Chapter 110: Obito: It's All This World's Fault
At Mei Terumī's command, dozens of ninja, who had been ready for some time, blurred into afterimages and sped towards the Mizukage Tower.
Meanwhile...
After crushing a bounty hunter's throat, Orochimaru looked at Kurosuki Raiga and let out a sinister laugh. "You're holding the Kiba blades. To think you're one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!"
Kurosuki Raiga glanced at the dozen-plus bounty hunters lying scattered on the ground. His face was grim as his figure flickered, retreating into the distance.
Their mission had been to locate Orochimaru and monitor his movements, not to engage him directly. But Orochimaru had detected them and single-handedly wiped out their entire team. Raiga had told them Orochimaru wouldn't be easy. Things had turned out exactly as he'd predicted.
Orochimaru glanced thoughtfully in the direction Raiga had fled. He was unsure why they had been targeting him. Kurosuki Raiga was a rogue-nin from Kirigakure, so the mastermind certainly wasn't the Mist village itself.
After a moment of thought, Orochimaru couldn't find an answer. He left the house with Haku and moved to a new hideout.
Mizukage Tower.
BOOM!
With a heavy thud, Sora was struck by the Tailed Beast-transformed Yagura and sent flying, crashing violently into a shop on the street.
Sora crawled wretchedly from the ruins, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "That guy let him break free? How did he mess that up?" he grunted. If not for the protection of his Shikotsumyaku, that blow would have done far more than just make him spit up blood.
Kanryu, having dodged a fierce blow with his Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, called out, "This is no time to complain! Get over here and help me pin him down!" Against the tough hide of the Tailed Beast form, Kanryu's Ice Release techniques were having little effect. And Komaru's Red Eye dōjutsu was useless against Yagura, who was now immune to most genjutsu.
Only Kisame could barely hold his own.
Komaru turned and roared at Zabuza, "Bastard, what are you standing there for? After we fall, you're next!"
Zabuza had assumed he was the star of tonight's coup. But seeing Yagura's ferocious power, he couldn't help but swallow nervously. He knew he had no choice. He took a deep breath and charged at the Mizukage.
The other three pinned Yagura down, creating an opening for Kisame. Seizing the chance, Kisame leaped high and brought Samehada crashing down.
But at that exact moment, Samehada suddenly became extremely resistant. Spikes erupted from its hilt, stabbing into Kisame's palm.
"What the—?!" Kisame cried out in pain, instinctively letting go of the blade.
Samehada, now free, burst its bandages, crawled over to Yagura's feet, and affectionately nuzzled him. Yagura gripped the sword and glared at Kisame and the others. "You all deserve to die."
Komaru suddenly shouted, "This is bad, reinforcements are coming!"
Kisame stared mournfully at Samehada, now in Yagura's hand. He gritted his teeth. "Retreat!"
In truth, all five of them had already been thinking of retreating. Yagura knew all their techniques and fighting styles. They were fighting with their hands tied, unable to use their full strength. With reinforcements approaching, it was time to go.
In an instant, Kisame, Komaru, Sora, and Kanryu used Body Flicker to vanish. Zabuza, seeing this, grabbed his few remaining followers and fled in the opposite direction.
Yagura ignored Zabuza, instead pursuing Kisame's group.
Pakura, Sasori, and Izumi, who had been watching from the sidelines, exchanged a glance and entered the tower to rendezvous with Neji-kun.
Uchiha Izumi, noticing Neji-kun seemed to be in a good mood, asked, "Neji-kun, are we not going to help?"
Neji-kun chuckled. "This is Kirigakure's internal business. As outsiders, it's not our place to interfere."
After losing Kisame's trail, Yagura returned, regretting that he hadn't asked Neji-kun for help. The village was in chaos. Hunting traitors was important, but stabilizing the situation was the priority.
Yagura rendezvoused with the Elder, and they joined forces to round up Zabuza's remaining men and the looters. Two hours later, the situation was back under control.
Dawn broke, piercing the mist, and the village regained some semblance of life. After cleaning up the mess, Yagura immediately convened a high-level meeting in the Mizukage Tower.
Neji-kun was also invited.
Yagura, glancing at the Elder and the others, held nothing back and explained how he had been controlled by the mysterious masked man.
"If not for the help of our friends from Kumogakure," Yagura admitted, "I fear I would have never broken free of that genjutsu."
The Kiri leadership, though they had been somewhat prepared for this, was still in an uproar. Some were furious, others were shouting in outrage.
The Elder raised his hand for silence. "Yagura, you won't mind if Ao inspects your body, will you?"
Yagura hesitated, instinctively glancing at Neji-kun. After receiving a subtle nod, he agreed. "Of course."
Ao activated his Byakugan and carefully inspected Yagura. His brain and chest were clear of any foreign chakra. However, on Yagura's abdomen, there was a new sealing formula Ao had never seen before.
Ao hesitated. "Lord Mizukage, the sealing formula on your abdomen...?"
Yagura replied coolly, "That is a new seal to reinforce the Jinchuriki's seal. With your eyes, you should be able to tell it is not a genjutsu."
Ao nodded slightly and announced to the room, "Lord Mizukage's body is healthy. There are no abnormalities."
The Elder sighed in relief. "Yagura, too much blood has been spilled. Though it wasn't your will, you must account for it."
Yagura stood, bowed deeply, and said, "Kiri's plight is my responsibility. Once a suitable successor is chosen, I will resign as Mizukage."
Seeing Yagura's willingness to step down, the Elder was relieved. 'He still understands his duty,' he thought.
Neji-kun's eyebrow raised. He sensed Yagura's little trick. That seal was the Yachihoko mark Uchiha Hikari had placed on him. Knowing he was still under someone's control, he was proactively stepping down to indirectly lessen Kumogakure's influence over Kirigakure.
Neji-kun wasn't bothered by Yagura's scheming. With the Six-Tails Jinchuriki captured by Kumo and the Three-Tails Jinchuriki controlled by Hikari, the entire Hidden Mist Village was a meal on his plate, to be eaten whenever he pleased.
At this point, Neji-kun spoke up. "Then, regarding Kirigakure's war against Kumogakure..."
Yagura cut him off. "Neji-kun, your village has always been Kiri's most reliable partner. It was only because I was manipulated that we raised arms. There's no time like the present. Today, Kirigakure will form an alliance with Kumogakure."
Neji-kun nodded slightly. "Yagura-dono, Kumo's armies are retreating on two fronts... furthermore, we have reliable intel that Sunagakure has invaded from the south. We need your village's assistance."
An hour later, Mei Terumī, her brow furrowed, was the last to leave the meeting room. The Elder was waiting. "Mei, what did Yagura say to you?"
"He wants me to lead a force to support Kumogakure." She paused. "He also said... if I succeed, he will step down and name me as the Fifth Mizukage."
"That's wonderful news!" Ao, beside her, said excitedly.
But the Elder frowned. "Supporting Kumogakure... that mission will not be easy to complete."
Mei nodded. "I know. Sunagakure has joined the war. Kumo is now facing three enemies. The situation is not optimistic."
Both she and the Elder knew that Yagura, as Jinchuriki, was the best person for this mission. By giving it to Mei, he was testing her.
Mei couldn't refuse. She was the only viable candidate, and she had always wanted to be Mizukage to change the village. She felt that if she couldn't even complete this task, she truly wasn't suited for the position.
The Elder, understanding her resolve, said, "Mei, you have my full support. Tell me what you need."
Mei's expression turned serious. "Grandfather-Elder, release Zabuza. I need his help."
The Elder hesitated. "Zabuza is a traitor... he's not to be trusted."
Mei replied firmly, "If I can't even win over Zabuza, how can I expect anyone else to follow me?"
A look of surprise crossed the Elder's face. 'She's finally matured,' he thought.
The Elder smiled. "In that case, let's go and see this 'Demon'."
Elsewhere, Neji-kun... received intel from Kurosuki Raiga. "Orochimaru is certainly cautious," Neji-kun mused.
After thinking, Neji-kun instructed Raiga to request a meeting with Orochimaru... using the name of the "Star of the Cloud."
On another front, Kisame, Komaru, Sora, and Kanryu had escaped the Kiri ANBU and were hiding on a nameless island... "Tch!" Kanryu spat, cursing. "That bastard... we were set up!"
He was, of course, cursing Obito. They thought joining Akatsuki would be an escape, but now they were just hunted dogs.
Kisame... was more pragmatic. "With the Mizukage free, he'll start a purge. We're lucky just to be alive."
Just then... a figure in an Akatsuki cloak burst out... "I'm Tobi! The organization sent me to pick you up!" Tobi waved cheerfully.
Komaru activated his Red Eye to observe him and was stunned. In his vision, Tobi's body had no flesh or blood, yet it possessed a real life signature.
Sora complained, "How did the Mizukage break free? And where is he?"
"Eep! It's a long story!" Tobi said. "Let's head to the Akatsuki hideout first, I'll explain on the way!"
On a nameless island in the Land of Water, space warped, and Obito's figure slowly emerged... Just as Neji-kun suspected, Obito had used Izanagi at the last second, surviving the combined annihilation of Amaterasu and the Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
He had even delayed his revival, waiting until Neji-kun had left the vault before finding a safe moment to reappear.
Black and White Zetsu looked at him, surprised. White Zetsu giggled, "Obito, you look terrible!"
Obito remained silent.
His mind was consumed by the illusion he'd seen in the Tsukuyomi... Just as he had manipulated Nagato, Madara had manipulated him. Rin was his most important person, just as Yahiko was to Nagato. Therefore, they both had to die.
But Obito's thought process was not normal. He didn't reflect on how Madara had orchestrated Rin's death; he still blamed the world for everything.
"Rin's death... my miserable survival... it's all the fault of this false, absurd world!"
"Humans are controlled by traps and greed... Even if I brought Rin back, the tragedy would just repeat itself." Obito's eyes grew more and more crazed.
Black and White Zetsu... were used to his episodes. Black Zetsu asked, "Obito, what happened?"
Obito removed his mask, revealing his scarred face. His left eye, the transplanted Sharingan, was a pale, sightless white, its dōjutsu completely spent.
Zetsu was shocked... "You even used Izanagi? Who in this world could possibly kill you?"
Using Izanagi meant Obito had died once...
"It was Kumogakure's 'Star of the Cloud'."