NCCnovel Chapter 372 The Unknown Other Side
Chapter 372 The Unknown Other Side
Kakuzo's mind raced as he tried to decipher the deeper meaning behind Kisame's abrupt question.
To kill one's own comrade? That seems to be... right! One of Kisame Hoshigaki's most well-known "deeds" during his time in the Hidden Mist Anbu was that he did not hesitate to kill a comrade who might be captured in order to ensure that mission secrets were not leaked.
Could it be... that Kisame is trying to find a sense of belonging here from another "kindred spirit" who has also harmed his companions?
Although I was purely driven by a perverted fetish, while Kisame was driven more by his mission... perhaps the motive is not important, but the essence of the behavior is what resonates?
Kakuzo felt that in this situation, telling the truth might be more likely to elicit "understanding" from the other party, or at least some kind of resonance.
He tried to make his voice sound calm, even cold, "...Does killing a comrade require any special reason?"
Kisame's voice was devoid of emotion, "...Why do you say that?"
Kakuzo spoke faster, trying to connect his own logic with the other's "rationalized" past. "Survival of the fittest, nothing more. Even the concept of 'comrades' doesn't contradict the act of killing them. What I did... is probably far less significant than what you did during your time in the Anbu, isn't it? Eliminating those worthless, even hindrance 'comrades,' isn't that the very principle you've always upheld? We just have different methods, but the essence..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
The playful expression on Kisame's face vanished completely, replaced by an indifferent calm. "Yes, I understand," he interrupted Kakuzo.
"Then, we can begin."
Kakuzo was taken aback. "What? Start what...?"
Sameha raised his hand and began forming hand seals. A massive amount of chakra surged violently around him. "A world without falsehoods... doesn't need guys like you."
"W-what?! Wait a minute!" Kakuzo's expression changed drastically. "I clearly told the truth! I, I can bring benefits! I'm useful! Senior, you need me too..."
"Water Release: Exploding Water Wave!"
Before Kakuzo could even fully pull out the special chakra threads hidden in his sleeve, his vision was swallowed up by an overwhelming expanse of blue.
------
Kisame trudged through the muddy ground, his gaze sweeping across the ravaged battlefield. Soon, amidst a pile of broken tree trunks and silt, he spotted his target's lifeless, mangled corpse.
"Found it. Looks like Kakuzu won't have to throw a tantrum this time."
Although the main purpose of this operation was "cleaning up" rather than offering a bounty, the organization's treasurer, Kakuzu, who was obsessed with money, was known for his temperament.
Any target with a bounty who fails to bring back the corpse or the reward certificate is enough to provoke his temper. Although Kisame is not afraid of him, he is too lazy to cause unnecessary trouble over such trivial matters.
Kisame casually tossed Kakuzo's corpse onto Samehada's broad blade and turned to head back towards the rogue ninja's stronghold.
When he returned to the now desolate mountain stronghold, the cleanup work inside was nearing completion.
Most of the rogue ninjas became cold corpses, lying haphazardly in pools of blood and battle scars. A few who were seriously wounded or subdued, still clinging to life, were imprisoned by the ANBU ninjas, prepared to be taken back as prisoners, perhaps still of some value for interrogation or exploitation.
A Uchiha ANBU ninja wearing a fox mask stepped forward quickly to report the situation.
"Captain, the stronghold has been completely cleared, and the main targets have been confirmed and eliminated. In addition..." He lowered his voice, "we have discovered the whereabouts of the villagers who were kidnapped..."
Kisame nodded slightly, indicating that the other party should lead the way.
Following the shadowy members through the cluttered main hall, they ventured into a dark and narrow side passage. A complex stench of blood and…something sweet and rotten began to fill the air.
At the end of the passage was a roughly carved stone chamber, with traces of a simple barrier at the entrance to reinforce and insulate against sound.
The moment Kisame stepped into the stone chamber, even he, who was used to seeing bloodshed, couldn't help but freeze slightly.
This is a simple yet "professional" torture chamber. Various instruments of torture, stained with dark brown dirt, are hanging on the walls and scattered on the floor.
The real shock came from a corner of the stone chamber. There were no signs of careful handling, only the most savage "piling". Corpses in varying degrees of decay - some with flesh still intact but already blackened and bloated, others already reduced to bare bones - were piled up haphazardly without any distinction, forming a nauseating mound.
Kisame watched this scene in silence. He recalled the question he had asked Kakuzo, a question that might have truly been somewhat superfluous.
"...This is outside the scope of our mission."
Kisame's voice echoed in the silent stone chamber, "But, if Lord Menma were to see these... he would probably be heartbroken."
He turned to the ANBU ninja beside him. "So, I'll have to trouble you. Give them a proper burial. Find a clean place away from here. Remember, don't bury them with the scum outside."
"Yes, Captain." The ANBU ninja accepted the order without hesitation, then beckoned to several companions and began to move the remains that had already lost their lives.
Kisame didn't look any further. He turned and walked out of the suffocating stone chamber, returning to the relatively "refreshing" ground. He sighed softly, somewhat surprised even to himself.
He did not abhor killing and fighting; in fact, it could be said to be part of his "way of life."
However, witnessing the cruel scene just now, which was purely for the purpose of satisfying desires, meaningless, and even tinged with "enjoyment," a feeling of nausea and discomfort spread through his heart.
He abhorred senseless killing. But if wielding the butcher's knife was to sever the chains of falsehood, to build a real, beautiful world free of falsehood.
Even if that world needed to be built with blood, Kisame was willing to always play the role of the butcher. But such maggot-like evil deeds only made him feel... disgusted.
This is one of the "daily missions" undertaken by the [Ember] organization. Due to Menma's overwhelming deterrent power, its core concept of "using absolute force to deter major powers, forcing all parties to maintain a balance of terror, thereby preventing the outbreak of large-scale war" has been implemented in practice... with an effect that is a little too "good".
Aside from the recent "Konoha Collapse" incident stirred up by Orochimaru, the major powers have strangely maintained a tense but non-confrontational "peace" with very few intense diplomatic frictions.
Seeing that a group of top experts in the organization were "doing nothing," Menma issued a new order to "clean up" the real scum in the world.
However, Menma's orders were very clear and came with strict guidelines, prohibiting the wrongful accusation of innocent people. Therefore, before taking action, thorough investigations were necessary to carefully distinguish the target—whether they were ordinary people forced to go astray by the pressures of survival, or simply villains who, after gaining power, felt superior and acted recklessly.
If it's the former, and it's just actions like robbing food to survive, the solution is to arrest them and send them to... well, according to Menma, to undergo "voluntary labor reform"? For example, reclaiming wasteland, participating in infrastructure or material production, making up for mistakes through labor, and creating value.
Only those whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents—a fact that must be rigorously verified—or those who are inherently evil and take pleasure in sadism, like Kakuzo, would require Kisame, Zabuza, or Deidara to personally go and physically eliminate them.
An organization rumored to be the embodiment of evil in the dark side of the ninja world, yet its code of conduct carries this... "womanly compassion"?
Zabuza and Deidara were both quite surprised to hear about such meticulous arrangements for the first time, but they carried them out anyway.
Kisame, however, believed he knew the truth—he knew that the other identity behind the "Menma-sama" mask was the Fourth Hokage, who had nearly sacrificed himself to protect Konoha. Some bottom lines, perhaps, are etched into one's very soul.
After the Uchiha Anbu completed the final cleanup work and properly buried the remains of the innocent on a distant hillside, the cleanup process began.
Kisame led a group of members, carrying Kakuzo and other bounty tokens that might need to be exchanged, to the nearest secret contact point or underground exchange.
Next, following the established procedure, they need to distribute the bounty they have received, or, if the target's body is too badly mutilated to be identified, the organization will directly allocate funds and send them in the name of the organization to the villages that were once ravaged by these rogue ninjas.
This step always makes the organization's financial officer feel a sudden, heart-stopping discomfort.
"The scourge has already been eliminated! Why give the deserved bounty... even the organization's money, to the weak?"
He couldn't understand the logic of this "extra expense." Wasn't cleaning up the pests the greatest act of kindness? But Kakuzu only sighed a few times while mentally calculating the losses and never truly disobeyed the order.
For someone like Kisame who isn't attached to money itself, this process doesn't matter.
Anyway, ever since the organization "dealt with" that merchant named Kado and "took over" most of his assets, [Jin]'s resources have reached a level of wealth comparable to that of a country.
The organization's wealth is sufficient to sustain itself for centuries, merely to cover its operations and members' expenses. Moreover, the organization owns numerous legitimate businesses that continue to generate profits. In Kisame's view, Kakuzu's concerns are more like a conditioned reflex of being overly stingy and feeling the pinch at any expense.