"The time has come? The succession ceremony of the Fifth Mizukage is not a good time." Hearing the familiar voice from his memory, Kisame Hoshigaki slowly turned around.
At the same time, he revealed a smile that could stop a child from crying, and his sharp shark teeth gleamed with a steely cold light. If you were to hire a model for a toothpaste commercial, perhaps only Might Guy would be worthy of fighting Kisame Hoshigaki.
"No, the capture of the Three-Tails is not urgent. For the sake of the stability of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, we should start with the One-Tail of Sunagakure."
The Masked Man was wearing a robe with sleeves reminiscent of the Warring States period, instead of the Akatsuki's usual cloud-patterned robe. Moreover, his Spiral Mask had been changed to a more sophisticated black one.
"Oh? Since it's not about capturing the Three-Tails, has the plan changed?"
The Masked Man calmly walked right through Kisame Hoshigaki's body, leaving only his back to Kisame Hoshigaki, silently expressing his power.
"The plan will not change, because I am Madara Uchiha!" The Masked Man once again asserted his authority, and then explained:
"This time, there's a problem within the Akatsuki. A planned member was unexpectedly killed by Orochimaru and the Senju Clan, creating a manpower vacancy. Therefore, we need you to join the Akatsuki ahead of schedule."
The Masked Man probably never dreamed that he and Orochimaru and the Senju Clan ninjas were only four city blocks apart, a straight-line distance of no more than 600 meters...
"No problem, I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Kisame Hoshigaki knew his place and didn't probe any further.
"Very good." The Masked Man nodded in satisfaction, tossing out a ring as he added, "Your codename after joining Akatsuki is Nanto, and you'll be teamed up with Uchiha Itachi, a missing-nin Uchiha Itachi from Konoha. Your mission is to monitor him."
Kisame Hoshigaki took the ring, examined it for a moment, and finally put it on the ring finger of his left hand. Only after doing so did he ask:
"What specific task do you need to monitor regarding Uchiha Itachi?"
The surrounding space began to distort, Masked Man's body slowly faded into nothingness, leaving only the words: "There's no specific mission. You just need to stick close to Uchiha Itachi and don't give him any chance to leave alone."
"Understood... Madara Uchiha."
The distorted space gradually calmed down. Kisame Hoshigaki covered his left hand, which was adorned with a ring, and, carrying Kirigakure, one of the Seven Legendary Ninja Blade of Kirigakure, on his Samehada, headed towards the pre-prepared route out of the village.
That afternoon, a simple yet information-rich message ignited Kirigakure.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the user of Samehada, Kisame Hoshigaki, defected from Kirigakure!
It is said that Mei Terumi is about to succeed the Fifth Mizukage, nearly melted down the entire Mizukage Building in a fit of rage. Fortunately, several Mizukage guards stopped her in time, otherwise Kirigakure would have become a laughing stock among all the countries and villages...
As the time for the Mizukage's succession ceremony draws ever closer, the celebratory atmosphere in Kirigakure grows ever stronger.
"It's a pity that Sister Shizune and Guren still need to be out there to provide support, otherwise we could have played around in Kirigakure together." Naoki Senju lay by the hot spring, missing Shizune and Guren whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"What's so fun about this place? When we get back to Konoha, I'll show you all the fun things to do."
Tsunade's willful and domineering voice came from the other side of the hot spring. It's worth mentioning that the Land of Water has a low temperature and is very humid, making it easy to suffer from various rheumatic diseases if one lives there for a long time. Therefore, soaking in hot springs is very popular in the Land of Water. However, the number of hot springs in the Land of Water is far less than that in the Land of Hot Water...
Therefore, in order to satisfy everyone's desire to soak in hot springs, a custom that perfectly suited the geographical characteristics was born: the dream of all men—mixed bathing!
However, at Tsunade's insistence, a bamboo curtain was ruthlessly added to the middle of the hot spring, completely securing it.
" Konoha... it really is time to go back. But, Sister Tsunade, how's your study of the Kirigakure reform case going? Don't let us down when we get back to Konoha."
Although Naoki and Tsunade's noble status imposed many restrictions—for example, whenever they went out, they were always followed by Kirigakure ANBU, both to protect these nobles in case of an accident and to monitor them—Naoki and Anbu was subject to many restrictions.
However, there are also many benefits. For example, some details of the changes in Kirigakure this time will be presented to them by Kirigakure even if they are not told. Although they are beautified, it is better to have something than nothing.
At the very least, Naoki believes that Tsunade should study this case carefully, especially the Mei Terumi leading the younger generation of Kirigakure Ninja, killing the Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura, and then completely purging the Kirigakure leadership, leaving no one alive...
They truly swept away the deep-seated problems, reversed the decline, and helped the already Kirigakure.
"Almost there, almost there..." Tsunade mumbled, enjoying the warm hot spring water.
In reality, Tsunade was also quite aggrieved. When it came to the determination to change Konoha, she absolutely had it, and it surpassed anyone else's. However, those detailed policies and regulations were beyond her ability to handle.
For example, if you want to reform Konoha, the first thing you need to deal with is the 'old faction' left by the Third Hokage. Mei Terumi's solution is... to kill! Kill them all, until no ninja dares to side with the 'old faction'.
However, Konoha and Kirigakure are different. Unlike the Fourth Mizukage, the Third Hokage did not incur the wrath of the heavens and the resentment of the people. Almost half of the Kirigakure Ninja did not agree with the Fourth Mizukage. Mei Terumi did not have to do anything; she had the right timing and popular support.
The Third Hokage ruled Konoha for decades, and the Root system was so vast that cleaning it up was far too difficult; Tsunade simply couldn't think of a proper solution at the moment.
Hearing that Tsunade was not in high spirits, Naoki Senju immediately understood the reason. There was no other reason; it was simply that Tsunade couldn't bring herself to do it...
She couldn't bring herself to kill Konoha former comrades in order to change Konoha, thus finding herself in a dilemma.
But wouldn't this crucial moment be perfect for him to help Sister Tsunade make a decision? Naoki Senju leaned against the thin bamboo curtain, his gaze gradually hardening.
" Sister Tsunade, if you can't bring yourself to do it, let me help you."
Click click~
The bamboo curtain, unable to bear the weight any longer, let out its final groan before crashing cleanly into the hot spring. Naoki Senju, leaning against the bamboo curtain, looked up in bewilderment.
He was met with Tsunade's angry gaze, her trembling, white breasts, and the lush grass beneath the hot spring water...
"Senju Naoki!"
The hot spring water was instantly slammed high into the air by the force of the impact, creating an incredibly loud sound. If it weren't for the soundproofing barrier they had set up beforehand to discuss important matters, Naoki and Tsunade would probably already be on the run...
Orochimaru, caught up in the crossfire by Naoki and Tsunade, will have his identity exposed in a state of utter confusion...
So, several different ideas arose regarding Kisame Hoshigaki's whereabouts, such as him wandering the Shinobi World like Kakuzu and Hidan, or helping Obito Uchiha carry out secret missions. But in the end, Qu Xiu felt that the most likely scenario was that he was an undercover Kirigakure.
If you, dear reader, have different opinions, please feel free to point them out.