[Five Minutes Ago]
Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Hayato Kamihara formed a triangular formation, guarding Oda Ieyasu at the center.
Mei Terumi and Zabuza both wore grave expressions.
They were in Kyoto, the stronghold of the financial conglomerates and bureaucratic powers. With their wealth and the years they'd endured, who knew how many people they'd secretly trained.
On the other hand, the weakest among them, Hayato Kamihara, looked completely relaxed and said, "Relax. With Ryosuke's speed, no matter how big Kyoto is, within twenty minutes he'll have locked onto the target."
"With his ability, as long as the target appears within his field of vision, that means the rescue is basically done, time to clock out."
"It'll take the enemy some time to find us anyway. The three of us can't possibly fail to hold out for a dozen minutes, right?"
Mei Terumi and Zabuza both nodded slightly, their taut expressions loosening somewhat.
But Oda Ieyasu, who earlier at the daimyo residence had been standing on countless explosive tags yet could still chat calmly with Ryosuke, suave and refined, now had both fists clenched, his breathing heavy. Anyone could see the nervous agitation within him.
Because right now, he wasn't sitting here as a daimyo.
He was just a father waiting for his child to be saved.
What is a father?
A man who, when he sees his own child sitting in the corner playing alone, feels heartache wondering if the child will feel lonely.
Hayato Kamihara and the other two glanced at each other, unsure how to comfort him.
Though Hayato was often called "Dad," that was a different matter entirely.
He scratched his head, pulled out a cigarette, and offered it over.
"Want one?"
Oda Ieyasu never smoked. He only sipped alcohol lightly, always taking care of his health. But today, he wanted one.
He reached out, took the cigarette, and put it in his mouth.
Hayato Kamihara took out his lighter and lit it for him.
A gust of wind blew by.
The flame went out.
"Brother Daimyo, I don't want to disturb you smoking your last cigarette before death, but too bad..."
Hidan kicked aside a crate blocking the way, the Bloody March Scythe slung across his shoulder. He raised his chin slightly and said, "We're in a hurry."
Mei Terumi stood up, stepped to the front, and swept her gaze across the enemies surrounding them.
Hidan.
Kakuzu.
And numerous shinobi and samurai.
When she saw a samurai holding Oda Hideyoshi in his arms, her brows knit slightly. The child had fallen into a coma, his face utterly bloodless, clearly subjected to inhuman torment.
"Open your dog eyes and see clearly."
Hayato Kamihara shrank behind Zabuza, sticking only his head out, shouting at the gathered shinobi and samurai, "This man is none other than the Daimyo of the Land of Water, Oda Ieyasu! You dare raise weapons at the Daimyo? Aren't you afraid of clan-extermination punishment?"
"Hmph."
A middle-aged samurai sneered, stepping forward,
"Mei Terumi, Mizukage of the Hidden Mist, colluded with the traitor Ryosuke, assassinated the daimyo, and created a body double, scheming to seize power. At the request of Lady Saito, wife of the daimyo, we strike down the rebels..."
Kakuzu shoved aside the samurai still going through the formalities. His deep, hoarse, killing-intent-laden voice echoed in the alley, "Don't waste time."
Kakuzu was an old man nearly a hundred years old. He possessed the caution of the older generation.
On the tactical level, Kakuzu always assumed the worst-case scenario.
Back then, Ryosuke had crossed the border of the Land of Water, rushed to that barren island in less than an hour, and killed Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails' jinchūriki.
The safety window Kakuzu planned was five minutes.
Within five minutes, kill Oda Ieyasu and withdraw before Ryosuke returned.
As for Mei Terumi and Zabuza…
Kakuzu slowly removed the Akatsuki cloak, "If you know what's good for you, step aside. Otherwise..."
"You'll die together!"
Hayato Kamihara swallowed hard.
Two members of Akatsuki.
Kakuzu's information, Ryosuke had already given him, an old monster who had lived since the time of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
The other man's background was unclear, but anyone who could team up with such a fiend was clearly no saint.
On top of that, there were hundreds of shinobi and samurai.
He leaned close to Mei Terumi, "Should we retreat?"
Before Mei Terumi could answer, Zabuza spoke first, "Retreat what? We're shinobi, not accessories hanging off Ryosuke's belt."
"Fight when Ryosuke is here, retreat when he isn't… then we might as well just stay home farming in the village."
And more than that.
Mei Terumi, after all, was Mizukage. Having held office for over half a year, her political sensitivity was sharper than Zabuza's.
Ryosuke's plan was to move from the bottom up, which required enormous time invested into "awakening thought."
But if a daimyo could wholeheartedly assist, bottom-up and top-down moving together, the efficiency would be dozens of times greater.
Besides…
Zabuza was right.
They were shinobi, not officials.
From the moment they stepped out of the village, shinobi were prepared to give their lives for it.
Mei Terumi waved her hand and shed her Mizukage cloak. The cloak soared high, and in the instant it blocked both sides' line of sight, "Summoning Technique!"
"Summoning Technique!"
Two summoning techniques erupted.
On one side, Mei Terumi, Shin's gigantic body landed, crushing the houses on either side.
On the other, Hidan.
His aura wasn't as overwhelming as Mei Terumi's, but it was far more eerie.
Two shadows writhed behind Hidan.
One was countless bloodsucking mosquitoes, each the size of a thumb, with needle-like mouthparts.
One was tens of thousands of bloodsucking bats, each the size of a palm, with fangs like blades.
And that still wasn't Hidan's limit. In water, he could also summon leeches, piranhas…
In short, any summoning beasts tied to bloodsucking, the financial conglomerates of the Land of Fire and Land of Water had gathered a pile for him.
This was the concrete manifestation of "having money."
Hidan and Kakuzu, by working with the conglomerates, were backed by a powerful think-tank.
The think-tank would analyze all the intel on Ryosuke, devise reference tactics, and enhance their combat strength.
Sure, beasts like Manda or the Great Toads linked to the Three Great Sacred Places were hard to get.
But a Grade-One mirage beast that even Oda Ieyasu could arrange at a fair price? Let alone a few weak mosquitoes or bats?
In other hands, such creatures were weak.
But in Hidan's, they became the strongest weapons.
And not only the mosquitoes.
The conglomerates had said that every shinobi and samurai present, Kakuzu was free to take their hearts.
If he couldn't reach them, just one look, and countless shinobi would willingly step up to offer their hearts.
Because dying from having your heart ripped out would grant triple compensation. And those who volunteered would receive tenfold compensation.
This was the power of money.
If Ryosuke was the unreasonable cheat player, Kakuzu and Hidan were the pay-to-win whales.
Against their backdrop, people like Mei Terumi and Zabuza, who had painstakingly trained honestly, seemed so painfully straight-laced.
"Move!"
Kakuzu roared. His shoulders writhed, two masks appearing above them, his hands flying through seals.
"Combination Ninjutsu, Flame Wind Turbulence!"
The two masks spewed raging flames and fierce wind. Wind and fire merged, erupting into a vast blaze.
Mei Terumi's hands also flew rapidly into seals.
"Water Release, Great Waterfall Technique!"
Water and fire clashed, filling the air with billowing steam.
Bzzzt!
A piercing hum rose, and Hidan's loud laughter rushed closer.
In the last instant before the steam obscured vision, Hayato Kamihara caught sight of the necklace hanging around Hidan's neck.
"Careful! Don't let the enemy get your blood! That bastard..."
"Is a follower of Evil God!"
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