Zabuza gets a free smaple.
The cult took control of Wave without any issues after that, not many people opposed them, apparently most of the previous government were killed or ran away, the ones that cooperated with Gatō were given the choice of a quiet retirement or exile, quite peaceful really.
He wondered how mos-
"Hello!" A familiar voice spoke up from behind him. "It is time."
This time, Zabuza didn't draw is sword, although he did tense up slightly upon hearing that bird once again.
Haku stood up to attention, having learned to remain vigilant around the creature.
"Stop sneaking up on me," He growled lowly under his breath. "What do you mean it's time?"
"You will receive your payment." It explained calmly before jumping off the roof they were standing on and gliding down onto the street below them both. "Follow me."
Zabuza stared at it for a moment longer before shrugging dismissively and leaping over the edge after it, landing easily on his feet, with Haku following right behind him.
"Where are we going?" He asked curiously as they walked through an alleyway together.
"To a hidden shrine." The crow answered simply enough. "You will receive your reward, and then you will meet with your new handler, the one responsible for working with you on the teaching."
Zabuza nodded wordlessly as they continued walking along silently.
It wasn't long until they reached their destination—a rundown-looking building located somewhere deep within the city. If one didn't know what to look for, they would assume it was abandoned due to its state of disrepair.
"This way." The crow instructed before flying off into a hatch leading downwards into darkness below them.
Zabuza glanced over towards Haku briefly before entering after it. His student looked rather nervous about all this, but he couldn't blame him, he himself had contemplated turning around more than once already.
But if this thing wanted them dead, he would have been killed a while ago. So here they were now...
They entered an empty room, lit dimly by torchlight, it was mostly empty besides some chairs and a table sitting in the center.
"Sit down." The crow instructed again, landing atop said piece of furniture. "We will begin shortly."
Zabuza glanced around warily once more before slowly lowering himself onto one of those chairs. Haku did likewise next to him.
"First things first," It began speaking again after ensuring both men were seated comfortably enough. "You will be receiving a choice between three rewards, each tailored to your tastes, they are as follows..."
Suddenly, three objects appeared before Zabuza, floating in midair between himself and the bird creature sitting across from him. Two of them were small bottles filled with liquid—one red-colored while the other was blue-tinted—and the third was a small cube made out of blue glass-like material.
"The first is a potion that was created long ago, it is the first in a sequence of potions meant to turn you into a god, although this first one is merely a catalyst for the rest." The crow explained calmly while gesturing towards the blue bottle with its wing. "It will make you slightly stronger and improve your balance, the second effect will give you night vision, you will be able to clearly in darkness as well as light."
Zabuza didn't react outwardly at all at hearing these words, simply keeping his expression neutral throughout the entire explanation.
"The third effect is the ability to breathe underwater for 10 minutes and being able to move in water as if it were air, and finally, you will gain the ability to manifest phantom scales on your skin, these are tough enough to resist a Kunai or a regular blade." It finished explaining before looking back at Zabuza again expectantly.
"Any questions?" It asked politely after allowing him some time to absorb everything.
Zabuza thought about it for a few seconds, the variety of effects was making him suspicious, they were all things related to each other, water, and fish. He thought he knew what kind of god this sequence of potions would create... but that wasn't really relevant at the moment.
"Yes, what do you mean by turning me into a god?" He questioned curiously, wondering how far he could pry into what these things were.
"Just as I said, if you drink all the potions in the sequence, you will become a god." The crow answered cryptically. "Unfortunately, the higher potions are lost, and as such not available, no matter how much you do for The Watcher."
"I see..." Zabuza muttered quietly under his breath before falling silent once more.
"The second one," It began again, after waiting patiently. "Is a blessing of sorts, it is a minor one, but still quite helpful, you will be able to generate water from nothing at your will and control it to a degree. Being submerged in water will also heal you."
This one was much simpler, very straightforward, but Zabuza knew it was more versatile than the first potion, water was both a weapon and a tool, he could use his Jutsu more freely if he had this. But... the regeneration aspect was extremely useful on its own.
"And the last reward is this," It said before pointing towards the third object floating between them—the bottle filled with red liquid inside it. "It is not for you, instead, it is for your blade."
Zabuza looked at the vial curiously again, trying to discern anything about its contents by sight alone. After a moment of staring intently, however, he gave up and turned back to face the crow. "Blood?"
"Exactly, Kubikiribōchō ability to absorb blood means this is possible, this blood belongs to my patron's Divine Guardians, now extinct after his Great Slumber." The crow began explaining once more calmly. "It contains the aspect that made them most feared, their ability to be a paradox, they were creatures that existed in two states at once."
Zabuza had no idea what the hell any of that meant.
"As such, when absorbed by your weapon, it will become one as well," It continued unabashedly despite Zabuza's confused expression. "It can exist in two different places at once."
"What does that mean?" He finally asked after realizing that he wouldn't get it without some help.
"For example, you can throw your blade, and it will not leave your hand, this effect is limited, of course." It explained patiently before continuing further. "But its main use would be for feints and surprise attacks, the effect only lasts 10 seconds before you must choose where the blade truly exists."
That was... really powerful actually. He could slash with both hands and pick the one that wasn't blocked, or as the crow said, throw the sword into a group and then keep it to attack an enemy from behind. So many possibilities.
"Do you require more time to think?" It asked politely enough after seeing him sit silently for a while now.
Zabuza didn't answer, still weighing the pros and cons of each reward. On one hand, he wanted that potion, being immune to kunai and weak sword strikes was already amazing, the rest of the potion was less useful, but every aspect was still something he wanted.
The blessing, on the other hand, was wonderful, water everywhere, healing him at all times? And his Jutsu became that much easier to use, his biggest ones always required water around him to use. This alone would make him stronger than ever before.
Finally, there was the vial of blood, its effects were less flashy than the rest, but probably the most unique, he knew Jutsu existed that did what the first potion did, he knew that a Water Ninjutsu prodigy could draw water from the very air itself even in a desert...
But having your weapon exist in two places at once? That was truly unique. While it didn't provide a direct boost to his power as much as the other rewards, it would make him a nightmare to fight.
The crow interrupted his thoughts again by speaking up suddenly. "If you continue to serve my patron, then you can get all three of these rewards in time."
Well, that just made it easier, Zabuza was fully willing to do extra work for stuff like this, money could be earned, but these things? They were priceless.
Zabuza chuckled slightly under his breath at how absurd everything has gotten ever since meeting this fucking bird. "Sure, why not?"
"Your choice?" It asked expectantly again after letting him take another minute or so to think things through.
"The potion," Zabuza said firmly, if he could eventually get all of these, then the one that allowed him to stay alive longer would be the first pick. Then the blood for his sword, and finally the blessing.
"A wise choice." It complimented before the other two items vanished into thin air while the bottle floated towards him slowly until he could grab it.
He wasted no time opening the cork and chugging down its contents as fast as possible. He felt his throat burn slightly with every gulp of liquid that passed through his lips. After finishing off every last drop, he placed the now empty container onto the table in front of him once more.
Zabuza tensed slightly as he felt something shift within himself, a sort of... tingle throughout his entire body, from head to toe, making him shiver involuntarily for just a brief moment before returning back to normal again. His vision suddenly shifted colors slightly, everything looked brighter than usual.
He looked down at his hands, noticing scales materializing across them almost instantly after willing it so, they were a dark shade of blue with light gray edges around each individual scale.
Curious, he drew a Kunai from one of his pouches attached to his leg and slashed down against his palm. It slid off like it was nothing, he even tried stabbing his hand, but it didn't sink in at all.
"Well..." He said out loud while grinning widely underneath his bandages. "This is quite useful."
"Indeed." The crow agreed."To be careful, It doesn't use Chakra, but it requires stamina to manifest, the more you cover your body with it, the more energy it uses up." It informed him calmly. "Try moving around, you should notice an improvement in your balance."
Zabuza nodded silently as he stood up and began walking around slowly at first before picking up speed gradually.
His steps felt smoother, and his body seemed more stable than ever before. This would be quite handy on uneven terrain or anywhere where footing may become an issue.
Zabuza smirked evilly underneath his mask once again. If only he had received these things before his attempted coup on the Mizukage... Well, no use crying over spilled blood.
"I have one last question," He spoke up after sitting back down again. "When does this whole 'teaching' thing start?"
"You will start tomorrow," The crow answered simply enough. "Your handler will arrive soon, and I shall introduce you both."
"That's fine by me." Zabuza replied nonchalantly, this whole thing was turning out to be pretty good so far.
***
Hikari entered the room quietly, she had been told to come here by The Messenger, although she wasn't sure why exactly yet. It seemed important though...
"Hello Hikari." The Messenger greeted her politely as usual before gesturing towards two people sitting down at a table nearby. She recognized the Headband on the bigger one, a Mist missing-nin?
"Hello, sir." She replied politely back before bowing slightly in respect to the bird.
"These are Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki," It introduced both men respectively, who nodded their heads briefly when their names were mentioned. "Zabuza is currently cooperating with us, he will be teaching the followers I asked you to gather, Haku is his apprentice."
The Messenger continued speaking. "Hikari, you will work together with Zabuza, answer any questions he has, and get him the materials necessary for teaching."
She looked over at Zabuza curiously upon hearing those words coming from Its mouth. Was this what The Messaged had meant when it said Zabuza would not be a problem?
"Yes, Hikari." It replied as if reading her thoughts. Which honestly was something she wouldn't put past it.
"What exactly am I supposed to teach?" Zabuza asked suddenly, without preamble or hesitation whatsoever.
"Everything you know, Chakra control, Jutsu, tactics, anything and everything you deem necessary." The Messenger answered calmly again before continuing. "Your students are meant to be the protectors of the Church."
Both of them nodded their heads in understanding, this wasn't too much different than what they expected so far.
"I will leave you two alone now, there is no need for me to remain here any longer." It stated simply again before taking off through the open window above them all. Leaving Hikari alone with them both.
"Well... I suppose you wish to know more about your students?" She asked after a moment or two of awkward silence passed between them all.
"Sure." Zabuza shrugged dismissively while leaning backward slightly against his chair. "How many are there?"
"Twenty-four at the moment..." Hikari and Zabuza spent the next few hours discussing her current students and the church in general, The Watcher wanted its followers to be ready for anything that may come their way in the future...
Even if that meant learning how to fight from someone like Zabuza Momochi.