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Within the Wave Country base, Kisa had spent several days in uneasy captivity.
Since the day he first t Nian, he hadn't seen anyone of that rank again.
He wasn't locked in a cell rely confined to a limited area.
A strange AI-like being called Ai-chan regularly appeared to inform him which areas he could and couldn't enter.
Over ti, he learned the periter of his invisible cage and among all the zones, only one truly interested him:
The training grounds.
There, several powerful shinobi trained together each one from a clan that once defined the Bloody Mist.
The Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku, the Yuki Clan's Ice Release, and the Hōzuki Clan's Hydrification Technique…
It was like a living relic of the old Mist Village before its reforms.
Kisa couldn't help but smirk bitterly.
What irony… the Mist's bloodlines gathered under a new banner.
But what truly caught his attention and stirred sothing in his chest was Zabuza Momochi.
The very sa man who once massacred an entire class of academy students, forcing the Hidden Mist to abolish its brutal graduation ritual.
The man who nearly assassinated the Fourth Mizukage in a failed coup.
To see him alive here, of all places was surreal.
Back then… I thought that man was insane.
But maybe he was the only one brave enough to fight the system.
Kisa chuckled softly to himself.
Of course, he knew the truth now that the Fourth Mizukage had been controlled by Madara Uchiha all along.
No rebellion could've succeeded under that shadow.
Kisa joined Akatsuki.
Zabuza had joined the D-Organization.
Now fate had brought them face to face again.
Sitting quietly with his back against the wall, Kisa accepted his situation with the calm of a man who had lived through too many storms.
If Madara and Nian were cooperating, his release was only a matter of ti.
There was no need to rush.
Across the room, Zabuza stopped training and approached.
Sahada stirred on Kisa's back, restless it could feel the presence of the Three-Tails' chakra.
Zabuza planted the Executioner's Blade into the ground beside them and said simply, "Why did you betray the Mist back then?"
Kisa gave a hollow smile, one hand resting on his twitching blade.
"Because I couldn't find my purpose anymore."
He spoke quietly, eyes distant.
Carrying out mission after mission, killing comrades without hesitation to protect "village secrets"…
Eventually, he had lost sight of who he was fighting for.
"When the man behind the Fourth Mizukage revealed his plan, the Eye of the Moon Project, I thought maybe I'd finally found sothing worth following. A world without pain. Without war."
Kisa's gaze darkened. "Sahada is restless. You've got the Three-Tails sealed inside you, don't you?"
Zabuza leaned back, looking up at the ceiling.
"I needed power," he said. "So I beca its Jinchūriki."
"That'll get you killed," Kisa replied flatly.
He knew Madara wouldn't give up a single Tailed Beast. They were essential to his plan.
If ordered, Kisa would eventually be sent to reclaim the beast no hesitation allowed.
Zabuza chuckled under his breath.
"I've already died once. I've got nothing left to fear. Now, I just want to protect one person."
That answer made Kisa glance at him in surprise.
"The cold-blooded Demon of the Mist… protecting soone? Never thought I'd hear that."
Zabuza's eyes softened as he looked toward the nearby training field where Haku was practicing her Ice Release.
"If you walk the edge of death once, you start to realize what truly matters."
Kisa fell silent for a mont. "…You're lucky," he muttered.
"Yeah," Zabuza agreed with a faint smile. "I think so too."
Then he rose, gripping his massive blade.
"Co on, Kisa. Let's fight. I want to know which of us has grown stronger."
Kisa grinned, lifting Sahada as the weapon pulsed with life. "Heh. Fine. Show if you've got the strength to protect what you care about."
The two stepped onto the training ground, their chakra pressure instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Even the others stopped their drills, eyes wide.
Suigetsu Hōzuki stared in awe this was a battle between legends.
His ntor's ntor, and the man who once defined the title of "Seven Ninja Swordsman."
The clash began with a tallic roar.
Steel t scales.
The arena echoed with the clash of titans:
"The Tailed Beast Without a Tail" Kisa Hoshigaki
vs
"The Demon of the Hidden Mist" — Zabuza Momochi
Mist filled the air, water splashing and surging as blades cut through it.
Whispers of killing intent danced through the fog the perfect battlefield for Mist shinobi.
Suigetsu's eyes glead like a child watching his heroes co to life.
Every strike, every sound he absorbed it, spellbound.
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By the ti Neji arrived, the training field was drenched in water.
He paused at the entrance, raising an eyebrow.
What the hell are these two doing fighting each other?
Waves surged as Kisa rged with Sahada, his body turning shark-like. Zabuza countered by cloaking himself in the chakra shroud of the Three-Tails.
The power they unleashed was monstrous, and yet neither seed to hold true malice. It was a battle of warriors seeking closure.
When the water finally stilled, both n collapsed to one knee exhausted.
A draw.
Had they continued, it would've been to the death.
Neji stepped forward calmly. "Kisa. Co with ."
Kisa smirked, hoisting Sahada onto his shoulder.
"So… this is it, huh? Whether I walk out of here alive or not depends on you."
He followed Neji into the hall. The two sat facing each other in silence for a mont.
Neji finally spoke.
"What do you know about the Eye of the Moon Plan… and the man behind the mask?"
Kisa tilted his head, studying the masked figure before him — [Nian].
"Heh. I know enough."
"Then say it."
"…You're really not one for subtlety, are you?" Kisa chuckled.
"This is the first ti I've ever seen soone try to interrogate by just asking directly."
Neji smiled faintly.
"And how do you know your information is true?"
He reached up and removed his mask.
Kisa's eyes widened in disbelief. "…You?!"
His smile faded. "So that's how it is… I guess I'm not walking out of here, am I?"
Neji's calm reply ca without hesitation.
"Pretty much."
Kisa leaned back, closing his eyes. "I won't talk. Do whatever you want — I've got nothing left to lose."
His tone was steady. It wasn't pride it was conviction.
He had sworn never to betray what little trust he still held.
Neji smiled again, almost amused. "Then let's see if what you don't say matches what I already know."
Through their conversation, Neji confird much of what he'd suspected the truth about Madara, the plan, and the fragnts still missing.
When it was done, he rose and gestured for Kisa to be taken back to his quarters.
Plans were already forming in his mind and this ti, they involved far more than Akatsuki.
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