Chapter 73

Orochimaru ignored the piercing gaze that made Su Zhong's skin tingle, his eyes full of surprise.

"You really know about Akatsuki. I'm truly curious, where did you get this information? Could it be from the Uchiha's remaining intelligence network?"

Su Zhong remained silent, just staring at Orochimaru.

He had killed Kakuzu and Hidan, and it was only a matter of time before others found out.

But when he encountered them, it was completely in the wild, no different from a chance encounter.

No one outside knew that Su Zhong had ever met them.

After that, he traveled in the wild, completely disappearing. Su Zhong thought that even if others knew, it would take some time.

He didn't expect Orochimaru to already know. It seemed he had underestimated the intelligence capabilities of those with a purpose.

Su Zhong's brows furrowed slightly. Since Orochimaru already knew, Uchiha Madara must also know.

A hidden force was quietly enveloping Su Zhong.

Seeing Su Zhong remain silent, Orochimaru no longer beat around the bush.

"I have some grievances with Akatsuki as well."

Su Zhong understood Orochimaru's intentions. He was trying to form an alliance with Su Zhong.

"What do you plan to do?" Su Zhong was straightforward.

Although he didn't like the madman Orochimaru, if it could benefit him, Su Zhong didn't mind forming an alliance.

Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile.

From Sasuke's descriptions and the intelligence he had gathered, Uchiha Qiu's biggest characteristic, besides his mystery, was that he was a cold, profit-driven person.

Such a person was very difficult to deal with, but also very easy to handle. As long as there was profit, everything was negotiable.

Su Zhong's reaction confirmed Orochimaru's suspicions, and he smiled knowingly.

"We can share intelligence. Forming an alliance in critical moments is also good. Whether to take action depends on the price both sides are willing to pay."

Su Zhong thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

This kind of alliance was very loose, with almost no binding force.

Orochimaru knew the nature of this alliance and pulled out two palm-sized scrolls from his pocket, casually tossing them to Su Zhong.

"This is a sign of my sincerity."

Su Zhong caught the scrolls, one of which was labeled "Akatsuki."

Unrolling the scroll, it contained detailed information about the Akatsuki members. Comparing it with his memory, Su Zhong found that Orochimaru was indeed sincere and had not falsified the information.

Su Zhong's expression softened. Regardless of Orochimaru's intentions, this at least satisfied him.

Opening the other scroll, Su Zhong's expression suddenly turned cold.

"Zabuza!" Su Zhong snorted, throwing the scroll to the White behind him.

White, hearing Su Zhong's cold tone, was puzzled. Upon reading the scroll, his face turned pale.

"I never thought he would have the nerve to put a bounty on my head. It seems the money Kakuo had was taken by him."

White hesitated, ultimately saying nothing, his eyes full of worry.

Su Zhong looked up at Orochimaru.

"I am very satisfied with your information. In return, I can tell you that the Rinnegan belongs to Uchiha Madara, but not to the masked man. The masked man is called Tobi."

Su Zhong's words were ambiguous, but Orochimaru understood the meaning.

His face showed shock; he had long suspected the identity of the masked man, and now it was confirmed by Su Zhong. More surprisingly, he learned the masked man's identity from Su Zhong.

Orochimaru had investigated this information himself and knew how difficult it was to obtain. Yet, the person in front of him seemed to know many secrets easily. He wondered where this person got his information.

Ignoring Orochimaru's probing gaze, Su Zhong nodded to Sasuke and turned to leave without hesitation.

Orochimaru didn't stop him this time. Although he was very curious about Su Zhong, his current interest was entirely focused on Sasuke.

Watching Su Zhong leave, Orochimaru took Sasuke back to the underground base. He was about to start training Sasuke. The Uchiha bloodline was very attractive to him.

Moreover, with the appearance of Su Zhong, he was even more eager to obtain the Uchiha body.

Not long after leaving Orochimaru's base, White couldn't hold back.

"Master, Lord Zabuza... he... he..."

Su Zhong waved his hand, signaling him to stop.

"Relax, I said I wouldn't kill him, and I won't. But he can escape death, not punishment. Let's go and see where he got the nerve to cause me trouble."

Su Zhong's figure quickly disappeared.

White, staring at Su Zhong's back, gritted his teeth and quickly followed.

Su Zhong had a clear goal and moved quickly, soon reaching the borders of Wave Country.

To find Zabuza, Su Zhong captured and interrogated any ninja he encountered in Wave Country.

Wave Country was not large, and since Zabuza had built his own force here, the ninjas appearing here were likely his subordinates.

Su Zhong's methods were brutal; anyone who didn't confess was killed on the spot. Su Zhong had been hunted for so long and was not in a good mood.

On the day he arrived in Wave Country, Su Zhong found information about Zabuza.

To prevent Zabuza from escaping, Su Zhong grabbed White and flew directly to the location.

This was his first time flying at full speed in the sky.

Soon, Su Zhong arrived at the location.

Landing, he surveyed the surroundings.

Beside a stream, a two-story wooden building stood in a small forest, the environment quiet and elegant.

"He found a good place," Su Zhong snorted.

With a step, he leaped up and crashed through the second floor with a bang.

Zabuza was inside the building, handling documents.

With more subordinates, the organization had grown, and trivial matters had increased. According to recent intelligence, he realized that Uchiha Qiu had disappeared for a long time.

Zabuza felt a vague sense of unease, which made him very restless.

Just as he was trying to figure out the source of this unease,

A wall in front of him exploded, and a young man in black with a buzz cut crashed through the wall and flew in.

Seeing the figure, Zabuza immediately knew the source of his unease.

Uchiha Qiu had actually come to him!

"Zabuza, you have a lot of nerve to put a bounty on my head! Now that I'm in front of you, let's see how you take my head!"

Su Zhong strode forward, his right hand forming a blade, and slashed down.

Zabuza's pupils contracted, and he quickly grabbed his Executioner's Blade, blocking it in front of his chest.

Clang!

A loud noise, and Zabuza's face changed dramatically.

Su Zhong's hand blade hit the blade's edge, producing a metallic sound.

Crack...

A series of small tearing sounds entered Zabuza's ears. He was horrified to see that the Executioner's Blade had cracked.

Snap!

The Executioner's Blade broke into two pieces.

Su Zhong changed his blade to a palm and lightly pressed it on Zabuza's chest.

Zabuza's body, which had been still, suddenly shot out like a cannonball.

The wall behind him, like paper, exploded with a loud bang, and debris flew into the air with Zabuza.

After crashing through trees, Zabuza landed on a tree and slid down, sitting on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

His chest was sunken, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Lord Zabuza!"

White cried out in shock, immediately rushing to Zabuza's side, tears in his eyes as he checked Zabuza's injuries.

Su Zhong appeared, expressionless, looking at White and Zabuza.

"Zabuza, you put a bounty on my head," Su Zhong stated firmly.

Zabuza turned to look at the anxious White and smiled.

"Yes, you can take my life at any time. But this has nothing to do with White; don't involve him."

Zabuza had met White in his most difficult times and raised him like a brother and a father.

When Su Zhong defeated Zabuza and took White away, Zabuza wanted to kill Su Zhong.

This led to the bounty.

But after this meeting, Su Zhong defeated him with just one move. Zabuza had no confidence in killing Su Zhong.

He couldn't defeat him, and the bounty couldn't kill him. Zabuza was in despair.

"Master, you said you would let Lord Zabuza go, Master!" White pleaded.

Su Zhong was unmoved, stepped forward, and patted Zabuza.

Zabuza, who was sitting on the ground, suddenly stiffened as if he had a spring in his body. Then he began to tremble violently.

His muscles twitched strangely, and his eyes bulged.

The intense pain made him lose control of his body.

"I keep my word, but I also said that you won't escape punishment!"

Su Zhong coldly watched Zabuza, whose face was contorted in agony, unable to make a sound.

With that pat, Su Zhong had tangled Zabuza's muscles, a technique that could dislocate bones.

"Zabuza, from today, your life belongs to me. You will endure this pain for three days. If you betray me in the future, I will use this method on White." Su Zhong said calmly, but his words were like the words of a demon, piercing Zabuza's ears.

Zabuza, on the verge of fainting from pain, struggled violently upon hearing this.

But with his muscles dislocated, he couldn't move.

"Master, Lord Zabuza's injuries!" White's face turned red with worry, trying to plead.

"He won't die." Su Zhong replied coldly.

"Carry him inside. I will relieve his pain in three days." Su Zhong walked into Zabuza's wooden building.

The environment here was indeed nice, and Su Zhong planned to stay and train here.

Three days later, Zabuza knelt before Su Zhong, his eyes full of anger and unwillingness, but deep down, there was an unshakeable fear.

He could endure the pain, but he didn't want White to suffer. Under Su Zhong's violent threat, he had no choice but to submit.

Su Zhong didn't care if Zabuza was truly loyal; he just needed him to be useful.

"I need to start training here. Go and gather information on sealing techniques. Handle other matters as you see fit. In the future, unless I call you, your people don't need to come here."

He had no plans to expand his influence or control Zabuza. He just wanted to focus on his own training.

With everything temporarily settled, he needed to think about his energy.

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(End of the chapter)