Mist Village Treasury

Damn it, these guys are actually targeting the Three-Tails. It looks like it's going to be a fight to the death.

Yagura Karatachi abandoned the idea of communicating with Pain and allowed his body to be enveloped in ominous red chakra.

Clearly realizing that his enemy was a powerhouse wielding the Rinnegan, he went all out and entered his Tailed Beast state.

Not far from the scene, Obito and Konan watched the battle between Pain and Yagura Karatachi in silence; opportunities to witness the power of the Rinnegan at such close range were rare.

As expected, even though Yagura Karatachi was a perfect Jinchuriki, he was still no match for the Six Paths of Pain. Before long, he was riddled with black receivers like a hedgehog, collapsing to the ground with his fate unknown.

Obito walked over and nudged Yagura Karatachi with his foot. "Now that the Fourth Mizukage has been dealt with, we only need to take care of the leaders of the Yuki Clan and the Kaguya Clan to end this farce. Do you have arrangements for those two?"

Having been satisfied with Pain's power during the fight with Yagura Karatachi, Nagato replied haughtily, "They won't be getting away either. I've already sent Sasori and Kakuzu to handle them. Since you're worried about complications, why don't you go and supervise them yourself?"

Tap, tap...

Two figures came to a halt before a gate covered in seals.

One of them, wearing a Kirigakure forehead protector, stood respectfully to the side and spoke to the mysterious figure in a black robe and mask behind him, "My Lord, this is where Kirigakure stores its classified archives and secret techniques. However, this gate is protected by high-level seals; it cannot be opened by conventional means.

In Kirigakure, only the Mizukage and a few elders have the authority to unlock these seals and enter."

"Oh, so this is the place. It's fortunate you led the way, otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to find."

Facing the mysterious man's praise, the Kirigakure ninja's expression remained unchanged, his face as vacant as if he had lost his soul.

"As for how to get inside, I have my own methods, so you needn't worry. You are responsible for dealing with the few who are following us. Go."

Upon receiving the order, the Kirigakure ninja turned stiffly and headed back the way they came.

Soon, he ran into a group of Kirigakure ninja dressed in the same attire. Leading them was a young woman with curly brown hair—the future Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi.

"Kaida, why are you here?"

Seeing who was approaching, Mei Terumi recognized him and immediately demanded an answer.

This was a vital facility of the village; without orders from the Mizukage or the elders, ordinary people were not permitted to come here.

She herself had only come to inspect the area under the elders' orders to ensure it remained secure.

She hadn't expected someone to have arrived here before her.

The Kirigakure ninja known as Kaida did not answer Mei Terumi's question. Instead, he quickly formed hand seals, "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

A pillar of water erupted from Kaida's mouth, transforming into a massive wave that surged toward Mei Terumi and her group.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

Reacting quickly to Kaida's attack, Mei Terumi countered with the same jutsu.

The two massive waves collided. Although the jutsu were identical, the strength of the practitioners was worlds apart.

Possessing two Kekkei Genkai, Mei Terumi's Water Style was far more powerful than that of an average ninja.

Soon, the jutsu unleashed by Mei Terumi overpowered her opponent's, and the wave began to surge toward Kaida.

Rumble...

Kaida was engulfed by the wave and slammed heavily against the wall.

Watching Kaida struggle in the water, a flicker of hesitation crossed Mei Terumi's eyes.

The village had already lost too many people to the internal strife today; adding more casualties would do no good. Perhaps she should give him a chance to explain before passing judgment.

Seeing that Kaida was reaching his limit, Mei Terumi decisively held back, giving him a chance to catch his breath.

"Kaida, do you understand the gap between our strengths now?

Resistance is futile. Surrender and admit defeat."

Ignoring her plea, Kaida remained unmoved. As soon as he stood up, he launched another attack at Mei Terumi and her group.

"Damn it, Kaida, have you lost your mind?"

The ninja who had come with Mei Terumi, seeing Kaida acting like a man possessed and refusing to listen, began to rebuke him.

"Something's wrong. It looks like he's being controlled; this fighting isn't his own intention.

Never mind that, let's subdue him first."

Mei Terumi noticed the abnormality while trading blows with Kaida. Explaining to her companions as she fought, she stopped holding back and used her full strength to quickly knock Kaida to the ground.

As the fallen Kaida tried to rise to continue the fight, an Anbu who had been waiting nearby trapped him with a Water Prison Jutsu.

"Leave a few people to watch him. The rest of you, follow me to check ahead."

Mei Terumi took the lead and headed forward. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the innermost gate and saw that the seals remained intact.

It seemed the enemy hadn't succeeded. That was to be expected; this was a critical location in Kirigakure, and the strength of the seals was certainly not something an ordinary person could break in a short time.

There were no signs that the barrier on the door had been triggered, which meant the intruder had given up without even attempting to breach it—a clever and decisive move.

Since there were no traces of a struggle, she lacked sufficient information to analyze the intruder's identity.

So, who exactly was eyeing this place?

Furthermore, was this truly just a false alarm?

Mei Terumi stared at the sealed door, an inexplicable sense of unease rising in her heart.

Her intuition told her that things might not be as simple as they seemed. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to trust her gut and spoke to the Anbu, "To be safe, go and invite the elders to come here."

Mei Terumi waited for a while, and upon seeing the elders hurrying over, she immediately went to meet them.

After briefly explaining what she knew, the elders nodded.

"You did the right thing. Even though there are no signs of the barrier being triggered, it is safer to go inside and take a look."

With that, the elders performed hand seals to activate the barrier and open the door.

Mei Terumi followed the elders as they stepped inside cautiously. When they reached the place where the scrolls were previously stored, their expressions changed drastically.

The area that should have been filled with countless scrolls was now completely empty; those precious intelligence reports and secret technique scrolls had all vanished into thin air.

"This... how is this possible?"

"How could this happen!"

The elders wailed in despair, and one of them, unable to bear the shock, blacked out and collapsed on the spot.

"Elder! Elder!"

"Quickly, call the medical team."

Mei Terumi then issued another command, "Send Kaida to the Intelligence Division immediately for an urgent interrogation. I want to know exactly who is working in the shadows against us."