Time moved to the late autumn of the Year 57 of Konoha Calendar.
The sea east of the Land of Fire were shrouded in a thick, grey-white fog that seemed to absorb all sound.
The massive fleet of the Gato Company cut through the waves, slowly sailing towards the Land of Water.
The air was damp, cold, and clammy, carrying a unique smell mixed of sea salt and rust.
Inside the spacious, luxurious captain's office aboard the flagship, the [Black Gold], warm yellow lights and expensive mahogany furniture attempted to ward off the sea's chill.
Gato, wrapped in a thick mink coat, frowned deeply as he stared at Kakuzu sitting across from him.
Kakuzu, still clad in his black cloak, sat nonchalantly on an expensive leather sofa, his rough, stitched fingers deftly counting a thick stack of brand-new bills.
The rustling of paper was unusually clear in the quiet room.
This was the hefty commission he received after 'dealing with' a persistent competitor who had been causing trouble over shipping routes for Gato.
"Hey, Kakuzu!" Gato finally couldn't help but speak. Though he had been teamed up with Kakuzu for two or three years now, a trace of barely perceptible nervousness tinged his voice, "For this mission, the boss just wants us to pick up a Kirigakure's Missing-nin from the Land of Water and bring him back to the organization. Don't get trigger-happy and kill him for his bounty at the Exchange."
He knew all too well about his partner's pathological obsession with money and the hearts of strong Ninja.
Kakuzu's counting fingers paused. He looked up, his dark green pupils glinting with a cold, greedy light under the dim lamplight, like a beast lurking in the deep sea.
"Hmph." He let out a disdainful snort, his voice low and hoarse, "If he's someone personally chosen by the boss to join the organization, he can't be some insect to be crushed casually. I just intend to test his mettle."
He resumed counting the money, but his movements carried the air of sizing up prey, "If he can't even handle my test and dies easily, then he isn't worthy of stepping through the organization's doors. Such trash probably isn't worth much at the Exchange either."
He seemed to be stating a matter-of-fact truth.
Gato sighed helplessly, knowing it was useless to say more.
Having teamed up with Kakuzu these past few years, Gato had figured out his partner's personality… if he himself had a bounty, Kakuzu would probably look at him differently.
Gato walked to the large porthole and looked out at the churning fog. His vision was compressed to the limit as he calculated the remaining distance.
Kakuzu's gaze followed him to the chaotic grey-white outside. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke, abruptly changing the subject, "I've heard... that somewhere in these eastern seas, there's a small island that's never been marked on any map?"
His voice held a trace of inquisitive interest, "It was transformed by the guys at the Exchange into a money-sinking den exclusively for wealthy pleasure-seekers? It was extremely luxurious, with an arena where Ninjas fight to the death as the main attraction? Gato, a 'big businessman' like you, well-informed as you are, must have heard of it, right?"
Gato's short frame stiffened slightly. He turned around to meet Kakuzu's eyes, which shimmered with dangerous interest.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a merchant's cautious smile, "That place... Indeed, it's not much of a secret in circles at our level. Among the Ninja Guards I used to keep, a few were cheap finds from the 'loser's bracket' of that very arena. Their skills were decent, just a bit too much aggression."
He paused, pushing his small sunglasses up his nose with a finger, his tone taking on a serious note of warning: "However, I'd advise you not to set your sights on that place. The people coming and going there are truly powerful, well-connected tycoons with complex backgrounds. Moreover, it's one of the Exchange's core territories. The rules are strict, and the security is definitely not for show. Causing trouble there isn't worth the gain."
Gato guessed Kakuzu was probably thinking of targeting the Ninjas fighting there, as many of them likely had bounties on their heads.
Hence the warning… that was the Exchange's turf.
After listening, Kakuzu didn't respond immediately. He just silently continued counting the bills in his hand, the monotonous rustling filling the air.
A few days later, the fleet arrived at a relatively bustling port in the Land of Water.
As soon as they docked, Gato and Kakuzu discreetly left the ship and headed towards a remote cliff by the scaled coast, far from the bustle, as per their instructions.
The sea wind was biting, whipping up salty, briny spray that slammed against the steep black rock face, creating a mournful, howling sound.
The meeting point was at the top of the cliff, offering an open view overlooking the turbulent waves crashing against the shore below.
However, when Gato and Kakuzu arrived, they were met not by one figure, but two.
A flicker of surprise crossed Gato's face, and his small eyes narrowed warily behind his tiny sunglasses.
One of the men opposite wore the dark uniform of a Kirigakure's Ninja, carried a sword on his back, and had a ruthless, shark-like face.
The Kirigakure's forehead protector tied around his head was deeply gouged by a slash mark.
This was undoubtedly their target, Hoshigaki Kisame.
But the person standing next to Kisame was completely unexpected.
He was a tall man wearing a loose brown overcoat, with striking white hair, a bright red band tied around his forehead, and a pair of uniquely shaped rhombus-shaped sunglasses that hid the upper half of his face. His aura was mysterious and calm.
He didn't have any Ninja Village's markings on him.
Kakuzu's reaction was more direct.
He had approached this 'pick-up' mission with a mindset of scrutiny and testing from the start. Seeing an extra person now, the gloomy, oppressive aura around him instantly solidified further, spreading out like a tangible cold front.
Without a single wasted word, his massive frame leaned forward slightly. His dark green pupils, like a snake locking onto its prey, fixed intently on Kisame and the mysterious man beside him.
His low voice carried undisguised suspicion and pressure: "Hoshigaki Kisame? The boss's orders were to pick up one Kirigakure's Missing-nin. This extra one here… are we supposed to pack him up and take him along, or does he need to be dealt with on the spot?"
His rough fingers curled slightly, as if ready to attack at any moment.
Gato suppressed his doubts and stepped forward, his face automatically adopting a merchant's smile, but his eyes were sharp as a hawk's.
He gave a slight nod to Kisame, "I am Gato, representing the organization to receive you."
"Hoshigaki-san, and this is?" His gaze turned to the white-haired, sunglasses-wearing man, his tone inquisitive but also carrying a hint of warning: "The organization did not authorize you to bring anyone else, did it? This could cause unnecessary... trouble."
Facing Kakuzu's undisguised killing intent and Gato's veiled threat, Kisame's shark-like face showed no fluctuation, as if he were accustomed to all kinds of scrutiny.
"I am Hoshigaki Kisame." Kisame began, pausing slightly. The sharp light in his small eyes didn't diminish in the slightest, revealing a fierceness born of exhaustion, "As you know, I attacked the Fourth Mizukage-sama. After failing, my only option was to live on Kirigakure's bounty posters."
He said it lightly, but the hidden, earth-shattering implications were enough to shake anyone's composure.
Assassinating a Kage of a village!
Kisame turned to look at the white-haired man beside him, the edge in his voice seeming to soften just a fraction.
"This is my good friend. When he took me in, there was... an incident."
He shifted slightly, gesturing towards the white-haired man.
"His wife and daughter were caught up in some clan dispute. I need two days to deal with those people. I hope you can grant me this extension. Once it's done, I will report immediately."
Kisame's tone held a request, but he was prepared for refusal.
Hearing Kisame's condition, Kakuzu let out another low grunt from his nose.
Just then, the silent white-haired man took a step forward.
This step placed him squarely at the center of Gato and Kakuzu's converging gazes, and also slightly in front of Kisame.
His loose, dark brown canvas overcoat billowed and fell with the sea wind, snapping loudly.
He raised a hand and slowly removed the distinctive rhombus-shaped sunglasses hiding his eyes.
The moment the sunglasses slid off, the pupils of both Gato and Kakuzu constricted sharply!
They were a pair of eyes... impossible to describe in words!
Different from the Byakugan or the Sharingan, a deep red, like the thickest blood, saturated the entire eyeball!
Within that bloody expanse, the black pupils had also transformed. They weren't tomoe or circles, but ominous, glowing strip pattern within the pupils, like two fissures opening into an abyss.
Merely being glanced at by those eyes sent a cold chill shooting up Gato's spine to the top of his head, as if all the blood in his body was being drawn out and churned by that bloody hue!
On Kakuzu's heavily stitched face, an expression of extreme gravity, even a trace of wariness, appeared for the first time. The Earth Grudge Fear's tentacles within him, sensing threat, stirred restlessly beneath his robes.
Decades of experience walking the line between life and death, dealing with countless bizarre Kekkei Genkai Users, and his instinctual sense of danger screamed alarms!
"Are those the Ketsurugan?! You are from the Chinoike Clan!" As someone who had lived since the Warring States Period and wandered the Ninja World for over fifty years, Kakuzu knew of many clans, naturally including the legendary clan from the Land of Lightning once as famous as the Uchiha Clan.
'What was a clan from the Land of Lightning doing in the Land of Water?'
"You have a good eye, sir." The white-haired man said, his terrifying Ketsuryugan gazing calmly at Gato and Kakuzu. His voice wasn't loud, but it cut clearly through the howling sea wind, "My name is Oyashiro En. As you can see, I am a member of the Chinoike Clan. If your organization can help me rescue my wife and daughter..."
He paused, the pupils within the Ketsuryugan trembling slightly, "...I can also join your organization."
On the cliff top, the sea wind wailed.
Gato and Kakuzu's pickup mission had instantly become complex and fraught with variables.
However, compared to Kakuzu's caution and sense of crisis, Gato, who wasn't a Ninja, after the initial shock, also took off his sunglasses to get a better look at the other man's eyes.
'A new Kekkei Genkai Clan! The boss would definitely love to collect this one!'