Awakened by the crisp chirping of birds, Mizuki got up, tidied himself quickly, and stepped out of the tent. He found the sky still pale with early dawn, the eastern horizon glowing with morning radiance.
His movements immediately alerted Kabuto Yakushi nearby.
"You're awake?" Kabuto greeted him first.
"Yeah. You woke up even earlier than me?" Mizuki yawned, stretching his arms as he spoke to Kabuto.
"Not really—I didn't sleep all night..."
"You couldn't sleep? It wasn't raining last night, nor was it particularly cold. Shouldn't have disturbed your rest?"
Mizuki took out some dry rations from his bag and began eating breakfast.
"There'll be plenty of time for sleep later. If I don't figure out a plan now, I'll be staring death in the face."
"Oh? So you've figured something out?"
Mizuki listened curiously; he'd been thinking about this all night too.
"Of course!" Kabuto's tone carried an odd confidence. "You didn't kill me while I was defenseless, nor do you seem intent on turning me over to Konoha. Clearly, you're no fool clinging to outdated principles. There must be something valuable about me that you desperately want."
"That's what you came up with after thinking all night?" Mizuki said disappointingly, "Guess I overestimated you after all."
"There's no way I'd stop there," Kabuto defended himself. "I've been thinking about yesterday's fight for a long time—there's one thing I just can't wrap my head around. You're clearly much stronger than me, yet you didn't bother engaging in any conversation. That really doesn't make sense to me..."
Looking at Mizuki's expression, Kabuto continued, "You had me completely outmatched, yet you didn't even try to talk before jumping in to finish me off. That just doesn't add up. Initially, I thought maybe you feared the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier created by four Shadow Clones wouldn't hold long enough, so dragging things out might let me escape. But clearly that wasn't the case. Even without the barrier, there was no way I could escape under your Sage Mode—your perception and speed were overwhelming."
"So why did I do it? Did you figure that part out?"
"Precisely." Kabuto confirmed. "Initially, I thought setting up the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier was redundant precaution, but later, another possibility occurred to me—that your Sage Mode probably has serious lingering damage, making you handle it carefully. Setting up the barrier was meant to prevent this from becoming a prolonged battle or chase. You needed to finish me off decisively within a small area as soon as possible. Although I couldn't see the exact flaw in your Sage Mode, it was clear you were avoiding using it too long—you just didn't have the time to spare!"
Though not exactly spot-on, Kabuto had deduced quite far, so Mizuki couldn't help but admire how sharp the man's mind truly was. Yet Mizuki made no response, instead watching Kabuto's monologue unfold with amused interest while continuing his meal.
"What? My guess is wrong?" Seeing Mizuki completely unaffected and unbothered by his deductions, Kabuto couldn't help feeling uneasy. For the first time, doubt crept into his previously rock-solid reasoning.
"Does it really matter if you're right or not?" Mizuki swallowed the last bite of his breakfast and smacked his lips indifferently. "You still haven't told me what you plan to use to buy your life."
Then, Mizuki pretended to suddenly understand something and said, "Let me guess—are you planning to impress me with your intelligence and deduction skills? Do you actually think flapping your lips will convince me to let you go?"
Mizuki stepped forward and patted Kabuto, who looked no different than a mummy: "We're both grown men here. Why don't you show me something worth keeping you alive before I decide otherwise? All this dancing around the issue is just wasting my time, you know..."
"Eh?" Kabuto found Mizuki's unpredictable behavior somewhat troublesome.
"You've talked enough; now allow me to say a few words..."
Mizuki glanced at the sky—the sun was nearly rising.
"I'm wondering... Have I been underestimated from the very beginning? You listened to my words, but did you ever truly believe you could die here?"
Slowly, Mizuki's expression shifted into an indifferent smirk as he stared at Kabuto's blood-crusted face. "You claimed to fear being killed by me, yet I haven't heard even a hint of fear in your tone! A pair of corpse puppets as your welcoming gesture? That was just vanity, wasn't it? You couldn't believe that my well-known reputation alone wouldn't be enough to crush you. You came here bearing valuable records of ninja techniques, yet added unnecessary flair by bringing those puppets along, trying to show off how clever you are?"
Only now did Mizuki see a flicker of panic in Kabuto's eyes.
"I personally dislike flaunting strength through unnecessary force—especially against defenseless captives. Only someone insecure would express their position by mistreating prisoners. However, should the situation require it, I won't hesitate to use violence either!"
With his left hand, Mizuki grabbed Kabuto's arm and lifted him up. He spread his right fingers wide, silently channeled chakra, and slammed his palm hard into Kabuto's abdomen. Immediately, Kabuto erupted into violent screams.
"Hurts like hell, doesn't it? Let this pain be a painful reminder of your reality. Right now, you have no qualification to negotiate with me equally—I am the one dominating here. What you need to do is offer sufficient leverage for me to release you. Don't try guessing my weaknesses to create false confidence. You don't need to figure out what I want—you only need to state clearly what you can offer, and let me judge whether it satisfies me. Understand?"
Kabuto hurriedly nodded.
"Good."
Dropped by Mizuki, Kabuto slumped weakly onto the ground, panting heavily.
Sometimes the smart ones get too clever for their own good, chasing gains without lifting a finger. But they often forget that reason only matters when you have the might to make others hear you. Without equal standing, the stronger side can completely ignore reasoning and simply use force to get what they desire.
"You can start talking again now."
"[Cursed Seal Technique] and [Flying Thunder God Technique]... in exchange for my life..." Kabuto gasped hoarsely, still struggling for breath.
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