"If Jiraiya had been in the Land of Waves back then, Zabuza would never have dared make a move the moment he saw him."
That was precisely why Mizuki had come here — to find Zabuza and Haku.
As long as Zabuza didn't act, he and Haku wouldn't die.
And if they didn't die, Mizuki could recruit them to the Land of Birds and bring them into the village he was about to build — Fushigakure.
Fushigakure was desperately short on people.
Gaara walked at Mizuki's side the entire way, unusually quiet.
Now and then, killing intent would surge and he'd look ready to lash out — but one glance from Mizuki was enough to make him fall still again.
No resistance at all.
"Gaara." Mizuki asked, "do you know what love is?"
Gaara replied coldly, "I don't know. I've never felt love."
Mizuki shook his head, "No. You have. Your uncle Yashamaru loved you — right up until the moment he died."
At the name "Yashamaru", Gaara's emotions detonated. His eyes reddened.
"He tried to kill me! He wanted me dead. He never loved me!"
Chakra surged from his body. Sand lifted and whirled around him, murderous intent spilling out like a blade drawn from its sheath.
Mizuki glanced over.
The Mangekyō in his left eye opened.
With that single look, the boy was forcibly silenced — his sand control collapsing instantly.
Even so, Gaara's killing intent remained razor-sharp as he roared, "Kill! I'm going to kill you!"
He bared his teeth like a cornered beast, lunging as if he could tear Mizuki apart.
Mizuki continued evenly, "Yashamaru lied to you. Yes, he hated you — because his sister died because of you. But as your uncle, his love outweighed his hatred."
He let the words sink in before adding, "If he truly wanted you dead, you would have died long ago. Sunagakure specializes in poison. He handled your food, your clothes, your daily life. If he wanted to kill you, it would have been effortless."
Gaara stared with those dark-rimmed eyes, struggle flickering in his gaze.
Yashamaru's gentle smile surfaced in his mind — his patient voice, his soothing hands — so vivid that for an instant Gaara almost wanted to believe.
Then the assassination replayed.
The illusion shattered.
"No…" Gaara rasped, "That's not it. He clearly wanted to kill me. It's not like you say."
"Because he obeyed your father's order." Mizuki said, "He went to test you — using his own death to see whether you could control Shukaku."
Gaara clutched his head with both hands and screamed, "No! I don't believe it!"
Mizuki watched him fold in on himself, and didn't press further.
Only after a long time did Gaara quiet down. The storm inside him hadn't settled, but it no longer burst outward.
Mizuki led him across the sea's surface. Soon, they reached the Land of Waves and headed straight for Tazuna's home.
When they arrived, they found the door smashed in — and the house empty.
"As expected."
When Mizuki had seen the unfinished bridge earlier, he'd already guessed.
Kakashi must have ended the mission early, leaving before the bridge was completed.
Once Team 7 left, no one could stand against Gatō. The bridge would never be finished. And since Tazuna had dared oppose Gatō… there was no way his family would be spared.
Mizuki narrowed his eyes and questioned a nearby neighbor.
"Tazuna? He, his daughter, and his grandson were taken by Gatō's men. They're tied to posts on the market street." The neighbor's voice fell into a bitter sigh, "Too impulsive… resisting Gatō. Now their whole family is as good as dead."
Mizuki exhaled slowly — and in his heart, cursed the Third Hokage.
Damn that Third.
If Hiruzen hadn't summoned him back, Gatō would have been dead a long time ago.
If Hiruzen hadn't forced him into becoming a missing-nin, Mizuki wouldn't have come to the Land of Waves and taken Naruto and Sasuke away — and Gatō would've been dealt with by Team 7.
In short: in Mizuki's mind, every misstep was that old manipulator's fault. He dumped the blame onto him without hesitation.
"How long have they been tied up?" Mizuki asked, "Are they still alive?"
"All day, every day." The neighbor said, "It's been over a month. They're not dead yet… but it'd be better if they were."
Hearing they were still alive, Mizuki's mood improved — just a little.
He brought Gaara to the marketplace.
From far away, three wooden posts came into view — three figures bound to them.
They were skeletal. Lips cracked. Faces twisted with pain, eyes dulled into numb despair.
The worst was Inari.
So young, and already suffering like this.
No one around dared step forward to help. No one even dared offer them a sip of water.
Mizuki's expression turned icy as he strode forward.
A samurai with a blade stepped out to block him.
"Get lost. These three offended Lord Gatō. No one is allowed to approach. Let the people of the Land of Waves see what happens when you oppose Lord Gatō."
Mizuki raised a hand, seized the man by the collar, and tossed him upward — straight over his own head.
Shinra Tensei ▻ Almighty Push
A repulsive force detonated.
The samurai screamed as he shot more than a hundred meters into the sky.
At the apex, he began to fall.
Banshō Ten'in ▻ Universal Pull
His falling speed multiplied instantly, like a body slammed into a railgun's pull — dropping like lightning.
With a wet crack, he struck the ground.
On the spot, he became a bloody, human-shaped meat pancake.
Silence swallowed the street.
Terror bloomed across every face.
Even Gaara behind Mizuki looked at him differently.
Gaara had killed plenty. Sand Burial could crush a person to pulp.
But the sheer visual impact of this — nothing obscuring it, nothing softening it — was brutally direct.
The other samurai turned and ran.
Some were so frightened they wet themselves; they tried to flee but collapsed to the ground.
Mizuki's left eye swept over them.
All of them fell into genjutsu. In the illusion, they were forced to face what they feared most.
Piercing screams erupted throughout the market.
Mizuki left one alive.
The rest were tortured until their minds broke — then died.
He stepped up to the survivor.
"Tell me — where is Gatō?"
"In… in the forest on the island to the east."
After getting the answer, Mizuki grabbed the man by the neck and squeezed lightly.
It was over.
Only after killing them all did he feel a thin layer of calm return.
He walked to the posts and unbound the three.
Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, were already half-conscious.
Only Inari was still awake — and he stared at Mizuki with eyes full of hatred.
Mizuki didn't care.
He carried them back to Tazuna's house, then gathered several neighbors.
"Take care of them." he ordered, "Help them bathe and change clothes. Make food that's easy to digest. Hire a doctor."
He paused, then added, "Do that, and I'll give each of you one hundred thousand ryō."
He didn't want the trouble, and he didn't know how to care for people. And Tsunami was a woman — he wasn't about to create needless impropriety — so he could only rely on others.
One hundred thousand ryō per person was a fortune.
Yet the neighbors hesitated, too afraid to accept.
"Don't be afraid." Mizuki said, "Gatō will die by my hand soon. No one will come looking for trouble."
They still didn't dare.
Mizuki's patience thinned.
He pulled out a scroll and began studying on the spot. Minutes later, he snapped it shut.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu ▻ Shadow Clone Technique
With three soft pops, three shadow clones appeared.
"These clones will guard this place." Mizuki said, "No one will dare touch you."
Only then did the neighbors finally realize: he was a shinobi.
And only then did they agree.
With that settled, Mizuki brought Gaara and headed for the eastern island.
On the way, Gaara suddenly asked, "You saved them… was it because of love?"
Mizuki shook his head, "This isn't love. It's guilt."
"Guilt?" Gaara frowned, confused, "Then what is love?"
"Love is sacrifice." Mizuki said, "Like Yashamaru. To prevent the Fourth Kazekage from killing you, he sacrificed himself."
He continued, "Love is protection — like the sand on your body. It shields you even when you aren't controlling it."
Gaara asked, genuinely puzzled, "Does sand have love too?"
"Sand doesn't have love." Mizuki replied, "But it can carry love. Someone entrusted their love for you to the sand. From that day on, it became your guardian."
"Entrusted love… who was it?" Gaara's expression shifted.
Mizuki only shook his head. Some truths hit harder when discovered, not told.
They crossed the sea's surface again.
Mizuki led the way, cold killing intent sharpening his gaze.
Behind him, Gaara walked with his head lowered, deep in thought. He opened his hand and watched sand slip through his fingers. Staring at the swirling grains, he tried to see who — hidden behind the sand — had truly been there all along.
A small boat approached from the island, packed with men waving clubs and blades as they charged toward Mizuki and Gaara.
"All of you deserve to die!"
Several kunai flashed out — each bearing an explosive tag.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Every kunai pinned into the boat.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions flipped the small crafts over. The men were thrown into the water.
Some were wounded, bleeding.
The scent drew sharks.
They surged in and tore the struggling bodies apart.
❊❊❊❊❊
Deep in the island's forest, Zabuza lounged boldly on a sofa while Haku brewed tea beside him.
Across from them, Gatō's face was pinched with irritation.
"Zabuza, that ninja named Mizuki is here again." Gatō snapped, "He even brought a little brat. Go kill them."
Zabuza took a slow sip of tea.
"Mizuki." He said, "An S-Rank missing-nin of Konoha. They've placed a bounty at the underground exchange — thirty million ryō for information on his whereabouts, fifty million for his head."
"Fifty million…" Gatō muttered, eyebrows rising, "What did he do to offend Konoha that badly?"
Konoha had kept silent about the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki being taken away, not daring to publicize it.
So the bounty was enormous, but outsiders didn't know why. They could only guess.
"Killing him is fine." Zabuza said matter-of-factly, "But you'll pay fifty million ryō."
The Chūnin Exam incident hadn't spread yet.
He had no idea Mizuki's strength was nothing like before.
"I'll give you five million at most!" Gatō snapped immediately, cutting the price to a tenth, "If you don't agree, our cooperation ends here."
❊❊❊❊❊
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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