Chapter 32: Wait… I hit Si-Xia Uzumaki?

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Mei Terumi was also shaken to the core.

She was clever, and immediately understood what Uzumaki Sika meant. He was only responsible for missions he accepted personally.

As for Kakuzu’s missions, he would kill the target, but would not concern himself with the aftermath.

It seemed that from now on, any mission would have to be entrusted to Sika himself.

Mei secretly congratulated herself. Fortunately, her mission had not been posted on the black market.

Although the sudden appearance of Uzumaki Sika here had caught Karatachi Takiichi and Hozuki Mugetsu completely off guard, it did not matter.

This was the stronghold of the Bloody Mist!

Regardless of who Uzumaki Sika was, now that he had come, he would not be leaving!

Karatachi Takiichi shouted and issued an order at once.

“Kill them!”

Hozuki Mugetsu pointed directly at Uzumaki Sika and spoke to Kondo Takashi.

“Kondo Takashi, you deal with this man!”

Kondo Takashi stared blankly.

“What? I’m supposed to fight Uzumaki Sika?”

Upon hearing Elder Hozuki Mugetsu’s order, a string of question marks seemed to appear above Kondo Takashi’s head.

It was true that Uzumaki Sika had caught him off guard with a sudden ambush, sending him flying.

But as an elite jonin of the Hidden Mist Village, he had been completely unable to mount any effective response when Sika attacked.

From that alone, Elder Hozuki Mugetsu should have understood just how terrifyingly powerful this absurdly young shinobi was.

After that single exchange, the difference in their strength had already been made perfectly clear.

If Kondo Takashi truly possessed the ability to deal with Uzumaki Sika, Elder Hozuki Mugetsu would practically have had to address him as Lord Fifth Mizukage.

“Kondo Takashi, what are you standing there for?”

“I told you to deal with this man who calls himself Uzumaki Sika!”

Kondo Takashi was stunned for a moment, then forced himself to answer through gritted teeth.

“Yes!”

“Whoosh!”

The instant Kondo Takashi finished speaking, he vanished in a body-flicker technique and charged toward Uzumaki Sika.

Then everyone saw it.

Kondo Takashi attacked.

Kondo Takashi was instantly defeated.

“Lightning Style: Lightning Torture—Horizontal!”

The instant Kondo Takashi closed the distance, Sika’s hand blade, wrapped in lightning-nature chakra, slammed into his body.

Kondo Takashi was sent flying at an even greater speed, landing beside Elder Hozuki Mugetsu. Whether he was alive or dead was impossible to tell.

The other Hidden Mist shinobi who rushed forward to attack Uzumaki Sika were likewise cut down by him in an instant.

“Crackle! Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!”

Within Hozuki Mugetsu’s office, dazzling blue lightning flashed back and forth throughout the room.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

“Ah!”

Every person who could appear here was undoubtedly an elite shinobi of the Bloody Mist.

Yet when Sika faced these elite shinobi, he was like a fierce tiger plunging into a flock of sheep.

Charging recklessly through them, he sent the elite warriors of the Bloody Mist tumbling in every direction.

With hardly any effort, Sika defeated every elite Hidden Mist shinobi serving the Bloody Mist.

Mei Terumi and the others stared blankly at the scene.

They had not even been given a chance to act before the battle was already over.

Karatachi Takiichi, Hozuki Mugetsu, and the rest of the Bloody Mist were equally dumbfounded.

That man was undoubtedly a powerful shinobi at the Kage level. How much money had Elder Genji and the others spent to hire someone of that caliber?

After finishing everything, Sika turned toward Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi with a cheerful smile.

“Well, you two old geezers, what do you have to say now?”

“Still planning to turn the village into the Bloody Mist?”

“You keep claiming that everything is for the village, but in the end, you simply cannot bear to relinquish the power in your hands, can you?”

Karatachi Takiichi, Hozuki Mugetsu, and every jonin and elite jonin in the room were completely dumbfounded.

The fact that Uzumaki Sika had been able to capture Mei Terumi and the others proved beyond doubt that he was powerful.

But was his strength not a little too absurd?

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Their clans possessed so many jonin and so many elite jonin.

Yet before Uzumaki Sika, they seemed to have become nothing more than decorations.

Kondo Takashi, upon whom Hozuki Mugetsu had placed such high hopes, had been dispatched cleanly in a single exchange.

For a time, absolute silence filled the room.

In the spacious office, everyone stared at Uzumaki Sika in shock.

The eyes of Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi were filled with sheer terror.

After a long silence, Hozuki Mugetsu hurriedly spoke.

But the person he addressed was not Uzumaki Sika.

It was Mei Terumi.

“Mei Terumi!”

“I have shed blood for the Hidden Mist! I have rendered meritorious service to the Hidden Mist! I have risked my life for the Hidden Mist!”

“You cannot kill me!”

Hozuki Mugetsu was not exaggerating. He truly had made great contributions to the Hidden Mist.

Karatachi Takiichi quickly added, “I am the same!”

They were afraid.

At this moment, as they faced the freak known as Uzumaki Sika, a human-shaped tailed beast, they were deeply terrified.

Sika’s strength was simply beyond the reach of ordinary methods.

Even the First Mizukage and Second Mizukage, both exceptionally powerful figures in the history of the Hidden Mist Village, would not have been his match.

Sika did not continue attacking.

Mei Terumi and the others had hired him on a long-term basis merely to suppress unstable elements.

There was no need to kill anyone.

Besides, he knew that the Bloody Mist faction had never truly abandoned its ambitions. Their vitality was astonishing.

Even after the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, remnants of the Bloody Mist still sought to restore the Hidden Mist Village to its former state.

What did that mean?

It meant this was a sustainable assignment!

If he left them alive, they would surely find opportunities to cause trouble again in the future.

And once they did, would he not be able to return to the Hidden Mist Village and harvest another payment?

Even harvesting leeks required strategy.

Perhaps, in the future, the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village would pass down a saying from one generation to the next:

“When the village reaches the end of its road, go and find Lord Uzumaki Sika!”

Or perhaps it would be:

“Quickly, send for Uzumaki Sika!”

While Sika indulged himself in these amusing thoughts, Mei Terumi looked coldly at Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi.

“If you can restrain your subordinates, prevent the remnants of the Bloody Mist from harming the village, and stop them from interfering with Elder Genji’s plans…”

“Then, considering your past contributions to the village and the usefulness you may still have, I can spare you this once.”

Mei Terumi actually wanted to cut these two rotten old men down, one slash apiece—or perhaps take both of them with a single stroke.

But she could not.

If the remnants of the Bloody Mist lost their leaders and fell into a state of chaos, they would certainly pose an even greater threat to the village.

Without Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi to restrain them, who knew what unreasonable acts those madmen might commit?

Moreover, the Hidden Mist Village had been weak for far too long.

The people of the Bloody Mist were also an important force protecting the village.

So long as they could be controlled and put to use, there was truly no need to kill Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi.

For the sake of the village’s development and security, it might even be impossible to kill them.

Mei Terumi herself did not realize that she had been born to become a Mizukage.

Although she was not yet Mizukage, she had already begun considering matters from a Mizukage’s perspective.

Whether it was the desperate ingenuity she had displayed earlier to save herself and the other three from Uzumaki Sika, or the way she was now handling Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi, she had performed exceptionally well in both matters.

Gonbei, Ao, and Chojuro were all astonished and delighted as they realized this and looked toward Mei Terumi.

The Hidden Mist Village could still be saved.

This woman, who possessed beauty, wisdom, and strength in equal measure, was truly suited to become Mizukage.

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In fact, even Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi were faintly moved.

If Mei Terumi had been a supporter of the Bloody Mist, they would absolutely have become her loyal followers, just as they had supported the Fourth Mizukage.

Unfortunately, Mei Terumi had been brainwashed by that rotten old man, Elder Genji, and wanted to introduce some ridiculous new policies.

It was laughable.

Of course, neither Hozuki Mugetsu nor Karatachi Takiichi dared to say that aloud.

When facing Uzumaki Sika, that human-shaped Ten-Tails, they had been thoroughly intimidated.

After a brief calculation, the two men chose to nod.

“From now on, we will restrain our subordinates and protect the village.”

“But that does not mean we have betrayed the will of the Fourth Mizukage!”

“If the village does not become better under Elder Genji’s rule—or under anyone else’s…”

“Then restoring the Hidden Mist Village to the Bloody Mist will remain our eternal pursuit.”

“For that purpose, we and every shinobi of the Bloody Mist are willing to offer up our precious lives!”

Hozuki Mugetsu’s words rang out with force.

Strictly speaking, there were both public and private grounds on which they could defend their plan to establish the Bloody Mist.

The shinobi world might appear peaceful now.

But had it not been the same before each of the first three Shinobi World Wars?

The only way for the Hidden Mist Village to remain untouched, avoiding the devastation and poison of war, was to close its gates and grow stronger in isolation.

Mei Terumi naturally had no interest in arguing further with these two stubborn old men.

What was the point of reasoning with them?

She spoke of what was best for the village, while they spoke of the Will of Water. What more was there to discuss?

And why did the Will of Water have to mean only the will of the Fourth Mizukage?

Once Mei Terumi and the others confirmed that Hozuki Mugetsu and Karatachi Takiichi were willing to restrain their subordinates and protect the village from that point onward, they did not remain there any longer than necessary.

Sika’s mission of strategic deterrence was naturally complete as well.

Whenever the Bloody Mist faction had nightmares in the future, the grinning face of Uzumaki Sika would probably be haunting them.

After completing the mission, Sika and the others returned to the Hidden Mist Village.

By then, Sika’s status had changed. He was now an honored guest of the Hidden Mist Village.

Through Mei Terumi’s mediation, he had helped the village resolve an extremely troublesome problem.

Although he had merely visited the Bloody Mist’s stronghold and gone through the motions, the members of the Bloody Mist would probably behave themselves for quite some time.

Mei Terumi looked toward Sika and invited him with great courtesy.

“Mr. Sika, I would like to represent the Hidden Mist Village in hosting a banquet for you and your friends.”

“A banquet?”

Sika brightened at once. Anyone who was not enthusiastic about attending a banquet clearly had something wrong with their way of thinking!

However, banquets were important, and carrying out missions was important too.

Should he really delay the mission just to attend a banquet?

While Sika was struggling with this question, Kisame could not help speaking up.

“Uzumaki Sika, have you forgotten that there is still serious business to handle?”

“Serious business?”

Hearing this, Mei Terumi and the others could not help becoming tense.

Uzumaki Sika and his companions had clearly not come to the Hidden Mist Village for sightseeing.

Uzumaki Sika, Kisame, and Kakuzu were all extremely dangerous shinobi.

Kakuzu and Kisame were both S-rank missing-nin, while Uzumaki Sika was even more dangerous than the two of them combined.

Under the circumstances, the four of them were naturally anxious. What exactly had these people come to the Hidden Mist Village to do?

Sika answered with complete nonchalance.

“Serious business? Oh, right. I understand now!”

“Relax. It is only a minor matter.”

“I prepared for it long ago.”

Of course, Sika had not forgotten. Both the mission assigned to him by the Akatsuki and the long-term contract given to him by Muryo were related to a tailed beast.