The Tenseigan started from the Hyuga main family.

"Yes, Lord Zabuza."

Haku nodded, but his gaze toward Zabuza held a hint of worry.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late..."

Just then, an unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out, causing Zabuza to grab the Executioner's Blade that was placed next to the sofa, while Bai Yi beside him showed a wary expression.

"Oh!"

As the sound of shattering glass echoed from one side of the hall, a short figure was thrown into the hall in a disheveled state, rolled several times on the ground, and finally landed in front of Zabuza.

"Kado?"

Although it all happened very suddenly, Zabuza's eyes were very sharp, and he recognized at a glance that the brown-haired short man whose face was covered with scars from countless shards of glass was none other than Gato, the big merchant from the Land of Waves who hired them to destroy the bridge.

"Quickly! Kill him!"

With great effort, he looked up and saw Gato, Zabuza, as if he had seen a lifeline.

In this wealthy merchant's mind, the strongest ninjas were nothing more than assassins who served money, no different from the hundreds of samurai and wandering ninjas under his command.

Although his wandering ninja subordinates repeatedly emphasized that Zabuza was different from the rogue ninjas he had hired before and was extremely powerful, Gato never took it to heart.

The Land of Waves is a tiny country without ninja villages, and it has never attracted any powerful ninjas in the past. This led Gato, who controlled everything through violence, to believe that he could solve the problem through violence again this time.

Even if half of his villains are killed or wounded, as long as there is still money, he can continue to recruit new samurai and save the cost of hiring Zabuza and the salaries of his subordinates.

However, tonight's experience finally made Gato realize the terror of powerful ninjas. Hundreds of his own samurai fell instantly before those demonic blue eyes, and his once-proud guard suffered the same fate.

Who are you?

Upon seeing a figure shrouded in black robes suddenly appear, Zabuza, who was usually arrogant, suddenly felt immense pressure and his tone revealed a rare hint of weakness.

The man in black robes raised his head slightly. His face was still shrouded in darkness, but his pair of bright blue eyes deeply attracted Zabuza and Haku's attention.

How could there be such bright eyes in this world?

"Zabuza, what are you waiting for? Kill him now!"

Gato's angry roar broke the silence of the hall, and Zabuza reacted even faster. With a swing of his Executioner's Blade, he instantly shaved off Gato's short hair. The cold blade pressed against his scalp, instantly chilling Gato to the bone, and his legs went weak, causing him to kneel on the ground.

"Idiot, shut up. Your job was to kill the old man who built the bridge, not someone else. Say another word and I'll kill you!"

Although Hinata Sawatatsu never revealed any imposing aura, Zabuza felt immense pressure under the gaze of the Tenseigan, as if facing a formidable enemy.

The opponent's strength has probably surpassed that of Kakashi with Sharingan; he's an enemy on par with the Fourth Mizukage!

“Zabuza, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, is barely a usable figure. I have already taken full control of all of Gato’s subordinates and assets, but I still need someone capable to oversee them. How about I entrust them to you?”

Hinata Zechen's gaze swept over Zabuza and Haku before he spoke.

"Who do you think you are? You think you can make me work for you by playing tricks? Don't think you can scare me with your random bloodline limit!"

Zabuza's anger was instantly aroused by Hinata Sawa's seemingly self-righteous attitude. He brandished his Executioner's Blade twice in a show of defiance, and his fierce killing intent became so tangible that even the air in front of him seemed to distort.

So what if the other party turns against us?

He was able to escape unscathed after assassinating the Fourth Mizukage; at worst, he could have simply abandoned the mission and left with Haku.

Zabuza's reaction was clearly within Hyuga Sawa's expectations. Therefore, the Tenseigan suddenly emitted a dazzling pale blue light, causing Zabuza's entire body to tense up instantly, and he subconsciously raised the Executioner's Blade, which was as large as a door, in front of him.

In the instant the blue light of the Tenseigan flashed, Haku's face suddenly twisted, and several senbon needles formed from ice release appeared at his fingertips, which he forcefully swung towards Zabuza in front of him.

Zabuza, who was focused on guarding against Hyuga Sawa, felt a sharp pain in his back. More than ten ice senbon needles pierced deep into the pressure points on his back, not only cutting off the flow of chakra in his body, but also making Zabuza's whole body stiff and numb. The Executioner's Blade fell from his hand and crashed heavily to the ground.

Zabuza, struggling to turn his head, had disbelief in his eyes, unable to comprehend that the person he trusted most would betray him.

"I'm... sorry... Lord Buza......"

At this moment, Bai's expression became extremely numb, his eyes were dull and lifeless, and large tears slid down from the corners of his eyes, while he made intermittent sounds.

"It seems you are an extremely important person to him, Zabuza!"

Hinata Zetsu approached step by step, his Tenseigan flashing with blue light, suppressing Haku's rebellious spirit.

"Damn it, what did you do to Bai?"

Zabuza clearly understood that Haku was now powerless, and with his trembling hand pointing at Hyuga Sawa, he cursed angrily.

Chapter 19 Tobirama's Notes

"You'll understand soon enough, Zabuza the Demon!"

A ball of spiritual light condensed from his palm and instantly merged into Zabuza's body.

"Greetings... Master!"

As the pale blue light of the Tenseigan completely covered Zabuza's eyes, this one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who had been so arrogant not long ago, now knelt on the ground with an extremely respectful expression.

"I don't need to teach you how to extract the remaining value from Kado and control all his assets, do I?"

Hinata Zechen turned around, leaving Zabuza and Haku with his back to them.

Having fallen into someone else's control for no reason, Zabuza was filled with rage that he had nowhere to vent. As Hyuga Zechen slightly relaxed the suppression of the Tenseigan, Zabuza regained control of his body. He stared at Gato with murderous intent in his eyes and picked up the Executioner's Blade from the ground again.

Since they couldn't afford to offend the mysterious person, they could only vent their anger on Cardo.

"Don't come any closer..."

Kado's face was filled with terror as he scrambled backward, only to be kicked in the back by Haku, falling to his knees like a dog at Zabuza's feet.

"After transferring all his assets, establish a secret base here, and then await my orders!"

A map floated down in front of Zabuza, and then a shuriken shot down, landing somewhere between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves.

"As ordered!"

If given a choice, Zabuza would rather commit suicide than be controlled by someone else. However, under the suppression of the Tenseigan, Zabuza lacked even the ability to commit suicide and could only bow his head in agreement.

"If you can complete my orders, I will grant you your freedom in three years, and I will also tell you the great secret of why the Fourth Mizukage's personality changed so drastically, turning Kirigakure into the Village of Blood Mist."

After leaving Zabuza with a glimmer of hope, Hyuga Zetsu's figure suddenly disappeared.

"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, you good-for-nothing, how could I have ended up in this state!"

After no longer sensing the mysterious man's presence, Zabuza could no longer contain his anger. He first threw two kunai, pinning Gato's hands to the ground, and then suddenly stood up and slapped Haku's face with his backhand.

"Lord Zabuza, I'm sorry, I'm just too useless."

Bai was sent flying backward by the force of the blow, sliding down the wall behind him to the ground.

After separating from Naruto Uzumaki, Haku was intercepted by Hyuga Zetsu. Even though he used the Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Mirror Ice Crystal, Hyuga Zetsu's Water Release: Water Severing Wave instantly shattered the entire ice barrier. Haku was then absorbed into the spiritual light sphere, and his memories of that part were temporarily sealed, allowing him to return to Zabuza's side without realizing it.

Having just activated the spiritual orb, the Tenseigan instantly took control of Haku, and effortlessly backstabbed Zabuza.

Although Haku possessed exceptional ninja talent and received Zabuza's full support, his personality clashed with the ninja's inherently bloodthirsty nature. Zabuza could hardly offer any good advice on how to develop ice-style ninjutsu, leaving Haku to figure it out on his own.

Therefore, Haku's true strength is not as great as imagined; he is only at the Chunin level. If he were to unleash his full power in Ice Release ninjutsu, he could barely hold his own against a Jonin. Under the power of the Tenseigan, he has very little room to maneuver.

Seeing the dark handprint left on Shiro's once pretty, girlish face softened Zabuza's usually hard-hearted attitude.

Now that things have come to this, blaming Bai is useless; let's just take it one step at a time.

"Get up..."

Bai glanced at Zabuza and, seeing that the anger on the other's face had mostly subsided, slowly stood up.

Will he really set us free in three years?

Hearing Zabuza mutter to himself, as if asking himself a question, or perhaps wanting to get an answer from him, Haku quickly answered.

"It definitely will."

Hearing Haku's certainty only prompted Zabuza to let out a cold laugh.

"How naive. Even someone as powerful as the Five Kage, if they were to gain control of me, the King of Assassination, would they easily lift the restrictions?"

Even among the Five Great Ninja Villages, those with strength at Zabuza's level are the most valuable assets. Since his defection from Kirigakure, both the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth have secretly sent people to try and win him over.

However, Zabuza never gave up his ambition to return to Kirigakure and seize the position of Mizukage from Yagura Karatachi, which is why he refused the invitations from the two great ninja villages.

"Although he never revealed his true identity, I still managed to deduce some details."

Under Zabuza's astonished gaze, Haku paused for a moment before continuing.

"First, his bloodline limit is terrifying, its power far surpasses my Ice Release."

"Secondly, he is probably younger than me."

Zabuza's gaze sharpened, and he clearly understood what Zabuza wanted to express.

To possess such strength at just over ten years old, he is destined to shake up the entire ninja world in the future. There's no need to lie to such a person.

"It seems we have no choice but to obey his orders for now."

Zabuza sighed, pulled out a shuriken from the floor, folded the map and put it in his pocket, then walked step by step toward Kado.

-----------------

Where did you go just now?

When Xiang Zechen returned to the residence of bridge expert Dazner that day, a clear voice came from the roof.

Uchiha Sasuke sat on the edge of the roof, looking down at Hyuga Zetsu.

"Is it any of your business, you defeated opponent?"

Seeing Sasuke's smug look as if he had found a weakness, Hyuga Zechen naturally wouldn't tolerate it and made Uchiha Sasuke blush with embarrassment with just one sentence.

Throughout the entire ordeal, what Hyuga Zechen presented to Team 7 was merely a shadow clone. Upon finding Zabuza's residence, to be on the safe side and prevent a failed ambush by Haku from escalating into a battle with Zabuza, Hyuga Zechen withdrew the shadow clone's chakra. Unexpectedly, Sasuke discovered this.

"you……"

Sasuke Uchiha, who had just leaped from the rooftop, nearly erupted in anger again. Considering the disparity in strength between them and his need for Sasuke's help, he could only force himself to swallow his anger.

Everything was for the sake of gaining greater strength so that I could take revenge on that man!

Yes, that's it.

"and many more……"

After Sasuke had convinced himself, he noticed that Hyuga Sawatatsu had already stepped into the residence, so he had to call out to him.

Hinata Sawatatsu stopped, but did not turn around.

"I would like to ask you more questions about the Mangekyou Sharingan."