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Chapter 108n
🕑 Added 2025-07-24 15:37:59 +0000 UTCChapter 108n
2-in-1-chapter
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At sea, on an unnamed island.
The island itself wasn’t large, but it had the rare feature of fresh water, so when Kirigakure’s command center relocated for the third time, they chose this remote, uninhabited island. As for why they kept relocating their command center, the Fourth Mizukage explained that it was to prevent Konoha from retaliating in kind with a decapitation strike against their command.
To be honest, the younger shinobi scoffed at this reasoning.
For example, Hōzuki Mangetsu, a prodigy of the Hōzuki clan, had publicly mocked the Mizukage for having lost all courage after being defeated by the Uchiha. What surprised everyone most was that the Fourth Mizukage, usually ruthless and quick to kill, did not strike Mangetsu down with a Coral Palm; instead, he simply continued to deploy forces aggressively against Konoha’s shinobi.
He didn’t care how many were lost and didn’t leave the command center himself, almost as if Mangetsu’s accusation was true: the Fourth Mizukage had indeed been so broken by the Uchiha that he had lost all resolve.
The tide constantly crashed against the reef along the shore. A striking woman stood on the rocks, her long reddish-brown hair cascading down her back, her vivid emerald-green eyes bright and captivating. At that moment, she gazed out over the sea toward a small boat speeding toward the island.
The boat was indeed small.
It could barely hold five to seven people.
But its small size made it fast, and with Hōzuki Mangetsu, a master of water, at the helm manipulating tides and currents, they didn’t even need sails—the boat sped across the water like a rocket. In no time, the boat reached the shore.
Hōzuki Mangetsu, Momochi Zabuza, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Ringo Ameyuri disembarked.
Terumi Mei glanced at them and was satisfied.
Other than Mangetsu, everyone was somewhat wounded, but none had sustained serious injuries—no missing arms or broken legs.
“How were your results this time?”
Terumi Mei asked.
“Mixed, I’d say.”
Mangetsu, white-haired and sharp-toothed, stretched, “I took out two squads, but unfortunately they were just small fry—not Uchiha, and no Hyūga.”
“I got targeted by the Hyūga clan. The Byakugan is really annoying—my Silent Killing Technique was useless.”
Momochi Zabuza, his face wrapped in bandages so only his cold eyes showed, spoke with irritation. His situation wasn’t even as good as Mangetsu’s, who at least had killed two squads of small fry; Zabuza had been shadowed by a Hyūga jōnin so tightly that he couldn’t manage even a single kill.
“I killed a squad of Konoha shinobi who used Fire Style techniques—not Uchiha, they seemed to be from the Sarutobi clan.”
Kisame, with his shark-like face and a false smile capable of terrifying children, said this as Zabuza let out a disgruntled snort beside him.
“Bad luck.”
Ringo Ameyuri, with reddish-brown hair like Terumi Mei but none of her social grace, answered succinctly—so terse that Terumi Mei couldn’t even discern what “bad luck” meant in this context.
With no other choice, Terumi Mei turned to Mangetsu.
“Ameyuri ran into that Uchiha woman again! Her Lightning Release techniques were completely countered by that woman’s Wind Release. If I hadn’t passed by in time, Ameyuri wouldn’t have made it back alive today,” Mangetsu said, clicking his tongue. “The Sharingan’s genjutsu really is disgusting. If not for my decent survival skills, I would’ve nearly been taken down by that woman’s sword.”
Hearing this, the others all nodded reflexively.
It was true.
The Uchiha clan’s jōnin were their most troublesome opponents. The Sharingan’s genjutsu was difficult to deal with, and combined with Fire Style that could counter most ordinary Water Style jutsu, even prodigies like Mangetsu and his comrades had suffered many defeats recently at the hands of the Uchiha.
“Was it… Uchiha Chihaya?”
Terumi Mei furrowed her brows.
After so many days of conflict between Konoha and Kirigakure, information naturally flowed freely. Both sides were well aware of each other’s prominent young elites by now. On the Kirigakure side, it was clearly Mangetsu and his group.
On Konoha’s side, the majority bore the Uchiha name, with the rest coming from clans like the Hyūga and Aburame.
Uchiha Chihaya was among them, her rare and fierce Wind Release techniques having killed many skilled Kirigakure shinobi. Including this occasion, Ringo Ameyuri had already nearly been killed by Uchiha Chihaya twice, saved only by different allies stepping in at the critical moment.
“Are they targeting us?”
Considering that Zabuza had been locked down by a Hyūga’s Byakugan, it wasn’t hard to come to this conclusion: Konoha was clearly trying to eliminate Kirigakure’s young elites.
“Do you even have to ask?”
Mangetsu shot a sidelong glance. “Does our Mizukage have any countermeasures?”
Terumi Mei pressed her lips together but ultimately said nothing.
Countermeasures?
There were no countermeasures!
Recently, the Mizukage had done nothing but order the forces to continue their offensives—there was no actual plan.
“That bastard!”
Mangetsu’s expression darkened.
The thought he had suppressed many times surged up again, uncontrollable.
"Maybe it’s time to take out the Fourth Mizukage after all."
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Signs of another coup were stirring in Kirigakure. Beneath the seemingly calm surface of the water, the undercurrents were growing ever more violent. Due to this chaotic war, the ever-rising and shocking casualty numbers had caused more and more shinobi of Kirigakure to become dissatisfied with the Fourth Mizukage’s rule. However, for now, no one had stepped forward to be the first to rebel. The shinobi of Kirigakure, accustomed to stabbing each other in the back, were all waiting for someone else to make the first move.
But if they didn’t act quickly now, they might not get another chance.
After enduring many risks and setbacks, the third Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki’s party finally arrived at the Black Tide Mountain Fortress just in time for mealtime. Naruto was being carefully protected—without a single hair harmed. In contrast, the ones escorting Naruto, Kakashi, Shisui, and Guy, all looked somewhat exhausted. Though there were no visible injuries, their chakra had clearly been heavily depleted.
“Aburame Clan Head, Akimichi Clan Head.”
Rēn greeted the two clan heads, whose chakra signatures were likewise somewhat depleted.
“Looks like the journey didn’t go smoothly.”
Aburame Shibi remained silent. His sunglasses and high-collared coat concealed most of his face, making it impossible to discern any change in his attitude. Akimichi Chōza, however, revealed a bitter smile tinged with anger and relief as he spoke: “It was dangerous. If not for your reinforcements arriving quickly, Uchiha Clan Head, and for Shisui lending me a hand, I might have fallen into the hands of those damned Kumogakure shinobi.”
His words were filled with hatred and disgust for Kumogakure.
“As long as they were useful, that’s fine.”
Upon receiving the letter, Rēn had called on Aburame Shihei and Yamanaka Mokuren, ordering them to lead a team to rendezvous with the third Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki’s party. Rēn himself had to keep watch over Yagura and could not leave. Furthermore, he had seen Shisui and Guy on the escort list, and unless the Fourth Raikage himself made a move, he believed that, other than divine intervention, nothing could destroy that group.
“The attackers were really Kumogakure shinobi?” Rēn asked.
“That’s right.”
At the mention of that detestable name, Akimichi Chōza’s strained smile vanished, replaced by gritted teeth as he said: “It was that bunch of mountain savages. Their Lightning Release taijutsu can’t fool anyone. Though there was no proof on those so-called rogue ninja before, this morning, among the attackers, a few elite shinobi used Lightning Release taijutsu. I was nearly taken down. Luckily, Shisui’s Body Flicker Technique was fast enough, and he blocked that fatal strike for me. Then when Shihei and the others arrived as reinforcements, they realized the situation was unfavorable and quickly retreated.”
When Akimichi Chōza mentioned Uchiha Shisui, his heart was filled with gratitude.
At that time, he had been just a step away from going to meet the Sage of Six Paths in the Pure Land.
The route from Konohagakure to this eastern frontier was entirely within the Land of Fire’s heartland, nowhere near the northern border. In theory, even if Kumogakure’s spies had obtained accurate intelligence, they shouldn’t have had time to dispatch elite shinobi deep into the Land of Fire.
Or perhaps Kumogakure maintained elite operatives permanently stationed in the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Frost…
Or even already had agents embedded inside the Land of Fire itself?
This speculation wasn’t impossible.
After all, they had once successfully threatened and extorted Konoha. Having tasted that success, it was natural that their ambitions would grow.
“Kumogakure… We’ll settle this debt with them later.” Rēn narrowed his eyes, and in those thin slits, a scarlet glint shone with murderous intent before he suppressed it. Priorities mattered: for now, the pressing task was to completely resolve the Kirigakure issue.
“Aburame Clan Head, Akimichi Clan Head, please rest for now. I will arrange everything for the third Nine-Tail's Jinchūriki.”
Aburame Shibi remained standing.
Instead, he asked: “Uchiha Clan Head, are you preparing to depart?”
Standing there at the fortress entrance for just this brief moment, he had already seen many fully armed shinobi hurriedly coming and going. Moreover, Uchiha Rēn himself had changed into a set of crimson armor and was carrying the long-lost Fan of the Uchiha clan on his back.
This atmosphere,
This appearance,
Was unmistakably that of a man preparing for something significant.
"That's right."
Rēn nodded in acknowledgment. "This war has lasted long enough. It's about time to put an end to it."
Akimichi Teiza blinked, momentarily unable to grasp what was going on. But Aburame Shibi fell silent for a few seconds before continuing to ask, "End the war... Is it a decapitation strategy? Rēn, are you planning to destroy Kirigakure's command center?"
"Not destroy. I'm going to form an alliance. Don’t forget the trump card we hold," Rēn said with a smile.
Trump card?
Behind his sunglasses, Aburame Shibi's brow twitched as he recalled that name.
"The Fourth Mizukage?"
Just as he murmured this, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, appeared before them. The Mizukage, short in stature with a baby face, looked around at the loosely assembled strike force and frowned. "Not ready yet? Too slow."
"Good things take time. Be patient, Lord Mizukage."
Rēn remained calm and unhurried.
Yagura did not argue. Even if he did, it wouldn’t change anything, and there was no benefit in winning an argument. He simply walked aside, sat under the shade of a tree, and closed his eyes to rest. Rēn ignored him, instead inviting the two clan heads into the castle, arranging for Nara Suzaku to host them and Might Guy to welcome them.
