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"Run!"
"If you don't escape, you'll be punished."
The moment Deep Lake heard these words, he felt his mental defenses crumble uncontrollably.
He stared blankly at the man in front of him, seemingly frozen in terror.
The moment he stood up, his body, which had been sitting on the ground, suddenly shot out of the stone chamber like a spring, transforming into a shadow that swept across the ground.
"Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!"
The instant his body burrowed into the ground from the stone chamber, he had already completed the hand seals, sinking into the deep earth like a diving fish.
Clearly, the daze, sluggishness, and hesitation he had displayed earlier were all an act.
The moment he realized Sawara Kiri had appeared before him, the option of 'direct confrontation' never even crossed Deep Lake's mind.
As a spy, he was a professional.
Whether it was escaping, disguising himself, disappearing from sight, or various other professional techniques, they were all his forte.
He had been a professional spy in the entire Ninja World for nearly twenty years; how could he possibly give up hope of escape after encountering a minor setback?
The only thing that truly made his heart pound was Sawara Kiri's dismissive attitude just now.
'What does he mean, 'run'?'
'Is that bastard humiliating me? Or is there some other reason?'
Deep Lake thought rapidly, immediately burrowing out of the ground, leaping into a secluded alley, avoiding everyone's gaze, and discarding all the clothes he was wearing on the spot, while simultaneously summoning another set from a summoning seal on his wristband.
In the short time it took to enter and exit the alley, he had completely transformed into a different person from head to toe.
Still not satisfied, Deep Lake weaved through the crowds of the night market in the shopping district, dodging the gazes of potential Ninja, entering and exiting several shops in quick succession to shake off any suspicious tails.
It wasn't until this moment, still without spotting Sawara Kiri, that Deep Lake finally calmed his inner turmoil and slowly exhaled.
It seemed Sawara Kiri truly had no intention of following him.
"Damn it!"
Upon arriving at his next hidden stronghold, Deep Lake finally let his true emotions show, slamming a fist against the wall.
"All my painstaking efforts over the years are ruined!"
"How am I going to explain this to Yagura-sama…"
As a direct subordinate with a single-line connection to Yagura Karatachi, Deep Lake was naturally responsible for the Village's missions.
But now, his entire intelligence network had been uprooted by Sawara Kiri, and he still didn't know when that little bastard had gotten behind him.
When did such terrifying Genjutsu appear in the Ninja World?
How was he deceived?
Only after calming down did Deep Lake finally have time to ponder the various anomalies he had encountered earlier, yet he couldn't pinpoint where he had gone wrong.
This chilling feeling even made his heart turn cold.
"No."
"I must quickly burn all the remaining intelligence."
Deep Lake couldn't distinguish right from wrong now; he just needed to erase all traces as much as possible to prevent the Village's intelligence from leaking, only then could he feel somewhat at ease.
Thinking this, he quickly pulled out all the various intelligence he could find, then found several braziers and stacked the documents into them one by one.
"This is the list of lower-level personnel developed by the sub-agents, this is the action expenditure ledger for this quarter, this is the list of Jonin intelligence sources we developed in Konoha, and also…"
He continuously took out all the intelligence that needed to be immediately destroyed, then piled them into the brazier, watching them burn, curl, char, and finally turn into ashes.
Only after completing all this did Deep Lake finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Now, even if he were captured, Hidden Mist wouldn't suffer too great a loss…
Right?
His bewildered eyes gradually focused, and the flickering firelight in the narrow room slowly died out, until it was as if it had never existed, turning into the foam of what he saw and heard, erased from his memory—as if, in this narrow room, a fire had never been lit.
He knelt on the ground, in front of him were various materials neatly categorized, seemingly meticulously organized during the time just passed.
Deep Lake stared blankly at everything.
For a moment, his brain seemed to have rusted, completely unable to function further.
'What did I just do?'
'Right.'
'I wanted to destroy all the data before I was captured, to prevent them from being discovered by Konoha, which would cause significant losses to Hidden Mist.'
'But why…'
He slowly raised his head.
The young man was intently perusing the intelligence list in his hand with his azure eyes—the heading read, "List of Personnel for Konoha Anbu and Hokage Building Intelligence Procurement Sources."
Deep Lake's breathing seemed to quicken in an instant.
In the entire process in his mind, this man's figure had clearly never appeared.
"Isn't that strange?"
As if to respond to his terrified and bewildered emotions, Sawara Kiri casually spoke while flipping through the intelligence in his hand, seemingly imitating Deep Lake's hoarse voice: "—Why is he here?"
"Thud."
Sawara Kiri closed the intelligence in his hand, revealing the warm and gentle smile unique to the young man behind the papers.
"Of course, it's because…"
"I've been behind you the whole time."
"I already gave you one chance."
"If you had run out of the Village without looking back then, I might have actually let you go."
"However, thank you for bringing me to this place—as for this intelligence, I will gratefully accept all of it."
Looking at the intelligence in Sawara Kiri's hand, Deep Lake's eyes almost turned a fiery red in his rage; his body, though completely immobilized under the control of Kyōka Suigetsu, still couldn't help but let out a hysterical roar like a cornered beast:
"Why! Kaguya Ren—!!!"
"You are clearly a Hidden Mist Ninja, you clearly possess a proud bloodline, you are clearly the Village's most outstanding genius… Why would you do something like this to the Village?!"
"Whether it was promotions, material rewards, or Ninjutsu, the Village has never shortchanged a Ninja like you, fighting on the front lines!"
"Why! Why?!"
Even within the entire Konoha intelligence network, Deep Lake was one of the very few who knew Sawara Kiri's true name.
Now, having reached a truly desperate situation, even he didn't believe he had any chance of survival after being completely drained of all his value.
Therefore, all he could utter was a heartfelt accusation from the depths of his being.
It was as if he was trying to use this accusation to awaken the last sliver of conscience belonging to the Village deep within Sawara Kiri's heart.
However, what made him feel a bone-chilling coldness from the depths of his being was the paternal, kind, and peaceful smile on Sawara Kiri's handsome face.
In his azure eyes, there seemed to be a faint, profound hint of mockery, and he asked with a subtle hint of confusion:
"What are you talking about, Deep Lake-kun?"
"…"
The man called Deep Lake's expression suddenly froze, his pupils dilated, and he stared blankly at him.
The young man's voice in front of him was calm:
"My name is Sawara Kiri."
"I am fifteen years old, male, and my position is Jonin."
Sawara Kiri bent down, meeting the eyes of Deep Lake kneeling on the ground, his tone calm yet with a resolute tranquility:
"I am a loyal Konoha Ninja."
"I have absolutely no relation to that fellow named Kaguya Ren."
"You…"
Deep Lake seemed to want to say something more, but when he opened his mouth, his vocal cords seemed to be squeezed tightly by some invisible force, unable to produce even a sound.
Sawara Kiri turned around, sealing all the intelligence into his summoning wristband.
He cast one last glance at him, then waved his hand casually.
"Pfft!"
Deep Lake held the Kunai reversed in his hands and, without the slightest hesitation, plunged it into his throat and savagely slashed it horizontally.
Blood gushed from the artery, and his lifeless eyes stared blankly at the cave entrance.
Even in his dying moments, he was still thinking about the Village.
'Hidden Mist, you personally created for yourself…'
'A terrifying monster, filled with abyss-like hostility.'
'I'm sorry, Mizukage-sama.'
Sawara Kiri walked out of the small room, instead stretching out with a long yawn, looking up at the starless night sky, and couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Deep Lake's place should be the last one."
"With this, the Hidden Mist intelligence system within Konoha Village should be completely destroyed, right?"
"Oh dear, Yagura-sama must be having a terrible headache, wouldn't he?"
As if he could imagine Yagura Karatachi's exasperated expression, Sawara Kiri's voice seemed to carry a subtle hint of amusement.
However, if anyone could see his face, they would also notice that his expression was, as always, as calm as solidified ice.
Similarly.
This also meant that he had personally severed all his ties with Hidden Mist.
Although Sawara Kiri had undergone inhuman training since birth, including medicinal baths and basic exercises, and was even able to kill at the age of five, he had no emotional attachment to the so-called Kaguya Clan, and his parents had died long ago; however, the feeling of severing both belonging and retreat still brought a subtle touch of emotion.
It was like moving out of a house that had been rented for a long time but was dilapidated, dirty, and poorly soundproofed, to a new community that, while still rented, was much better.
However, where exactly could a person like him find his true home?
"Pfft."
"Thinking about boring things again."
Sawara Kiri seemed to shake his head at himself with a sense of helplessness, finding himself quite childish:
"I hope Yagura-sama arrives later."
"It would be good if I could resolve all the troubles sooner."
Just as he was thinking this lightheartedly, his expression suddenly hardened, as if he sensed something.
He turned around and looked further north.
That was the direction of Kusa.
At the same time, in a secret room deep beneath Konoha.
"Gurgle…"
Subtle bubbling sounds emanated from within the nutrient tank.
The instrument lights outside turned from red to green, indicating that the figure inside was beginning to awaken.
Numerous scientists in white coats, under the direction of several supervisors, began to busy themselves, constantly and rapidly adjusting various machines.
In just a short while, the surface of this large nutrient tank emitted a long "beep, beep, beep—" sound.
"Hiss—"
Through the large glass, the liquid filling the interior of the chamber slowly drained away.
Only the figure that had been standing in the center of the tank remained upright with the help of a support frame, its eyes still tightly closed.
It was Shimura Danzo.
After all this was over, he slowly opened his eyes.
That's right.
At some point, a new eyeball had been installed in his formerly empty eye socket.
However, it was no ordinary eye, but a new eyeball seemingly created by combining Sealing Technique and mechanical structures, presenting an overall dull hue.
Only the arm that had been blown off by Sawara Kiri remained an empty space below the shoulder.
But if one looked closely, they would notice that where bone shards should have extended from the lower part of the shoulder, there were now fine mechanical nerve connection structures, seemingly designed to interlock with some special equipment.
Once the glass door of the chamber in front of him fully opened, Shimura Danzo moved his body slightly, emitting a series of bone-grinding clicks, yet his muscles felt no discomfort from prolonged sleep; on the contrary, his entire body felt clear.
He looked at the tall, middle-aged man with a beard like a halberd in front of him, a look of satisfaction on his face, and asked:
"Are all the preparations for body activation and arm connection complete?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama!"
The man bowed respectfully to him.
Seeing this, Danzo was even more pleased, reaching out to pat his shoulder, his tone calm: "You did very well this time, Shinno."
"Don't worry, as long as your experiment meets my requirements this time, I will fully support the Jutsu you are developing."
Upon hearing this, the man called 'Shinno' immediately showed a perfectly timed expression of ecstatic joy, his voice seemingly trembling:
"Thank you, thank you, Danzo-sama!"
"As long as you can fund me to complete that Jutsu, I will do anything!"
Danzo had always been quite lenient towards those who would willingly submit to him—not to mention, he himself greatly coveted the Jutsu that Shinno spoke of, which could make one return to youth, and even achieve immortality.
"Take me to see how your preparations are coming along."
"Yes!"
Shinno immediately led the way, introducing quickly as he walked: "Because the mysterious cells you provided me, Danzo-sama, possess extremely powerful active energy, I inscribed a partial Sealing Technique to restrict them, which allowed me to barely shape them into an arm. "
"When you use it later, please be sure to pay attention to controlling it, otherwise it will cause a great impact…"
"Mm."
Shimura Danzo listened while contemplating the events that had transpired during this period.
Since he was rescued from Konoha Great Prison by his subordinates, he had quickly gathered a group of his former subordinates, with only the most conspicuous ones not being recruited by him.
At the same time, having lost Hiruko, a master in research, he had to continue searching the Ninja World for individuals who could provide him with some assistance, intending to further enhance his strength through external means.
At this time, he was very fortunate to find this fellow who called himself Shinno.
Recently, Danzo had been busy exploring ways to weaponize Hashirama cells, but no matter how he experimented, the results were always the same as when he and Sarutobi first tried—they could never find a suitable host.
It was at this point that this fellow named Shinno suddenly found a new approach and proposed another plan.
"Hashirama Arm."
The few Root personnel in front pushed open the large door, revealing the equipment preserved in the cold storage room.
Shimura Danzo looked forward.
He saw a pale arm, fixed in the center by a large number of Sealing Technique and a freezing environment.
However, even in such an environment, the pale arm continued to maintain a clenched fist, and every muscle on this arm was filled with a sense of power.
"Ah…"
Looking at this arm, recalling the transcendent power that Shodai-sama had once displayed, Danzo's expression couldn't help but become deeply intoxicated.
This was what he wanted!
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter