Chapter 51: The True Hypocrisy
"Meteor Shower!"
With a raise of his hand, he unleashed a barrage of scorching lava missiles, all sheathed in Armament Haki. His physical strength was indeed depleted, but that didn't mean he was powerless.
"How is this possible?!"
Facing the dense, heavy, and scorching attacks flying toward her, the charming woman's expression changed drastically as she hurriedly retreated. Her prepared offensive was completely interrupted.
Terumi Mei's original plan was to use the mist to obscure vision and attack Uchiha Naoki. She never expected Uchiha Naoki to be a sensor-type ninja, capable of locking onto her so precisely within the mist and attacking faster than she could.
After dodging all the attacks, she found no trace of Uchiha Naoki in the mist.
"Damn it!"
Terumi Mei immediately withdrew from the mist's range, landing on solid ground. Fierce battles had already broken out elsewhere. Juzo Biwa and the others were holding off the Kirigakure Anbu without further reinforcements. The Scarlet Sand Scorpion and Uchiha Itachi were engaged with the handsome, cool guy and the tall, fat man respectively.
Deidara seized this opportunity to land and take the Fourth Mizukage from Uchiha Naoki.
"Next, follow the plan!" Uchiha Naoki swallowed several soldier pills, using Life Return to rapidly recover his stamina as he spoke to Deidara.
"Understood!" Deidara immediately took off upon hearing this, a cruel, excited smile on his face. It was finally his turn to shine.
Almost as soon as Deidara took off, Terumi Mei finally arrived.
"So fast, big sister!" Uchiha Naoki turned to look at the pursuing Terumi Mei and grinned. "A pity, you're still a step too late, Lady Terumi Mei!"
That's right! This charming woman leading the Kirigakure forces to surround them was the future Fifth Mizukage—Terumi Mei!
"Then you shall stay here today!" Terumi Mei's expression was icy, her killing intent palpable as she gritted her teeth.
"That's really scary!" Uchiha Naoki said with an exaggerated look of fear, even raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, but it was filled with provocation. "But, can you do it?"
This made Terumi Mei's gaze even colder. She laughed in anger. "Why don't you try and see?"
She shouted to a man behind her wearing an eyepatch and two earrings with sealing charms. "Ao, deploy and control the troops for me. Bet on the dignity of our Kirigakure—not even a fly will leave this sea today!"
"Let those guys in the Mizukage faction ponder what's more important: retrieving the Mizukage or exhausting their strength in a civil war."
Hearing this, the man named 'Ao' immediately left and disappeared into the ranks.
"As expected of someone who can become the leader of the opposition and ascend to the position of Mizukage in the future. Truly decisive!" Uchiha Naoki couldn't help but praise, though no one found his words odd.
"Hey, Terumi Mei is angry. It seems you really don't plan to leave today!" Seeing this, the tall, fat man tried to persuade Uchiha Itachi, who was blocking him, to surrender. "Give up, Uchiha Itachi. Your struggle is futile. You have no chance of escape."
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi replied calmly, "Lord Fuguki Suikazan, a direct subordinate of the Mizukage and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, is actually part of the opposition. How strange."
That's right! This tall, fat man was the last member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the first owner of the Samehada—Fuguki Suikazan.
But compared to their calm conversation here, the enemy facing the Scarlet Sand Scorpion was somewhat frenzied.
"The Six-Tails... Jinchuriki?" The Scarlet Sand Scorpion looked solemnly at his opponent. The enemy was in a partial Tailed Beast state, crimson with four long tails swaying behind him. Though it proved he hadn't fully mastered the Tailed Beast's power, the aura he emitted was no less than the Fourth Mizukage's, demanding serious attention from the Scarlet Sand Scorpion. Coupled with his recent experience fighting the Fourth Mizukage, Sasori was naturally more cautious.
That's right! The cool, handsome guy was another Jinchuriki from Kirigakure—the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata! In the original timeline, it required Pain to personally dispatch several Paths to deal with him, and some of the Paths were destroyed in the process. His strength was second only to the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails. Even if not as powerful as in the original story, no one dared to underestimate him.
And while the battle here was tense...
The internal defenses of Kirigakure became empty, as a considerable portion of the troops had assembled at the shore. This provided an opportunity for someone to fish in troubled waters.
"Kaguya Kimimaro, Kisame Hoshigaki... Heh, here I come!" Uchiha Naoki's shadow clone grinned with extreme delight. The extensive range of his Observation Haki allowed him to avoid crowds and detection while quickly locating Kisame Hoshigaki.
This shadow clone had naturally formed within the mist and infiltrated the village amidst the chaos. Now that he was in Kirigakure, there was no reason not to accomplish something.
The loyal Kisame Hoshigaki. The talented Kimimaro. Weren't these the powerful talents he wanted to recruit for his future ninja village?
Quickly, Kisame Hoshigaki, the 'honest man,' was found by Uchiha Naoki. In the most secluded corner of the Kirigakure Anbu, seemingly forgotten but watched by two special Anbu ninja.
Uchiha Naoki swiftly and sharply eliminated the two watchers, then approached Kisame Hoshigaki's location.
"Who's there?!" But Kisame was extremely vigilant, immediately sensing something wrong. He drew his longsword, shouting sternly into the darkness.
"Heh, no need to be so tense, Lord Kisame." Uchiha Naoki stepped out of the shadows, a peculiar smile on his face as he looked at Kisame, who was still serving in Kirigakure's Anbu. "Have you ever considered... living somewhere else?"
Hearing this, Kisame Hoshigaki asked, "Living somewhere else...? What do you mean?"
The smile on Uchiha Naoki's face widened, his voice carrying a strange, compelling power. "You've performed countless dirty missions for the village and the nation. You, who have chosen to betray others time and again to complete your missions, should understand better than anyone that everything you face is merely a lie."
"As a Mist ninja, you have to kill your fellow Mist ninja. How ironic is that?"
Hearing these words, Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't help but snort, his eyes sharp. "Whether it's ironic or not is irrelevant. But in a false world like this, I knew from the very beginning that I would have to kill my comrades."
"Now I just ask myself: Who am I? Where do I stand? What is my purpose? Where am I going? Where can I find true peace?"
Looking at his raised hands, he spoke with confusion yet clarity. "All these years, the only thing I've truly experienced is my own hypocrisy. Beyond that, I can feel nothing else!"