"Who the hell are you?"
Kado, oblivious to the looming danger, latched onto Izayoi's earlier insolence. Pointing, he bellowed, "What are the guys outside doing? They didn't even notice an outsider walking in—useless idiots!"
Izayoi touched the chin of his mask, sighing. "Guess it's not a Hidden Mist thing. You rich types have tamed these ninja, stripped them of their edge. No wonder an elite rogue ninja, strong enough to be a trump card in any of the Five Great Villages, doesn't just kill a tycoon like you and take your fortune. Instead, he settles for mercenary work."
Zabuza's brow twitched, his gaze flicking to Kado. Izayoi's words suddenly made a lot of sense.
"What… what are you talking about?"
Izayoi's speech jolted Kado awake, reminding him he was just an ordinary man facing ninja—rogue ninja, no less, wanted by major villages, wielding supernatural power.
Panic seized him, and he stumbled back, shouting at Zabuza, "Zabuza, I'll pay you ten million ryo—kill this guy, now!"
"Wondering how I got in?"
Izayoi raised a hand toward Kado, chuckling. "This… is how."
Instantly, Kado's body lifted off the ground, hurtling toward Izayoi.
Losing control, Kado shrieked in terror, "Zabuza, save me!"
Whoosh!
Zabuza shoved Haku aside, spun with gathered force, and hurled his Kubikiribocho.
The massive blade spun like a giant shuriken, slicing the air with a piercing howl, aimed at Kado.
Yes—Kado, not Izayoi.
More precisely, Zabuza intended to take them both out.
"This guy's my cash cow. Can't let you kill him," Izayoi said with a smile, raising his other hand.
The next second, the spinning Kubikiribocho froze, as if space itself had locked it in place, hovering motionless.
Zabuza and Haku, witnessing such power for the first time, paled, their pupils shrinking.
"Some guy calls himself a god because he wields power no one can resist."
Izayoi gripped Kado's neck with one hand, spreading the fingers of the other, his smile teasing. "So, want to witness the power of a god?"
Before Zabuza or Haku could react, Izayoi softly uttered a technique's name: "Shinra Tensei."
Boom!
An invisible repulsive force warped the space, draining color from Zabuza and Haku, turning them into stark black-and-white manga figures before white light engulfed them.
A heavy explosion rocked the heart of the Land of Waves.
Thick dust churned, forming a mushroom cloud that climbed skyward.
The blast startled residents, but when they saw the cloud rising from Kado's estate, joy spread across their faces.
Some clasped their hands, praying it was Kado caught in the explosion—better yet, dead.
The mushroom cloud came and went quickly.
Before it reached its peak, an unnatural gust scattered it.
The villa lay in ruins. Izayoi, clutching Kado by the collar, floated in the air.
Beneath his mask, his Tenseigan scanned the wreckage, locking onto a spot.
With a casual wave, gravity shifted the debris, revealing Zabuza and Haku, blood-soaked, bones broken in multiple places, organs hemorrhaging.
They were unconscious, clinging to a final breath.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Landing, Izayoi formed a seal with one hand, summoning a Shadow Clone.
He tasked the clone with healing Zabuza and Haku—just enough to keep them alive—then turned to Kado, who was petrified, speechless. Izayoi patted his cheek. "Your money's in the basement safe, right?"
"Y-Yes… yes!"
Snapping back, Kado grasped at hope like a lifeline, nodding frantically. "It's all in the safe! I've got more money stashed elsewhere—tons of it! Spare me, and it's all yours… please, don't kill me!"
By the end, Kado was a sobbing mess, his nerve shattered.
It wasn't surprising.
To ordinary folk, ninja were lofty figures.
To daimyo, nobles, and tycoons like Kado, ninja were convenient tools.
Once rich, Kado treated ronin, rogue ninja, and defectors as his pawns.
Pay them, and they'd do anything.
Hire rogue ninja, and if they succeeded, he got what he wanted.
If they died, he saved a buck.
None of those ronin or rogues ever eyed his wealth.
Kado, like other elites, assumed ninja wouldn't betray, bound by some code.
Even Kakuzu, obsessed with money, stuck to bounties and jobs, never considering robbery.
Then came Izayoi—a reckless lunatic with no regard for ethics.
Facing such a wildcard for the first time, Kado's breakdown was only natural.
"More stashes, huh?"
Izayoi's brow furrowed slightly. He tapped a pressure point on Kado, knocking him out.
"Let's see how much is here first."
Tossing Kado to his clone, Izayoi raised both hands, unleashing gravity. Countless chunks of rubble floated upward.
Soon, a staircase to the basement came into view.
Izayoi had known the safe's location all along—otherwise, he wouldn't have unleashed repulsion so freely.
But with no light inside, he couldn't tell how much was there.
That's why he'd kept Kado alive.
Descending to the basement, Izayoi stood before a two-meter-tall, wide metal safe, secured with a combination lock.
He didn't know the code and didn't bother waking Kado to ask.
His hand pressed against the door's seam. With a bang, the door and frame buckled inward.
A few more controlled bursts of repulsion, and the safe's door was off.
Its contents lay bare before him.
Without the door's cover, dazzling light poured out, bathing Izayoi in a radiant glow.
Hands on hips, he stood before the safe.
If his white mask were off, you'd see the Tenseigan gone, his eyes replaced by two giant $ symbols.
Jackpot!
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