Inside the Kirigakure camp, the air felt so heavy it was almost suffocating.
After all, the people gathered here—members of the ninja clan alliance—were about to plot against someone who had, just days ago, crushed an entire Konoha army with overwhelming force:
Fugaku.
And not just him.
They were also planning to turn against the very leader they once swore loyalty to—
Mei.
A middle-aged man with a scar across his cheek cleared his throat, his voice dry.
“I’ll ask one more time… are we really going through with this?”
“What?” someone shot back immediately.
“Do you want to wait until we’re turned into puppets by Kotoamatsukami?”
“But…”
An older shinobi rubbed his hands, his face full of conflict.
“Without her… our small clans would’ve been wiped out long ago in the Blood Mist…”
Those words made the room waver again.
Many of them had been saved by Mei.
“That’s exactly the problem,” another clan representative said from the corner.
“If Leader Mei hasn’t been controlled, then of course we wouldn’t betray her.
But what stands beside Fugaku now is nothing more than an empty shell under the Sharingan’s control!”
He pointed.
“And Mizuki Yuki is the proof!”
All eyes turned.
In the corner, Mizuki was bound tightly to a chair by dark red, molten-like substance.
Her eyes were closed, her face pale—completely unconscious.
She had tried to secretly leave the camp.
She was stopped.
And restrained.
The conclusion everyone feared became reality—
The intelligence was true.
“…But can we even win?”
The scarred man licked his dry lips, voicing the deepest fear.
“That day… Fugaku’s power…”
“This isn’t about whether we can win,” the small clan leader said.
“It’s that we have no way out.”
“Unless you’re willing to become his puppet.”
Silence fell again.
Then he continued:
“Besides… his ‘invincible form’ has a condition.”
“That power came from absorbing the chakra of a thousand elite shinobi’s combined jutsu.”
“If we don’t use large-scale chakra-based techniques—he can’t feed on us.”
“And if it’s just a first-stage Susanoo… it’s not unbeatable.”
“Otherwise, Konoha wouldn’t have forced him to retreat.”
He then turned respectfully to the man beside him.
“And we have Terumī Saburō.”
All eyes shifted.
Terumī Saburō—an older, grim-faced man.
The pillar who sustained the Terumī clan before Mei’s rise.
And a formidable shinobi in his own right.
Saburō slowly opened his eyes.
“Mei was raised by my own hands.”
“No one cares for her more than I do.”
“But she has already been controlled.”
“What you’re doing… is saving her.”
His voice hardened.
“I, Terumī Saburō… am willing to put righteousness before family.”
“I will help you take that cursed eye—and kill Fugaku.”
Then, he carefully took out an ancient scroll.
Its surface was etched with flowing magma-like patterns.
“This… is the foundation of the Terumī clan.”
“A Lava Release secret scroll.”
“Lava Release?” someone frowned.
“Isn’t that still chakra-based?
Won’t Fugaku just absorb it?”
Saburō shook his head.
“This isn’t ordinary chakra.”
“It contains the final essence of dying Lava Release users—their bloodline itself.”
“There’s almost no chakra in it.”
“Only those with Lava Release can even guide it.”
“Once activated…”
“An enormous volume of this substance will erupt instantly—forming a viscous prison.”
“It will trap Fugaku.”
“And then—”
“We strike together.”
“First, subdue Mei.
Take the eye.”
“Then deal with Fugaku.”
His gaze turned cold.
“And once we possess Kotoamatsukami…”
“Even if we can only use it once—”
“On Fugaku… or even directly on the Fourth Mizukage…”
“Everything will be resolved.”
“And Kirigakure…”
“…will belong to us.”
A collective breath was drawn.
Then—
The same obscure clan leader spoke again.
“I have one more piece of classified information.”
He interlocked his fingers.
“Our leader, Mangetsu Hozuki…”
“…is dying.”
“A severe bloodline illness.”
“He won’t live long.”
“So don’t worry.”
“Even if he learns of this… he won’t be able to oppose us.”
Outside the camp, in a hidden cave—
A group of blood-scented shinobi lay in wait.
Kirigakure’s assassination unit.
At the front stood three figures—
Kisame Hoshigaki
Zabuza Momochi
Raiga Kurosuki
Behind them—dozens of elite ANBU.
All watching the camp below.
They could clearly see the alliance forces setting up their ambush.
Because they weren’t hiding.
There was no point.
Ao possessed the Byakugan.
Hiding was meaningless.
So the alliance chose the negotiation camp as their gathering point—making it look like standard defensive positioning.
A clever workaround.
Still, not perfect.
The Byakugan’s vision weakens with distance and obstacles.
With terrain and preparation—
Even it could be deceived.
Like now.
Inside the cave, thick mist concealed everything, blending it seamlessly into the mountain.
“When do we move?”
Kisame’s deep voice rumbled as he stared at the camp.
Zabuza wiped his blade calmly.
“After they start fighting.”
“Let them weaken each other.”
Raiga grinned, lightning flickering between his fingers.
“I agree.”
“Let the idiots test Fugaku first.”
“We take the reward.”
Then he glanced at Kisame.
“And you?”
Kisame turned slowly.
“Against someone like Fugaku…”
“Any hesitation is stupidity.”
“We strike first.”
“Overwhelm him.
Take the eye immediately.”
“As long as the eye stays in Kirigakure…”
“Everything else doesn’t matter.”
Raiga laughed.
“Such loyalty, huh… big shark?”
Kisame’s lips curled coldly.
“You think I don’t know?”
“You two want to defect.”
“But you’re afraid of losing your swords.”
He pointed at them.
“You eat Kirigakure’s food.”
“Enjoy its power.”
“And still curse it behind its back.”
He sneered.
“You—without the academy—you’d still be farming.”
“And you…”
“Without Kirigakure—your rotten orchard wouldn’t even feed your family.”
Zabuza gripped his sword tightly.
“So what?
You think the Blood Mist policy was right?”
“It’s been years since the war ended.”
“And the Seven Swordsmen still aren’t even complete!”
“Whose fault is that?”
“How many talented shinobi died at the hands of their own people?”
For a moment, Kisame Hoshigaki fell silent… then let out a long sigh.
“The Blood Mist policy… yes, it had its problems.”
“But it also suppressed the clans—and gave people like us, commoners, a chance to rise.”
“If not for the sudden emergence of Mei and Mangetsu Hozuki, the clans might’ve been completely wiped out.”
“And Kirigakure… unified.”
He paused, his tone heavy.
“And maybe that wouldn’t have been a bad thing.”
“We could’ve licked our wounds afterward.”
“We’re isolated overseas anyway… we’ve got time.”
Raiga flicked his blade, lightning crackling along its edge.
“And what about the intel from the clan alliance?”
“They’re saying the Fourth Mizukage himself might be under genjutsu.”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard that.”
“I have,” Kisame replied calmly.
“But rumors aren’t truth.”
“And precisely because it might be true…”
“We have to seize that Kotoamatsukami eye.”
“At the very least, it must remain in Kirigakure’s hands.”
“If necessary…”
“We’ll use it on the Mizukage himself.”
“Same Sharingan—maybe it can even break the control.”
He looked toward the distant camp, voice turning faintly somber.
“This village… is filthy.
Bloody.”
“But it’s still a place we can live.”
“Leave it…”
“And we’re nothing but stray dogs anyone can kick around.”
The forest rustled softly in the wind.
After a long pause—
Raiga spat.
“Damn it… fine.
I’ll trust you one more time.”
“Last time.”
Zabuza Momochi said nothing, simply hoisting his massive blade onto his shoulder—agreement through action.
Then—
“They’re here!”
From the watchtower, a shinobi gave the signal in a hushed voice.
At the edge of the forest path—
Several figures burst forward at high speed.
At the front—
Fugaku.
Beside him:
Mei,
Mikoto,
Ao,
Chōjūrō,
and over a dozen elite shinobi.
Inside the camp—
The clan alliance had already gathered.
Waiting.
At the gate—
A carefully prepared trap lay buried beneath the ground.
A Lava Release sealing scroll.
How to lure Fugaku in?
Simple.
A water clone, transformed into Mizuki Yuki, stood at the entrance—ready to “welcome” him.
No one expected it to fool the Sharingan completely.
They only needed—
One second.
And the plan worked.
Fugaku stopped.
Just as predicted.
“Now!!”
From within the crowd—
Terumī Saburō formed hand seals and roared.
The earth trembled violently.
Something monstrous seemed to awaken beneath the ground—
Everyone braced for a pillar of scorching lava to erupt and devour Fugaku.
But—
Nothing happened.
Instead—
From the ground around the camp… and even from the forest beyond—
Thick.
Pitch-black.
Viscous—
Mud surged upward.
Walls of it.
Familiar.
Terrifying.
They rose at terrifying speed—
Closing in from all sides—
Forming a massive, near-perfect cube.
Enclosing everything.
The entire Kirigakure camp.
Even the hidden assassination squad that had just rushed in—
All trapped inside.
Darkness fell.
Then—
Flares shot upward, illuminating the interior of the mud prison.
Fugaku’s calm voice echoed clearly:
“Don’t touch the mud.”
“I assume… you remember what happens.”
“Otherwise, you’ll end up like those Konoha shinobi—”
“Immobilized.”
“Turned into puppets.”
“Terumī Saburō!!
You bastard!!”
Only now did the alliance realize—
They had been played.
Completely.
Saburō.
Mizuki.
Both had already slipped away—
Now standing beside Fugaku.
“Look—Leader Mei’s eyes!!”
Someone shouted.
All eyes turned—
No Sharingan.
No illusion.
Her eyes were exactly as they had always been.
“…What is going on?!”
No one understood.
Not the alliance.
Not even the assassination squad.
Even Kisame and the others halted—
Watching.
Uncertain.
For the first time—
The battlefield froze.
Then—
Fugaku clapped his hands lightly.
“Alright, everyone.”
“You already know my abilities.”
“So first—let me thank our ‘guests’ from Konoha.”
“Without continuously drawing chakra from them these past few days…”
“I wouldn’t have been able to use this technique.”
He paused.
His voice steady.
“But now that it’s active…”
“Until it ends—”
“You cannot defeat me.”
“That much…”
“You should be able to accept.”
“What do you want?!”
Someone shouted angrily.
Fugaku smiled faintly.
“Nothing much.”
“I just want all of you…”
“To stand still.”
“And watch a film.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“The title is—”
“Unite Everyone Who Can Be United.”
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