"Is that so? What a shame." Tianye Yuan sighed softly, but everyone present knew she was merely putting on an act. She had no intention whatsoever of vying for the position of Tsuchikage.
But then, another person standing behind Tianye Yuan spoke quietly. "Lord Ōnoki, I would actually like to meet that person." If Mirai had been here, he would certainly have been startled by the person before him. It was Timaria. Her face bore a few more traces of hardship, but she was still as beautiful as ever.
"Oh, Timaria?" A flicker of surprise passed through the Tsuchikage's eyes.
"Timaria, you're being far too presumptuous!" A young man stepped in front of Timaria, blocking Ōnoki's gaze. He seemed quite protective of her.
"It's fine, Kitsuchi. What I mean is for all of you to go and see what sort of person he really is. He actually forced Baitu to use Dust Release. This time, Baitu's use of Dust Release caused his Kekkei Genkai, which had only just begun to awaken, to wither once more. Sigh..." Ōnoki's eyes dimmed for only an instant before he suddenly raised his head. "Enough. Tsuchikage's personal guard, heed my command!"
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!" The six of them answered in unison.
"For what comes next, Kitsuchi and Longdi Ya will follow me to the main battlefield. The remaining four will track down Mirai Uchiha. If you encounter him, handle it as you see fit!" Ōnoki's face was grim, and the other four immediately shouted, "Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
Meanwhile, Mirai was hiding inside a cave, its entrance personally sealed shut by him. When he had handed his severed arm to Mei Terumi that day, it had been so he could hide somewhere and reconstruct his body. Now, his arm had fully recovered and looked exactly the