Chapter 88 (Patreon)

The acrid scent of scorched earth still hung heavily in the air.

The sole surviving Kirigakure ANBU operative stared at the bodies scattered around him, his expression grim. He already understood that escape was impossible.

His hand immediately moved toward his mouth.

“Shisui.”

Yujiro narrowed his eyes.

“Yes!”

Shisui vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, appearing directly in front of the Kirigakure shinobi before he could take his own life.

The three tomoe in Shisui’s Sharingan began to rotate.

“Genjutsu.”

The ANBU operative’s body instantly went rigid. The determination in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a vacant, unfocused stare.

Yujiro stepped closer.

“What was your mission?”

The Kirigakure shinobi answered in a flat, mechanical voice.

“We were ordered to cooperate with the shinobi hiding near Pakura. Once the opportunity presented itself, we were to kill her and retrieve the intelligence scroll in her possession.”

“Who gave the order?”

“The Third Elder of Kirigakure’s council.”

Yujiro’s gaze remained fixed on him.

“What were they planning to do with that information?”

“It concerns a secret agreement between Kirigakure and Sunagakure. Sunagakure intended to use Kirigakure to eliminate everyone connected to the information, while the Kirigakure elder planned to use it to gain leverage and uncover confidential information about Sunagakure.”

Yujiro gave a quiet nod.

In the end, this was nothing more than another struggle between two major shinobi villages.

Pakura and the others caught in the middle had merely been expendable pieces—minor sacrifices in a conspiracy between those in power.

The moment Pakura saw the Kirigakure shinobi waiting for her, she must have realized the truth.

Sunagakure had abandoned her.

Yujiro glanced toward Pakura, a faint sneer forming in his heart.

He was not mocking her.

He was mocking the current Kazekage.

Yujiro could not understand what could have possessed the man to willingly sacrifice a shinobi who possessed such a valuable kekkei genkai.

Still, Pakura might prove useful to him.

Yujiro lifted his hand and ended the ANBU operative’s life without hesitation. He then walked over to Pakura.

“Come with me.”

Pakura frowned.

“Why should I?”

“Pakura, you should understand something.”

Yujiro gave her a faint smile.

“I’m not asking you. I’m ordering you.”

Her expression hardened.

“There has been no shortage of conflict between Konoha and Sunagakure. You are still a Sand shinobi, after all.”

Pakura froze.

Only then did the absurdity of her situation truly sink in.

Yujiro was a shinobi of Konoha.

He should have been her enemy.

Yet Sunagakure—the village she had fought for and risked her life to protect—had sent her into a trap, while an enemy shinobi had been the one to save her.

The irony left a bitter taste in her mouth.

After a moment of silence, Pakura reached inside her clothing and removed the intelligence scroll entrusted to her by Sunagakure.

She held it out to Yujiro.

Yujiro accepted the scroll, barely glancing at it before tossing it to Shisui.

“Keep it safe. It may be useful later.”

Shisui caught it with one hand.

“Understood.”

Pakura had recovered enough chakra to stand. She rose slowly and walked over to Yujiro, though her movements remained somewhat unsteady.

“Yujiro-sama, Terumi Mei is a Kirigakure shinobi. Why is she travelling with you?”

Yujiro glanced at Mei.

“She’s my hostage.”

He spoke as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Terumi Mei lowered her head, her face twisting with frustration.

Pakura stared at her in shock.

Naturally, she knew who Terumi Mei was.

A shinobi possessing two kekkei genkai—Lava Release and Boil Release—was far too valuable for any village to overlook.

Yet Yujiro had captured her and was now casually using her as a hostage.

More importantly, there did not seem to be anyone from Kirigakure pursuing him.

Yujiro noticed the confusion in Pakura’s eyes.

“I only killed two members of Kirigakure’s elder council,” he explained casually. “The shinobi we just dealt with served those same elders. Their masters died half a day ago.”

Pakura fell silent.

She slowly turned toward Terumi Mei.

Mei said nothing and continued staring at the ground.

That reaction alone confirmed everything Yujiro had said.

Pakura no longer had anywhere to return to.

After what Sunagakure had done, she had finally seen the village’s leadership for what it truly was.

Were the lives of loyal shinobi really so insignificant to the people who ruled the villages?

If that was how Sunagakure viewed her, then remaining beside Yujiro—even as his hostage—seemed preferable to returning to the village that had sent her to die.

“Terumi Mei, keep leading the way,” Yujiro ordered.

Mei’s expression tightened, but she obediently resumed walking.

Yujiro was in an excellent mood.

In a single day, he had obtained three different kekkei genkai.

From Terumi Mei, he had acquired both Boil Release and Lava Release.

From Pakura, he had acquired Scorch Release.

Each of those nature transformations was far more powerful than ordinary elemental ninjutsu.

Moreover, with the abilities Yujiro had developed after reaching the third level of the Limiter, he could reproduce those kekkei genkai himself.

Their strength would depend entirely on the amount of chakra he poured into them.

Over the next two days, Yujiro’s group travelled deeper into the Land of Water until they reached the territory once associated with the Yuki Clan.

Calling it a clan settlement was somewhat misleading. From the outside, it looked no different from an ordinary, remote village.

Yujiro chose an inn in a nearby town and rented several rooms.

As for gathering information about Haku, he left that task to Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi.

Having reliable people available to handle such matters was remarkably convenient.

Inside his room, Yujiro leaned back against the sofa.

“Terumi Mei, massage my legs.”

Mei sat to his left, staring at him through clenched teeth.

“Yujiro-sama, I’ll do it.”

Pakura stepped forward before Mei could respond.

Her gratitude toward Yujiro was genuine.

Without him, she would already have been a corpse abandoned somewhere in the wilderness.

Worse still, her death would have accomplished nothing.

“Fine.”

Yujiro nodded and closed his eyes.

It was not that he particularly wanted to torment either Pakura or Terumi Mei.

For some time before coming here, someone had massaged his shoulders and legs for him every day. Now that nobody was doing it, the sudden absence felt strangely uncomfortable.

Pakura’s movements were stiff and inexperienced, but Yujiro could tell that she was sincerely trying to serve him.

Because of that, he chose not to complain.

After a while, Yujiro opened one eye and glanced toward Mei.

“Terumi Mei, pay attention. You should learn from her.”

Mei’s eyebrow twitched.

“If you refuse to cooperate, I can’t guarantee that I’ll continue honouring the promise I made.”

“You—!”

Tears of anger immediately gathered in Mei’s eyes.

Whenever she remembered the demands Yujiro had made of Kirigakure, she felt her entire body tremble with fury.

Pakura looked at Yujiro with open surprise.

According to the rumours, Yujiro was a merciless monster who killed without hesitation.

Some stories even claimed that any shinobi who fell into his hands—man or woman—would be tortured until death.

However, the person sitting in front of her did not resemble the demon described in those rumours.

Two minutes later, Terumi Mei reluctantly moved closer and began copying Pakura’s movements.

She had no other choice.

She truly feared that Yujiro might decide not to keep his promise.

That night, Shisui, Kakashi, and Itachi returned to the inn.

Despite spending the entire day searching, they had failed to uncover anything useful.

The three of them appeared somewhat disappointed.

Yujiro looked at their expressions and smiled.

“Don’t be so impatient. I never said you had to find something on the first day.”

He leaned back in his seat.

“We don’t even know whether Haku is currently in this area.”

Shisui nodded.

“You’re right.”

Kakashi and Itachi also relaxed slightly.

Afterward, everyone ate dinner and prepared to rest for the night.

When Yujiro returned to his room, however, he found Pakura and Terumi Mei sitting together on the sofa.

He looked at them curiously.

“What are the two of you doing here?”

Terumi Mei lowered her head without answering.

Pakura’s expression showed a trace of hesitation. After struggling with herself for several moments, she finally seemed to reach a decision.

“We thought… we were supposed to sleep here.”

Yujiro scratched his head.

“This is my room. Yours is next door.”

“Huh?”

Pakura and Terumi Mei looked at each other.

Both of them could see the same disbelief reflected in the other’s eyes.

Yujiro stared at them for a moment before finally realizing what they had been imagining.

A grin spread across his face.

“What exactly did the two of you think I was planning?”

Neither woman answered.

“If you don’t leave now, I’ll take back the room next door.”

“No!”

They both shouted at once.

Pakura and Mei immediately rushed out of the room as though fleeing from an enemy attack.

Even as they disappeared through the doorway, Yujiro could see the deep crimson spreading across their faces.

Once the door closed behind them, Yujiro let out a quiet sigh.

Although he had already become remarkably powerful, there was still one matter over which he was completely helpless.

His age.

He was only eight or nine years old.

Regardless of what thoughts might occasionally cross his mind, certain things would simply have to wait.

Yujiro closed the door, stretched out across the bed, and quickly fell asleep.

Over the following days, Pakura and Terumi Mei’s attitudes toward Yujiro gradually began to change.

In their eyes, he no longer resembled the terrifying demon described in the rumours.

He trained and spent time with Shisui, Kakashi, and Itachi every day, treating them as companions rather than subordinates. There was none of the rigid distance normally seen between someone of his strength and the shinobi serving under him.

Before long, an entire month had passed.

During that time, both Pakura and Terumi Mei had become considerably better at massage.

At the very least, their movements were no longer as stiff and awkward as they had been at the beginning.

Pakura sincerely wished to remain at Yujiro’s side.

As far as Sunagakure was concerned, she had completely given up on it.

Terumi Mei never openly expressed her thoughts, but after spending a month around Yujiro, she had also begun to understand that he possessed a strange and undeniable charm.

Becoming his friend would undoubtedly bring a sense of security few others could offer.

Becoming his enemy, however, would be an absolute nightmare.

What Mei still could not determine was how Yujiro viewed her.

Was she one of his followers now?

Or was she still merely his prisoner?

At that moment, Shisui hurried into Yujiro’s room.

“Yujiro, we found something!”

Yujiro immediately looked toward him.

“Tell me.”

“Kakashi has located someone who matches the description you gave us.”

Shisui spoke quickly, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice.

“According to what I discovered, the child is an orphan. His mother died five years ago after her connection to the Yuki Clan was exposed.”

“I also investigated what happened in that village. The ability involved should be the unusual nature transformation you mentioned.”

Yujiro immediately stood.

“Good. Let’s go.”

At the same time, in an unremarkable town some distance away, Kakashi and Itachi were concealed on the roof of a house.

Below them, a small boy wandered unsteadily through the street.

Unless something unexpected had happened, that child was the person Yujiro had come to find.

However, neither Kakashi nor Itachi could see anything particularly remarkable about him.

At a glance, he appeared to be nothing more than an impoverished, exhausted orphan.

Suddenly, several faint sounds cut through the air.

Yujiro and Shisui landed beside them.

Yujiro lowered his gaze toward the street.

The moment he saw the boy below, the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

There was no mistake.

The child standing before him was Haku.

Haku had inherited the Yuki Clan’s Ice Release kekkei genkai from his mother.

Because those who possessed kekkei genkai had long been persecuted in the Land of Water, his mother had concealed her ancestry and abilities, hoping to live an ordinary life with her family.

Unfortunately, the secret had eventually been exposed.

Haku’s father, terrified by the power his wife and child carried, killed Haku’s mother and then gathered others to eliminate Haku as well.

Driven into despair, Haku awakened the power hidden within his blood.

His Ice Release killed everyone who had tried to murder him.

From that day onward, Haku had been left completely alone, wandering from place to place without a home or purpose.

Yujiro watched him quietly.

He was just about to jump down and approach the boy when Haku suddenly did something that made him stop.