Behind Hanzō, Zabuza stood shrouded in a golden-red chakra cloak, his expression chilling.
He hadn't expected to fight an old man whose strength and physique were no longer at their peak. Even with the man's original power, Zabuza shouldn't have been able to defeat him.
"You were clearly poisoned by me... why?"
He hadn't expected that the usually invincible poison of the salamander had been neutralized.
"Why?" Zabuza's voice was cold. "That's because you're too weak, you poison-using old fool!"
He had no intention of speaking to him any further. Zabuza kicked the old man's body, drawing his Executioner's Blade. He swung again, aiming for the corpse's neck as it fell to the ground.
Swish!
A head, its face contorted with resentment, flew high into the air. Zabuza reached out and grabbed the hair of the flying head, holding it in his hand.
"Damn old man, this poison is really… cough, cough, cough…"
After completely finishing off Hanzō, Zabuza couldn't suppress the coughing of purple blood. If it weren't for the Kurama's chakra healing him, he probably wouldn't be able to move an inch.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Zabuza slowly retracted his chakra cloak, but the change before him startled him.
"What's going on?"
The head he was holding had changed. Short, grass-green hair, skin as white as plaster.
Zabuza turned to look at the corpse on the ground in the distance. Sure enough, it had changed too. It had become a bizarre corpse with terrifyingly white skin.
"It was a disguise!"
Zabuza quickly realized the reason. "It was actually a White Zetsu…"
Menma was also slightly surprised, but thinking about it, it made sense. How could Hanzō have survived for so long after killing Yahiko? Moreover, the man's strength was clearly much weaker than before. Without summoning the Salamander, he couldn't even defeat Zabuza without his Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak.
This clearly corresponded to White Zetsu's disguise. As a transmigrator, Menma was very familiar with White Zetsu's abilities. As long as he could obtain the chakra of the transformed target, apart from the bloodstains and physical attributes being different, everything else was exactly the same.
"White Zetsu?" Zabuza didn't bother to ask further and turned to look at Menma. "Boss, now that we have the gift, where do we go to deliver it?"
Menma, sitting on the ground, shook his head, not getting up. "No rush, sit down and rest for a while. That person should be here soon. After all, we killed their disguise, completely exposing them."
Menma felt he hadn't paid attention to anime in his past life, causing such a blunder. Now the gift had turned into a fright. When the person arrived, he couldn't reason with them—he could only try to persuade them with virtue.
Zabuza sighed. "Boss, the person you're looking for is really troublesome. I kindly gave him a gift, but he took it himself first."
Zabuza, who had traveled a long way with Menma, was very curious about who Menma was talking about. Based on the strange cultist he had previously encountered and the little girl from the Uzumaki clan, Zabuza guessed that perhaps it was another extraordinary ninja who had caught Menma's eye and was trying to recruit into the Four-Star Village.
Just as Zabuza was making these wild guesses, outside Hanzō's mansion, Pain and Konan stood waiting. Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, Konan frowned and examined them before speaking.
"The wounds are all to vital points, all fatal from a single blow. There are no signs of fighting or resistance. Either the attackers are very strong, or it wasn't just one person, but a group of highly trained elite ninjas. However, it's currently a truce between the villages. I suspect it's most likely Hanzō's enemies seeking revenge."
Faced with Konan's analysis, Pain nodded slightly. "We'll find out who they are once we go in. If they discover Hanzō is an imposter, we can't let him leave Hidden Rain."
At this, a rustling sound came from Konan's body as sheets of paper fluttered around her. "Should I go in and check first?"
"No need." Pain stopped Konan. "You stay outside and keep watch. If Hanzō dies, I'll use that intruder's life as the beginning of dawn. This too is a blessing from God."
With that, the other five Paths beside Pain quickly gathered around him. Then, surrounding Pain, the six of them rushed into the mansion ahead.
"Oh? Speak of the devil, and he appears!" Menma grinned from beneath the Wind Cloak Mask. "Zabuza, get ready to receive guests."
"Receive guests?" Zabuza's face darkened. Ignoring the misleading description, he warily looked towards the door.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Zabuza wasn't kept waiting long. Six Pains with orange hair, faces studded with steel nails, and wearing red cloud robes appeared before him.
"Boss, you didn't say there were six people waiting, did you?"
Sensing the dangerous aura emanating from the six figures ahead, Zabuza narrowed his eyes and gripped his Executioner's Blade tightly.
The twelve eyes of the Pains quickly took in the situation. They also saw the White Zetsu's head held in Zabuza's hand.
"Were you the two who attacked Hanzō?"
As Pain spoke, the other five figures swiftly dispersed, instantly surrounding Menma and Zabuza. As planned, Hanzō had to die if he exposed the intruders.
"Who are you, and who gave you the audacity to kill the leader of Hidden Rain?"
Hearing the Pains' blunt question, Zabuza's eyes narrowed, and he let out a low chuckle. "The leader of Hidden Rain? Hehehe…"
Zabuza swung his hand and hurled the severed head heavily at Pain. "This is a gift from our boss. Unfortunately, you don't seem very satisfied with this gift?"
The head suddenly stopped just before reaching Pain, as if blocked by an invisible wall. Then it shot back with even greater speed.
Whoosh!
Zabuza slightly tilted his head, dodging the head that resembled a projectile. At the same time, a golden-red chakra cloak reappeared on his body. He vanished from his spot in an instant, reappearing behind Pain. His Executioner's Blade was raised high, slamming down towards Pain's head.
"And remember to introduce yourself before asking questions!"
Faced with Zabuza's attack, Pain didn't turn or dodge. Instead, he raised his hands to either side, his calm voice ringing out.
"We are Pain."
"We are gods."
Shinra Tensei!
Whoosh!
Bang!
Zabuza, slamming his sword down, finally experienced the feeling he had just felt with Hanzō's head. It was an incredibly terrifying repulsive force. Not only did it firmly block his attack, it even propelled him outwards.
Watching Zabuza fly backwards, a hint of something unusual finally appeared in Pain's calm voice.
"It's Tailed Beast Chakra."
"He ran into a jinchuriki the moment he came out. Is this the will of Heaven?"
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