Within the thick fog, the clash of blades rang out again and again. Only when Gusion felt it was time did he let out a muffled groan. "Momochi Zabuza, I'll remember this. Once I've adjusted my state, I'll take your life!"
The Hidden Mist shinobi—unable to see what was happening deep in the fog—were stirred by Gusion's words. Could it be that Mr. Zabuza was about to repel this demon known as Calamity?
"Trying to leave? Not that easy!"
Zabuza's voice sounded from within the fog, followed by another flurry of weapon strikes.
After a fierce exchange, Gusion cried out in pain once more. Then, the fog gradually thinned.
The Hidden Mist shinobi saw Zabuza standing with his back to them, great Executioner's Blade in hand, speaking with unwillingness, "Damn it, he still managed to escape."
Hearing Zabuza confirm that Gusion had fled in defeat, the other Mist ninja all let out a breath. Of course they wanted to kill Gusion, this great enemy who had ravaged the village, but they were only chunin and genin. If they actually joined the fight, they'd only make things worse—just offering Gusion a chance to recover chakra.
As the mist dispersed, sunlight fell upon Zabuza.
In that moment, many Hidden Mist shinobi who'd narrowly survived looked upon Zabuza with reverence.
"Mr. Zabuza has won!"
"We've repelled the Calamity!"
"Long live Lord Zabuza!"
"..."
Cheers rose one after another. With his back to the crowd, Zabuza's expression felt a bit stiff; fortunately he wore a face covering, or he would have betrayed himself.
The script they'd just performed hadn't been written by Gusion, but by Orochimaru, who had some screenwriting chops. Because Zabuza lived at Orochimaru's base, he obviously couldn't hide these matters between him and Gusion.
Gusion also couldn't be bothered to hide his plans in the Hidden Mist from Orochimaru; after all, Orochimaru only cared about Konoha. He had no interest in the Mist's affairs.
Pressed for time in the mission world (totally not because he couldn't write), Gusion handed the Mist Village exercise script to Orochimaru. Orochimaru seemed intrigued and readily agreed.
The flyers and script that followed were all drafted by Orochimaru, who treated the whole thing as a rehearsal for the Konoha Destruction Plan, hoping to glean insights from how the Mist responded.
When Zabuza received the script, he didn't think much of it. But after acting it out once, he felt it was terribly clichéd—and painfully awkward to perform.
He saw the Calamity on the other side struggling to keep a straight face more than once, but in the end, they both held back their laughter and finished the show.
As it turned out, while the script was cliché, the effect was surprisingly good.
Mainly because the people of the Hidden Mist had just experienced a dramatic swing from despair to survival. After such stimulation at the brink of life and death, their spirits were dazed; they weren't going to overthink things.
In a moment of crisis, the one who stepped in to save them was Zabuza. That single fact was enough.
Originally, Gusion even considered having Orochimaru clone a fake body of his to plant in the Mist, for Zabuza to kill outright.
But after thinking it over—since he'd be stirring up major incidents across the shinobi world later—news of his death would be hard to conceal. That would undermine Zabuza's authority later. Better to show that he was exhausted and no match for Zabuza, forced to retreat.
This approach had another benefit: the villagers would subconsciously believe Gusion would strike again, making it difficult for the entire village to resume infighting, given the looming threat of a powerful external foe.
Moreover, as Gusion's primary revenge target, Zabuza was now the most suitable candidate to assume the mantle of Mizukage.
In a sense, the Mizukage's seat was a hot one right now. Not just anyone could sit in it.
Listening to the cheers of the Mist villagers, Zabuza slowly turned, forcing a pained expression.
It wasn't entirely an act. He truly felt some sadness over the Mizukage's death. But he also felt this might have been the best way for Yagura to go—dying to protect the village, washing away his former stigma, and in the very end, passing as a hero.
On top of that, Kisame had died in this battle as well. Though Kisame had been a potential rival for the Mizukage position, Zabuza still held some respect for this senior of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Back when Zabuza planned his coup, Kisame knew about it but did not expose him—he tacitly allowed it.
In Zabuza's heart, Hoshigaki Kisame had always been a worthy Mist shinobi, deserving of the Swordsmen's name. It was just that his heart had been torn between duty and position, and he ultimately chose to stand by the Mizukage rather than rebel.
War never spares everyone. Even though Gusion had held back, among the jonin who had attacked him, some had still fallen, and there was no shortage of the gravely injured.
The Hidden Mist had undoubtedly suffered a heavy blow today. But the Bloody Mist would cease to be from this point forward. Zabuza believed he could make the village better.
As for Gusion, whether from obligation or from power dynamics, there was no way Zabuza could sever ties with him for now. If Gusion had things he needed done—so long as they didn't harm the village's foundation—Zabuza would help.
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Mei Terumi—who had just set out to sea with the children—received a transmission from a Mist elder.
"What? The Calamity was repelled!?"
"Huh? Repelled by Zabuza?"
Mei was shocked by the successive reports. With her keen political instincts, she immediately sensed something was off.
Even without being on-site, she knew something fishy had happened.
What kind of strength did the Calamity possess? He was the ultra-strong shinobi that even she, Kisame, and the Fourth Mizukage combined couldn't take down. Even if he was drained of chakra, he shouldn't be someone Zabuza could defeat.
But anything she said now would be useless. She knew the villagers were surely all on Zabuza's side at the moment, overawed by his heroic display.
Zabuza might be a rogue ninja, but that label had been pinned on him by the Fourth Mizukage. Now that everyone knew the Fourth had been controlled, Zabuza's rogue status was essentially null; after all, his actions back then could be seen as a revolution to save the village.
"Zabuza… You don't… actually have ties with the Calamity, do you?"
Mei muttered, expression grave.
With some resignation, she ordered the ship to turn back, sighing inwardly. Whatever the truth, it seemed she was out of the running for Fifth Mizukage.
Fortunately, she didn't dislike Zabuza; she knew he wasn't a cold, heartless man. On the village's future development, their views aligned.
If Zabuza truly intended to develop the village well, she could set aside her modest ambition and cooperate with him.
But if Zabuza really was the Calamity's lackey—selling out the village to drain it—Mei would show no mercy. Even under the threat of the Akatsuki, she would remove Zabuza.
…
While the Hidden Mist reeled from the battle, Gusion had already left the area with Biwa Jūzō.
"Mr. Gusion, are you alright?"
Jūzō looked at Gusion with concern. He'd watched the normal portion of the fight from the sidelines and Gusion's performance far exceeded his expectations.
Other than the Akatsuki's leader, this was the first time he'd seen a shinobi so powerful.
But one thing he couldn't figure out: how did Zabuza manage to grievously wound Gusion with Silent Killing?
When he heard Gusion cry out in pain inside the fog, he couldn't care about his own severe injuries; he'd already charged into the mist. But Gusion suddenly rushed out, grabbed him by the arm, and bolted.
"I'm fine. Do I look injured?"
Gusion saw the doubt in Jūzō's eyes, and didn't treat him like a fool. He directly entered Instant Sage Mode. Jūzō instantly understood.
"Mr. Gusion, you were acting? You and Zabuza are colluding to sway the Mist!?"
Jūzō immediately reached a shocking conclusion that matched his earlier suspicions.
"But the organization didn't order us to do that! And you clearly had a chance to capture Yagura earlier—why kill him outright? What if the leader blames you?"
Jūzō knew Pain had waited for this day for a long time. Once a jinchuriki dies, it takes years for a new tailed beast to re-emerge.
If Pain learned of this, he would surely be enraged. Thinking of that, Jūzō looked at Gusion with even more worry.
"Jūzō, I'll just call you that. You're a smart man—you should see I'm not truly loyal to the Akatsuki."
As Gusion spoke, he took Samehada from his storage space and tossed it to Jūzō.
Jūzō caught it, stunned for a moment, then his face lit with joy. He'd lost the Executioner's Blade back in the day and had been using an ordinary ninja sword ever since, severely limiting his combat power.
Samehada was hard to handle, but he could barely manage it—and compared to a normal blade, it was far stronger.
After his initial joy, he looked at Gusion in confusion. "Mr. Gusion, this is your trophy. You already saved me, and I owe you so much—how can I accept this blade?"
"This sword is useless in my hands. Better to give it to someone who can draw out its full power. Also, you were right just now: I teamed up with Zabuza to stage a show and help him take control of the Hidden Mist."
Gusion stopped and met Jūzō's gaze. "Jūzō, do you want to return to the Mist?"
Jūzō froze. "I can go back?"
He had been forced to defect by the Mizukage back then, and he missed his home deeply. When Gusion mentioned destroying the Mist earlier, he'd been on edge for a long while, unsure who to root for.
"Of course. If the plan goes smoothly, Zabuza will soon become Mizukage, and your rogue status will be erased. I do suggest you return under a new identity, though—the Akatsuki won't let members just walk away."
Gusion said. He felt Zabuza still lacked manpower. Jūzō was a solid guy who could bolster the Mist's combat strength and help rebuild its systems.
Moreover, Jūzō was loyal to a fault. If Gusion saved him and helped him return, Jūzō would remember the favor and become another set of eyes for him.
Given enough time, people change. Once Zabuza secured his position as Mizukage, who could say whether he'd still heed Gusion—or pull small tricks behind his back to hinder later plans?
If Jūzō returned to the Mist, he and Zabuza could keep each other in check. Gusion could receive intelligence from two lines and ensure its reliability.
"Mr. Gusion… What you're doing is dangerous. Once he learns the truth, Pain won't spare you."
Jūzō now seriously suspected Gusion was actually a spy from Konoha, not a free rogue at all—he had to have some hidden mission. Otherwise, why disrupt Pain's plans?
"Don't worry about me. Just say whether you want to go back."
Gusion asked again. He knew he'd disrupted Nagato's plan. He hadn't originally intended to kill Yagura—he'd planned to capture him—but changed his mind at the last moment, triggering a chain reaction that would draw Nagato's suspicion.
As for the tricks he pulled in the Hidden Mist—those were less important. Nagato already knew the Mist was within their influence. Since Gusion was an Akatsuki member, continuing to influence the Mist wasn't a problem. As long as he could convince Nagato, he could flip a bad situation to good.