---Tanzaku Gai – Konoha Bounty Exchange Station---
The station, concealed behind the modest exterior of a laundromat, was filled with the faint, musty taste of sealed scrolls and ancient ink, together with a stinging stench of bleach. The floor's scuffed linoleum was bathed in a sickly yellow glare as fluorescent lights pulsed above.
The Chunin clerk was a man with tired eyes shadowed by dark circles and a jagged scar tracing his left cheek. He nearly spat his coffee across the counter when Alaric spoke told him of the bounties to cash in.
"You… you want to cash in who?"
Using a senbon that he got earlier from Haku, Alaric casually leaned against the scarred wood and picked at his teeth. "You heard correctly. Kakuzu of the Waterfall is the largest one on the scroll. The smaller one is Bakuhyō Ganri, that explosive bastard from Iwa."
Haku stood beside him in silence, placing two heavy sealing scrolls on the counter with careful precision. His arm rested in a makeshift sling, and he favored his left leg with a slight limp... remnants of the battle that would fade by morning, courtesy of the Ashura no Mon seal etched into his back.
The clerk unrolled the first scroll with practiced flick. A soft poof of displaced air, and Bakuhyō Ganri's frozen corpse materialized... ice still glittering like cruel diamonds under the lights.
"Okay… A-Rank. Solid catch." He consulted his bingo book, muttering numbers. "Twenty million Ryo."
He hesitated before the second scroll. When it opened...THUD... the room seemed to shrink. Kakuzu's massive, stitched-together body hit the floor like a felled tree, still encased in Haku's unmelting ice. The Akatsuki cloak had been peeled away to confirm identity, revealing the grotesque cluster of masked hearts on his back.
The clerk's chair toppled backward with a clatter. He stared at the face, then the book, then the face again.
"Holy…" His whisper barely carried. "This guy… he's a legend in the black market. Known to be unkillable. Takigakure's had an open bounty on him for fifty years."
His gaze flicked from the frozen corpse to Haku... the teenager in the teal kimono, calm and composed... then to Alaric.
"Who took him down?"
Alaric jerked his thumb toward Haku. "The kid did. Solo."
The clerk swallowed audibly. His hands trembled as he processed the paperwork, stamps thudding like heartbeats. Minutes later, he emerged from the back safe with a heavy briefcase and a thick stack of bills.
"Total payout… sixty-five million Ryo."
It was just a fraction, but Haku's eyes widened. The number was staggering, more money than he'd ever imagined holding in one place.
They emerged into the night's neon light. Tanzaku Gai's streets were a hive of activity, with distant music thumping against the muggy air, street food carts sizzling, and laughing spilling from open doorways.
"Here." Alaric pushed the briefcase into Haku's chest.
"Sensei?" Haku blinked, fingers curling around the handle.
"The bet was for Ganri," Alaric corrected, already lighting a fresh cigar. The flame danced briefly on his fingertip before he took a long drag. "Kakuzu was an uninvited guest. You fought an S-Rank immortal and won. That's extra credit."
He grinned, clapping Haku on the uninjured shoulder. "Keep it. Buy something nice. Invest it. Whatever you want. You're rich now, kid."
Haku hugged the briefcase tighter. He had never chased money... not like Zabuza, not like most shinobi. But the weight of it, and more than that, the quiet validation in Alaric's eyes… it settled somewhere deep, warm and unfamiliar.
---The Grand Tanzaku Hotel – Penthouse Suite---
Seven days had passed since the forest battle, and Tanzaku Gai had moved fast. News moved faster.
Whispers spread through the underground like wildfire... The Ice Devil. The Teal Reaper. A Genin who soloed the Immortal Miser.
Haku hated every syllable.
He'd spent the week barricaded in the penthouse... massive windows overlooking the glittering city, silk sheets, room service trays piling up. He refused to leave. If hunger struck, he ordered in. If he needed training, he meditated in silence, legs crossed on the thick carpet.
Now he lay on the king-sized bed, staring at the slow whirl of the ceiling fan. The blades cut lazy shadows across the walls.
'Fame is annoying,' he thought, rolling over and burying his face in the cool silk pillow. 'I just want to sleep.'
For the first time in years, he allowed himself laziness. No missions. No expectations. Just the quiet hum of the town far below.
Alaric, meanwhile, lived an entirely different existence.
---The Golden Pavilion Casino---
"Black. Always bet on black."
A man in a sharp, tailored suit... blonde hair slicked back, charming smile that could disarm a room... pushed a towering stack of chips onto the roulette table. He looked every bit the wealthy foreign merchant from the Land of Iron.
The wheel spun. The ball clattered in chaotic rhythm.
Click.
"Black 17!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd. Alaric collected his winnings with a lazy grin.
He wasn't cheating. No Sharingan tracking the ball's spin. No subtle Wind Release nudge. Just pure chance... and the thrill of letting it ride.
For years in the other world, every coin had been earned through grind, every decision calculated for power. Here? He could lose on purpose, laugh loudly at a bad hand, then win the next three with a straight flush. He tipped waitresses thousands of Ryo, drank aged whiskey that burned smooth, and let cigar smoke curl around him like an old friend.
By dawn, his pile of chips was always larger... win or lose, it didn't matter. The chaos felt… freeing.
'This is the life,' he thought, tossing a chip to a beggar outside as he strolled back to the hotel under fading stars. 'No grinding. Just pure, unadulterated chaos.'
---The Rooftop – Sunset---
The week of indulgence ended as the sun dipped low, bleeding gold and crimson across the horizon.
Alaric and Haku stood on the flat rooftop. Wind whipped through Haku's teal kimono and tugged at Alaric's crimson coat. Below, Tanzaku Gai stirred awake for another night of lights and noise... distant laughter, the faint clink of glasses.
Alaric leaned against the parapet, watching the mountains swallow the sun.
"Haku," he said, voice quieter than usual.
"Sensei?" Haku stepped closer, sensing the shift.
"I'm leaving."
The words were heavy. Haku didn't flinch, but his fingers tightened on the railing. "Where are we going next?"
"Not 'we,'" Alaric continued, turning to face him. "Just me. Somewhere you can't follow. Not yet."
He tapped ash from his cigar, watching it spiral down into the city glow.
"Time flows differently there. Could be two years here. Maybe three."
Haku processed it slowly. Two years. Alone. The thought echoed, but he had grown used to solitude before... under Zabuza, in the mist. This felt different. This felt like trust. He already gave Zabuza the privacy, and now, Alaric was leaving... maybe it was time for him to do things on his own and decide for himself.
"I understand," he said softly. "I'll wait for your return."
"Don't just wait." Alaric pointed a finger at him, eyes serious. "Train. Work. Live. If I come back and find your skills stagnant… or worse, deteriorated…"
Alaric grinned devilishly as the atmosphere went cold.
"I'll put you through a regimen that'll make the last year look like a vacation. You'll wish for death, and I won't grant it."
Haku's left eye twitched. Memories of metal bullets, sleepless fuinjutsu nights, the burn of training. He managed a nervous chuckle. "I won't slack off, Sensei. I promise."
"Good." Alaric's tension melted into a smile. "Now... lift your shirt. Turn around."
Haku complied without hesitation, turning his back and pulling up the kimono fabric. The old Ashura no Mon seal was still there.
"The Crest has a cooldown," Alaric explained, raising his hand. "It's been a year. Needs refreshing if it's going to carry you through the next phase."
No ink. No brush. Chakra gathered at his fingertip, burning like a focused laser.
Complex, multi-dimensional kanji began to form in the air... glowing, intricate, and it felt alive. They hovered between finger and skin.
"This is going to sting," Alaric warned. "Like last time."
"...I'm ready."
He pushed the symbols forward.
SSSSZZZTT.
The characters slammed home. Haku's knees buckled. "Guh!" Pain like ice and fire braided together seared through his pathways, reinforcing coils, muscles, core. Memories flashed... forest battles, ice mirrors, Alaric's grin... and then it settled, warm and powerful.
The glow faded, leaving a fresh, intricate black tattoo.
Haku panted, pulling his shirt down. Vitality surged through him. There were no changes but it felt like there were. "Thanks..."
"You have three weeks," Alaric said, glancing at the rising moon. "Roam around. Take bounties. See the nearby villages, meet people. Or do nothing at all and just rest. But be back in Konoha before the month ends. Show Hiruzen... or the new Hokage the pass I gave you."
'I forgot that Tsunade was officially named the Godaime Hokage months ago,' Alaric thought. 'I wonder how she actually looks like. Does she look young or is she a granny? Yeah, forget it.'
"I will." Haku bowed deeply. "Thank you… for everything, Sensei."
"Don't get sappy." Alaric chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Haku's perfect bun into disarray. "Oh, and you can live in the Compound as long as you want. It's big enough. Just don't let Jiraiya turn it into a peep show."
"I'll guard it with my life," Haku said, deadpan.
Alaric grinned wider. "Good!"
He stepped back and didn't dramatically jump. He simply floated upward,,, boots leaving the concrete, crimson coat billowing like wings. Higher and higher, until he was a silhouette against the moon.
He looked down one last time... at his student waving, at the city of lights and shadows.
He closed his eyes.
'Man…' A rare softness bloomed in his chest. 'I really miss Kassandra. And my son. Time to go be a dad for a bit.'
FLASH.
A brilliant golden light erupted... brighter than any star, washing the rooftop in warmth.
When it faded, the sky was empty.
'What a show-off...'
Haku stood alone. He watched the spot for a long time, wind tugging at his kimono. Then he adjusted the Kusanagi that Alaric gifted him a few months ago at his hip and turned toward the path ahead.
"Two years," he whispered, a quiet determination settling in. "Just you wait, Sensei… I'll show you how much I can grow."
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