Although he was desperate to rush to the battlefield, he also knew very well that if even the Mizukage-sama wasn't a match for the enemy, then if he went himself he'd most likely be throwing his life away. That was why he tried to gather more troops—so they could hurry over as reinforcements.
A terrifying foe capable of defeating the Fourth Mizukage was certainly frightening, but Ringo Ameyuri refused to believe anyone could beat Yagura without paying a price. And since the enemy was still slaughtering people inside the village, surely they had to be at the end of their strength by now. If he could arrive in time with fresh forces, he could become the village's hero!
"Don't be an idiot! That monster—no one is a match for that monster!" But what Ameyuri didn't expect was that the few "deserters" who had been hiding in the corner in silence suddenly stepped forward to block them. "All we can do now is not go die for nothing!"
Anyone Uchiha Chizumi had let go without exception had not committed any unforgivable crimes—at worst, they were "white-name" shinobi. It wasn't hard to imagine how much of an oddity they were in the old "Bloody Mist."
A Blood Mist hardliner like Ameyuri already couldn't stand them. Now they were even blocking his way—and combined with their "deserter" behavior, he drew his blade without hesitation and slashed at them.
"Die, you traitors!" Ameyuri bared a grin full of jagged teeth as he swung his sword at the "deserter" in front of him. In Konoha this would've been deranged—here in the "Bloody Mist," it was completely normal.
As long as he had a plausible excuse, a jōnin like Ameyuri cutting down a few "disobedient" chūnin or genin wasn't considered a big deal at all.
Clang!
But at that moment, a kunai cutting through the rain knocked Ameyuri's blade off line. The slash only tore open a huge gash in the "deserter's" clothing and armor.
"Who?!" Ameyuri ignored the "deserter" who had collapsed in fright, and fixed his eyes on the direction the kunai had come from.
The kunai hadn't even been aimed at him, so failing to notice it in time was understandable—but to deflect his sword so easily, the newcomer's strength was probably above his.
"It's me." Not particularly bothered by Ameyuri's hostility, Ao, heavy-hearted, stepped out from the rain. Four hundred and eighty-seven—that was the total number of Kirigakure shinobi present within the range of his Byakugan.
Strictly speaking, that wasn't a small number. Kirigakure was an elite-focused village; even during the shinobi wars, it rarely deployed forces exceeding a thousand. But if this number represented the current total of shinobi in the village, it was downright chilling.
Even if they counted the shinobi out on missions and those stationed on outer islands, Kirigakure probably had fewer than a thousand shinobi left now.
"Ao? Do you even know that kid is a traitor?!" After recognizing him, Ameyuri looked displeased but didn't erupt. In the cruel "Bloody Mist," strength was what mattered most. Ao, an elite jōnin, was stronger than him—and he was the famed "Byakugan Killer," a natural counter to sword-focused Kirigakure fighters like Ameyuri.
Even someone as vicious as Ameyuri had to rein himself in in front of Ao. Otherwise, if Ao taught him a lesson, no one would stand up for him—just like earlier, when Ameyuri had tried to kill those "deserters," none of the other Kirigakure jōnin had shown any intent to stop him.
"What exactly happened in the village, Ao?"
"What enemy defeated the Fourth?!"
"Those deserters said the Fourth died—is that true?!"
"I heard a lot of people died in the village?!" …
Before Ao could answer, more Kirigakure shinobi crowded in—asking question after question, some tense, some furious, some terrified.
Uchiha Chizumi's "cleanup" had been too efficient. And with Kirigakure shinobi practically all "red-names," very few had escaped the battlefield—so everyone else simply didn't believe the "deserters'" insane claims.
In the eyes of those who knew better, Kirigakure had already declined to a pitiful state. But in the minds of these shinobi—still drunk on the brutal reputation of the "Bloody Mist"—Kirigakure was still one of the Five Great Nations, and they even looked down on those "soft" land-based shinobi.
Who would believe an outsider could easily defeat the Fourth Mizukage, a perfect jinchūriki—let alone then butcher his way through the village like it was empty, punching straight through Kirigakure with his own two hands?
And yet the village's situation was right there in front of them. If this were Konoha, a large group of shinobi might've already risked rushing to the battlefield to confirm. But Kirigakure shinobi had long been accustomed to selfishness—more accurately, anyone who wasn't selfish enough never survived to this point. They would've been eliminated back on graduation day. Naturally, no one volunteered to risk their life gathering intel.
"Everyone, please listen to me…" Ao took a deep breath. Kirigakure was weak to the extreme and could no longer withstand even the smallest internal conflict. He had to convince everyone present to support Mei's plan—or at the very least, not stand against them.
"It's true—the Fourth is dead. The… the one who attacked is Konoha's Uchiha Chizumi. But his arrival should have nothing to do with Konoha…"
"…At least a thousand people have died by Uchiha Chizumi's hand… that guy is the real monster…"
"Our only choice is to support Mei… and wait until the Lightning, Earth, and Wind Countries are willing to step in…"
"…Then we'll settle accounts with Uchiha Chizumi once and for all, and make Konoha pay a price even more painful than Kirigakure's!"
One piece of terrible news after another left the Kirigakure shinobi staring blankly in shock. They never imagined the truth would be even more horrifying than what the "deserters" had said.
No one would believe the wild talk of a few chūnin or genin—but these words had come from Ao, an elite jōnin. Instantly, they carried weight.
"What kind of joke is this?! The Fourth… Yagura-sama—how could he die that easily?!"
Ameyuri's sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Ao's "single eye," trying to find even the faintest trace of a lie in the uncovered one. "If you and Mei won't avenge the Fourth, fine—but you're actually going to become the enemy's dogs?!"
The moment Ameyuri said that, many Kirigakure shinobi who supported the Blood Mist policy silently moved behind him. In an instant, countless hostile gazes fell on Ao.
Fortunately, Ao wasn't alone either. Many shinobi who hated the "Bloody Mist" likewise drifted to his side. In no time, Kirigakure's fewer-than-five-hundred shinobi split into three factions: besides the group behind Ameyuri and the group supporting Ao, more than half of the shinobi very consciously moved to the third side.