*Land of Waves, Gato's Building*
Nearly a hundred rogue ninjas and samurai patrolled the floors of the building, armed to the teeth and looking like they'd bite your head off for fun.
Meanwhile, in Gato's office lobby, a few elite ninjas lounged lazily on sofas and benches, their amused gazes fixed on the tall and short duo in the corner.
The tall one was wrapped head-to-torso in bandages, leaving only a pair of icy eyes visible. The shorter one was a delicate looking boy in a drab brown robe.
These two were none other than Kirigakure Demon of the mist, Zabuza Momochi, and his ever loyal sidekick, Haku fresh off his stellar performance of failing to massacre a bunch of defenseless fishermen.
Zabuza wasn't thrilled. He narrowed his eyes and growled, "So, you just waltzed back here like a kicked puppy? I ordered you to turn those peasants into minced meat, not give them a motivational speech!"
"My apologies, Lord Zabuza," Haku mumbled, head bowed like a scolded puppy.
"Ninjas are tools. Tools they don't feel," Zabuza said coldly. "And if this tool stops being useful, I'll snap it in half myself."
Haku said nothing. Because what do you even say to that?
"Man, you're pathetic Zabuza," a voice drawled from the side. Raiga Kurosuki rocking a bowl cut and dual lightning swords leaned back with a grin. "That 'tool' of yours is clearly defective. Why not toss it and get a new one?"
"Mind your own business, Raiga," Zabuza snarled.
They technically came from the same village, but Kirigakure's "Bloody Mist" graduation exam (child murder free for all) didn't exactly foster lifelong friendships.
"Aw, but we're teammates now," Raiga sneered. "What if your broken little tool gets us killed? Maybe I should just fix the problem for you"
"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Zabuza's murder aura spiked.
"Wow, you are perceptive," Raiga shot back, fingers twitching toward his swords. "I've always wanted to see if the Demon of the mist lives up to his name."
The tension was so thick you could slice it with a kunai.
Just as the two were about to throw hands
*BOOM.*
The door exploded into splinters. A barrage of paper spears shot in like angry origami, pinning Raiga to the wall like a bug in a display case. The other ninjas barely dodged in time.
Click. clack. The sound of footsteps and then came a woman in a black and red cloud robe, rocking a cute little flower hairpin.
"Who the hell are you?" Zabuza demanded, sword at the ready.
"Th The Akatsuki?!" Maruyama, the former ninja from Iwagakure, paled. "Why are they here?!"
"The who now?" Choka, the resident swordsman, blinked.
"Back in the war, Iwagakure hired two of them to fight Kumogakure," Maruyama babbled. "They wiped out ten elite squads. Alone."
Choka's sweat could've filled a bucket. "You're joking."
"Yeah, nah, I'm out." Maruboshi bolted for the window
THUNK.
A paper spear nailed him to the wall.
"L-Lord Zabuza?!" Haku squeaked.
"Stop her!" Zabuza yelled while backpedaling and slamming his hands together.
Hidden Mist Jutsu!
The room vanished into fog.
Konan didn't even blink.
"Secret Technique Thousand Flying Water Needles!"
Haku lunged from an ice mirror, kunai poised.
Yoink.
Konan caught his wrist like a mom confiscating a toy. "Half-hearted attacks just get you killed faster, kid."
"I-I just"
Bonk.
Haku: naptime.
Swoosh!
A sword stabbed through Konan's back!
Choka grinned. 'Got her!'
…Until her body dissolved into paper.
"WHAT?!"
THUNK.
Another spear. Another wall decoration.
"Damn," Zabuza's voice echoed from the mist. "Didn't think anyone could be scarier than Mei that crazy broad."
Fwoosh!
Konan's spear impaled a pillar. Missed.
'Annoying fog.'
Then. A hand shot from the mist! stabbing Konan spun,
Puff!
Purple smoke erupted at her feet.
'Poison. Great.'
Her legs wobbled.
"Heh heh heh told ya not to move," Raiga croaked, bleeding from his new hole in the torso but somehow still standing. Zabuza wasn't faring better, one arm hanging limp.
"But we win," Raiga gloated. "Moral of the story? Cheating works."
Konan spat blood, silent. If she was going down, she'd take them with her
"Ahem."
A small figure strolled through the wrecked door.
"Did I miss the party?"
Deadpan.
Tiny.
Unimpressed.
Yuto had arrived.