Chapter 145: Exchanging the Forbidden Technique — One's Own Life Reincarnation
Looking at Yuto, who was still lazily lying on a rock, Terumi Mei shrugged and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Speaking of which, you should be very busy right now, shouldn't you?"
Yuto kept his eyes closed and spoke softly.
However, just as he finished speaking, his nose twitched slightly. He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, turning toward Terumi Mei with a smile.
"As expected, you really understand me."
Terumi Mei smiled, blinked, and said, "Lord Yuto, is that praise?"
As she spoke, Terumi Mei took out a bag of fish balls from behind her and held it in front of Yuto.
The smile on Yuto's face grew even wider. He took the fish balls from Terumi Mei and began eating them in large, satisfied bites.
Watching Yuto eat, a hint of amusement flashed through Terumi Mei's eyes.
"It seems Lord Yuto isn't particularly worried about the situation in the ninja world."
Yuto shook his head and swallowed the fish ball in his mouth.
"There's nothing to worry about. They're just a group of clowns."
Terumi Mei nodded as well. After a brief silence, she looked at Yuto with a cautious and puzzled expression.
"Lord Yuto, intercepting and attacking the three great ninja villages doesn't seem like your usual style. Doing this could expose your identity."
"Orochimaru is already dead. As long as the Hidden Mist develops steadily, we could slowly erode the four great ninja villages without them even realizing it."
Yuto nodded lightly and smiled.
"That was indeed the original plan, but now we need to change our strategy."
Terumi Mei was startled and quickly asked, "Did Lord Yuto discover something?"
"I did discover something interesting. However, before long, the entire ninja world will probably know about it. That's also why I suddenly don't care about my identity being exposed."
"In this great chessboard called the ninja world, from the Warring States period until now, it has always been the same few players."
Yuto spoke quietly, his eyes filled with a deep and distant light.
Terumi Mei raised her eyebrows, looking somewhat confused, clearly not understanding the meaning behind Yuto's words.
Just as she was about to ask again, the sound of air being torn apart came from the distance.
In the span of a few blinks, Ringo Ameyuri appeared not far in front of Yuto and Terumi Mei.
"Lord Yuto! Lady Mizukage!"
When Ringo Ameyuri saw Terumi Mei sitting beside Yuto, she froze briefly, then quickly lowered her head and spoke respectfully.
Yuto turned to look at her and smiled faintly.
"It seems the Hidden Sand people have arrived?"
"Yes, Lord Yuto. The Hidden Sand Village has indeed sent ninja to negotiate with us. They want to exchange to get Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro back."
Ringo Ameyuri nodded, revealing her sharp teeth.
"Who is currently in charge of the Hidden Sand Village?"
Yuto turned his head toward Terumi Mei and asked curiously.
"It's Chiyo, known throughout the ninja world as a top-tier puppet master," Terumi Mei replied softly.
So it really is her.
A sharp glint flashed through Yuto's eyes. He looked back at Ringo Ameyuri and asked with interest.
"How does the Hidden Sand Village plan to exchange for Gaara and the other two?"
Ringo Ameyuri curled her lips.
"The Hidden Sand ninja said they're willing to use money or land in exchange, and they can even form an alliance with our Hidden Mist Village."
"Money? Land? How much money could the Hidden Sand possibly have? As for land, it's all desert. There's even the Hidden Leaf in between. Even if they gave it away for free, we might not want it."
"As for the alliance, the Hidden Sand wouldn't be the one losing out."
Terumi Mei spoke with clear disdain.
"Tell Chiyo that exchanging Gaara and the other two is no problem. Given their identities, plus the One-Tailed Shukaku, trading them for a forbidden technique in her possession shouldn't be an issue."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yuto's mouth as he spoke.
"Lord Yuto, which secret technique of the Hidden Sand do you want to exchange for?"
Terumi Mei looked at Yuto curiously. As far as she knew, aside from puppet techniques, the Hidden Sand was mainly known for poisons, neither of which seemed likely to interest him.
"A forbidden technique in Chiyo's possession — One's Own Life Reincarnation."
Yuto narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke with a light smile.
Not long after that ninja received the Hidden Mist Village's demand, the message was quickly transmitted back to the Hidden Sand Village through summoning techniques.
"How did the Hidden Mist people know that my sister possesses the technique One's Own Life Reincarnation?"
Ebizo's aged face tightened deeply as he spoke in a solemn voice.
Granny Chiyo, who was sitting to the side, fell silent for a moment. She then turned to look at Maki beside her.
"Agree to the Hidden Mist Village's request. As long as Gaara and the other two can return safely, I can hand this technique over to them."
"Sister! You really intend to give that technique to the Hidden Mist?"
Ebizo's expression changed as he spoke sternly.
"It's just a forbidden technique. How many people in this world would truly be willing to activate it at the cost of their own life?"
Granny Chiyo's expression remained calm, though a faint, indistinct sorrow lingered in her eyes.
After Yuto received the message that Granny Chiyo had agreed, he released Temari and Kankuro with a face full of smiles.
As for Gaara, Yuto naturally planned to keep him to verify whether One's Own Life Reincarnation was genuine.
————
Deep within a dense forest.
Kabuto Yakushi wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to look behind him. Seeing that no one had chased after him even now, he finally let out a slow sigh of relief and slumped against a large tree.
Lord Orochimaru was dead.
Moreover, Kabuto had witnessed that scene with his own eyes.
It had been a completely one-sided battle.
The Orochimaru who once seemed terrifyingly powerful to him had not possessed the slightest ability to resist when facing that young man.
He had been killed with effortless ease.
One could easily imagine the shock and fear that filled Kabuto Yakushi's heart at that moment.
Thus, the instant he saw Orochimaru killed, Kabuto turned and fled. He had been rushing desperately for several days straight, afraid of being caught.
Because before dying, Lord Orochimaru had not only told him how to revive him, but had also revealed a secret.
A secret that made Kabuto's hair stand on end — the legendary First Mizukage, Yuto, had already been resurrected.
Someone who had deliberately hidden himself now having his existence exposed was something one could easily imagine the consequences of.
And Kabuto Yakushi did not want to die.
So after learning this secret, Kabuto fled desperately.
However, up until now, he realized that no one had come after him.
"Do they not know of my existence, or do they no longer care about their identity being exposed?"
Kabuto Yakushi fell silent for a moment and muttered to himself.
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