Shadow of the Bloody Mist, Yagura Arrives!

Facing Yūhi Uzuki's sudden question, Riu said, "You could say... we're old acquaintances."

Yūhi Uzuki thought, An old acquaintance of Kakashi Hatake's... among the Uchiha Clan, the only one who seemed to fit was his fellow disciple, 'Uchiha Obito.' But hadn't Obito been a hero who died in the battle at Kannabi Bridge near the end of the Third Shinobi World War? Come to think of it, Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan came from Uchiha Obito, yet it later vanished for no apparent reason.

Xiyang stared at Riu's back. He called himself Uchiha Yu, but during my time in Konoha's ANBU, I was assigned to 'monitor' the Konoha Security Forces. I had access to the Uchiha Clan genealogy, yet there was no one named Yu—not even among the newborns.

Suddenly, a terrifying thought arose in her heart, one that sent cold sweat down her back. "Are you... Uchiha Obito?"

Ahead of her, the corners of Riu's mouth curled slightly, but he did not answer.

Who would have thought that the first person to uncover the mystery of Riu's identity would not be Obito's close friend Kakashi Hatake, nor his teacher Minato Namikaze, but Yūhi Uzuki, a woman who had never met him before? It was rather ironic.

In truth, Riu had no need to hide anything. He could have openly admitted that he was Uchiha Obito.

But...

She's started looking into me. Isn't that a sign that she's interested in me? In that case, keeping up the mystery and making her even more curious about me is the right path.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not..." Riu said.

At that, Yūhi Uzuki pouted. "What do you mean, maybe you are, maybe you aren't?! You're Obito, aren't you?!"

"Who knows~" Riu said.

"You!" Yūhi Uzuki's face reddened with fury. Maybe I saw Obito before, but my impression of him just wasn't very deep...

So she said, "Then take off your mask again and let me have a look, okay?"

"Sure. Go ahead and take it off." Riu smiled.

Yūhi Uzuki ran forward and reached for Riu's mask.

Whoosh! But her hand passed right through Riu's face.

Riu grabbed her hand and activated Kamui, pulling her inside before releasing her again a while later.

"Have you learned your lesson?"

"I swear, I'll kill you someday, no matter who you are!!" Yūhi Uzuki was practically exploding with rage.

"Hmm... is this what people call being a third wheel?" Tobi muttered to himself as he silently watched the two flirt and bicker from behind.

After another day of travel, the three had crossed more than half of the Land of Water and arrived at the foot of the mountain where the Hidden Mist Village stood...

Yūhi Uzuki was, after all, a woman, and she could not stand being drenched in sweat after such a long journey.

So, after obtaining Riu's absolute promise that he would not peek, she found a clean mountain spring, looked around cautiously, and began to undress.

She had a lovely face and long purple hair. Her figure was exceptionally perfect, whether as a ninja or as a woman. Though not as exaggerated as Tsunade's, it was no less impressive than Hinata's after she grew up.

Under the moonlight, her perfectly developed body stretched out. She covered her chest with both hands, a faint blush on her face.

Earlier, Riu had noticed that her appearance differed slightly from Yugao Uzuki's. The difference was that Yugao Uzuki had a beauty mark beneath the outer corner of her left eye, while Xiyang did not.

She soaked in the spring water, washing away the tension and exhaustion of the past few days.

Things seemed different from what she had imagined. After being captured by Riu, nothing humiliating or unbearable had happened to her...

By the campfire, Riu ate wild fruit while Tobi lay idly atop a tree.

"Come to think of it, the place we arrived at before was still quite a distance from the Hidden Mist Village. Why did the Seven Ninja Swordsmen all appear there at the same time? If it was a coincidence, the odds were far too low," Riu said.

That was right. He had been too busy enjoying the thrill of battle earlier to notice those details.

From the tree, Tobi casually said, "If it wasn't a coincidence, then someone must have known your whereabouts and leaked them."

"Who could that someone be? Could it be..." Riu pondered. "Curlyhead, can you still contact the other White Zetsu from this distance?"

"Yes, no problem. They contact me from time to time to report on the situation back home. After all, Orochimaru's results concern your great plans for the future, so nothing can go wrong..." Tobi was unexpectedly reliable.

"What about Kabuto Yakushi? Have you been keeping an eye on him?" Riu asked.

"You mean that bespectacled guy under Orochimaru who always looks so pathetic? He didn't seem particularly impressive, so we didn't pay much attention to him," Tobi said.

"So it was him..." Riu narrowed his eyes.

Though he did not think much of Kabuto right now, he knew Kabuto possessed terrifying potential. If he were not Orochimaru's capable assistant, Riu would have killed him at the first opportunity.

"What, you suspect that bespectacled guy did it?" Tobi asked.

It was not suspicion. Riu was already certain that Kabuto was behind it. Kabuto Yakushi had originally served Danzo as a double agent who traveled between nations. After Danzo abandoned him, he found a place with Orochimaru and followed him with unwavering devotion.

But being unwaveringly devoted to Orochimaru did not mean he was unwaveringly devoted to Riu!

Just imagine it: if he watched the Orochimaru-sama he respected become a tool for Riu to obtain Hashirama's Power, what would he do?

Even if he secretly leaked Riu's whereabouts behind Orochimaru's back, it would not be strange at all! That was exactly the kind of person he was!

"If that's really the case, I'll have the White Zetsu get rid of him immediately!" Tobi rarely revealed killing intent.

"Don't act rashly for now. Just keep him under surveillance. At present, nothing is more important than Orochimaru's results. Hashirama Cells concern my future, so nothing can be allowed to affect Orochimaru's progress. Even if Kabuto really is behind this, we'll have to pretend we don't know for the time being..."

Though Riu said that, overwhelming killing intent filled his eyes. He had never imagined that, after coming to the Naruto World, someone would actually be able to scheme against him.

So he had already decided that once he obtained Orochimaru's results, he would immediately kill Kabuto Yakushi. Even if Kabuto was innocent, it would make no difference!

Yūhi Uzuki returned from her bath and frowned at the campfire before Riu. "Don't you have any ninja common sense? Lighting a fire while camping at night is a major taboo. Enemy ninja could discover us at any moment!"

"Wouldn't that be even better? If I get taken out, you'll be free..." Riu said with a smile.

"You!" Yūhi Uzuki gritted her teeth, but she did not know how to retort. She could only stomp her foot in anger.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the bonfire that had been burning brightly a moment ago flickered violently and went out...

Then, an immense fog enveloped the entire mountain. It was no naturally formed mist, but the Hidden Mist Village's secret Hidden Mist Technique!

But the scale of this Hidden Mist Technique... was far beyond what the Seven Ninja Swordsmen could match.

In the Bloody Mist Village, only one person could use the Hidden Mist Technique on such a scale!

"To defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist Village all by yourself, I have no choice but to personally step in and eliminate the invader..." From within the mist, a beautiful young man with green hair and purple eyes slowly approached. His clear voice sounded much like that of a child.

Riu stood up, utterly calm. "I didn't expect we'd meet so soon—the controller of the Bloody Mist Village, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi..."