"Please show mercy, honored guest from Konoha! Please stop!"
A newcomer shouted out, his tone utterly sincere.
"We're peacekeepers from the Soup Ninja. Please, for the sake of the Land of Hot Water, don't attack again. The Five Great Shinobi Villages have rules—there are rules! You can't fight like this in neutral territory!"
Hearing the newcomer's pleas, Kiriki Seiryuu's expression changed at once, his delight growing.
"I'm a ninja from Kirigakure! I was attacked by a Konoha Ninja! They killed my subordinates, and now they're trying to silence me! They're acting as if the laws between the great nations don't matter at all!"
He immediately turned the tables on Aburame Keiichi, pinning the blame on him. The ease with which he smeared his opponent made it clear he was an old hand.
"Don't be rash! Let us handle the problem, all right? We'll give you an answer. Just let him go first!"
The Soup Ninja peacekeeper shouted.
"Hahaha... Do you see? Everyone here is watching you. If you strike, you'll put Konoha on the spot..."
Kiriki Seiryuu sneered, unable to hide the arrogance on his face.
Crack—
His neck snapped. His head slumped, no longer supported.
Kiriki Seiryuu was dead, though the smug expression on his face hadn't faded—and never would.
"..."
The Soup Ninja leader's expression shifted. He had been about to speak up and reprimand him.
But when he met Aburame Keiichi's icy gaze, he swallowed his words and didn't dare utter a sound.
"Damn fool."
At the border of the Land of Water, inside an underground base beyond the reach of any means of detection.
The dim underground expanse, the sunless layers of rock—the earth's own belly. The damp air and fetid stench defined this vast, empty place.
Dead silence filled the enormous chamber. In a