"Uzumaki Raiden?! Are you Uzumaki Raiden?!"
The soft moonlight illuminated Uzumaki Raiden's figure. Under the terrifying pressure he exuded, Haku collapsed to the ground. Hearing Raiden's response, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the young man before him.
"Impossible! Uzumaki Raiden has been famous for years, but he's not a kid like you..." Haku denied loudly, his voice filled with excitement. However, before he could finish speaking, he froze.
The age of the young man before him did not match the Uzumaki Raiden he knew. According to Haku's understanding, Raiden should be at least over thirty years old by now, yet the person standing in front of him had youthful, smooth skin and appeared to be only eighteen or nineteen. The age gap was simply too large.
But there was something else that couldn't be explained—the terrifying pressure emanating from Raiden. It was impossible for an ordinary Jonin to possess such an overwhelming presence. For a moment, Haku hesitated.
"If he really is Uzumaki Raiden... then there's no way for me to escape..." Haku thought to himself. He tried to suppress his fear, slowly stood up, and cautiously observed his surroundings.
At that moment, he was standing by a waterfall. Not far from it, there was a large mansion that appeared to be inhabited. Behind the waterfall, a mountain loomed in the darkness. If he could reach the mountain, he might have a chance to escape.
While carefully scanning the area, Haku asked, "Why did you come looking for me?"
"I just joined the Anbu recently, so I don't have much intelligence on the village. And since I'm still new, I'm not familiar with my fellow Anbu members."
"If you're after information, you won't get anything useful from me."
"What do you want from me?"
Haku spoke softly, deliberately trying to make himself seem unimportant. At the same time, he tossed the kunai in his hand aside, removed his ninja pouch, and placed it on the ground, hoping to lower Raiden's guard.
"Brat, don't waste your time with little tricks in front of me."
"You are a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist! And I sent someone to capture you for only one reason—I want you to work for me!"
Raiden shifted his gaze away from Haku and looked toward the lake.
"Haku, your talent is exceptional, and I admire it."
"I also appreciate your temperament. Since you have nowhere to go, why not join me and work under my command?"
"If you do, under my protection, the Mist will never come after you again."
Hearing Raiden's words, Haku, who had been thinking about how to escape, was stunned. He looked at Raiden in shock. He hadn't expected that the reason for all this trouble was just to recruit him! The thought had never even crossed his mind.
What surprised him the most was that Uzumaki Raiden knew he was a rogue ninja.
From the moment he met Raiden, Haku had never revealed his identity as a defector. He had spoken to Raiden as a Mist ninja, yet Raiden already knew the truth. This was perplexing.
As far as Haku knew, the Mist had isolated itself, cutting off contact with the outside world, including Konoha. There was no way they would have shared information about rogue ninjas. That meant Raiden had his own spies in the Mist.
"Sorry, but no. I appreciate the offer, but I just want to live freely in the ninja world." Haku shook his head and refused decisively.
In Haku's heart, there was only one place for him—at Zabuza's side. Only with Zabuza could he feel at ease. Since childhood, he had always been by Zabuza's side.
"Live freely in the ninja world?"
"Are you rejecting me because you don't want to kill anymore?!"
Raiden tilted his head slightly, glancing at Haku from the corner of his eye.
Hearing those words, Haku's body trembled. He had already lost count of how many times Raiden had shocked him. The man before him seemed to see right through people. Even the deepest thoughts buried in Haku's heart couldn't escape Raiden's gaze.
This time, Haku remained silent.
"I originally had Kisame bring you here along with Zabuza, but it seems he only managed to bring you. I assume he ran into some trouble, right?"
"Zabuza—he's still alive, isn't he?"
Raiden asked, already aware of Haku's deep bond with Zabuza. From the start, his plan had been to recruit both of them, but now it seemed that Kisame's mission had encountered some difficulties.
"..." Haku's face darkened with worry. He had been so focused on escaping that he had forgotten about Zabuza's fate.
Thinking of this, Haku became even more determined to escape. He had to find Zabuza before it was too late!
"Water Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"
Haku swiftly concealed his right hand behind him, forming seals while keeping them hidden from Raiden's sight.
As Haku completed his jutsu, countless water droplets rose from the lake. In an instant, they transformed into long, thin needles and shot toward Raiden. Mid-flight, the water needles condensed into sharp ice spikes, increasing their speed.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Countless ice needles hurtled toward Raiden at high speed. But sitting on the shore, Raiden merely shook his head and said softly, "Even if you don't want to be my subordinate, you don't have to be so aggressive with your hospitality."
"It took nearly twenty years for the greenery around this lake to grow to this scale."
As he spoke, a terrifying chakra erupted from his body. The immense wind pressure generated by his chakra blast surged toward the incoming ice needles.
Before they could reach him, the needles lost momentum and dropped into the lake one by one. Not a single ice needle managed to leave the lake's surface.
"Ice Release..." Haku whispered in disbelief. His first attack had failed, but he didn't hesitate—his hands formed seals again, ready to launch another attack.
However, before he could finish the sequence, the night sky was suddenly illuminated by a flash of lightning.
The bolt of lightning appeared without warning, striking Haku directly. Caught off guard, he had no chance to react. His body convulsed from the shock before collapsing unconscious onto the ground.
"Thud!"
Haku lay motionless on the grass. Raiden had remained still from start to finish.
Hearing the sound, Raiden looked at the lake and said calmly, "Take him to a guest room to rest. Seal his chakra."
Shortly after Uzumaki Raiden finished speaking, Akina Uehara appeared beside Haku in a flash, carried him on her back, and walked toward the house.
"Where is this?" In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the room.
Haku, lying on the tatami, moved his eyelids slightly before slowly opening his eyes. He took in the unfamiliar surroundings and murmured softly. Then, as if remembering something, he quickly sat up, ran to the door, and flung it open with a crash.
"Huh? You're up!" In the courtyard, Akina Uehara was sitting on a stone bench. Seeing Haku step out of the room, she smiled.
"If you're hungry, I'll take you to breakfast."
Akina stood up, waved at Haku, and motioned for him to follow her. However, Haku frowned upon seeing Akina Uehara. The moment she turned her back, he swiftly closed the distance, swung his elbow, and aimed for the back of her neck.
Crack! Just as Haku's attack was about to land, Akina suddenly turned around, grabbed his forearm, and took a slight step back. Then, she pressed her palm firmly against his chest.
Haku felt a sharp impact on his chest, his breath caught in his throat, and an overwhelming discomfort surged through him. In the next instant, the scene before his eyes blurred.
Boom!
By the time Haku registered what had happened, he had been thrown over Akina's shoulder and slammed heavily onto the ground. Akina hadn't used excessive force, but since Haku's chakra had been sealed, he couldn't cushion the impact, and the throw landed with full effect.
"Hiss!" Haku winced in pain, gritting his teeth.
"If you don't want to suffer more, behave yourself."
"You should have already realized that you can't use your chakra."
"Kid, with your strength, escaping from Master Raiden is impossible."
Akina Uehara squatted down, casually dusted off an invisible speck on her clothes, and warned him kindly before heading toward the dining area.
Haku pursed his lips—frustrated but resigned. In truth, he had already discovered that his chakra was sealed when he woke up. The reason he had attacked Akina was to take her hostage and create an opportunity to escape. However, he hadn't expected this maid to possess such strength, easily countering his surprise attack.
Her Taijutsu was likely at a Jonin level.
When Haku and Akina Uehara arrived at the dining area, several people were already eating. Besides Uzumaki Raiden, there was also a red-haired boy seated near him, munching on a steamed bun. When the boy saw Akina and Haku enter, he looked up with curiosity.
"Sister Akina, who is this?" Biting into his food, Namikaze Yoriichi—who had never seen Haku before—asked curiously when he noticed the handsome young man.
"He is..." Akina started to reply but glanced at Uzumaki Raiden.
"My name is Haku."
Before Uzumaki Raiden could respond, Haku answered Yoriichi directly. For some reason, upon seeing the boy with a birthmark on his face, Haku instinctively felt sympathy for him. Perhaps it was because he sensed that Yoriichi's experiences might be similar to his own—both of them seen as outcasts by society.
"Let's eat." Uzumaki Raiden gestured toward an empty seat beside him.
Akina led Haku to sit down, then took her place next to Yoriichi, picking food from the table and placing it into Haku's bowl. Meanwhile, she turned to Uzumaki Raiden and inquired about Kisame Hoshigaki's situation.
She was aware that Uzumaki Raiden had sent Kisame on a mission, but now that the objective had been accomplished, Kisame had yet to return, which made her anxious.
"Master Raiden, hasn't Kisame come back yet?"
"Has his summon sent any updates?"
Concerned about Kisame, Akina found herself losing her appetite.
"Don't worry. When I received word about this kid's arrival, I also got information on Kisame."
"I didn't tell you yesterday because I didn't want you to worry. But since you're asking, it'd only make you more anxious if I kept it from you."
"While searching for this kid, Kisame encountered two enemies—one man and one woman. Both were young. The man was a user of the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku, and the girl had multicolored hair."
"When he encountered them, Kisame also came across Team 7, led by Kakashi. To prevent any mishaps, I instructed him to follow them in secret. Once Team 7's mission is complete, Kisame will return with them."
Uzumaki Raiden deliberately withheld information about Kisame's injury. This was at Kisame's request—he didn't want Akina to worry. When Raiden first received the report, he was momentarily shocked. The user of Shikotsumyaku was undoubtedly Kaguya Kimimaro, a subordinate of Orochimaru.
That same Kimimaro, who had succumbed to his inherited illness when fighting Might Guy, had left a lasting impression on Uzumaki Raiden.
But what truly surprised Raiden was that Kimimaro had managed to injure Kisame and even force him to retreat. According to the information, Kimimaro no longer seemed to suffer from his inherited disease. If this were the usual timeline, Kimimaro should already be relying on medication just to stay alive.
Engaging in a high-level battle against Kisame should have accelerated his decline, but based on Kisame's report, there were no signs of that happening.
"The Ghost King of Wufang City must have fallen into Orochimaru's hands."
"It seems he's become one of Orochimaru's subordinates. But how did Orochimaru control him?"
"And Kimimaro's inherited disease has been cured. That must be the result of studying the Ghost King's immortality."
"It looks like I need to pay a visit to Senior Brother Orochimaru."
"I wonder if he's planning to attack Konoha."
While eating breakfast, Uzumaki Raiden mulled over these thoughts. Meanwhile, now reassured about Kisame's safety, Akina finally relaxed a little and placed some food into Yoriichi's bowl with a smile.
Land of Waves
Early in the morning, after breakfast, Kakashi and his students headed into the forest near the village for training at Naruto and Sasuke's request.
Their mission was to escort Tazuna back to the Land of Waves, but after learning of his struggles, Naruto and his teammates decided to protect him until the bridge's construction was complete. As a result, they had been living in the Land of Waves for some time.
During this period, Naruto and Sasuke both realized their lack of combat strength and wanted further guidance from Kakashi. Seeing their determination, Kakashi agreed and even brought Karin along for the training session.
To assess their abilities, Kakashi assigned them two training exercises: tree climbing and water walking.
Among the three, Uzumaki Naruto showed exceptional chakra control and quickly met Kakashi's expectations. Karin, thanks to her training in Super Strength, also performed well, only failing once or twice before succeeding.
Surprisingly, Sasuke—despite being Kakashi's favored student—lagged behind the most, as he had never undergone such training before.
While Kakashi was coaching his students, a pair of eyes from within the dense forest remained locked onto Team 7.
Hidden in the shadows, Momochi Zabuza observed them, waiting for the right moment to strike. He was convinced that Haku's disappearance was linked to Konoha's ninjas, and he was determined to get Haku back.
(End of this chapter)