Although he was eager to rush to the battlefield, he also understood clearly that if even the Mizukage was no match for the enemy, then if he himself went, he would most likely only be throwing his life away. That was why he tried to gather more forces to hurry to the battlefield as reinforcements.
An enemy capable of defeating the Fourth Mizukage was certainly terrifying, but Ringo Kukurin did not believe that anyone could defeat Yagura without paying any price. Not to mention that the enemy was still rampaging through the village and slaughtering people—by now, they must already be at the end of their strength. As long as he could arrive in time with fresh troops, he would become a hero of the village!
"Don't be stupid! That monster! No one can possibly be that monster's opponent!"
What Kukurin had not expected was that the few "deserters" who had been hiding in the corner without saying a word until now would suddenly step forward and block their path.
"The only thing we can do now is avoid going to die for nothing!"
Those who had been released by Keizumi were, without exception, people who had never committed unforgivable crimes. At worst, they were simply shinobi with clean records. It was not difficult to imagine how out of place they must have been in the past within the "Bloody Mist Village."
Supporters of the Bloody Mist policy like Kukurin had always found them unpleasant to look at. Now that these people were blocking his path—and when he also thought about their behavior as "deserters"—he did not hesitate at all. He immediately drew his blade and slashed directly at them.
"Die! Traitors!"
Kukurin bared his mouth full of sharp teeth, grinning viciously as he slashed at the "deserter" in front of him. Such behavior would be considered utterly insane in Konohagakure, but in the "Bloody Mist Village," it was perfectly normal.
As long as there was a suitable reason, for a jōnin like Kukurin to kill a few "disobedient" chūnin and genin was not considered a big matter at all.
Clang!
However, at that moment, a kunai that pierced through the curtain of rain struck Kukurin's blade aside. The slash only tore open a large gash in the "deserter's" armor.
"Who's there?!"
Ignoring the "deserter" who had collapsed to the ground in fright, Kukurin fixed his gaze on the direction from which the kunai had flown.
Although it was understandable that he had not noticed it—since the kunai had not been aimed at him—being able to deflect his blade so easily meant that the newcomer's strength was likely even greater than his.
"It's me!"
Not paying much attention to Kukurin's hostility, Ao stepped out from behind the curtain of rain with a heavy heart—four hundred and eighty-seven, the total number of Kirigakure shinobi currently within the range of his Byakugan vision.
Strictly speaking, that number was not especially small. After all, Kirigakure was also a shinobi village that followed the elite route, and even during the Great Ninja Wars it had rarely deployed forces numbering more than a thousand. But if that number represented the current total number of shinobi in Kirigakure, then it was rather terrifying.
Even if one added together the Kirigakure shinobi currently carrying out missions outside the village and those stationed on the outlying islands, today's Kirigakure probably had fewer than a thousand shinobi left!
"Ao? Do you even know that kid is a traitor?!" After seeing clearly who had arrived, Kukurin was somewhat displeased, but he did not flare up. What the cruel "Bloody Mist Village" valued most was strength. As an elite jōnin, Ao was stronger than he was, and he was also the famous "Byakugan Killer," someone who naturally countered Kirigakure shinobi like Kukurin who specialized in swordsmanship.
Even with Kukurin's savage temperament, he still had to restrain himself somewhat when facing Ao. Otherwise, even if Ao taught him a lesson, no one would stand up for him—just as when he had tried to kill those few "deserters" a moment ago, none of the other Kirigakure jōnin present had shown any intention of stopping him.
"What exactly happened to the village, Ao?"
"What enemy defeated the Fourth Mizukage?!"
"Is it true what those traitors said—that the Fourth Mizukage died in battle?!"
"I heard a lot of people in the village have died?"
But before Ao could even open his mouth to answer, more Kirigakure shinobi gathered around him, questioning him one after another in tones of tension, anger, or fear.
The efficiency of Keizumi's "cleanup" had been too high, and on top of that, Kirigakure was practically full of red-name shinobi, so very few Kirigakure shinobi had managed to escape from the battlefield. That, in turn, made everyone else completely unwilling to believe the nonsense these "deserters" were saying.
In the eyes of those with insight, Kirigakure had already declined to a pitiful extent. But in the minds of these Kirigakure shinobi, who were immersed in the brutal reputation of the "Bloody Mist Village," Kirigakure at this moment was still one of the Five Great Nations, and they even vaguely looked down on those "weak" land-based shinobi.
Who would believe that an outsider could easily defeat the Fourth Mizukage, a perfect jinchūriki—much less then go on a killing spree as if entering an unguarded place, punching straight through the entire Kirigakure Shinobi Village by his own strength alone?
And yet the state of the village was right there before their eyes. If this had been Konohagakure, then perhaps a large number of shinobi would already have risked heading to the battlefield to confirm the situation. But Kirigakure shinobi had long since grown accustomed to selfishness—or rather, Kirigakure shinobi who were not selfish enough simply had not lived long enough to reach this point, having already been weeded out on the day they graduated from the Ninja Academy. Naturally, no one would take the initiative to risk their life scouting out the truth.
"Everyone, please listen to me…"
Ao took a deep breath. Kirigakure had already grown extremely weak and could no longer endure even the smallest internal conflict. He had to persuade everyone present to support Mei's plan. Even if they were unwilling to support it, they must at least not stand in opposition to them.
"The Fourth Mizukage's death is true. The enemy… the one who attacked was Uchiha Keizumi of Konohagakure. However, his arrival should have nothing to do with Konohagakure…"
"…At least a thousand people have died at Uchiha Keizumi's hands… that man is the real monster…"
"Our only choice is to support Terumī Mei… and wait until the Lands of Lightning, Earth, and Wind are willing to step forward…"
"…to completely settle accounts with Uchiha Keizumi! To make Konohagakure pay a price even more painful than Kirigakure!"
One piece of bad news after another left the Kirigakure shinobi present staring in stunned silence. None of them had expected the real situation to be even more horrifying than what those "deserters" had described.
No one would believe the nonsense of a few chūnin or even genin. But the words just now had come from Ao, an elite jōnin, and they immediately carried convincing weight.
"What kind of joke is this?! The Fourth Mizukage… how could Yagura-sama possibly die so easily?!"
The ninja sword in Kukurin's hand slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground. His bloodshot eyes fixed on Ao's uncovered eye, trying to detect even the slightest trace of a lie in it.
"Not only are you and Terumī Mei refusing to avenge the Fourth Mizukage—you actually want to become the enemy's lackeys?!"
As soon as Kukurin said this, quite a few Kirigakure shinobi who supported the Bloody Mist policy silently moved to stand behind him. For a moment, countless hostile gazes fell upon Ao.
Fortunately, Ao was not alone. Many shinobi who detested the "Bloody Mist Village" were also gathering behind him. Among the fewer than five hundred Kirigakure shinobi present, they quickly split into three factions. Aside from those standing behind Kukurin and those supporting Ao, more than half of the Kirigakure shinobi consciously moved to stand on the other side.