When the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist returned to Mist, Hozuki Kisaragi immediately sought out Master Gen. He wore a serious expression as he asked, "Elder Fukasaku, don't you think something's strange? Even if that spy could use the Sharingan to control the guards and break through the barrier dome, shouldn't you have been able to seal it again right away?"
Master Gen gave them an emotionless glance before speaking in a neutral tone. "You're all here together—is this a group effort to question me?"
Hozuki Kisaragi quickly lowered his head. "No way. We would never."
Master Gen countered coldly, "You've all seen the poison on that man. Who can say how much more he carries? If it spreads within the village, how many lives will be lost? Can you bear that responsibility?"
Speechless, Kisaragi had no reply.
Giving Fuguki Suikazan a pointed look, Master Gen's tone grew sharper. "I intentionally let him defect to your side so we could catch him after he revealed himself. But during the battle, some people clearly didn't try their hardest—and now you dare come question me? Your courage seems to grow bolder by the day."
Fuguki Suikazan instantly understood that Master Gen had witnessed the entire fight. His face flushed with guilt as he forced a nervous smile and stepped forward to apologize. "Master Gen, forgive us for our failure. Please don't stay angry. Unfortunately, we were just inches away from capturing him."
Master Gen stopped there without further scolding, slightly softening his tone. "As long as you understand. I won't report this incident to the Mizukage, but if another mistake like this happens, you know exactly what punishment awaits. Many are eager to inherit one of the Seven Blades."
With those meaningful words spoken, Master Gen ignored the sour looks on the Seven's faces and left directly.
Damn," each of the seven muttered inwardly. Today's fight had been so frustrating—failing to capture their target while getting scolded, not to mention nearly everyone bore injuries.
Biwa Juzo asked, "Why didn't we tell Master Gen about the traitor who used [Hiding in Mist Technique] on purpose to help that guy escape?"
"If Master Gen already knew every detail of the battle, then surely he already knows who acted. There's no need for us to interfere." Fuguki Suikazan wore a murderous expression as he scoffed coldly, "Konoha, Uchiha—the disgrace they've brought upon us, we won't forget. One day soon, we'll pay them a visit."
The remaining six responded almost simultaneously through gritted teeth: "That's right. When the time comes, we'll make sure to kill that Uchiha bastard."
Anya slowly came to from a daze. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Haku holding a bowl and gently helping her drink water. A wave of relief passed through her heart—At least he's safe now. Just as she tried to sit up, intense pain shot through her body, causing cold sweat to break out. It felt as though her whole body was tightly bound, aching everywhere.
Looking at Anya with concern, Haku took a towel and gently wiped the sweat from her brow.
"Brat, finally awake," Kakuzu walked in.
Anya glanced at the bandages covering her body and couldn't help but chuckle weakly. "Uncle, these bandages wouldn't happen to be wrapped by you, would they?"
Kakuzu gave a dry laugh. "Lose something? I can always stitch it back on."
"These bandages... someone else must've wrapped them. Terrible job too, almost choked me to death." Anya shifted her gaze toward Haku.
Haku gave a gentle shake of her head. It wasn't her who did it either.
Then who?
Anya frowned. "Uncle, you didn't seriously go out and force some third-rate medical ninja to patch me up, did you?"
Why say "force"? You really think Kakuzu would pay for help? No way.
"A young brat showed up on her own. You should be thanking her for keeping you alive." Kakuzu's words left Anya completely speechless.
Who else could it be?
What a disaster. What did I do to deserve this? All *that* teacher's fault—if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have come to Kirigakure in the first place, let alone gone chasing after little girls and ended up with this heavy emotional debt.
After silently shifting all blame elsewhere, Anya felt somewhat better and checked the chakra within her body—it wasn't much, but enough for healing purposes.
"Haku, help me remove these bandages."
Haku looked left, then right, clearly struggling with embarrassment—the bandages were tied in an incredibly complicated manner, making it hard to tell where to start.
Anya realized this too. That girl must've been really angry inside; otherwise, she wouldn't have bound her up like a pig.
Without hesitation, Anya said firmly: "Just cut them off with a jutsu."
Haku sighed in relief and focused her chakra into an ice blade, carefully slicing through each bandage. Her face flushed slightly as she worked toward the end.
Finally free to move, Anya only now discovered that someone had stripped her bare. Feeling rather awkward, she stretched slightly while enduring intense pain across her entire body, beginning to heal herself from top to bottom.
Seeing this, Kakuzu couldn't resist commenting dryly: "So you can use Medical Ninjutsu too. Kid sure likes collecting random skills."
Anya chuckled. "I'm just scared of dying, so I figure it's always better to know more."
After some time spent healing, Anya sat upright, having regained mobility, quickly dressing herself.
Seeing her seemingly fine again, Kakuzu emotionlessly walked over and extended his hand.
Blinking in confusion, Anya asked, "What for?"
Trying to suppress his rising anger, Kakuzu replied, "Are you genuinely stupid or just pretending? Now that you're okay, pay up—I'm leaving."
Oh right, payment was needed. Anya nearly forgot. Though she called him Uncle, he definitely wasn't blood-related!
But here lay the problem—Anya had absolutely no money at the moment. She'd given everything away to Konan, paid for expensive meals for Shizune—and whatever remained went straight to Kinto Exchange as a down payment. Now what?
No question about owing money—it was definitely not allowed. Don't think just because Kakuzu saved her life meant he'd easily forgive debts; try skipping out on payment and you might soon find yourself dead instead.
Since borrowing wasn't an option, perhaps negotiation still was.
Putting on a smile filled with bravado, Anya declared, "C'mon, Uncle! With our relationship, are you really worried I won't pay? Just name the amount."
Kakuzu raised his hand, flashing five fingers.
Understanding immediately, Anya casually remarked, "Fifty thousand? Chump change."
Instantly, Kakuzu shot to his feet, furious energy surging outward so violently that every object in the room shattered into pieces. Haku, standing nearby, stared in fear, confused by the sudden outburst. He was called "Uncle", but clearly didn't act like one—this was no ordinary scolding; it felt like he might actually kill her.
"Do you really think you're pulling one over on me, brat?" Kakuzu said slowly and clearly.
"Come on, don't get angry, Uncle," Anya replied without the slightest fear. He explained calmly and logically: "Think about it—this time you saved me, right? You only had to act once, driving away seven measly little fish. Isn't half a million enough?"
It was only now that Kakuzu figured it out. The brat was actually trying to haggle with him! All these years, Kakuzu had always gotten payment upfront — no questions asked. Now for the first time, he realized he'd struck a bad deal — rescuing nothing but a scheming brat.
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