Chapter 94:
"Lord Kōsuke, you were right after all. The ghoul really did come to the Konoha Cemetery."
Haku looked at Zabuza with admiration in his eyes.
Since Konoha had never reported any cases of cannibalistic monsters, not even strange rumors of them, that could only mean the ghouls hadn't fed on the people of Konoha. But then, if they didn't eat humans, how did they survive?
Zabuza speculated that they relied on eating corpses, and the current situation confirmed his theory.
"Ghoul… are you referring to me?"
Mitsuki stopped eating and turned to face the two men in white coats carrying briefcases.
Although his stomach wasn't completely full yet, he was in much better shape than before—at the very least, he could move around now.
"Red eyes... Lord Kōsuke, he is indeed a ghoul."
"I see him. Juuzou, stay behind me." Zabuza opened the case in his hand, revealing a massive red broadsword.
Due to his change of body, Haku's Ice Shield had vanished. Now, he could only use some basic ninjutsu.
"Yes, understood, Lord Kōsuke."
Of course Haku knew Zabuza was worried about him—and he also knew that not being a burden was the best way he could help Zabuza.
"Who are you people?!" Mitsuki demanded, while scanning for escape routes. If he attracted Konoha's attention, things would get complicated.
Zabuza instantly used Body Flicker to appear in front of Mitsuki and swung his kukkuri blade.
Mitsuki narrowly leapt out of range of the slash, only to be driven back by a thrown dagger from afar.
He could've chosen to take the hit head-on, but since he didn't know if the weapon was poisoned, taking damage blindly was reckless.
"Ninjutsu: Hidden Mist Technique!"
Thick white mist enveloped the entire Konoha Cemetery.
Zabuza used Mist Flicker, a variant of Body Flicker that worked specifically within mist, consuming less chakra than typical flicker techniques.
He suddenly appeared behind Mitsuki and slashed with his kukkuri blade.
Blood stained Mitsuki's back, dyeing his clothes red.
Mitsuki stumbled forward a few steps. Though his ghoul regeneration was gradually healing his wounds, that regenerative ability relied on a unique energy generated from consuming humans.
Now, hunger returned—and the combat power he had just recovered vanished in an instant.
Zabuza followed up with a kick, sending Mitsuki flying.
"At this rate... I can't win... I absolutely refuse to die here..."
Mitsuki struggled to rise from the ground.
"What difference does getting back up make, Mitsuki? In the end, won't you just get knocked down again?"
Mom Snake crouched before the fallen Mitsuki, pressing his struggling head back down.
"All you need to do is recover your strength..."
Mitsuki turned his head, staring at a severed arm from a corpse he'd partially eaten earlier.
His hands suddenly extended, grabbing the arm and bringing it to his mouth.
"Useless. Something this old and tough won't restore much strength. In the end, you'll still die after a bit of pointless struggle. If you really want to survive, you'll have to eat the living."
"The living..." Mitsuki murmured. He understood. He probably couldn't overpower the strong man—but the smaller one, he could definitely handle.
But eating the dead and eating the living were two very different things.
He still hesitated.
"After tasting the old, tough flesh of the dead, don't you want to try the delicious flavor of fresh, living meat? Besides, you're doing it to survive, not out of some twisted desire to hurt others. You're eating to live."
Mom Snake continued her coaxing.
After a moment of silence, Mitsuki ate the severed arm. His strength recovered slightly, but it was still far from enough.
"I need your help," Mitsuki said to Mom Snake, who hadn't disappeared yet.
"Of course. You're my child, after all. As a parent, I'll naturally do my best to meet your needs." She walked behind Haku and placed both hands on his shoulders. "Your meal is right here."
Though the mist obscured vision, with Orochimaru's guidance, Mitsuki could clearly make out Haku's position.
Now he just needed an opportunity to get close.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A clone of Mitsuki appeared nearby. As it began to move, Zabuza struck it down, dispersing it into white mist.
As expected—the mist blocked not only his own sight but the enemy's as well. Zabuza was relying entirely on sound to locate his position.
That made things much simpler.
Although he'd only struck a shadow clone, Zabuza didn't mind. In this kind of situation, shadow clones were just a waste of chakra.
Mitsuki created another clone, pretending to have lost control and randomly throwing shuriken in all directions. The one flying toward Haku was Mitsuki in disguise.
For Haku, deflecting a random shuriken was nothing. With that mindset, neither he nor Zabuza paid much attention to Haku's position, keeping their focus entirely on Mitsuki.
Just as Zabuza shattered another clone into mist, a sharp, anguished cry rang out behind him—Haku's voice.
Mitsuki had grabbed him from behind and sunk his teeth into Haku's shoulder.
Damn it. How did he manage to locate Haku through the Hidden Mist? Zabuza didn't have time to dwell on it. He stared at Mitsuki and said, "Let him go, and I'll let you walk away."
After taking one bite, Mitsuki didn't continue feeding. Instead, he held Haku hostage.
One ordinary human body could feed a ghoul for an entire month. But just one bite, and Mitsuki already felt his strength completely restored—no, enhanced.
He wasn't eating for pleasure or cruelty, but simply to survive.
Now that he had regained the strength to live, there was no need to continue feeding.
More than that, what truly gave Mitsuki confidence were the four sharp, tail-like weapons emerging from his back. They moved in sync with his will.
To Mitsuki, they didn't feel like tools—they felt like organs.
Cautiously backing away, Mitsuki waited until the distance was just right before tossing Haku toward Zabuza—then hurled a shuriken with an explosive tag at Haku.
The blast went off just as it reached him, forcing Zabuza to protect Haku.
"I'm sorry, Lord Kōsuke," Haku apologized in Zabuza's arms.
Zabuza didn't respond. He just stared silently at Mitsuki's retreating figure.
By then, it was already too late to pursue.
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