Shisui glanced at the slumbering Zabuza and Haku, then at the still-stunned trio.
"I'm leaving this to you, Kakashi," he said with a nod. "Shinju-sama gave explicit orders—these two come with me."
He walked to the pair, palms settling on their shoulders. At first contact he had already marked them with unseen Hiraishin seals—Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
A ripple in space, and Shisui vanished with Zabuza and Haku.
Only Naruto, Sasuke, and the thoroughly thunderstruck Tazuna remained, staring at one another.
"J-just noaw… who was that?" Tazuna stammered. He felt like he had seen more absurdities today than in his entire life.
Kakashi smiled. "Someone who shouldn't exist in this world."
—
At the Namikaze estate, in a tea room opening onto a quiet garden, Shinju sipped tea and admired the view.
Space twisted. Shisui appeared with the unconscious Zabuza and Haku.
"Shinju-sama, the targets are delivered."
"Good work, Shisui. Take a rest," Shinju said.
Shisui bowed and vanished.
Shinju stepped to the sleepers and lightly touched their foreheads, dissolving the genjutsu.
Their eyelids fluttered. Minds still stuck in the final instant of battle with Kakashi, they woke to—
"Where… is this?" Zabuza sat bolt upright, eyes hard, scanning.
Gone was the cold lakeshore of Wave Country. In its place: an elegant courtyard steeped in the fragrance of tea and flowers. Warm sun. A kindly breeze. In the distance, the laughter of children and the hum of a busy street—peace and prosperity practically overflowing.
It didn't belong to the bloody, backstabbing shinobi world he knew. He had never dared to wish such a place could be real.
Haku woke as well, equally bewildered, instinctively stepping before Zabuza.
"Zabuza-san, careful!"
Then they saw the black-haired boy seated across the low table.
No chakra rippled from him—just a noble scion at leisure. Yet the fathomless black of his eyes made even a demon who had crawled through mountains of corpses feel a chill.
"Awake?" Shinju's tone was calm. "You've come a long way. Try Konoha's new tea."
Zabuza didn't move. His grip tightened on the beheading blade. "Who are you? Why are we here?"
"Who I am doesn't matter." Shinju tipped the pot and filled two empty cups. "What matters is where you want to go."
"What do you mean?"
"You have two choices," Shinju said. "First: keep being Kado's dogs—disposable tools. Then die to Konoha shinobi… or get silenced by Kado. That was your original fate.
"Second…" He slid the cups across. "Stay—and become mine. I'll give you a new future. One where you live as 'people,' not killing tools."
Silence. Of all things, they hadn't expected a choice—no threats, no torture, just a door opened.
Zabuza's laugh rasped. "Brat, who do you think you are? Why would we bend the knee to you?"
Shinju didn't answer. He snapped his fingers.
The paper door slid soundlessly. A Court retainer tossed a scroll onto the floor before Zabuza.
Zabuza unrolled it, frowning.
Inside lay everything the Court had gathered in the last few hours on Kado: illegal ledgers, a secret pact with the Water Daimyo, and—prepared for Zabuza and Haku—the post-mission "cleanup plan."
Times, places, the hit squad roster—every detail was neat as a ledger entry.
Zabuza's face darkened line by line. He knew this was real. Haku leaned in; shock and anger twisted his refined features.
"How…?"
They had thought themselves Kado's most trusted weapons. To him, they were expendable pieces.
"Cruel, isn't it?" Shinju's voice returned, soft but unyielding. "That's the rule of the world you followed—might makes right."
"But my rules differ."
He rose and beckoned them to the veranda.
They exchanged a look, then followed.
"See there?" Shinju pointed toward the lively street. "That's Konoha's new commercial avenue. Hyuga run workshops there; Uchiha provide security. They trade strength for wealth and respect.
"See that school? Every child, regardless of birth, gets the best education.
"See those new homes? The village gives every family a place to live.
"Here, strength isn't for slaughter; it guards order and creates plenty. Shinobi aren't cold tools. They're protectors, builders, people with families, friends, and work. Most of all—they're living, breathing human beings."
The blueprint in his words—and the living picture beyond the eaves—hit like a hammer. For two who grew in the Blood Mist, knowing only murder and betrayal, this was a shock unlike any other.
They watched the easy smiles on passersby, the chasing children. For the first time, doubt clouded their eyes.
Could shinobi live like this?
Was there really such a place?
"Zabuza. Haku," Shinju said, turning back. "You're strong. Your talent shouldn't rot in meaningless killing."
"Swear to me. I'll give you new identities—and seed money enough to live without worry. Stay here, or go anywhere you want. Open a shop. Hunt bounties freely.
"In return, become outer members of the Court in Water Country. When needed, gather intelligence, handle the dirty work the sun can't see.
"The choice is yours."
He fell quiet, leaving the room to their thoughts.
Long silence.
Inside them, heaven and hell wrestled. One path was an old, pitch-black life. The other—this boy's bright future.
At last, Zabuza let the beheading blade fall.
Clang.
The weapon that had drunk half a lifetime of blood was set down by its master's hand.
He bowed his proud head to Shinju.
"I, Momochi Zabuza, will serve you."
Seeing his resolve, Haku stepped up at his side without a heartbeat's pause.
"I will as well."
A battle that should have ended in rivers of blood closed without a blade drawn—by a downward leap of ideals, and a precise read on the human heart.
—
At Tazuna's home in Wave Country, Kakashi relayed what had happened.
When Tazuna heard that the infamous Demon of the Mist had been taken by Konoha's "mysterious leadership" for disposition, he could only gape at the seemingly young shinobi whose power beggared belief.
This time, he had truly hired a group of "gods."
(End of Chapter)
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