"You said you want to temporarily leave the front line? What does that mean, Rei Kaguya?"
After safely withdrawing to Kirigakure's frontline camp with the remnants of his force, Rei immediately brought Mei Terumi with him to meet Fuguki Suikazan, who was currently overwhelmed with work, and made that request.
"It is merely to protect the others on the front line."
Rei shrugged.
Then, in front of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who had gathered here for unknown reasons, he removed the traditional upper garment of the Kaguya clan, revealing his back, which had well-proportioned bones, clear muscle lines, and not a single wound.
"Are you trying to show us how well you protected yourself on the battlefield, brat?"
The hot-tempered Raiga Kurosuki frowned and was the first to attack verbally.
Immediately after, Kushimaru Kuriarare, the user of the Longsword: Nuibari from the Merciless Duo, followed in an icy voice.
"If you think your current body is already perfect, I can help sew on some more fitting limbs for free… I guarantee it will make you look far more suitable for the name monster, Rei Kaguya."
"No, something's wrong. That's not what he wants us to look at."
Juzo Biwa stopped his colleagues' increasingly hostile remarks. Pointing at a black mark near Rei's shoulder blade, he frowned and asked,
"What is that thing that looks like a chain of curse marks?"
"The Flying Thunder God mark left by Minato Namikaze. It allows him to lock onto my position from Konoha's main village and teleport directly over at any time."
Rei casually threw out an answer that instantly made everyone present tense every muscle in their bodies.
"Hey, hey, hey. That is not the kind of joke you can casually make, Rei Kaguya…"
Jinpachi Munashi, wielder of the Blast Sword: Shibuki, gripped the hilt of the ninja sword on his back tightly.
"Is that really a mark left by the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"Absolutely."
Mei Terumi, who had come to the meeting with Rei, nodded. As a witness, she raised her hand and said,
"During the battle where Kannabeyama fell, Minato Namikaze used this mark to ambush Rei from outside our alert range and transfer him away from the frontal battlefield…"
"Is that true…"
Jinin Akebino turned toward Fuguki Suikazan, who was responsible for intelligence work among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, hoping to obtain corresponding information from him as a basis for judgment.
"Fuguki, have those spies of yours hiding in Konoha sent back any useful intelligence?"
"They have."
Fuguki narrowed his eyes and spoke in a tone that made it impossible to hear what he was feeling.
"Konoha has temporarily transferred frontline command to a jonin from the Nara clan. The previous commander, Kushina Uzumaki, has returned to Konoha's main village with the also-injured Minato Namikaze to receive treatment due to the severe injuries she suffered in the Battle of Kannabeyama."
"Hiss…"
The sound of sharply drawn breaths echoed inside the meeting room, even making one feel as if the surrounding temperature had dropped noticeably.
The members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen did not care who Kushina Uzumaki was. Even after hearing the surname "Uzumaki," which was extremely familiar to them, they merely felt that she was a descendant of the Uzumaki clan that Konoha had hypocritically taken in after Uzushiogakure's destruction. There was nothing worth fearing.
What truly surprised and pressured them was the fact that Minato Namikaze had once again been knocked off the battlefield by Rei and forced to return to the village for treatment.
The first time the two sides clashed, one could say Rei had relied on the fact that his own intelligence had not been leaked and caught Minato, whose abilities had almost already been thoroughly studied, off guard.
But this time, Rei had been actively ambushed by Minato Namikaze. He had been caught in an unfavorable situation where the enemy had calculated against him while he was unprepared.
And even under those circumstances, he had still defeated Minato head-on again.
This was a heavy, valuable battle record.
Valuable enough that even the Third Mizukage, who had sat firmly in the Mizukage's seat for more than thirty years, could not help worrying that his own position might be challenged.
Moreover, Rei had only just celebrated his fifteenth birthday.
He was so young.
So talented.
For the Kirigakure shinobi who worshiped the strong, even if such a powerful person did nothing, large numbers of younger-generation shinobi would gather around him, becoming his supporters, becoming his followers, becoming…
The best help for him to rise to the Mizukage's seat.
A few people most loyal to the Third Mizukage had silently tightened their grips on their ninja swords, beginning to consider whether they should kill Rei on the spot to prevent him from threatening the Third Mizukage's position in the future.
"Can't you destroy that Flying Thunder God mark by cutting away that patch of skin and muscle?"
Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was gradually growing cold and confrontational, Juzo Biwa quickly stepped forward and took the initiative to ask Rei the question everyone cared about.
"No use. I've already tried many times."
Using the power of the Dead Bone Pulse, Rei turned his shoulder blade into a sharp curved blade. It burst out of his body through the area where the Flying Thunder God mark was located.
But as his skin and muscles healed, the Flying Thunder God mark, whose shape had already been destroyed, restored itself to its original complete appearance again. Not the slightest trace of having once been damaged remained.
"Now you should understand why I want to temporarily leave the frontline battlefield."
Rei put his upper garment back on and said calmly,
"Because of compatibility, Minato Namikaze truly does not have many good ways to deal with me. But if I continue staying on the front line with the village's other shinobi, then after he teleports over, he can slaughter the others without restraint."
"I do not believe many people can stop an assassination from the Flying Thunder God Technique. Moreover, if Minato Namikaze wants to leave, even I have no way to stop him… If we let someone like that enter our main formation and cause havoc at no cost, then no matter how great the advantage we accumulated in the early stage is, we cannot win this war."
No one spoke.
But looking at the extremely conflicted and complicated expressions on the faces of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Rei knew that his plan to temporarily withdraw from the front line had basically succeeded.
"After leaving the front line, what do you plan to do?"
After the silence lasted for a while, Fuguki Suikazan took the initiative to break the quiet inside the meeting room. Narrowing his small eyes, he asked Rei with a serious expression.
"I plan to look for a method to remove the Flying Thunder God mark."
Rei paused, then pointed at a map posted inside the meeting room.
"During this period, I will move around the Land of Fire and the surrounding countries, helping the front line tie down a portion of Konoha's shinobi while making it impossible for Minato Namikaze to interfere with your frontline offensive without restraint…"
"Is that so?"
Fuguki nodded lightly.
"I will report this matter and your request to Lord Third. I will give you an answer within three days, Rei Kaguya."
"Then I will trouble you, Lord Fuguki."
Rei nodded and left the meeting room together with Mei.
…
"Rei, why didn't you mention in the mission report that Kushina Uzumaki is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
After leaving, Mei, who had kept this question pressed down in her heart the entire time, tugged at Rei's sleeve and quietly asked her doubt beside his ear.
"If I had mentioned it, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would have been wiped from the shinobi world today… Even without the Third Mizukage's order, they absolutely would not tolerate a young shinobi capable of overthrowing the Third Mizukage's rule continuing to remain active on the battlefield."
As he spoke, Rei yawned. Looking at the thoughtful Mei, he quietly added,
"Besides that, the shinobi world would probably gain two more Kirigakure missing-nin."
"Two? Why?"
Mei's mind did not turn fast enough for a moment, and she instinctively asked.
"I definitely won't let myself be captured without resistance, so my name would certainly be on the list… As for why there would be two, surely you wouldn't have the heart to watch me challenge the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kirigakure's strongest Anbu, all by myself, right?"
"I would! Of course I would!"
Realizing that she had been teased again, Mei glared fiercely at Rei and vanished from his sight with a Body Flicker.
Seeing the faint blush that appeared on Mei's face before she left, Rei chuckled and hummed a tune as he walked toward his residence.
…
At the same time, inside the meeting room where the atmosphere seemed frozen.
Raiga Kurosuki turned his gaze toward Fuguki Suikazan and questioned him in a low voice.
"Why did you agree to convey his request to Lord Third? Don't tell me you can't see how dangerous he is, Fuguki."
"Because Lord Third is very dissatisfied with our recently stalled battle progress, Raiga."
Fuguki took out a mission scroll and threw it to his companions present, his voice cold.
"This is the new mission issued by Lord Third. He orders us to temporarily hand over command to the other jonin on the front line, then infiltrate Konoha's territory together and attempt a surprise attack on Konoha's main village."
"A direct surprise attack on Konoha's main village? Isn't that…"
After being the first to finish reading the mission scroll, Raiga was stunned at first. Then he suddenly slapped his palm as if understanding had dawned, and while throwing the scroll to the person beside him, he said with excitement,
"So you plan to use that brat Rei Kaguya as a conspicuous decoy, Fuguki?"
"That's right."
Fuguki looked around. The corners of his mouth slowly split open into a chilling smile.
"Minato Namikaze has been severely injured again by Rei Kaguya. The possibility of our plan being discovered and destroyed by that troublesome man has been greatly reduced. Then we let Rei Kaguya leave the front line and wander around the Land of Fire, forcing Konoha to put a great deal of attention and manpower into guarding against him…"
"In this way, the success rate of our surprise attack on Konoha's main village will increase greatly."
"As for how to deal with the problem called Rei Kaguya, there is no need for all of you to worry…"
"Among my collaborators in Konoha, many people are very interested in his body."