Chapter 315: The Upcoming Opponent Is—The Third Mizukage!
At this point in time, Kirigakure was caught in the throes of internal conflict.
There were three major factions within the village.
The first was the Third Mizukage himself, along with the Anbu and the Kirigakure Pursuit and Suppression Force under his command.
The second was the Council of Elders, led by Elder Genshi, with Terumi Mei among their ranks, supported by the various Bloodline Limit clans.
Lastly, there was the Chiyu Organization, which had gathered around Yagura Karatachi. This group had managed to rally a significant number of civilian ninja and jonin squad members from the village.
Terumi Mei's visit to the Land of Lightning had been done at the behest of the Council of Elders—not under the authorization of the Third Mizukage, who currently represented the face of Kirigakure.
During this period, Mangetsu Hozuki, originally a member of the Pursuit Force, defected from the village and joined the terrifying organization that had gathered around Uchiha Ci. Branded a rogue ninja, it was even rumored that he planned to make a move against the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning.
And that blame had landed squarely on the Third Mizukage's shoulders.
In order to explain the situation to their own Daimyō, and to participate in the current Five Kage Summit to clarify Kirigakure's stance to Kumogakure—and to prevent the "barbarians" from suddenly launching a war on them right after they'd just finished clashing with Iwagakure—the Third Mizukage dispatched members of his Pursuit and Suppression Force to attend the summit.
Once Terumi Mei had explained all this, the logic clicked into place for Uchiha Ci, and he nodded in realization.
"I see. But… who exactly will be coming?"
Among the Kirigakure Pursuit Force, those who could truly be called powerful were the so-called "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
From what Uchiha Ci knew, even the Seven Swordsmen weren't all under the same branch.
For instance, Fuguki Suikazan, Mangetsu Hozuki, and Kisame Hoshigaki had all been part of the Pursuit Force.
Kuriarare Kushimaru, who wielded the long blade "Nuibari," was a member of the Anbu.
The others—Jinpachi Munashi, Jūzō Biwa, Raiga Kurosuki, and Ameyuri Ringo—were uniformly aligned with the Third Mizukage, but it wasn't clear whether they were standard village shinobi, Anbu, or part of the Pursuit Force.
"There's word that Fuguki Suikazan is leading the group. Others say it's Jūzō Biwa."
Terumi Mei shook her head and looked at Uchiha Ci with concern.
"Should I go with you?"
If it had been the normal Uchiha Ci, she wouldn't be worried in the slightest. But in his current state—barely able to walk straight and looking like he had some serious kidney deficiency—she wasn't even sure he could make it to the destination.
Let alone fighting with whoever Kirigakure sent.
She was genuinely afraid he might just drop dead halfway there from heatstroke or seasickness.
If they traveled together… ahem, what she meant was, if she was there to take care of him, these things could be easily dealt with.
But Uchiha Ci immediately shook his head.
Orochimaru had recently seized Turtle Island from Kumogakure, and while that news hadn't spread yet, once it did, if Kirigakure discovered that Terumi Mei had also been there, there was no telling what sort of schemes they might hatch.
After all, Kirigakure also held both the Three-Tails and Six-Tails.
Besides—
Since these people were aligned with Terumi Mei's opposing faction, Uchiha Ci didn't mind helping her eliminate a few of them.
While he was currently in a weakened state, that was only relative. As long as the Third Mizukage himself didn't show up in person, even without his Susano'o or Fire Release Chakra Mode, his taijutsu alone was more than enough to handle a few of the Seven Swordsmen.
"Hoo…"
Seeing him shake his head, Terumi Mei let out a quiet sigh. She looked at Uchiha Ci standing in front of her, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately stopped herself, unsure how to begin.
She had sought him out, hoping to share some of her thoughts and plans.
To tell him that she had grown a lot since returning to the village, that she had thought deeply about the words he once spoke to her atop the Evil God Cult fortress, and that she now had her own views.
She had wanted to invite the now-rogue Uchiha Ci to join her faction.
But—
Was this simply a strategic move based on political judgment?
Or… was it just her seeing his strength and becoming greedy, subconsciously wanting to rely on him to realize her ideals?
At the recently concluded Akatsuki meeting, where she'd been observing him the entire time, she had clearly sensed—
Uchiha Ci had his own will, his own convictions.
And if she were to leverage their friendship and attempt to tie him down to her cause under that guise, making him fight for her dream…
Would that deep but fleeting bond they shared lose its luster?
The intelligent girl with bright, jade eyes was caught in a storm of conflicting thoughts.
She longed to prove herself and yearned to fight side by side with him. But because she cherished this friendship so much, she couldn't bring herself to take that first step.
"There'll be a way."
"Even if I don't rely on Uchiha Ci, even if I'm the one helping him, I can still achieve my dream."
With that conviction, Terumi Mei swallowed back the invitation she had been about to speak, lowered her head, and quietly removed a fragrant pouch from her white sash.
"At the only port in the Land of Frost, a steamship from the Land of Water will arrive at 6 p.m. Take this token of mine to the captain—he'll prepare a personal 'Lightning Boat' for you to travel solo by sea."
Uchiha Ci looked curiously at Terumi Mei, who had suddenly turned glum, not understanding what had changed. He scratched his head helplessly.
"Well… thanks a lot."
"Um… Mei, Terumi Mei, if there's anything I can help with…"
Uchiha Ci suddenly straightened his expression and placed both hands firmly on her smooth, fragrant shoulders.
"You mustn't keep it bottled up. You have to tell me!"
"After all—we're friends!"
With that, he took the pouch from her hand, turned around, waved, and walked away without looking back.
"Ah—?"
Staring at his back, Terumi Mei's eyes widened slightly, her cheeks flushing red.
What did he… just call me?
—
From the Land of Lightning to the port in the Land of Frost—
With the map they'd obtained from Orochimaru's secret lab in the Land of Lightning, along with the experience of having traveled this route with Oyashiro En before, Uchiha Ci quickly made it to his destination.
In the ninja world, maritime transport fell into three primary categories.
The first was the rowboat, which had appeared during the Land of Waves arc in the original story.
The second was the sailboat—the most common and largest waterborne vehicle in the ninja world.
The third—
Was the steam-powered vessel.
Currently, only the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning possessed this technology. Though far overseas, the Sky Ninja Village even had aircraft carriers.
At exactly 6 p.m., just as Terumi Mei had said, Uchiha Ci saw a gigantic vessel exhaling steam arrive at the dock from the Land of Water.
He showed the captain Terumi Mei's token, and the man ordered his crew to lower a smaller craft from the towering ship.
It was a Lightning Boat—a small craft powered by electricity, built in the Land of Lightning, capable of carrying two to six people.
Once the supplies were loaded, and he'd learned how to use the compass to navigate at sea under the captain's guidance,
Uchiha Ci set off alone toward Turtle Island.
—
Meanwhile—
Far out at sea, a massive steamship was cutting across the ocean, carrying Kirigakure's envoys to the Land of Lightning.
On the deck stood the members of the Pursuit Force:
Fuguki Suikazan, with his massive Samehada blade slung over his back.
A group of ninja clad in Kirigakure Pursuit Force uniforms, all wearing the four-wave-patterned masks. Among them was a particularly tall and hulking figure—built like a shark—with a long sword at his waist, face obscured by his mask.
And at the front of the group—
Was a man standing at the bow of the ship.
With ash-gray hair, refined features, pearl-like ornaments adorning his head, and a habitual calmness with his eyes closed—
The Third Mizukage of Kirigakure!
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