Chapter 250: Mei Terumī: Why Help Us Without Benefit?
"...I... I guess we've been spotted, haven't we?"
Mei Terumī's voice carried a slight tremor that she herself hadn't noticed.
She felt her heart was being tightly clenched by an invisible hand. Every beat was heavy and rapid.
She could even clearly hear the pounding against her chest cavity like a drum, and the buzzing of blood flowing in her eardrums.
It felt as though her heart wanted to break free and leap out.
As an Elite Jōnin of the Hidden Mist Village, she had experienced countless life-and-death crises, even participated in the Ninja World War, and executed many near-fatal ninja missions... but never once had she felt her psychological tolerance pushed so close to its limit as she did now.
Mei Terumī's facial muscles seemed to subtly stiffen, somewhat out of her control.
She tried hard to maintain her composure but found it difficult to even form a natural expression.
Deep down, a primitive alarm originating from biological instinct was frantically urging her to turn around immediately and use every means to escape this suffocating place!
But her remaining rationality pierced through this impulse for survival.
She knew very well that once targeted by an existence akin to a god or demon...
Fleeing would only be a stupid act that hastened death.
So.
She could only stand there rigidly, with an indescribable sense of awkwardness.
"Indeed..."
Ao, beside her, was in an even worse state.
He laboriously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his Adam's apple bobbing violently. His mouth felt so dry that it lacked any moisture.
His expression was as stiff as a marionette.
Ao's right hand was instinctively reaching into his waist pouch, tightly gripping a cold kunai.
The cool touch of the kunai's metal hilt, transmitted through his palm, became the only, insignificant source of security for him at this moment.
"Mei Terumī-sama... what should we do now?"
Ao had always prided himself as Mei Terumī's strongest confidant and strategist, always capable of offering valuable advice when the future Kage candidate encountered difficulties.
But now, his mind was utterly blank.
Ao could not think of any meaning left in any scheme, any strategy, in the face of such an absolute power disparity?
After all...
The Fourth Mizukage-sama, with over thirty elite Mist Anbu, and even utilizing the power of the Tailed Beast... what was the final result?
Total annihilation! The Kage's downfall!
And the Tailed Beast's demise!
What could he, Ao, an Elite Jōnin of the Hidden Mist Village, possibly do, even if he sacrificed his life?
Should he pull out the kunai from his pouch and use this small iron piece to stab the "Lava Giant" that was taller than a mountain?
What a joke!
"...Hoo!"
Mei Terumī heavily exhaled a murky breath, as if trying to squeeze out all the fear and pressure in her chest.
She struggled to raise her head, forcing herself to meet the indifferent gaze that crossed thousands of meters yet still felt like a physical weight pressing down on her heart.
"Since the opponent has already found us, since there is no escape..."
Mei Terumī's voice carried a sense of desperate resolve, though her voice remained strained: "Then why don't we... go over proactively! Ask him face-to-face exactly what Ikeizumi Uchiha intends to do by intruding into our Land of Water!"
Upon hearing this, Ao's brow fiercely jumped. He quickly interjected: "Mei Terumī-sama! This... isn't this too reckless? It's too dangerous!"
"What if... what if Konoha is using this opportunity to declare war on the Hidden Mist Village? Wouldn't us going over be walking straight into a trap?"
"That Ikeizumi Uchiha might kill us without hesitation!"
Mei Terumī sharply turned her head, her gaze piercing as she stared at Ao, countering: "If we don't go over, will he let us go? Do you naively think we can outrun him with our speed?"
She paused, her tone growing heavier: "Don't forget... Jūzō Biwa has likely defected to Konoha."
"With a rogue ninja who knows the Mist Village inside and out leading the way, even if we escape back to the village, where can we hide? The entire Land of Water probably holds no secrets from him!"
Ao opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but found that any words were so pale and powerless at this moment.
He watched helplessly as Mei Terumī took heavy yet determined steps, actively walking toward the direction where the Susano'o had been.
Finally, Ao could only clench his teeth.
A look of tragic resignation appeared on his face. His right hand still tightly gripped the kunai in his pouch as he quickly followed Mei Terumī.
Only his taut body and constantly scanning eyes.
Betrayed the extreme unease in his heart.
When Mei Terumī and Ao finally arrived at the core battlefield, enduring immense psychological pressure.
The suffocating Perfect Susano'o was dissipating like a vanishing mirage, turning into specks of crimson Chakra light particles that slowly faded into the air.
The massive sense of oppression gradually receded with it. However, the residual heat and sulfur in the air, as well as the scorched ruins before them, looking like a painting of hell...
Constantly reminded them how real and terrifying everything that had just happened was.
Their gaze instantly locked onto the figure standing in the center of the scorched earth.
The unique Konoha Military Police Force uniform with the Uchiha fan emblem at the edge, short black hair, a young yet extremely cold face...
This face was not unfamiliar to Mei Terumī and Ao.
After Ikeizumi Uchiha "assassinated" the Fire Daimyō and gained notoriety in the ninja world, intelligence and relatively clear portraits of him had long been placed on the desks of the high-ranking officials of all major ninja villages.
However, a portrait and a written description were far less than one-thousandth of the shock experienced when facing him in person!
Especially since this person had just killed the Fourth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village today!
Mei Terumī stopped her steps about ten meters away from Ikeizumi Uchiha.
This distance was already an extremely dangerous warning range for ninjas.
She felt the ground beneath her feet was scorching hot. The soles of her shoes even smelled slightly burnt, but she could only endure this discomfort, concentrating all her attention on the young man.
At the same time, her peripheral vision caught sight of three other figures.
Without her knowing when, three people had arrived at the side and back of Ikeizumi Uchiha—they were Jūzō Biwa, an unfamiliar Uchiha young girl, and a plump orange ninja cat.
'As expected... Jūzō Biwa has completely defected to Konoha.'
Mei Terumī's last sliver of hope shattered.
At this moment, the entire scene was engulfed in an eerie silence.
Only the "glug-glug" sound of the lava chasm flowing in the distance and the mournful whimpering of the wind blowing through the ruins served as background noise.
Ikeizumi Uchiha's calm yet profound eyes, like a cold pond, stared indifferently at Mei Terumī and Ao.
To Mei Terumī, it felt as though he was examining two inanimate objects.
It made her blood run cold.
Mei Terumī, forcing herself, tried to keep her gaze steady, engaging in a silent staring contest with the other party.
Ao, next to her, was visibly unable to bear the psychological pressure brought by this gaze. His eyes involuntarily drifted aside, and the cold sweat seeping from his forehead slid down his temples.
Finally—
"Take me to the Hidden Mist Village."
Ikeizumi Uchiha's voice sounded. It was flat and devoid of any fluctuation, yet it was like a massive rock thrown into still water, instantly breaking the silence.
It also caused Mei Terumī and Ao's hearts to suddenly skip a beat.
This did not bring them relief. Instead, it instantly brought their hearts up to their throats!
"...Why?" Mei Terumī forced herself to remain calm. She knew she absolutely could not proactively mention the Fourth Mizukage's death at this moment.
She could only ask the biggest doubts in her mind, keeping her voice as steady as possible: "If I take you to the Hidden Mist Village... do you intend to destroy the Hidden Mist Village? Is Konoha... taking this opportunity to formally declare war on the Hidden Mist Village?"
She stared intently at Ikeizumi Uchiha's face, trying to read any piece of information from those cold eyes.
"What I do has nothing to do with Konoha."
Ikeizumi Uchiha's answer was still concise, directly clarifying his separation from the Konoha Village.
This caused Mei Terumī's heart to skip a beat.
Is he acting alone?
What does this imply?
Ikeizumi Uchiha paused, then continued: "As for whether or not to destroy the Hidden Mist Village... that depends on whether the current Hidden Mist Village is already beyond saving."
"Beyond saving?" Mei Terumī was momentarily stunned again.
She didn't understand this term.
At this moment, Ao, unable to contain the confusion and a hint of being slighted, interrupted and asked: "You say our Hidden Mist Village is 'beyond saving'... what do you mean? Do we need a Konoha ninja to judge the state of our Hidden Mist Village?"
The moment he finished speaking...
"Meow~ Naturally, it's because your Hidden Mist Village, from top to bottom, is harboring countless sins!"
A strangely accented voice abruptly sounded.
When Mei Terumī and Ao subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice, they found it was the plump ninja cat squatting on the Uchiha girl's shoulder.
"...Sins?" Mei Terumī was confused.
"The concept of right and wrong for many people within the Hidden Mist Village has long been eroded and distorted to a pathological degree by the Bloody Mist Policy."
At this point, Jūzō Biwa spoke.
"This policy, like the most vicious plague, has spread not only within the village but also throughout the entire Land of Water. It has spawned countless scum whose morality is completely lost."
"In the hearts of these people... the boundary between justice and evil has long ceased to exist! Power is everything, and slaughter is truth."
Jūzō Biwa paused, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories.
After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and continued: "Wanton killing, forced seizure of property, rape of women and children, massacres of comrades with Kekkei Genkai, all under the guise of 'eliminating unstable elements'..."
"Such atrocities may exist elsewhere in the ninja world. But nowhere is it as widespread and rampant as it is now in the Land of Water."
"The tragedies that unfold here daily are counted in the tens of thousands. Behind every number is a living human life."
"Those whose souls have been completely twisted by the Bloody Mist, their existence serves only to bring more chaos and pain to the Land of Water. They are like tumors attached to the nation's body, constantly spreading and eroding everything."
"It is precisely because I could no longer bear to see the Land of Water become this way that I chose the identity of a 'Hidden Mist Rogue Ninja,' becoming an escapee... pursuing another possibility."
Jūzō Biwa's rough palm unconsciously rubbed the cold, familiar hilt of the Kubikiribōchō.
The flesh on his face was taut, and his expression was unprecedentedly serious and solemn.
"After defecting, I chose a path that I believe might steer the Land of Water, a broken ship that has strayed off course for too long, back onto the right path."
"That is... to let 'Absolute Justice' completely cleanse this Land of Water, which has long been utterly filthy."
This was the first time Jūzō Biwa had so plainly, and at such length, dissected his inner thoughts and motives in front of others.
Mei Terumī listened in silence.
She had previously gathered intelligence about Ikeizumi Uchiha's "Absolute Justice" philosophy and was not unfamiliar with it.
But hearing such "idealistic" rhetoric firsthand from a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a rogue ninja renowned for his coldness, still delivered a massive shock.
At this point, Ao couldn't contain himself. He widened his eyes, glaring at Jūzō Biwa, and said: "Jūzō Biwa, bringing a Konoha ninja onto the Land of Water's soil and killing the Fourth Mizukage—is this how you intend to steer the Land of Water back onto the right path?"
Faced with Ao's question, Jūzō Biwa's expression did not change in the slightest.
Jūzō Biwa said: "The current Hidden Mist Village, from the highest-level Mizukage to many of the ninjas below, their souls and hands have long been rotted to the core by the Bloody Mist."
"Killing the Fourth Mizukage, who firmly implemented this policy, and severing the most crucial link in this chain of corruption—is that wrong?"
This outrageously bold statement instantly left Ao dumbfounded.
He opened his mouth but temporarily could not find any words to counter.
Mei Terumī was also pulled back to reality from her complex thoughts. She looked at the always expressionless Ikeizumi Uchiha, tentatively asking: "So... the mighty 'Lava Release Beast' Ikeizumi Uchiha, your purpose in coming to the Land of Water..."
"Is not to represent Konoha in invading the Hidden Mist Village, but to help our Land of Water, to perform a great cleansing for the Land of Water? And also to end the Hidden Mist Village's Bloody Mist Policy?"
This inference made her feel a moment of bewilderment herself.
This was completely different from the worst outcome she had anticipated—"Konoha's massive invasion, the Hidden Mist Village engulfed in war"!
It even...
Carried an absurd sense of "goodwill"?
Ikeizumi Uchiha's gaze calmly met Mei Terumī's searching eyes. His answer was completely candid: "That is one way to understand it."
These simple words completely stunned Mei Terumī.
This...
This practically overturned her bottom-line understanding of ninja village relationships and ninja behavior!
A top-tier powerhouse from another village crosses into another country, kills that village's Kage, and then tells you—he's here to "help" with internal cleansing?
"Wh-Why?" Mei Terumī felt her thoughts were somewhat muddled. She subconsciously asked the most core question, the one point she couldn't understand.
"What benefit does doing this bring to you? To Konoha? Without a profit motive, why would you interfere in the affairs of our Land of Water?"
In her view, any action by a ninja must involve interests behind it.
The interests of the village, the interests of the ninja clan, the interests of the individual.
If it involved any of these, it would make sense.
However, Ikeizumi Uchiha's answer extinguished all her speculations: "Executing Absolute Justice, bringing justice to countless unjustly wronged innocents, personally casting those utterly wicked villains who trample on life into the bottomless hell they deserve..."
His voice was still flat.
"Why would such a thing require a benefit to motivate one to do it?"
Mei Terumī: "..."
Mei Terumī was speechless.
This Konoha Uchiha ninja, his way of thinking...
Felt...
Very abnormal!
(End of Chapter)