Chapter 24: The Man Who Split a Tailed Beast Bomb in Two, Juzo Biwa!
Outside the Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water.
Two men dressed in Akatsuki uniforms stood quietly, looking toward their destination. Juzo Biwa turned to Uchiha Itachi and asked:
"Hey, newbie! Are you good at sneaking in?"
"Somewhat."
Itachi replied coolly.
"Then let's see what you've got!"
With that, Juzo took the lead. He asked because he was worried that the newcomer, Uchiha Itachi, might lack the skills necessary and end up blowing their cover, ruining the mission.
Without a word, Itachi followed him.
They advanced swiftly through the dense forest until Juzo seemed to sense something off. He quickly formed hand seals.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
A thick mist spread across a wide area around them, meant to obscure the vision of any pursuers.
"Wind Style: Passing Typhoon!"
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed through the forest, followed by a strong gust that dispersed the mist.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Several figures appeared, landing on the trees behind Juzo and Itachi, their eyes fixed on the two.
"This is…"
Juzo recognized them instantly. His expression darkened as he put some distance between himself and the enemies, unwilling to turn his back on them.
"The Fourth!"
"Well, so much for catching them off guard and using your genjutsu to handle them. That's clearly not an option now!"
Juzo spoke with a heavy heart.
In his mind, although the Uchiha clan's Sharingan genjutsu was powerful, it would be ineffective against the perfect jinchuriki, the Fourth Mizukage.
Now, there was no choice but to fight.
"So what do we do?"
Itachi asked indifferently.
"We'll have to use Strategy C!"
Before the mission, Juzo and Itachi had discussed this strategy. Strategy C involved Itachi distracting the enemy, drawing their attention so that Juzo could launch a surprise attack.
Of course, it was Juzo who had come up with this plan, with Itachi merely going along without objecting.
"Strategy C, huh? No problem."
Itachi responded in his usual calm tone.
But as soon as he spoke, he did something unexpected: he lunged at Juzo with a kunai.
Everyone watching, except Yagura, was shocked. Weren't they teammates? Why would he suddenly attack his own ally?
"Watch out!"
As a perfect jinchuriki, Yagura saw through Itachi's genjutsu immediately and shouted a warning.
But in the split second Yagura was distracted, Juzo had already closed in, swinging his massive executioner's blade down on him.
As a Kage-level shinobi, Yagura reacted quickly, raising his coral club to block the strike, sparks flying from the clash.
Meanwhile, Itachi threw shuriken to drive back the other Mist shinobi, then launched a Great Fireball Jutsu toward Yagura.
Juzo had anticipated this and left only a water clone to confront Yagura, according to their strategy.
The raging fire engulfed Yagura, hiding him from view, causing the other Mist shinobi to worry, which gave Itachi and Juzo a chance to quickly take them down.
Both knew this wouldn't be enough to kill the Fourth Mizukage.
Sure enough, from the spot where Yagura had been burning, a violent energy surged, instantly extinguishing the flames to reveal Yagura's form, now covered in dark red chakra.
He was in his tailed beast state!
Juzo, holding on to a sliver of hope, took advantage of Yagura's focus on Itachi to rush in with a powerful slash.
But Yagura, in his tailed beast form, merely threw a punch, sending Juzo flying into a tree, where he coughed up blood, his energy fading.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Seeing his partner under attack, Itachi quickly hurled kunai toward Yagura, but they were swept away by Yagura's chakra tails.
Yagura then lunged forward in a burst of speed, turning into a dark red blur. In an instant, he was upon Itachi, swiping at him. Itachi managed to dodge, but a brief touch left coral-like growths spreading across his body, immobilizing him within seconds.
Seizing this opportunity, Yagura charged to deliver a finishing blow.
Given a moment to breathe, Juzo realized that if Itachi died, he'd be next.
Ignoring his injuries, he used the Body Flicker Technique to slash at Yagura, forcing him back and freeing Itachi.
"Let's go!"
After a brief exchange, Juzo realized they were no match for Yagura in his tailed beast state and decided to retreat.
Itachi had no objections. He could likely defeat Yagura using his Mangekyo Sharingan, but the toll it took on his body wasn't worth it for a single mission.
"Swish! Swish!"
They dashed through the forest, with the beastly figure of Yagura, cloaked in dark red chakra, rapidly gaining on them.
"Damn it!"
"To run into the Fourth Mizukage… just our luck!"
Juzo grumbled, feeling helpless.
Unable to win, they had no choice but to run. This feeling of powerlessness reminded him of a mission long ago outside Konoha, where he'd encountered a strange ninja in a green jumpsuit with a bowl-cut hairstyle.
Though that shinobi seemed comical, his terrifying strength had crushed the infamous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, turning them into a laughingstock.
The mission's failure and the shame of returning to the village led him to desert and join Akatsuki.
He had thought this mission to lure Kisame Hoshigaki to defect from the Mist would be straightforward.
Unexpectedly, complications arose, and they hadn't even reached their target before encountering the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, who was now hunting them as rogues.
Facing the perfect jinchuriki and uncertain of Itachi's true strength, Juzo saw no option but to run for his life.
But as time passed, Yagura continued to close the distance.
"Itachi, could you do me a favor?"
Juzo asked, feeling uneasy.
"…"
Itachi didn't respond, but Juzo, who had come to know Itachi's personality over the past few days, continued speaking.
"If I get captured by the Mist, please kill me."
"And if I die here, please bury me under a cherry blossom tree in the Land of Water."
Hearing this final request, Itachi remained silent, but something stirred within him. It was as though a small knife had cut into an old wound, bringing a faint ache.
"Watch out!"
A sense of danger shot through them as Juzo turned to see a dark red sphere of chakra hurtling toward them.
Without thinking, Juzo shoved Itachi aside, turning to face it and swinging his blade down.
There's no denying it—splitting a Tailed Beast Bomb in two is a rare feat!
If Juzo had the strength of a tailed beast, he might have succeeded.
But he didn't. So he died.
And he died in a most gruesome manner.
The Tailed Beast Bomb shattered his executioner's blade, and the broken blade tore through half of his body, beyond saving.
"Not a bad end, I suppose," Juzo muttered, taking his final breath.
As he looked at Juzo's lifeless form, Itachi couldn't hide his sorrow.
Perhaps this was the fate of a ninja.
"Amaterasu!"
Seeing Yagura close in, Itachi finally unleashed his full power, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Black flames appeared on Yagura without warning, consuming him.
Unfamiliar with this strange fire, Yagura had no means to extinguish it and soon collapsed, unconscious, having reverted from his tailed beast form.
---
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*
Chapter 25: Blood Mist Rises Again in the Hidden Mist! Change in the Hidden Rain Village!
The moment Uchiha Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, the fight was over.
If not for the overwhelming side effects, Yagura might have suffered more than just severe injuries and unconsciousness.
Of course, the main reason was… the arrival of the man claiming to be Uchiha Madara!
The space in front of him rippled, and a man with a mask revealing only a single Mangekyo Sharingan appeared.
Looking at the lifeless body of Juzo Biwa, a twitch passed across Obito's face under his mask.
He hadn't expected that by arriving just a bit late, he would lose an Akatsuki member.
But perhaps it was for the best.
Akatsuki needed individuals who could rival the power of a tailed beast, not dead weight.
So, Obito didn't care about Juzo's death; in fact, he felt a certain disdain.
"How did things go?"
Without Zetsu present to report, Obito naturally turned to Itachi for an explanation.
"We were just about to infiltrate the Hidden Mist Village to locate our target when the Fourth Mizukage found us."
"We were forced to fight, and Juzo Biwa was killed by a Tailed Beast Bomb."
Without hesitation, Itachi briefly recounted the events.
"Return to base. I'll report to Pain."
"I'll take over this mission myself."
Obito spoke coldly.
He hadn't originally planned on it, but seeing the unconscious Three-Tails Jinchuriki lying there brought back memories of Rin.
A surge of rage welled up within him, a desire for revenge against the Hidden Mist Village.
Good! Good! Good!
How could I have forgotten what they did to Rin?
If it weren't for them, Rin wouldn't have died!
"Yes."
Feeling the emotional shift in "Madara," Itachi didn't linger or question it.
He turned, picked up Juzo's body, slinging it over his shoulder, along with the broken executioner's blade, and walked away without looking back.
Obito sneered at Itachi's actions, even finding them amusing.
He showed such care and empathy for a stranger he had only known for a short time, even taking it upon himself to collect the body of this unfamiliar person.
Yet what about his own family and clan?
They had been sacrificed for experiments by that old man in Konoha, and he showed no reaction.
Did he really not know anything?
No matter. It doesn't matter in this world without Rin.
Returning to his senses, Obito's gaze fell back on the unconscious Yagura.
The painful memories played out like a movie reel in his mind, filling him with a renewed desire to carry out the Moon's Eye Plan.
But before that, he decided to exact a little revenge on the Hidden Mist Village.
With that, Obito formed several complex hand seals. This was a control method Uchiha Madara had left on the Three-Tails, though it hadn't been activated.
It was intended for use when capturing the tailed beasts for the Moon's Eye Plan.
Although the plan hadn't officially started, Obito no longer cared. His hatred drove him beyond caution.
Under Obito's influence, the Hidden Mist Village would once again be shrouded in a blood mist.
(As a side note, I've noticed that many authors write about Obito controlling the Hidden Mist between the Nine-Tails Night and Itachi's defection. But in reviewing the story, I found that Yagura was fully conscious when he encountered Juzo and Itachi. If he had been controlled before, the people of the Hidden Mist would've noticed. This arrangement felt more logical.)
Meanwhile, Uchiha Yi returned leisurely to the Akatsuki base.
During his absence, some changes had taken place within Akatsuki.
First, Nagato had finally eliminated the remnants of Hanzo the Salamander's faction, fully taking control of the Hidden Rain Village and moving Akatsuki there.
Second, Nagato, using Hanzo's name, announced that the Hidden Rain would no longer be open to outsiders, cutting off all access.
Any intruders would be executed on sight.
Upon hearing this, some villages, not convinced by the Hidden Rain's unilateral warning, kept sending spies to investigate.
However, under the Rain Tiger at Will technique, every intruder was swiftly located and dealt with, leaving other villages shocked and furious but unable to openly admit their spies had been killed.
Besides, Hanzo's reputation as a demigod still held significant weight in the shinobi world, enough to deter even the Five Great Shinobi Villages from challenging him.
Gradually, most villages chose to cut their losses and stop attempting to investigate the Hidden Rain.
Only then did stability return to the Hidden Rain Village.
One day, Uchiha Yi approached Pain.
"What?"
"You want to spar in taijutsu with me?"
Pain was surprised by Uchiha Yi's request, finding it difficult to understand.
"Yes!"
"I've realized my taijutsu is lacking. I was hoping you could help me improve."
Uchiha Yi spoke sincerely.
This response left Pain in silence.
He had sparred with Uchiha Yi before and had also received some information from Konan.
He knew that Yi was highly skilled in ninjutsu, particularly in Fire Release techniques that even he found intimidating.
Logically, someone so proficient in ninjutsu would focus on refining that talent further, rather than investing time in an area where he was less capable.
Wasn't that putting the cart before the horse?
---
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*
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