Chapter 25: The People of the Land of Water All Have Poor Judgment
The boat arrived in the Land of Water.
Along the way, Zabuza Momochi probed Uehara Naraka many times, but couldn't be sure if the name he mentioned, Kisame Hoshigaki, was real or fake.
If not Kisame Hoshigaki, could it be Mangetsu Hōzuki?
But that guy Mangetsu Hōzuki was an out-and-out genius, and also the person in the village most hopeful of succeeding as the Fifth Mizukage. Would he be willing to risk assassinating the Fourth Mizukage?
Among Kirigakure's (Village Hidden by Mist) current three Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Zabuza Momochi still believed only he himself wanted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage Yagura. Both Mangetsu Hōzuki and Kisame Hoshigaki seemed very loyal; if word slipped out, it would hinder his plan.
After they stepped onto the soil of the Land of Water, Zabuza Momochi took the initiative to state his terms to Uehara Naraka, "I can only provide you with Kisame Hoshigaki's movements once; I won't take you to meet him. Besides, even if I did take you to meet him, you wouldn't trust me, right?"
"Mm, Mr. Zabuza's credibility is indeed worrying."
Uehara Naraka frowned and nodded, ignoring Zabuza Momochi's suddenly ugly expression, and continued softly, "Then let's agree on a time for our next meeting! Let's set it for three days from now. As for the location, let's keep it here!"
"Fine."
Zabuza agreed to his proposal.
The reason Zabuza Momochi was willing to agree to help, rather than choosing death to prove his resolve, was because he had also seen Uehara's strength and wanted to use Uehara Naraka for his own ends.
Kisame Hoshigaki was the ninja most loyal to the Fourth Mizukage in all of Kirigakure. When fighting seriously, his strength surpassed Zabuza's. If Uehara Naraka could delay Kisame Hoshigaki, Zabuza Momochi could immediately launch his Mizukage assassination attempt.
In all of Kirigakure, only Kisame Hoshigaki was still willing to protect that idiot Mizukage Yagura. Which other Mist ninja still dared to approach him?
Opportunities like this were rare.
"Then I wish us a happy cooperation in advance."
Uehara Naraka looked at Zabuza Momochi and extended his palm.
Zabuza Momochi glared at him, didn't shake hands to make peace, but instead said coldly, "There is no cooperation between us. I am merely providing you with information once."
"That's truly regrettable..."
Uehara Naraka sighed, his expression dark as he said, "Before we part, I must remind you: although I like to deceive people, I don't like being deceived by others."
"...I understand."
Zabuza Momochi verbally agreed, but inwardly cursed again. This kid isn't old, but his airs are certainly big!
Uehara Naraka really wasn't too worried about Zabuza Momochi deceiving him. Even if this guy brought a group of Mist ninjas to ambush him, Uehara was confident enough to escape. He just needed to apply Intervention's invincibility to himself, then immediately use the Mayfly Technique to dive underground and flee.
There were still three days until the intelligence exchange with Zabuza Momochi. Since he was already in the Land of Water, there was naturally no reason to waste a golden opportunity.
In his knowledge of the Land of Water's characters, the two most popular were Mei Terumī and Haku. Uehara Naraka didn't expect to meet the future Fifth Mizukage; he wanted to try looking for Haku, who possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
The current Haku should be wandering and begging in the streets and alleys of the Land of Water, carefully hiding his identity as a descendant of the Ice Release bloodline.
His range of activity was a bit large.
Uehara Naraka looked longingly at the few simple Haku-related quests on his system panel. He persisted in searching the dirtiest, messiest, and worst places in the Land of Water for three days, but still found no trace of Haku in the end.
Uehara Naraka left the garbage dump feeling lost and disappointed. Just as he decided to temporarily give up searching for Haku and wait for Zabuza Momochi's intelligence, a strand of brown hair appeared in his line of sight.
The boy slowly followed the strand of brown hair upwards with his gaze and saw a young female ninja with long brown hair and a gentle face. She looked at Uehara with a smile, then suddenly opened her palm as if performing a magic trick; in her palm was a packet of biscuits.
The woman bent down, holding out the biscuits in her hand, "Little fellow, hurry up and eat, these are for you!"
"Hm?"
Uehara Naraka was full of questions.
This young woman with long brown hair was precisely the future Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumī. Uehara hadn't expected to encounter her at this time and in this place.
The question was, what did Mei Terumī mean by giving him biscuits?
Uehara Naraka tilted his head, looking at the two attendant ninjas behind Mei Terumī. One of them had a blush on his face, gazing at the female ninja with adoration, "Aaaah... As expected of Lady Terumī Mei! When she's gentle, she's truly captivating!"
The other ninja had a complicated expression, "If Lady Terumī Mei's techniques weren't always so frightening, there would probably be many people in the village who admire her!"
The air instantly fell silent.
"Shut up, so noisy!"
Mei Terumī, originally gentle as water, heard one of her subordinates slandering her. Her face instantly turned furious, and she spun around, sending the person flying with a knee strike!
Mei Terumī then shot a cold glance at the other ninja, who was now sweating profusely, snorted coldly, flicked her long hair, and turned back to Uehara Naraka. Her face instantly resumed the gentle and lovely appearance from before.
The speed of her facial expression change was truly astonishing!
The brown-haired female ninja seemed to feel her previous actions were somewhat ungraceful. Standing tall, she gracefully walked towards Uehara Naraka, took his arm, placed the biscuits in his palm, and affectionately ruffled his head.
"Little brother, don't be afraid, big sister is a good person!"
Mei Terumī showed a warm, motherly smile, knelt down, and said softly, "You must have been hungry for a long time, right? These are all for you, hurry up and eat!"
"..."
Listening to her urging, Uehara Naraka woodenly stuffed a biscuit into his mouth, his mind blank. Could it be because his youthful appearance was too handsome, attracting Mei Terumī's attention?
Seeing the boy nibbling on the biscuit, Mei Terumī nodded with satisfaction and continued softly, "Little fellow, do you... have a home now?"
"..."
Uehara Naraka silently shook his head, then immediately nodded again. Akatsuki could be considered his home, right? Both Konan and Pain treated him quite well.
"I understand."
Mei Terumī patted his forehead, her mind filling in some unknown scenario, sighed, and said, "If you run into difficulties in the future, you can come find me in Kirigakure. Absolutely do not pick up food from the garbage dump. I am Kirigakure Jonin Terumī Mei, remember?"
"...Remembered."
Uehara Naraka took a bite of the biscuit, his expression gradually turning unpleasant.
How on earth did this woman conclude he was picking up food in a garbage dump? He was a tycoon carrying one hundred million exploding tags!
"That's good then."
Mei Terumī nodded with satisfaction, turned, and left with her subordinates, "Alright, let's go."
One of the ninjas praised, "I've never seen Lady Terumī Mei be so gentle before! If Lady Terumī Mei were usually half as gentle as she was to that little fellow just now—no, one-tenth—many people in the village would be willing to court Lady Terumī Mei!"
"Hmph, there isn't a single good man in the village!"
Mei Terumī tossed her head disdainfully. Her voice gradually faded, but could still faintly reach Uehara Naraka's ears, "Don't you think that little fellow is interesting? Clearly a vagrant searching for food in the garbage dump, his clothes are so coarse yet kept very clean. Even in such dire straits, he still has ambition..."
"..."
Crunch!
Uehara Naraka fiercely clenched his fist, suddenly crushing the biscuits in his palm into pieces. That woman's judgment was so poor; how on earth did she discover the Fourth Mizukage was under genjutsu, and how did she become Mizukage in the future?
Whoosh!
While Uehara Naraka's frustration hadn't dissipated, a figure suddenly darted past, snatched the biscuit crumbs from his palm, and quickly fled!
"..."
Uehara Naraka was stunned for a moment, then glanced at the vagrant child not far away, who was gobbling down the crumbs. The corner of his eye couldn't help but twitch.
Do the people of the Land of Water all lack judgment like this?
Someone actually dared to snatch his things!
(End of Chapter)
---
Read up to 20 chapter ahead of time on patreon.com/Legendryweeb
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*