"I didn't expect the Third to actually approve your request…"
Outside Kirigakure's frontline camp, Mei Terumi looked at Rei Kaguya, who had already packed his gear and was preparing to temporarily leave the front line to head toward the countries surrounding the Land of Fire and attract Konoha's attention.
Unable to fully relax, she reminded him, "Rei, be careful. The place you're going is too far from Kirigakure's sphere of influence. Whether it's intelligence or manpower, we won't be able to provide you with enough support… Try not to take the initiative to cause trouble, all right?"
"The way you say that makes you sound like my sister after she got married and became all naggy."
Rei Kaguya shook his head in amusement, then held Mei Terumi's hand and turned the reminder back on her.
"Rather than worrying about me causing trouble, pay more attention to your own safety, Mei Terumi… Konoha's shinobi won't come looking for trouble with me unless they have absolute confidence. But you're different. You're still on the front line between two armies, and you don't have any good means of protecting yourself. The chance of you running into life-threatening danger is much higher than mine."
"I'll be careful."
"Being careful alone isn't enough."
As he said that, Rei Kaguya took out six special Biscuits he had saved over the past few days from his pocket and placed them in Mei Terumi's hand. Then he looked into her eyes and spoke slowly.
"Here. They're the same as the secret medicine I gave you during the Battle of Kannaen Mountain. I specially adjusted the ratio in the formula. If you run into major trouble, eat one, then run for your life. I'll handle the defensive part for you."
"So it really was your chakra that protected me from the Human Bullet Tank that day?"
Mei Terumi accepted the Biscuits and looked at Rei Kaguya with a complicated expression.
Rei Kaguya reached out and ruffled her hair, his tone carrying some emotion.
"My perception wasn't that clear from my side. I only knew that you had probably taken my specially made secret medicine and needed my help… But chakra transmitted from such a long distance could actually withstand the impact of Human Bullet Tank? Then I can go out and train with peace of mind…"
"Train?"
Mei Terumi's dark brows furrowed slightly.
"Aren't you leaving to find a way to remove the Flying Thunder God mark on your body, Rei?"
"The process of finding a solution is itself a kind of training, Mei Terumi."
Rei Kaguya lifted the bangs blocking Mei Terumi's eye. Looking at that beautiful emerald-green eye, he said leisurely, "What I'm searching for is not only a way to remove the Flying Thunder God mark. I'm also searching for a way to resolve the flaws Kirigakure has accumulated over all these years… If I don't go out, see more, and witness how different countries and different hidden villages have explored their own paths, I won't be able to find a suitable new path for Kirigakure."
"When you return from your training, that will be the time to disperse the Bloody Mist covering Kirigakure's sky… is that it? I understand…"
"So live properly, Mei Terumi."
Rei Kaguya finished forming the hand seal for the Body Flicker Technique and smiled at the thoughtful Mei Terumi.
"I'm counting on being able to dump half the troublesome work on you, my capable advisor, in the future."
"No. Being an ordinary jonin is enough for me."
Mei Terumi snorted and stubbornly turned her head aside.
"Tch. Can your mouth stop being so hard?"
Rei Kaguya shook his head and disappeared from Mei Terumi's sight. At the same time, he left behind a message that slowly drifted away in the wind.
"Everyone is already stressed enough just from doing shinobi work. If you always like being stubborn and waiting for others to speak first, the chance of you never getting married will increase by a lot…"
Never getting married?
Mei Terumi lowered her head and looked at her chest, which was already very well-developed among girls her age. Then she created a water mirror and looked at the beautiful girl in the reflection, whose figure was graceful and whose face was charming.
Very unhappy, she punched toward the place where Rei Kaguya had disappeared.
"Bullshit. You think I need to worry about never getting married?"
…
After parting with Mei Terumi, the person he had the best relationship with, Rei Kaguya first traveled at full speed for almost half a day. Only after confirming that he had shaken off any possible tails did he stop, take out a map of the Land of Fire and the surrounding countries from his robe, and begin comparing it with his current location.
This time, Rei Kaguya's main purpose in leaving the battlefield was to find Ryuchi Cave, then learn orthodox Ryuchi Cave senjutsu from the White Snake Sage.
Only after that came secondary goals such as taking revenge on Orochimaru and contacting the Akatsuki.
There was no need to mention the importance of Sage Mode. As for targeting Orochimaru, that was purely because Rei Kaguya was in a bad mood after being plotted against. He intended to use the chance to put pressure on Konoha and repay the favor in passing.
Of course, with Orochimaru's vitality, which was even more stubborn than a cockroach's, even if Rei Kaguya really found an opportunity to block him, he probably would not be able to kill this number-one survival king of Naruto.
But as long as he could trigger Dark Harvest on Orochimaru and ruthlessly injure that already not-so-strong soul of his, Rei Kaguya would be satisfied.
As for contacting the Akatsuki again, that was purely because Rei Kaguya wanted to see whether Nagato had brought any changes to the original Akatsuki after being successfully fooled by him.
If the Akatsuki could change because of this and grow into a stronger, more influential pacifist organization, then Rei Kaguya would be very happy to provide them with more support and public backing as Mizukage.
After all, the Land of Rain, where the Akatsuki mainly operated, was at the border of the Land of Wind, Land of Fire, and Land of Earth. Wouldn't it be good to let Nagato and Yahiko cause trouble for the three villages over there?
Even if Hanzo and Danzo truly had heaven-defying ability and still managed to successfully scheme against the Akatsuki's leaders under such circumstances…
Then as an allied force that had supported the Akatsuki's activities early on, wouldn't it be perfectly natural for him to draw Nagato and the remaining members of the Akatsuki over to Kirigakure's side?
Nagato was such a useful tool. Why did he have to leave him for Obito?
But right now, it would be better to first find a way to locate Ryuchi Cave before thinking about anything else.
"Ryuchi Cave, Ryuchi Cave… If I remember correctly, Jugo and Orochimaru's experimental subjects with curse marks all stayed in his northern hideout, right? And his Otogakure is in the Land of Rice Fields. Thinking about it that way, in order to borrow the natural energy leaking from Ryuchi Cave to create curse mark-compatible subjects, the distance between the northern hideout and Ryuchi Cave shouldn't be too far…"
"But if it's the Land of Rice Fields, I'll basically have to cut through the middle of the Land of Fire to get there quickly…"
"Forget it. I'll head in that direction first. Maybe once I get close, the curse mark's perception will become a bit clearer."
Rei Kaguya put away the map in his hand, temporarily released the Four Symbols Seal he had placed on the curse mark, injected chakra into it, and began using the curse mark's power to faintly sense Ryuchi Cave's direction.
At the same time, inside one of Konoha's laboratories, Orochimaru put down the freshly produced experimental data in his hand. He extended his tongue and licked his lips, then gave a gloomy laugh.
"The power of the curse mark has been stimulated… Interesting. Is this your way of challenging me, Rei-kun?"
"If so… I will prepare a grand surprise for you."
Hearing her teacher, who had been silently staying in the laboratory for three straight days, suddenly let out such a creepy laugh, Anko Mitarashi could not help shivering. Then she tiptoed out of the laboratory.
Orochimaru-sensei was good in every way.
But when he started conducting experiments, that overly fanatical expression of his was truly frightening.