"You bastard, what do you mean by that? You think we can't catch you? Don't forget, this is the Land of Water! You're on our soil; catching you or killing you is perfectly justified!"
Terumi Mei's temper was as fiery as her Boil Release. Fighting in someone else's territory and then copping an attitude, as if they were the ones in the wrong—what an infuriating bastard.
"Don't be rash~" A middle-aged man stepped in front of Terumi Mei. He wore an eyepatch over one of his eyes…
"But…"
"No buts. I'll talk to him." The middle-aged man turned to Uchiha Nagi and said, "We mean no harm."
Uchiha Nagi narrowed his eyes. A man wearing a distinctive eyepatch… And around that eyepatch, veins bulged visibly, a clear sign of prolonged, intensive use of the eye beneath.
It's Ao. The Kirigakure ninja who possesses a Byakugan.
A pity it was only a single Byakugan. Otherwise, Uchiha Nagi would have snatched it for Kimimaro to use later.
The atmosphere tensed. As Uchiha Nagi's gaze lingered on Ao's covered eye, a faint murderous intent emanated from him. Ao, too, clearly understood the allure his Byakugan held.
Fortunately, after a moment, Uchiha Nagi's killing intent subsided. He abandoned the idea of taking the Byakugan.
Uchiha Nagi smirked. "I don't see what there is to talk about. You're not planning to invite me to join Kirigakure, are you? And then, like that dead fellow said, have me work like a breeding bull? Send me eight or ten beautiful women to sire a new clan?"
If it were the Land of Lightning, he might have considered it. After all, among all the major nations, the Land of Lightning was the most united and, remarkably, had never produced a single missing-nin. But the Land of Water? You're still in the middle of purging your own kekkei genkai clans. What face do you have inviting others to join you?
Ao calmly replied, "You misunderstand. I know you're a wanted criminal from Konoha. Anywhere you go, you'll face bounty hunters or pursuit from Konoha's Anbu. Why not join us as a guest elder? You'll enjoy absolute safety and freedom. How about it?"
Uchiha Nagi understood.
Clearly, when Ao said "us," he didn't mean Kirigakure. He was implying: we are we, and Kirigakure is Kirigakure…
Although Ao didn't state the reason, Uchiha Nagi had a good idea what it was. Due to the Fourth Mizukage's tyrannical actions, many long-standing clans were dissatisfied with him and were secretly plotting his overthrow.
And the Fourth Mizukage was a Perfect Jinchuriki; his combat strength was undeniable. The Mizukage had a firm grasp on the intelligence and combat data of his own villagers. Therefore, these dissenting clans needed external help, some unexpected variables, a trump card the Fourth Mizukage wouldn't anticipate.
So, upon seeing Uchiha Nagi, they naturally thought of inviting him to join them as a guest elder. Then, when the time came for a change, Uchiha Nagi could be deployed as their ace. His ability to fight Orochimaru and emerge unscathed clearly indicated he wasn't weak. Orochimaru was one of Konoha's Sannin, a renowned figure for years, undeniably Kage-level. For Uchiha Nagi to survive an encounter with him uninjured meant his strength was considerable.
This was Ao and his group's purpose: to seek external power. And Uchiha Nagi, a Konoha missing-nin, would surely be far more reliable than anyone within Kirigakure. The other clans seemed hesitant, their attitudes ambiguous—a bunch of unreliable fence-sitters.
However, Uchiha Nagi had no intention of wasting his time here. He had many other things to do.
"Apologies, I don't have the time. And I have no interest in a village controlled by a puppet…" Uchiha Nagi stated coolly.
"A puppet? What do you mean? Explain yourself clearly," Terumi Mei immediately demanded.
"Oh, so you don't know yet? What a waste of that Hyuga main family Byakugan you have there, tsk tsk…" Uchiha Nagi shook his head.
"Damn you, just spit it out! Stop being so wishy-washy, like a woman!" Terumi Mei fumed.
"Your Fourth Mizukage has long since been controlled by genjutsu. He's nothing more than a puppet in someone else's hands right now. If you just use that Byakugan of yours to observe him, you'll see…"
"What? Are you telling the truth??" Ao was utterly shocked. The Fourth Mizukage, a puppet for someone else? How could that be? He was a Perfect Jinchuriki! Who could control him with genjutsu?
"Believe it or not, just find some time to check his body yourself. Oh, and let me tell you one more thing: he's being controlled by someone wearing a mask who uses space-time ninjutsu."
Uchiha Nagi thought for a moment and decided to reveal a bit of information about Obito, to see if he could screw him over in the process. However, he wouldn't be foolish enough to say Obito's name directly. That would be pointless, only serving to make Obito more cautious without achieving anything else.
"His abilities are space-time ninjutsu; his body can become intangible to evade any attack, though he must materialize to attack an enemy. He possesses a Mangekyo Sharingan. Alright, that's all the information I have. Consider it a free gift, generous enough, I think. Good luck to you."
With that, Uchiha Nagi, with little Kimimaro in tow, turned and walked towards the docks without a backward glance. There was still a small, three-masted merchant ship there, one he had deliberately spared from his attack.
Ao and Terumi Mei were both still in shock. After a moment, Ao gestured with his eyes to the two ninjas behind Terumi Mei. They understood instantly and threw kunai at the neck and head of the Kubikiribocho-wielding squad leader, who was still slumped against the tree.
Silencing the witness—
Although the man looked dead, there was no guarantee he wasn't feigning it. Ao's two trusted subordinates began to search for any survivors from the previous Anbu squad to eliminate them. They were the Mizukage's men, and this information was too critical now; no one else could know.
As Ao's two subordinates went to silence the members of that Anbu squad, Terumi Mei looked at Uchiha Nagi's departing figure. Suddenly, she felt that this man wasn't so detestable anymore. Looking closely, he was even a little handsome. Just a little…
Uchiha Nagi and Kimimaro had already boarded the ship. Kimimaro was curiously asking how the two of them would manage to sail the boat. Uchiha Nagi just smiled.
He simply used a Wind Style jutsu…
And then the ship set sail, heading out to sea. Simple operation, manual power; all they needed was to control the direction. Jiraiya had used a similar trick, using his Rasengan as a propeller, making his boat move incredibly fast…
After leaving the shallow waters, Uchiha Nagi created a Shadow Clone, which jumped into the water, killed a fish to attract a school of sharks, and then activated his Sharingan…
A while later, Kimimaro stared at the group of sharks in front of them, working themselves to exhaustion, their eyes almost rolling back, yet still frantically swimming forward.
He asked curiously, "Nagi-sensei, those sharks… why are they obediently pulling the boat?"
Uchiha Nagi: "..."