Mei Terumi: That Damn Uchiha Brat

Meanwhile, in Konohagakure.

Choji was at the Hokage Building handling paperwork for the Akimichi Clan —basically, running errands for the sake of his health. Although he was a nimble fat man, being too fat was still bad for his health.

"Yes, that's all for now. Thank you."

He'd only gotten halfway through his sentence Choji felt a jolt, as if he were being watched. He abruptly turned around, looking left and right, his brows furrowed deeply.

"What's wrong?" The staff member looked at the young head of the Akimichi Clan.

"It's nothing, I probably just caught a cold recently." Choji turned around and said somewhat awkwardly, "I've been feeling a chill down my back lately, I'll have to get some medicine later."

Outside of Kirigakure.

The Hawk Team, having escaped, regrouped, and the four of them sat down to rest deep in the woods. They ate their dry rations and silently reviewed their failed operation.

"Why does it feel like the sensory abilities of the Anbu Ninja from Kumogakure and Hidden Mist have improved so much? Every time we infiltrate, they detect our presence immediately?"

Karin was somewhat confused, and in the end, she didn't know what to say.

In general, the main point is that the minions are a bit too strong this season. Forget about touching the enemy crystal, they can't even get close to the turrets.

Jugo silent, but Suigetsu smiled and turned to look at the three of them.

"Those damned Mist Ninja seem to be chasing Sasuke the whole time."

"Yes." Sasuke nodded, admitting it directly, "Those people seem to be watching me. They've been looking for me with a purpose since dawn."

"Should we go back and take a look?" Karin asked tentatively. "I don't think this can just be a coincidence. If we go back now, they definitely won't expect it."

The three of them turned their gaze to Sasuke. When Sasuke was thinking, his eyes would look in one direction, and he would be lost in thought for a few seconds.

After a moment, Sasuke shook his head.

"There's no need to waste time here. Let's go straight to the waters near the Three-Tails. We're just passing through anyway, and we'll find out why eventually."

"Three-Tails." Karin sighed and nodded in agreement.

Sasuke and his companions left without looking back from the outskirts of Kirigakure, leaving the Anbu Ninja with nothing to search. Chojuro, acting on orders, was unaware that Mei Terumi had overplayed her hand and gotten herself into trouble.

At that moment, he was searching everywhere for Sasuke's portrait. However, the plan wasn't going smoothly; after searching all around, he still couldn't find anything.

Chojuro couldn't find anyone because Naruto was silently following behind him from a distance, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Only one Ninja Blade is missing. Once Naruto obtains the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei, the goal of collecting Seven Ninja Swords in Mission Two will be achieved. This also means Naruto will receive the reward.

The permanent skill Izanagi grants invincibility once the cooldown period is over.

To acquire this skill, Danzo went so far as to transplant Hashirama Cells into his body and even risked having the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan implanted in his arm.

But now, Naruto only needs to collect all seven Dragon Peks and Seven Ninja Swords to potentially gain the ability to revive infinitely outside of cooldown periods.

Simply put, once my skills are off cooldown, I'll be immortal.

For example, when facing an enemy several times stronger than himself, he used Izanagi once, and seeing that the cooldown period was not yet over, he immediately took a halftime pause and started using Talk no Jutsu to buy time.

Chojuro arrived at a secluded spot, located at the edge of three main roads.

Naruto was perched in the tree, could no longer hold back and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to pounce. Chojuro sensed something was wrong and instinctively dodged.

A terrifying Lava Release surged forth, instantly drying up the spot where Chojuro had just stood. With a bang, the entire ground trembled violently.

This loud noise also signified the start of the countdown. Naruto had to end the battle and leave within three minutes, or Mei Terumi would definitely arrive.

He didn't have much time left; he had to deal with Chojuro immediately.

He used every means that wouldn't reveal his identity almost instantly, such as Lava Release, the Flying Thunder God for invisibility, and a close-range slap on Chojuro.

Because Naruto held nothing back, his speed was so great that even the air itself emitted a terrifying, sharp crackling sound. Chojuro had no way to dodge; it was a complete and utter crushing defeat.

Naruto didn't even use the Nine-Tails' chakra to strengthen himself; he simply relied on brute force to compress the massive Chakra within his body.

For an ordinary person, it would be absolutely impossible to arbitrarily compress Chakra. Chakra is like explosives; before it can be released, it will blow the human body to pieces as if it were exploding.

Naruto was able to do this entirely because his physical body was strengthened by the Nine-Tails' chakra, and he also possessed formidable defensive capabilities from multiple Evil God's Blessing, allowing him to maintain a state where his internal Chakra remained virtually unharmed.

It's like his entire body is almost equally resilient inside and out, so he can do whatever he wants. Even if he squeezes his Chakra to create a sonic boom like this, he's still completely unharmed.

After all, a man who could connect with the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi, would have been shattered long ago if his body wasn't strong enough.

With a devastating thud, a punch was unleashed, utterly crushing Chojuro. The latter tried to block with his Twin Swords: Hiramekarei, but was sent flying with a bang.

The Twin Swords: Hiramekarei, slipped from Chojuro's grasp mid-air, his hands trembling violently, his heart filled with utter shock. Lava Release... how could it be Lava Release?

What was even more terrifying was the next punch; Chojuro had no doubt that his opponent intended to kill him. If he had taken that punch squarely, he would probably be nothing more than five pounds, body and all.

Just when he thought he was doomed and was in despair, he suddenly realized that the expected attack had not come. Opening his eyes, he saw that his Twin Swords: Hiramekarei were already in his opponent's hands.

The person looks exactly like the portrait, but why does he look so familiar? It's like... I feel like I've seen this face somewhere else before.

What shocked Chojuro even more was that he witnessed the Ninja Blade mysteriously disappear the moment Naruto obtained the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei.

Upon seeing this, Chojuro's face instantly turned pale. His expression was as if his beloved figurine had been snatched away, and he screamed, trying to snatch it back.

Naruto ignored him completely. With the sword in hand, why would he continue to entangle with him? He disregarded Chojuro, turned around, and ran away at incredible speed.

[Bite!]

[Quest Line II: Land of Water Arc, Ninja Blade Collection Quest Achievement Completed. Rewards sent to your inventory, skill Izanagi.]

A synthesized voice rang out, Naruto was overjoyed. He had finally achieved 100% completion of a mission line. Mission one had been abandoned halfway through, and mission three was still halfway through.

Fortunately, the main storyline of Mission 2 was now complete, which was a kind of encouragement for him.

Before long, Naruto had left Chojuro was following behind him, far behind. He crossed Kirigakure in one breath and quietly slipped away.

The Gate of Hades are open.

After succeeding, Naruto didn't hesitate and immediately opened the Gate of Hades to escape. He located the coordinates of Konohagakure, and the Gate of Hades trembled for a moment before disappearing.

In Kirigakure, the moment Naruto left, Mei Terumi arrived at the scene. Seeing Chojuro's injured arm, her expression turned serious.

"Chojuro, what happened?"

"Mei Terumi, my Ninja Blade has been stolen by the person you're looking for!" Chojuro said nervously. "That person... I feel like I've seen that person somewhere before!"

"You've seen him?"

"Yes, but I can't remember right now," Chojuro said urgently. "His name is definitely not Choji, it's Uchiha."

"Yes! I remember now, Lord Mizukage!" Chojuro scratched his head, then suddenly looked up as if he had thought of something.

"Who?" Mei Terumi was also seething with hatred.

This person used a fake name and a fake identity to cause her to fall into a trap. And to her... Thinking about everything that happened last night, her face darkened.

This is outrageous, a complete disgrace.

If that matter were to get out, I would surely be ridiculed by the Shinobi World. I would be too ashamed to face anyone, let alone participate in the future Five Kage Summit.

"Who is it?!" she asked through gritted teeth.

"It's the Uchiha. Yes, that rogue ninja from Konohagakure. I even received a letter from Konohagakure back then. It's definitely him, Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Sasuke Uchiha?" Mei Terumi was stunned for a moment.

Isn't that a brat from Konohagakure? I've been attacked by a kid who's barely an adult! Damn it!

Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!

Several sneezes came from the woods by the lake, one after another. The person seemed a little embarrassed and coughed lightly to cover it up.

"Sasuke, you've caught a cold," Suigetsu said gleefully.

"Enough with the nonsense!" Sasuke replied coldly.

"Are you feeling unwell, Sasuke?" Karin asked, her expression worried. "Are your injuries alright? Shall we change your dressings again?"

A month ago, the Hawk Team suffered heavy losses in Kumogakure, Sasuke almost lost his life there. Thanks to the desperate protection of the three, Sasuke managed to escape alive, but half of his abdomen was almost pierced through.

He is still nourished by stem cells generated from Jugo's Chakra. With one kidney missing, Uchiha Sasuke's body is not as strong as before.

"No need, I'm fine," Sasuke coldly refused.

After a long silence, perhaps Sasuke felt his response was too cold, he glanced at Karin and then awkwardly added a sentence.

"I'm physically fine, but lately I've been feeling uneasy, like there's something weighing on me. I can't quite put my finger on it, I just feel..."

"Is it a curse?" Karin, who had once been in charge of Orochimaru's northern base, was also very knowledgeable and pointed out the crux of the problem almost incisively.

"Pfft!" Suigetsu couldn't help but laugh out loud, looking at Karin's serious expression and saying, "A curse? Karin, are you talking about some folk tale?"

"Suigetsu, you damned bastard, shut up!" Karin didn't care much about Suigetsu and threw a punch at him.

"Are you going to kill me?!" Suigetsu quickly rolled over to dodge.

"Serves you right!" Karin sneered.

The talk of a curse was dropped, and Sasuke didn't take it to heart. His gaze drifted to the lake not far away, and his brow furrowed slightly.

"Enough, stop fooling around!"

"Our main objective now is to guard this lake and find a way to confirm that the Three-Tails is here."

"Should we capture it?" Suigetsu asked.

"No, let's wait and see what happens on Zetsu's side." Sasuke shook his head. "They should also be preparing to capture the Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Six-Tails."

"We were merely cooperating with them, not working for them. Now that the leader of Akatsuki Organization is gone, the rest are either dead or wounded."

"The Akatsuki Organization is only holding on by a few people like Uchiha Madara. Although that person calls himself Uchiha Madara, he has actually revealed many flaws."

"There's no need to pay too much attention to such a defeated army. We just need to maintain a distant but not too close relationship with them and use their intelligence to do our own thing."

With a bang, as the smoke cleared, Obito Uchiha, wearing Spiral Mask, emerged. He was dragging someone behind him, like a dead dog.

Suddenly, something white and spore-like sprouted from the ground. White Zetsu's cheeky, punchable face blossomed like a flower.

"How did the capture of the Four-Tails go?"

"It's done, a piece of cake." Obito Uchiha glanced back at Rōshi Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, and smiled easily.

"Have you dealt with the Five-Tails?"

"Captured, and already on its way back." White Zetsu smiled.

"We've wasted too much time on Nagato; that guy's a dying tiger," Obito Uchiha said coldly.

"Nagato's Rinnegan can't be retrieved. That guy looked like he was about to die, but he's still alive now," White Zetsu complained.

"The Land of Rain is an ominous place; it was only a matter of time," Obito said. "There was no need to keep fighting that guy."

"He cannot leave the Land of Rain, and he can only die in the Land of Rain."

"We're also planning to capture the Six-Tails. Now it's up to Hawk Team." White Zetsu changed the subject, a sinister smile on his face.

"I saw that Sasuke Uchiha failed to capture the Eight-Tails, and the four of them almost died there. Now they've gone to Kirigakure, which also seems to be an unsuccessful start."

"Let's wait a bit longer. Eight-Tails? Let's start by capturing Nine-Tails first." Obito Uchiha his mind.

"Why?" White Zetsu looked at Obito in astonishment, his expression saying, "Are you crazy?" "We don't have enough manpower, Nine-Tails is clearly more troublesome than the other Tailed Beast."

In short, start with the easy stuff and then move on to the difficult stuff.

"It seems the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has separated from the Tailed Beast; we need to confirm this." Obito Uchiha eyes. "If this news is false, then bring the Jinchuriki back."

"If it's true, then we'll have to spend time finding the location of the Nine-Tails. After all, all Nine Tailed Beasts must be gathered together; without the Nine-Tails, all our previous efforts will be in vain."

"Alright." White Zetsu had nothing more to say, but he was still a little worried. "That Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he should be... your teacher's child, right?"

Obito stopped in his tracks, but did not speak.

"Oh, that's not what I meant, you know that."

"What I mean is," White Zetsu hurriedly explained, "That person seems to have an unusually unruly personality and is very difficult to deal with. If we really have to do that, we have to be careful."

"Who? Naruto Uzumaki?" Obito Uchiha continued walking forward.

"Yes, it's him." White Zetsu's expression suddenly turned a little strange. "That person is too vigilant. I can't plant spores on him at all, and I can't even get close to him."

"That person seems to have been active in Kumogakure and Kirigakure. Perhaps he also has a spatial artifact."