(Zabuza POV)
I never liked caves. Too damp. Too quiet. Too easy for someone to sneak up on you.
Kisame said this was the rendezvous point, so here I was, standing ankle-deep in cold stone shadows while water dripped somewhere in the dark. The cave smelled like wet rock and old incense, like someone had tried to sanctify a grave.
Haku stayed near the entrance, balanced on a ledge above us, quiet and alert. Smart. These people did not need to know his name. He said the place gave him the creeps. I didn't blame him.
Kisame leaned against the cavern wall, Samehada balanced on his shoulder, grinning like this was a festival instead of a gathering of killers.
The air in the center of the cave shimmered.
Light bent unnaturally, chakra distorting space in a vertical ripple. One by one, figures formed from that distortion. Not flesh. Not fully there.
Translucent projections layered over the stone like ghosts pretending to be solid.
So this was how they met.
The first projection to solidify was the leader.
Orange hair. Metal piercings. Purple-ringed eyes that did not blink enough. Even half-real, his presence pressed against my skin like a steady weight. Pain.
Konan materialized beside him, quiet and unreadable. Paper flowers woven into her hair like a mockery of something soft.
Others formed around them.
To the left, a hunched shape took form. It did not look human. It looked like a massive wooden insect with a heavy metallic tail scraping faintly against stone. Sasori.
He remained low, hidden inside that shell like something patient and venomous.
Beside him stood a blond kid with long hair tied back. Deidara. He looked bored. His fingers kneaded something unseen, twitching with restless energy that smelled faintly of gunpowder even through the projection.
Opposite them, the Immortal pair solidified.
Kakuzu stood like a stitched-together monument. His green eyes were sharp and calculating. He did not look at Pain. He looked at me.
Weighing.
Next to him, Hidan rolled his shoulders, triple-bladed scythe resting against his back. He was already muttering under his breath, violet eyes bright with anticipation.
Finally, alone, Orochimaru appeared.
Pale skin. Golden eyes with slitted pupils. Purple markings framing his face. He looked less like a man and more like something wearing one.
Pain spoke first.
"You engaged the target."
Kisame's grin widened. "I did."
"Report."
He shifted Samehada slightly. "The Nine Tails container was not alone. Twin. Red chakra. Different signature."
Pain's expression did not change. "A second jinchuriki."
"Not exactly." Kisame's teeth flashed. "Same beast. Different flavor."
I stayed quiet, arms crossed. I did not care about prophecy. I cared about payment.
But I listened.
"The red one lost control," Kisame continued. "Two tails surfaced. Seal strained. Body nearly tore itself apart."
Konan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Orochimaru's tongue flicked briefly against his teeth. "How fascinating."
"Unstable power is not art," Deidara muttered, offended on principle.
Hidan barked a laugh. "Who cares. Let me carve him open and see what spills out."
"Shut up," Kakuzu muttered without looking at him. His eyes shifted back toward Kisame.
"Is the asset viable."
That was all Kakazu saw, an asset.
"Unrefined," Kisame replied. "Powerful. Raw. Fractured."
"If the vessel breaks, the design is flawed,"
Sasori said, as if discussing a puppet.
Kisame chuckled. "He is not finished. I want to see what happens when he is."
That was the first moment I wondered if Kisame was enjoying this too much.
"You were not authorized to escalate," Pain said.
"I did not," Kisame replied easily. "I observed."
Observed.
If that was observation, I would hate to see his idea of commitment.
Another distortion split the air, another projection forced its way into place.
Zetsu. Half white. Half black. Both halves wrong in different ways.
The white half smiled at me. Too wide. Too familiar.
I recognized the voice before he even spoke. That was the thing that had been stalking us in Wave.
"Information gathered," Zetsu said, its voice layered over itself. "The red twin's chakra fractured the seal structure momentarily. Regeneration forced. Coil damage sustained."
My grip tightened around my sword.
Fractured seal structure.
That explained the surge I had felt from a distance. It had not been control. It had been desperation.
"Additionally," Zetsu continued, "Uchiha integration confirmed. Root dismantled. Internal power balance unconfirmed."
That drew more attention than the demon child.
Pain spoke again.
"We do not move on Konoha during the Exams."
Orochimaru's eyes sharpened slightly at that.
Hidan clicked his tongue in irritation.
Deidara frowned. "So we just watch."
"Observation yields better returns than impulse," Konan replied calmly.
Kisame's grin dimmed. "I wanted another fight."
"You always do," I said.
He looked at me, amused. "You enjoyed it too."
"Not enough to join a cult."
Hidan snorted.
Kakuzu ignored us all.
Pain's gaze shifted to me.
"Zabuza Momochi. You were hired by Kisame. You are not a member. You are here to listen. Nothing more."
"Fine by me," I said. "I am not interested in your grand plan. I am here because he pays well."
Kakuzu gave a faint nod at that.
Kisame clapped me on the shoulder. "See. Honest man."
Pain did not look amused.
"Your usefulness will be evaluated."
"I am not here to impress you," I replied evenly.
Silence settled for a moment, thick and deliberate.
Then Pain raised a hand.
"We reconvene after the Exams. Do not act without orders."
One by one, the projections dissolved into flickering light. Sasori's shell faded. Deidara's smirk vanished. Hidan's grin lingered a second longer before breaking apart. Orochimaru's eyes were the last thing to disappear.
Then the cave was only stone again.
Haku dropped lightly from the ledge and landed beside me.
"They are unsettling," he said quietly.
"That is one word for it," I replied.
Kisame stretched as if he had just finished a pleasant conversation.
"Well. That was fun."
I stared at him. "You call that fun."
He shrugged. "Better than being bored."
"You are insane."
"Maybe." He grinned. "But you are still here."
"Only because you pay well."
"And because you respect me."
I did not answer.
He was not wrong.
We stepped out into the night air. Cold. Clean. Honest.
Kisame paused at the cave entrance and looked back once.
"That red one," he said quietly. "He is going to break something important."
"Or himself," I said.
His grin sharpened.
"Either way, I want to be there."
That confirmed it. This was not just business anymore.
It was personal.
Far from the cave, another plan was already unfolding.
(Orochimaru POV)
The projections faded one by one, leaving only the echo of their chakra behind. Pain's voice lingered in the air like stale incense. Orders. Restraints. Patience.
He forgets that I do not answer to him.
I stepped out of the cavern and into the corridor beyond. The walls were lined with torches, their flames bending in the draft like they were bowing. The stone smelled of damp earth and old blood. Familiar. Comforting.
Pain believes his ambitions are grand. He believes the jinchuriki are the key to his future. Perhaps he is right. Perhaps not. My interests lie elsewhere. Immortality requires many paths, and I have learned to walk several at once.
I pushed open the door to my laboratory.
Rows of failed vessels lined the walls, suspended in glass or sprawled across metal tables. Their bodies were reminders of progress, not mistakes. Every failure teaches. Every corpse whispers.
Danzō stood in the center of the room, one hand wrapped around the throat of a failed test subject. The boy's curse mark spread across his skin like spilled ink, unstable and twitching.
Danzō's new arm flexed slowly.
Hashirama cells integrated beautifully. Veins pulsed beneath grafted flesh, regeneration subtle but constant.
His right eye opened. Sharingan. Hungry.
Danzō dropped the body without ceremony.
"Another failure," he said flatly.
"They lacked discipline," I replied mildly.
He did not turn to face me immediately. His new arm twitched slightly as the curse mark pattern settled along his shoulder. Mine was more refined than the previous generation.
"The Exams approach," I said softly. "Konoha will be distracted."
He finally acknowledged me.
Danzō stepped over the fallen operative without looking down.
"All pieces are in place," he said. "The village will not see the blade until it is already inside."
His voice sharpened.
"It is time."
"The fox child's seal is thinning," I said lightly. "He may tear himself open before anyone else gets the chance."
A flicker of satisfaction crossed his face.
"Leave Kakashi and the Uchiha to me. You may have Hiruzen."
Ah. There it was. The offer he had been waiting to make. The one he knew I would not refuse.
I allowed myself a small smile.
Silence stretched between us. Not hostile. Not friendly.
Aligned.
For now.
"Our allies will move when the signal is given," Danzō said. "The Sound is ready."
The torches flickered, as if the room itself understood what was coming.