The Land of Water, the Kirigakure.
An isolated island, surrounded by the sea on all sides.
The territory is shrouded in dense fog year-round, and features a variety of mountainous terrain.
Kirigakure is the most difficult village to obtain information from and the most difficult to plant spies in among all the ninja villages.
Inside the Mizukage Building, several medical-nin stood solemnly around a child.
The bluish-green medical Chakra was recklessly and frantically pouring into the child's body.
She is about 1.4 meters tall, has a typical baby face, and has a suture line that extends from her left lower eyelid all the way to her chin.
This person was none other than the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.
He was in very bad condition at the time, suffering from extensive burns all over his body and still unconscious.
"What on earth happened?!"
The old and decrepit Genji, leaning on a wooden cane, pounded the ground and roared angrily.
The Kirigakure Ninja beside him immediately knelt on one knee and reported, "When I heard the commotion and rushed over, Lord Mizukage was already in this state."
"The accompanying guards are also dead."
"Where is the enemy?!" Upon hearing this, the Genji became even angrier.
The kneeling ninja cautiously glanced at the marshal's expression and stammered, "Besides our men, there's another corpse at the scene..."
"It's... the missing-nin Juzo Biwa."
" Juzo..."
Upon hearing this, Genji's old face twisted in pain. As one of the first Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist, he was also the Kubikiribōchō.
Genji remembered the name Juzo Biwa very clearly.
With his exceptional talent in Ninjutsu and first-rate swordsmanship, Genji even played a significant role in enabling him to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Unexpectedly, this person eventually couldn't stand the village's tyranny and chose to defect, carrying Kubikiribōchō.
Now they have become enemies, ambushing the Fourth Mizukage.
I was so blind back then!
Genji was furious. After inquiring about Mizukage's condition again, he turned and left.
After all, the Kirigakure has a lot of intelligence to process right now.
With Yagura unconscious, only this old fellow, who held equal power with the Mizukage, stepped in to take his place.
A full moon hangs high in the sky, accompanied by the chirping of insects.
The Valley of the End, a hidden cave.
After activating the Magic Lantern Body Technique and returning to her original appearance, Haruma lay down directly on the soft, warm bed.
Shisui sat on a soft cushion to the side, gazing at the large wooden bed covered with blankets and shaking her head.
When they went out of the village on missions, they would eat Military Ration Pill when they were hungry, and set up a simple temporary shelter when they were tired.
Unlike close friends who come out on missions, at least in terms of food, drink, and lodging, they are never lacking.
Twenty minutes passed.
All the people who had been provided with intermediaries by Haruma were present.
Fugaku, Mikoto, Itachi, and the last newcomer to appear Kakuzu.
Fugaku, Shisui, and Itachi immediately looked at the tall, phantom-like figure.
Mikoto, who had only come to visit her son, focused more on Itachi's phantom.
Kakuzu merely glanced at Haruma, then at Shisui wearing a mask, before turning to observe the other three phantoms.
He wasn't particularly concerned about the identities of the others; Kakuzu was more curious about this illusion technique that ignored distance, which was almost identical to the one used by the Akatsuki leader who possessed the Rinnegan.
I Haruma up, feeling a bit dizzy, and to be honest, I was getting sleepy after lying down for twenty minutes.
He interlaced his fingers, rested his chin on the back of his hands, and pressed forward, causing a small tree stump, about half a meter high, to emerge from the ground.
Seemingly finding the wooden stool a bit hard, a blanket suddenly floated over from the bed. Haruma slightly raised her elbow and quickly spread the blanket over the spot.
A series of actions that seemed like showing off, Shisui seemed to have gotten used to.
Fugaku and Mikoto rolled their eyes in exasperation.
Only Kakuzu and Itachi inwardly marveled at Haruma's precise Chakra control and the sudden display of his superb Earth Release.
The blanket's floating motion showed no trace of Wind Release, so it could only be Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique.
This is not some common Ninjutsu.
"Itachi, has Akatsuki been up to anything unusual lately?"
After waiting for a while without receiving a reply, Haruma looked up and found Itachi observing Kakuzu without responding.
"Don't worry, that's our own brother."
Haruma introduced softly, " Kakuzu, a member of the Akatsuki who, like you, is an undercover agent."
Itachi's pupils contracted, and he nodded before replying, "I'm not aware of the arrangements for the other members."
"Just a few days ago, I partnered with Kirigakure missing-nin Juzo Biwa on a mission to Kirigakure."
"Exterminate all direct descendants of the Daimyo of the Land of Water."
"After the mission was successful, we encountered the Fourth Mizukage..."
At this point, Itachi paused, " Juzo was killed by the Fourth Hokage in his Tailed Beast Transformation while trying to save me, and I severely injured the Fourth Hokage in return."
oh!
What a coincidence!
Even though Itachi defected a year earlier than in the original story, he still went to Kirigakure with Juzo.
Won't Obito be busy picking peaches then?
but...
If you can pick it with Obito, why can't I?
Haruma stroked his chin, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
This matter needs careful consideration; the original plan may need to be changed.
If we could control Kirigakure, we'd have many more ways to make money.
After a moment's thought, Haruma asked, "Have you two received any news from Orochimaru's side?"
Itachi shook his head. Having only recently joined the party and been assigned to a mission, he was indeed unaware of Orochimaru's situation.
Kakuzu chimed in from the Kakuzu, " Orochimaru has joined the organization, but he hasn't been assigned a partner or mission yet."
Haruma nodded, it's good that no partner has been assigned yet.
What if Flying Thunder God flies over and a member of Akatsuki appears nearby...?
So, should we chop him up, mince him, or kill him...?
"What about Obito's whereabouts?"
Seeing Kakuzu's somewhat stunned expression, Haruma explained, "He's just a masked, a bit of a chuunibyou (delusional) lovestruck guy?"
Kakuzu was completely dumbfounded. What on earth was he talking about?
Second-year middle school student?
infatuation?
However, the Masked Man understood, Kakuzu, like Itachi, shook his head in realization.
Haruma wasn't disappointed; she'd only asked casually, just to give it a try.
Having obtained the information they wanted, Haruma chatted with the group for a bit more.
For example, he talked to Fugaku about the importance of the store, and to Kakuzu about where the bounties were high...
After finishing her speech, and after Mikoto and Itachi had finished their chatter, Haruma finally dispelled the Magic Lantern Body Technique.
Shisui leaned closer and asked, "Are we going to Kirigakure now... or should we go find Orochimaru first?"
Haruma yawned and rolled her eyes at Shisui, "What's the rush? Can't you see it's already dark?"
Shisui looked at Haruma, puzzled. What did darkness have to do with their actions?
Could it be...?
Has my best friend's eyesight deteriorated to this extent?!
Shisui looked at Haruma with concern, just about to offer some comfort.
Haruma ignored him completely, grabbed a blanket from the tree stump, and lay down on the big bed. "Sleep first, we'll talk about it tomorrow."
Shisui's lips twitched, his face utterly speechless.