Chapter 300: The Three Tails of Hidden Mist Village
Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, gave Amamiya Kenichi the impression of having a baby face. He looked like an underage child, even though Kenichi knew the man already had a grandson.
Still, Yagura's expression at the meeting was far from pleasant.
Amamiya Kenichi observed him carefully, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with his eyes or expression. Everything looked completely normal.
"...A few survivors from the family that rebelled earlier have defected from the village. Elder Genji, please issue a bounty on them."
Yagura's tone was also perfectly normal, which only made Amamiya Kenichi admire Obito's control even more.
At the very least, being able to maintain this level of control for so long before Kirigakure began to suspect anything was remarkable, especially when the target was the Kage of an entire village.
"Yes, Mizukage sama. However, regarding that family, there are still some..." Genji nodded calmly.
He said nothing more. Today was Mei Terumi's test, and he had already arranged his move.
Mei Terumi glanced at Amamiya Kenichi, and he gave a faint nod in return. He understood what she meant. It was his turn to act.
However, due to Ao's status, Amamiya Kenichi could only sit behind Mei Terumi while playing his role.
And in this meeting, Mei Terumi happened to be seated directly opposite Yagura, which meant Amamiya Kenichi, seated behind her, was also directly facing him. When Yagura swept his gaze across the room, he would naturally see him as well.
If the Byakugan were activated, the changes would be obvious, and Yagura would notice at once. If Yagura noticed, then the problem would...
Amamiya Kenichi paused.
Then so what if Yagura noticed?
Would it affect him?
No.
If Yagura lost control, it would affect the ninja of Kirigakure, not him. If Yagura clashed with Kirigakure's forces, then the one who benefited most would be him.
With that thought, Amamiya Kenichi decided to activate the Byakugan right in front of Yagura.
And if something happened afterward?
Mei Terumi would be the main force. He only needed to cheer from the sidelines.
As it happened, Mei Terumi was already looking for her chance.
"Onijima! What exactly did you mean by that?! Just because our clan exchanged letters with that family, you think we're suspects too?!" Mei Terumi slammed the table and lunged forward, grabbing a middle aged man by the collar as she roared.
The man had just insinuated that because Mei Terumi's clan had been in contact with the other family, she might also be connected to the rebellion.
That gave Mei Terumi the perfect excuse to explode.
In an instant, the entire room's attention was drawn to her.
Amamiya Kenichi's mouth twitched slightly.
This woman really was proactive. And when she stood up, a very pleasant fragrance drifted over.
So the question was, how had Ao, another man, remained calm every time Mei Terumi complained about not being able to get married? Shouldn't he have made a move long ago?
When Amamiya Kenichi had tidied Ao's house, he found no information about a wife or children. Of course, it was possible that Ao's wife and children were simply not there at the time. Still, it was better if they were not around. Otherwise, Amamiya Kenichi would have had to silence them as well.
But none of that mattered right now.
Amamiya Kenichi seized the opportunity and activated the Byakugan.
He had no choice. Genji was staring at him. If he hesitated now, suspicion would naturally fall on him.
The moment the Byakugan activated, Amamiya Kenichi looked toward Yagura.
The world immediately changed in his eyes. He could clearly see the chakra pathways and meridian systems of every ninja in the room.
The Byakugan really was an excellent eye.
With it, most concealment and ambushes became meaningless. No wonder nearly every Hyuga sent onto the battlefield was from the branch family. An eye like this was too tempting.
"As expected..."
The moment Amamiya Kenichi looked closely at Yagura, he saw a strange lump of chakra within his brain.
That had to be Obito's method of controlling him.
Kenichi then deactivated the Byakugan and moved to break up the fight.
He wanted to tell Genji directly, but he could not. Mei Terumi was the one who had informed him about the plan, and she had never mentioned Genji openly. Naturally, he had to continue pretending not to know anything.
"Enough. Stop making a scene. Mizukage sama is watching."
Amamiya Kenichi grabbed Mei Terumi's hand.
Her body stiffened for a moment, but she quickly regained control. She gave a cold snort and returned to her seat.
Soon after, Elder Genji excused himself under the pretense of retrieving documents and left the Mizukage building.
Amamiya Kenichi licked his lips excitedly.
It seemed Genji had already received Mei Terumi's signal.
So the thrilling power struggle was finally about to begin.
"...When did you start suspecting me?"
The instant Genji pushed open the door, Yagura suddenly rose to his feet. He picked up his weapon and looked at Genji and Mei Terumi with a blank expression.
"Mizukage sama, this..." Genji's pupils contracted.
Had he been discovered?
That should have been impossible. He had checked earlier. Ao had only activated the Byakugan at the exact moment Yagura's attention was elsewhere, and only for a single glance before turning it off. There should have been no way for Yagura to notice.
"You fools. Did you really think I wouldn't know?" Yagura said coldly.
The next moment, several Kirigakure jonin rushed in from outside, and Mei Terumi also lunged forward without hesitation, clearly intending to subdue Yagura before he could fully react.
But once Yagura was already under Obito's control, they had lost the initiative.
Yagura instantly evaded the attacking ninja, and a sinister chakra presence burst from his body.
Amamiya Kenichi's pupils narrowed.
That feeling was all too familiar.
Wasn't this the prelude to a tailed beast transformation?
Amamiya Kenichi immediately withdrew from the Mizukage building.
Almost the instant he left, the building exploded apart, and an enormous turtle like beast emerged from within.
"It's the Three Tails." Amamiya Kenichi licked his lips. "Logically, a perfect jinchuriki shouldn't fall under Genjutsu. But clearly, Mangekyo Sharingan Genjutsu is on a different level from ordinary illusions."
In the original setting, a perfect jinchuriki should have been immune to Genjutsu through the assistance of their tailed beast.
But Yagura, as the perfect jinchuriki of the Three Tails, had still been controlled by Obito, and controlled almost perfectly at that.
"The Fourth Mizukage Yagura is under someone's control! Kirigakure ninja, move immediately and assist!"
Mei Terumi's powerful voice rang through the dust and smoke. Then she jumped directly in front of Amamiya Kenichi and grabbed his shoulders.
"Ao! Kirigakure needs your Byakugan now! Tell me what abnormality you saw in the Fourth Mizukage!"
Mei Terumi's expression was grave as she gripped his shoulders tightly.
Amamiya Kenichi looked at her for a moment, then suddenly began to laugh.
His laughter immediately darkened Mei Terumi's face.
"Mei Terumi, when did you realize I wasn't Ao?" Amamiya Kenichi wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and smiled at her.
Mei Terumi's expression turned ice cold. She stared at him with guarded, dangerous eyes.
At the same time, her fingers tightened, and the obscure chakra gathered in her hands became even denser, as if it might erupt on his shoulders in the next instant.
"Just now," Mei Terumi said coldly. "If you were really Ao, you wouldn't have grabbed my hand."
Amamiya Kenichi understood at once.
So that was the problem.
He had exposed himself the moment he grabbed Mei Terumi's hand earlier. He truly had not expected that Ao wouldn't even make physical contact with her in a situation like that.
"Miss Mei Terumi, we'll meet again." At that moment, another Amamiya Kenichi stepped out from the side.
Mei Terumi glanced at him. She couldn't identify him, since he was wearing a mask, but she clearly understood that this one might only be a Shadow Clone.
Still, to prevent any accidents, Mei Terumi activated her ninjutsu without hesitation.
In the next second, the Ao before her dissolved into a puff of white mist, and a mask fell to the ground.
"You bastard!" Mei Terumi glared furiously at Amamiya Kenichi.
Ao was her friend.
And Ao was the only ninja in Kirigakure who possessed the Byakugan.
"See you again."
Amamiya Kenichi gave a smug smile as he glanced toward Yagura, who was already roaring and attacking Kirigakure's ninja, then turned and left without hesitation.
Although Mei Terumi desperately wanted to chase after him and beat him senseless, the most urgent issue for Kirigakure now was the Three Tails transformed Yagura.
He had to be suppressed.
Otherwise, the entire village would be destroyed.
So Mei Terumi gritted her teeth and forced herself to abandon the pursuit, turning back to help deal with the fully transformed Yagura.
Amamiya Kenichi had no intention of getting involved in that.
Although he had briefly considered collecting some chakra from the Three Tails, the chakra of the Three Tails was naturally less valuable than Kurama's. Besides, if he went back now, he worried Mei Terumi would go completely mad and come after him personally, which would only create more trouble.
And there was also a high chance Obito was somewhere nearby.
Keeping some distance was simply the better choice.
"Who are you?"
Just as Amamiya Kenichi was leaving Kirigakure, he noticed a man standing ahead of him. The man leaned against a tree trunk and held a very distinctive weapon in one hand.
Amamiya Kenichi's eyes narrowed.
That face... that weapon...
As the man stepped forward, Kenichi saw him clearly.
With that unique facial structure and the unmistakable blade, Amamiya Kenichi immediately recognized him.
Kisame Hoshigaki.
A man whose name had once been misread as "Ganpei Kisame" by some people, probably because certain characters looked similar.
But what most people remembered was his strength.
Kisame was known as the "Tailed Beast without a Tail," a man with astonishing chakra reserves.
"You're from Akatsuki?" Amamiya Kenichi smiled.
He had already noticed the Akatsuki robe on Kisame's body. That proved Kisame had already joined the organization by this point.
"You too?" Kisame looked genuinely surprised.
He had defected from Kirigakure some time ago and joined Akatsuki under Uchiha Madara's command. He had only returned now to retrieve something and gather some information.
Unexpectedly, he had personally witnessed the Three Tails' appearance, and then run into this masked man.
"Yes."
Amamiya Kenichi took out his ring and put it on.
Kisame looked at the familiar ring and the [Jade] engraved upon it, finally confirming that the man before him truly was an Akatsuki member, just like him.
"Were you the one behind the Three Tails incident?" Kisame asked, now clearly interested.
That was a tailed beast, the kind of monster everyone avoided if they could. Yet the man in front of him might very well be the one who had caused all of it.
"Mission details. Don't ask." Amamiya Kenichi shrugged, refusing to answer directly.
Although he knew Kisame well enough from memory, he had no real desire to get to know him better.
If anything, he was more interested in Samehada. That sword could be useful for research. Its material composition might even help Amado improve chakra metal further.
"Tch." Kisame snorted, but didn't push the matter.
Instead, taking advantage of the chaos inside Kirigakure, he jumped straight back into the village.
Amamiya Kenichi turned to watch him.
What was Kisame going back in for?
Originally, Kenichi had assumed Kisame was just another potential enemy. He had not expected Kisame to have already joined Akatsuki. To be honest, Amamiya Kenichi himself wasn't entirely clear on the exact process by which Kisame had joined the organization.
By the time Kenichi's airship rose into the sky, Kirigakure below had already fallen into complete chaos.
From high above, he could clearly see the gigantic body of the Three Tails. The ninja fighting around it looked like tiny black ants.
"Monsters really are huge," Kenichi muttered, licking his lips. "But if enough ants unite and refuse to fear death, even a monster can end up becoming their food."
The scene reminded him of nature documentaries from his previous life, where ants swarmed centipedes. The centipedes were enormous, the ants tiny, but in the end, the centipedes still became food.
The relationship between tailed beasts and ninja was much the same.
"Forget it. None of this has anything to do with me." Amamiya Kenichi yawned and shook his head. "I still need to get back and continue my experiments."
So he piloted the airship away from the Land of Water and headed toward the Land of Rice Fields.
As for Kirigakure, Yagura wouldn't go completely out of control, but the village was definitely not going to have an easy time dealing with the aftermath.
.....
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