Kirigakure Collapse Plan

As dusk fell unnoticed, After a day of traveling, fighting, and traveling again, Hyuga Yu finally arrived at this Grass Wave Coast.

Konoha's camp was set up in a coconut grove about 20 kilometers away from Hyuga Yu's current location, on another stretch of coastline.

This Grass Wave Coast was located on the eastern border of the Land of Fire. Across the sea lay the Land of Waves. However, the Naruto Bridge had not yet been built, and the two countries still relied on ships for passage.

The main battlefields between Konoha and Kirigakure during the Third Shinobi World War were in the Land of Bears south of the Land of Fire, the former site of the Land of Whirlpools, and the Land of Waves.

Due to Kirigakure's advantage in ships and naval power, the battlefields in the isolated Land of Whirlpools and Land of Waves would soon fall, and the front lines would be pushed further into the Land of Fire's east coast and the Land of Bears.

Before long, the coast before Hyuga Yu would become the new main battlefield.

In his estimation, it would be a brutal beachhead assault.

Whether Kirigakure's main forces could successfully land and establish a secure supply route between the sea and the Land of Fire's mainland would directly affect the situation and direction of the entire east coast battle line.

But for now, This white sandy beach had not yet been stained with blood. The wide beach was filled with crystalline, fine sand, with coral fragments and shells scattered about. The shadows of the coconut groves and mangrove forests behind the beach were stretched long, very long, by the setting sun...

At this moment, Aburame Ryūma stood in the shadow of a large coconut tree.

Ninja from Root seemed to particularly favor such dark and pretentious stances. Hyuga Yu saw the other man's back turned to him, facing the coconut tree, completely unaware of what he was looking at.

Silence. Silence.

Until the horizon swallowed the last sliver of sunlight, Aburame Ryūma let out a relaxed sigh, withdrew his gaze from the coconut beetle crawling on the tree trunk, and ended his brief, leisurely vacation.

This was a type of beetle called the red palm weevil, belonging to the family Curculionidae and the genus Rhynchophorus. They often hid in leaf axils and crevices during the day, only becoming active at night.

Much like Aburame Ryūma.

Hyuga Yu, who had been standing still for nearly three hours and was getting tired of the seaside scenery, quickly spoke up when he saw Aburame Ryūma finally move:

"Lord Ryūma."

"Mm."

Aburame Ryūma responded with a muffled sound and slowly turned around.

He glanced indifferently at Hyuga Yu, but instead of mentioning his formal induction into Root, he said:

"You are dissatisfied."

Hyuga Yu was taken aback.

Then, he heard Aburame Ryūma continue, coldly stating:

"You've already guessed that the Hyuga Main Family was just bait, and that Root has always controlled the overall situation."

"So, you've used this to your advantage, trying to get Root to help you eliminate the threat of the leaked intelligence."

Aburame Ryūma watched Hyuga Yu's slightly trembling eyelids with indifference as he calmly stated:

"However, I did not help you."

Hyuga Yu's heart trembled, but for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

Aburame Ryūma didn't press the matter further, merely reminding him indifferently:

"In this incident, you misjudged one thing."

"You did indeed show 'value' worthy of Root's acceptance, but you mistakenly tried to weigh this 'value' against 'all of Konoha'."

"Therefore—"

"You will be treated as a bargaining chip and become the second bait in the plan."

Hyuga Yu's heart tightened. He suddenly realized that the situation was somewhat beyond his control.

He immediately asked, "The second bait? The plan? What is that?"

Aburame Ryūma calmly revealed the intelligence, which was practically top secret at this point:

"Konoha is already fighting on three fronts, facing Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure simultaneously. At this time, it absolutely cannot afford to fight on four fronts."

"According to the intelligence assessment transmitted by the 'Wandering Miko', the win rate for the forces composed of ninja from the Hyuga and Uchiha clans engaging Kirigakure head-on on the eastern front is... basically zero."

"Therefore, Root's operation this time, with the acknowledgment and permission of the Hokage and three high-ranking officials, has been named—"

"The Kirigakure Collapse Plan."

Upon hearing this rather exaggerated plan name, Hyuga Yu's heart suddenly jolted. He immediately frowned and asked, "Then what is the bait, and what do I need to do?"

Aburame Ryūma looked at Hyuga Yu as if he were already dead.

After a long pause, he shook his head and said indifferently, "You don't need to do anything."

Hearing this, Hyuga Yu finally understood why Aburame Ryūma had let Ao go. At the same time, he felt his throat grow somewhat dry.

Needing to do nothing meant that...

Regardless of whether Hyuga Yu was willing or not, he would be arranged to become the second bait to lure Kirigakure into action again, targeted by Kirigakure with an extremely reasonable excuse.

Moreover, Hyuga Yu currently possessed such "value."

As for the life and death of the bait...

It was irrelevant.

After all, would you care about the life and death of the earthworm you used as bait?

Hyuga Yu's current position was that of this helpless earthworm.

Root was never beautiful, nor could it ever be an Eden to escape reality.

Hyuga Yu had long anticipated this, He just didn't expect this day to come so soon!

He turned to look at Aburame Ryūma and asked with a grave and serious expression:

"Lord Ryūma, if I want to live, what should I do?"

Aburame Ryūma looked at the change in Hyuga Yu's expression, and a barely discernible smile finally appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He said faintly, "Improve your strength."

Hyuga Yu's heart pounded, and he further pressed, "To what level should I improve?"

Aburame Ryūma's gaze narrowed slightly as he looked at the Byakugan youth before him and said in a deep voice:

"Improve to the point where you have the 'value' to participate in the next mission."

"Then what is the next mission?"

Aburame Ryūma calmly and steadily uttered two sentences:

"Overthrow Kirigakure."

"Behead—the Third Mizukage!"

Hyuga Yu suddenly calmed down.

But it was not the tranquility and resignation that came from realizing the task was impossibly difficult. Instead, it was a steel-like will that condensed countless complex goals into a single line, passing through seas of fire and crossing the end of hell.

"I understand."

"Good that you understand."

Aburame Ryūma didn't say anything more about it, nodded calmly, and then took out a scroll from under his trench coat, tossing it to Hyuga Yu.

Hyuga Yu took the scroll and unrolled it.

In the center of the scroll was written a large character "Root," and beside it were listed the names of the supplies stored within the scroll:

Ninja Tools, Root uniforms, three volumes of Wind Release Essentials, one Root-affiliated mask, poison, suicide poison...

Hyuga Yu carefully read the contents and soon looked up.

Aburame Ryūma then asked, "You have one chance to browse Root's collected secret jutsu library and choose one A-rank jutsu."

"What do you want?"

Aburame Ryūma asked this, and he didn't limit what kind of jutsu it was. This meant that, apart from the S-rank forbidden jutsu collected in the Scroll of Seals, Hyuga Yu could choose any jutsu in Konoha.

Countless options flashed through Hyuga Yu's mind instantly.

Finally, he slowly spoke, requesting an A-rank jutsu:

"Sealing Technique: Five Elements Seal."

Aburame Ryūma nodded. "It will be delivered to you in three days."

Then, he turned around and slowly walked towards the coast, his body scattering into numerous Kikaichū in the sea breeze.

From afar, he only left behind a sentence:

"Kid, welcome to being a ninja of Root~"