Banshō Ten'in ▻ Universal Pull
On the battlefield, Zabuza and Haku were suddenly yanked by an invisible force and hurled toward Mizuki. In the blink of an eye, the two were dragged right in front of him.
Zabuza swung the Executioner's Blade, slashing straight at Mizuki.
Mizuki used a movement technique similar to substitution/teleportation to slip to the side and snarled:
"Stop! I'm here to help you!"
Zabuza frowned. Even though he didn't understand, he still stopped.
At that moment, Kakuzu caught up. But the instant he saw the Rinnegan in Mizuki's right eye, his expression changed drastically.
"You… you have that kind of eye too. Damn it — our intel was wrong!"
Before he even finished speaking, Kakuzu turned and bolted, sprinting madly into the distance.
He knew all too well how terrifying the Rinnegan was. That leader who called himself a god — Pain — wasn't bragging. Otherwise, Kakuzu would never have willingly submitted under him.
Turning around and running was the smartest choice.
Mizuki raised a hand, "Since you're already here, why leave?"
Universal Pull locked onto Kakuzu's main body and dragged him back.
"Like hell I'm going to die like this!"
Kakuzu wouldn't sit still. He fired a tentacle-fist at Mizuki — and under the pull of gravity, the punch became even faster. At the same time, the other four masked monsters released their ninjutsu as well, attacking from different angles.
Shinra Tensei ▻ Almighty Push
Every attack was instantly shattered.
Next — Rasengan Gatling!
Mizuki formed Rasengans with both hands, one after another, and launched them like bullets.
Kakuzu's four masked creatures were immediately pelted point-blank by a swarm of spinning spheres. The four hearts didn't last even two seconds before they exploded.
Four lives — gone, with zero chance to resist. They didn't even have time to dodge.
Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu ▻ Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique
Seeing he couldn't escape like this, Kakuzu immediately used Earth Release to burrow into the ground.
Mizuki frowned. His echolocation only worked in the air; it was useless in liquids and solids. With the enemy hidden in the soil, he really couldn't pinpoint the position.
"Hmph. I don't believe you won't come out." Mizuki narrowed his eyes, rose into the air, and ascended to a height of a thousand meters.
The entire island lay within his field of view. The hyper-vision granted by the Sharingan and Rinnegan let him catch even the smallest movement.
Before long, he spotted his target at the island's southern dock. Kakuzu poked his head out of the ground, looked left and right, and only after confirming no one was around did he fully emerge.
"Where the hell did that Rinnegan come from…?" Kakuzu's green eyes were filled with anger, "I lost four hearts in one shot — each one I worked hard to find. Damn it… even back when I fought Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, I wasn't this miserable. I need to earn more money to soothe my wounded soul!"
Cursing under his breath, he jumped onto a small boat, started the diesel engine, and pushed the throttle to the limit, ready to flee.
But in the next moment, that familiar sensation enveloped him. His body floated up and flew backward.
"How is that possible? There was clearly no one around just now!" Kakuzu's face twisted even uglier than before.
He tried to use ninjutsu, only to find his chakra in complete chaos — he couldn't form a technique at all.
"It's over!"
Mizuki stood on the shore. His left eye had already activated the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan; its technique, Takamimusubinokami, enveloped Kakuzu.
When Kakuzu drifted close, Mizuki grabbed him with one hand. Then several black rods stabbed into his limbs and abdomen, sealing his chakra and immobilizing him.
"Sharingan and Rinnegan… what kind of monster are you?"
Mizuki didn't answer. Instead, he placed his right hand on Kakuzu's head, "The Takigakure secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear… it's a good thing. It boosts strength — and extends lifespan."
As Kakuzu stole other people's hearts, he also stole their life force. That greatly extended his lifespan. Everyone from his era had died long ago, yet he was still alive — and still looked young. With Earth Grudge Fear, he could even achieve immortality.
Compared to that, Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation was pathetic. Not only did the body become weak before and after each transfer, the soul also suffered serious damage — huge side effects.
The only advantage was probably… he could change sex. Want to be a man, be a man. Want to be a woman, be a woman. Do whatever you like — double the fun.
Kyūkon no Jutsu ▻ Absorption Soul Technique
Kakuzu had lived nearly ninety years; his memories were vast and messy. Digging through them took far longer than digging through Gatō's.
Mizuki ignored the irrelevant junk and selected only what mattered. A few minutes later, he successfully found the training method for Earth Grudge Fear and memorized it in detail.
That grotesque, disgusting-looking technique wasn't something he intended to practice. But there was nothing stopping him from making his disciples learn it. Give a disciple a powerful secret technique and the system's random "return" would surely yield something even stronger.
"Besides Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu actually knows where the Hero Water is sealed… and he even secretly opened the seal and drank it once. Hero Water — good stuff."
The Hero Water of Takigakure was holy water produced by the village's giant tree only once every hundred years. After a ninja drinks it, their chakra increases tenfold.
But it has a side effect: it consumes life force. That's why Takigakure seals it away, to keep it from harming people.
Kakuzu had five hearts — five lives — so his life force was abundant. He wasn't afraid of the side effect, and he had once secretly returned to Takigakure, opened the seal, and stolen a drink. That was also the main reason he could keep spamming ninjutsu in battle without worrying about running out of chakra. Ten times chakra wasn't a joke.
"If I get the Hero Water and then give it to Naruto… wouldn't that be insane?"
Naruto, as a member of the Uzumaki clan, had life force far beyond ordinary people and wouldn't fear the side effect. And he already had enormous chakra reserves. Multiply that by ten and… there was huge potential.
"After I give it to Naruto, the system returns a new Hero Water. If I drink that, won't my chakra explode too?"
Isn't that way more efficient than gifting ramen?
"This has potential. Absolutely has potential!" Mizuki was practically drooling.
Kakuzu in his hand no longer had value. Mizuki formed a new black rod and pierced Kakuzu's final heart.
Kakuzu of the Zombie Combo — dead.
On his body were sealing scrolls holding tens of millions in ryō — bounties from the underground exchange. Now they became Mizuki's development fund. If he gifted that money to a disciple, even a casual hundredfold return would become billions.
Mizuki returned to the center of the island and found Gaara facing off against Zabuza. It looked like they'd fight at the slightest disagreement.
He looked at Gaara in surprise, thinking: This kid actually held back? Based on Gaara's old personality, wouldn't he have attacked immediately?
"Looks like the guidance I deliberately gave these past days had some effect."
He was pleased.
Zabuza looked at Mizuki and asked, "Why are you helping me?"
Mizuki answered bluntly, "I'm building a ninja village. I want you to join."
"How ridiculous." Zabuza sneered, "I assassinated the Fourth Mizukage and defected from Kirigakure because I hated that old life of following orders. I like being unrestrained, yet you want me to join your village and become your subordinate. How is that possible?"
Mizuki looked at him and said calmly, "You assassinated the Fourth Mizukage because you were dissatisfied with the village's tyranny. You wanted to overturn the Fourth Mizukage's Bloody Mist policy — not because you 'hate following orders.'"
Zabuza's gaze shifted.
"On the surface, you seem cold-blooded and murderous. But deep down, you hide a kindness you don't even want to admit. You worked for Gatō, but in reality you were trying to find his treasury, take his money, and then donate it to an orphanage."
Zabuza growled, "Nonsense!"
Mizuki smiled, "You think you were careful? Kado installed a listening device in your place. He heard your plan clearly. Otherwise he wouldn't have hired Kakuzu and Hidan to kill you."
Zabuza: …
Awkward…
Mizuki couldn't understand it — doing good deeds, yet acting like a thief. Loudly doing evil, quietly doing good — what kind of mindset was that?
But either way, Zabuza was ambitious and had killed countless people, yet he still had a kind side. If there was anyone to blame, it was Kirigakure's bloody policy that molded him into a killer.
"Join my village, and I'll give you money."
Zabuza asked, "How much can you give me?"
Mizuki smiled lightly, "As much as you want. Even if you want to feed every orphan in the entire shinobi world — I can do it."
Zabuza's breathing quickened, "Right now, I want… one — no, thirty million in cash…"
Mizuki waved a hand. A mountain of banknotes appeared on the ground.
"Here's three hundred million in cash!"
Mizuki felt excited too. Honestly, being a rich tyrant felt great. That kind of extravagant, money-throwing swagger was a thrill ordinary people could never experience.
This money was all returned by the system. Items returned by the system couldn't be used as the "base item" for another return, so this cash couldn't multiply into more cash anymore. Giving it to Zabuza didn't hurt him at all.
Zabuza stared wide-eyed at the money on the ground, breathing even faster.
"Join my village, and every year I'll give you three hundred million to fund orphanages. If you agree, the money on the ground is yours right now."
"I…" Zabuza opened his mouth.
"Honestly, thirty million is enough for a long time. The shinobi world doesn't have that many orphans." Mizuki smiled.
This trip wasn't for nothing!
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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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