Zabuza took Haku with him — Haku grabbed the money — and the two left, determined to fund orphanages.
Mizuki, meanwhile, took Gaara to the public bathroom on the pier… and then headed straight for the women's restroom.
Gaara: …
"That's the women's bathroom!"
"I know."
"Y-you… are you a woman?"
"No. I'm a man."
"But that's the women's bathroom!"
"I know."
While they argued, Mizuki had already walked into the women's restroom. In Gaara's mind, that man was immediately labeled a "pervert".
To be honest, Mizuki didn't want to do it either. The upbringing he'd received wouldn't allow something like this. But faced with Gatō's inheritance — three billion in cash — he abandoned morality without hesitation.
Three billion ryō… forget entering the women's restroom. If someone told him to run down the street naked, he'd think for 0.1 seconds and agree.
After entering, he went to the last stall and pressed against the wall. A hidden door opened. Inside was a concealed room. Three walls each held a safe: three meters long and two meters tall.
It was Gatō's treasure. Who would've imagined that guy hid money in a women's restroom?
Mizuki went to the safe on the left, easily cracked the combination, and yanked the door wide open. A delicious stench of money hit his face.
Inhale — !
"What a wonderful smell!"
Inside, stacks of bills were arranged in perfect bundles. He stuffed everything into the storage ring; then opened the second and third safes and emptied each of them completely.
"Three billion in cash. Next month I'll give it all to Naruto. If luck smiles on me and I can get a ten-thousandfold return… I'll never be able to spend it all."
When Mizuki came out of the women's restroom, Gaara's gaze had changed — and the boy kept even more distance.
Mizuki couldn't be bothered to explain. He grabbed Gaara and left the island.
❊❊❊❊❊
When Gatō's head was hung in the market square, the people were numb at first.
But little by little, the emotion shifted: they began to doubt, argue, confirm… and finally celebrate. The atmosphere went from oppressive to festive.
At Tazuna's house, Inari lay on his back, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.
There was a knock. Mizuki pushed the door open and walked in. When Inari saw him, hatred surged in his chest.
Mizuki said, "Gatō is dead. I killed him. His men too."
Inari yelled, "I'll never believe Konoha ninjas again!"
"Sorry." Mizuki sighed, and left the room.
Tazuna had already woken up. Mizuki told him Gatō was dead, left some money behind, and left with Gaara.
The matter in the Land of Waves was settled. Time to go.
On the pier, Zabuza and Haku were already waiting. The four gathered, boarded a boat, and headed toward the Land of Fire.
As news of the collapse of the Gatō Group spread through the Land of Waves, everyone celebrated. Hearing the commotion outside — and the words "Gatō is dead" — Inari's expression turned blank. Mizuki's face surfaced in his mind.
Three days later, Tazuna recovered and resumed work on the unfinished bridge. Three days after that, the bridge was completed. Tazuna named it "Mizuki Bridge".
❊❊❊❊❊
At that moment, the four traveled west. Passing through a small town, they stopped at a public restroom to "take care of business".
They saw Haku walking toward the men's restroom.
Gaara: …
"That's the men's bathroom!"
"I know."
"Y-you… are you a man?"
"I am."
"No… that doesn't make sense. You dress so flashy — you're clearly a woman."
"No, I'm a man!"
Gaara watched Haku enter the men's restroom and frowned, standing outside — unable to decide whether to go in or not.
Mizuki deliberately chose a route that passed by Konoha. When they reached the outskirts of the village, he asked the other three to rest and went in alone.
At Konoha's gate, he put on a conical hat and entered without hesitation.
The gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, acted as if they were blind.
Mizuki's original genjutsu skill was weak, but after obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, casting genjutsu became as easy as eating and drinking. His level in that art rose by countless tiers.
At Konoha Hospital, Rock Lee lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, his eyes lacking their former sparkle. In the fight against Gaara, he had forcibly opened the Sixth Gate. The backlash was severe: bones throughout his body fractured to varying degrees and his meridians were grievously damaged.
The doctors declared that even if he healed, he wouldn't be able to train intensely again. Even with Tsunade — the strongest medical ninja — he still wouldn't return to his previous state. And to make matters worse, she still hadn't returned to Konoha.
Mizuki went to the hospital, transformed into Sakura's appearance, and entered the room with a bouquet and a basket of apples.
"Sakura-chan, thank you for coming to see me. The flowers are beautiful — I really like them!"
[ Ding! ]
[ You gave your disciple Rock Lee 1 Bouquet (Hospital Gift Version), triggering an 800× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you obtained 1 Bouquet (Everlasting Version)! ]
Never wilts — pretty magical, but useless to Mizuki.
[ Ding! ]
[ You gave your disciple Rock Lee 1 Basket of Apples, triggering a 300× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you obtained 1 Basket of Delicious Apples! ]
〖 Delicious Apple: Great taste, rich in vitamins and trace elements; eating them helps the patient recover faster. 〗
Mizuki was speechless. Those two gifts had been a waste.
But the real prize was still to come.
He walked up to the bed and, imitating Sakura's tone, asked, "Lee, what do you plan to do from here on?"
Lee's eyes hardened.
"I won't give up. Guy-sensei said a person's spirit affects the body. As long as I keep my spirit strong, the damage in my body will slowly heal on its own. It's slow… but I'll wait — and I'll fight for it."
Just like in the original story, he didn't give up.
Mizuki said, "On a mission, I obtained a secret technique. After training it, your body will be remade — any physical injuries can be repaired, and it can even extend your life. I want to teach it to you."
Lee's eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly, "Is there really a secret technique like that?"
"Sakura" nodded, "It comes from the Hidden Waterfall Village. It's called Earth Grudge Fear."
Lee was ecstatic, but his excitement quickly turned to frustration.
"My chakra is extremely low — practically nonexistent. I can't even use the basic clone/substitution/transformation techniques. If it's a secret technique… I probably won't master it in this lifetime."
"At least there's hope. You yourself said you won't give up. And you don't need to worry about chakra." Mizuki took out a scroll and explained, "This is the Uchiha clan's method of extracting chakra. Using the method in this scroll, the speed is a hundred times faster than normal."
Then he took out another scroll.
"This records the training method for Earth Grudge Fear. Study it whenever you have time."
He placed the two scrolls under Lee's pillow.
[ Ding! ]
[ You gave your disciple Rock Lee an S-Rank Kinjutsu [Earth Grudge Fear] (Training Method), triggering a 3,037× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you obtained an SS-Rank Kinjutsu [Heavenly Grudge Fear] (Training Method)! ]
〖 Heavenly Grudge Fear: After mastering it, the body can liquefy; it can invade other living beings to steal life force. There is no upper limit to the amount of life force that can be taken. Life force can heal any wound. As long as there is life force, the user does not age or die. 〗
Mizuki smiled.
An immortality technique had arrived. If he mastered Heavenly Grudge Fear and stole a massive amount of life force… could he use Rinne Tensei freely?
That return was absurd.
The only problem was that what he received was a training method — he still needed to practice on his own. An SS-Rank jutsu wouldn't be easy to master.
With the job done, Mizuki left.
Lee shifted slightly, feeling the two scrolls under his pillow, and a sliver of anticipation rose in his heart.
At that moment, there was a knock. Sakura and Ino entered together, each holding a bouquet.
"Lee, we came to see you!"
Lee: "Sakura-chan, you…"
Sakura asked, confused, "Lee, what is it? Is something wrong?"
Lee said, "Sakura-chan, a question — did you come here a few minutes ago?"
Sakura replied, "No. A few minutes ago I was still with Ino, on the way to the hospital. What happened — did someone prank you and transform into me?"
Lee: "Someone who looked like you came earlier… but they didn't prank me. They just brought flowers and apples. I don't know who it was."
He instinctively kept the scrolls secret.
❊❊❊❊❊
At that moment, Mizuki, wearing a conical hat, strolled calmly toward Konoha's gate.
The crisp sound of bells rode the wind to his ears. The chakra in his body stirred for an instant — then fell silent again. Beneath the brim of the hat, his eyes turned toward outside the gate.
Two men entered his field of view. Both wore black cloaks with red clouds and conical hats. They walked calmly, as if they were entering their own home. The guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, noticed nothing.
Itachi and Kisame had arrived.
Konoha's secrecy plan was good. Itachi still didn't know Sasuke had already been taken by Mizuki. When word spread that Konoha had been attacked and that the Third Hokage had died, Itachi — thinking of Sasuke — came immediately, afraid that Danzō would kill his younger brother.
Danzō's death was also an ultra-secret matter.
Mizuki didn't slow his pace and kept walking.
Kisame raised a hand toward Samehada on his back and, at the same time, turned his head to warn, "Itachi-san, this person doesn't seem affected by your genjutsu. Should we…"
"It's fine, Kisame. We didn't come to start a war — no need to make noise. That person probably doesn't belong to Konoha either, just like us. Not worth bothering."
"Seems strong. Their chakra must be delicious… what a pity." Kisame lowered his hand.
And so it happened: one left, two entered. They passed each other without recognizing one another.
For Mizuki, killing those two now wouldn't be difficult, but there was no reason — no benefit. As for Kisame, he even respected him a little. Anyone remembered by Might Guy had some charm.
As for Itachi… after trying to kill Mizuki repeatedly, he wanted to attack immediately. But he stayed rational and didn't let hatred cloud his judgment.
'If I kill him, Sasuke will definitely hate me when he finds out — he'll break our master-disciple relationship and leave.'
A disciple with S-rank talent like Sasuke was a solid foundation on Mizuki's path to power. He couldn't lose that.
Better to let Sasuke settle it with his own hands!"
❊❊❊❊❊
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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Take a look at the new books I'm translating on my profile, Cyberpunk 2077: A God-Level Skill Every Day and Infinite Worlds: Building the Strongest Harem! They are also on my website for $5 and $1.5, respectively!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)