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***
The battle within Kirigakure finally came to an end.
The Kaguya clan leader and several members were subdued, but before Mei Terumi could ask any questions, they were taken away for questioning by the ANBU acting on the orders of the Fourth Mizukage.
Shikaku Nara, Dodai, Kitsuchi, Baki, and other ninja from various countries who had come to participate in the Joint Chūnin Exams were also under the supervision of Kirigakure ninja.
Although the Kirigakure ninja suspected that one of them had leaked information, it was their intervention that had previously delayed Pain's destruction of Kirigakure.
Despite his powerful influence within Kirigakure, the Fourth Mizukage dared not interrogate Shikaku, Kitsuchi, and the others privately.
Besides this, the Fourth Mizukage had no other orders.
Upon learning of this, Mei Terumi immediately rushed to the Mizukage Building.
During the previous battle, the Mizukage Building, from its office to the rooftop, had been damaged by the Three-Tails' chakra, but the lower floors were unaffected.
Outside the leftmost meeting room on the second floor of the Mizukage Building.
This place was being used as the Mizukage's temporary office.
"You should go back. The Mizukage said he'll handle these matters later."
An ANBU emerged from the meeting room and informed Mei Terumi of the Mizukage's intentions.
"Later?"
Mei Terumi's eyebrows shot up anxiously.
"In the recent battle, the village buildings suffered extensive damage, and the civilians suffered heavy casualties."
"What we should do now is immediately recall all Kirigakure ninja assigned to the Chūnin Exams. Treat the wounded as quickly as possible, relocate the civilians, and stabilize the people!"
She knew she was overstepping her authority by saying this, but the Fourth Mizukage hadn't been seen since the decision to hold the Joint Chūnin Exams until the village was attacked.
Furthermore, he hadn't issued any orders to stabilize the situation in the village.
This was always the case, something Mei Terumi was used to.
But now, with Kirigakure having just been attacked, the Fourth Mizukage was stillā¦
"You have no right to question the orders of the Mizukage-sama," the ANBU replied in a deep voice.
Their loyalty was solely to the Mizukage, so even though Mei Terumi held a prominent position within Kirigakure, the ANBU remained unfazed.
"You!"
Mei Terumi's eyes suddenly widened, a blaze of rage surging within her emerald green pupils.
"Mei Terumi, what do you want?"
The Kirigakure ANBU felt a heavy pressure, and a cold sweat broke out.
Mei Terumi suppressed her frustration and anger.
She desperately wanted to smash down the door before her and confront the Fourth Mizukage directly.
But reason told her that this would not only fail to resolve the issue, but would only bring disaster upon herself.
Over the years that the Fourth Mizukage had ruled Kirigakure, there had been instances of people disobeying his orders.
Those who disobeyed him met a tragic end.
Mei Terumi wasn't afraid of death, but she had recently decided to change the status quo in Kirigakure.
In this world, death meant the end, and she didn't want to, and couldn't, die in vain.
Sometimes, endurance requires more courage than death itself.
She suppressed her anger, and the oppressive force enveloping the ANBU suddenly dissipated.
"I hope the Mizukage-sama will make a decision soon!"
Mei Terumi raised her voice, addressed the closed conference room door, and turned to leave.
ā¦
Inside the conference room.
"Judging from Mei Terumi's uncharacteristic behavior, she's also beginning to doubt you," Black Zetsu's hoarse voice echoed.
This was the first time Mei Terumi had acted against her duty.
"Ah," the masked man behind the controlled Fourth Mizukage responded, his right eye lowered.
"But now is not the time to deal with her. After all, Kirigakure has suffered a lot of losses this time, and I still need her to help me stabilize the current situation."
"The more important thing now is to find out what the people from Konohagakure want to do, and where those guys are now."
"Have you found the girl named Izumi Uchiha?"
The masked man looked at Zetsu beside him and asked.
"It will take some time. After all, the area covers the entire Land of Water."
"Yeah."
The masked man nodded and said, "As long as she is in my hands, it won't be difficult to lure out Uchiha Itachi."
Black Zetsu said nothing more.
Looking at the masked man in front of him, he sneered in his heart.
"Did he choose the same way as Madara did? What an interesting fate."
ā¦
The place where Shikaku and others were guarded by Kirigakure ninja.
"In order to protect us, Itachi went to meet the guys who attacked Kirigakure first, and then we lost contact."
Hattori Shinichi frowned.
He and Kido Daisuke had entered Kirigakure earlier.
With their current abilities, they shouldn't have any trouble defending themselves against the Kaguya clan's massive attack.
"Is that soā¦" Shikaku muttered.
ā¦
Swish! Itachi followed the direction he remembered Izumi leaving Kirigakure.
To find Izumi, he even risked detection by the village's sensory ninja by using his summoning beast, the Crow.
Hours passed, and he still found nothing.
Shisui followed closely behind Itachi, noticing a growing look of anxiety and unease on his usually composed face.
Concern can lead to confusion.
It's human nature, no matter who you are, even Itachi.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a crow swooped down from above Itachi's head and landed on his shoulder.
"Found something!"
The crow cried a few times in Itachi's ear, then circled again, swiftly flying off in one direction.
Itachi and Shisui immediately followed.
Ten minutes later, guided by their crows, the two men arrived at a forested area on higher ground.
Near the point where they crossed the trees, they found the bodies of several Kirigakure ninja.
Itachi and Shisui immediately approached to investigate.
None of the Kirigakure ninja bore any noticeable wounds.
However, after death, their bodies had turned black, and a distinct, fishy odor emanated from them.
Itachi spotted two small wounds on the neck of one of the corpses.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he exclaimed in shock, "It's him!"
Shisui spotted the same wounds on another corpse.
He glanced back at Itachi, and they both cried out simultaneously.
"Orochimaruā¦"
While there were many ninja in the ninja world who could manipulate venomous snakes as a means of attack, there was only one who could kill several Kirigakure masters without them being able to fight back.
"He's actually come to Kirigakure at this hour?"
Shisui muttered.
Just then, Itachi's crows continued their flight out of the woods.
Itachi followed, and beyond the trees lay a cliff.
On the cliff, two people were lying.
Izumi's two teammates, Inoue Mitsumi and Ishida Ken.
ā¦
Beneath the cliff in front of Itachi lay a village.
However, he was in no mood to dwell on these matters.
He immediately approached Inoue Mitsumi and Ishida Ken.
"Are these two Izumi's teammates?"
Shisui also emerged from the woods.
Although he didn't recognize Izumi's teammates, he certainly recognized the Konohagakure forehead protectors they wore.
They looked about Itachi's age, and Shisui had met two of Itachi's teammates before, so he could infer their identities.
"Hmm," Itachi nodded, crouching down and observing them briefly.
"They were only knocked unconsciousā¦"
"Why would Orochimaru do that?"
Shisui exclaimed in astonishment.
Even several experts from Kirigakure had been eliminated by Orochimaru, yet Izumi's two teammates had only been knocked unconscious.
"Shisui-senpai, please step aside for a moment," Itachi suddenly said.
"Okay," Shisui replied, immediately retreating into the woods.
Itachi extended his palms and placed them on the arms of Inoue Mitsumi and Ishida Ken, sending a small amount of chakra into their bodies.
This small amount of chakra wouldn't harm anyone, but it could stimulate their nerves and awaken them.
As a boy, Ishida Ken, with a stronger constitution, opened his eyes first.
"Hmmā¦"
His eyes were a little dazed at first, but when he saw Itachi's face clearly, he sat up immediately, tightly grasped Itachi's arm, and said anxiously, "Itachi, Izumi has been kidnapped!"
At this time, Inoue Mitsumi, who was standing nearby, also woke up.
Seeing Itachi, she also said anxiously, "Itachi, please, save Izumi! That guy is scary. If Izumi falls into his hands, she will die!"
"I'm sorry, we can't protect her!"
Ishida Ken said guiltily, and Inoue Mitsumi also looked remorseful.
"Calm down," Itachi said to the two of them.
He pondered, "Why did Orochimaru capture Izumiā¦ Is it for the Sharingan again?"
Once, back in Akatsuki, Orochimaru had attacked him to obtain the Sharingan.
However, Itachi was stronger than Orochimaru, so later, he set his sights on Sasuke's eyes.
Izumi was relatively young among the clan members who could open the Sharingan, and her talent was quite impressive.
However, if it was just for the Sharingan, given Orochimaru's personality, Ishida Ken and Inoue Mitsumi wouldn't be alive.
"Is Orochimaru trying to lure me in through Izumi, too?"
Itachi could think of only this reason.
If so, there must be some trace of Orochimaru nearby.
Suppressing his anger, Itachi said to Ishida Ken and Inoue Mitsumi, "You two, hide somewhere. I'll rescue Izumi."
Although he assumed the battle in Kirigakure was over, the situation remained unclear.
"We should notify Shikaku-sensei and the others immediately!"
Ishida Ken said.
Inoue Mitsumi frowned at Itachi and said, "I know Itachi-kun is strong, but that man is simply too strong. Even youā¦"
She had previously asked Itachi to rescue Izumi without much thought.
Itachi had always been the most formidable of their peers, but Inoue Mitsumi didn't believe he had any chance against someone who had instantly killed several Kirigakure ninja.
"Trust me, I'll definitely rescue Izumi. You guys find a place to hide. The exams aren't over yet, so don't return to Kirigakure. I'll bring Izumi back with you."
Itachi didn't have much time to explain, so he found a reason to keep them from returning.
"Okayā¦"
The two, though still skeptical, agreed for the time being, knowing his usual approach.
Itachi never did anything he wasn't sure of.
With a swish, Itachi glanced at the village below the cliff and darted into the woods.
Some distance away from Ishida Ken and Inoue Mitsumi, Shisui emerged.
"What's Orochimaru's purpose in capturing Izumi?"
Shisui whispered.
Itachi, standing in front of him, said, "It should be for the Sharingan, but it seems he not only wants Izumi's eyes, but also wants to use her to lure me into a trap."
"Damn it!"
Shisui's eyes darkened, a murderous intent welling up in them.
"But why would he come to Kirigakure at this hour? Is he colluding with those Akatsuki guys?"
Shisui asked in surprise.
"It's not clear yet."
Itachi activated his Sharingan and scanned the area.
Swish!
He suddenly made a discovery, landing on a tree trunk.
"What's this?"
Shisui looked at a branch above the trunk.
A purple headband hung from it.
"This belongs to Izumi."
Itachi removed the purple headband from the branch and placed it in his ninja tool bag.
"It looks like Orochimaru came here on his own. If he's colluding with someone from Akatsuki, there's no need for all this trouble," Itachi said.
With Zetsu's abilities, he and Shisui should have been able to quickly pass on the information to the masked man and Pain by the time he and Shisui found Ishida Ken and Inoue Mitsumi.
Given the speed of the masked man's space-time ninjutsu, if he were in cahoots with Orochimaru, he would have appeared before Itachi by now.
Shisui nodded and said, "It seems Orochimaru really wants to use Izumi to lure you over."
Itachi turned and looked at Shisui.
"You'd better keep some distance from me. Orochimaru probably has special detection methods. If he knew we were together, he'd probably leave."
Orochimaru dared to attack Itachi because he likely didn't know his background.
In his eyes, even Itachi, no matter how talented he was, was only ten years old.
"Orochimaru, this time, it won't be as simple as just losing a hand!"
Itachi lowered his eyelids, a cold glint in his blood-red Sharingan pupils.
ā¦
In the Land of Water, there was a stream.
"Splash!"
Under the misty night sky, only the gurgling sound of water echoed.
Having regained consciousness, Izumi first heard the slightly rapid sound of running water, then slowly opened her eyes.
"Hissā¦"
Then, the sound of a snake spitting out its core filled her ears again.
Izumi then noticed that she was still bound.
Turning her head, she caught sight of the snake's head.
Her pupils shrank slightly, startled.
A brown-yellow snake was tightly bound to Izumi's body, but as a ninja, this didn't frighten her.
Izumi immediately struggled to break free.
But as if she had been poisoned by some nerve-destroying toxin, she felt completely limp, unable to exert any strength.
"You're awakeā¦"
At this moment, a very hoarse voice reached Izumi's ears.
....
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