Sunlight filtered through the forest canopy, falling upon Uchiha Yu and casting his shadow long across the brown snake scales beneath him.
"Dual mainline quests... a perfect Jinchuriki body... This is clearly pushing me to accelerate the collection of tailed beasts.
The mission only states to help Kirigakure restore order. No specific method is prescribed.
That means there's plenty of flexibility. For example—what if I destroy the chaotic shinobi system of Kirigakure? Would that count as restoring order in another way?"
Yu remained calm as he analyzed the mission.
With a "Perfect Jinchuriki Body," there would be no need for sealing techniques to contain the tailed beasts, and no limit to how many could be collected.
That would make collecting the tailed beasts exponentially easier.
In that case, once he gathered all the tailed beasts and fused them into the Gedo Statue to revive the Ten-Tails, he could likely use this enhanced body as a vessel to become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki.
He set aside those thoughts for now.
Yu's expression relaxed, and his deep, dark eyes locked onto Terumi Mei as he asked:
"What if I don't want to help you?"
Terumi Mei's expression shifted slightly, her green eyes dimming. She remained in a kneeling position before Yu, but her sorrow was written plainly across her face.
It seemed that killing the fugitive Hyuga and retrieving the stolen intel scroll wasn't enough to move this Uchiha—someone who wielded divine-level power.
Standing off to the side, the older-looking Ao had been on edge since the moment he saw Yu. And now, with Yu's response, his heart sank—he knew they wouldn't be able to convince him.
"Let's not talk about rewards for now.
The Uchiha clan is currently a group of missing-nin. And I, myself, am an infamous S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha.
Inviting me to Kirigakure…
It means your village is ready to oppose Konoha—and risk the condemnation of the other shinobi nations.
Once I set foot in Kirigakure...
Will the high-ranking elders from your faction still sleep well at night?"
Yu questioned her coldly.
"Konoha can barely protect itself at this point. I... before coming here, I used Kirigakure's intelligence network to learn about some of the good deeds you've done in the shinobi world... I'm willing to trust in your character."
Terumi Mei's expression grew bleak. She lowered her posture even further, her smooth forehead nearly touching the serpent's cold scales beneath her auburn hair.
Before she came, she had already considered all these issues. But Kirigakure had reached a desperate state.
If the Fourth Mizukage's tyranny continued unchecked, the Land of Water and Kirigakure would be devoured by the great nations even before Konoha.
When Terumi Mei left for the mainland with Ao, she hadn't held out much hope. She hadn't expected to find a way out of Kirigakure's crisis so easily.
That changed when she heard that a group of Uchiha had defected from Konoha—and that the Sharingan was famous for genjutsu and mental manipulation.
After gathering intelligence on Uchiha Yu's character, Terumi Mei came to observe.
She followed the rogue shinobi to this place—and witnessed firsthand how Yu manipulated over ten thousand people, absorbing their chakra, and summoned a complete-body Susanoo. The hellish spectacle completely rewrote her understanding of power.
And gave her hope.
Yu ignored her words and turned his gaze to the stern-looking Ao beside her.
This man, despite appearing aged, had earned the moniker "Byakugan Slayer" and was on Konoha's most-wanted list. His right eye was covered with a black eyepatch.
"..."
Ao felt Yu's eyes land on his concealed right eye. His heart sank. The pressure was immense, sweat beaded down his back, and he prepared himself to flee with Terumi Mei at a moment's notice.
Yu retracted his gaze and looked back to Terumi Mei, thinking to himself:
'In truth, once Terumi Mei confirms the Fourth Mizukage is under mind control, Kirigakure will quickly return to normal.
Soon, she'll arrange for Ao to approach the Mizukage, using the Byakugan to search for signs of genjutsu or control.
What's unexpected is that before this happens, Terumi Mei, driven by desperation, will secretly flee the village to seek outside help.
If the Uchiha hadn't defected, she would've made a lap around the mainland, returned to Kirigakure, and—when all else failed—surely thought of using Ao to expose the truth behind the Mizukage's manipulation and end the Blood Mist era.'
' As for why Ao, despite having a Byakugan, never discovered the Fourth Mizukage's condition earlier…'
' That's understandable.'
'Ao wouldn't normally have access to the Mizukage, let alone be able to openly use a dōjutsu on his own Kage without any preparation. Not with Obito watching. That would be suicide.'
Uchiha Yu calmly looked at Terumi Mei. Sensing she had been pressured enough, he got straight to the point:
"Let's talk about payment."
The meaning was clear—pay up.
At those words, both Terumi Mei and Ao's eyes lit up. The former was overwhelmed with excitement, her breathing quickened, and even the armor on her chest heaved noticeably.
"This is essentially an S-rank mission issued by Kirigakure. As long as you're willing to assist us, I can personally guarantee that Kirigakure will always be a friend to the Uchiha. Of course, we will also compensate you with the standard payment for an S-rank mission!"
Terumi Mei spoke respectfully, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
"Not enough," Yu said bluntly.
"Then… what do you want?" Terumi Mei raised her head slightly—only to find Yu was inspecting her body.
She instantly lowered her gaze and fell silent after asking.
In truth, Yu's elevated position naturally gave him that viewing angle. But a verbal promise and some coin truly weren't worth the cost of saving one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Without hesitation, Yu replied, "I can lend you my strength. I can even help restore order in Kirigakure. But I want your village's tailed beast—the Six-Tails."
The moment he said it, Terumi Mei and Ao's expressions sank. Their minds grew heavy. When it came to something like a tailed beast, Terumi Mei didn't have the authority to decide.
"I… I might need to return and consult with the Elders." Her confidence wavered.
She couldn't be sure if those old men would ever agree to give up a tailed beast just to stabilize Kirigakure.
Yu nodded and said:
"I accept your commission. You can even wait to pay me until after the results are in."
The Uchiha nearby lit up with excitement. They had just barely ended their life on the run, and now an S-rank mission had landed in their laps—pure luck.
Had this happened a while ago, they might've suspected this was a trap set by Kirigakure to ensnare Captain Yu.
But after witnessing that terrifying, god-like red Susanoo...
The Uchiha believed it was Kirigakure that needed to worry. As for Captain Yu asking for a tailed beast as payment—none of them had even imagined he'd go that far.
Now that Yu had accepted the mission, Terumi Mei was visibly overjoyed. Yet after the initial relief came the heavy reality of that sky-high price. Still, her tone remained sincere and full of gratitude:
"On behalf of the people of Kirigakure… thank you, truly!"
Both she and Ao understood that asking Yu to quell the internal chaos of Kirigakure would come at a great risk. But at this point, they had no other options.
"Stand up," Yu said.
He gave Terumi Mei a sidelong glance, then instructed Minami to dispose of the heads of the rogue Hyuga branch members. Turning his back to Terumi Mei and Ao, he spoke in a low voice:
"I still have something to deal with in the Land of Grass. If there's nothing else, you can return to Kirigakure and wait for me."
Terumi Mei slowly rose to her feet. "We'll accompany you and wait until your business is done—then we can head to Kirigakure together."
"Alright."
Yu nodded, then looked out over the approaching grasslands, his mind already turning.
Before locating Shinno…
He could focus on completing Kirigakure's main storyline.
And while he was at it—track down a few tailed beasts.
Yu began thinking through the whereabouts of all nine Tailed Beasts at this point in time.
°°°
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