"I used to think everyone who came out of the Blood Mist was an elite. Now I see that couldn't be further from the truth!"
A look of disdain, even disgust, appeared on Terumi Mei's pretty face. She had never imagined that Kirigakure's Intelligence Department could be this rotten.
Kirigakure actually wanted to use information gathered by a department like this to wage a war. What was that if not handing the enemy a free win?
"Perfectly normal," Yoru said calmly. "There will always be people who hide filth in corners untouched by sunlight. If you think this is too much to handle, you can resign and leave the mess to the Mizukage or Yagura. You're a natural-born fighter, after all. You've always felt that putting you in intelligence was a waste of your talents, haven't you?"
"No way!"
Terumi Mei rejected the idea outright. She was a stubborn person, and now that she'd taken charge of this, there was no way she'd give up.
"Since you're determined to see this through, why not go all the way?"
"What do you mean?" Terumi Mei furrowed her slender brows.
"Kirigakure's Intelligence Department is rotten to the core. A little medicine and some superficial changes won't cure it. You need to take drastic measures."
"Scrape the poison from the bone, then rise anew."
Yoru leisurely picked up a teacup from the side, poured himself some tea, then poured another cup for Terumi Mei.
Terumi Mei paused. The tea rippled in the cup she held in both hands, uncertainty in her beautiful eyes.
"We're in the middle of a war. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen have all fallen, and Kirigakure's morale is already at rock bottom. If we launch another large-scale purge, I'm afraid..."
"Precisely because we're at war, now is the best time for a purge."
Yoru spoke calmly. "In wartime, no matter what you do or how much turmoil it causes, a single victory can bury all of it."
"The prestige, spoils, reparations, and glory that come with victory will cover up everything that happened during the war!"
"Take Konoha, for example. The war is nearly over, and they've almost got half the spoils of victory in their hands. Will anyone still remember the spate of suicides that swept through the village before the war began?"
"The White Fang of Konoha..."
Terumi Mei murmured. She understood what Yoru was getting at.
But there was still one problem.
Could Kirigakure really win?
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had fallen, and Kirigakure's morale was at an all-time low.
Konoha, on the other hand—
Their defeat at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge had brought the fighting on the Iwagakure Battlefield close to an end. Kumogakure didn't dare make a move, and as time passed, more and more powerful shinobi would arrive on the Kirigakure Front.
Taken together, Kirigakure's chances...
"Worrying about what might happen is a bad habit. Besides, even if Kirigakure loses this war, are you really going to ignore an intelligence system that's rotten to the core?"
"Change has to come sooner or later," Yoru said calmly. "Rather than wait for peacetime and get caught up in plots and schemes with a bunch of old-timers, better to cut through the mess now."
"Cut through the mess..."
Terumi Mei murmured. After a moment, she raised her head and looked at Yoru with a serious expression, then nodded firmly.
"I understand. I'll take care of it!"
"Good. I have faith in you." Yoru drained his tea, then suddenly spoke up. "By the way, what I said doesn't apply only to the Intelligence Department."
"Not just the Intelligence Department?"
Terumi Mei looked surprised. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Let's wait for the Third Hokage's orders."
Yoru shrugged, clearly dismissing her. "With your current position, it wouldn't be easy for you to handle this stuff anyway. Wait until the orders come through, then get to work."
"Argh! Riddlers are the worst!"
Terumi Mei was practically tearing her hair out. Seeing Yoru's smug smile only made her more annoyed.
"Don't get too pleased with yourself. I doubt the days ahead will be easy for you, either!"
"?"
"Heh. You've awakened Hyoton, haven't you? Don't look at me like that. Whether it's the enormous Cross Ice Flower on the Konoha Border or our undercover agents and hidden watchers over in Konoha, they've all heard the news. It probably won't be long before word of your kekkei genkai awakening spreads throughout Kirigakure."
Terumi Mei gave a soft snort. "Then you can look forward to being pestered by all those old folks in your clan!"
"...That is not my clan."
The expression on Yoru's face turned cold. His gaze grew distant, almost icy. "I severed ties with that clan ten years ago. So please don't call them my clan, Terumi Mei."
Terumi Mei realized at once that she'd said the wrong thing. She shrank back and gave an awkward laugh. "That was my mistake, my mistake. Well, I'd better go take care of things."
With that, Terumi Mei fled. Only after leaving Yoru's tent did she let out a deep breath.
"Stupid Terumi Mei. I almost forgot about that. I nearly brought up Yoru's sore spot!"
"The Yuki Clan, honestly. When Yoru hadn't awakened his kekkei genkai, you could pretend not to notice him. Now that he's awakened Hyoton, let's see what you do."
Terumi Mei muttered to herself, then glanced back at Yoru's tent. In the end, she could only sigh before turning away.
Konoha Camp.
With Yoru's sudden rise to prominence, security across Konoha's front-line camp had been tightened considerably. There were far more sentries, and patrols were much more frequent—all to prevent another surprise attack from Kirigakure.
Just then, Jiraiya arrived at the interrogation room, his expression grave and wooden sandals tapping against the ground.
His gaze fell on Suikazan Fuguki, who was barely breathing and had almost completely lost the will to live. Then he looked at Yamanaka Miki, who was inside the room. "How did the interrogation go?"
"We've more or less finished. Kirigakure's strategy, the village's leadership structure, the use of Samehada and its secret techniques, and various other things have all been recorded on this scroll."
"As for information about the front lines..."
Yamanaka Miki respectfully handed Jiraiya the scroll beside him. He glanced at Suikazan Fuguki, then lowered his voice. "It might sound like I'm underestimating him, Lord Jiraiya, but the information I got from Suikazan Fuguki's mind wasn't particularly useful. This man was in charge of Kirigakure's intelligence, yet he repeatedly sold information to other countries for his own gain."
"But the most ridiculous part is that most of the information he sold to those other countries was false..."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched. How was he supposed to describe a man like that? If he loved his village, he sold its secrets. If he didn't, he still sold false information.
As expected of one of the Ninja Blades—he really was unlike anyone else.
Jiraiya took a deep breath and asked gravely, "Did you find anything about Yuki Yoru?"
"Yes!"
At that, Jiraiya jolted in shock!
Before you continue