An Ice Release kekkei genkai, and a little boy named Haku.
Zou Hyuga gazed at Haku for a long while, then activated the Byakugan beneath his mask to examine the boy's chakra.
As he remembered it, Haku was an Ice Release ninja who followed Zabuza, with considerable strength that had reached the level of a special jōnin.
Even while following a missing-nin and living a life of hardship and wandering, Haku had attained the strength of a special jōnin. That spoke volumes about his talent. Why Kisame had brought him here now, however, was unclear.
Still, with Haku's talent, careful training might well allow him to reach the level of an elite jonin in time. Then he would be able to help Zou.
Taking his eyes off Haku, Zou Hyuga looked at the other orphans with kekkei genkai.
Though they were not as talented as Haku, they still carried dormant genes for kekkei genkai, giving them an edge over ordinary civilian ninja. They might become decent ninja in the future.
Though he could already control ninja through chakra, that was still forced control.
Resentment was inevitable. If they were willing to throw their lives away just to cause him trouble, it would be quite a headache.
For now, his organization was merely a merchant company operating within the Land of Fire, but it would not remain just a merchant company forever. It would inevitably expand into other fields.
When that happened, a loyal core of subordinates would be indispensable.
After inspecting the children, who were currently only orphans but would someday form that core, Zou Hyuga turned his attention to Kisame. He had not slipped out in secret merely to see these kekkei genkai orphans.
He had come because of the trouble Kisame had mentioned in his letter.
After signaling