He has even mastered Haki, and you say this is Naruto?

"Overthrow national governments and secretly control those countries."

"If you join our organization, apart from handling specific missions, you're free to do whatever you want," Itachi added.

"Basically, there's no downside to joining our organization," Kisame chimed in.

"What if I want to leave?"

"The organization will hunt you down."

"Why?"

"That rule didn't exist before. But after Orochimaru defected, he took all the organization's money from Kakuzu and misused the research we tasked him with to develop his own jutsu.

So now the organization has this new rule," Kisame said with a blank face, even causing Itachi beside him to show a hint of embarrassment.

Most of the Akatsuki's funds were managed by Kakuzu, and Orochimaru had been in the same squad as him. He was also in charge of some of the organization's jutsu research.

The result? Orochimaru spent all that money on himself.

And it wasn't just a one-time thing—this went on for years.

Honestly, Orochimaru's brain was centuries ahead of his time. Every experiment began as a proposal to swindle money.

What kind of people were the Akatsuki? All combat-types. What did they know about research? Absolutely nothing.

Especially Konan, one of the leaders—she didn't even know how many exploding tags she made or how they functioned, and they expected her to audit accounts? Impossible.

And Orochimaru didn't just scam Akatsuki. Though he had left Konoha, he still had ties to Danzo.

Danzo tricked the Third Hokage for money, Orochimaru tricked Danzo for his. Years after the Uchiha clan's extermination, Danzo's transplant operations still weren't complete because Orochimaru kept stalling him.

That's how a true researcher does things—with guts.

But Orochimaru overlooked one thing: Itachi.

After falling for one of Itachi's genjutsu, Orochimaru realized Akatsuki was no longer safe and decided to go big—scamming the entire organization down to its underwear.

"Hah? And you want me to join that kind of organization? No thanks.

I'd rather stick to being a pirate," Zabuza rejected outright. He wasn't about to join such a disgraceful group.

"But if you ever make a move on Kirigakure, I can help you out. Just come find me."

With that, Zabuza walked away.

Itachi and Kisame didn't stop him. Once he was gone, Kisame looked to Itachi.

"That man in the forest is strong. Even if we both went at him together, we wouldn't be able to win," Itachi said.

Kisame nodded.

The two departed as well.

Kisame's sudden appearance left Zabuza uneasy. Though once part of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, since leaving the Mist Village, he realized the world wasn't quite what he'd imagined.

"Oh, you're back?"

Shanks waved at Zabuza as he returned.

But seeing the unsheathed katana at Shanks' side, Zabuza frowned slightly.

A Uchiha dared to cross swords with Shanks? Then again, it made sense—Uchihas were notoriously prideful.

"Looks like you were probed too," Zabuza said, plopping down. If nothing had happened on his end, there was no way something happened on Shanks' side.

"Hmm, a strange ability user. Probably someone with a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit," Shanks explained.

Shanks didn't confront Itachi directly. When Itachi's crows spied on him, he struck first.

Although the crow was destroyed without a trace, Shanks' experience told him this was likely a powerful Fruit user—likely Mythical Zoan.

"Mythical Zoan, huh?"

Zabuza didn't know much about Devil Fruits, but just from the name, it sounded illusion-related. And the Uchiha clan was known for genjutsu. Yup, made sense.

"Yup," Zabuza nodded firmly—Uchiha were Mythical Zoan users now.

"What did you encounter?" Shanks asked curiously.

He assumed it was the Marines, but Zabuza's demeanor said otherwise.

"An old comrade tried to recruit me into his organization. But I'm not interested. I prefer the freedom of being a pirate."

"What organization?"

"I don't know exactly, but they claim to have secretly overthrown several nations and aim to create a better, more peaceful world.

I don't buy it though."

Zabuza shook his head with a wry smile. He'd been brainwashed by the Mist Village once already—he wouldn't fall for that again.

Kisame and Itachi hadn't lied though. Akatsuki's ideology was, indeed, to build a more peaceful era.

In the past, when Yahiko was alive, Akatsuki had been relatively mild. Though "mild" is relative—back then, Akatsuki was more like a revolutionary army.

Now, though, Akatsuki's methods had changed.

"Fine. Our revolution was too gentle before. This time, we'll become a terrorist group. As long as we pose a big enough threat, the world will have no choice but to unite—

Either unite against us… or perish."

That's what Akatsuki was now.

"They've already overthrown some countries?"

"Yeah. That guy and I weren't exactly close, but he never lies. The intel's probably true," Zabuza nodded.

"Shanks, do you know anything about them?"

"If there's any group in this world capable of that, it would be the Revolutionary Army," Shanks replied without hesitation.

In his estimation, the Revolutionary Army had just formed and was likely still recruiting.

But Dragon was fast—he'd already found a foothold.

"Their doctrine is to create a more peaceful world. Most of them were once deceived by fake justice, and that's why they formed the Revolutionary Army.

I don't know much more beyond that," Shanks added.

Zabuza sighed internally.

As expected, Shanks knew more about the shinobi world's secrets than he did. Clearly, there was still much he needed to explore.

Being a pirate in the ninja world might be a pretty fun journey after all.

"Shanks, I've decided. I'm setting sail," Zabuza finally said after a moment of hesitation.

He'd been thinking about it for a long time. Kisame's visit cemented his resolve.

Shanks seemed unsurprised. He had already seen that Zabuza's strength had plateaued.

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Got a plan?"

"Yeah, first, find a shipwright. I doubt our current ship can make it out to sea."

Zabuza pointed to the boat by the lake—a makeshift one he and Shanks built over a month.

It looked like a boat, but the hull leaked completely—not seaworthy at all.

The next morning, a wooden raft set off from the coast.

Its sail bore a skull, propped up by four intersecting sword hilts—the Blade-Free Pirates were officially born.

"Shanks, when you set sail, you'll hear my name all over the seas! Hahaha!"

Zabuza's hearty laughter echoed over the waves.

The past two months had brought new life to this "dead man."

A pirate—the freest existence on the sea.

So this… this was the taste of freedom.

Facing the sea breeze, Zabuza embraced it all.

Ninja? Hidden villages?

From now on, he would be a pirate who ruled the ninja world's seas.

"Oh, hope you can handle my Conqueror's Haki someday… Zabuza," Shanks murmured from the shore.

Zabuza, now far out, waved without turning back.

As the tide washed over the coast, his footprints disappeared. Shanks turned toward the lakeside cabin.

"It's nice… being a free pirate.

But I can't. I carry too much. To be the freest man on the seas, I need far more power."

A burst of red-black Conqueror's Haki erupted from Shanks, shaking even the sky.

The only man in the shinobi world to have cut through the power of a Sage, both crushed by and capable of crushing the world's might.

"Give it two more years. No rush."

Land of Waves.

Though called a "country," it was really just a small island with one town and a few villages.

That's why it wasn't considered a real nation—and also why Zabuza could set foot there.

"No matter the organization, funds are essential. Even pirates need income,"

"And as pirates, a good ship is a must. From intel, the Land of Waves has top-tier shipbuilding technology. That's why we're going there,"

Zabuza explained to Haku while drifting on a piece of floating ice.

Not long after setting out to sea, Zabuza's original ship sank.

Through coincidence, he met Haku, who became the vice-captain of the Blade-Free Pirates—though their crew currently had just the two of them.

"Got it, Captain. So we're taking control of the Land of Waves and building a new ship?"

Haku nodded. It was his first time being a pirate—lots to learn from the Captain.