One day earlier…
The moment Izayoi emerged from the black market, he saw that Momochi Zabuza and Haku—who had been tied up by a shadow clone—were already awake.
"Impressive," Izayoi praised with a smirk.
"Recovering so quickly, huh? You really live up to that name, 'Demon of the Hidden Mist,' one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"You didn't kill us," said Zabuza weakly, "so you plan on turning me in to Mist Village, or selling me on the black market?"
Before Izayoi could answer, Haku spoke urgently: "Please don't hand Lord Zabuza over to Mist Village or the black market! I'll earn money for you to pay off his bounty."
"You shinobi sure think in odd ways," Izayoi muttered. "I already got rid of Gato; his entire fortune is mine now. You think I need whatever pocket change you're talking about?"
He paused, then turned to Zabuza. "By the way, how much are you worth?"
"Seventeen million ryō," Zabuza responded.
Izayoi immediately looked disgusted. "An elite Jōnin, but your bounty's only half of Sarutobi Asuma's from the Konoha?"
"…"
Zabuza felt at a loss for words. How could he compare? They had entirely different backgrounds. Without that Executioner's Blade, Mist Village might not have put out even seventeen million.
"I actually like you two idiots," Izayoi remarked. "If you hadn't stuck to your professional code, Gato's loot wouldn't have landed in my lap."
He canceled his shadow clone, smiling. "So, do me a favor and I'll spare you both."
"As long as you spare Lord Zabuza, I'll do anything," Haku said at once. Hearing that, Zabuza felt a little warmth in his heart. He turned to Izayoi and said, "I'm best at assassination."
"I don't need you to kill anyone." Izayoi gestured to Haku, pretending ignorance. "Your name? And do you have a bounty?"
"I'm Haku, Lord Zabuza's tool. No, I'm not wanted." To prove he wasn't lying, Haku—despite the crushing pain in his body—removed the half-ruined mask to reveal his stunningly delicate face.
"Great, I've got a job for you." Izayoi went over to Haku and pulled out a scroll, tossing it onto the ground. "Make a trip to Sand Village for me and buy these materials. I'll spare you and Momochi Zabuza."
He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a fair forearm, then looked down at Haku as if recalling something. "By the way, are you male or female?"
"I'm male," Haku replied.
"That's a waste of a face," Izayoi teased. He dropped his sleeve and hoisted the hem of his robe, extending his calf in front of Haku. "Go on, bite me. Once you do, your injuries will heal up."
At that, Zabuza's eyes flickered. "A physical-healing ability… Are you a surviving member of the Uzumaki clan?"
"No wonder you guys from the Mist, who helped wipe out Uzumaki Village back then, know so much about the Uzumaki," Izayoi retorted sarcastically.
Upon hearing this, Haku understood the situation. Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward and carefully bit into Izayoi's calf, terrified that if he bit too hard, Izayoi might kill them both.
The moment Haku did so, his eyes went wide. It was like stepping from a frigid icy plain into a hot spring, a comforting warmth flowing through his body, banishing all negative sensations.
His external and internal wounds visibly healed. Even the bones crushed by repulsion and repeatedly slammed into the mansion walls, and his internal bleeding in organs—returned to normal, like time itself was rewinding.
Such was the power of the Uzumaki clan's Physical Healing. In the original story, even Tsunade, severed in half, could rejoin her body with that ability.
Within moments, Haku had completely recovered. Izayoi wiped his leg on Haku's clothing. "That scroll lists everything I need. I'll give you 30 million ryō. Buy as much as you can."
"My lord, I'll carry out your request, but please also heal Lord Zabuza," Haku pleaded, bowing respectfully.
"Get real. You think anyone can just go biting me? If I didn't need you for a job, I wouldn't be sharing this benefit," Izayoi said irritably. "He's not dying. If you make it back fast, you'll still have time to get him medical help. Remember, you only get ten days. If you take any longer, I'll assume you're dead."
"Don't mind me, Haku," Zabuza put in.
"…Understood."
Without delay, Haku, holding Izayoi's money and the scroll, vanished toward the Land of Wind. Izayoi formed another shadow clone to heft Zabuza, leaving that place behind.
"Aren't you waiting here for Haku?" Zabuza asked. "You never told him where to meet you."
"No need. The moment he steps back into the Land of Fire, he won't escape my eyes."
So confident? Zabuza thought. Maybe he had awakened the Uzumaki's Mind's Eye of the Kagura, or maybe he had an intel network spanning the entire Land of Fire. Also, weren't Uzumaki known for red hair? Why was his white? Transformation Jutsu? Mixed blood? All sorts of questions churned in Zabuza's head.
About a hundred kilometers from the black market, they reached a cave. Izayoi tossed Zabuza inside and left a shadow clone to guard him, then used his Tenseigan to monitor the Land of Fire, waiting for developments.
Izayoi couldn't know whether Sasori would inform Nagato that he'd been robbed, but since Sasori had glimpsed Izayoi's push-pull abilities, the odds were high he'd report it.
If so, then Izayoi's alter ego would wind up on the radar of Nagato and Obito or even Black Zetsu.
After all, repulsion and gravity felt like the stuff of universal laws, not your average secret jutsu. In the original series, no known technique lets you manipulate both.
That type of skill lay at the core of an ultimate dōjutsu. If somebody besides Tendo Pain could wield it—especially a masked figure without eyeholes—Nagato or Obito might or might not be anxious, but Izayoi knew Black Zetsu would definitely feel threatened.
He'd spent a thousand years paving the way to free his mother, and now this sudden X-factor emerged. He'd certainly do whatever it took to hunt Izayoi down.
Given Black and White Zetsu's Yin–Yang Release, Spore Technique, Disguise Technique, and Mayfly Technique, letting them move swiftly underground and erase all traces by fusing with the land and plants (which even Hagoromo or Hamura never detected), Izayoi doubted the Tenseigan alone could pinpoint them.
White Zetsu's intelligence skills were the best in the ninja world; surely they'd learn if Izayoi tried buying human-puppet materials on the black market. So to avoid getting set up, Izayoi needed a fallback plan. That was why he'd spared Zabuza and Haku.
~~~
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