Going to Kirigakure?
He remembered the last time they'd gone to Kirigakure—Kiyosuke had caused quite the scene there, and not long after, the Third Mizukage had died at his hands.
It wasn't that he was worried about Kiyosuke's safety. What concerned him was the Fourth Mizukage. If he remembered correctly, the man had only recently taken the position, hadn't he?
He spoke softly.
"Just investigate in secret. Don't cause any trouble."
"You know me, Third-sama. I'm not the type to stir up trouble," Kiyosuke said righteously.
"You're smearing my good name!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him without saying a word. He took a long drag from his pipe and said,
"I understand. Just be careful. That's the kind of enemy who once gave the First Hokage a hard time."
No one really knew how Uchiha Madara had maintained his youth. But now, his body functions had clearly declined a lot. He wasn't nearly as strong as he had been back in the day.
"I understand."
Kiyosuke nodded and left the Hokage's office.
...
When he arrived at the gates of Konoha, he noticed that the gatekeepers had changed.
It looked like the job had gone to the "Gate Guardian" duo—Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu.
These two were decent mid-ranking ninja. Using them to guard the gate... not a bad choice, actually.
And considering that they would still be guarding the gates well into Naruto's son's generation? That was seriously impressive.
Decades of professional gatekeeping—Old Man Hagane and Old Man Kamizuki...
They must've been blessed by the gods. Even during Orochimaru's Konoha Crush and the Six Paths of Pain's attack on the village, they still made it out alive.
Hell, they're the reason Naruto didn't even make it to Ichiraku Ramen in time—he had to rush to the gate first.
Think about it—even the Six Paths of Pain didn't dare enter through the front gate because of these two. Orochimaru had to sneak his way in. The only one who ever walked in openly was undercover Uchiha Itachi...
Cough cough, just kidding. They were probably still mid-ranking ninja even in old age. That was their fate.
After all, guarding the gates only required them to take note of anyone suspicious coming and going. It wasn't dangerous or exhausting. You could say they'd already entered retirement mode—living the elderly life ahead of schedule.
...
Leaving Konoha, Kiyosuke made his way directly toward the Land of Water.
On the road, he changed his appearance to avoid being discovered by that guy Zetsu.
Neither Black Zetsu nor White Zetsu were easily sensed. He had to be extremely cautious. If Obito really was in Kirigakure, then he absolutely had to stay hidden.
Disguised as a samurai, he joined a merchant caravan heading into the Land of Water. Using the waterways, he slipped quietly into Kirigakure.
...
In the dead of night, he climbed out of the icy river and stepped onto the soil of Kirigakure.
It was early spring, but the nights were still chilly. After evaporating all the water off his body, Kiyosuke changed his appearance again—this time into a member of the Kaguya clan.
As he walked through the night streets, everything felt cold and quiet. There wasn't the slightest sign of activity.
He remembered that Kirigakure used to have a night market. What happened? Why was it gone now?
"Who goes there?!"
A squad of ninja leapt out from the corner and spotted Kiyosuke wandering the streets. Upon seeing his appearance, they roared,
"Kaguya clan scum! Kill him!"
Kiyosuke: ???
What's going on?
Weren't the Kaguya clan one of your shinobi clans? Why would you want to kill them?
But he wasn't about to just sit there and wait to die. He immediately darted into an alley, and the squad gave chase. No one knew where they ended up.
As for him, he dropped down from a rooftop, clapping the dust from his hands.
"Youngsters these days... don't even think to look up."
These Kirigakure ninja seemed pretty young, but for some reason, the bloodlust around them was intense.
Still, they clearly lacked real combat experience.
In the blink of an eye, Kiyosuke had already become a seasoned veteran.
"Anyway... I should go find Mei and ask her what's going on. Something's definitely happened in Kirigakure."
...
He arrived at the Terumī clan compound and easily snuck into the place where Terumī Mei lived.
Carefully avoiding the sleeping maids, he knocked gently on the door.
"Who is it?" Mei asked.
"It's me."
Kiyosuke used his real voice.
"Mei, it's me. Open up. I need to talk to you."
Terumī Mei, half-asleep, suddenly jolted awake. She lifted the blanket, then immediately pulled it back over herself, wrapping up tightly and muttering,
"Aren't you supposed to be in Konoha? Why are you in Kirigakure?"
"I told you—I have something important to deal with. Open the door. If you don't, I'll come in anyway."
"Y-You... just come in then..." Mei shrank under the covers like a little quail, with only her head sticking out.
Kiyosuke opened the door, changed back to his normal appearance, and sat cross-legged beside her.
"I came to Kirigakure to investigate something," he said. "Someone is using one of my friends to do terrible things. I came to find my friend. Sorry to disturb you at night—hope you understand."
Terumī Mei bit her lip, feeling slightly upset. She spoke with a hint of attitude.
"A friend? A female friend?"
Kiyosuke gave her a puzzled look, blinked, and smiled.
"Would you prefer it to be a guy or a girl?"
"I..." The words got stuck in her throat. She ended up muttering,
"What does it matter to me whether it's a guy or a girl?"
If it didn't matter, why ask?
He shook his head and asked,
"What's going on in Kirigakure? Did the Kaguya clan rebel or something? I disguised myself as one of them when I snuck in and got chased through the streets. On top of that, I ran into tons of patrols along the way. Has your Mizukage gone crazy?"
"This is Kirigakure's internal matter," Mei replied coldly. "It has nothing to do with you, a Konoha shinobi."
"Oh, so he has gone crazy," Kiyosuke said, having guessed correctly.
Obito really was here.
And he'd already taken control of the Fourth Mizukage, turning Kirigakure into a mess.
...
Uchiha Madara had used Kotoamatsukami to manipulate Obito, making him believe that it was Kirigakure who had kidnapped Rin.
And that it was Kiyosuke and Kakashi who had killed her.
He wasn't going to let anyone off the hook.
For now, Kiyosuke and Kakashi could wait.
First, he was going to tear Kirigakure apart.
That's why, before the Nine-Tails Incident, he had come to Kirigakure and taken control of the Fourth Mizukage.
He even subdued the Three-Tails within him.
With this, he could manipulate Yagura Karatachi and turn the village into the infamous "Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist."
Before the death of the Third Mizukage, the village had already operated under brutal policies—but nothing this extreme.
Even so, it was already pretty cruel.
Back when Kiyosuke graduated, in just his second year, a boy named Momochi Zabuza had killed all his classmates and became the only genin of his year.
It was just that Kiyosuke hadn't encountered him during the war.
Now, not only had they intensified the academy's bloodshed, but under Obito's control, Yagura Karatachi had begun targeting the village's bloodline clans.
Using the loss in the Third Great Ninja War as an excuse, they began systematically slaughtering those with kekkei genkai.
The Yuki clan, Kaguya clan, and Hōzuki clan were nearly wiped out.
Only a few survivors escaped Kirigakure and went into hiding.
Even the Terumī clan, where Mei came from, wasn't spared.
If not for having a village elder in the family, they might've been wiped out as well.
Previously, Mei and Ao had gone out to track down the survivors—but they hadn't found them.
After hearing Kiyosuke's words, Terumī Mei bit her lip.
This man had guessed everything correctly.