"Didn't they follow us?"
The Great Sword: Samehada opened its abyssal maw and spat out Suikazan Fuguki with considerable difficulty. Clearly, Fuguki's enormous body was hard for Samehada to swallow or spit out.
Soaked in slimy mucus, Suikazan Fuguki wiped his face and looked around. He saw a coconut palm beach, waves crashing against the rocks, and an endless blue ocean.
They were on some beach.
"No."
Hozuki Mangetsu squatted beneath a coconut palm and said lazily, "They didn't even chase us!"
"They didn't?"
Suikazan Fuguki looked around. Aside from him and Hozuki Mangetsu, the dozen or so surviving subordinates had gathered nearby.
"We suffered heavy losses!"
Suikazan Fuguki sighed.
"Wasn't that your own doing?"
"That's right. I underestimated that brat named Hyuga Ritsu. I never expected him to possess not only two Kekkei Genkai, but also such vast reserves of Chakra. This time, I made a mistake."
Suikazan Fuguki didn't shirk responsibility. He admitted outright that his misjudgment had cost his subordinates their lives for nothing.
But—
He gripped the handle of the Great Sword: Samehada, gritting his teeth. "But next time, I'll send him underground to join my men!"
Hozuki Mangetsu pursed his lips.
By rights, Suikazan Fuguki ought to take responsibility for his mistaken decision, which had killed so many of their Mist Ninja comrades. But in reality, not everything was handled according to reason and rules.
That was that.
It wasn't as if they could make one of the village's top fighters, Suikazan Fuguki, pay for the sake of a bunch of dead men.
Suikazan Fuguki would still be able to lead a large force on their next operation.
"Besides, although our losses were greater than expected, we didn't come away empty-handed. We confirmed that Hyuga Ritsu possesses both the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku. I'm sure Lord Mizukage and those battle-crazed members of the Kaguya Clan will be interested!"
Suikazan Fuguki considered the possibilities. "Next time we hunt Hyuga Ritsu, we can have Lord Mizukage send a few experts. It'd be best if you were among them, Mangetsu. We can also ask the Kaguya Clan to send some of their own. With that lineup, we shouldn't have any trouble dealing with Hyuga Ritsu."
"That assumes there'll be a next time!"
Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't help pouring cold water on the idea. "You made such a huge commotion this time. Hyuga Ritsu would have to be an idiot not to realize something's wrong. Getting another opportunity like this will be difficult."
"That's not something either of us needs to worry about. Some people in Konoha may be even more eager than we are to kill Hyuga Ritsu. They'll naturally do their best to come up with a plan. All we need to do is gather our forces and strike as soon as we get word."
Suikazan Fuguki didn't care about Mangetsu's warning. He trusted that the people in Konoha wouldn't let him down.
Shimura Danzō in particular. That old man would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. They'd worked together more than once before, and had taken the opportunity to kill more than a few Konoha Ninja.
Hearing this, Hozuki Mangetsu had nothing to say.
A moment later, he finally said, "We should go see Lord Mizukage first. This is for him to decide."
In front of the crumbling earthen fort atop the mountain, Uchiha Shisui watched the eight remaining Konoha Ninja stationed there and the Medical Ninja named Yamanaka Haito clearing the battlefield below and gathering the Mist Ninja's bodies.
Uchiha Shisui pressed his lips together, his eyes dim. Almost unconsciously, he murmured, "Ritsu, it's a miracle the Shigushan Mountain line has held out this long!"
It was obviously sarcasm.
"Indeed," Hyuga Ritsu said with a nod.
Given the Mist Ninja's strength, they could have crushed the Shigushan Mountain line in no time. Yet despite teetering on the brink of collapse, the line had held until the two of them arrived.
There was no doubt about it. This was a trap.
A trap aimed at me... Wait!
Hyuga Ritsu suddenly looked at Uchiha Shisui. The first genius of the Uchiha Clan wore a grim expression, his spirits low, as though he'd been betrayed.
Hyuga Ritsu's eyes shifted as an idea occurred to him. He asked, "Shisui, which one of us do you think dragged the other into this?"
"Huh? Ritsu, what do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you didn't realize this was a trap. Someone colluded with the Mist Ninja, sold them our information, and set this up, waiting for their prey to walk right in. The only question is whether the prey was you, me, or both of us."
Uchiha Shisui fell silent, unable to answer.
Earlier, all his attention had been focused on fighting. He hadn't had a chance to think about what was really going on. But now the Mist Ninja had retreated, and there was no longer any need to concentrate or keep his nerves taut. He could no longer ignore how strange the situation was.
After more than ten seconds, Uchiha Shisui forced a smile. "Ritsu, maybe it was just a coincidence. How could anyone collude with the Mist Ninja?"
"Why not? Shisui, don't deceive yourself. Politicians have no bottom line. They'll do anything to achieve their goals."
Hyuga Ritsu looked at the people below as they cleared the battlefield. "We were lucky this time. The Mist Ninja underestimated us, so we turned the tables and broke their trap. But what if next time they know our whereabouts in advance and lay a net from which there's no escape? Do you think we'd survive?"
Uchiha Shisui said nothing.
"Still, I think I may have dragged you into this. Some people in the village probably want me dead. They sold my information to the Mist Ninja, and even sent that prodigy from the Hozuki Clan to make things difficult for me. If not for you, Shisui, I'd either have died here or failed the mission and gone back to face the consequences."
Hyuga Ritsu didn't keep pressing him. Instead, he eased off and took the blame himself, giving Uchiha Shisui a way out.
That only made Uchiha Shisui's eyes widen. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't hold back his question. "Ritsu, who in the village would want to hurt you?"
"You've heard how I became the Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan, haven't you?"
"Th-that..."
"The village elders don't like the way I rose to power. They think I'm an uncontrollable ticking time bomb, just like your Uchiha Clan. It's only natural they'd want to dismantle me the way they're trying to dismantle your clan, isn't it?" Hyuga Ritsu said with a smile.
Uchiha Shisui's eyes widened. Was Ritsu making fun of himself, or was he mocking the Uchiha Clan?
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