Sasuke: There's a Traitor on the Team. If We Rule Out the Impossible, Does That Mean the Traitor Is Me?

"Sasuke! How come those people from Hidden Mist seemed to know we were coming into the village all along?" Karin asked, turning back as she ran. "Where's Suigetsu?"

"I'm here!"

A white-haired figure leaped down from the height and ran for his life; it was Suigetsu, who had just held off the pursuers.

"That scared me to death! I was almost surrounded!"

"There are too many people! Get out of here quickly!" As Sasuke moved quickly, he also calmly observed his surroundings, looking for a key exit to break through.

"Is it really necessary? There are only four of us, we just came in to take a look!" Suigetsu complained as she ran. "As soon as we came in, a group of people started chasing us, as if they knew beforehand."

"Could it be... that there's a traitor among us!" Karin gasped for breath, but still dared not stop.

Dark shadows appeared one after another from all sides, surging towards them and surrounding them. It wasn't that they couldn't defeat them, but that if they were even a little slow, they would be entangled.

Their goal wasn't to challenge Kirigakure; they were just passing through and decided to take a look. Their target was the wild Three-Tails, not the village itself.

Who would have thought that they'd fallen into someone's trap so quickly? That's ridiculously fast! Were they exposed from the very beginning?

Upon hearing Karin's words, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Of the four, none could possibly betray the Hawk Team. Jugo loyal to him, and Karin harbored special feelings for him; there was no reason for them to betray him.

As for Suigetsu, he was the one who always led the charge in the team; there was no reason for him to harm himself. Having ruled out all possibilities, Sasuke was confused.

Could I be the traitor?

Fortunately, their confusion was short-lived. Relying on their agile movements and Karin's excellent perception, the group managed to find a passage through the labyrinthine path of the Hidden Mist.

Kirigakure, in a luxurious suite, Naruto, disguised as Sasuke, chatted and laughed with Mei Terumi. At least that's how it appeared on the surface; in reality, both harbored their own suspicions.

Bottle after bottle of red wine went down their throats, and the two stubbornly refused to move, until finally Mei Terumi couldn't take it anymore and went to the bathroom. Naruto's expression changed drastically the moment the door clicked shut.

"I'm bursting!" He quickly ran into Mei Terumi the hall and relieved himself.

Before Mei Terumi came out, Naruto slipped back into his room. He also pulled out an even stronger bottle of sake and piled it up on the table with a clanging sound.

Mei Terumi emerged from the bathroom and paused for a moment upon seeing the table laden with alcohol. Her gaze drifted to the window; it had quieted down considerably outside.

Is it over? Or did they escape?

She didn't know those things, and right now, the only thing she could control was the person in front of her, to figure out if there was anything wrong with him. Instinctively, Mei Terumi felt that something was off about him.

Naruto, however, was being Mei Terumi and couldn't easily escape, so he simply decided to wait it out. The two of them simultaneously glanced at the wine on the table, different thoughts arising in their minds.

"Mei Terumi, what's going on outside?" Naruto asked, trying to sound calm.

"It's nothing, just a little mishap." Mei Terumi smiled radiantly, her full red lips almost pressed into a thin line as she looked at him.

"Looks like the trouble has been resolved?" he asked.

"Of course, aren't you going to keep drinking?" Mei Terumi, wearing a blue dress, sat gracefully on the sofa. "Shall we have some more?"

"Hmm." Naruto nodded, inwardly wondering if he even had the right to refuse.

He could run away, but such opportunities to gamble are rare. If he ran, it would confirm that the people outside were not related to him, and that they were two separate groups.

This would undoubtedly increase the difficulty of getting close to Chojuro, but fortune favors the bold. Even though Naruto wasn't sure what Mei Terumi was thinking, he was willing to take a small gamble.

Losing is no loss, winning is a huge windfall.

The clinking of glasses rang out, and Naruto looked at Mei Terumi, his mind in turmoil. She gave him a knowing look, as if to say, "I know, I know what you're thinking." Both of them were so calculating they could easily slip through their fingers.

Before long, Naruto's eyelids drooped slightly, looking like he was about to get drunk.

"Are you drunk?" Mei Terumi asked, looking at him.

"No! Just let me catch my breath." Naruto said with a lisp, his reaction a little slow. Before he closed his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Mei Terumi's micro-expressions.

Triumphant? Did they achieve their goal?

He glanced at Mei Terumi, then at the strongest bottles of liquor on the table, and calmly opened another one. He pretended to be clumsy, almost slipping.

Mei Terumi didn't think much of it. Seeing him drink a cup, she slowly followed suit. Little did she know, from that moment on, a splash of wine appeared in the Sealing Space.

Naruto knew that Mei Terumi was no pushover, and if he pretended to drink from the start, she would see right through him. So, he drank for real from the very beginning.

But from the very beginning, the moment he showed signs of intoxication, things changed. It wasn't that he didn't drink; rather, he was only half-drunk.

Mei Terumi felt the time was right and decided to speed up the drinking contest.

Time passed slowly, and it got to the middle of the night.

With a bang, the wine glass fell to the ground.

Mei Terumi looked at him, her face hazy with drunkenness. Naruto was also somewhat tipsy, swaying unsteadily, not much better off Mei Terumi.

The living room reeked of alcohol; the two were quite drunk, their eyes bloodshot. Naruto himself was somewhat dazed, as if he were back in the days when he and Tsunade had drunk themselves into oblivion.

I even started hallucinating, with Mei Terumi's image being replaced by Tsunade's every now and then. The two are similar in build, and it's easy to mistake one for the other when your mind isn't clear.

Mei Terumi wasn't fully conscious either; everything happening before her eyes felt like a dream, and her feet felt light on the ground.

Both of them slurred their words, making their speech somewhat unclear. Their movements as they raised their glasses were shaky, and they had to pause after saying only half a sentence.

"Drink! Keep drinking! Waaaa (unintelligible, meaning Tsunade). Master, whoever falls down first is a grandson." Naruto slapped a hand on Mei Terumi's shoulder.

"Marriage? Don't mention marriage to me!" Mei Terumi put one arm around Naruto, and the two sat down on the same sofa with their arms around each other's shoulders.

In her mind, she was discussing marriage with her friends. In reality, those friends had already been killed by Demon Zabuza, during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

This directly resulted in her only having subordinates around her, with no eligible men to marry. They were either middle-aged men like Ao, in their forties or fifties, or young boys like Chojuro who hadn't even grown up yet.

Marriage? Dream on. Who would you marry?

A legendary Mizukage like him couldn't possibly marry someone from outside the family; that's simply unrealistic. Nor could he marry an ordinary person—their physical condition wouldn't be good enough; a mere tremor would shatter them.

Men! Where have all the damn men gone?!

"It's all Zabuza! That man deserves to die!" Mei Terumi hiccuped, her face pressed close to Naruto's, and said drunkenly, "He really deserves to die!"

"Zabuza? He's dead, isn't he? Good riddance!" Naruto was also dazed, and subconsciously hooked his arm Mei Terumi's waist. "Let's take another gamble!"

"Eat? What do you want to eat?"

"Let's drink! Ah!"

"Vomit!"

For reasons unknown, the two, completely out of sync, ended up vomiting in the bathroom, each hugging their own sink. Luckily, the bathroom was large enough to have two sinks.

While vomiting, the two, both with obsessive-compulsive disorder, each grabbed a showerhead and started showering. The bathroom was filled with steam, and no one could be seen anywhere in sight.

They hugged and cuddled, then returned to the living room to continue drinking. The suite lights were on, and the two couldn't remember what they said, only that they felt dizzy and even somewhat comfortable at the end.

That night, Naruto dreamed of many strange scenes. First, he seemed to be soaking in warm water, and then somehow he found himself in the sky.

It was as if I had eaten a mushroom and fallen into an eternal kaleidoscope. Various psychedelic scenes flashed through my mind; one second I was lifting Doraemon's coffin lid, and the next I had fallen into Peach Blossom Spring.

In his dream, he was eating in a martial arts world when suddenly a fight broke out. A beautiful woman landed in his arms, and the next second she turned into a fox and pounced on him.

He hurriedly drew his knife to block, but found the sensation was wrong. Looking down, he saw a maidservant with a rosy face, looking up at him and calling out, "Brother, it's time to take your medicine."

The fox, the maid, and the swordsman pounced on him simultaneously. He was drenched in cold sweat but hadn't made a move yet. Suddenly, a coffin lid sprang up from the ground, and a girl wielding a knife emerged.

"Chengjun, the water in the kitchen is boiling!"

"Ah!" Naruto suddenly opened his eyes and sat up abruptly.

Looking around, I found myself on a large, soft, white bed. I was stunned for a few seconds, then turned my head and saw that there was someone next to me. I gasped in shock.

He jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom without even getting dressed. The Transformation Jutsu spell had worn off, and looking at his blond face, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

He trembled for a moment, then felt a wave of fear. Fragments of memories slowly surfaced in his mind, and Naruto was dumbfounded. "Damn it, I messed up."

He gave the Mizukage himself

Before anything happened from the other side of the room, Naruto's first thought wasn't to run. Instead, he had to quickly use the Transformation Jutsu to change back; he couldn't take the blame for this.

With a bang, Naruto reverted to Sasuke's appearance and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What does Sasuke have to do with me, Naruto Uzumaki?

On the other side, Mei Terumi also slowly woke up. She subconsciously reached out to cover her eyes, frowned, and after a while, slowly opened them.

Her memory of last night was a bit hazy; she seemed to have drunk a lot with that person. She struggled to sit up, then suddenly realized something was wrong with her.

After a long pause, Mei Terumi's pupils suddenly dilated.

After a while, she opened the bedroom door and found the living room empty. Frowning, she went to the bathroom, only to find it empty as well.

"They're gone?" Mei Terumi gritted her teeth; it was too humiliating.

He spent his days hunting, only to have his eyes pecked out by an eagle. It was a truly unexpected and infuriating turn of events; how could it all have happened so inexplicably!

"Damn it! You're dead too!" Mei Terumi muttered viciously. Naturally, she wouldn't make a fuss about this, much less make a big deal out of it.

After cursing under her breath, she strode out the door, trying her best to act nonchalant as she went downstairs. Only after she stepped outside did she gasp in shock.

At that moment, Naruto had already slipped away, heading straight to the Mizukage Building to lie in wait before Mei Terumi could find him and chop him into eighteen pieces. He knew very well that Mei Terumi wouldn't let it go so easily.

If she wants to continue investigating him, she will inevitably have to send people to carry it out. Ao had tried to kill him before, but failed; Mei Terumi wouldn't use him.

Moreover, the old fox Qing could easily guess her intentions from the mission, Mei Terumi cared about her reputation, she wouldn't have let this old man take on the mission.

The only remaining candidate was undoubtedly the simple and shy Chojuro.

The key point is that the last of the twin Ninja Blade, Hiramekarei, is in Chojuro's hands; he never leaves it behind. If Chojuro accepts a mission, he will definitely follow Mei Terumi's instructions.

Then your opportunity will come. After going around in circles, what's meant to happen will eventually happen.

Naruto hid in the canopy of a large tree in the southwest corner of the Mizukage Building, clenching his fists and silently preparing himself. His eyes were fixed on the Mizukage Building, not missing a single movement.

Mizukage Building.

"Looking for someone?" Chojuro asked, somewhat surprised, looking at Mei Terumi sitting at the desk. "Lady Mei Terumi, are you looking for the intruder from that night?"

"No." Mei Terumi shook her head and took out a portrait. "Find this person. Once you find him, don't alert him. Have someone keep an eye on him and then tell me."

The portrait clearly depicts Sasuke Uchiha's face. Only the hairstyle and clothes are different; it was drawn by Mei Terumi from memory.

She found it strange, too; the person in her dream didn't seem to look like that at all. Their hair seemed to be... golden? But she quickly dismissed that thought.

After much deliberation, Mei Terumi concluded that she was probably just drunk. Ultimately, she decided to trust her own judgment and draw what she had seen before she got drunk.

"This person... looks somewhat familiar?" Chojuro took the portrait, looked at it several times, then glanced at Mei Terumi. "Mizukage- sama, who is he?"

"This person..." Mei Terumi hesitated for a moment, her stunned expression making Chojuro blush and look away.

Chojuro, in the prime of his sixteens, was instinctively shy around a stunning woman like Mei Terumi, who was thirty. He avoided her gaze as much as possible, not daring to look her in the eye, much less have any improper thoughts.

He felt that Mei Terumi was still unmarried simply because she was too outstanding. Perhaps no one could possibly be worthy of her.

The more he thought about it, the more he admired Mei Terumi.

"This person... I know him, and he's extremely dangerous, Chojuro." She suddenly snapped out of her reverie and raised her voice with a serious expression.

"Ah? Yes!" Chojuro straightened his back, trembling with fear.

"If you find him, whatever you do, do not make any rash moves, and do not speak to him." Mei Terumi frowned, staring at him.

"Don't ask him any questions, understand?"

"I understand now, Mei Terumi!" Chojuro replied immediately, leaving the Mizukage's Office with mixed feelings of confusion and doubt.

This scene was clearly witnessed by Naruto from afar through his binoculars. The binoculars he was using were the same type that Jiraiya had taken from the bathhouse.

Naruto found them useful and decided to get two from Jiraiya for himself. They hadn't really been used much until now, but now they've finally come in handy.

In the Mizukage's Office, Mei Terumi watched Chojuro leave, her fists clenching involuntarily.

"Damn Choji! Don't fall into my hands, or I'll make you experience what it's like to be *****ed, you wretched bastard!"