My Pain Surpasses the Akatsuki

Whoosh—!

The piercing shriek of senbon tearing through the air shattered the dead silence of the ruined temple. Carrying terrifying force, they flew straight at Naruto's face. The strike was fast, precise, and ruthless to the extreme!

Haku moved so quickly that only a pale afterimage remained. Twelve senbon coated in paralyzing poison locked onto every vital point around Naruto's body without the slightest error—between his brows, his throat, his heart, his dantian. Every spot was a fatal weakness that could cripple a ninja's ability to move with a single hit.

There was no holding back, no hesitation.

Zabuza had given him his life. Whoever dared hurt Zabuza even a little, he would risk his life to fight them head-on and drag them down to hell with him.

No matter who the enemy was, even if they were the Kage of a village, anyone who dared harm Zabuza was Haku's enemy. He would kill them without mercy!

Because Zabuza had given him his life, and his world contained only his Zabuza-sama!

Yet Naruto stood where he was without even moving his feet.

"Is that all? Cheap tricks!"

Naruto drew his short blade. The Nine-Life Demon Tail Blade in his hand flashed through the air in a cold arc in an instant.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!

A dense series of metallic clashes rang out as one. Sparks burst within the campfire, and all twelve senbon were precisely knocked away by the blade, pinning themselves backward into the wooden beams behind them. Each had sunk in more than halfway, their tails still buzzing and trembling.

That strike had been unbelievably fast—so fast that Haku had not even reacted.

"What kind of joke is this? He... he blocked them just like that?"

Haku's pupils contracted sharply. He had not seen how Naruto had drawn his blade at all.

The moment he landed, three kunai slipped into his fingers. Just as he was about to rush in again, Zabuza's hoarse roar stopped him.

"Haku! Fall back! You're no match for him!"

Haku turned toward the voice and saw Zabuza forcing himself upright against the wall.

The reopened wound in his chest had soaked his bandages red, and blood dripped down from the hem of his clothes.

Every breath brought him agonizing pain, yet the hand gripping the Executioner's Blade remained as steady as forged iron.

"Kid, I have to admit, you're strong. There aren't many people in the entire Ninja World who are this strong at your age. I respect your power, but if you want to kill me, I'm not going to stretch out my neck and let you chop it off!"

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"

He formed no hand seals. With nothing but chakra vibrating from his throat, he stirred the moisture in the surrounding air.

Boom—!

Thick white mist that could not be dispersed surged in from every direction. It was denser and colder than the fog along the coast during the day. Visibility dropped to less than ten centimeters, and even the flickering campfire before them became nothing more than a blurry red glow.

Despite his grave injuries, he forcibly created the perfect battlefield for the Hidden Mist Silent Killing Technique.

"Brat, you want me to be your dog?"

Zabuza's voice came from every corner of the white mist, carrying all the defiance and savagery of his life. "Kill me first, then talk!"

"Honestly, in all my years, I've never met anyone as arrogant as you. I've seen plenty of powerful people. I've even assassinated Kage. But someone as bizarre as you? You're the first! To honor your courage, take this slash!"

The sound of the Executioner's Blade cutting through the air suddenly came from behind Naruto. There was not the slightest fluctuation of chakra; it relied entirely on instincts honed through over a decade of assassination, stabbing viciously toward his heart!

But just as the blade was about to touch Naruto's clothes, the boy suddenly smiled.

"Not bad, not bad. As expected of the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi. You really do have some skill. Looks like if I don't reveal a little of my strength, we won't be able to have a proper discussion!"

"I wanted to get along with you as an ordinary genius, but all I got in return was doubt about my abilities. Fine, no more pretending. I'm a cheat-code kid. I'll come clean!"

The instant his words fell, two crimson lights suddenly pierced through the dense white mist.

Naruto slowly raised his eyes. His black pupils had turned scarlet, and three black tomoe rotated steadily within them. Cold, sharp, and carrying the oppressive force of seeing through everything—it was the Uchiha Clan's Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

"What?! What kind of joke is this? You're not from the Uchiha Clan, yet you have Sharingan?"

Zabuza froze inside the white mist, and even the massive blade in his hand paused for half a beat.

Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha?

How could he have the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan?!

That was simply impossible!

Zabuza utterly despised this cheat-code kid. His common sense and worldview had already been ground to dust. If there were a complaint platform, Zabuza would definitely file a real-name report. Damn it, this kid has cheats, and I'm the one getting beaten up!

Haku's entire body tensed. Cold sweat seeped from the hand gripping his senbon. He had long heard of the Sharingan's fearsome reputation. It was a dojutsu capable of copying all ninjutsu and seeing through every movement. Within Hidden Mist's assassination circles, those eyes were a nightmare.

But their shock had only just begun.

Bzzzz—!

An immense, tsunami-like surge of chakra suddenly erupted from Naruto's body!

Warm yet tyrannical golden chakra spread through every limb and bone, gathering behind him into two swaying fox tails. A golden chakra cloak wrapped around his body, his muscles instantly tightening as his entire presence increased more than tenfold!

A terrifying chakra shockwave burst outward. The thick white mist, so dense that one could not see their own fingers, was forcibly blown away by that aura!

Dust rained down from the ruined temple's beams. The campfire swayed wildly in the gale. Zabuza and Haku were forced back again and again by the chakra pressure, until even breathing became difficult.

Zabuza's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and the hand gripping his blade began trembling uncontrollably.

"Damn... you're also... you're also the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"

His throat tightened, and his voice was filled with unconcealed horror. "That's right! It's the aura of that terrifying fox! The Nine-Tails that the Fourth Hokage gave his life to seal away! Kid, your cheats are fucking insane!"

"But... why are you only in the Two-Tails state?!"

He knew all too well how terrifying Jinchuriki were.

With Tailed Beasts' chakra, every additional tail meant an exponential increase in power.

The Two-Tails state alone carried such world-destroying pressure. How terrifying would its strength be under Full Release?

At that moment, the last trace of resistance in Zabuza's heart completely shattered.

His proud assassination techniques were nowhere to hide before the Sharingan.

The ninjutsu he had exhausted himself to perform could not even stir a ripple before the Nine-Tails' vast chakra.

Forget that he was severely injured right now—even at his peak, he and Haku together would not have even the slightest chance of victory against this twelve-year-old brat.

The gap was so vast that it drove people to despair.

Haku slowly lowered the senbon in his hand and stood in front of Zabuza. His delicate face was full of vigilance, but deep in his eyes lay helplessness he could not conceal.

Zabuza frowned tightly and could not help asking, "Tell me. What exactly do you want?"

Naruto slowly withdrew his chakra, and the golden fox tails behind him faded away. Only those Three-Tomoe Sharingan remained, glowing scarlet as they locked firmly onto Zabuza.

He took a step forward. His foot landed on the ground, yet it felt as though it had stepped onto both their hearts.

"I told you I wouldn't kill you, so I won't kill you. I really do want you to become my dog, but you didn't believe me. Has trust between people really grown this thin?"

Zabuza replied, "Nonsense. What if someone told you to become his dog?"

Naruto smiled. "Do you even need to ask? Before he could finish saying it, he'd already be a corpse!"

Zabuza: "..."

"So what do you want now?"

Naruto looked at Zabuza and slowly said, "Zabuza... let me mention a name to you. You've heard of the Akatsuki, right?"

Naruto spoke calmly, yet his tone carried unquestionable weight. "It's an organization made up of S-rank rogue ninja. They've been causing trouble all over the Ninja World, claiming they want the world to experience pain!"

"Though in my opinion, the Akatsuki are laughable, because my pain surpasses theirs!"

Zabuza's Adam's apple bobbed as he nodded.

As a rogue ninja, he had naturally heard of the organization. They were a group of true lunatics, each one a ruthless figure capable of standing on their own. Even the Five Great Nations did not dare provoke them lightly.

He had even received an invitation before, but he was arrogant by nature and unwilling to serve under others, so he had rejected it outright.

"Then do you know where the Akatsuki got its name?" Naruto asked again.

Zabuza frowned and shook his head.

He only knew that the organization was ruthless. Why would he care about the origin of its name? Still, a thought popped into his mind. Could this kid be from the Akatsuki? Damn... the Nine-Tails defected and joined the Akatsuki as a rogue ninja? Is that really possible?

Zabuza did not show it. He merely watched Naruto.

Naruto continued, "There is a legend. In the Ninja World, there is a kind of flame called Azure Like Dawn."

Naruto raised his eyes. His gaze pierced through the ruined temple's roof and looked toward the pitch-black night sky, his voice carrying surging ambition. "When this flame appears, it can dispel all darkness in the world and burn away all decay and filth."

"And the name Akatsuki was taken from that legend."