Land of Grass.
Kisame Hoshigaki carried the Seven-Tails' Jinchuriki, Kaede, on Samehada as he swaggered all the way from the Land of Waterfalls. Yet not long after entering the Land of Grass, a Zetsu clone emerged from the trunk of a tree.
"Kisame, someone's following you!"
"What?" Kisame Hoshigaki looked somewhat surprised. "Are you serious?"
While he had been at sea, he had been certain no one was following him. Once he entered the Land of Waterfalls by land, he had not even seen a single soul. How could anyone possibly have followed him?
The Zetsu clone snorted. "I have no reason to lie to you!"
"If that's the case, then I'll loosen up a little!" Kisame Hoshigaki shrugged, flashing a carefree grin.
The fact that the other party had chosen to follow rather than attack directly already said enough.
"No!" the Zetsu clone said flatly. "If you fight, you'll inevitably leave more traces behind. You need to know that the battle over there has already ended. Uchiha Houka and Minato Namikaze are both heading back. If they discover anything, your mission won't merely end in failure."
"Death?" Kisame Hoshigaki smiled coldly. "I'm not afraid of dying!"
"I'll help you draw him away. Kisame, leave this place quickly," the Zetsu clone said gravely.
"Since you insist, fine." Kisame Hoshigaki turned and swiftly departed.
Afterward, the Zetsu clone slowly merged back into the tree trunk.
Not long afterward, white-haired Hozuki Suigetsu appeared, skulking about furtively.
"Stop!"
The Zetsu clone had successfully waited for his prey. It instantly emerged from the tree trunk and blocked his path. "Who are you?"
Looking at the yin-yang freak before him with a Venus flytrap for a head, Hozuki Suigetsu suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to chop its head off.
*If only Kubikiribōchō were in my