Evening fell.
Steam rose thick in the bathroom as Izayoi reclined in the tub, hands folded behind his head, gazing at the hazy ceiling.
If you looked closely, you'd notice his normally deep-blue eyes appeared different now. The usual hue was lighter – a paler sky-blue – and his pupils, too, had shifted to blue, with a faint white radiance flowing from them, forming a moving, flowerlike pattern: simultaneously elegant and surreal.
Upon closer inspection, it would be evident Izayoi was actually daydreaming. His gaze wasn't really on the ceiling. It pierced through the walls of the house, granting him something akin to a god's-eye view of the entire Konoha Village.
In Izayoi's vision, present-day Konoha – its urban center, outskirts, and surrounding forest – was ringed by a circular "wall" about twenty meters high.
If the ground were depressed a bit more, from above it would look like Konoha sat in a giant pot, with the city and woodlands inside resembling "ingredients" in that pot. And above that pot there was a transparent dome blanketing the whole village.
The underground also had a translucent barrier. Anyone touching that invisible wall, whether from inside or out, would instantly get flagged by Konoha's Sensor Division, who would catch their chakra signature and position.
That was Konoha's sensory barrier. Even the Six Paths of Pain could only force entry by exposing at least one body's location.
But no technique in this world is absolutely perfect, and the barrier was no exception. Such a vast perimeter had one key gap: the village gate. Under non-emergency circumstances, that gate was left off the barrier, lest it burden the Sensor Division. Still, there was a moment each day when the barrier fully dropped – precisely during shift changes for the sensor nin.
"Every six hours they switch. So four times a day it's shut down," Izayoi murmured to himself.
Unaware, his body had moved from the tub back to his bed, darkness enveloping the quiet night outside. Having discovered this flaw in the sensory barrier, Izayoi let his gaze drift beyond Konoha, scanning the eastern edges of the Land of Fire.
Soon, his vision landed on an out-of-the-way spot in the wilderness, dotted with tents where a group slept. An open campfire burned, and a young man stood guard – none other than Sasuke Uchiha.
"They've barely covered any ground. There's still plenty of time," Izayoi mused, watching Tazuna from a distance. He smirked. "So pitiful. Let me lend you a hand."
Indeed, Izayoi planned to intervene in the Land of Waves storyline. He needed materials to craft puppet bodies and forge chakra cores, which either meant gathering them himself or buying them.
But after purchasing that camera, he was basically penniless. D-rank missions alone wouldn't yield enough to buy the materials for puppet-making.
Originally, Izayoi was still wondering how best to earn big money – do normal missions or rob some criminal syndicate? Seeing Tazuna instantly reminded him of someone and cemented his decision.
Gato – one of the richest men in the world, dealing heavily in illegal activities. Robbing him would mean Izayoi wouldn't have to worry about funds ever again, even if he quit being a shinobi on the spot. He could buy as many puppet materials as he wanted.
Smirking, he decided that tomorrow, he'd act as "Robin Hood," so to speak.
…
The Next Day at Noon
Izayoi used the meager pay he'd gotten from recent D-rank tasks to buy two storage scrolls at a ninja tools shop, then created a shadow clone with a large reserve of chakra.
Meanwhile, his real body quietly slipped out of Konoha while the Sensor Division was switching shifts and made straight for the Land of Waves.
Being a tiny island nation, the Land of Waves lay beyond Fire Country's eastern edge, across a single bridge.
From the far end of Fire Country, a person could faintly glimpse the island's outline. Izayoi's Tenseigan "long vision" naturally let him see it clearly.
He left Konoha just a few hours ago, and he was already located near Gato. That showcased the Tenseigan's terrifying advantage; the giant Tenseigan on the moon was supposedly able to monitor the entire ninja world. Such long-range vision and X-ray sight gave Izayoi an absolute intelligence edge.
Konoha sat near the center of the Land of Fire. At top speed, a skilled ninja could cross any boundary of the land in under a day – as in the original storyline, Naruto's group needed less than a day to reach the forest at the northern edge while pursuing Sasuke.
Izayoi took only three hours to catch up to – and pass – Team 7, who were still walking on foot.
The Demon Brothers were likely still up ahead waiting. At Izayoi's pace, he'd get there long before they even set sail for Wave.
Once at the eastern perimeter, Izayoi launched himself skyward, choosing to fly across to the island. High above, he shifted forms, resuming the mysterious black-robed persona from his encounter with Sasori.
Gleaming white hair fluttered in the wind, and a featureless, eyehole-less white mask hid his face, exuding an eerie aura. Flying conferred a powerful presence.
Arriving over the Land of Waves, Izayoi wasted no time. He landed outside Gato's lavish estate – a luxurious mansion – and strode right in.
At that moment, Gato was speaking with a man heavily wrapped in bandages.
"Zabuza, are your underlings reliable? It's been over a week, and they still haven't taken care of that old man. I can't imagine he's that difficult," Gato snapped in displeasure.
"That guy got lucky. By the time the Demon Brothers found him, he'd already hidden in Konoha," Momochi Zabuza answered coolly, "But from the look of him, he sure didn't have the cash to hire any Konoha shinobi to escort him back. Once he can't stay in Konoha any longer, he'll come out – that's when we'll finish him off. And if they fail, I'll do it myself."
"Tch. Fine, but hurry up." Gato scowled.
"What's with this ordinary guy and his nerve, talking to an A-rank missing-nin like you?"
A stranger's voice suddenly echoed. Gato and Zabuza – plus someone in the corner who seemed to meld with the shadows – all looked over in alarm. Izayoi, masked and cloaked, walked forward, his gaze zeroing in on Zabuza, who was swathed in bandages and resting on a sofa, a massive sword at his side.
He cocked his head curiously. "Is the Mist Village's brainwashing that good? You defected, yet you still follow orders like some loyal dog?"
Zabuza hadn't answered yet when a figure materialized in front of him – a young man with a gentle face, but speaking in urgent, low tones. "Zabuza-sama, please be careful. This person…is extremely strong!"
Rising from his seat, Zabuza grasped the Executioner's Blade. Beneath the bandages, his mouth curved in a bloodthirsty grin. "I can tell – a lawless freak. Exactly the sort I'd love to cut down."
~~~
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