Chapter 65 – They Are Ghosts
"You didn't know the four of us before you accepted the mission?"
Naruto glanced outside; no one was approaching for the moment.
Still, he couldn't linger long or Kakashi would grow suspicious.
"There was intel, but it was flawed. Kakashi was profiled in detail; you three Genin only got a single line each."
Speaking up to here, Zabuza couldn't help grumbling, "Who could've guessed Genin could be this strong?"
Naruto pondered silently.
His third Shadow Clone hadn't noticed that intel?
If it had, it surely wouldn't have let Zabuza and Haku come here to die.
Or rather… he wasn't inside the Tianming Organization.
Naruto recalled a recent achievement: The Departed.
But how to ask?
He looked at Zabuza and spoke, "When did you join Tianming? I never knew about it until now."
"About two years ago."
Zabuza didn't doubt Naruto.
The Tianming Organization's structure was highly unusual.
Official members didn't know one another; they used codenames.
Unless they were on the same mission, it was almost impossible to tell who was who.
In two years, Zabuza had met only one person in Tianming—its leader, The Fool.
As for missions, it had always been just him and Haku; no third member ever joined.
Naruto was the fourth member he knew of.
In other words, besides himself and Haku, Zabuzahad met only two others in Tianming.
Honestly, if he hadn't run into Naruto, he would've suspected Tianming had only The Fool as a member.
"After I failed to assassinate the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village, I fled with a few subordinates. To make a comeback, we left the Land of Waterand hired ourselves out to merchants in other countries for money."
"Eventually, Gato—who ran a shipping company in the Land of Waves—hired me to kill the bridge-builder Tazuna. Gato didn't want a bridge connecting the island to the mainland; it would hurt his monopoly."
Zabuza spoke softly, recounting his story.
"There I met Tianming's leader, The Fool. He told me I shouldn't waste my life on such shortsighted dreams, and gave me a bigger one instead."
Well, damn!
Hearing that familiar name, Naruto could be almost certain it was his third Shadow Clone.
Who else in the Ninja World would know the Lord of Mysteries?
"We carried out a series of plans in the Land of Waves,"
Zabuza's eyes showed reminiscence—and a hint of fervor.
His admiration for The Fool was absolute.
"The Fool is a true genius—not just in strength, but in mind. He used Tazuna's death to ignite the courage of the Wave people, then had agents of the Ripple Merchant Guild blend in and lead them to overthrow both Gato and me."
"Now a new shipping company, the Thousand-Sun, has been set up. They're building the bridge, opening sea routes, re-establishing trade with neighboring countries, protecting passing caravans, and collecting business tax, shipping fees, tolls, and escort fees—one of Tianming's main revenue streams."
Naruto was dumbstruck.
No wonder the escort-Tazuna mission vanished entirely.
How could the mission exist if the man was dead?
As for "using his death to ignite courage," that was probably nonsense.
Naruto knew himself—odds were he simply hadn't liked Tazuna.
Overthrowing himself, though—what a stunt.
Poor Gato.
But he deserved it.
The new shipping company's methods were very much in China's style.
Had it been Naruto, he'd have done the same: mutual benefit instead of Gato's rule that turned everyone against him.
Walk along the riverbank long enough and you're bound to get your feet wet.
Unless you're invincible, monopolizing everything will one day bite you back.
"I see."
That cleared Naruto's doubts. He asked again, "Where is The Fool now?"
"No idea. I haven't seen him in a long time,"
Zabuza shook his head. "Probably off on some major mission, I guess."
He didn't know much more.
Naruto mused, "Pick your moment and escape. After we finish our own mission, you can kill Gato. With your and Haku's strength, even in Metropolisthat guy won't slip away."
"All right."
Zabuza nodded obediently.
He had no choice—he couldn't win.
Besides, they were in the same organization; it wasn't shameful.
After Naruto released his pressure points, he stepped out of the carriage and saw Sasuke sitting on Haku's back, one hand pressing the boy's head.
A manly lock-on.
"Naruto."
Kakashi noticed him, flicking ice off his hand. "Demon of the Bloody Mist Zabuza and an Ice-Release Bloodline Limit—both worth a fortune. Bring them back to Konoha and Hokage-sama will reward us handsomely."
Naruto smiled. "True."
Yep—and they'll vanish into thin air in a moment.
He walked up to Haku and tapped several points on the boy's body.
"Where's Zabuza-sama?"
Haku's mask had shattered in the fierce fight; a delicately handsome face came into view.
Naruto signaled Sasuke to let him go. "Come with me."
Haku struggled to his feet, ignoring Sasuke and making no attempt to flee.
"Weirdo,"
Sakura watched the slim boy step into the carriage.
Still… he's kind of good-looking.
Bleh—nowhere near Sasuke!
Sasuke replayed the fight in his head.
Besides the Ice Release, Haku's combat experience far surpassed his.
That was why it had taken him so long.
Yet Zabuza should be even stronger than Haku.
Naruto had needed only ten seconds.
That gap spoke volumes.
How on earth could he ever surpass him?
Sasuke's mind was heavy.
Jealous? No.
He felt frustrated.
Naruto was the lifelong rival he'd chosen.
They should be equals.
But from the looks of it, he didn't even qualify.
Naruto didn't disturb Zabuza and Haku.
Mainly because two grown men hugging was an eyesore.
"Sasuke, why are you still standing there?"
"Oh."
Sasuke dismissed the thunder fire sword.
In Magical Girl Mode he'd taken almost no damage; his Chakra, however, was drained dry.
Next time maybe he'd try a simpler buff—defense, speed, luck, whatever.
He sat down opposite Naruto.
A campfire sprang to life.
After tonight, no one felt sleepy.
And they were all curious about Tianming.
Higashino Yoshi wiped sweat from his face.
"We only know the name Tianming. Where it came from, what it wants, who its members are—we haven't a clue."
"Tianming appeared five or six years ago. The first time anyone heard of them was when they assassinated Governor of Omi Oda Nobuaki."
"They have two tiers: upper Tianming, lower merchant guilds. But which guilds, how many—no one knows."
"The guilds never act out of line; they only handle intel and funds. What made Tianming infamous was last year's vanishing-slave incident."
"Asuka is the Land of Fire's biggest slave-trading city, holding over ten thousand slaves—mostly war refugees, exiled criminals, commonfolk fallen on hard times."
"On a pitch-black night, every slave vanished. City residents, guards, even the governor of Asuka noticed nothing."
"They're ghosts!"
Many thanks to the generous Lord FatBro from Jiangxi for the tip!