Inside the Mizukage's office, mist drifted in through the window as Mei Terumi lightly tapped her fingers against the desk.
"Akatsuki has arrived."
Zabuza stood before her, the Kubikiribōchō resting on his shoulder.
Mei Terumi pushed a scroll of intelligence toward him, marked with two names.
Deidara.
Kisame.
"Their target is the Fourth Mizukage," Mei Terumi said calmly. "More precisely, the Three-Tails."
Zabuza glanced over the scroll, his gaze stopping on Kisame's name.
"Kisame Hoshigaki." He spoke the name with a complicated emotion in his voice. "Kirigakure's strongest rogue ninja."
Mei Terumi nodded.
"The tailless Tailed Beast," she added. "That's how the outside world rates him."
Zabuza sneered.
"Rates him?" He drove the Kubikiribōchō heavily into the floor. "That bastard betrayed the village because he was dissatisfied with the Blood Mist Policy."
"But his methods were too cruel," Mei Terumi continued. "To seize the ninja blade, he killed all his companions, along with the previous owner of Samehada."
Zabuza fell silent for a moment.
"Kisame and I are both products of the Blood Mist Era." He raised his head, his eyes sharpening. "The difference is that he chose to run away, while I chose to change things."
Mei Terumi rose and walked to the window.
"For this operation, I plan to use the Fourth Mizukage's Water Clone as bait." She turned around. "We'll set an ambush at sea and join forces with Konoha's support unit to eliminate the Akatsuki members."
Zabuza frowned.
"Konoha support?"
"Root under Naruto Uzumaki," Mei Terumi said. "They'll send an elite squad to coordinate with us."
Zabuza did not answer immediately.
"I want to deal with Kisame myself," Zabuza suddenly said.
Mei Terumi turned to look at him.
"Are you sure?"
"I am." Zabuza's tone was firm. "I'll make that traitor understand that the reborn Kirigakure