Yakushi Kabuto hoisted the unconscious Rōshi onto his shoulder. With a few leaps, he appeared before the weakened Guren.
No unnecessary words were exchanged.
Mystic Palm Technique!
Yakushi Kabuto extended a palm wrapped in pale-green chakra and gently pressed it against Guren's body.
After about a moment, the ashen pallor on Guren's face gave way to a hint of healthy color.
"I can only provide a basic treatment for now. The commotion from that battle just now probably won't escape the notice of Kirigakure and Iwagakure. We need to leave here now."
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses and spoke softly to Guren.
If not for Guren's jutsu, Rōshi's Tailed Beast Ball would have killed or gravely injured them both. Had the mission failed, Lord Orochimaru's punishment would be no joke.
In response to Yakushi Kabuto's overture, Guren let out a cold snort. Her previously weakened state had recovered somewhat thanks to his healing.
Guren climbed to her feet and immediately began retreating along their pre-planned escape route.
Meanwhile, Yakushi Kabuto allowed a faint smile to cross his typically expressionless face as he hoisted Rōshi and quickly followed.
Not long after Yakushi Kabuto and Guren had departed.
Several masked figures rushed in from another direction, arriving at the battlefield in a matter of moments.
These ninja were from Kirigakure's Anbu.
The Kirigakure Anbu captain at the front gazed at the extensively destroyed ground. Behind his mask, his expression was distinctly unpleasant.
"Captain, we're a step too late. Based on the residual chakra traces, this should be the site where the Four-Tails jinchūriki Rōshi was."
"There should have been two people fighting the jinchūriki. One of them likely possesses a special Kekkei Genkai."
An Anbu member pulled several crystal-like fragments from a crater on one side of the battlefield, analyzing them carefully.
"Are they from Iwagakure?"
The Kirigakure Anbu captain furrowed his brow, asking in an emotionless voice.
"Probably not. There shouldn't be anyone with that kind of Kekkei Genkai among Iwagakure's ninja."
The Anbu member fell silent for a moment, then shook his head, speaking in a serious tone.
"So there's yet another faction searching for the jinchūriki besides us and Iwagakure. Can you track which direction they went?"
The Kirigakure Anbu captain's tone carried a clear note of hostility.
After tracking for so long, only to have someone else swoop in and steal their prize — anyone would be furious. Moreover, Lord Yuto had been paying extremely close attention to this mission.
"Apologies, sir. They were well-prepared and erased all traces when they withdrew."
Another Anbu ninja shook his head slowly, speaking with a hint of frustration.
"If that Hyūga kid were here, we might have been able to use his Byakugan."
The moment those words left his mouth!
The Kirigakure Anbu captain at the front snapped his head toward this Anbu member.
Even with his mask on, the Anbu could feel the icy glare hidden beneath the captain's mask.
"Hyūga Neji is not only a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist — he is also Lord Yuto's disciple. I hope this is the last time."
An emotionless, freezing voice entered the Anbu member's ears.
"Y-yes, Captain."
A sheen of sweat broke out across the Anbu member's forehead as he hastily replied.
He knew he had just crossed a line.
Although there were many in Kirigakure who felt Hyūga Neji lacked the qualifications to wield the longsword Nuibari, such complaints were only ever voiced in private.
Moreover, regardless of whether Hyūga Neji had the qualifications or not, his current status as a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was a fact — and he represented Kirigakure itself.
Calling Hyūga Neji a "kid" was no different from insulting the other members of the Seven Swordsmen.
In a way, the Anbu captain was doing this member a favor. If those words reached the ears of the other Swordsmen, they would not let it slide.
While these Kirigakure Anbu were speaking, several more ninja rapidly approached from yet another direction!
In the span of a few breaths, these ninja appeared facing the Kirigakure Anbu.
"Iwagakure ninja."
The Kirigakure Anbu captain's gaze sharpened as he took in the attire of the newly arrived ninja.
The Iwagakure ninja naturally noticed the Kirigakure Anbu as well, and their bodies instantly tensed.
For a moment!
The atmosphere between the two sides grew heavy.
"We move."
The Kirigakure Anbu captain gave the Iwagakure ninja a cautious glance, then spoke flatly to the Anbu behind him.
The moment the words left his mouth.
The Kirigakure Anbu turned and vanished in an instant.
Seeing this, the Iwagakure ninja also let out a collective sigh of relief.
One day later.
Intelligence regarding the Four-Tails jinchūriki Rōshi being captured by a mysterious faction was placed before Yuto.
Inside the Mizukage's office.
"Interesting. Could it be Orochimaru?"
Yuto sat on the sofa, examining the crystal-like fragments in his hand. His eyes flickered slightly.
If he remembered correctly, Orochimaru had a subordinate named Guren who possessed a Kekkei Genkai called Crystal Release.
The Kirigakure Anbu that Yuto had dispatched had already located Rōshi's position. They just hadn't expected Orochimaru to intervene.
However.
What puzzled Yuto was why Orochimaru would want to capture the Four-Tails jinchūriki.
He could not recall Tailed Beasts being of any use to Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru?"
"You mean the one who masterminded the Konoha Crush Plan — one of the Legendary Three, Orochimaru?"
Terumi Mei, having naturally overheard Yuto's words, spoke with a note of surprise.
"What a crazy guy." Terumi Mei paused slightly before offering this assessment.
"Crazy" was an extremely fitting word to describe Orochimaru.
In the current Shinobi World, anyone with the slightest awareness knew that both Uchiha Madara and Yuto were collecting Tailed Beasts.
Of all the Tailed Beasts, only the Nine-Tails jinchūriki remained in Konoha's hands. The rest of the jinchūriki were mostly split between Uchiha Madara and Yuto.
And yet Orochimaru had still chosen to meddle in this affair despite the circumstances.
This truly could be described as crazy!
Had Orochimaru never considered the consequences of simultaneously offending both Uchiha Madara and Yuto?
Terumi Mei could not help but think that Orochimaru had absolutely no fear of death!
"Should we send people to track down Orochimaru?"
Terumi Mei turned to Yuto, asking softly.
Though she did not know why Lord Yuto was collecting Tailed Beasts, she was well aware of how important they were to him.
At Terumi Mei's question, Yuto shook his head slightly.
There was no time to waste on Orochimaru right now.
Whatever Orochimaru's reasons for capturing Rōshi, as far as Yuto was concerned, as long as the Four-Tails jinchūriki did not fall into Uchiha Madara's hands, what did it matter if he stayed with Orochimaru for now?
Terumi Mei gave a small nod. There was indeed a more pressing matter to attend to.
"You had me called here. Has something happened?"
Yuto turned his attention back to Terumi Mei, asking with slight puzzlement.
"Indeed there has. Bring them in."
A hint of gravity crossed Terumi Mei's face. Her green eyes turned toward the door as she spoke in a flat voice.
The moment she finished!
The office door opened. Two Anbu ninja walked in, carrying a bound figure between them.
Seeing the trussed-up individual being dragged in, Yuto's normally calm expression flickered with surprise.
"White Zetsu?"
Yuto's tone carried a note of astonishment.
White Zetsu was currently tied up with thick hemp rope. Yet his face showed not the slightest trace of panic — instead, he looked around with curious interest.
However, the moment White Zetsu saw Yuto, he seemed to instinctively shrink his neck.
The two Anbu ninja dropped the securely bound White Zetsu onto the floor, bowed respectfully to Yuto and Terumi Mei, then slowly backed out of the room.
"What is going on here?"
Yuto raised an eyebrow, pulling his gaze from White Zetsu's body to look at Terumi Mei with a puzzled expression.
"This guy was spotted outside the village by our Anbu, and they just grabbed him."
Terumi Mei wore a peculiar expression, her mouth twitching slightly as she spoke.
"It was that simple?"
Yuto could not help but pause, a similarly strange expression crossing his face.
Terumi Mei spread her hands, confirming that it really was that simple.
After all, White Zetsu had deep ties to Uchiha Madara.
Because of this.
Terumi Mei had not dared to make a decision on her own, which was why she had called for Yuto.
Yuto wore an unreadable expression as he turned to look at White Zetsu, who was sitting meekly on the floor, still bound.
It was not that he underestimated his own Anbu!
But White Zetsu's Floating Jutsu and Disguise Jutsu were such that if he wanted to hide from ordinary ninja, they would never detect him.
"Speak. What did Uchiha Madara send you here to do?"
Yuto looked at White Zetsu and spoke in a flat tone.
Deep down, White Zetsu really wanted to complain about how tightly the ropes were tied, and how uncomfortable it was to be half-kneeling on the floor like this. But when he saw Yuto slouching on the sofa, looking utterly unimpressive—
White Zetsu thought better of it and suppressed the urge to complain.
The Yuto sitting before him might not project any particular aura — he looked almost like an ordinary ninja. But White Zetsu knew full well that the person before him was a genuine monster!
If he accidentally got killed here, that would be disastrous!
Of course, White Zetsu was not worried about dying. After all, this body was merely a clone — if it was destroyed, it did not matter.
But failing to complete the task that Lord Uchiha Madara had assigned him — that would be a true disaster!
"Lord Uchiha Madara sent me here because he wants Kirigakure and Iwagakure to cooperate."
White Zetsu tilted his head slightly and spoke with cautious deliberation.
"Cooperate?"
Terumi Mei's eyes narrowed, her face etched with gravity.
Yuto said nothing. He simply watched White Zetsu in silence, waiting for the rest.
"That's right — our two sides work together to destroy Konoha."
White Zetsu nodded eagerly, speaking with an excited tone.
This was a matter capable of shaking the entire Shinobi World, yet for some reason, coming from White Zetsu's mouth, it always sounded almost comical.
But Terumi Mei was not laughing. Her expression was graver than ever, her face filled with an unprecedented level of seriousness.
Terumi Mei turned to look in Yuto's direction. This was not a decision she could make on her own.
And Yuto, for his part, maintained his usual calm expression, his thoughts unreadable.
For a moment.
The entire Mizukage's office fell into silence.
White Zetsu clearly felt the shift in atmosphere and shrank his neck further.
But this silence was quickly broken by Yuto.
"Sorry, I zoned out for a moment there."
"That's actually a pretty good idea. Terumi Mei, what do you think?"
Yuto snapped back to reality and spoke with a light laugh.
Seeing Lord Yuto's demeanor, Terumi Mei's face showed a hint of helplessness. She had assumed he was deep in thought moments ago.
She had not expected him to have actually zoned out!
"I have no objections, Lord Yuto."
Terumi Mei rubbed her temples, her expression carrying a trace of resigned exasperation.
"In that case, you can go back and tell Uchiha Madara."
Yuto waved his hand, signaling that White Zetsu could leave.
At this moment.
White Zetsu instead stood there in a daze. Despite his normally scatterbrained and frivolous nature, even he understood that an alliance between these two powers was a monumental event.
Yet aside from Terumi Mei's initial surprise, both she and Yuto had remained utterly unfazed throughout.
As if they were not discussing something of tremendous consequence, but some trivial matter that could be resolved without a second thought.
After all!
If the two sides cooperated in an attack on Konoha, it would mean a war that would engulf the entire Shinobi World!
"Why aren't you leaving?"
Yuto frowned at White Zetsu, who remained standing there in a daze.
"Lord Yuto, he's still tied up. He can't exactly move even if he wants to leave."
Terumi Mei covered her mouth with a soft laugh, then clapped her hands together.
The next moment.
The office door opened, and two Anbu ninja walked in, hoisted White Zetsu up, and carried him outside.
It was not until White Zetsu had completely left the room.
That Terumi Mei's previously calm face finally revealed the gravity she felt, her tone carrying a note of genuine surprise.
"Lord Yuto, I can't believe you predicted it — Uchiha Madara really did send someone."
Hearing the surprise in Terumi Mei's voice, Yuto smiled faintly.
"Actually, I'm somewhat surprised myself. I was thinking that if Uchiha Madara didn't send someone within this period, we would be the ones to reach out."
Yuto wore a faint smile, a hint of genuine surprise in his voice.
The Shinobi World had been peaceful for too long. He had been itching to make a move against Konoha for a while now.
Clearly, the Four-Tails jinchūriki Rōshi being captured by Orochimaru's people had made Uchiha Madara feel a sense of urgency.
All this time.
The reason the Shinobi World had remained peaceful was because both Uchiha Madara and Yuto had their attention focused on locating the Four-Tails jinchūriki, Rōshi.
As for Senju Hashirama, he naturally wanted nothing more than for the Shinobi World to remain peaceful forever.
If he could simply outlast Uchiha Madara and Yuto, nothing would suit Senju Hashirama better.