Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

Orochimaru twisted his body slightly, narrowly dodging the sudden strike of the Executioner's Blade. When he looked back, two figures stood on either side, blocking his escape.

"Orochimaru, I've finally found you."

Haku's masked expression gave the eerie impression of a smile. The name of the infamous Sannin, Orochimaru, echoed throughout the shinobi world. She had heard countless tales of his cruelty and ambition. But seeing him now—broken, crawling like a crippled snake—it was hard not to marvel at the irony.

Times really do change.

Above them, the moon hung cold and distant, casting a frosty light. Shadows of trees swayed gently across the clearing. There was nowhere left to run.

"The Executioner's Blade... The Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza. I never imagined you'd join the Akatsuki," Orochimaru said warily, keeping his eyes locked on Zabuza. "If you let me go now, I'll owe you three favors. Whatever you want."

Zabuza turned slightly and glanced at Haku. "You shouldn't be asking me. I'm just following orders."

Orochimaru's expression tightened. He hadn't expected Zabuza—who once defected from the Hidden Mist after a failed coup—to be obeying someone else's command.

He studied the masked figure again. Orochimaru was certain he had never seen this person before, but if they could command Zabuza, they weren't ordinary.

"You," Orochimaru said, directing his words at Haku, "If you let me live, I'll owe you five favors. I can share with you the results of my immortality research—decades of work."

Before he could finish, Haku had already released a barrage of senbon-like ice needles in his direction.

"Damn brat!" Orochimaru growled, twisting his serpentine body to avoid them.

Haku wasn't here to negotiate. Chakra pulsed around her as she formed a one-handed seal.

"Ice Release: Frozen Prison!"

In an instant, frost blanketed the ground within fifteen meters. Massive ice walls erupted around them, encasing Orochimaru in a sealed dome of glacial steel. There was no escape—even underground.

Orochimaru's heart sank. This was a custom jutsu based on her Demonic Ice Mirrors, far beyond what she had shown before. He'd underestimated her—again.

"Listen to me!" Orochimaru tried again, desperation rising in his voice. "The Akatsuki is a group of selfish opportunists. They're using you. You don't have to do this."

Still, no reply.

With cold determination, Haku charged forward. Ice swirled around her body as she slashed with a crystalline blade. Orochimaru drew the Kusanagi Sword from his throat to parry the blow, only to be struck from behind. A second ice blade cleaved off part of his tail.

Blood splattered across the frozen ground.

Zabuza watched silently, resting his massive sword on his back. "She's stronger than before."

He remembered his own battle with Haku—how he'd been caught in her mirror trap. But she hadn't used ice blades like these back then. Clearly, she had evolved her technique.

"Ugh—hah... hah..." Haku's breath misted in the air as she continued her relentless assault.

Three times she had sliced Orochimaru's snake-like body into pieces. And three times, he regenerated. She was growing frustrated.

"How many times can you shed your damn skin?"

It was grotesque—his slimy, mucus-covered body regenerating again and again. She had no intention of getting close. From a distance, she hurled one ice blade after another.

Fortunately, her chakra reserves—enhanced by the Devil's Curse—were vast. Even after the fourth kill attempt, she'd only spent a quarter of it.

"Disgusting freak!" Orochimaru cursed, glancing at Zabuza, who still hadn't moved. Gritting his teeth, he launched himself at Haku with the Kusanagi Sword, betting on her aversion to close contact.

He was half-right.

Another ice blade took his arm. Then, a powerful spear of ice formed in Haku's hands.

"Ice Release: Frost Lance!"

She hurled it with all her strength, piercing directly into Orochimaru's gaping mouth and down through his writhing body.

"You won't be shedding out of that."

Meanwhile, outside the ice dome, Kakuzu waited impatiently, sensing the immense chakra fluctuations inside.

"Hey, Kakuzu, still not done with Orochimaru?" Hidan called out, dragging a limp body behind him.

Kakuzu didn't respond.

Hidan flung the corpse of Kabuto Yakushi at his feet. "That guy was tough. Took forever to kill. Is he worth anything?"

Kakuzu opened a bounty ledger and flipped through. "He's not in the book. Worthless."

"What? A jōnin like him?" Hidan cried in disbelief.

Kakuzu nudged Kabuto's body aside with disdain. "Useless trash."

Annoyed, Hidan chopped the already-dead Kabuto into pieces.

The once-promising genius, manipulated by Orochimaru, had met a pointless end—all because Orochimaru had once dared to covet Naruto.

Finally, the ice prison cracked.

Two figures emerged—Haku, perfectly clean and composed, and Zabuza carrying an ice sculpture on his back.

Inside the sculpture: Orochimaru, still alive but frozen solid. Somehow, even impaled by an ice spear, he had attempted one last regeneration.

"He's tougher than cockroaches," Zabuza muttered, disgusted.

Kakuzu raised his hand. "You've done the job. Time to pay up."

Zabuza frowned, clearly annoyed. Neither Kakuzu nor Hidan had done anything useful—yet they demanded payment?

He was ready to argue—maybe even fight—but Haku raised a hand to stop him.

"I'm a person of my word," she said calmly. "You'll be paid in full. But not here. Follow us."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "You don't have the money on you?"

"Forty-five million ryō," Haku replied. "Do you know anyone who carries that kind of cash around?"

Hidan grinned. "Makes sense. You're just stuck in the past, old man."

"Shut up," Kakuzu growled. "Keep talking and I'll kill you."

He turned and started walking. Hidan followed, mocking him all the way.

No one questioned why Haku and Zabuza were carrying a frozen Orochimaru. That was their employer's business. Not theirs.

Behind them, Zabuza leaned in. "You're seriously going to give them all that money?"

"Yes," Haku answered without hesitation. "But ghost money is still money."

Suddenly—two ice blades whirled through the air, severing Hidan's head and the arm holding his scythe.

Naruto's words echoed in her mind:

Akatsuki is the enemy.

A mortal enemy.

They must be destroyed.

Hidan's severed head rolled on the ground. "Hey, what's going on? Did we get ambushed?"

"You idiot!" Kakuzu snarled. "Haku and Zabuza are the enemies!"

Zabuza dropped Orochimaru's ice prison and lunged at Kakuzu with his blade. At the same time, Haku formed two spears of ice and launched them at Kakuzu's chest and head.

"Bastards!"

Kakuzu's arms shot out, entering his Earth Grudge Fear state. Tendrils burst from his back, and two masked creatures emerged, firing wind and fire jutsu at Haku.

The combined jutsu melted her ice spear.

"Ice Shield: Glacier Fortress!"

Haku raised a thick barrier, but it melted quickly under the intense heat.

Zabuza swung again, but black threads blocked his blade.

"You think you can kill me?" Kakuzu sneered.

"Let's find out," Zabuza growled.

Kakuzu's rage exploded. The wind-mask fired again.

But then—

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

A terrifying sound howled behind him.

Kakuzu froze. The sheer volume of chakra was staggering.

He had no time to react. The Rasenshuriken struck his back, exploding into a five-meter vortex of wind chakra.

It looked like a blazing sun—sand, fire, and ash blasted in every direction.

Outside the blast radius, Zabuza gaped. "What kind of monster chakra is that? Who did that?!"

"Lord Naruto," Haku said, eyes sparkling. "He's here."

Zabuza shouted, "Let's run!"

"No," Haku replied breathlessly. "He's one of ours!"

In the center of the storm, Naruto Uzumaki grimaced, gritting his teeth as he activated the Tailed Beast Cloak to shield himself.

The Rasenshuriken was a double-edged sword—deadly to enemy and user alike. That's why he rarely used it. But Kakuzu's resilience left him no choice.

As the spinning chakra disintegrated Kakuzu's masks, his eighty-eight years of life vanished in an instant.

The wind subsided.

Kakuzu's lifeless body hit the ground.

Naruto landed hard, kneeling as the beast cloak faded. His right arm—shredded from the recoil—hung limp at his side.

Zabuza raised his blade behind Naruto. "Should I finish him?"

But Haku slapped his arm away.

"Zabuza, retreat!"

Zabuza blinked. What?

Then he saw something that shook him.

Haku—calm, elegant Haku—ran forward and knelt beside Naruto, gently helping him to his feet, her voice filled with respect and awe.