The day after Gato's death, two unfamiliar faces arrived in the Land of Waves.
"Zabuza-sama, we've arrived. I hope we can avoid being pursued this time," said the short, youthful-looking boy. His appearance was so delicate that if dressed as a girl, he might be indistinguishable from one.
"Haku, stop speaking such useless, weak words," the tall man with a lowered hat said, clearly displeased with the boy's comments.
"Sorry, Zabuza-sama."
"Let's go. We need to meet our client."
The two followed the markings to the agreed meeting place.
However, the residence was already deserted. Upon inspection, it was clear that the occupants had left in a hurry, leaving behind a scene of chaos and looting.
"Zabuza-sama, something's wrong."
"Hm."
Zabuza's face remained cold, and he said only a single sound in response.
Having worked together for so long, Haku immediately recognized that Zabuza-sama was displeased and proposed, "I have some information about our client. I can investigate further and see what's happening."
Zabuza, not wanting Haku to have made the trip in vain, nodded in agreement.
In such a small country, there was hardly any force capable of threatening them, so Zabuza was confident in letting Haku gather more information.
Haku soon returned with news.
"Zabuza-sama, it seems we may have come in vain. Our client was killed yesterday, and their organization has collapsed."
Haku explained the details, including the conflict between Gato's organization and the Mira Peng family.
It was unclear who had killed Gato, but it was certain that the attackers were hired by the Mira Peng family.
Zabuza was surprised to find they had arrived too late.
With the client dead and their forces in disarray, the assassination mission was canceled.
Otherwise, they would have been working for free, killing without receiving any reward.
"Damn it!"
Zabuza swore under his breath.
"Zabuza-sama, should we stay in this country for a while or leave for somewhere else?" Haku asked, not showing any sign of disappointment. For him, the location and task were irrelevant as long as he was with Zabuza-sama, even if it meant being an expendable tool.
"Leave. But before we go, I need to kill a few people," Zabuza's eyes turned dangerous and murderous.
No explanations were needed.
Just like during his ninja graduation exam, where he had killed all the students on a whim.
Cruel?
Irritable?
Arrogant?
Cold-hearted?
Zabuza didn't care about the labels his enemies attached to him.
Because that's exactly who he was!
Shinsuke and Hidan probably didn't expect that they would be drawn into this again for such reasons.
In Mira Peng's company warehouse, people were busy preparing.
Although Shinsuke and Hidan had declined the money and women offered to them, Mira Peng wasn't angry. Instead, he praised them and added an extra 30% to the supplies for the Jashin cult to show his sincerity.
This time, Shinsuke did not refuse. He had no right to refuse, as it was for the Cult of Jashin, not a bribe for him.
Once everything was loaded onto the ship, the busy work paused temporarily.
When they disembarked, there would be special personnel for transportation, but security was up to Shinsuke and Hidan.
Both parties were confident there would be no issues.
"Are you really not staying a few more days? The Land of Waves may be small, but it's fully equipped. If you need anything, I can arrange it."
Mira Peng said sincerely.
Hidan's eyes lit up at the suggestion and wanted to ask for a thousand sacrificial offerings to send to Jashin.
But just as he was about to speak, Shinsuke elbowed him.
"Ugh!"
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing. It's probably because of his poor luck and the bad food from last night, causing a stomach upset."
Hidan bent over, holding his stomach, his expression murderous.
"We'll be leaving now."
Shinsuke dragged Hidan, ready to leave.
At that moment, several shurikens shot from a distance, targeting Mira Peng!
In the sudden chaos, Shinsuke instinctively threw Hidan at the attackers.
Mira Peng couldn't die, at least not before they returned to the cult!
Swish, swish, swish...
Thud, thud, thud!
"Shinsuke! What the hell are you doing?"
Hidan didn't yet understand what was happening when shurikens pierced his back and buttocks, causing him to scream in pain.
Shinsuke felt a bit embarrassed but noted that the result was good.
"There's an assassination attempt! Protect the master!"
A group of bodyguards hurriedly surrounded Mira Peng, ensuring his safety, perhaps hoping their employer would die faster.
Shinsuke knew that until the attackers were dealt with, their mission wouldn't be fully accomplished.
He said, "Stay hidden and don't make things worse."
"Hidan, protect him."
Then Shinsuke chased after the fleeing attackers.
After a few leaps, Shinsuke vanished from sight.
As the others breathed a sigh of relief, protecting Mira Peng during their escape, suddenly... fog began to roll in!
The troublesome hat was casually discarded as a tall man with a large sword drew it from his back.
He took a deep breath...
He smelled it—the scent of slaughter!
In the next moment, he vanished like a ghost, and when he reappeared, three people were already decapitated!
Neither the victims nor their comrades heard any sound of the enemy moving.
Experiencing painless and silent death—perhaps that was the "mercy" of the man known as the Demon!
In just ten seconds of fog, Mira Peng's guards fell one by one, and the thick smell of blood began to pervade the air.
Some could not endure the torturous wait, shouting and running in a direction, only to fall silent and disappear.