Borrowing a Knife to Kill

"Mangetsu, are you interrogating me?"

Suikazan Fuguki sat on a low stool, his slight movement causing the stool to emit a creaking, burdened groan, but he paid it no mind, only staring at the young man who had suddenly appeared.

"I am currently here merely on behalf of the Mizukage to gather information, but if you, Fuguki, cannot provide a reasonable answer, then it will become an interrogation."

"So, you're using the Mizukage to pressure me?"

"How you interpret it is your freedom; I want an answer."

Hozuki Mangetsu smiled, perched on the wall of the earthen fort, one leg dangling and swinging, his posture relaxed and unrestrained, completely unfazed by the sharp killing intent emanating from Suikazan Fuguki.

The other Kirigakure Shinobi around them remained silent, like reefs on the coast, unmoved by any storm.

Their direct superior, Suikazan Fuguki, and Hozuki Mangetsu, who represented the Mizukage, were engaged in a conversation they could not interject into.

"What an annoying brat."

Suikazan Fuguki made no effort to hide his disgust for Hozuki Mangetsu. "You want to know what I'm waiting for, right? You'll see for yourself."

Saying that, He pulled out a folded piece of white paper from his pocket, rolled it into a tube, and inserted it into the hollow center of a shuriken. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it towards Hozuki Mangetsu.

Hozuki Mangetsu caught it, casually tossed the shuriken aside where it embedded itself in the earth, and opened the white paper. After a glance, the lazy, indifferent smile on his face vanished instantly. He held the paper, carefully examining it, reading it over two or three times.

Then, he abruptly looked up at Suikazan Fuguki and asked, "Is what's written here true or false?"

Suikazan Fuguki didn't answer. He waved his hand, and the Kirigakure Shinobi, who had been as still as stones, suddenly came alive. In the blink of an eye, they scattered, clearing a space where their conversation could not be overheard.

"I'm not sure!"

Suikazan Fuguki replied, "But the probability of it being true is very high."

"How so?"

"Because I've been attacking this mountain for five days, and not a single Konoha ninja has come to reinforce it. It's as if someone is deliberately creating a tense situation to have an excuse to send someone here."

"..."

Hozuki Mangetsu said nothing and lowered his head to look at the white paper in his hand again.

There was a fair amount of ink on the paper, filling nearly half a page. The content was essentially a letter from someone stating they had a deep hatred for the new Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Ritsu, and wished for the Kirigakure to help eliminate Hyuga Ritsu.

It detailed a significant amount of information about Hyuga Ritsu, claiming he possibly used some kind of Forbidden Jutsu, granting him both the Byakugan and the Shikotsumyaku, two Kekkei Genkai. To ensure safety, Hyuga Ritsu would be sent to the Shigushan Mountain defense line along with Uchiha Shisui. They could use this opportunity to probe his abilities and uncover his trump cards.

Afterward, a more suitable opportunity would be created to lure Hyuga Ritsu into a Kirigakure encirclement, hoping they could then eliminate Hyuga Ritsu with overwhelming force, like a hawk preying on a rabbit.

The above, was the entirety of the content recorded on the white paper.

"Why didn't you report this to the Mizukage sooner?"

"Because I suspect it's a Konoha trap, deliberately using such means to mobilize our forces and achieve some objective of theirs."

"But you said the probability of it being true is very high?"

"That's why I took a gamble, waiting for Konoha's reinforcements to arrive. If it turns out to be those two, it would indicate that the internal strife within Konoha is quite fierce, to the point of not hesitating to use us to eliminate their own people. This is undoubtedly good news for us!"

"Of course, if it's not--"

Suikazan Fuguki's lips curved slightly. "We would have simply missed the opportunity to break through Shigushan Mountain. The worst that could happen is that we all lose our lives here, but the success or failure of people like us doesn't have a significant impact on the village."

"Therefore, I can afford to gamble."

Suikazan Fuguki stared at Hozuki Mangetsu and said, enunciating each word.

After speaking, he paused for a few seconds, looking at the silent genius youth, and his tone suddenly rose. "But the Mizukage cannot gamble. He is the leader of our Kirigakure, and every action he takes has a huge impact on the village. Risky actions like this are simply not suitable for him to get involved in, so I planned to report it after verifying some of the information's truthfulness."

Finally, he asked, "Mangetsu, do you see any flaws in my judgment?"

Hozuki Mangetsu narrowed his eyes slightly.

He felt that Suikazan Fuguki, that fat slob, was talking nonsense and making excuses. The truth was likely that this fat slob had always been headstrong since the Third Mizukage's reign, and now he didn't even take the Fourth Mizukage seriously, believing he could handle everything himself without reporting.

If the Mizukage hadn't sent him, he probably wouldn't have reported this matter until it was all over.

"How I feel is unimportant; this is the Mizukage's prerogative."

Hozuki Mangetsu did not engage.

Suikazan Fuguki was no ordinary Jonin. He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, considered the foremost among them. Furthermore, he was the deputy commander of the Border Defense Force, commanding a unit of elite Kirigakure Shinobi specifically tasked with gathering intelligence on other ninja villages abroad.

In essence, Suikazan Fuguki was undoubtedly a powerful figure of high standing!

To deal with Suikazan Fuguki, an order directly from the Mizukage himself would be required.

"How did you get this?"

Hozuki Mangetsu bypassed the topic he couldn't influence, gesturing with the paper in his hand, and continued to delve into the details of the matter—he was determined to report this to the Mizukage, and without understanding the details, he couldn't write the report.

"It was sent back by a spy I had planted. Someone, or some people, in Konoha have used me, this almost obvious pawn, to transmit information more than once before."

"Who do you think sent this? Or rather, who wants to eliminate Hyuga Ritsu, the new Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan?"

"Konoha's higher-ups, perhaps! The Third Hokage and his cronies. According to intelligence I've gathered from other channels, Hyuga Ritsu very likely became the Clan Head through rather extreme and direct means without the consent of the Third Hokage and his faction. Given the Third Hokage's increasingly strong desire for control in recent years, it's not surprising that he would find it intolerable."

Suikazan Fuguki, truly worthy of being the head responsible for scouting intelligence from other villages, possessed a considerable depth of understanding regarding Konohagakure, and his analysis was quite insightful.

At the very least, Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't find any flaws in it.

Just then—

"Lord Fuguki, we have a situation!"

A sensory ninja reported loudly from outside.