"Didn't I just say, 'Don't let him get away'?"
Karatachi Yagura's expression was utterly grim. He stepped forward from among several subordinates, and a powerful presence locked firmly onto Uesugi Shinji in the distance.
In an instant, a fierce wind sprang up around them. An air of looking down on the world and scorning all who lived emerged from Karatachi Yagura, a short man with a baby face. The stark contrast made everyone present feel deeply unsettled.
Uesugi Shinji furrowed his brow slightly. For some reason, he felt that the powerful presence Karatachi Yagura was displaying did not seem to belong to him.
Based on what he knew of the Mizukage, the man wasn't a ninja with such commanding presence. The domineering aura he was showing now seemed even more out of place.
Still, Uesugi Shinji didn't dwell on that. What puzzled him more was why the other man had chosen to attack him.
He slowly walked toward Karatachi Yagura and the others. Rather than answer Karatachi Yagura's question, Uesugi Shinji asked in return, "I don't understand. What exactly are you trying to accomplish with this setup?"
He had no enmity with Karatachi Yagura, the Mizukage, and Suikazan Fuguki was also a very obedient subordinate of his.
Whether the other man wanted to use the Yellow Flash to eliminate him or use him to eliminate Suikazan Fuguki, neither possibility seemed to have any reasonable motive.
At Uesugi Shinji's words, several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen exchanged glances. To some extent, they, too, sensed that there was more to this mission than met the eye.
But as ninjas of Kirigakure, they would faithfully carry out the Mizukage's orders. Whatever schemes lay behind them weren't theirs to worry about.
Karatachi Yagura certainly had no intention of explaining anything to Uesugi Shinji.