"We agree. Five hundred million."
Five hundred million.
One explosive tag cost three hundred ryo. How many explosive tags was five hundred million worth?
Enough to fund a small-scale war.
Ao opened his mouth, but in the end, he just sighed. Mei was right. The Mist Village had already shed enough blood. An extra two hundred million wasn't really that much. If they gritted their teeth and squeezed, they could still come up with it. Besides, Mei's clan was a prominent one.
Uchiha Nagi suddenly spoke up again. "I have one more condition."
This time, Mei was not pleased. She glared at him. "Still more money? We can't afford that much!"
"It's not that."
Uchiha Nagi shook his head. "Since we plan to kill the Fourth Mizukage, it shouldn't be a problem for me to borrow the Three-Tails for a bit after he's dead, right?"
Ao was shocked. "The Three-Tails? What do you want a Tailed Beast for? The Tailed Beast is the Mist Village's deterrent against the surrounding ninja villages. It cannot be loaned out."
"Cannot be loaned out? Heh, are you kidding me? As far as I know, the Three-Tails died once before your Fourth Mizukage even took power. That time, you sealed it inside a little girl from Konoha, hoping she would carry it back to her village and destroy it, didn't you?"
Uchiha Nagi laughed mockingly. "I really don't know what your Third Mizukage was thinking back then. How could he do something so absurd? Throwing his own village's most powerful weapon at the enemy, under the guise of 'letting it destroy Konoha.' Heh..."
"We can agree to that." Mei stopped Ao before he could speak, displaying the decisiveness and style of the future Fifth Mizukage. "However, Yagura Karatachi must be killed. We cannot allow him to live."
It was common knowledge that if a jinchuriki was killed, the Tailed Beast would die with them. Although the beast would eventually revive, it would take at least a few years, and there was no fixed timeline.
Uchiha Nagi nodded. "Fine, I agree. Once the Three-Tails is extracted, Yagura will die whether I kill him or not. But to put your minds at ease, I will take his head."
"Oh, right. You're not planning on having me do this alone, are you? Yagura has so many Anbu around him. Even if he's unpopular, he's still the Mizukage. Without any help, I'd be taking on the entire Mist Village by myself." Uchiha Nagi smiled.
"And that will cost extra."
More money, more money, always more money. Mei stared at Uchiha Nagi, furious. Does he not see a beautiful woman standing in front of him? Is money all that's in his eyes?
"Don't worry. We will make arrangements. We have insiders. And we will be fighting alongside you against Yagura."
The three of them discussed many things within the sealed barrier, finally reaching an agreement. However, far off in the forest, a white head slowly emerged from the soil, took a look, and then submerged back into the earth.
It was White Zetsu.
As the number one gossip hound of the ninja world, how could White Zetsu be absent? But after one of them had been captured before, the others had become much more cautious, generally not getting within several thousand meters.
And there were certainly no White Zetsu in the middle of the ocean. Although Obito had surely placed some in the Mist Village for surveillance, it would take a considerable amount of time for a Zetsu to transmit information across the sea to the distant Land of Rain.
This was why Mei and Ao had only traveled to the mainland after being sure they were free from Zetsu's surveillance. And not long after arriving, they received a "visit" from White Zetsu.
However, a matter as secret as assassinating the Mizukage was something they discussed in a barrier even within their own clan. They did the same on the mainland. Coupled with the fact that White Zetsu didn't dare get too close, it had no idea what they were discussing.
"You two can head back first. This kunai is inscribed with a Flying Thunder God formula. Two days before you're ready to act, channel chakra into it, and I will teleport over to meet you. Oh, and I'll need half the payment upfront. There are no refunds, regardless of success or failure."
"Fine!" Mei ground out through her teeth. "We'll have the money ready. Just make sure you show up!"
Uchiha Nagi nodded and then vanished from within the barrier using the Flying Thunder God Technique. A barrier of this level did not have the ability to lock down space.
"He really can use the Flying Thunder God Technique. This operation is a sure thing."
Watching Uchiha Nagi suddenly disappear from the barrier, Ao was shocked, but he didn't forget the mission at hand.
"Yes, let's go back and report to the elders," Mei nodded. But the thought of that man, who could only talk about adding more money while looking at a great beauty like herself, made her burn with irritation.
"Right, back we go." The thought of having to talk to the elders about the money gave Ao a headache. Borrowing the Three-Tails was one thing; it wasn't like they hadn't lost it before. But five hundred million...
It was true that their clans were prominent in the Mist Village, but the village's finances were still the largest source of funds. How could a single clan compare to an entire nation?
How did the Akatsuki get so rich? Perhaps Obito embezzled money from the Mist Village and used it to subsidize the organization. After all, he even controlled their Mizukage. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, the Mist Village's finances were certainly stronger than the Land of Rain's. It would be strange if Obito had been honest with that much money at his fingertips.
Uchiha Nagi returned to the Land of Iron and then went to some blacksmiths to custom-order a large batch of high-quality kunai, which he planned to inscribe with Flying Thunder God formulas. He used his Mind Teleportation as a trump card and wouldn't reveal it to anyone easily. Besides, Mind Teleportation consumed far more energy than the Flying Thunder God; at least the latter only consumed chakra, not dojutsu power.
The distance from the Land of Iron to the Village Hidden in the Mist, with an entire ocean in between, was too far for him to teleport directly unless he had chakra by the ton. So, he planned to create more Flying Thunder God markers to use along the way. After Mei and Ao departed, Uchiha Nagi would follow behind them, leaving markers on the mainland and on the islands in the sea. That way, returning to the Land of Iron wouldn't be such a troublesome journey.
At the same time, he had another plan: to make a trip to the Land of Lightning to find Turtle Island and the Waterfall of Truth, which could cleanse one's soul.
But without coordinates, finding Turtle Island would be a headache.
And then there was that Uzumaki girl. Her sealing jutsu was even stronger than Karin's, comparable to Kushina's. She was able to seal a summoning beast as powerful as a Tailed Beast. The key was that she was still young when she died. To be able to seal such a powerful creature at that age... if she were allowed to grow up, who knew how powerful her sealing jutsu would become?
Crucially, that base had been abandoned by the Land of Lightning. Recruiting her as a subordinate probably wouldn't be too difficult.
As for Karin, she was discovered and taken by Orochimaru after the Chunin Exams. There was no rush.
Returning to the capital of the Land of Iron, Nagi gave instructions to Kimimaro and Yukihime and then prepared to set out. The capital city was like Konoha; its security was quite reliable. For safety, Uchiha Nagi had moved houses and was now living near Mifune.
After spending these past few days together, Nagi and Mifune had become friends despite their age gap. Mifune was grateful for the insights he had gained from Nagi's Breathing Styles. The man known as the Sword Saint was already developing his own Breathing Style, and it was beginning to take shape. Nagi believed that by the time he returned from the Mist Village, Mifune would have perfected it.
So, entrusting Kimimaro and Yukihime to Mifune's care was a safe bet. Even if he was specialized, Mifune was still a Kage-level powerhouse.
"Time to go."
Splash, splash.Swish.
Waves crashed against the reefs. There were many fishing boats by the shore. For those who lived by the sea, fishing was their livelihood.
Arriving at the coast again, Nagi didn't need to repeat his previous methods. He simply found a fisherman, bought a small speedboat, and set sail.
He dove into the sea, let out a bit of blood, and lured a few large sharks.
The poor sharks, caught in a genjutsu, were tied with ropes by Uchiha Nagi and turned into sea-horses, pulling the light speedboat toward the Land of Water at high speed.
Because the boat was small, the sharks pulled it along swiftly. Along the way, whenever they passed a small island, Uchiha Nagi would disembark and place a Flying Thunder God kunai. These islands were too small to be developed for farming and were mostly used as resting spots for passing ships to replenish their fresh water.
The Village Hidden in the Mist...
It was the same familiar meeting room. The attendees were all high-ranking members of Mei's clan. In addition, there were a few others present as shadow clones, disguised with transformation jutsu. This way, if they were exposed, they could simply dispel the clones, and Yagura would have no proof that they had colluded with Mei's clan.
Today's meeting was not ordinary. They were discussing not only how to force Yagura to step down, but also how to kill him.
"Everyone, we have hired a powerful external ally. This increases our plan's chances of success by at least thirty percent."
Mei stood in the center of the room. The clan intended for her to lead this meeting. They planned to use this operation to solidify her position as the Fifth Mizukage. This was why their clan was willing to spend so much to hire Uchiha Nagi. Of course, there was another reason: Nagi's initial intelligence had mentioned that a person skilled in space-time ninjutsu was controlling the Fourth Mizukage.
With that information, if they were determined to stake him out, they were bound to find some clues eventually. And finally, on one occasion, Ao's Byakugan had spotted Obito from a distance.
"Our clan is willing to dispatch twenty people to assist."
"On behalf of my clan head, we will also dispatch twenty people."
"The Hozuki clan will dispatch ten people."
Mei's temper flared. She slammed her hand on the table. "Ten people? What good is that? Are you still trying to preserve your strength at a time like this?"
"Have you thought about the consequences if this operation fails? For years, he has used various excuses to eliminate the bloodline clans in our village, one by one. Don't you understand the principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold?"
"We only have one chance. If we fail, all of our clans will be annihilated. You cannot stay out of this!"
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