Night.
Steam filled the bathroom.
Izanami lay in the bathtub, hands behind his head, staring at the mist-covered ceiling.
If you looked closely, you would notice that his blue eyes had changed from usual. The color had lightened into a sky blue, and the black pupils had blended into the blue. White light slowly flowed outward, forming delicate, moving white petals around his irises—beautiful and ethereal.
Looking more carefully, you'd see that Izanami was dazed. His gaze wasn't actually on the ceiling, but instead pierced through the house, overlooking all of Konoha—like a god's-eye view.
From his perspective, Konoha, at this moment, whether urban area, suburb, or forest, was surrounded by a circular wall nearly twenty meters high. If the terrain had dipped a little more, the village would resemble a pot, with the buildings and forests like vegetables within it.
On top of this "pot" was a transparent dome—an invisible cover that shielded all of Konoha. Even beneath the surface, underground, transparent walls were erected. Anyone who touched them—inside or outside—would immediately have their chakra signature and location registered by the Sensory Unit.
This was Konoha's Sensing Barrier.
Even the Six Paths of Pain had only been able to force their way in by sacrificing the location of a shadow clone. But no ninjutsu is perfect—Konoha's sensing barrier included.
The large barrier had a vulnerable point—the village entrance.
Unless there was an emergency or special condition, the entrance remained uncovered to avoid overburdening the Sensory Unit. Still, even the active part of the barrier disappeared briefly each day.
That brief window occurred when the Sensory Ninjas changed shifts.
"Shift change every six hours—so it vanishes four times a day," Izanami murmured to himself with a smile.
Unnoticed, he had already returned from the bathtub to his bed. Outside, it was late at night.
After identifying the flaw in the barrier, Izanami withdrew his gaze from Konoha and began rapidly shifting his vision across the eastern Land of Fire.
Soon, his view landed on a remote wilderness.
Several tents were pitched in the open field, their occupants asleep. A bonfire crackled nearby, with a lone young man standing guard.
It was Uchiha Sasuke.
"They've barely covered any distance. I still have time," Izanami noted, finally landing his gaze on Tazuna, his expression softening into a smile. "So pitiful. Let me help you."
That's right—he was planning to insert himself into the Wave Country arc.
Puppet-making and chakra cores required materials. And materials had to be gathered or bought.
After purchasing a camera recently, Izanami had become penniless.
If he relied solely on D-rank missions, it would take ages to afford enough material for puppets.
Izanami had been torn—should he save money the normal way, or just rob some corrupt organization?
Seeing Tazuna today had reminded him of someone—and given him his answer.
Gato—one of the world's richest tycoons and a key figure in the underworld.
If Izanami robbed him, he could retire from ninja life on the spot and never worry about money again.
He'd have more puppet materials than he could ever use.
Smirking at the thought, Izanami decided: he would rob the rich to help the poor—starting tomorrow.
The next day, at noon.
Izanami took the reward money he'd saved from missions and headed to a ninja tools shop to purchase two storage scrolls.
After that, he separated a shadow clone with a massive chakra reserve. While the clone stayed behind, the real Izanami took advantage of the Sensory Unit's shift change and slipped out of Konoha undetected—heading straight for Wave Country.
Wave Country was a small island nation—not part of the main continent. But it was so close to the eastern edge of the Land of Fire that only a bridge separated them.
From afar, you could faintly make out the island's silhouette.
Izanami—who could observe any place in the Land of Fire from a distance—naturally saw it too.
Even before leaving Konoha, he had already locked on to Gato's location.
This was the terrifying power of the Reincarnation Eye.
The massive eye on the Moon could monitor the entire ninja world. With such long-range vision, Izanami had a significant advantage in intelligence-gathering—whatever he chose to do.
Konoha was centrally located in the Land of Fire, but with the Body Flicker Technique, a ninja could reach the country's edge within a day.
In the original story's "Sasuke Retrieval" arc, Naruto and his team made it from the village to the northern border forest in less than a day.
Izanami, however, took only three hours to overtake Team 7—who were still en route on foot.
Even the Demon Brothers were still lying in wait ahead.
At this speed, by the time Team 7 crossed the sea, Izanami would already be gone.
Before reaching the coast, Izanami soared into the air—intending to fly directly to Wave Country.
From the sky, he changed his appearance—becoming the same mysterious, black-robed figure who once robbed Sasori of the Red Sand.
His long, white hair fluttered in the wind.
The plain, pure-white mask he wore had no eyeholes or markings—making his presence eerie and intimidating.
His flying posture exuded an overwhelming aura of strength.
Upon reaching the sky above Wave Country, Izanami didn't waste time. He descended straight to Gato's residence—a luxurious villa—and stepped inside.
At that moment, Gato was in a meeting with a man wrapped in bandages.
"Zabuza Momochi," Gato said with irritation, "are your two subordinates even reliable? It's been over a week. Can't they even kill an old man?"
"That old man's been lucky," Zabuza replied indifferently. "When the Demon Brothers caught up, he had already hidden in Konoha. But look at him—poor as dirt. He can't afford to hire a ninja escort back. Once he's forced out of the village, that's when he'll die."
"If your subordinates fail, you'd better take care of it yourself," Gato growled.
"Hmph. I plan to," Zabuza replied coldly.
"Where does a mere civilian find the courage to lecture an S-class rogue ninja?" a new voice suddenly interjected.
Gato and Zabuza immediately looked toward the source. Even Haku—who had blended into the shadows—reacted, narrowing his eyes.
Izanami stepped into the room.
He turned to Zabuza, curious.
"Does your Mist Village brainwashing run that deep?" he asked. "Even after defecting, you're still this committed to your profession?"
Zabuza didn't respond immediately.
A figure flashed in front of him—Haku.
Raising his hand, Haku summoned several senbon needles, his voice heavy: "Zabuza-sama, be careful. This person… is very strong!"
Zabuza stood up slowly, gripping his Executioner's Blade.
From beneath his bandages, a smirk stretched across his face—bloodlust unmistakable.
"I can tell," he said. "This lawless bastard… is worth cutting."
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