That's the color.
Tsunade's world lost all sound in an instant, leaving only the beating of her heart like a drum. Her pupils suddenly shrank, staring at the red color.
That face, that unyielding look... overlapped with her brother Nawaki who was lying in a pool of blood in her memory, her body gradually becoming cold, and her lover who also spent his life on the mission and could no longer smile at her.
Her hands, which she was proud of and could produce strange power, were shaking terribly at the moment.
The instinct of a medical ninja made her want to rush forward to stop the bleeding, but the fear rooted deep in her memory pinned her to the spot, unable to move.
One day ago, Kirigakure, in a dark and damp underground waterway.
The air is mixed with the smell of rust and mildew. This is a corner where the sun can never shine, and it is also a breeding ground for intelligence and evil.
"That's all?"
A hoarse, low voice broke the dead silence, carrying an undeniable sense of oppression.
The tall figure of Momochi Zabuza almost blocked the entire passage. He was carrying Kubikiribōchō with one hand. The blade of the knife reflected the faint moonlight coming from the drain in the distance, which was bone-chilling.
In front of him, a thin intelligence dealer was shaking like a fallen leaf in the wind, his teeth were chattering up and down, and he could hardly speak a complete sentence.
"Ghost... Master Demon, this... this is all the information that I can get about the recent movements of Master Mizukage and Elders Council... Really, it's gone! I have nothing left."
Zabuza didn't say anything, just threw the small bag of gold coins in his hand.
The heavy weight hit the intelligence dealer's arms, causing his face, which was twisted with fear, to squeeze out a trace of greedy ecstasy.
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
"Get lost."
With just one word, the intelligence dealer felt like he was being amnesty and disappeared into the dark depths of the waterway.
A slender figure walked out of the shadows quietly, it was Bai.
"Mr. Zabuza, with the funds provided by Lord Commissar, we have gathered more than 30% of the 'marginal people' in the village. Some of them were once your subordinates, or desperadoes who were dissatisfied with the current situation of the village." Bai's tone was steady, as if he was reporting an ordinary job, "Now, in the underground world of Kirigakure, we have established a firm footing."
Zabuza snorted coldly and carried Kubikiribōchō on his shoulders. The evil reputation of "Demon of the Hidden Mist" in the past, coupled with the abundant funds provided by Naruto that could make any desperado jealous, allowed him to re-establish an underground force that could stir up troubles in a short period of time.
"This is not enough." Zabuza's eyes penetrated the darkness and looked above the ground at the village shrouded in blood and fog. "These alone are not enough, people are dying every day."
"Understood." Bai handed over a scroll, "I have penetrated into civilian areas, commercial streets and the logistics department of the Ninja Academy, and established a preliminary intelligence network. This is all the information collected recently, including the cost of living, the change time of the garrison, and..."
Bai paused, and there was a slight change in his tone.
"Ninja Academy, a special graduation exam will be held soon."
"Graduation exam?"
Zabuza chewed on this word, and his eyes instantly became gloomy. In the eyes hidden behind the bandages, blood surged and almost solidified.
He could never forget, he would never forget that hell on earth called the "Graduation Examination".
A closed room, cold weapons, and companions who were laughing and playing together yesterday. Then, a cold voice announced that only those who kill all their classmates can survive.
That day, he killed a hundred classmates, stepped on their corpses and warm blood, and crawled out of that hell, earning the title "Demon of the Hidden Mist".
"Where is the location?" Zabuza's voice was as cold as ice.
"An isolated island outside the village, Fish Tooth Island." Bai replied, "The time is tomorrow morning."
The knuckles of Zabuza's hand holding the Kubikiribōchō knife's handle were bulging due to the force. He had to confirm with his own eyes whether the tradition of "Bloody Mist Village" was still continuing.
The next morning, Fish Tooth Island.
In the dense forest on the coast, Zabuza and Bai were hiding in the canopy of trees, looking indifferently at the open space in the center of the island.
Dozens of childish young ninjas, holding Kunai and short knives, were engaged in an unstructured but extremely bloody melee.
There are no rules, no tactics, just the most primitive killing.
A boy had just pierced his opponent's throat, and the next second, his back was pierced by another Kunai. The screams, the sound of weapons clashing, and the wails before death were intertwined into a desperate movement.
This scene is no different from the hell in Zabuza's memory.
The blood mist never dissipated.
Suddenly, a boy who looked particularly thin was attacked by three teenagers at the same time in order to protect an injured girl behind him. He resisted desperately, but was ultimately outnumbered, and a short knife penetrated his chest.
The moment the boy fell, he still protected the girl with his body, muttering "Run away".
Seeing this scene, the murderous aura in Zabuza finally burst out uncontrollably!
The terrifying aura caused the birds in the forest to flee in fear. He gripped the handle of Kubikiribōchō tightly, veins popped out on the back of his hand, and he almost rushed out and killed all the examiners who were aloof and regarded human life as nothing!
"Mr. Zabuza."
A slightly cold hand gently pressed his arm.
Bai's voice sounded in his ears, calm but with irresistible power.
"Master Commissar's order is 'infiltrate and wait'."
"Our sacrifice now is to save everyone. If we act impulsively now, it will only cause more children like this to continue to repeat today's tragedy in the future."
Zabuza was breathing heavily, and his chest was heaving violently.
The blood in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a deeper hatred.
Yes, Bai is right.
There is no point in venting his anger for a moment. He hates this rotten village, hates Fourth Mizukage Yagura, and hates those senior officials who use children as tools.
It is precisely because of this that he yearns even more for the "Imperium" that Naruto said was built from absolute Order and iron will.
Only such a world can completely put an end to this senseless killing.
Naruto's Order is the real rescue for these children...
Zabuza slowly let go of the hand holding the handle of the knife and hid in the darkness again. But his heart was stronger than ever.
Late at night, inside the stronghold.
"One more thing." Bai handed a new piece of information to Zabuza, "We found the Artisan Clan that Lord Commissar ordered to find."
Zabuza took the scroll and browsed it quickly.
"The Kaguya Clan branch that masters 'Chakra Metal Forging Technique'... specially creates Seven Ninja Swordsmen Ninja Blade and special weapons for the village?"
"Yes." Bai nodded, "But they are regarded as 'national treasures' by the village and live in the most heavily guarded exclusive area. They are guarded 24 hours a day by ANBU directly under Mizukage, and outsiders cannot contact them at all."
Zabuza rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.
If you want to contact this family, it is impossible to rely on infiltration alone, which is tantamount to throwing yourself into a trap.
Unless...
Unless Kirigakure itself falls into a huge chaos. A chaos that is enough to make ANBU have no time to think about anything else and make the top management mess up.
Until then, it will be their best time to fish in troubled waters.
Zabuza walked to the table, took out a special encrypted scroll, picked up a pen and wrote a line of words.
He handed the scroll to a specially trained messenger crow.
"Go and bring the news to Konoha's 'Zero'."
The raven flapped its wings and soon disappeared into the night.
On the scroll, there are only a few words, reporting on the experience of the "Graduation Examination" and the discovery of the craftsman family.
And at the end, it is the judgment written by Zabuza--
"The time has not come and a chaos is needed."