Chapter 121 (Patreon)

However, every Kirigakure shinobi chosen to take part in the encirclement of Obito Uchiha was, at minimum, an elite jōnin. His sudden counterattack had caught them off guard, but it did not take long for them to regain their formation.

With fighters like Kisame Hoshigaki immediately closing every opening, the battle dragged on without Obito managing to kill a single person.

After venting his fury for a while, Obito finally regained his composure. He knew there was no point in continuing this fight. Activating his space–time ninjutsu, he vanished from Kirigakure.

“Is he gone?”

The remaining Kirigakure shinobi vigilantly scanned their surroundings.

“He’s no longer here.”

Ao emerged from the forest with his Byakugan still active.

Obito had truly chosen the worst possible moment to appear.

Ever since Mei Terumī learned that someone intended to take revenge on Kirigakure, she had wanted to travel to Konoha and obtain more detailed intelligence. She first sought permission from Elder Genji, but when he refused her request, she had no choice but to deal with the village’s internal problems instead.

Among those problems were high-ranking ANBU members who had betrayed Kirigakure’s secrets, including Fuguki Suikazan. At the same time, Kisame Hoshigaki—whom Roy had specifically named—officially came to the attention of the village’s leadership.

After Samehada changed masters, Jūzō Biwa, another surviving member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, was also assigned to the training group after undergoing a secret investigation.

According to the intelligence they had received, the enemy possessed space–time ninjutsu that could allow attacks to pass through his body continuously for as long as five minutes. Once that limit was reached, however, he would be forced to materialize.

To counter that ability, the group had spent more than a year drilling together.

They developed an unspoken understanding of one another’s movements, ensuring that each attack flowed into the next without leaving the enemy an opening. Ao used his Byakugan to observe their formations more precisely, identify any flaws in their coordination, and suggest the necessary adjustments.

Today, just as they were preparing to begin another training session, Obito’s masked figure materialized out of nowhere within the Byakugan’s range.

That was how the earlier battle had begun.

If Obito had arrived even a little earlier or later, he would never have been caught the moment he appeared.

“Everyone, this proves that the intelligence Elder Genji received was true. There really is a shinobi in the ninja world who possesses space–time ninjutsu and bears hatred toward Kirigakure.”

Yagura Karatachi regarded the assembled shinobi with a grave expression.

“Fortunately, the countermeasures included in that intelligence have also proven effective. I’ll report this to Elder Genji. The rest of you, review the battle we just fought. Ao, remain vigilant and guard against another surprise attack from the Masked Man.”

With that, Yagura disappeared toward the village using the Body Flicker Technique.

Although the group had trained together for more than a year, none of them had truly believed Elder Genji’s warning at first. They had only followed his orders out of respect for his position.

Once the training began, however, they discovered that every member of the group was highly skilled. Sparring with one another was far more effective than training alone, which was why they had continued for so long.

After hearing Yagura’s report, Elder Genji fell silent for a moment. He then sent someone to summon Mei Terumī, who was sitting at home lost in thought.

An entire year had passed, yet she still could not forget Roy’s claim that she would remain unmarried even after reaching middle age. After Elder Genji refused to let her travel to Konoha, she handled the village’s most urgent problems and then asked her clan to arrange blind dates for her.

She intended to marry as quickly as possible. The next time she met that detestable man, she would prove him wrong to his face.

Unfortunately, every time Mei attended a blind date, she unconsciously compared the man sitting across from her to Roy.

Men she would normally have considered reasonably attractive suddenly looked painfully unimpressive by comparison. Eventually, she discovered that the only man of her generation in Kirigakure who possessed both considerable strength and decent looks was the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi.

Then she remembered what he had done several years earlier.

Before he had even enrolled in the Academy, Zabuza had forced his way into a graduation exam and slaughtered all one hundred students taking part in it.

Even by the standards of the Bloody Mist, Zabuza’s bloodlust was enough to make people shudder.

Mei feared that if she truly married him, a single foul mood might end with him slaughtering the entire Terumī clan.

“Damn it! Am I, a woman this beautiful, really destined never to marry?”

There were several younger men around her age whose strength was lacking. They came from Kekkei Genkai clans and had avoided Zabuza’s massacre because they had never attended the Ninja Academy.

But why would she marry a man who could not even defeat her?

She decisively removed every one of them from consideration.

Just as Mei began wondering whether she should consider older candidates instead, an ANBU shinobi arrived and informed her that Elder Genji wished to see her.

“Mei, the enemy you warned us about appeared today.”

Elder Genji’s aged voice filled the room.

Yagura had been wondering why the elder had summoned her. Now he finally understood that the intelligence about the enemy had come from this young woman of the Terumī clan.

Mei was stunned by the news.

She had never been completely certain whether the intelligence was true, nor had she expected the enemy to actually appear. Worse still, he had arrived just as Kirigakure was preparing to appoint its Fourth Mizukage.

Had they not received that warning in advance, the Masked Man might have acted after Yagura rose to power. He could have turned Yagura into a puppet, dragged Kirigakure back into an even bloodier era, and driven the village’s internal conflict to still greater extremes.

The thought alone sent a chill through her.

The problem was that Mei had already told Elder Genji everything she knew. She had no further intelligence to offer them.

When it became clear that she knew nothing more, Yagura regained his composure.

“The intelligence you’ve already provided is more than enough. Aside from his unusual ability, that man’s strength is not sufficient to overwhelm all of Kirigakure.”

Recalling the earlier battle, Yagura continued with confidence.

“As long as we keep a close watch on him and never allow him to use that technique for a surprise attack, there’s no reason to fear him.”

Mei and Elder Genji did not share his confidence.

“It took seven or eight of you working together to suppress him,” Mei pointed out. “What happens if fewer people are present? What if someone encounters him alone? Even without that strange ability, an ordinary elite jōnin would have no choice but to retreat—and there’s a good chance they still wouldn’t escape.”

Yagura fell silent again.

She was right.

Even Yagura himself could not say with certainty that he could handle the Masked Man alone. As for anyone else being caught on their own, aside from Kisame Hoshigaki—whose chakra reserves were comparable to those of a tailed beast—none of them would be likely to escape.

The Masked Man only needed to find a single opening. Kirigakure, on the other hand, could not keep all of its strongest shinobi gathered together and on constant alert forever. If they did, who would carry out the village’s missions?

After releasing a long sigh, Elder Genji spoke.

“Mei, you previously suspected that the person who provided this intelligence was connected to Konoha. How certain are you?”

Yagura stared at them in shock. He almost wanted to lean closer, afraid that he might miss even a single word.

“I believe I’m right,” Mei replied. “I examined a great many records. The method that man used to deliver the intelligence closely resembles the Spirit Transformation Technique described in them. Konoha is the only village known to have produced a shinobi capable of using that technique.”

“In that case, I’ll send a letter to the Hokage. You will take a group to Konoha. You must find the person who knows about the Masked Man. He may be able to provide us with more detailed information.”

“Elder, Kirigakure may not currently have any conflict with Konoha, but sending Mei Terumī there…”

Yagura trailed off.

As the man who was about to become the Mizukage, he could not ignore the possibility that Konoha might detain one of Kirigakure’s greatest geniuses.

Mei possessed two Kekkei Genkai. To put it bluntly, Konoha could use some method—such as placing her under a Sharingan genjutsu—to control her, force her to remain in the village, and have her establish a new bloodline clan there.

If that happened, Kirigakure would lose everything.

No one should assume that such a thing was impossible. For the sake of strengthening their village, there were few measures the great hidden villages would refuse to consider.

And if Konoha truly did something like that, could Kirigakure afford to go to war with them?