"Pipa Hanzo... what exactly is the deal with your Fourth Mizukage? A Jinchūriki? Isn't one of the Tailed Beasts of Kirigakure sealed inside that kid Utakata, while the other is roaming wild in a lake? How is he able to use the power of a Tailed Beast?" Kakuzu asked, looking down at the bound ninja before him.
"It's Biwa Jūzō! At least get my damn name right, you bastard!" Jūzō barked, clearly incensed.
"My apologies," Kakuzu replied flatly.
One look at his face, however, made it clear there wasn't a shred of sincerity in the gesture.
Kakuzu had taken a mission on the black market. The client was none other than the man before him: Biwa Jūzō, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The request was quite interesting—protect him from being captured and taken back by the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.
Indeed, Jūzō had betrayed Kirigakure, becoming the first rogue ninja among the current Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Yagura was clearly in no mood to tolerate this. As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Jūzō was formidable in his own right, but more importantly, his high status meant he was privy to a vast amount of village secrets. Furthermore, his desertion had a "demonstration effect." If a prestigious member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen could betray the village without consequence, what would stop others?
Consequently, Yagura had personally spearheaded the capture operation, pursuing Jūzō all the way from the Land of Water, across the sea, and into the Land of Waves.
In the original timeline, Jūzō hadn't defected at this point, but for reasons unknown, he had chosen to go rogue now.
Upon receiving the mission, Kakuzu had rushed to the Land of Waves to meet the hiding Jūzō. He had even briefly clashed with the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, before being forced to retreat.
It was true, Kakuzu could not defeat Yagura.
At the very least, while encumbered by a heavily injured Jūzō, he was no match for him. After sacrificing two hearts as a rearguard to shake off Yagura and escape, Kakuzu immediately provided medical treatment to Jūzō.
And then...
The idiot Jūzō actually had no money to settle the bill.
Kakuzu was nearly livid. He had traveled ten thousand miles to save the man and had sacrificed two hearts in the process, effectively losing two lives. And in the end, the client claimed he didn't have the money?
If you don't have money, why the hell are you hiring a bodyguard?!
In truth, Jūzō hadn't expected anyone to actually take a mission that involved protecting someone from a Kage. He had posted the request primarily to distract Yagura, while perhaps harboring a sliver of desperate hope. Because the mission seemed impossible, he had set the bounty exceptionally high, high enough to tempt even Kakuzu into accepting.
The result: no money.
Enraged, Kakuzu had bound him on the spot and confiscated his Kubikiribōchō for good measure. Initially, Kakuzu considered simply killing Jūzō to end the matter, but Jūzō showed a lack of professional pride, pleading for a chance to join the Yorozuya.
This gave Kakuzu pause. Killing Jūzō now would allow him to sell the body and the Kubikiribōchō back to Kirigakure, which might cover his losses and compensate for his two missing lives.
However, Jūzō was undeniably a talent. Though the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had recently become something of a laughingstock following an encounter with Konoha, Jūzō remained significantly stronger than the average shinobi.
Having personally sparred with Yagura, Kakuzu understood the Mizukage's terrifying strength. The fact that Jūzō had survived a pursuit from the Land of Water to this point proved he had some merit. Furthermore, Diarmuid had expressed interest in expanding the Yorozuya's operations, and Jūzō was indeed a suitable candidate.
After careful consideration, Kakuzu decided to contact Diarmuid to "inspect the goods." If Diarmuid approved, he would take the man in; if not, there would be plenty of time to kill him later.
Jūzō, currently caught between a rock and a hard place, felt helpless. However, he would rather die here at Kakuzu's hands than be taken back alive by Yagura. The torture methods of the Kirigakure were legendary for their horror.
Seeing Jūzō remain silent, Kakuzu continued, "Surely you aren't planning to withhold intel to protect Kirigakure at this stage? If so, what was the point of your betrayal?"
Jūzō's expression twisted momentarily before returning to a grim calm. "The more I say now, the worse it will be if I'm caught. As for why I betrayed the village, the reason isn't noble. I just couldn't stand that godforsaken atmosphere anymore..."
"Rest assured, you won't die," Kakuzu said coolly. "The boss of our Yorozuya will arrive soon. With him here, even if Yagura finds us, he won't be able to do a thing. We might even be able to kill him."
"Rodriguez Diarmuid? Is he really that strong?" Jūzō asked.
"Stronger than you can imagine," Kakuzu replied after a moment's thought.
"Hmph. That's because you haven't seen 'unimaginable' power. Unluckily for me, I have," Jūzō said suddenly.
He was thinking of a ridiculous man named Might Duy. The man had looked like a complete buffoon, yet he had unleashed a level of power that far surpassed the Five Kage. If Diarmuid was the "strongest I've ever seen" in Jiraiya's words, then Might Duy occupied that spot for Biwa Jūzō.
"Say what you like. Either way, dealing with Yagura won't be an issue. Now give me an answer—how? Does Kirigakure have a third Tailed Beast?" Kakuzu asked impatiently.
In a standard exchange, Kakuzu had only been at a slight disadvantage. However, Yagura possessed a strange Ninjutsu called the Water Mirror Technique, which created a perfect duplicate of Kakuzu, making the situation quite dire.
Kakuzu believed such a technique must have a weakness; otherwise, Yagura would be invincible. He felt that given enough time to find that flaw, he could handle the Mizukage.
But then, Yagura had actually undergone a Tailed Beast Transformation!
That intel had never been reported. It nearly cost Kakuzu his life; he only survived by leaving two Earth Grudge Fear clones behind as a diversion to flee with Jūzō.
Since then, he had been baffled. How could a Fourth Mizukage use the power of a Tailed Beast if he wasn't a Jinchūriki?
"There is no third Tailed Beast. The Fourth uses the power of the Three-Tails," Jūzō finally confessed.
"So he is the Three-Tails Jinchūriki? And that story about the Three-Tails being wild in a lake was just misinformation?" Kakuzu pressed.
"Not exactly. The Three-Tails is in the great lake. Strictly speaking, the Fourth isn't a Jinchūriki; he's just able to use the Tailed Beast's power," Jūzō explained.
"How is that possible?! Using that power without being a Jinchūriki?" Kakuzu frowned. I might not be the most well-read man, but you can't play me for a fool.
"Have you never heard of the Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumogakure?" Jūzō countered.
Kakuzu fell silent, unable to refute the example. It was true, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were not Jinchūriki, yet they could wield the Nine-Tails' chakra for certain reasons. During the end of the last Great Ninja War, they had staged a coup, killing the Second Raikage and later perishing alongside the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
"Are you saying..." Kakuzu hesitated.
"At this point, there's no need to hide village secrets. Yes, following the example of the Gold and Silver Brothers, Kirigakure began researching the possibility. Back then, the Fourth hadn't yet become Mizukage; he was just one of many 'test subjects.' Out of all of them, he was the only survivor. The price was that his body would never age again, forever trapped in the form he had then. I don't know the specifics of the experiments, but the result was that he could, to a degree, harness the Tailed Beast's power," Jūzō explained.
If Diarmuid were here, he would be surprised, yet likely accept Jūzō's explanation. It was a plausible theory.
Diarmuid knew that when Yagura eventually became the official Three-Tails Jinchūriki, he would become a "Perfect Jinchūriki," a rarity in shinobi history. He would be able to achieve total synchronization with the Three-Tails, exerting its full power. He was incredibly powerful; had he not encountered a "cheater" like Obito, Yagura's legend would likely have been much grander.
Why did he become a Perfect Jinchūriki so easily? Jūzō's account offered an answer: before officially becoming a Jinchūriki, the cruel experiments of the Mist had already allowed him to master a portion of that power. Later, following the Rin incident, when Yagura finally merged with the Three-Tails, his previous "acclimatization" allowed him to reach a level of mutual understanding, or perhaps forced dominance, making him a Perfect Jinchūriki.
After a brief moment of shock, Kakuzu grew quiet. Finally, he spoke: "That is indeed beyond my expectations. If I hadn't seen the Tailed Beast Transformation with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it..."
"Tch. Every Great Shinobi Village is secretly researching the power of the Tailed Beasts. It's not just the Mist. Yagura simply succeeded where others failed," Jūzō said.
"Are you afraid of him?" Kakuzu asked suddenly.
"Afraid? Maybe. Mostly, I just don't want to be caught. I'm not afraid of death, so why would I fear a man?" Jūzō mused. He paused, then added, "His strength is extraordinary, the second strongest I've seen in my life. Can your Yorozuya boss actually handle him?"
"He can," Kakuzu replied confidently, though he privately wondered if Jūzō was overestimating Yagura.
The second strongest he's ever seen? When Kakuzu had fought him, he hadn't felt an "overwhelming" gap in power. Otherwise, how could he have escaped? Perhaps Yagura was still holding something back?
Just as Kakuzu was about to probe further, his expression shifted violently. He lunged toward Jūzō, grabbing him and smashing straight through the wall instead of the door.
An instant later, the room they had occupied was annihilated by a powerful Water Release jutsu from outside. A Water Dragon Bullet Technique flooded the entire building in a split second.
"Hey! You bastard, let me go! Give me back my Kubikiribōchō! Do you think I'd surrender at this point? I'm running with you!" Jūzō roared from over Kakuzu's shoulder.
Outside the inn, Yagura, looking like a boy in his early teens, stood on a distant rooftop. He gazed at the building with a cold, expressionless stare.