บท 386: Not so Relaxing Bath
"It was me who took his corpse that day and I used one of my special techniques to stop Zabuza's heart temporarily so that I could take him away before he got killed. My name is Haku...and for the first and last time...I am a BOY." Haku said insisting on the last part. However, it was more like begging because even after so many years, many people still thought of him as a girl if they only looked at his face.
It took a few minutes for Sasuke to make sense of everything but he then looked at his brother and asked "How are you acquainted with them? You came to the mission much later than this."
Yami nodded and said "Yes I did but while circling the forests around the village I saw them. They had no direct enmity with the old man that hired team 7 so I gave them a better offer and they immediately accepted it."
Zabuza looked at Yami with dead eyes and said "We had to accept or you threatened to kill us painfully. It's not like we had any option at that time."
Sasuke then looked back at Haku and asked "How did you even fool Kakashi sensei? What special technique did you use to stop Zabuza's breath?" Sasuke didn't actually expect Haku to tell him that but then Haku put one of his hands in his hair and pulled out 3 metallic needles held between his fingers.
Just by looking at it, Sasuke understood that these needles could even kill someone. He turned to his brother and said "You must trust them Yami."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Yami asked not sure what Sasuke was trying to imply.
Sasuke pointed at the two of them and said "The two of them have their weapons at arm's length but you and I kept our weapons in the back room. It must mean that you trust them to not ambush and attack you."
Yami just chuckled as he heard this and said "No... it's just that I am confident enough to kill them with my bare hands."
Sasuke was surprised at his brother's blatant threat like this and that too in front of those he was talking about.
"Tsk...you are still as scary as that day...It's true kid...your younger brother can kill us both without using weapons and he never shies away from flexing that fact in front of us." Zabuza said.
"You make me look like a moron who is just bossing you." Yami said with a slight annoyance on his face to which Zabuza replied "That's what you do...you give us instructions without even telling us why we are doing it."
"Then did you follow the instructions I told you last week?" Yami asked to which Haku nodded and said "Yes we did. Although we were a bit unsure if your information was even right to start with but eventually we found it and I must say your new lackeys are extremely helpful but a little scary and awkward."
"They have been disconnected from the shinobi world for far too long so it's obvious. They will eventually learn the ways of the world. For now, they are a necessary muscle." Yami said.
"Who are they? Where did you find more people to do your bidding and that too so trained? They even said that they were barred from using their strongest weapon until you say so." Zabuza asked curiously."
"They are the members of the Chinoike clan. A clan that was once badly defeated by the Uchiha and was pushed back in a valley. I recently visited their village and helped them root out a long-standing problem." Yami explained.
"The Chinoike clan...that name does ring a bell. I thought they went extinct. But aren't they sworn enemies of our clan? What if agreeing to be your ally is only a farce and they backstab you?" Sasuke asked. No matter how smart or strong his younger brother was, Sasuke was still worried a little.
"They don't need to take revenge. What they need now is a sense of belonging and that will happen when they officially become a part of our village. I was going to speak to you about giving half of our land." Yami asked. Even though none of the brothers could still be considered as clan heads, Sasuke being the eldest one had to be the one to make the decision.
"Hmm...if Lady Tsunade and the entire village accept them and they have no hatred towards us then I don't see a problem in giving them half our land." Sasuke agreed.
"Great...now onto the reason why we all have met here. Haku and Zabuza the only thing I have told you is to find places in the nearby village where there have been odd activities and where there were tunnels. I am sure they were hidden nicely but you guys managed to solve the problem."
Haku smirked as he heard this and said "Yes...the scrolls related to formation creation and destruction that you sent me last year have proved to be a gold mine for me. From there I understood how to remove the illusion formation laid at the entrance of the tunnel. But where do those tunnels lead to?" Haku asked to which Zabuza slapped the back of his head and said "Where do you think? To treasures that have been hidden. Yami did you come across some ancient map?"
"Stop dreaming Zabuza...Those tunnels are made to look ancient but in fact they were made a few years ago. There is a whole web of tunnels just below us that has spread far and wide. And this web of tunnels is the real Hidden Sound Village."
"WHAT??"
"WHAT??"
"WHAT??"
The three exclaimed together. Sasuke was not very interested at first but when he heard Hidden Sound village, all alarms in his head started to go off.
"You mean the village created by Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked as he leaned forward to Yami in excitement and shock.
"The same. It's not a village like the other ones. It's a web of tunnels which has several labs in it." Yami said.
"But according to your instructions, we rallied up the villagers and had them rush in...wouldn't they be killed?" Haku asked with utter concern.
"Kid don't tell me you are ruthless enough to let innocent villagers be slaughtered?" Zabuza asked. He wasn't in his relaxed position now. Ever since he found out that the tunnels belonged to Orochimaru, he realized how big this matter was.
"You are one to talk when you took contracts to do the same thing." Yami said as he smirked and looked at Zabuza to which he took a deep breath in and said "Yes I admit what I did was wrong but working for you made me feel I am on the right side for once."
"Don't worry the villagers won't be killed. Orochimaru doesn't want to risk exposing his hideout so he will most likely block their path or lead them away from the main tunnels." Yami said.
"If you know Orochimaru is going to do one of these things then why did you have the tunnels invaded? I don't think it accomplishes anything." Sasuke asked.
"You are wrong...once Orochimaru is on the defensive, that is all he can do. With so many people and ongoing experiments, he won't have the time to attack anyone or help anyone. He will constantly watch his back. All we need to do is isolate him to the point where he has to abandon almost everyone around him." Yami explained.
'It is almost time for Orochimaru to transfer his soul in someone else's body. I don't know who he found as a suitable candidate now that Sasuke is not in his grasp. Whoever it is, I must disrupt this plan of his or he might become an unwelcomed guest at the Kage meeting with the Akatsuki. Although the Akatsuki and Orochimaru are not on friendly terms, they might band together since I have crippled their power. If that happens, then it might work in my favor in the long run. I just need to make Orochimaru desperate enough that he has to go to the hidden rain to seek refuge.' Yami thought. His plan was too simple once all the external factors were set aside.
Chase the snake out of his hole. Make him think that everyone around him is his enemy and that the only safe heaven is the hidden rain which is ruled by the Akatsuki. Since the Akatsuki is also desperate for manpower after 2 consecutive losses, they won't think twice before taking him in. If the leader was Pain as everyone thinks then it might be different but now that Tobi has started to make moves himself, Pain is just a puppet.
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