Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

The two of them bumped fists. 

There was no sake, but something still felt missing. 

Time passed quickly during training, and after another month, Zabuza felt like he had hit his limit. 

That was the difference between him and Shanks. 

One was a top-tier genius in the ninja world—possibly one of the greatest in history. 

The other, Zabuza, was just a speck of dust that would eventually be forgotten. 

By now, Zabuza had fully mastered Geppo. 

That was already a huge improvement for him, but the real reason he wanted to leave wasn't that. 

It was because someone had found this place. 

Zabuza grabbed his sword and walked to the shore. 

This was where he first came ashore, though now, there were no traces of his arrival left. 

"I didn't expect you to be the one to come looking for me." 

Zabuza didn't turn around. 

Not far behind him, a man wearing a black cloak with red clouds emerged from a tide pool on the beach. 

"A shark can smell blood in the water. If not for Jiraiya, we wouldn't have taken this long to find you." 

The man was Hoshigaki Kisame—Zabuza's former comrade. 

But just like Zabuza, Kisame had also betrayed Kirigakure. 

"It's been almost three months, and your sword is still the same? What, after leaving Kirigakure, you don't want to be an executioner anymore?" 

Kisame sneered. 

Though they had been teammates, their relationship had never been friendly.

Kisame simply felt that someone like Zabuza wasn't worthy of being his teammate. 

Zabuza, on the other hand, looked down on Kisame just as much. Especially now—who did Hoshigaki Kisame think he was? Sure, they were both part of the Seven Swordsmen back then, but with his current strength, did Kisame really still think he was above him? 

"Not really, it's just that some people aren't worth my time. I can kill without a sword just the same." 

"I came to find you for a reason, but if you want a fight, I'm happy to oblige." 

Kisame tightened his pale right hand around Samehada's handle. Though he said he didn't mind fighting, both of them knew there was no way this would end without a battle. 

"Then let's see what you've got." 

Zabuza took a step forward, the air beneath his feet exploding as he shot straight at Kisame. 

Over the past few months, he had gotten a lot stronger. 

Kisame didn't hold back either. Trying to show off? Rushing in without a sword? 

Boom! 

A surge of chakra erupted from Kisame's body, and Samehada, after absorbing the chakra, instantly swelled five or six times its size. The air pressure around it blasted straight toward Zabuza as Kisame swung. 

"Blade-less Style: Barehanded Edge!" 

Zabuza's palms slashed forward, his jet-black hands gleaming with a cold light. A flash of a blade cut through the air—Samehada blocked it, but not completely. 

A thin cut appeared on Kisame's right arm. 

Ten meters behind him, two deep, clean slashes were carved into the rock. 

In the next moment, Kisame quickly leaped back, putting distance between them. 

Unbelievable. That was the only thought in Kisame's mind. 

He hadn't expected anyone among the Seven Swordsmen, besides himself, to be this ridiculous. 

"He can fight at this level with just Taijutsu? Was Zabuza hiding his strength all along?" 

Samehada couldn't absorb any chakra from Zabuza, nor could it drain his attacks. That could only mean one thing—Zabuza wasn't using Ninjutsu at all. It was pure Taijutsu. 

And yet, Zabuza had blocked Samehada's strike with his bare hands. 

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Kisame's forehead. This guy's abilities were completely different from what he knew. 

On the other side, Zabuza yanked his legs out of the sand, just as shocked. 

He had assumed the Seven Swordsmen were all on the same level as his past self. He never expected Kisame to be this strong. 

If not for the two months of Taijutsu training Shanks had drilled into him—and those special techniques Shanks had taught him—Kisame's last attack alone might have put him out of commission for another two months. 

"This guy's strength isn't even on the level of the Seven Swordsmen. So he was hiding his true power all along." 

Zabuza's eyes turned serious. His hands were throbbing in pain, but he refused to show weakness in front of Kisame. 

Kisame, meanwhile, could tell Zabuza wasn't even planning to use Ninjutsu. 

That meant trouble. 

Just as they were about to go at it again, another voice cut through the tension. 

"Kisame, did you tell him yet?" 

Itachi appeared, stopping their fight before it could start again. 

Zabuza turned his eyes toward Itachi, who was wearing the same uniform as Kisame. Were they part of the same group? 

"An Uchiha?" 

"Our organization is recruiting member, and we heard about your defection from Kirigakure. Your strength isn't bad," Kisame explained. "Not that I want to work alongside you, but that's why we're here." 

The Akatsuki, as a hidden underground group, was always in need of manpower—especially elite fighters. 

At this point in time, they were still gathering powerful individuals from all over the ninja world. 

This was also around the time they recruited Deidara and Hidan.

Now, Zabuza, whose strength had been recognized, also had the right to join. 

His fight with Kisame was both a personal grudge and a test from the Akatsuki. 

"Your organization? Don't tell me it's about friendship, bringing happiness to everyone, or protecting the village or something?" 

Zabuza sneered. He had just defected from Kirigakure. There was no way he would serve someone else again. 

"Of course not. Although our goal is to create a better world, what we're doing right now is..." 

Kisame's shark-like face showed no expression, and his tone remained calm. 

"Overthrowing governments and secretly controlling those countries." 

"If you join us, aside from certain missions you have to carry out, you're free to do whatever you want." 

Itachi added from the side. 

"Basically, joining us has no downsides." 

Kisame continued. 

"And if I want to leave?" 

"You'll be hunted down." 

"Why?" 

"There wasn't such a rule before, but ever since Orochimaru defected, he took all the organization's money from Kakuzu. On top of that, the research we asked him to do was actually just him using our resources to further his own jutsu experiments. So now we have this rule in place." 

Kisame stated it emotionlessly. Even Itachi, standing next to him, couldn't keep a straight face and looked a bit awkward. 

The Akatsuki's funds were mostly managed by Kakuzu. Orochimaru and Kakuzu used to be in the same squad, and Orochimaru was also in charge of some of the organization's jutsu research. 

In the end, Orochimaru had spent all that money on himself. 

And this wasn't something that had happened just once or twice. 

To put it simply, Orochimaru's thinking was centuries ahead of his time. He would start a project, get funding, and then just keep the money rolling in. 

What kind of people were in Akatsuki? Fighters, all of them. Did they understand research? Not at all. 

Especially one of the leaders, Konan. She couldn't even figure out how much damage ten billion explosive tags could do, let alone audit finances. 

There was no way anyone was checking the books. 

And Orochimaru wasn't just scamming Akatsuki's funds. Even after leaving Konoha, he still had connections with Danzo. 

Danzo would trick the Third Hokage into giving him money, and Orochimaru would then scam Danzo. 

The Uchiha Clan had been wiped out for years, yet Danzo's transplant surgeries still weren't done. Orochimaru just kept delaying and dragging it out. 

That's how researchers operated—they had all the leverage. 

But Orochimaru overlooked one thing—Itachi. 

After getting caught in Itachi's genjutsu just once, Orochimaru felt unsafe in Akatsuki. So he decided to make a big move and completely drained the organization's funds. 

"Hah? And you expect me to join a mess like that? No, thanks. I'd rather just stick to being a pirate." 

Zabuza flatly refused. There was no way he'd join such an embarrassing organization. 

"But if you ever decide to make a move on Kirigakure, I can help. Just come find me when the time comes." 

With that, Zabuza turned and walked away. 

Itachi and Kisame didn't stop him. After he left, Kisame looked over at Itachi.

"The man in the forest is really strong. Even if we both go at him together, we wouldn't stand a chance." 

Hearing Itachi's words, Kisame nodded. 

The two of them left.