Chapter 194: The Conspiracy Begins
"Lord Kyosuke, an urgent message from the Northwestern Corps," a communications ninja announced, handing the decoded letter to Kyosuke before respectfully retreating.
Kyosuke opened the envelope and scanned its contents. The message was simple: the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han, had personally entered the battlefield, and they were requesting support.
"The Five-Tails Jinchuriki... isn't that the ninja who uses steam?" Kyosuke murmured, digging into his memory to recall the character who had only a minor role in the original story.
Though his appearance had been brief, his power was certainly not to be underestimated. The letter itself was proof; the Northwestern Corps wouldn't have sent such an urgent request for aid if the pressure from this Jinchuriki wasn't immense.
Kyosuke tapped the envelope against his palm, his eyes lowered in thought. After a moment, he spoke. "Summon Might Duy. I need to see him."
"Yes, sir."
Not long after his subordinate left, a grinning Might Duy appeared at Kyosuke's side.
Ever since the Tailed Beast battle, Might Duy's true power had become widely known. While many in Konoha still found it hard to accept the truth, Kyosuke, as the commander, would never deceive them on such a matter. As a result, Duy's prestige grew with each passing day.
Of course, most people still couldn't quite handle his constant, hot-blooded slogans about youth.
"Kyosuke! What can I do for you?" Might Duy asked, flashing a smile so bright it was blinding.
"...It's like this." Kyosuke averted his gaze from the dazzling white light of Duy's teeth. "The Northwestern Corps sent an emergency request. They say an Iwa Jinchuriki has appeared on the front lines, and they need us to provide support as quickly as possible."
"Oh," Might Duy nodded, his expression unchanged, signaling that he understood.
...Does he really get it? Kyosuke wondered silently before looking Duy in the eyes. "I want you to come with me."
"Alright!" Duy replied without hesitation, giving a firm thumbs-up.
A smile spread across Kyosuke's face. He quickly called over a trusted subordinate to arrange their departure, and the two set off immediately.
Hold on. I'm coming.
Three kilometers inside the border of the Land of Fire, a fierce battle was raging.
"Ghh..." A Konoha ninja clutched the gaping wound in his abdomen where a blade had pierced through him. With his last bit of strength, he threw his arms around his attacker, pinning him in place. "Lady Nagisa, run!" he roared.
"NO!!!" a short distance away, the young woman he called his lady watched in horror as the guardian shinobi who had protected her for days was about to die. A heart-wrenching scream tore from her throat.
This young woman was Uchiha Nagisa.
As the princess of the Uchiha clan, she had grown up with few friends besides Kyosuke and Obito. Her peers and even the clan elders always kept a certain distance. But that never stopped Nagisa from cherishing her kinsmen, which was why the deaths of Uchiha Chiko and the others who had sacrificed themselves for her had been such a devastating blow.
Now, the same tragedy was unfolding before her very eyes, and just like before, she was utterly powerless to stop it.
Regret, agony, and self-loathing flooded her mind in an instant. As the violent emotional storm raged within her, the pupils of her eyes began to transform.
Three black tomoe swirled into existence in her Sharingan. With a surge of newfound power, Nagisa's face turned to ice. She effortlessly dodged an enemy's strike and, with a powerful crack of her whip, sent the attacker flying.
"Whoa, you've got to be kidding me..." the leader of the attacking ninja muttered, barely stopping himself from crying out. Fortunately, the one sent flying was not dead, so his identity remained hidden. Otherwise, their entire plan would have been ruined.
These attackers were, in fact, Tobi and a team of White Zetsu disguised as Iwa ninja. Their sole purpose was to capture Uchiha Nagisa.
They were surprised to find that the girl was far stronger than their intelligence reports had indicated; she had nearly exposed their disguise. But surprise was all it was. In her current state, Nagisa was still no match for Tobi.
After a brief struggle, Tobi looked down at the unconscious girl on the ground and chuckled softly. He turned to a White Zetsu. "The rest is up to you."
"Heh heh, just watch me," the Zetsu replied as its appearance began to morph.
Picking up a kunai from the ground, the transformed Zetsu brutally stabbed it into its own abdomen. Clutching the wound, it staggered away, making a desperate "escape" into the distance.
Tobi and the others tidied up the scene. He absorbed the unconscious Nagisa into his dimension and then sped off in the direction of the main Iwa encampment.
The White Zetsu, now perfectly disguised as the wounded guardian shinobi, quickly found its next target: the Uchiha clan's powerful and respected Second Elder.
The elder sliced through an enemy with his sword. Hearing a noise behind him, he spun around, and his expression immediately darkened.
"What happened? What's going on?!" the Second Elder demanded, rushing to the wounded ninja's side with a hint of panic in his voice.
"We... we were ambushed by an Iwa squad..." the Zetsu clone gasped out between breaths.
"Where is Lady Nagisa? Is she alright?!" the elder roared, his face a mask of fury.
The "guardian" lowered his head in anguish. "Lady Nagisa... was taken by the Iwa ninja."
"ARGH!" With a furious howl, the Second Elder grabbed him, his eyes wild. "Which way did they go?"
With great effort, the Zetsu raised a trembling finger and pointed. A furious command rang out, and the Second Elder, followed by a large group of Uchiha ninja, shot off in the indicated direction.
Easier than I thought, the Zetsu thought, a nearly invisible smirk playing on its lips. As the Uchiha's attention was diverted, it slipped silently into the crowd and vanished.
Meanwhile, Tobi received the update. He paused for a moment in thought, then had another White Zetsu clone assume the appearance of a ninja named Tōshi and sent it to the nearest Iwa outpost to call for reinforcements. He and the remaining Zetsu found a spot near a river to wait for the enemy.
"Remember, be careful when you make your move. That old man is a crucial actor in this little play. We can't have him getting killed," Tobi reminded them cheerfully. As he spoke, he seemed to hit upon a wonderful thought and began to dance around giddily.
"Relax, you can count on us," one of the Zetsu replied before diving into the river to set the stage for the show that was about to begin.
Just as they finished their preparations, the real Iwa reinforcements arrived.
After a quick exchange, the Iwa ninja learned that the unconscious girl was an important Uchiha figure and that a large rescue party was likely on its way. Their faces lit up with excitement.
Just then, the sharp sound of bodies cutting through the air echoed from the distance.
"I've found you." The Second Elder's cold voice rang in everyone's ears.
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