Demon of the Mist

The day after Gato died, two more unfamiliar faces arrived in the Land of Waves.

"Lord Zabuza, we're here. Hopefully, we can shake off our pursuers this time," the short boy said first. When he lifted his head, however, his features proved so delicate and beautiful that, dressed as a girl, he would probably have been impossible to distinguish from one.

"Haku, don't waste your breath on such weak, useless words." The tall man lowered his woven hat, seemingly displeased with the boy's remark.

"I'm sorry, Lord Zabuza."

"Let's go. We're meeting our employer."

Following the markers, the two made their way to the agreed meeting place.

But the house was already deserted. An inspection revealed that its occupants had left in a great hurry, while still trying to strip the place of every last valuable.

"Lord Zabuza, something's wrong."

"Mm."

Zabuza's expression remained cold, and he offered only that single, terse sound.

Having spent so long with him, Haku immediately understood that Lord Zabuza was displeased. He promptly suggested, "I have some information about our employer. I can ask around, and then we can decide what to do."

Zabuza did not want to have come all this way for nothing, either, so he nodded and sent Haku off.

In such a tiny country, there was virtually nothing capable of threatening him or Haku, so he had no concerns about letting Haku gather information alone.

Haku did not disappoint him. Before long, he returned with a clear picture of what had happened.

"Lord Zabuza, it looks like we really did come here for nothing. The employer who hired us for the assassination was killed yesterday, and his entire organization has fallen apart."

With considerable resignation, Haku recounted everything he had learned, including the conflict between the Gato Company and the Mira Peng Family.

Accounts varied as to who exactly had killed Gato, but one thing was certain: the killer had to be someone powerful hired by the Mira Peng Family.

Zabuza had never imagined they would arrive too late.

With their employer dead and the organization behind him in pieces, the assassination mission was naturally canceled.

Otherwise, they would be working for free. Even if they killed the target, there would be nowhere to collect their payment.

"Damn this rotten luck!"

Zabuza could not help cursing.

"Lord Zabuza, should we stay in this country for a while, or leave for somewhere else?" Haku asked again, though there was no disappointment on his face now. To him, where they went and what they did did not matter. As long as he could remain with Lord Zabuza, that was enough-even if he was nothing more than a tool that could be discarded at any moment.

"We're leaving. But before we go, I'm going to kill a few people." Zabuza's gaze instantly turned dangerous and bloodthirsty!

There was no elaborate reason.

Just as he had killed every student in that year's ninja graduation exam on a whim.

He wanted to do it, so he did.

Cruel?

Irascible?

Arrogant?

Cold-blooded?

He did not care in the slightest about the labels his enemies had attached to him.

Because that was exactly the kind of man he was!

Even Shinji and Hidan probably never imagined they would get dragged into this again for such a reason.

Inside the Mira Peng Family's company warehouse, many people were hard at work.

Although Shinji and Hidan had both refused the money and beautiful women he offered, Mira Peng was not angry at all. Instead, he praised them lavishly and increased the supplies originally promised to the Jashin Cult by thirty percent as a show of sincerity.

This time, Shinji did not refuse. Nor did he have any right to refuse, since these supplies were for the Jashin Cult, not an attempt to win him over.

Only after everything had been safely loaded aboard the ship did the bustle finally subside for the moment.

Once the cargo was unloaded, designated workers would handle its transportation, though security would be up to Shinji and Hidan.

Both parties were confident on that front and did not expect any problems.

"Are you sure you won't stay another couple of days? The Land of Waves may be small, but it has everything you could want. Just say the word, and I can arrange anything."

Mira Peng spoke with utmost sincerity.

Hidan's eyes immediately lit up. He wanted to ask the man to bring him a thousand sacrifices so he could send them all to Lord Jashin!

But just as he opened his mouth, Shinji discreetly drove an elbow into him and stopped him cold.

"Urgh!..."

"Uh, what's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. He was probably born to be poor. He's never had fine food like we ate last night, so it upset his stomach."

Hidan doubled over, clutching his stomach, his gaze already murderous!

"We'll be on our way, then."

Shinji grabbed Hidan and prepared to leave.

Just then, more than a dozen Senbon shot toward them from nearby, aimed straight at Mira Peng!

Caught off guard, Shinji instinctively hurled what he was holding... Hidan.

Mira Peng could not die-at least not before they returned to the Jashin Cult!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Thud, thud, thud!!!

"Akagi Shinji! What the fuck are you doing?!"

Before Hidan even knew what was happening, his back and backside were studded with Senbon. The pain made him yell.

Shinji felt rather awkward now. After all, that really had been a dick move.

But there was nothing he could do. The timing had simply worked out that way.

Besides, it had all turned out well, hadn't it?

"An assassin! Protect the family head!"

A group of bodyguards frantically crowded around Mira Peng, leaving him unable to move, as though they were afraid their employer would not die quickly enough.

Shinji also knew that unless he dealt with the attacker, this mission could not be considered a complete success.

So he said, "Get inside and stay hidden. Don't come out and get in the way."

"Hidan, keep him safe."

With that, he chased after the fleeing attacker.

After a few leaps, Shinji disappeared from everyone's sight.

But just as they breathed a sigh of relief and began escorting Mira Peng away, suddenly... fog rolled in!

An obstructive woven hat was casually tossed aside, and a tall man drew the Kubikiribōchō, over two meters long, from his back.

He took a deep breath...

He smelled it-the scent of slaughter!

The next instant, he vanished like a phantom. By the time he reappeared, three people had already been beheaded!

Yet neither those three victims nor the people beside them had heard so much as a sound of the enemy moving.

A painless, silent death-perhaps that was the final act of "mercy" from the man known as the Demon of the Mist!

Barely a dozen seconds after the fog appeared, Mira Peng's guards were dying one after another, and the thick stench of blood began spreading through the air.

Unable to endure the torment of waiting to die, someone charged off in one direction, screaming at the top of his lungs. Then his voice cut off, and there was no further sound.