"Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu?" Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed. It was the first time he had ever heard that term.
Menma offered no explanation. He simply leaned down and gently scooped up the sleeping Kimimaro.
The young boy still carried a trace of baby fat on his cheeks, which were flushed a faint pink from the lingering fever of his condition. Fine beads of sweat shimmered on his forehead as his breathing finally evened out.
"That is the second one," Orochimaru hissed, licking his lips with a trace of dissatisfaction and envy. "The next one must go to me!"
Shura was being far too aggressive. First, he claimed the Ice Release child from the Yuki clan, and now he was walking away with the crown jewel of the Kaguya clan.
"The first," Menma corrected him, tossing a Flying Raijin kunai at Orochimaru's feet. "Haku was not from Kirigakure. Furthermore, I found him myself."
"Hmph. I'm already starting to regret bringing you here," Orochimaru muttered darkly.
Menma ignored the serpent's grumbling and activated the Flying Raijin Technique for an ultra-long-range teleportation. A moment later, he vanished, returning seconds later after dropping the boy at the base.
"Let's move," Menma said to the brooding Orochimaru. "The Kaguya district is currently filled with nothing but the elderly, women, and children. If you want to 'recruit' some subjects, now is the perfect time."
This suggestion finally eased Orochimaru's mood.
Throughout the night, the two moved like ghosts through the Kaguya district, abducting children with potential. Whenever they encountered elderly members or women who stayed behind, Orochimaru struck without mercy, sealing their bodies into storage scrolls for future study.
"These Kaguya wouldn't have survived until morning anyway," Orochimaru justified with a cold sneer. "It makes no difference whose hands they die by."
Menma took the opportunity to sweep up a large collection of the Kaguya clan's secret technique scrolls. While these jutsu required the Shikotsumyaku bloodline to function, they served as invaluable "pre-requisite technology" for his research into the Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu.
While the two were ransacking the Kaguya's inventory and youth, an unprecedented uprising erupted in the heart of Kirigakure.
Nearly the entire combat strength of the Kaguya clan had mobilized. The Patriarch himself led the charge, a white tide of bone and fury crashing toward the Mizukage Building.
However, Yagura Karatachi had already placed the noble districts under heavy ANBU surveillance. The moment the Kaguya crossed their borders, word reached the Mizukage.
Yagura ordered Suikazan Fuguki to lead the ANBU in a counter-offensive and issued a general order to all other clans and commoner ninjas: Crush the Kaguya.
"Hmph. A bunch of fools who don't know the meaning of death."
In the Mizukage's office, Yagura sat in his chair like a wooden doll. A low, mocking hum drifted from the shadows behind him.
Uchiha Obito, clad in his deep blue robes and tiger-striped mask, stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. He watched the escalating battlefield with a cold detachment, secretly wishing for every single ninja in the Mist to perish.
"Hey, hey, Obito!" A pitcher-plant figure emerged from the floor. White Zetsu's half of the face chirped excitedly. "The fight down there is amazing! It looks like they're going to beat the crap—literally—out of each other!"
"Call me Madara!" Obito snapped, his voice icy.
"Sure thing, Obito-sama!" White Zetsu grinned, unbothered.
Obito ignored him and turned back to the window.
The battle below was fierce, but Yagura didn't even need to step in. The Kirigakure ANBU held the first wave. Soon, the other noble clans joined the suppression—some out of fear of the Mizukage's temper, others out of a desire to see their rivals fall. The commoner ninjas, long tired of the Kaguya's madness, fought the hardest of all.
"How are things with Nagato and Konan?" Obito asked.
"Same as usual," Zetsu shrugged. "The Six Paths of Pain aren't finished yet, and there's still no word on the new recruits."
Obito's gaze lingered on the battlefield, thinking of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who had already defected. Perhaps it was time to gather those stray pieces into his collection.
Suddenly, White Zetsu's expression shifted. "Someone's coming."
Obito instantly slipped into the shadows of the Kamui dimension as Zetsu sank into the floor.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The sound of footsteps approached. A ninja with spiky hair and a Kirigakure headband tied at a rakish angle pushed the door open. He carried a standard blade on his back—at this time, Biwa Juzo was still alive, so the Executioner's Blade was not yet available to him.
Bandages wrapped the lower half of his face, but they couldn't hide the sharp, murderous glint in his eyes. It was the "Demon of the Mist," Momochi Zabuza.
From the shadows, Obito watched as the puppet-like Yagura looked up.
"Zabuza. Why are you here instead of suppressing the Kaguya rebellion?" Yagura asked, his purple eyes cold and hollow.
Despite his boyish appearance, Yagura was a grown man with a family. His son was roughly the same age as Itachi Uchiha.
"Lord Mizukage, I have urgent information regarding the Kaguya coup," Zabuza said, pulling a scroll from his pouch as he stepped forward.
Step. Step. Step.
Just as he reached the desk, Zabuza tossed the scroll into the air. In a blur of movement, he lunged forward, drawing his sword and swinging it down with a thunderous roar!
CRACK!
The blade sliced through the desk and Yagura's body simultaneously.
But Zabuza's instincts screamed at him. A Kage wouldn't die that easily. Sure enough, the bifurcated body of Yagura collapsed into a puddle of water.
Mizu Bunshin.
Yagura emerged from a side shadow, wielding his signature hooked staff. He looked at Zabuza with vacant, indifferent eyes.
"Heh... I knew it wouldn't be that simple." Zabuza wasn't discouraged. Instead, his blood began to boil with a frantic desire for slaughter.
He had waited for this golden opportunity. The ANBU were busy with the Kaguya, and even Suikazan Fuguki was elsewhere. If he didn't succeed now, he never would.
Zabuza was putting everything on the line.
"So, you intend to rebel as well?" Yagura asked, raising his staff.
"The title of Mizukage has always belonged to the strong, hasn't it?" Zabuza hoisted his sword, a manic light dancing in his eyes. "If I kill you, I'll take that seat for myself!"
Before the words had even finished echoing, steel clashed against iron, sending a spray of sparks across the darkened office.