Chapter 86 (Patreon)

“Pfft!”

The elder’s body stiffened.

The light faded from his eyes, and a moment later, he collapsed into the spreading pool of blood beneath him.

“I… I killed one…”

The elder who had struck first stared at the corpse in front of him, then suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha… hahaha! I killed one! I survived!”

His crazed laughter echoed through the room.

That single act shattered the last thread holding the others back.

Now that someone had moved first, the remaining elders no longer hesitated. Pride, position, loyalty—none of it mattered anymore. Faced with death, they cast everything aside.

They were elders of Kirigakure, but most of them were only around jonin level. Some had been given their seats because of age, influence, and seniority rather than strength. A few were not even strong enough to be called proper jonin.

And under Yujiro’s pressure, those elders finally exposed what they truly were.

Men who would kill their own comrades if it meant living one more day.

“Hahahahaha!”

Inside Yujiro’s golden inner world, Kurama opened his jaws wide and laughed until his fangs showed.

“Yujiro, you really are ruthless! To think you’d make them tear each other apart like this!”

Ever since Yujiro had established this golden spiritual space, Kurama had been able to enter it directly. Of course, entering still required Yujiro’s permission. Leaving did not.

The space itself was strange. It did not feel like it existed inside Yujiro’s body, and saying it was inside his mind was not quite right either. It was simply there—a golden world separate from everything else.

But that was useful in its own way.

Allowing Kurama to enter meant Yujiro had another hidden card to play. More importantly, this space belonged completely to him. If he wanted to cut off Kurama’s view of the outside world, he could. If he wanted to let him watch, he could do that as well.

At this point, Kurama had become something like a weapon Yujiro could keep at his side.

“This is just human nature,” Yujiro said as his consciousness appeared in the golden space.

Kurama lowered his massive head and grinned at him.

“Heh. Then go on, do as you please. If anything goes wrong, I’ll back you up.”

The Nine-Tails waved his claws casually, looking every bit like a fox enjoying the chaos.

Outside, only around ten seconds had passed.

But in that short time, five elders had already made their move.

There had been twelve elders in total. Five had been killed. Only seven remained.

“Yujiro! We did it!”

“Right! We each killed one! That means we can live, doesn’t it?!”

The five elders who had dirtied their hands immediately turned to Yujiro, speaking one after another in hurried voices.

Yujiro did not answer.

He only smiled and gave a slight nod.

That was enough.

The five elders finally let out the breath they had been holding.

Then their eyes shifted.

Only two elders had not moved.

The five of them looked toward those two with cold, dangerous gazes.

“Yagura-sama, please do not misunderstand.”

Two of the elders quickly stepped toward Yagura and lowered their heads.

“The men we killed were not innocent. They abused their authority and committed many acts that harmed Kirigakure.”

“One of them even sold information about the Hidden Mist to outsiders.”

“Normally, they stood above us. We had no chance to expose them or deal with them.”

“So this time, Yagura-sama, we removed them for the sake of the village.”

Yagura’s body trembled.

His fingers tightened until his knuckles turned pale. He stared at the five elders before him, rage burning in his eyes, yet for a moment, he could not speak.

“All right,” Yujiro said lightly. “Once my last condition is fulfilled, I’ll leave.”

Yagura slowly turned his gaze toward him.

“What condition?”

Yujiro tilted his neck slightly, then raised his hand and pointed at the five elders.

“Kill them.”

The room fell silent.

Yujiro’s voice remained calm.

“Kill those five, and I’ll leave Kirigakure.”

The five elders froze.

Then their faces twisted in shock and anger.

“Yujiro! You went back on your word!”

One of them shouted, his voice shaking.

“You said that if we killed one person, we would survive!”

Yujiro looked at him with a faint smile.

“Did I?”

The elder’s expression stiffened.

“I only said I wouldn’t pursue the matter any further,” Yujiro continued. “I never said I would let you live.”

“You—!”

The elder was so furious that blood sprayed from his mouth.

“Yagura-sama!” another elder shouted. “Please give the order! We should fight him together! He never intended to treat us as people from the beginning!”

The five elders rushed toward Yagura, trying to turn the situation around with desperate words.

But Yagura’s patience had already reached its limit.

“You bastards!”

His voice cracked through the room like thunder.

The five elders flinched.

Yagura glared at them, fury written across his face.

“You killed your own comrades right in front of me!”

“Yagura-sama!” one of the elders cried out. “You saw what happened! If we hadn’t acted, everyone here would have died!”

At that moment, Terumi Mei moved on Yujiro’s shoulder again.

Yujiro glanced at her, then set her down and pulled the cloth from her mouth.

The moment she could speak, Terumi Mei glared fiercely at the elders.

“You’re lying!”

The five elders turned toward her.

Terumi Mei clenched her fists, her voice trembling with anger.

“When did Yujiro ever say he would kill all of you if no one acted? He told me himself. If five minutes passed and no one made a move, he was going to leave!”

The elders’ faces changed instantly.

Yujiro looked down at Terumi Mei, slightly surprised.

So she actually said it.

For a hostage, she had chosen a rather strange side to speak for.

“T-That…”

“Yagura-sama, we didn’t know!”

The five elders panicked completely. Their earlier confidence vanished, and they looked at Yagura with pleading eyes.

Yagura’s expression slowly became calm.

“Do not worry,” he said. “I will handle this.”

The elders seemed to relax.

“That’s good. Then—”

Before they could finish speaking, Yagura moved.

His attack was swift and merciless.

In the next instant, all five elders fell.

Blood spread across the floor.

Yujiro watched quietly from beginning to end. Then he gave a small smile.

“Not bad.”

Yagura’s gaze shifted toward him.

“At least now,” Yujiro said, “you look a little like a Mizukage.”

With that, he lifted Terumi Mei onto his shoulder again and turned to leave.

“Yujiro! Let me go!”

Terumi Mei struggled immediately.

“I don’t want to go with you! You killed so many people from Kirigakure! You—”

Yujiro turned his head and looked at her.

That one glance made Terumi Mei’s voice stop in her throat.

“You said I killed many people.”

His tone was calm, but it carried enough pressure to make her body go stiff.

“Then tell me. Did I kill anyone who could not defend themselves? Did I kill civilians?”

Terumi Mei could not answer.

Yujiro looked away and walked out with Shisui, Kakashi, and Itachi following behind him.

Yagura stood silently, watching them leave.

Yujiro’s last words remained in the room long after he was gone.

After a while, Yagura lowered his head and gave a bitter laugh.

“He is right…”

The two elders who had not taken action looked at him.

“If I had been in his position,” Yagura said quietly, “I might have done even more.”

One of the elders hesitated before asking, “Then… what should Kirigakure do now?”

Yagura’s eyes hardened.

“Investigate everything about those elders. Their families, their connections, their private dealings—everything.”

The room fell silent again.

Then Yagura continued, “After that, we will proceed according to Yujiro’s demands.”

The two elders understood what he meant.

If Kirigakure did not obey, Terumi Mei would be in danger.

“That is all we can do,” one of them said with a heavy sigh.

The other elder also lowered his head.

Yujiro and the others left Kirigakure without hurry.

For a while, Terumi Mei stayed silent while being carried over Yujiro’s shoulder.

But less than two hours after they had left the village, she finally could not endure it anymore.

It was not because she was afraid.

It was because this position was far too humiliating.

Being carried over a boy’s shoulder like baggage—what kind of disgrace was that?

And that boy was Yujiro.

“Yujiro,” she said through gritted teeth, “put me down. I can walk by myself.”

Yujiro nodded.

Then he simply let go.

Terumi Mei dropped straight to the ground.

“Ow!”

She hit the ground and immediately cried out in pain.

“Stop making noise.”

Yujiro stood in front of her and looked down.

“There is a Yuki clan in the Land of Water. Take me there.”

“The Yuki clan?”

Terumi Mei raised her head.

She was furious, but she did not dare talk back. She could only frown and think for a moment.

After a while, she nodded.

“I think there is a clan by that name.”

“Lead the way.”

“…”

Terumi Mei hated his commanding tone, but refusing was not an option.

She slowly stood up, then muttered, “My chakra is still sealed. If I walk at the speed of an ordinary person, it will take about two weeks to reach the Yuki clan.”

She did not say it directly, but the meaning was obvious.

Undo the seal.

Yujiro understood.

He placed his palm against Terumi Mei’s forehead.

Terumi Mei froze.

The warmth of his hand touched her skin, and for some reason, a strange feeling passed through her chest.

“Chakra Seal: Release.”

With a calm voice, Yujiro released the sealing technique inside her body.

“Your chakra is unsealed,” he said. “But do not try anything unnecessary.”

Terumi Mei turned her face away and gave a small nod.

Still, she could not completely suppress her curiosity.

“The Yuki clan should only be an ordinary clan in the Land of Water,” she said. “Why are you looking for them?”

Yujiro glanced at her.

“Do not ask questions you do not need answered.”

Terumi Mei’s eyebrow twitched.

“Just lead the way.”

“…Fine.”

She muttered under her breath and walked ahead.

Yujiro followed behind her with Shisui, Kakashi, and Itachi.

At the same time, in a dense forest around ten kilometers away, the sound of clashing metal rang out again and again.

“Hurry! Kill her!”

“She has information Kirigakure needs!”

“What were you doing?! How did your identity get exposed? She has a kekkei genkai!”

“Enough! Everyone, attack together! Just kill her!”

Deep within the forest, a lone figure ran through the trees in panic.

Branches scraped past her body. Her breathing was ragged, and her face had gone pale.

She had never imagined this mission would turn into one she might never return from.