"What did you say?
"Zabuza ran away?"
Inside a heavily guarded, luxurious mansion, Gato roared in fury.
"He took my money and ran off before finishing the mission?
"I'll teach him that Gato's money isn't so easy to take.
"Find him! Capture him!
"Also, go to the black market and hire that bounty maniac, Kakuzu. Tell him I have a big job for him."
Compared to those untrustworthy rogue ninjas and mercenaries, Kakuzu, although more expensive, at least always completed his employer's tasks.
But even for the wealthy Gato, the thought of the fee for hiring Kakuzu made him wince. That amount of money was enough to hire a hundred rogue ninjas!
"Yes, sir!"
"Lord Gato, Zabuza's companion hasn't left yet. Should we capture him too?" a nearby rogue ninja asked.
"Capture him! Don't let any of them escape!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
A few days later...
After a period of rest and recovery, Natsuki and his team, escorting Tazuna, finally arrived at the Great Naruto Bridge.
However, they found the situation there far from peaceful.
"Catch him! Don't let him get away!"
Chaotic shouts came from ahead.
A figure in a pink kimono, limping, ran towards them. Behind him, a swarm of rogue ninjas and mercenaries, armed to the teeth, surged forward.
"It's that little sister!" Kiba Inuzuka, with his sharp eyes, recognized Haku immediately.
"That's a little brother," Natsuki reminded Kiba.
Instantly, Kiba felt a wave of nausea, as if he had bitten into an apple only to find a fat worm inside, and only half of it at that.
"Be on guard! Protect Mr. Tazuna!" Team Captain Kurenai Yuhi quickly positioned herself in front of everyone.4
Meanwhile, Haku, in his desperate escape, also noticed Natsuki and his team. A look of apology flashed across his delicate face.
In order not to involve Natsuki and the others, Haku abruptly changed direction. However, this sudden shift allowed the swarming rogue ninjas to quickly surround him.
After his bath the previous night, Zabuza had left without a word, for reasons unknown to Haku.
He hadn't found Zabuza after days of searching and had even been ambushed by Gato's men, despite being employed by Gato.
He had been caught off guard and was severely injured.
"Stop running! Even your companion abandoned you. Why don't you just surrender?"
"You're nothing but Zabuza's tool, to be discarded at will."
"Taking most of Lord Gato's bounty and leaving behind a mere tool while running off himself, only the Demon would do such a thing!"
The rogue ninjas taunted loudly.
"Mr. Zabuza is not like that!
"He must have encountered something and left temporarily!" Haku gritted his teeth, deflecting several incoming projectiles with a kunai held in his reverse grip.
"Temporarily? To come back after Tazuna's bridge is finished?"
"How cunning and cowardly!" A ninja with a scarred face sneered.
"Don't you dare talk about Mr. Zabuza like that!
"Hidden Mist Jutsu: Senbon Shower!"
Instantly, a dense volley of water needles shot down, piercing the rogue ninjas in the front lines who couldn't dodge in time, causing them to howl in pain.
"Damn it! She's alone and injured!"
"Let's all attack together and capture her for the bounty!" After a few shouts from the crowd, these desperate individuals lunged forward again.
"Hmph! So many fucking grown men bullying a single girl? I, Kiba Inuzuka, won't stand for it!
"Akamaru!
"Fang Over Fang!" Two sharp tornadoes ripped through the crowd, landing in front of Haku.
"Where did this brat come from? How dare you meddle in our business? We'll take care of you too!
"Look at his headband! He's a Konoha ninja!"
"Konoha ninja? Look over there! Isn't that Tazuna?"
"Great! If we take them all out at once, the mission will be complete!
"We'll be living the high life after this!" The rogue ninjas clamored loudly but didn't immediately attack.
Instead, they let the mercenary thugs, who weren't even ninjas, swarm forward, while they hid behind them, throwing shuriken and using jutsu.
Rogue ninjas might not be powerful, but their brutal survival experience from wandering the ninja world had made them cunning and adept at avoiding danger.
If the enemy was strong, they would cautiously probe, not daring to approach.
If the enemy was weak, they would attack like sharks, devouring them completely.
"Temple of Nirvana Technique!" Kurenai mumbled softly, and phantom feathers suddenly rained down from the sky.
Those who couldn't dodge the feathers collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.
"Damn! It's genjutsu!"
"Be careful not to touch the feathers!"
"Let's retreat from this area! We'll throw shuriken together from the rear and stab them to death!" The rogue ninjas abandoned their mercenary companions and scattered, glaring menacingly at Natsuki and his team.
They waited for the feathers to settle before making their next move.
Just then, a dark figure crashed down into the middle of the field.
"You're all really are a bunch of useless trash!
"So many of you can't even deal with a group of children?
"In that case, let me take care of them all by myself."
"Of course, I'll be taking all the bounty too." An icy killing intent instantly swept over the entire area.
The newcomer was Kakuzu, who had come to take on a private job.
He was known as "Akatsuki's Treasurer," "Akatsuki's Moneybag," "The Money-Grubbing Maniac," and "The Black Market Expert."
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