On the outskirts of Kumogakure.
Yagura Karatachi and Shisui Uchiha arrived one after the other at the prearranged rendezvous point.
Noticing Yagura's slightly flushed expression and sensing his chakra fluctuations with the Sharingan, Shisui didn't ask whether their objective in Hoshigakure had been accomplished. Instead, he went straight to the point.
"Lord Mizukage, I obtained intel from a Konoha shinobi. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is likely attending the Five Kage Summit. Danzo Shimura's whereabouts are currently unknown."
"Oh? Just like me—a stand-in envoy," Yagura replied with a smirk, not at all surprised that those two old schemers, Danzo and Sarutobi, had cooked something up together.
After all, he had done the same—sending a replacement who'd never even served as Mizukage.
Compared to himself and Mangetsu, Danzo and Hiruzen—those two old foxes—were clearly better at playing the long game. At least Sarutobi had once been Hokage; it wasn't too much of a stretch for him to show up at the summit.
Still, Yagura wasn't focused on that. With the Raikage out of Kumogakure, now was the perfect time to sneak in and force a confrontation with the Fourth Raikage.
As for the summit? Yagura wasn't worried. Mangetsu, Mei Terumi, and Kisame were more than enough to wreak havoc in the shinobi world. And they also had Gaara and Sasori supporting them.
Whether it was Danzo or Hiruzen representing Konoha didn't matter.
After briefly considering those two relics from Konoha, Yagura shook his head.
"No need to worry about Danzo. We stick to the original plan."
Konoha's forces had already taken significant damage from repeated turmoil. Even if Danzo wanted to make a move, all he could do was stir up some backroom schemes—nothing Yagura was worried about.
The goal was to take both of Kumogakure's tailed beasts. Akatsuki already had the Seven-Tails, and Sunagakure had lost their One-Tail. That left just the Four-Tails and Five-Tails in Iwagakure.
And at the moment, neither of Iwa's Jinchuriki were particularly loyal to Ōnoki. Besides, Ōnoki leaned more toward Yagura's side—he could be brought in as an ally.
Yagura reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled ticket—front-row access to Kumogakure's number one idol's concert. Courtesy of Killer B, who had wasted no time setting up a full-blown performance the moment the Raikage left the village.
"Let that rapper enjoy his show. We'll find him later. First, we go after the Two-Tails—Yugito Nii."
The Third Raikage had taught Yagura something important: Jinchuriki could be turned into real combat strength for a village.
The Fourth Raikage inherited that ideology. Unlike how Gaara and Naruto had been treated growing up, this generation of Kumogakure's Jinchuriki hadn't been abused.
Yugito Nii and Killer B were both elite jonin.
Killer B was easy to find. The moment the Raikage left, he turned into a wild stallion—throwing rap concerts in the heart of the village.
Infiltrating Kumogakure was effortless for the three-man squad.
From their vantage point atop the surrounding peaks, Killer B's mixed rap-rock performance echoed throughout most of the village.
Shisui had already cast genjutsu on several Kumogakure shinobi, but none of them knew where Yugito was.
"She's not like Killer B. Tracking her down won't be so simple," Shisui muttered.
The truth was, Yugito wasn't hard to find—Killer B was just too easy.
Still, Yugito was an elite jonin and a Jinchuriki. If she were so easily located, Kumogakure's intel division might as well resign in shame.
Akatsuki had Zetsu to track people across the continent, which was the only reason they could pull off those solo Jinchuriki captures.
But there was another way—draw her out.
Yagura turned to the team's strategist.
"Shisui, it's your job now."
Shisui let out a sigh that felt straight out of an Orochimaru labor contract.
"You really know how to delegate, Lord Mizukage."
...
Yugito Nii was in pursuit.
She had chased a dark-haired rogue wearing a scratched Konoha forehead protector all the way to an abandoned bunker on the outskirts of the village.
"Stop right there!"
A Konoha defector? Or maybe just some bounty hunter?
Whoever it was, they had the gall to sneak into Kumogakure while the Raikage was away and assassinate one of their jonin?
There was no way she was letting them escape.
BOOM!
She followed them into the bunker and immediately blew up the only entrance behind her, sealing it shut and cutting off any escape routes.
She dropped down into the darkness.
With feline grace, Yugito landed and rose to her feet, scanning the bunker's surroundings before finally locking eyes on the cloaked shinobi before her.
Her expression turned icy, lips curling into a mocking smirk.
"What's wrong? Not running anymore? Should I give you a few minutes to rest first?"
Shisui glanced upward—he could hear rocks shifting and crumbling near the sealed entrance.
Then he looked back at Yugito.
"Looks like you've trapped yourself with me."
Yugito laughed coldly.
"Trapped? No, the only way out has been sealed—for you. You were the one who walked into the trap."
"Yeah, I was. So what?"
Yugito Nii had already suspected that the enemy's objective wasn't just assassinating a few Kumogakure jōnin. Her rash actions might've played right into their hands.
But eliminating Kumogakure's enemies—that was her duty!
Did they really think the Two-Tails' jinchūriki was some helpless kitten?
With a snap, iron claw gauntlets extended from the backs of her hands. Yugito crouched low, her body tense like a cat ready to strike, eyes locked on the stranger.
"Who are you? Someone who could kill Mabui so easily... You're no nobody."
"A nobody? I guess you could call me that."
The man pulled back his hood, revealing his face. When Yugito didn't respond, he let out a sigh.
"Has it really been ten years since I last went on a mission? I guess people have forgotten me."
But for a shinobi, being forgotten could be a huge advantage.
Yugito kept her eyes on him, trying to place the man's identity.
Ten years since his last appearance—vanished from the ninja world for nearly a decade?
She narrowed her thoughts, focusing her mental search on shinobi active around ten years ago.
Black hair. Dark eyes. Slightly rounded nose. Preferred sidearms. Skilled in Fire Style techniques.
Just as Yugito was about to arrive at a name—even one she couldn't believe herself—her eyes locked with his.
The Sharingan.
With a thud, Yugito collapsed to the ground, completely immobilized. Her body had fallen under the influence of a genjutsu.
Not just any genjutsu. Sharingan genjutsu—on a whole different level from what normal shinobi used.
Ever since the Uchiha Clan was purged by the Hokage for attempting an uprising, the Sharingan's genjutsu had become all but a forgotten art in the ninja world.
Her claws scraped desperately against the floor, carving deep gouges into the surface.
Breaking out of genjutsu usually required help from an outside source. Mild genjutsu could be dispelled through pain, but the most reliable method was having an ally help stabilize your chakra flow.
With his objective secured, the man—Shisui—stepped forward to claim his prize.
...
Whoosh!
A blur of motion streaked past Shisui. Twin iron claws drove deep into his chest and abdomen.
"Uchiha Shisui... your genjutsu is powerful."
Yugito had broken free of the illusion.
She pressed in harder—her claws punched through his back and out the other side.
"Genjutsu doesn't work on jinchūriki who've made peace with their tailed beasts!"
Of course Shisui knew that. He had once stood beside the only person in ninja history to truly control a Tailed Beast.
He let out a soft chuckle, his voice light, free of pain despite the grievous wound.
"You must've killed quite a few genjutsu-users with that power of yours, huh?"
A single black feather floated down into Yugito's field of vision.
Caw! Caw!
Before she could respond, Shisui's body dispersed into a swarm of crows, their wings blotting out her vision.
Another genjutsu?! But why hadn't the Two-Tails noticed it?
"Matatabi? Matatabi!!"
Yugito immediately shut her eyes and leapt back, calling out to the Two-Tails in her mindscape.
But when she saw clearly—she froze in horror.
The Two-Tails' eyes had become Sharingan.
Her blood turned to ice.
The Tailed Beast… was trapped in genjutsu? Impossible!
Which meant that she—
...
In the real world, the Mangekyō Sharingan slowly closed.
Yugito stood there, expression blank. Her clawed hands dropped limply to her sides.
From the very start, she'd been trying to identify him. And she'd looked directly into his eyes.
Careless. A jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, thinking that genjutsu couldn't possibly work on someone like her—looking directly at the enemy and listening too closely to his voice.
"It's done."
"Tch... unbelievable..."
As a fellow jinchūriki, Utakata watched the scene with a grim look. He tried to recall—had he ever looked into Shisui's eyes before?
Yagura cast a glance at the fallen, fierce kunoichi.
He never liked using this technique on other jinchūriki. But given the circumstances...
If Obito could manage it with his half-baked genjutsu skills, Shisui could do it even better.
No unnecessary noise. No drawn-out battle. That was how a ninja should operate—especially with someone like Killer B around.
"The concert should be ending soon. Grab her. Let's go pay that rapper a visit."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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