thedancenovel Chapter 183 183
Chapter 183 183
That was why, in the original course of events, the Third Hokage allowed Uchiha Itachi to bear the blame for the Uchiha clan's massacre.
And here in Kirigakure, they were preparing to do something similar—pushing the Kaguya Clan into making the first move so they could justify everything that came after.
But now...
To bring an outsider into a secret meeting place like this...
That alone was already outrageous.
"I know," Mei Terumī said after a brief silence. Her voice was calm, but there was a trace of fatigue in it. "You don't need to worry. If anything happens because of him, I'll take responsibility."
"Hmph." Mero let out a cold snort. "Then I just hope, when the time comes, that responsibility is actually something you can bear."
Mei Terumī fell silent, helplessness flickering across her face.
She really hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
Originally, she had been the one prepared to make the first move, but... but...
"There's actually someone in this world who can withstand my Lava Release?"
The moment that thought crossed her mind again, Mei Terumī's eyes twitched.
"And not only that... the way he blocked it was..."
As soon as she remembered it, she couldn't stop herself from shooting Shiki a sharp glare.
Meanwhile, Shiki still wore that easy smile on his face.
To be honest, even he hadn't expected that a casual grab would lead him straight to Mei Terumī.
At first, he had only followed his observation haki, intending to find someone connected to the Kaguya Clan.
And in the end...
His luck really was incredible.
And that girl's kiss had been pretty incredible too.
As for why Mei Terumī had no choice but to bring him along now, the reason was simple enough.
After all, after catching her Lava Release with his mouth, Shiki had very politely said—
"If you don't take me with you, then I'll stop pretending and just use the fact that you offended me as my reason to slaughter every last one of you."
...
The Kaguya Clan was one of Kirigakure's great clans, a bloodline clan whose status and combat power were only slightly below Konoha's Uchiha Clan.
To deal with a clan like that, Kirigakure naturally had to send elite shinobi and genuine heavy hitters.
Besides Mei Terumī, the most outstanding talent of Kirigakure's younger generation, there were also three current wielders of the Seven Ninja Swords.
Blastsword: Mero — the wielder of Shibuki, a broad blade wrapped in explosive tags from base to tip, turning every swing into a chain of violent detonations. His fighting style was ruthless and direct, overwhelming opponents through relentless explosive pressure.
Kubikiribōchō: Zabuza Momochi — carrying the enormous executioner's blade across his back, Zabuza stood there like a silent killing intent made flesh. The massive sword, infamous for regenerating itself by absorbing the iron in blood, suited him perfectly—brutal, cold, and soaked in battlefield terror.
Longsword: Hikari Nabari — the wielder of Nuibari, the long blade shaped like a giant sewing needle, with a steel wire threaded through its end. Unlike Mero's savage force or Zabuza's overwhelming brutality, Hikari's style was precise and eerie, as if every movement had been measured in advance. Once caught by that blade and wire, even a skilled shinobi could be stitched through the battlefield like a puppet.
Every one of them was a well-known powerhouse within Kirigakure.
Of course, they were not the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Those men had already been destroyed during the war by Shiki, while the remaining survivor who should have lasted longer was later fated to die at the hands of Might Duy.
Kirigakure, desperate for strength after suffering such losses, had no choice but to resort to extreme measures and quickly select a new generation of sword wielders.
Although these replacements were still not equal to the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen in fame or sheer strength, once they were granted the legendary blades, they still far surpassed the average shinobi.
And according to the original course of events, they wouldn't have escaped death either.
Aside from Biwa Jūzō, the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen should have already fallen in battle against Konoha by this point—cut down in a single disastrous clash by the explosive power of Might Duy.
As for Biwa Jūzō, he would later go on to join the Akatsuki.
But in this world, the course of history had already been thrown badly off track.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Shiki had moved too fast—and hit far too hard.
Kirigakure, along with the other three great nations, had essentially been beaten flat by him.
Once they realized there was no profit left to gain, Kirigakure chose to surrender after its battle with Shiki. After that, they limited themselves to harassing coastlines and raiding supplies from smaller hidden villages, never again daring to launch a full-scale invasion.
Then, as the Third Great Ninja War came to a complete end and peace treaties were signed between the great nations, Kirigakure withdrew entirely back to the Land of Water.
And the result of that was simple—
while the wars beyond their borders came to an end, the conflicts within Kirigakure only grew even worse.
The newly appointed Fourth Mizukage even seemed to be deliberately fueling the chaos within the village, causing the conflicts between the various clans to grow more and more intense.
The plot against the Kaguya Clan had begun at least three years earlier than it should have in the original timeline.
Because of that, none of the people present had ever seen Shiki in person.
Even though everyone here had undoubtedly heard of Shiki's feats and knew his general appearance from Kirigakure's intelligence reports, they still failed to recognize him through his disguise.
Of course, that was not entirely certain.
Because there was one exception...
"There are very few people in the entire shinobi world who can withstand my Lava Release head-on," Mei Terumī thought, the corner of her mouth twitching. "And even fewer who could do it like that..."
Catching Lava Release with your mouth.
Even now, Mei Terumī still found it hard to believe, despite having seen it with her own eyes.
So...
It had to be him.
That was the real reason Mei Terumī had chosen to compromise so quickly after Shiki casually said, If you don't take me with you, I'll slaughter every last one of you.
Because by then, she had already realized who he was.
He had forced his way into Sunagakure, fought the top forces of Kumogakure by himself and won, dragged Iwagakure into a brutal war of attrition right on their own ground... and even taken one of the Mizukage's arms.
Those achievements were so absurd that no one would have believed them if the facts had not already been laid bare.
And yet the evidence was too clear to deny.
That was why, when Shiki used that strange method to manipulate the stone around her, and why even his presence felt oddly familiar despite his Transformation Jutsu, Mei had kept testing him from the moment they first met.
During that massive war, she had only managed to catch a glimpse of him from far away—
golden hair, twin swords, and a figure so overwhelming it seemed to dominate the battlefield itself.
Only...
"Why would he want to take part in the attack on the Kaguya Clan?" Mei Terumī frowned to herself.
"Does he have some grudge against them?"
After all, it would not be difficult to investigate the fact that Shiki had gone to the Kaguya Clan and later returned dissatisfied.
If some conflict had happened there, and he intended to use Kirigakure's hand to wipe them out, then that possibility was entirely reasonable.
But even so, he was still a shinobi from another village.
He could not be trusted completely.
Mei Terumī shot Shiki a quiet, unreadable glance.
If he truly held hostile intentions toward Kirigakure, then she would use herself as bait and lure him into a trap.
If the whole of Kirigakure worked together, and she was willing to sacrifice even her own body as part of the plan...
Then maybe, just maybe, it would be enough to deal with him.
But the moment that thought crossed her mind, Mei Terumī fell silent.
If it had been any other hidden village—Konoha, Kumogakure, or even Iwagakure, which Shiki, supposedly had to challenge head-on by himself—she might have had some confidence.
But Kirigakure...
Thinking of the current Fourth Mizukage, a shadow crept into Mei Terumī's eyes.
Could the Fourth Mizukage—who had lost an arm to Shiki, who had deliberately stirred up conflict between the clans, who had even moved against the Kaguya Clan despite their great service to the village, and who had turned Kirigakure into this mess—
really unite the village well enough to stand against Shiki?
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
Why had she taken the risk of bringing Shiki here, even knowing he could expose Kirigakure's scheme to the world at any moment?
Why had she compromised so easily and let him join the operation against the Kaguya Clan?
Wasn't it because, deep down, she already knew the answer?
"Why did it turn out like this...?" Mei Terumī murmured, bitterness in her smile and a trace of sorrow in her eyes. "Before Lord Yagura became the Fourth Mizukage... he was clearly a good shinobi."
Shiki glanced at her, his eyes shifting slightly.
He, too, was somewhat surprised by the new faces in the room.
The wielders of the ninja swords were all unfamiliar.
It seemed that even after he had wiped them out before, new replacements had still emerged.
Three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, along with their subordinates and Mei Terumī's own forces—this was the full strike force the Fourth Mizukage had assembled to move against the Kaguya Clan.
It was not a weak force.
The Kaguya Clan was indeed a powerful shinobi clan, but whether their strongest member had even reached quasi-Kage level was still uncertain.
Three Ninja Swordsmen, together with the future Fifth Mizukage, were more than enough to exterminate the Kaguya Clan several times over.
Only...
"Hmph." Mero let out a cold snort. "I hate joining forces with others."
Hikari glanced at him from the side.
"That's understandable," he said lazily. "After all, standing beside the rest of us only makes it easier for everyone to see that you're nothing but an empty shell."
He rested a hand against the hilt of his sword and gave a mocking smile.
"Why don't you hand your blade over to me instead? That way, at least you'd stop dragging down the reputation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
The moment those words fell, Mero's expression darkened.
"Brat," he growled, killing intent rising in his voice. "You're asking to die."
"With just you?" Hikari replied, his eyes full of disdain.
Murderous intent exploded between them.
Their subordinates also glared at one another, hands already drifting toward their weapons.
The title of Seven Ninja Swordsmen did not mean they were united.
If anything, it meant the opposite.
In Kirigakure, where internal strife was everywhere, clashes like this were nothing unusual.
"Please, calm down. Both of you." Mei Terumī stood up with a helpless sigh and tried to defuse the situation. "We're here to deal with the danger posed by the Kaguya Clan. At a time like this, I ask that you show some restraint, my lords."
Despite how it looked, with Hikari and Mero seemingly on the verge of tearing each other apart, their current attitude was actually considered relatively mild.
In fact, from a certain point of view, they were among the more loyal shinobi in Kirigakure.
At the very least, they were still willing to follow the village's orders and obey the Fourth Mizukage's command to take part in the extermination of the Kaguya Clan.
Even if their obedience was only superficial, and each of them clearly had their own private calculations.
Compared to the others among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen...
Just thinking about it was enough to give Mei Terumī a headache.
At that point, all she could do was continue trying to smooth things over.
"The Kaguya Clan's rebellion is just around the corner," she said. "If the two of you really have energy to spare, then why not settle it by seeing who kills more enemies once the battle begins?"
She paused for a moment, then added,
"On behalf of the Fourth Mizukage, I can also promise a monetary reward."
At this point in time, Mei Terumī was only seventeen or eighteen.
Although she was talented and already possessed the strength of an elite jōnin, she was still a junior in front of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. The only real pressure she could apply came from the authority of the Fourth Mizukage behind her.
Strictly speaking, among everyone present, Mei Terumī was the one most firmly aligned with the Fourth Mizukage.
She had supported Yagura long before he officially took office, hoping he would be the one to bring an end to Kirigakure's endless internal bloodshed.
For that goal, she had worked hard and earned many accomplishments.
She had never imagined that once Yagura Karatachi truly became the Fourth Mizukage, he would seem to turn into a completely different person—one who disappointed nearly every shinobi who had once followed him.
Even so, out of everyone here, Mei Terumī was still the person who could best represent the Fourth Mizukage's authority.
"Please, at least give me that much respect," Mei Terumī said. "I would like to believe that two elite shinobi such as yourselves wouldn't make the foolish mistake of trying to kill each other before facing the real enemy."
Kirigakure was filled with internal conflict. The local factions were many, and some large clans would even bypass the village entirely to accept commissions directly, simply to cut out the middleman.
That environment created extreme competitive pressure among Kirigakure's shinobi, and also a fierce obsession with reputation.
Because of that, Kirigakure shinobi had incredibly strict standards when it came to completing missions—so strict that many were willing to finish them at almost any cost.
That was why Kakashi would later describe the Demon Brothers, the chūnin who attacked Tazuna, as Kirigakure chūnin who would fight to the end no matter the cost.
That mindset was already deeply rooted in Kirigakure.
The mission always came first.
Hearing Mei Terumī put it that way, Hikari and Mero finally gave cold snorts and sat back down.
But at that moment, the young Zabuza sitting nearby suddenly spoke.
"In that case," he said flatly, "why did you bring along two outsiders?"
His gaze locked onto Shiki and Rin.
And at that very moment, the two in question were...
"Mm. This fruit's not bad." Shiki picked up a piece and casually fed it to Rin Nohara. "Try it."
Rin's face immediately brightened. She opened her mouth and took a small bite.
"It really is good. Thank you, S— L-Luffy!"
Rin nearly blurted out his real name before hurriedly correcting herself to the fake one she had almost forgotten.
Seeing the two of them acting like that behind her, Mei Terumī's mouth twitched.
At this point, she could not even be bothered calling out their terrible act.
"They're mercenaries," she said flatly. "I was worried that the Kaguya Clan's strength might cause us unnecessary losses."
"So I hired them to reduce the damage on our side."
The moment those words left her mouth, all three Ninja Swordsmen narrowed their eyes at the same time.
"I see," Hikari said, the corner of his mouth curling into a dangerous smile. "So you're saying the three of us together still aren't enough to handle one Kaguya Clan?"
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