In the Land of Water, the moonlight appeared particularly hazy amidst the thick fog.
Inside Kirigakure, the deep night caused all shops to close early, and the streetlights had quietly shut off.
A faint breeze rustled through the village, and everything was exceptionally quiet.
Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh—
But just then, shadows suddenly appeared on the previously silent streets.
These shadows moved silently through the thick fog like ghosts, their destination being the Mizukage Building.
Whoosh—
Before long, alarms suddenly blared throughout Kirigakure. This alarm, piercing the peaceful night, seemed to be the beginning of chaos.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"They've rebelled, protect the Mizukage!"
"Idiot, the Mizukage is the bane of Kirigakure!"
At this moment, roars and curses, along with the booming of explosive tags and Ninjutsu, intertwined with the sharp, piercing alarm within Kirigakure.
"This is truly terrifying…"
Jiraiya, hidden in the shadows, watched the frenzied Kirigakure and gulped.
He already knew that Kirigakure was on the verge of eruption, so he wasn't surprised by this development, but the brutality before him left him speechless.
He had seen war, but this was his first time witnessing such chaos erupting within a village.
Not only him, but even Kakashi, who had once been forced into an 'assassination of the Hokage' plot, was seeing a scene like this for the first time.
These Kirigakure Ninja seemed to have gone mad, completely disregarding their former comrades.
Moreover, the scale of the battle at this moment was no less than that of a war.
"Hmph, if they had been like this back then, why would I be in this situation now?"
Zabuza's gaze was somewhat dazed. He had personally launched a rebellion, only to end in failure.
Everything before him was a scene he had once fantasized about.
However, he quickly came to his senses. The 'excitement' belonged to others, he had nothing. Moreover, his life was still in someone else's hands.
"What exactly do you want to do?"
Zabuza looked up at Jiraiya and the others, asking in a deep voice.
"You wanted me to bring you into the Land of Water, and I did."
"You wanted me to bring you into Kirigakure, and I completed that too. So now what?"
"Even if you're going to kill me according to the rules, please make it quick."
"I don't want to die, but I am not afraid of death. At least, seeing this situation, I am satisfied!"
Haku also looked up at this moment, his eyes filled with worry and vigilance.
Although these Konoha Ninja hadn't done anything to them along the way, he had, after all, served in the Anbu, so he naturally knew some of their methods.
"Takemi, can you pinpoint the location of the mark now?"
Jiraiya ignored the two of them. He turned to Takemi and asked softly. Kakashi also leaned in.
"Yes."
Takemi nodded, pointing a finger forward.
"Before, it was too far, and I could only vaguely sense it, but now I can confirm its location. It's over there."
"There?"
Kakashi looked in the direction Takemi was pointing, then turned his head to Zabuza.
"What is that place?"
"Hmph."
Zabuza snorted, but he also looked over.
He frowned slightly but quickly sneered again, "There? That's an Anbu base. If I'm not mistaken, its owner is that fat old man, Suikazan Fuguki."
Suikazan Fuguki?
Takemi suddenly thought of something, immediately turning his gaze to Zabuza. For some reason, this gaze made Zabuza shiver.
.....
"Only you, who performed so many dirty missions for the village and were finally betrayed, truly know that the world is nothing but a falsehood."
The battle within Kirigakure had fully erupted, and in this Anbu underground base, Kisame had already killed Fuguki. But when he tried to leave, he was stopped by the Fourth Mizukage.
He had expected another tough battle, but unexpectedly, the Fourth Mizukage seemed to agree with his actions, and the Mizukage's words moved him.
"I realized that when I killed my comrades." Kisame spoke in a low voice, his eyes tinged with blood.
"I myself am a Kirigakure ninja, yet I killedl fellow Kirigakure ninjas, what kind of person am I? Friend or foe? What is my purpose? Where do I stand?"
"Where am I going? Where can I find peace? The only thing I truly experience is my own falsehood!"
"Then let me help you break free from the pain of falsehood. I will build a place for you to belong."
Just then, a voice came from behind the Fourth Mizukage, a voice completely different from the Fourth Mizukage's.
"Who are you?"
Kisame's expression changed, and he immediately placed his hand on the Samehada behind him.
"Starting with this country."
A dark figure slowly emerged from behind the Fourth Mizukage. The shadows obscured his face, making him momentarily unidentifiable, and he paid no attention to Kisame's movements.
"You have always fought for killing your comrades. Let everything start from here."
"Starting from here…"
Kisame's gaze was somewhat strange, but his heart was indeed moved. He knew that the village was turbulent, which was why he had chosen to act at this time.
Could it be that all of this was planned?
However, Kisame quickly refocused his attention on the mysterious person before him, asking intently, "You seem to trust me greatly, but I don't even know who you are."
The mysterious person did not speak. He merely opened his eyes slightly, their crimson color strikingly conspicuous in the shadows.
"Eyes shining in the darkness…"
At this moment, Kisame seemed to understand something.
"So that's it, the person I always thought was the Fourth Mizukage was actually you. I can't believe you've been controlling the Fourth Mizukage with your Sharingan all this time…"
At this point, Kisame suddenly laughed.
"This world is indeed false. With that eye that can control the Fourth Mizukage, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, you are an Uchiha…"
Bang—
However, before Kisame could finish speaking, a nearby wall was suddenly smashed open with a heavy blow.
Immediately after, three figures quickly rushed in through the broken wall. They quickly scanned the people inside, finally settling their gaze on the person in the shadows.
"We finally found you, Obito!"
"…"
Kisame blinked. Obito?
Who is this guy?
Isn't this Uchiha Madara?
And Obito's face flushed slightly, he had clearly seen who the newcomers were.
Jiraiya, that damned brat from last time, and…
"Kakashi!"
He just couldn't understand why these guys would show up at this moment, why they had to interrupt him precisely now?
He felt as if his luck had started to worsen ever since he had met that brat.
"Obito…"
Kakashi's gaze remained fixed on Obito. After a long moment, he spoke in a low voice, "Is it really you?"
"…"
Obito was somewhat silent. He really wanted to curse right now, but the words changed as they reached his lips, "Kakashi, you're still as useless as ever. Truly disappointing."
"Why…"
Kakashi took a deep breath, staring at Obito.
"Since you didn't die, why didn't you return to the village? Why did you become like this? You…"
"Does any of that matter?"
Obito spread his hands, speaking indifferently, "Besides, if you insist on a reason, is Rin's death enough?"
That single sentence made Kakashi's breathing turn heavy.
Kisame watched everything with alertness and curiosity, Jiraiya sighed inwardly, and only Takemi's gaze fell upon the Fourth Mizukage, who was like a puppet.
He felt a similar sensation and reaction from the Mizukage as he did when he encountered Naruto.
"Is it Three-Tails' Chakra…"
(End of Chapter)
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