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Mei Terumi did not fully believe Kabuto's story.
Midorima had arranged for Kabuto and Jugo to dig up the grave of the Second Mizukage? If that were truly the case, why hadn't Midorima come in person to handle the matter himself?
And furthermore, what purpose could possibly be served by exhuming the Second Mizukage's grave?
"Have you ever heard of the Impure World Reanimation technique?" Kabuto asked.
"Impure World Reanimation?" Mei Terumi hesitated. She genuinely had little to no familiarity with that particular jutsu.
"To put it simply, by utilizing a portion of a deceased person's cellular tissue, this technique allows the dead to be resurrected in a certain form. While it is not a true resurrection in the absolute sense, their combat capabilities can indeed be harnessed. Lord Midorima's intention is to use the cellular tissue of these fallen shinobi to bring them back and deploy them against the Akatsuki," Kabuto explained succinctly.
"Is that so?" Mei Terumi questioned, her skepticism still evident.
Kabuto did not appear to be lying, yet she had never once heard Midorima make any mention of such a plan.
"Yes."
"Why didn't he do this himself?" Mei Terumi remained guarded, unwilling to let her suspicions drop.
"Most likely, he doesn't know how to perform the Impure World Reanimation technique?" Kabuto speculated, sounding uncertain himself.
"Where is he right now?"
"That... I honestly have no idea." Kabuto looked as though he was on the verge of tears.
This question was impossibly difficult to answer.
It had been a very long time since he had last laid eyes on Midorima.
Mei Terumi, however, failed to notice Kabuto's anguished expression. Her mind had already jumped to another matter entirely. Before Midorima had departed, he had mentioned to her that he needed to "increase his strength" in order to contend with the Akatsuki.
Could this truly be part of Midorima's plan?
"Do you know how to use the Impure World Reanimation?" Mei Terumi pressed.
"I know a little bit," Kabuto admitted.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Mei Terumi frowned.
Either one knew how to do it, or one did not. What was this nonsense about knowing "a little bit"?
"It means... I understand how it is performed, but I have never officially executed it," Kabuto explained with visible difficulty. "This jutsu requires a very specific component—a living human sacrifice."
Mei Terumi's brows arched upwards. "A living person? Our prison is filled with criminals awaiting execution. They can serve as your materials. I intend to witness you perform this jutsu with my own eyes."
"No problem."
Mei Terumi dismissed the guards to escort the two men away, and then let out a heavy, weary sigh.
If what Kabuto had said was a lie, it meant that someone was already making moves against the Hidden Mist Village, and the mastermind behind it was very likely the Akatsuki. If, on the other hand, he had been telling the truth, then Midorima's current situation was far from favorable. Otherwise, he would never have entrusted such a task to others.
Still, if the Impure World Reanimation could truly be performed and the Second Mizukage could be brought back, perhaps it genuinely could serve as a powerful asset for the Hidden Mist Village.
Of course, she had merely entertained the thought for a fleeting moment. She had no serious intention of actually resurrecting the Second Mizukage.
After all, if word of such an act were ever to leak out, the negative repercussions against her would be immense.
Just as Mei Terumi was carefully weighing the pros and cons of the entire situation, Zetsu was simultaneously relaying the contents of her conversation with Kabuto to Obito and Itachi, who had already arrived at the Hidden Mist Village.
"Impure World Reanimation?" Upon hearing this, Obito's visible eye lit up with keen interest.
Itachi's brow twitched almost imperceptibly before his expression returned to its usual stoic calm.
He had accompanied Obito to the Hidden Mist Village with the express objective of locating any clues pertaining to the Six-Tails from the corpse of Igawa Bu.
The Hidden Mist Village had not left Igawa Bu's body to rot in the wilderness. They had buried him in a proper grave.
When Itachi and Zetsu had dug up that grave, all that remained of Igawa Bu was a skeleton.
Itachi was curious about what Obito's next move would be. But it seemed that Obito, upon seeing the skeletal remains, had also fallen into a contemplative silence, as if this scenario did not align with his original plan.
Was there truly no other option but to force Midorima out into the open?
Itachi had no desire to point the blade directly at Midorima, but if these were Pain's orders, there was little he could do to intervene.
The intelligence Zetsu had brought back filled Itachi with a deep sense of unease.
Just as he had feared, the moment Obito learned of the "Impure World Reanimation," he immediately turned to Itachi, who was seated leaning against a tree, and declared with a smirk, "I have a way."
"The Impure World Reanimation?" Itachi asked.
"Yes."
As I expected...
Itachi mused silently.
"What do you intend to do?"
"What else? First, we bring Igawa Bu back to life. Extracting information from a living mouth is far simpler than interrogating a skeleton, don't you think?"
Hearing this, Itachi had already guessed the rough outline of the scheme.
Kabuto would never willingly assist them. But with a "little trick," perhaps a different outcome could be achieved—for instance, by utilizing the power of the Sharingan.
"Are you planning to start a war with the Hidden Mist Village? With the Seven Swordsmen gone and the Mizukage still very young, there may indeed be an opportunity to annihilate them completely," Itachi remarked coolly.
"I don't have quite that much confidence. However, abducting that shinobi who knows how to perform the Impure World Reanimation shouldn't pose much of a problem." Obito turned his masked face towards Zetsu. "Lead the way. Our time is very limited."
"What about this skeleton?" Itachi pointed at the remains of Igawa Bu lying on the ground.
"Have Zetsu carry it."
"..."
Zetsu, naturally, had absolutely no intention of lugging a full skeleton around while they moved. Instead, he carefully placed the bones back into the pit. To prevent any stray dogs from dragging them off, he covered the grave back up with soil. Only then did he guide Obito and Itachi as they infiltrated deeper into the village towards the location where Kabuto and Jugo were being detained.
...
Mizukage Tower.
Mei Terumi was in the middle of reviewing the roster of death row inmates, meticulously selecting a suitable candidate to serve as the sacrificial material for the Impure World Reanimation technique, weighing each individual against the severity of their past crimes.
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion echoed from outside her window.
She rushed to the window and peered towards the direction of the sound, only to find her line of sight completely obscured by the ever-present mist.
The Hidden Mist Village, true to its name, was perpetually shrouded in dense fog.
Mei Terumi's brow furrowed deeply. Just as she yanked open her door, she nearly collided head-on with Akimoto Ruri, who had been about to knock.
"What's happening out there?" Mei Terumi demanded.
"We're under attack... The Akatsuki has infiltrated the Hidden Mist Village. They're attempting to abduct the grave robbers we just captured."
"The Akatsuki?"
The moment that name reached her ears, an icy chill shot down Mei Terumi's spine.
Originally, she might still have harbored doubts about Kabuto. But the sudden appearance of the Akatsuki wiped out one of her foremost suspicions—that Midorima might truly have dispatched Kabuto to collect the cellular tissue of the Second Mizukage.
If that was the case, the Akatsuki's arrival was tantamount to directly sabotaging Midorima's plan. The gravity of the situation had just escalated catastrophically.
"What is the current status?" Mei Terumi asked.
"From what I've gathered, Jugo is currently locked in combat with one of the assailants, but Kabuto has already been abducted," Akimoto Ruri reported, having to break into a near jog just to keep pace with the Mizukage.
"What?!"
Mei Terumi was horrified. Abandoning all formality, she vaulted directly from the Mizukage Tower, landing on the roof of an adjacent building, and sped at full velocity towards the source of the commotion.
However, by the time she reached the site of the battle, the conflict was already over.
Six Mist shinobi who had rushed in as reinforcements lay dead. Three of them had been reduced to charred husks, clearly victims of a Fire Release technique.
At the very center of the battlefield, Jugo knelt on one knee, his body drenched in blood.
"What happened here?" Mei Terumi rushed to Jugo's side and crouched down. "Where is your companion?"
"He's been captured by the Akatsuki." Jugo lifted his head to look at Mei Terumi. "I don't understand why the Akatsuki would take him. But Lord Midorima entrusted this task to him, which means he is important. And now..."
Mei Terumi clenched her teeth furiously, a raging fire of anger blazing within her heart.