Mei nodded slowly. "I came here... to the Land of Fire, on orders to gather information about Konoha's political and military movements. But... we were ambushed."
Mei's tone hardened slightly, her jaw tightening. "The Anbu of Konoha knew we were coming. They ambushed us as if they had been waiting. It was too well-planned. Too precise. I'm sure... there's a traitor in Kirigakure. Someone leaked our mission."
Mei's eyes flared for a moment, like a hidden flame behind the fog. Aoki watched her without interrupting, knowing that Mei's story was not over.
"We were ambushed. While trying to escape, I got separated from the other Kirigakure ninjas," Mei said slowly.
Her voice sounded calm, but there was something lingering at the edge of her tone—like an old wound forced to remain silent.
Mei's gaze appeared vacant, piercing through the gaps in the dark trees surrounding them, as if shadows from the past were still chasing her from behind the foliage.
"In that escape... I was injured on my left shoulder." Mei reflexively touched her shoulder— a small, nearly imperceptible movement, but her fingers tensed as they brushed against the scar. "Then I met you... and also Tetsu and Ajisai. And after that, you know what happened, right?"
Mei lifted her face, looking directly into Aoki's eyes. That gaze was sharp and fragile at the same time—seeming to plead for understanding, yet also challenging judgment. As if to say: please, don't pretend this doesn't hurt.
Aoki didn't respond immediately. He merely nodded slowly, like someone who had just found the last piece of a bloody puzzle. "So that's how it is..." Aoki said softly, like a whisper of wind among the leaves.
Aoki's mind was racing.
Hearing Mei's explanation, Aoki began to piece together several possibilities in his head. He had a few guesses, but none felt certain enough. What Aoki knew was that in the Naruto anime, it was shown that Madara Uchiha controlled Kirigakure—specifically the Mizukage. All of this was part of a grand plan: to make the Mist Village a scapegoat.
Madara's goal was clear—to push Obito down a path of darkness.
The Obito of the past, a good boy, turned into a monster due to a neatly orchestrated tragic event: Kirigakure attempted to make Rin a Jinchuriki, then sent Rin to Konoha as a walking bomb. But that plan failed... and Rin ended up dying at Kakashi's hands—a moment that shattered Obito completely.
That was why Madara orchestrated everything from the shadows—controlling Kirigakure to create tragedies that served his agenda.
So, when Mei said that her Anbu group was ambushed by Konoha's forces, Aoki began to suspect: could this be part of Obito's plan? An attempt to weaken Kirigakure from within—by having their Anbu killed by mistaken enemies?
But Aoki also knew one thing: the forces that attacked them were not ordinary Anbu.
They were Root—a secret unit under Danzo's control, not the Hokage's.
Danzo... the cunning and manipulative old man, often doing dirty things for what he called "the sake of the village."
Aoki wasn't sure if the attack was ordered by Obito or if it was Danzo's own strategy. But one thing Aoki knew for sure was this:
Mei Terumi had been through a lot.
And somehow, Mei had managed to survive.
Aoki clenched his fist. In the darkness, the sound of Aoki's skin cracking echoed softly like a fracture in silence.
He looked at Mei. The girl... Mei's body appeared strong, but her shoulders were slightly slumped. Her breathing sounded shallow. Mei's fingers trembled slightly as she brushed the hair sticking to her cheek. The wound on Mei's left shoulder was still wet, seeping blood that mingled with dirt and sweat.
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[Announcement: A New Novel Has Been Added!
The Puppet Maker in the World of Naruto
A man who is a scientist, researcher, and expert mechanic in robotics dies in a massive explosion that occurs in his laboratory while developing an advanced robot project. However, instead of experiencing death as he thought, the man awakens in another world—a strange place with vast stretches of desert.
There, the man is surrounded by people who can jump high, calling themselves ninjas. The confusion he initially felt grows as he realizes that this world is not unfamiliar to him. This is the world of Naruto! However, there is one thing that surprises him.
"Isn't this Sunagakure? Why am I not in Konoha? This poorest village... Oh my God, this is serious!"
Now, in the midst of a new life filled with danger and uncertainty, the scientist must find a way to survive in Sunagakure, a harsh place full of limitations. With his robotic knowledge, can the man change his fate in this ninja world, or will he fall along with the village?]
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