Besides Naruto, the people who noticed the sudden movement of the Mist ninja were Zabuza Momochi and Mangetsu Hōzuki, who were hiding near the Mizukage Building.
Mangetsu had secretly gathered more than a dozen Kirigakure ninja loyal to him. Their plan was simple but dangerous: storm the Mizukage Building under the excuse that the Fourth Mizukage was being controlled, and free him from the enemy's manipulation.
Of course, Mangetsu wasn't stupid enough to rely on just a dozen people.
He had also quietly contacted several respected jōnin in the village and asked them to observe from nearby. If they discovered any signs that the Mizukage was truly being controlled, they were to immediately assist in restraining him.
As for the mysterious masked man possibly hiding behind the Fourth Mizukage…
That problem was conveniently handed to Naruto, the Uzumaki ninja.
After all, if a monster like that showed up, normal people would just end up getting their heads—or worse—cut off like chickens.
Unfortunately, before the carefully prepared plan could even begin…
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, suddenly left the Mizukage Building on his own.
Even worse, he rushed out of the village with several ANBU loyal to him.
Mangetsu frowned deeply.
"…Did the masked bastard discover our plan already?"
Just then, a Kirigakure ninja appeared in front of Mangetsu, bowed slightly, and reported:
"Lord Mangetsu, enemies have invaded the village. Based on their appearance, they appear to be the rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi and Jūzō Biwa."
Mangetsu blinked.
"…What?"
Why the hell were Itachi and Jūzō Biwa suddenly near Kirigakure?
After thinking for a moment, Mangetsu made a quick decision.
"Change of plans."
"Follow me."
He immediately led more than a dozen subordinates out of the village.
Since the plan had already gone to hell, they might as well adapt to the chaos.
After Mangetsu left, several high-ranking Kirigakure figures hiding in another district also began to move.
They were:
Mei Terumi, a powerful ninja who possessed both Lava Release and Boil Release
Ao, a sensory ninja who possessed a stolen Byakugan
And the elderly advisor Genji, one of the original elders from the founding days of Kirigakure
Leaning on his cane, Genji slowly opened his eyes and looked toward Ao.
"After encountering foreign enemies, the Fourth Mizukage still left the building personally…"
"Ao."
"Tell me honestly."
"Is the Mizukage under genjutsu?"
Ao had once captured the Byakugan during a war and could see through most illusions.
However, spying on the Mizukage was a serious offense.
Without Genji's permission, he wouldn't dare even try.
Ao nodded nervously.
"Understood."
"Byakugan… activate!"
As he focused his vision toward Yagura's chakra in the distance, Ao's expression gradually became uglier.
After a few seconds, he slowly nodded toward Mei Terumi and Genji.
Genji sighed deeply.
"So the boy from the Hōzuki clan was right…"
"The Fourth Mizukage really is being controlled."
"So all those ridiculous policies these past years…"
"…came from the man behind the scenes."
Mei Terumi frowned.
"Elder Genji, what should we do?"
"The Fourth Mizukage is the Three-Tails Jinchūriki. How can we break the illusion on him?"
Genji sighed again.
"The Three-Tails can be restrained by the Six-Tails."
"But approaching Yagura himself…"
"…will likely cost many lives."
His old eyes looked toward the direction Mangetsu had left.
"I only hope that boy Mangetsu has a plan."
After a pause, Genji continued:
"However, the matter of the Mizukage can wait."
"Foreign enemies have already appeared."
"Let's deal with them first."
"After all… even if Yagura is being controlled, he's still reliable when fighting outsiders."
Mei Terumi and Ao nodded.
"Yes, Elder Genji."
The two immediately led their forces toward the edge of the village.
While the various factions of Kirigakure were moving into action…
Naruto had already slipped into the chaos.
Using a simple transformation jutsu, he disguised himself as an ordinary Mist ninja and followed the crowd rushing toward the outskirts of the village.
Soon, Naruto frowned.
He had already discovered Yagura Karatachi.
"Wait a second…"
"Shouldn't Yagura be rotting inside the Mizukage office like a decorative statue?"
"Why is he running around outside the village?"
Naruto scratched his chin.
"Did Obito discover Mangetsu and Zabuza's plan?"
But that didn't seem right.
They were still inside the village and had only communicated through shadow clones.
After secretly following them for a while, Naruto finally saw the battlefield in the forest.
And what he saw made him even more confused.
Yagura was fighting two people.
Those two people were…
Uchiha Itachi
and
Jūzō Biwa
Naruto blinked.
"…What the hell is going on?"
Wasn't the Fourth Mizukage already Obito's puppet?
So why were Akatsuki members attacking Kirigakure?
Could it be that the Akatsuki organization itself had internal conflicts?
Maybe Nagato had discovered that Obito was secretly controlling Kirigakure and decided to suppress his forces?
The more Naruto thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded.
After all, the Akatsuki was a group of rogue ninja.
Expecting them to be united and loyal was like expecting a pack of wolves to run a peaceful tea party.
Meanwhile, more and more Kirigakure ninja were rushing toward the battlefield.
Seeing the growing crowd, Naruto quickly stopped overthinking.
He blended into the Mist ninja group and began searching for the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
Frankly, Naruto didn't care about Akatsuki's internal drama.
He was far more interested in the chakra of the Three-Tails and Six-Tails.
Helping Mangetsu seize control of Kirigakure?
Fixing the village?
Overthrowing the puppet government?
All of that was just side quests.
Collecting tailed beast chakra was the real objective.
After scanning the crowd and secretly controlling one or two Kirigakure ninja with genjutsu, Naruto still failed to locate the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
Thinking about it, he wasn't surprised.
Even ordinary ninja didn't know the location of a jinchūriki.
Aside from the Fourth Mizukage, the only people who knew were the highest-ranking officials in Kirigakure.
Which meant the most likely source of information was Elder Genji.
Unfortunately, Genji was surrounded by a bunch of jōnin.
Trying to sneak close without attracting attention would be extremely difficult.
Just then, Naruto noticed a probing gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
Naruto instantly responded with a subtle genjutsu.
He didn't even need to guess who it was.
It had to be Ao and his Byakugan.
Ao might not be able to see Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, but if there was one ninja in the crowd whose chakra he couldn't read clearly…
…that was suspicious enough.
A moment later—
Ao suddenly clutched his eyes in pain.
"Ugh—!"
Standing beside him, Mei Terumi quickly helped dispel the genjutsu.
Ao pointed toward Naruto's direction and said:
"Elder Genji… I found the one spying on us."
"Could he be the mastermind controlling Lord Yagura?"
Genji narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"…That possibility cannot be ruled out."
"Prepare for battle."
His expression was full of concern for Kirigakure's future.
Meanwhile, inside the Mizukage Building…
Obito Uchiha stood at the familiar window, looking down at the village below.
But this time, he was no longer relaxed.
Behind the mask, his expression was dark and furious.
His gaze was fixed on the forest outside the village.
In his mind, he cursed Nagato several times.
After secretly controlling the Fourth Mizukage and manipulating Kirigakure for nearly ten years, Obito had always known that the illusion would eventually be discovered.
That was why he kept Yagura locked inside the Mizukage Building most of the time.
If nobody saw him acting strangely, nobody would suspect anything.
But the person who ultimately forced Yagura out of the building…
…turned out to be the very subordinates Obito himself had recruited.
Uchiha Itachi
and
Jūzō Biwa
Nagato had simply ordered an investigation into Kirigakure.
Those two idiots were the ones who actually carried it out.
Itachi had made a non-interference agreement with him and didn't know about the Mizukage's manipulation.
Which meant only one possibility remained.
The person who betrayed him…
…was Jūzō Biwa.
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