Following that exchange, Yagura did not strike again. Instead, he vanished once more into the water curtain, his presence concealed as he lay in wait.
The water level continued to rise steadily. It was estimated that before long, every remaining foothold in the vicinity would be submerged. When that time came, there would be no choice left but to wait for death.
Witnessing this, Kakuzu shook his head and remarked, "It seems I have no choice but to use that technique."
As he spoke, he pressed his thumb to his lips.
Jūzō, who had been on the verge of despair, felt a glimmer of hope at Kakuzu's words. "What technique?" he asked urgently.
Kakuzu ignored him, biting down hard on his thumb until blood welled up.
"A Summoning Jutsu?! You have a summoning animal that can break this deadlock?" Jūzō asked excitedly.
Sure enough, as blood flowed from the wound, Kakuzu performed the hand signs for a Summoning Jutsu and slammed his palm onto the rooftop beneath his feet. "Summoning Jutsu!" he barked.
With a poof, a massive cloud of white smoke erupted around Kakuzu. When the mist cleared, a moderately sized axolotl appeared by his side. Its expression was vacant and dim-witted, looking remarkably like a complete fool.
Jūzō: "???"
What the hell is that?
"Sorry, but let's just call it even on the money you owe me," Kakuzu said apologetically to Jūzō.
Before Jūzō could even react, the axolotl opened its mouth and swallowed Kakuzu whole. Then, without sparing a single glance for Jūzō, it turned and dived into the water, rapidly descending until it vanished from sight.
Jūzō: "???"
I haven't even gotten on the bus yet!
"Dammit, is this how your Yorozuya operates? I swear to..." Jūzō was so stunned he didn't even know how to finish his curse.
On the other side, Yagura had naturally noticed Kakuzu's bizarre behavior. However, he had already identified Kakuzu's affiliation: the Yorozuya.
It was a very strange organization, yet it possessed a certain level of threat. They had first killed the Third Raikage and subsequently assassinated the Daimyo of the Land of Earth; clearly, they were a group of madmen.
Since Kakuzu was a member of the Yorozuya and had abandoned Jūzō, Yagura saw no reason to continue targeting him. After all, provoking such a volatile organization wouldn't bring any benefit to Kirigakure, would it?
Thus, Yagura did not move to stop Kakuzu. The mid-sized axolotl swam with incredible speed underwater, eventually burrowing into the ground, which had been turned into soft mud by the soaking, and disappeared completely.
Watching the water level about to crest over his position, Jūzō shook his head with a bitter laugh. "I guess this is just my fate..."
At that thought, a helpless smirk played on his lips. A kunai slid from his sleeve into his hand.
The punishments in Kirigakure were horrific beyond imagination, and he had no desire to return and suffer through them. Facing Yagura, he had been no match even with his Kubikiribōchō; now, heavily injured and with his blade pilfered by Kakuzu, he knew his chances of winning were non-existent.
It was better to end it himself than to return and be tortured.
In truth, Jūzō was a man of resolve. In another version of history, he would have dared to use the Kubikiribōchō to head-on block a Tailed Beast Bomb to save Itachi, ultimately losing his life in the process.
Now, his decision to commit suicide was just as decisive. Once his mind was made up, he raised his arm and lunged the sharp kunai directly toward his own throat.
However, just as he was about to take his own life, he suddenly found himself unable to move.
"Coral Palm... When did you... get behind me?" Jūzō's voice was strained and pained.
At that moment, he was paralyzed, as if bound by invisible shackles. Upon closer inspection, one could see coral-like growths beginning to spread across his body.
This technique was one of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura's finishing moves: Coral Palm!
In the future, Itachi would nearly be killed by Yagura's Tailed Beast Bomb precisely because he was struck by Coral Palm and rendered immobile.
Now, behind Jūzō, Yagura's deceptively youthful figure stood expressionless, his hand pressed firmly against Jūzō's waist.
Hearing Jūzō's question, he replied coldly, "Didn't you say it yourself? Inside the Hidden Mist, no one can track my movements."
"Can't you just give me a quick death!?" Jūzō growled.
"A traitor has no right to make demands of me. I will bring you back to Kirigakure so that everyone else knows the price of betraying the village," Yagura stated with chilling indifference.
"Damn it..." Despair filled Jūzō's eyes. He could neither live nor die.
Soon after, the massive Great Water Prison Technique was released. Within a thousand-meter radius of the Land of Waves' capital, the casualties were countless, with most having drowned.
The cold-blooded cruelty of the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, was on full display. At the same time, this reflected the normalized, inhumane trampling of small nations by Great Nations. This was especially true for a place like the Land of Waves, which didn't even have official ninjas.
It didn't even have a nominal Daimyo. Had a Daimyo existed here, perhaps Yagura would not have acted so brazenly. With no ninjas and no Daimyo, it was merely an inexplicable, dispensable little country that Yagura didn't care about in the slightest.
Jūzō was wrapped tightly in bandages like a mummy, his mouth and ears sealed. Only his eyes and nostrils were exposed, leaving him completely immobile and unable to break free.
Yagura likely possessed several summoning animals for various purposes; at this moment, he sat upon the back of a water buffalo, leading the captured Jūzō away.
…
Meanwhile, not far from the capital of the Land of Waves, the axolotl burst through the soil. It spat out Kakuzu, who was covered in slime, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
"What a complete waste of effort!" Kakuzu cursed under his breath, his mood foul.
In his view, if Jūzō had any backbone, he would likely have committed suicide by now. The "indentured labor" money for those two lives would probably never be recovered. The only consolation was that he still had a sword... though he had no idea if he could even sell the thing!
Unlike Orochimaru, who was also covered in slime when regurgitated by snakes, Orochimaru had his own refined process—a membrane between him and the mucus. Upon landing, the membrane would peel off with the slime, leaving the "Great Scientist" looking as elegant as ever.
Kakuzu, however, rarely used this method to escape and had never bothered to research any "accessory" techniques. Consequently, he had to manually clean the slime off himself.
As Kakuzu was scrubbing the mucus away, a somewhat amused voice drifted down from above.
"You look quite pathetic, Kakuzu... As an old pro of the shinobi world, it seems you've suffered a major setback this time? Hahahaha!"
The dashing figure of Diarmuid was crouched on a tree branch above, looking down at Kakuzu with a mocking grin.
Kakuzu didn't even look up, continuing to wipe the slime. "If you, the boss of the Yorozuya, had arrived a little earlier, I wouldn't be in this mess."
"Oh? Pushing your own mistakes onto others? That doesn't sound like the Kakuzu I know," Diarmuid teased.
"True enough," Kakuzu admitted flatly. He then added, "Unfortunately, your trip here was for nothing. Biwa Jūzō couldn't be saved. He was either captured by the Fourth Mizukage or he's already committed suicide. I think suicide is more likely."
Diarmuid raised an eyebrow. "So you called me to the Land of Waves just for this? Biwa Jūzō?"
Kakuzu hadn't said much in the scroll. Although Diarmuid had rushed over immediately, he hadn't been fully briefed on the situation.
"Yes, it went like this..." As he cleaned himself, Kakuzu gave Diarmuid a brief rundown of the events.
A light flickered in Diarmuid's eyes. "Interesting... Biwa Jūzō..."
To Diarmuid, Jūzō might have sounded like a "noob" in Kakuzu's description, but as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he undoubtedly had some skill. Furthermore, his raw power wasn't the primary concern, as long as he was decent, joining the Yorozuya and sharing resources would inevitably make him stronger.
The main point was that Biwa Jūzō was an interesting character, and Diarmuid quite admired him. Without a doubt, Jūzō was a man of great loyalty, a true man.
In the original story, he had teamed up with Itachi shortly after joining the Akatsuki. To be honest, they weren't even that familiar with each other at the time. Yet, in that state of semi-strangerhood, when Itachi faced a life-threatening crisis, Jūzō, who fully understood Yagura's power, had stepped forward without hesitation. He blocked a Tailed Beast Bomb with his blade and was nearly cut in half by the resulting shard.
That was the definition of loyalty.
Perhaps that was why he left Kirigakure in the first place; the environment there made such things impossible. He loathed the atmosphere where comrades were treated as nothing more than disposable pawns. So, he defected.
Later, he used his very life to demonstrate what it meant to cherish a teammate. Even if I don't know you well, as long as you are my teammate, I will put my life on the line to protect you!
He was just that loyal. And even as he lay dying, his first thought was to tell Itachi to run before the Kiri pursuit squads arrived. Then, he died with a smile.
So, while his strength might not have been spectacular, Diarmuid truly respected the guy. A real man, a hardcase, loyal to a fault, and someone who stood by his convictions. If he could drag such a person into the Yorozuya, Diarmuid was more than willing.
"You fought the Fourth Mizukage? Is he that strong?" Diarmuid asked.
"It might be because I don't know enough about the Third Raikage and never fought him directly, but based on my own perception, I feel Karatachi Yagura might be even stronger than him," Kakuzu said after a moment of silence.
Diarmuid found that unlikely. The Third Raikage was arguably the standout among the Five Kage. Yagura was certainly strong, absurdly so, but at most, he was likely on par with the Third Raikage. Or rather, they excelled in different areas. The Third Raikage's Nintaijutsu was his bread and butter, whereas from Kakuzu's description, Yagura could unleash large-scale offensives with ease...
He was clearly more proficient in Ninjutsu, especially Water Release.
After Kakuzu detailed the situation further, Diarmuid nodded. "In other words, there's actually a high probability that Biwa Jūzō is alive. Since Yagura intended to capture him alive and the power gap was so vast, it's highly feasible..."
"And?" Kakuzu thought about it and realized it did make sense.
"Let's go. If we move now, we might still catch them," Diarmuid said with a grin.
"Don't tell me you're planning to kill the Fourth Mizukage too?" Kakuzu asked.
"Better not. That guy is still useful alive, and it would conflict with my plans... We'll just snatch Jūzō back and force him to retreat," Diarmuid decided, setting the objective.
With Diarmuid there, Kakuzu's confidence surged. Despite having just been crushed by his opponent, he showed no sign of worry and followed Diarmuid immediately. It was as if he were now draped in the protective aura of a 'Big Boss.'