Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 47: Do You Think the Mizukage... is Still Sane?

As the last Jonin fell to Kakashi's Raikiri, the elite Mist team was completely annihilated.

Only Terumi Mei, bound tightly by Kushina's adamantine chains, was left. Her hands were immobilized, preventing her from forming hand seals, and she glared at them with resentment.

"Sealing Technique..."

Ignoring her piercing gaze, Kushina formed seals with her hands. Using a sealing technique, she locked away Mei's ability to gather chakra before retracting the adamantine chains.

Seeing this, Hyuga Fuji glanced around at the surrounding trees that had been destroyed in the battle. Gathering chakra into his fingertips, he stepped forward and used his Gentle Fist technique to block her chakra points.

Better to add a couple of extra layers of insurance.

"Yakumaru, set up a genjutsu on her. You know what I mean."

Uchiha Yakumaru's eyes lit up as he activated his three-tomoe Sharingan and locked eyes with Mei. As Kushina looked over, he explained, "I've implanted a suggestion in her. If she attempts suicide, she'll immediately fall into a genjutsu."

"..."

Kushina glanced at Mei's dark, scowling expression, patted her shoulder, and said with a smile:

"Don't worry. If you can't even break free from my sealing technique, you don't need to concern yourself with the others' techniques."

Feeling completely unable to gather any chakra, Mei's face remained cold. "Konoha's geniuses never cease to impress, do they?"

She glanced at the three young shinobi in front of her. They were either around her age or even younger, yet they had easily eliminated her five Jonin companions.

However, she had already mentally prepared herself for the fact that those who could accompany a Jinchuriki like Kushina wouldn't be ordinary.

"Was Konoha's decision to send you here a declaration of war against us?"

"If your Third Mizukage hadn't gone insane, this war would've ended long ago." Kushina rolled her eyes, hoisted Mei onto her shoulder, and began leading the group back.

"Enough talk. You can discuss this with Minato when we get back. I'm sure you're aware of plenty of intel on Kirigakure."

Powerful shinobi like Terumi Mei often placed curses on themselves to encrypt certain information. Pure genjutsu interrogation usually yielded little, so it was better to hand her over to the Yamanaka clan specialists.

Mei's heart sank. She considered using one of her hidden methods to kill herself, but remembering what the Uchiha boy had just said, she forcibly suppressed the thought and turned her gaze to Hyuga Fuji.

Although the overwhelming pressure from Kushina had prevented her from seeing their battle with her companions, her brief contact with this young man had left the deepest impression.

The Hyuga clan... They understood the Uchiha clan well, and this boy seemed adept at utilizing his teammates' abilities. Compared to Kushina, he appeared more like the leader of this team. But why hadn't she ever heard of him before?

"Since you're on the battlefield, I assume you're from the Hyuga branch family? I've heard the Hyuga clan has altered the Caged Bird Seal. Even though we didn't capture a single member of the main family, they're this paranoid? Seems they really do intend to enslave you for generations..."

Slap!

Kushina slapped Mei hard across the face, her expression dark. "Shut up. Fuji is not a slave!"

"Minato will change the Hyuga clan."

Uchiha Yakumaru, whose Sharingan had just deactivated, instinctively reactivated it and stared at Mei with hostility. But when he noticed Fuji glancing at him, he quickly looked away, muttering:

"You're an opponent I respect. A mere captive has no right to insult you."

Fuji nodded. "Thank you."

Yakumaru's lips had just curved into a faint smile when Fuji's next words wiped it away.

"But I wouldn't fall for such an obvious attempt at provocation from the enemy."

Fuji continued calmly, "She's a dual Kekkei Genkai user, sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder by her village, and now she's trying to provoke me. She's certainly loyal."

Mei's eyes sharpened. Ignoring the burning pain on her face, she replied coldly, "Who are you calling cannon fodder?"

"Obviously, you." Yakumaru recovered from his brief annoyance and joined in, "Your Mizukage clearly doesn't care about your lives. Konoha has been fighting against three villages simultaneously and hasn't lost any ground. Do you really think Kirigakure alone can win? Surely you're not that naive."

"She's not naive. She's just clinging to a fantasy, unwilling to face reality." Fuji shook his head.

"..."

Mei glared at Fuji and Yakumaru, committing their faces to memory. Her voice was low as she declared, "Kirigakure will win."

The journey back fell into silence. No one spoke again until...

"There's a Kirigakure ambush ahead. A large number of them, probably drawn by the signal flare she sent earlier."

Fuji's eyes gleamed. He turned to the group and said, "I'll use the Flying Thunder God to send you all back."

"Alright." Kushina nodded. She glanced at Mei, whose expression had just softened slightly before hardening again due to the worsening situation. With a smile, she said, "Unlike you, we only ventured this deep because we had a safety net."

But Mei was staring intently at Fuji, shocked to realize that yet another Flying Thunder God user had appeared in the shinobi world.

At just fifteen years old, she still held reverence for the renowned figures of the shinobi world. Unlike the arrogant Seven Ninja Swordsmen, she harbored genuine fear of powerful individuals like the Fourth Hokage, who could single-handedly alter the course of war.

This time, she was the only one from her group to survive. If she couldn't deliver this information, Kirigakure might suffer further losses as a result.

However, before she could come up with a way to leave a message, Fuji teleported her away with the Flying Thunder God technique.

After ensuring his entire team was safely sent away, Fuji left behind a shadow clone before teleporting back to the command center.

Moments later, his shadow clone looked to the right.

"This is our first meeting, isn't it, Yagura-dono?"

"Yes, our first."

The baby-faced Yagura stepped out from behind a tree, his expression calm as he locked eyes with Fuji's shadow clone. "But I think... this isn't our first time working together."

Fuji gave a noncommittal nod. "I still have to thank you for the assistance during the ambush on the Hyuga main family."

"So it really was you!" Yagura's tone darkened. "My subordinates managed to uncover intel on the Hyuga main family before their deaths and even left behind a warning. I already felt something was off."

"As a result, the ambush failed. Not only did we lose several shinobi, but Kirigakure was also framed with false accusations. All your doing?"

"No need for such heavy words. None of your subordinates were sent on the mission, right?" Fuji chuckled softly.

Yagura narrowed his eyes.

Indeed, knowing the intel was suspicious, he hadn't sent his own people. He had simply fulfilled his duty by notifying the Third Mizukage. What happened afterward was out of his hands.

"You left information behind at the site where you defeated Terumi Mei just to gloat about how you've been toying with Kirigakure all along?"

"How could that be?" Fuji smiled and shook his head. Locking eyes with Yagura's calm expression, he asked softly, "Do you think the current Third Mizukage... is still sane?"

"..."

Yagura's expression shifted. He stared into Fuji's Byakugan and asked, "What do you know?"

"Not much. But what are you... willing to trade?"

(Chapter ends)