instantly locked onto the kunai in Haku's hand, the one with an Explosive Tag attached.
"A child's game."
He gave a scornful snort and formed Hand Seals with one hand, fast as lightning.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
A huge sphere of water appeared out of nowhere, enveloping Haku, who had just been thrown from the pipe, along with the kunai she was about to throw!
The Explosive Tag quickly soaked through in the water and became useless.
Trapped inside the Water Prison, Haku couldn't breathe. Her little face turned red as she struggled weakly with all four limbs.
Kisame watched the scene with interest, seemingly enjoying the sight of his prey struggling in despair.
Then his gaze shifted to the pitch-black opening of the sewage pipe.
"Rat in there, aren't you coming out yet?"
Kisame's voice was oppressive. "Do you want me to drag you out myself?"
Inside the pipe, Mizuki Han's heart sank to the bottom.
A jōnin.
And an elite jōnin of Kisame Hoshigaki's caliber, no less.
In a direct fight, he wouldn't last even one move.
His test using Haku and the Explosive Tag had failed completely.
The opponent's strength far exceeded his estimation.
What should I do?
Run?
The entire sewage pipe was under Kisame's watch. There was nowhere for him to escape.
Mizuki Han's mind raced, his adrenaline surging to its limit.
His Persecutory Delusion kicked into overdrive. He began frantically analyzing every word Kisame said and every move he made.
Why hadn't Kisame killed him outright?
Why had he said "one got away"?
What was he waiting for?
Mizuki Han caught one crucial detail.
Kisame had just said, "Rat in there, aren't you coming out yet?"
He'd said "rat," not "rats."
That meant Kisame didn't know there were two people inside!
He thought the person who had thrown Haku out and the person inside the pipe were one and the same!
That was an information gap!
A deadly information gap he could exploit!
A classic jutsu from the original story flashed through Mizuki Han's mind.
Water Clone Technique!
But he had no chakra!
No...
I still have some.
Mizuki Han's gaze fell on the Anbu uniform he had just changed into, still stained with the guard's blood.
When he'd killed that guard, he had pierced the man's heart with an ice spike.
His own hands had been stained with the man's blood, too.
For a ninja, chakra was formed by combining physical energy and spiritual energy.
After someone died, their physical energy dissipated quickly, but their spiritual energy and remaining chakra didn't disappear right away!
[Empire Procreation System, initiating genetic analysis...] [Trace Kirigakure Ninja genes detected... Extracting residual chakra...] [Extraction successful! Chakra acquired: 0.01 cal.]
The system's notification sounded like music to his ears!
It was a pitifully small amount—only 0.01 cal—but it was enough!
Enough for him to pull off a deception that would stake his life!
Mizuki Han immediately followed his Three-Part Chakra Principle.
He would divide the 0.01 cal of chakra into three portions.
One portion to create the most basic, unstable Water Clone possible.
One portion to keep himself alive and prepare to deliver a fatal strike.
The final portion would be his trump card, in case things took a turn for the worst.
"Listen up, out there!"
Mizuki Han lowered his voice and imitated the hoarse voice of an adult man, calling from inside the pipe.
"Let the girl go! Otherwise, I'll detonate all the Explosive Tags in here. We'll all die together!"
He was bluffing, betting that Kisame didn't know he had no means of attack left.
Hearing this, Kisame's smile grew even wider.
"Die together? Do you have what it takes?"
As he spoke, he slowly walked toward the sewage pipe's opening, the Samehada greatsword in his hand scraping across the ground with a grating sound.
"I like tough guys like you. The sound of your bones breaking is especially satisfying."
Every step Kisame took felt like it landed on Mizuki Han's heart.
Closer.
Closer still.
Mizuki Han could clearly feel the suffocating killing intent.
Now!
He poured the portion of chakra meant for the Water Clone into the sewage at the mouth of the pipe!
A Water Clone identical to him burst out of the pipe, kunai in hand, and thrust straight at Kisame's face!
"Pathetic trick!"
Kisame snorted. He didn't even use Samehada, merely raising a hand and punching the Water Clone in the chest.
To him, this was nothing but the desperate struggle of a trapped beast.
However, just as his fist was about to hit the Water Clone, a strange smile appeared on its face.
Kisame's instincts screamed a warning!
Something was wrong!
The Water Clone was too calm!
He tried to pull back his fist, but it was too late.
"BOOM!"
A deafening explosion!
The Water Clone had blown itself up the instant it was struck!
This wasn't a normal Water Clone at all!
Using that 0.01 cal of chakra, and combining it with what he remembered about Explosive Tags, Mizuki Han had created a "Chakra Bomb"!
Its power wasn't great, but the shock wave and spray from the close-range explosion were enough to block Kisame's vision in an instant!
Now!
The moment the water mist spread, the real Mizuki Han slipped silently out from the other side of the pipe, like a venomous snake that had been lying in wait!
His target wasn't Kisame.
He knew he couldn't kill him.
His target was the Water Prison holding Haku!
He gathered his second portion of chakra at his fingertips, then summoned all his strength and drove them hard into the weakest point of the Water Prison!
"Pop!"
With a soft sound, the Water Prison burst.
A flood of water poured out, and Haku, freed from the prison, collapsed helplessly to the ground.
"Go!"
Mizuki Han didn't have time to say another word. He grabbed Haku and immediately ran in the opposite direction from Kisame.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye!
From the Water Clone's self-destruction to breaking the Water Prison to rescuing Haku and fleeing, the whole sequence had flowed smoothly, without a single wasted movement!
This had been a carefully planned gamble!
He'd bet on Kisame's arrogance, bet that the Water Clone would draw Kisame's attention, and bet that he could use that one-second opening to save Haku!
He'd won!
"Interesting..."
Kisame's cold, excited voice came from the dense mist.
"To pull off a trick like that in front of me... You've got my attention, little rat."
A killing intent ten times stronger than before erupted from behind Mizuki Han!
Mizuki Han didn't look back. He knew Kisame was getting serious!
Holding Haku, he raced wildly through the complex underground passages, trying to shake off his pursuer.
But Kisame was far faster than he was.
The footsteps drew closer and closer!
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, Mizuki Han felt a sharp pain in his heart.
He lowered his head and stared in horror as a blade made of water emerged from his shadow and pierced through his chest.
It was one of Kisame's jutsu!
Blood instantly stained the front of his clothes.
Mizuki Han's body stiffened. His mask fell to the ground, revealing the pale, handsome face of a young boy.
Kisame's figure appeared in front of him as if he had teleported.
He looked down at Mizuki Han lying in a pool of blood, his expression full of surprise and amusement.
"What... He was just a kid."
Kisame's Ninja Blade stabbed viciously through Mizuki Han's "heart."
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