"How come there are still a few who managed to avoid the barrier?"
This was already the second time Mizuki had encountered the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier in such a short span. Though it wasn't much of an offensive threat, its restrictive effects were extremely powerful—especially hard to break from outside. Inside the barrier, as long as the caster still had chakra left, there was no need to worry about it collapsing either.
Such an environment was practically perfect for setting up traps. This time, Akatsuki's approach was surprisingly calculated: through various coincidences and manipulations, they had lured most of the forces from all three villages into one spot, aiming for a perfect trap—the ideal situation would be capturing Deidara to save him, and also seizing the Jinchuriki. Even if more hidden cards had to be revealed, it would be worth it.
"Combining the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier with the Mirrored Sudden Attacker Technique is truly clever," Mizuki mused to himself. "Using this kind of time-prolonging exhaustion strategy, plus Kakuzu and Hidan's strength, especially their Immortal Body maintaining strength through prolonged battles—it really looks like they're planning on using a [scythe-like] tactic with limited manpower but overwhelming power."
By the time Mizuki arrived, however, it was indeed too late—except for a handful of people, practically nobody had avoided the trap.
"Mizuki Jonin, you finally arrived..."
As soon as he approached, Yura of Sunagakure, Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure, and Neji Hyuga of Konoha stepped forward. These three were the only survivors who had escaped the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier, and Yura, being the highest-ranking among them, immediately complained upon meeting Mizuki.
"Unfortunately, we fell into a trap. If only we'd had a few stronger ninjas with us..."
"Is that so?" Mizuki Jonin replied indifferently, then turned to Neji Hyuga and asked, "What happened? Could there really be a trap capable of avoiding detection by your Byakugan?"
No matter what trap or ninja approached, anything with chakra should have been clearly visible under the Byakugan.
"It's not that the Byakugan failed to detect them," Neji explained, "but rather, we didn't realize they were actually hidden enemies working for the other side."
"When we gathered together, two traitors each from Iwagakure and Sunagakure activated the barrier at once..."
"So the defense collapsed from within first?"
Hearing Neji's explanation, Mizuki felt a wave of frustration wash over him. The mission's original goal had been to eliminate the traitors—but even so, the enemy found too many openings. Fortunately, the true nature of the mission was known only to the leader and a select few.
In this case, it was clearly not due to any failure in battle. No one was truly at fault. Originally, bringing both Neji Hyuga and Shino Aburame along had been largely intended to prevent exactly such situations—but unfortunately, in the end, it had still proved ineffective.
Seeing how uneasy Neji looked, Mizuki consoled him: "It was my mistake. I failed to anticipate this. Don't take it too hard."
"Hmph," Neji nodded reluctantly. For his very first S-rank mission, aside from the initial nervousness and excitement, he now also felt frustrated at his own helplessness.
"I wonder how Shino and the others are doing..."
"Don't worry too much."
"Mizuki said, 'Yamashiro Aoba's strength isn't weak, but he should be okay—for now. Shino is an insect techniques user—they generally avoid direct combat and have strong survival abilities. What we need to focus on now is how to break this barrier.'"
The Four-Corner Sealing Barrier was a serious problem. Unless it was removed by its caster, breaking through from the outside would be extremely difficult. It wasn't impossible though. If several powerful Jonin took turns launching large-scale ninjutsu attacks, they could eventually deplete the chakra of those maintaining the barrier—but that would take too long. Time was exactly what they lacked. If someone had the power of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi—who could master all five chakra nature transformations—then breaking through the barrier with ninjutsu would be possible. However, none present were anywhere near the level of the peak-era Third Hokage. Even if Mizuki were currently in Sage Mode, breaking the barrier would still be extremely difficult. It wasn't that his overall power was insufficient; the key issue was that he lacked powerful enough techniques to breach this barrier. His only specialty was Fire Release, which was particularly ineffective against a fire attribute barrier. Waiting for Mizuki to break through the barrier might take forever, by which time everyone trapped inside might already be dead.
"What a serious barrier technique! How come it seems linked to Konoha ninja? This ultimate technique has spread far too widely!"
Mizuki, who fully understood the barrier's power, knew how dangerous it was for such techniques to spread so broadly. Although limited by talent and the environment of the ninja world, barriers sometimes proved effective in real combat. But due to their lack of mobility, few ninja specialized in this field, and even fewer mastered it completely.
It was normal for Orochimaru and his subordinates to know these techniques since they originated from Konoha. It was understandable that Akatsuki knew about them too, considering Madara Uchiha—one of Konoha's founders—had passed on his knowledge, and Obito Uchiha had inherited most of Madara's legacy. If Tobi later managed to develop even more advanced sealing techniques, using the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier wouldn't be surprising at all.
During the Chunin Exams, there had been the mighty Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi to handle such issues. Now this troublesome matter had become Mizuki's headache.
"Fortunately, since many people are trapped inside, the barrier covers a large area, which likely means its protective strength has been somewhat reduced. Still, maintaining such a large-scale Four-Corner Sealing Barrier seems to rely solely on regular ninja, so they must be using extreme methods to push their bodies far beyond normal limits, otherwise they couldn't sustain such massive consumption."
At this moment, Kurotsuchi, who usually had a rather casual and even energetic personality, felt deeply concerned about her compatriots' plight.
"Jonin Mizuki, how can we break this barrier? I've heard you're also a Jonin skilled in sealing techniques and barriers, right? Don't you have any solution?"
Mizuki glanced at Kurotsuchi and calmly replied, "Every ninja knows that fusing two chakra natures creates a Kekkei Genkai—but how many actually manage it?"
"So you're saying you don't have any good ideas either?" Kurotsuchi's face fell instantly.
"There are ways... just not ones I can pull off. And frankly, they might not be much safer than breaking the barrier itself."
The simplest method Mizuki mentioned was naturally to release the One-Tail Shukaku. Mizuki understood the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier well. No matter how strong the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier was, it couldn't permanently restrain a tailed beast. However, once Shukaku emerged, it would be impossible to predict who he might kill first. Things could get messy fast, which would make handling them even more difficult.
"Hey, come on, don't ignore me like this," Yura, standing nearby, seeing that Mizuki refused to answer his question and continued acting aloof, had no choice but to remind everyone of his presence again. "I'm at least an upper-level ninja from an allied village..."
"An ally?" Mizuki appeared as if just now remembering there was someone else beside him. He turned toward Yura and said, "Captain Yura, I got your rank right, didn't I? Curious—how exactly did you get past those traps and barriers?"
It wasn't surprising that Hyuga Neji dodged the traps—his Byakugan let him sense danger faster than anyone else, giving him time to react and stay safe. That's exactly why teammates valued having Byakugan users on missions.
As for why Kurotsuchi managed to escape the traps unscathed, even Mizuki didn't know. Perhaps it was pure coincidence or maybe she possessed some hidden ability yet to be discovered—it made sense considering she would become Tsuchikage ten years later. Kurotsuchi definitely deserved trust.
But Yura's case raised Mizuki's suspicion. One or two instances could be coincidental, but more than that seemed too unbelievable.
'So clearly, this time around, Yura must have played a significant role somehow,' Mizuki thought.
Although Mizuki hadn't yet figured out exactly what had happened, nothing prevented him from suspecting Yura—a Suna Jonin under Red Sand of the Desert's control—was involved in sabotage.
"It's truly astonishing," Mizuki replied, "not only are our enemies powerful, but they've also come up with such an elaborate plan, setting up a massive barrier like this. We really underestimated them. Not to mention those traitors..."
"I see. You're so lucky then. Must've been tough on you."
Right now, Mizuki had no intention of exposing anything directly. The Stealth Brain Control Sand technique was highly covert. Unless the jutsu was deliberately revealed, no one would ever suspect such methods existed. Naturally, no one would guess that Mizuki already knew about these secret techniques, or that he'd possibly used the intelligence gap to quietly make certain arrangements. With such secret insight, Mizuki might gain some unexpected advantages moving forward.
While Mizuki continued pretending to engage in casual conversation with Yura and the others, Red Sand of the Desert finally showed up late.
"Well then? What's your take, Captain Mizuki, Konoha Jonin?" The moment Red Sand of the Desert appeared, he eagerly addressed Mizuki. "Wouldn't it be better to surrender gracefully? Earlier when I gave you all that speech, you seemed indifferent, but surely you understand the situation clearly by now? So tell me, will you reconsider properly?"
"No thanks. I believe we still have a chance of winning, and clearly, victory isn't guaranteed for you either."
"In that case, I guess I can't hold back anymore."
"Red Sand of the Desert let out a frustrated sigh, 'Didn't think you'd still refuse to give up under these circumstances. I can't decide if I should respect your stubbornness or call it a complete waste of time. Don't you want to do something more meaningful? Obsessing over your village and comrades — is this really all your composure amounts to?'"
"'If by composure you mean throwing away everything that makes you human, then what meaning do any of your gains even have? Does living in a lonely world truly interest you that much?'"
"'Certainly not lonely — aren't there plenty of puppets here with me?'"
"'Puppets?' Mizuki chuckled. 'Looks like you, who've transformed into something non-human, simply don't understand many things.'"
"'So, one last fight then? What about your comrades — don't look like they'll be holding out much longer.'"
"'That's absolutely not true. You shouldn't underestimate them.'"
"I'm not underestimating them — you're the one undervaluing Kakuzu and Hidan's strength. Just because they appear like this now, do you really believe that's their full capability? Even I find them extremely difficult to kill — you understand nothing about them."
"Don't know? Then just keep thinking so..."
Mizuki had nothing else to say. The [Four-Corner Sealing Barrier] hadn't been broken yet, and a formidable enemy remained outside — leaving him no spare attention for those trapped inside.
'It seems we can't help those within the [Four-Corner Sealing Barrier] until Red Sand of the Desert gets driven back.'
Mizuki knew from the start this mission would be tough, but not quite this impossible. Originally he thought himself merely an outsider ready to fish in troubled waters, yet never imagined being targeted directly by Red Sand of the Desert. Nor had he expected Akatsuki to harbor such grand ambitions. Thinking it through, though, it made sense. At this point, Akatsuki remained severely understaffed and not significantly stronger than it was three years later in the original storyline. Even if its leader was the legendary destined child, the organization's rigid structure bred deep distrust and conflicts among its members — all of them a bunch of wildcards. Since launching operations, repeated failures had greatly damaged Akatsuki's reputation. Currently functioning mostly as mercenaries across numerous battlefields, after finally initiating a major operation, they had gained nothing despite prolonged efforts. Such circumstances inevitably caused strong internal dissatisfaction, and even doubt toward the organization itself wasn't unlikely.
For a secretive organization, internal suspicion could prove disastrous. Once trust was lost, regaining it would only get harder. Therefore, Pain now desperately needed a successful operation — concrete achievements, specifically tailed beasts — to establish authority, affirm organizational strength, and convince his subordinates that he truly remained the destiny-chosen one.
Mizuki and Sasori reignited their fight. In the interest of safety, Mizuki declined assistance from Kurotsuchi and Yura, instead having them attack the barrier with ninjutsu to drain the caster's chakra. Neji Hyuga was tasked with watching closely for any changes inside the barrier and reporting immediately if anything happened. As for Mizuki himself, he began fighting in a way that conserved chakra—abandoning the Sage Art-enhanced Fire Release techniques that drained massive amounts of energy, and no longer directly manipulating the giant hands formed from natural energy. His attacks now mirrored how Naruto Uzumaki nimbly wielded long arms made from Nine-Tails chakra during his tailed-beast transformation. From both sky and ground, Mizuki continuously tried to grab either Sasori or the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet.
Before long, as Mizuki and Sasori continued their battle, suddenly within the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier, a giant cat-like sand avatar appeared. Then, an arm made of sand swung forward, striking the curtain-like surface of the barrier. The Four-Corner Sealing Barrier looked like it was about to be broken through.
Watching the situation take such a shocking turn, Mizuki could only stare in disbelief.
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