Deep in the forest, Kazama Kaguya was at a loss for words.
He looked at Kisame Hoshigaki, who was on his guard. He'd been about to make a couple of snarky comments, but then realized he really had screwed Kisame over. The man's wary, thief-catching attitude was justified.
Kisame sneered. "I can do without the Mangekyo intel, but there's no way I'm letting you screw me over again."
Kazama Kaguya thought it over, then tentatively suggested, "How about you give up on killing me three months from now? It's better to make peace than keep a grudge."
"Get lost!"
"A rogue ninja should accept his fate as a rogue ninja," Kisame said bluntly. "If you're really afraid to die, why cling to life for three months? Better to get it over with. You can ask me to kill you right now."
Ask you to kill me?
"..."
Kazama Kaguya fell silent, at a loss for words.
Kimimaro, standing nearby, was also dumbfounded.
He knew Kisame's way of thinking was strange, but he hadn't expected it to be this strange.
Just then, a gentle breeze wafted by, carrying the rich aroma of roasted meat.
Kisame had run all the way from Kirigakure, across the strait. He'd only had a couple of soldier pills along the way, and after all that talking, his stomach was already growling.
Kimimaro noticed him swallow and promptly offered him a fragrant chunk of meat.
Kazama Kaguya hadn't yet decided what he needed Kisame to do, so he said, "Teacher Kisame, I can give you the intel in advance. As for the price, we can discuss it after I've thought it over."
"Suit yourself."
Kisame opened his sharp, sharklike teeth and tore off a fist-sized chunk of meat. His mouth bulging, he said, "Just don't think you can screw me over."
"Don't worry. I'll be relying on you in the future, Teacher Kisame."
Soon, the three of them sat on the ground around the bonfire and began eating to replenish their chakra.
Kazama Kaguya began telling Kisame what he knew about the Mangekyo.
"Konoha currently has two and a half Mangekyo. Uchiha Fugaku and Shisui Uchiha each have a pair, and the remaining one is with Kakashi Hatake."
"As for their abilities, you already know that Susanoo is shared by all Mangekyo users. Shisui has the strongest Genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami. It can permanently rewrite a person's will. I'd advise you not to go after him. If you run into him, your best bet is to fight with your eyes closed."
"Kakashi's half of a Mangekyo came from Obito. It has the ability Kamui. Not only does it come with its own space-time dimension, it can also make his body intangible and immune to attacks. He can go toe-to-toe with anyone, so don't count on beating him."
"Finally, there's Uchiha Fugaku. As the clan head, he's never fought at full strength, so I don't know the specifics. If you're not afraid of being surrounded by the Uchiha Clan, you can try to find out."
At those words, Kisame visibly stiffened.
He set down his food and asked in disbelief, "The strongest Genjutsu can rewrite someone's will? A space-time eye technique can make its user immune to attacks? How can abilities like that exist? Are you sure your intel is right?"
"Teacher Kisame, don't doubt my sources."
Kazama Kaguya bit into the meat Kimimaro had stewed and spoke with his mouth full. "If you don't believe me, you can test it yourself. But I recommend waiting three months, so Shisui doesn't brainwash you into becoming his puppet and interfere with your mission to protect me."
Kisame Hoshigaki versus Shisui Uchiha?
Honestly, if Shisui was willing to use Kotoamatsukami, he could turn Kisame into his dog in the blink of an eye.
Kisame opened his mouth, then fell silent, apparently considering how to complete his mission.
Kazama Kaguya took the opportunity to ask Kimimaro what had happened after he passed out.
When he learned that the Kiri-nin pursuing him had been driven off by Kisame's Great Waterfall Technique, he couldn't help feeling relieved that he'd made the right choice.
If he hadn't tricked Kisame into making a promise beforehand, he'd probably be like a fish on a chopping board right now, at the mercy of others.
The greatest danger of fleeing Kirigakure had now passed, and Kazama Kaguya breathed a huge sigh of relief.
After daybreak, the three of them headed toward Konoha.
Kimimaro still carried Kazama Kaguya on his back, moving at only a little over half a Genin's speed.
Kisame trailed far behind, bounding along now and then, his mood heavy as he pondered something.
The blazing sun climbed higher. The mountains and forests fell behind them, and the Land of Fire lay ahead.
Three days later.
They reached the heart of the Land of Fire, less than half a day's journey from Konoha.
Kimimaro emerged from the forest with Kazama Kaguya on his back. They were about to join the main road when they ran into a squad of ninja wearing Hidden Cloud forehead protectors.
"Hidden Cloud?" Kazama Kaguya said in surprise.
This was the heart of the Land of Fire. There was no reason for Hidden Cloud Village ninja to be here.
Although small-scale clashes between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud hadn't stopped, Konoha was powerful enough that the Hidden Cloud shouldn't have been able to get this close.
The Hidden Cloud squad had five members, led by a one-eyed man.
His only remaining eye was sharp as he warily sized up the suddenly appearing Kimimaro and Kazama Kaguya. His imposing presence was poised to erupt at any moment.
The other Hidden Cloud ninja behind him drew Kunai, while one of them formed Hand Seals and scanned their surroundings, seemingly a sensor ninja.
"Kimimaro, step aside." Kazama Kaguya chose to yield. There was no need to start a fight. Without Kisame, they couldn't win anyway.
Seeing the two move away, the one-eyed leader turned to look behind him. "Kasai, do you sense any ambushes nearby?"
"Lord Dodai, those two are only Genin. They're probably just passing through. There's one other man two kilometers away, though, and his chakra is extremely powerful. I don't know if he's an enemy. Other than that, I don't sense anything else."
The one-eyed man called Dodai thought for a moment before saying, "Stay alert. We're close to Konoha now. We came here to negotiate peace between our two countries, so we can't make the first move."
As he spoke, he cast a discreet glance at another Hidden Cloud ninja wearing a hood, his skin a dark brown.
Their eyes met, and both gave an almost imperceptible nod.
The sensor ninja, Kasai, kept maintaining his Hand Seals and nodded. "Understood, Lord Dodai. From now on, I'll keep my sensory abilities active."
"Good. Let's pick up the pace."
Beside the main road, Kazama Kaguya watched the Hidden Cloud squad disappear at a run and pondered to himself, The Hidden Cloud are coming to Konoha so openly? Is something important going on?
As he carefully recalled the events of Konoha Year 54, Kazama Kaguya suddenly remembered something.
It was Konoha Year 54. The rookies led by Naruto were three years old, and something major had indeed happened that year.
The Hidden Cloud used peace negotiations as a pretext while secretly plotting to take the Byakugan of the Hyuga Main Family.
They kidnapped Hinata Hyuga. After Hyuga Hiashi killed the kidnapper, they used the incident as a pretext to threaten war, demanding that Konoha hand over the killer, Hyuga Hiashi, or face a full-scale invasion.
The Hyuga Clan elders naturally couldn't hand over the head of the Main Family. So the head of the Branch Family, Hizashi Hyuga, became the scapegoat.
Neji Hyuga watched his father be forced to die, and his hatred for the Main Family grew even stronger.
Unfortunately, the bird in its cage had its wings bound and could no longer soar through the open sky.
In an era full of overpowered characters, even a genius's struggle against fate couldn't make a ripple before he died beneath the Ten-Tails' attack.
It was a hasty, tragic end.
"Hyuga, the Caged Bird, the Hidden Cloud's scheme... Perhaps I need to change my plan to obtain the Byakugan. It's time to change the twisted state of the Hyuga Clan."
Kazama Kaguya looked up at the birds flying freely between the trees and couldn't help thinking of the boy trapped in a cage, struggling desperately but unable to escape.
"Neji Hyuga, bird who fought against fate—if you were given a chance, how high could you fly?"
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