"Gato, you actually dared to show yourself?!" Zabuza narrowed his eyes. Under the sunlight, the Kubikiribōchō glinted with a chilling cold light. He truly had not expected this treacherous merchant to dare appear before him again.
"Zabuza, are you still the Demon of the Hidden Mist who strikes fear into everyone's hearts?!" Gato trembled violently with rage, his gold-rimmed glasses crooked to one side as he howled, "You gave up the mission so easily for a woman? Is money no longer in your eyes?!"
The surrounding warriors all looked tense, gripping their weapons tightly. Their eyes brimmed with killing intent, and cruel sneers hung from the corners of their mouths.
"Gato, it's time to put an end to everything." Zabuza's voice was as cold as a wind blowing from an ice cellar. "You shouldn't have come here."
"It's not over yet!" Gato roared hysterically, his fat finger trembling as he pointed at Naruto and the others. "My men will hold back those little brats. You only need to deal with that red-haired woman!"
"I meant you." Zabuza slowly raised his greatsword, its blade cutting a frigid arc through the air. "I already promised them I'd send you all on your way."
"What?!" Gato's face instantly turned pale as paper, and beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead like rain. "Zabuza! If you dare touch me, no one in the entire underworld will ever hire you again! You'll end up starving to death in the streets!"
"Heh heh heh..." Zabuza let out a sinister laugh that made one's hair stand on end. "That's something I can take my time considering after I kill you."
Gato's legs began trembling uncontrollably. Only then did he wake from his delusion and realize that he had made a fatal mistake. "Y-you