Natsuhiko's words could only be described as striking at both the body and the heart. But no matter how excessive his words were, the only choice Obito had was to accept them.
No matter how much he wanted to attack right now, he still had to carefully consider the consequences of doing so.
Putting aside the fact that they had already caused such a huge commotion and that the people of Kirigakure had already rushed over, if they did not stop now, then once the Kirigakure shinobi discovered the Fourth Mizukage's condition, he would not even be able to continue controlling him.
Losing Kirigakure would not cause too much direct harm to him, since in the end, he could still hide in the Land of Rain.
But Kirigakure was the target of his revenge. Leaving this place just like that would absolutely leave him unwilling. He still had not truly and completely avenged Rin yet!
Besides, even if he left, so what? For some unknown reason, this guy actually knew that they had a plan to gather the Tailed Beasts.
He could feel that Black Zetsu, or perhaps even Uchiha Madara, was hiding things from him.
As for what they were hiding, he did not know, and right now, that was not important either.
What mattered was that this guy knew the plan. With his strength, he could completely act one step ahead and seize all the Tailed Beasts first.
If that happened, how would Obito summon the Ten-Tails, and how would he become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki?
How would he activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and how would he create a world with Rin in it?
The moment he thought of Rin, Obito had already made his decision.
Endurance was necessary. If he did not endure, then he would completely lose this chance.
He longed to meet Rin again. He longed for that world with Rin, with Kakashi, and with everyone else.
Therefore, he could not give up, and he could not act on impulse. Even if he was humiliated now, he had to endure it.
Because in his view, none of these things could compare to Rin. For Rin, everything he was paying now was worth it!
Was it not just handing over a large batch of White Zetsu? Was it not just watching as this guy created an opponent for him in Kirigakure within the next five years?
Although these matters were troublesome, they were not impossible to solve. After all, the Mizukage was in his hands, so he still held a huge advantage.
Although the result would be that he probably could not spare much attention for Nagato's side, Nagato had already been controlled anyway, so why should he care that much?
"That should be about it."
Natsuhiko naturally did not know Obito's inner journey at this moment. He indifferently finished stating his conditions, but very soon, he seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right. This village seems to have another Tailed Beast, the Six-Tails.
"I need its chakra. You will handle this matter. I assume there is no problem?"
The Six-Tails' chakra?
Hearing this request, Obito truly felt that it was not a big deal. Although he was very puzzled as to why this man wanted the Six-Tails' chakra when he already had the Nine-Tails' power inside him, he was too lazy to ask about these messy matters.
To him, this had no practical meaning.
Black Zetsu, however, appeared far more doubtful. He knew that as long as one had the Ten-Tails' husk, then during the process of merging the Ten-Tails, even a small amount of the other Tailed Beasts' chakra would be enough.
As long as the total chakra amount was sufficient, the Ten-Tails could still be awakened!
This guy already had the Nine-Tails inside him, so what was his purpose in wanting the chakra of the other Tailed Beasts?
Moreover, when this guy attacked earlier, Black Zetsu seemed to have sensed that this guy's Nine-Tails chakra was somewhat strange.
It was naturally powerful, but within such powerful chakra, there seemed to be some other chakra mixed in, which caused the Nine-Tails' chakra to no longer seem so pure.
Actually, even Natsuhiko himself had not noticed this point, or rather, the little Nine-Tails had never reminded him about such a situation at all.
After all, he had already obtained the power of the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Eight-Tails, and all of it had entered the Nine-Tails, while the main consciousness remained that of the little Nine-Tails.
Although from the system's perspective, he had not activated the mission, nor had fusion been reflected.
In the end, however, that power was inside the little Nine-Tails, and the little Nine-Tails could completely mobilize it.
Even though this little fellow had now fallen into sleep again, perhaps because Natsuhiko had filled him with too much power.
Or perhaps because the power the Ryūmyaku had left inside Natsuhiko had also been absorbed by him, he was still in that endlessly drowsy state, and the huge fox would fall asleep at every turn.
So without the little Nine-Tails informing him, Natsuhiko himself was actually somewhat confused. He probably did not even know that when he mobilized the Tailed Beast chakra, he was actually already mobilizing all of it.
It was just that it had not been carefully separated, and these powers were mixed together when he used them.
"No problem."
Black Zetsu thought for a while but completely could not figure out what this person wanted to do. Since Obito still remained silent, he decisively agreed to the matter.
"In one month, I will bring everything together, right here.
"With that many things, I will also need to prepare them. What do you think?"
"That is fine. Then I hope our transaction goes smoothly."
Natsuhiko revealed a smile. Then his gaze fell on Obito, and after looking him up and down, he turned toward Black Zetsu with a meaningful look.
"But I hope you will refrain from any small tricks. Although they will not cause me any trouble, checking for them is also a waste of effort.
"Once I have to waste effort, I will get angry. And once I get angry, you can think carefully about what the result will be."
After saying this, Natsuhiko's figure moved slightly, and then he disappeared from the spot.
Black Zetsu, however, broke into a bit of cold sweat because of Natsuhiko's words, because he knew that this person had already discovered the secret inside Obito's body.
Damn it, just how strong is this guy's sensory ability?
Black Zetsu cursed hatefully in his heart. In order to control Obito better, Uchiha Madara had indeed planted quite a few cursed seals inside his body.
Under normal circumstances, these things could not be activated at all, and if they could not be activated, they naturally could not be detected.
But this damned guy was actually so sharp and discovered this secret so easily, which truly made Black Zetsu extremely frustrated.
In truth, he really had no intention of tampering with those White Zetsu bodies. After all, it was better to send away such a terrifying person as quickly as possible.
He had not even tried to obtain this person's information, although he had gained quite a bit, but it was clearly still far from enough.
How could he still have the mind to tamper with White Zetsu, thereby further offending this terrifying guy?
Sighing lightly, Black Zetsu could not be bothered to think about such troublesome matters anymore. Still, the moment he noticed Obito staring at him with obvious doubt in his eyes, his scalp went numb again.
Because he knew he would have to come up with yet another explanation to fool Obito.
Natsuhiko did not pay much attention to Obito and Black Zetsu's matters. After all, since he had achieved his goal, he naturally would not care what others did.
After returning to Kirigakure, Natsuhiko stayed at Terumi Mei's home for another month, as he had no more suitable place to stay.
However, during this period, something rather interesting happened. One of the new generation of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Demon Zabuza, who wielded the Kubikiribōchō, launched an assassination plan against the Fourth Mizukage!
This matter truly made Natsuhiko a little surprised. He knew that Zabuza had indeed done something similar.
But he did not know exactly when it happened. After all, the original story had never explained the specific time.
Perhaps it was because the disturbance he caused when he dealt with the Fourth Mizukage last time had been relatively large.
Together with the fact that after Obito regained control of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura looked even weaker and more vacant, Zabuza saw an opportunity.
Unfortunately, what Zabuza had to face was not just the Fourth Mizukage alone. What he had to face were Obito and Black Zetsu, hidden behind the Fourth Mizukage.
No one knew whether Natsuhiko's sudden attack had truly left a huge shadow in the hearts of Black Zetsu and Obito, but their protection of the Fourth Mizukage had clearly become much tighter now.
And the result of this was that after Zabuza carried out his plan, he had no chance to escape at all. He had already been captured and was now waiting for his final judgment.
"I really didn't expect that the first boss from the original story, the one who could push Team Seven so hard, would end up finished just like this."
Zabuza could indeed be considered a very, very important teacher on Naruto's path as a ninja.
To put it bluntly, he and Haku made Naruto become a true ninja, and also helped him find his own ninja way.
Unfortunately, this "teacher" of Naruto's was probably not long for this world. Attempting to assassinate a Kage was a death sentence in any village, except perhaps in Orochimaru's case.
Kirigakure's cruelty was visible to the naked eye, and Natsuhiko could be completely certain that Zabuza would die in an extremely miserable and bleak way.
However, this matter had nothing to do with Natsuhiko. He would even use this matter to tease Terumi Mei.
Terumi Mei seemed to have already accepted the fact that Natsuhiko was staying in her home. After all, she could not beat him, and the other party held her completely in his grasp, leaving her unable to resist at all.
The only thing that made her feel happy was that this guy really did seem to treat "doing what he said" as his ninja way.
After the Fourth Mizukage returned, he directly used "poor health" as an excuse to hand many important tasks over to Elder Genji.
This made Kirigakure effectively enter a "dual Kage" mode, and Elder Genji could now truly gather his own strength in order to resist the Mizukage's tyranny.
Moreover, she also knew that this time limit was actually as long as five years. Five years could truly change many, many things.
"Zabuza's matter has nothing to do with us. We would not do such a thing."
However, when facing Natsuhiko's teasing, she still replied without hesitation.
"We are qualified Kirigakure ninja. A ninja's discipline makes us obey orders and prevents us from doing something like assassinating a Kage."
"Is that so?"
When Natsuhiko heard Terumi Mei's words, he could not help laughing.
"Then, if a ninja's discipline makes you obey orders, and Elder Genji ordered you to satisfy all my requests, would you listen?"
"I would."
Terumi Mei did not hesitate in the slightest. The firelight from the burning wood inside the room reflected on her face, and her expression did not fluctuate at all.
It was already November, and heavy snow had begun to fall over Kirigakure. The snow danced through the air in a unique way, dyeing the entire Land of Water white.
Natsuhiko slightly raised his head and looked at Terumi Mei, then glanced at the snowflakes constantly falling outside. Suddenly, he smiled and said.
"The weather is cold. Resting alone is rather chilly. Since you will satisfy all my requests, then stay with me."
"Fine."
Terumi Mei did not hesitate at all. Even though her heart had already become as cold as the falling snow outside, she still reached toward her clothes and began to undo them.
Terumi Mei's action actually startled even Natsuhiko. It had to be said that this woman was truly decisive and bold enough.
Unfortunately, although Natsuhiko was interested in her, he had never been a person ruled by his lower half. Who knew whether his face would be seen clearly once he took off his clothes?
Even if he used the Transformation Technique, what if the traces he left behind were taken by them for research? That would be somewhat disgusting.
There was also the possibility that, through some accident, this woman became pregnant with his child, and in the future, there would be some father-son or father-daughter life-and-death revenge plot. That would not be fun.
"Do I really have to learn from a certain real masked man and say to someone, 'I am your father'?"
Although Natsuhiko had already experienced such things, in the end, reason always held the upper hand for him.
Just as Terumi Mei was about to undo all her clothes, Natsuhiko suddenly shook his head slightly.
"Forget it. You are too young, and you do not have the charm a mature woman should have. I am not interested in you."
When Terumi Mei heard Natsuhiko's words, her hands immediately froze. For a moment, even she did not know what she should do.
Moreover, Natsuhiko's words were both maximally damaging and insulting. Even she did not know whether she should feel relieved, hateful, or ashamed and angry.
"Try again in ten years. Perhaps after ten years, you will have the charm a woman should have."
Natsuhiko smiled slightly and shook his head, though he felt that the most likely outcome was that ten years later, it would be best if she did not recognize him and he did not recognize her either.
Standing up, Natsuhiko casually picked up a blanket, walked over to Terumi Mei, and draped it over her. After that, he silently returned to his room.
Now, only one day remained before his transaction with Black Zetsu and Obito.
After one day, he would obtain everything he wanted, and then he could leave Kirigakure and return to Konoha to peacefully serve as his Hokage.
The gains this time could truly be called great. This was not simply about the White Zetsu bodies and Tailed Beast chakra. The most important thing was that he had pinned Obito inside Kirigakure.
This gave Nagato enough room to move. Under such circumstances, Nagato, this blade, could properly display his own use and value.
After all, I am a Hokage with a good reputation. How could I not have a blade that serves me?
Sarutobi Hiruzen had Danzō, but Danzō was never really impressive enough.
Having the leader of Akatsuki serve as my blade, or even having the entire Akatsuki become my blade, now that is impressive.
The cold wind continued to blow as Natsuhiko walked alone along the road.
At this time, he had already left Kirigakure and was preparing to return to Konoha.
Black Zetsu and Obito had very obediently delivered everything Natsuhiko needed, while Natsuhiko rather bluntly inspected each item carefully one by one.
However, neither Obito nor Black Zetsu had any reaction to this behavior. There had never been trust between them in the first place, so Natsuhiko acting this way was truly very normal.
After the inspection was complete, Natsuhiko sealed away all the unconscious White Zetsu bodies.
As for the ten living individuals, Black Zetsu and Obito had clearly invested heavily.
The Yang Release chakra contained within them was extremely abundant, which was absolutely a good thing for Natsuhiko.
Moreover, these ten fellows had clearly already received orders from Obito and Black Zetsu. They knew they needed to follow Natsuhiko and leave, so they obediently listened to Natsuhiko's words.
This was good news for Natsuhiko, since it saved him quite a bit of trouble. Letting those ten follow him underground by themselves, Natsuhiko slowly set off.
He was not in a hurry. To him, as long as he returned to Konoha before the New Year, that would be enough. Moving slowly could also let him confirm whether Black Zetsu or Obito was secretly watching him.
Walking through the Land of Water and looking at the heavy snow filling the sky, Natsuhiko could not help shaking his head.
In such a cold season, all the flowers, plants, and trees had already withered, leaving only the rustling yet still green pines and cypresses.
At any other time, Natsuhiko might have felt that such beautiful scenery was worth admiring, and he might not even mind using it to recall the poems and memories from his previous life.
But as Natsuhiko looked at it now, he suddenly felt that they did not seem to make him feel as fond of them.
When the person looking at scenery and the mood in which they looked at it were different, the gains they received would naturally also be different.
Blade-like cold winds swept past again and again, rolling up layer after layer of loose snow from the ground. The snow was lifted into the sky, then scattered again beside those proudly standing pines and cypresses.
Such a scene looked so cold and proud, yet it also made one feel the spread of loneliness.
Natsuhiko was someone who could endure loneliness. Back then, after transmigrating, he had endured loneliness and tried to blend into this world.
Afterward, in the Anbu, carrying out missions alone also required him to endure loneliness that ordinary people could hardly bear. This kind of endurance seemed to have long since sunk deep into his bones.
But ever since he became an Anbu captain, truly changing from an executor into a planner, his tolerance for loneliness seemed to have weakened somewhat.
Step by step, from captain to Anbu Commander, and then to the current Hokage, there had always been many people around him, and he also greatly enjoyed the feeling of being valued and surrounded by others.
His endurance for loneliness seemed to have begun to decline. Although Natsuhiko could still do as well as he had back then, he had also started to dislike this feeling.
"Humans are social creatures in the end. No one likes the taste of loneliness."
Natsuhiko smiled and shook his head. Then he quickened his pace and continued walking forward.
As he walked, Natsuhiko suddenly discovered that he seemed to be about to enter a town, which made his mood improve a little.
Before this, he had been walking along remote paths the whole way and had not carefully checked what direction he had gone in.
Of course, to him, no matter which direction he walked in, there was no real difference.
Putting aside the fact that he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to return directly, the Land of Water itself was an island country, and walking in any direction would eventually lead him to the seaside. This meant he was destined not to fear getting lost.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Natsuhiko noticed that there seemed to be some movement around him, which made him release his senses to investigate. In the next moment, he frowned slightly.
Because he discovered that several adults were chasing a child. These adults were all holding things in their hands, and even though they had no chakra, they still had some destructive power.
As for the little kid being chased by them, there seemed to be some chakra power inside his body, but his body was far too weak and looked as if it might collapse at any moment.
Such a scene made even someone as cold-blooded as Natsuhiko feel somewhat displeased.
It was like seeing one of those infuriating news stories from his previous life. Even though he knew such things were hardly uncommon, they still made his blood pressure rise every time he came across them.
That said, Natsuhiko could have chosen to ignore it. After all, this was the Land of Water, and whatever happened here had nothing to do with him.
Moreover, this era was not peaceful to begin with. Some things could be handled by Natsuhiko in Konoha through his authority and management ability, allowing him to deal with all of them properly.
But in someone else's territory, he could not change anything. Of course, he had no intention of doing so either, since Kirigakure was, after all, one of Konoha's enemy villages.
What made Natsuhiko shake his head, however, was the realization that those people were actually heading straight toward him, prompting a faint sigh.
"Looks like I'll have to be a good person today?"
Natsuhiko casually shook his head without much concern. A few ordinary people without chakra running into him were no different from throwing their lives away.
As for that little kid, there were traces of chakra inside his body, but he was clearly too young.
Moreover, this burst of chakra looked more like the power of a kekkei genkai, not like a trained ninja.
If he were a trained ninja, even at only four or five years old, dealing with these adults would not be a problem.
Ninja were beings similar to superhumans. There was truly no debate about this. Just looking at Kakashi as a child made that clear.
"But Obito really has done quite a number here. In other villages, a kid with a kekkei genkai would be treated as a treasure, yet here, he is as miserable as a stray dog."
Natsuhiko shook his head lightly and stopped walking. He quietly waited in place.
Very soon, a small child appeared in Natsuhiko's sight. The child looked filthy all over, and his entire body was clearly stained with blood.
Behind this child, those adults were shouting loudly and even laughing as they chased him. From time to time, they used the weapons in their hands to strike the child viciously
This scene made Natsuhiko's brows furrow even deeper. If they had directly killed him, Natsuhiko might not have said anything.
Although Natsuhiko had also done things like torturing and killing people, he had always been a hypocrite. Just because he could do it did not mean he could stand watching it.
He took a slight step forward, and in an instant, Natsuhiko appeared in front of those people.
He grabbed the back collar of the child's clothes with one hand and easily lifted him up.
Then, before those adults could react, a kunai had already silently appeared in his hand.
The kunai flashed with a cold light as it lightly swept across the necks of those adults.
Before blood marks could even appear on their throats, the kunai in Natsuhiko's hand had already been put away.
Then he reached out and lightly squeezed, gripping the neck of the only man he had deliberately left alive.
"Ah… ah…"
In the next second, those adults seemed to react. They all subconsciously felt pain in their necks, and it seemed that liquid was seeping out.
They instinctively reached out to touch their throats, and at this moment, they discovered that their blood vessels had already been cut open. They could not help letting out screams.
Unfortunately, as someone born from the Anbu, Natsuhiko was extremely confident in his technique. Even though he rarely used such attack methods now, traditional skills could not be forgotten.
Those adult men slowly knelt on the ground. Their voices were extremely hoarse, and such voices could not possibly travel very far.
The man held by Natsuhiko also reacted now. His body had already begun to tremble, and he knew he had run into serious trouble.
"I ask, you answer."
Natsuhiko pulled his neck downward, and the adult man involuntarily knelt on the ground. Natsuhiko looked down at him from above and spoke.
That cold aura, and that indifferent yet undeniable voice, made the man tremble even more violently.
"Who is this child?"
Natsuhiko did not waste words. Since he could see that the chakra on this little fellow belonged to a kekkei genkai, he naturally knew what kind of situation this was.
What he wanted to know was what this child's ability was, or rather, what he had done. That was the key.
"He… he's a demon…"
The adult man had already been completely frightened senseless by Natsuhiko, especially after hearing the screams of his companions. It was as if he had fallen into hell.
His words were now stumbling, and he no longer had the confident appearance from earlier.
"He's from the neighboring village. He… he's a demon who can control ice. Ninja-sama, aren't we supposed to eliminate demons like him…"
Control ice?
Natsuhiko did not hear everything this man said clearly. After all, with him trembling like this, it was hard to extract much information.
However, as an Anbu, Natsuhiko was very good at sorting through information. He immediately grasped one important point, and that was that this child was someone who could control ice.
And those who possessed this ability belonged to a once-prominent clan in Kirigakure, the Ice Clan.
In truth, Natsuhiko had once thought that some Yuki Clan controlled ice. He had really been deceived by the name "Yuki Haku" for many years.
Only after coming to this world and entering the Anbu did he learn that there was no such thing as the Yuki Clan here. They were called the Ice Clan.
But these were only small matters. In any case, he had not made any jokes because of it, and such a mistake could simply be corrected casually.
His hand twisted lightly, and a crisp sound of breaking bone rang out. The man whose neck he held had his neck directly snapped by him.
He raised his head slightly and looked at the bridge not far away. At the same time, feeling the child he was holding, the one who could control ice and was constantly trembling, he could not help falling into thought.
"Zabuza failed his assassination and was captured. He is definitely dead now, and I have somehow become Zabuza?"
Looking at this familiar scene and environment before him, Natsuhiko truly felt great suspicion toward the child he had casually saved.
Could this child be that famous person from the original story whose gender was hard to tell, the one who had once brought warmth to Naruto, Haku?
After hesitating slightly, Natsuhiko turned his head to look at the child in his hand, then revealed a gentle smile.
"Kid, what is your name?"
"Haku…"
The child in Natsuhiko's hand was extremely afraid. Even though Natsuhiko looked so warm at this moment, the corpses on the ground told him just how dangerous this ninja was.
However, he had been saved by him after all, so even though Haku was afraid, he still answered the question properly.
"Haku, is it…"
When Natsuhiko heard this name, he could not help sighing softly in his heart. Now, he was even more certain that he had really become Zabuza.
And considering that he would definitely make a move on the Land of Waves in the future, since that place could be used for tourism and could also serve as part of an island-hopping strategy against Kirigakure, then perhaps he really was no different from Zabuza.
Aside from the fact that he would not listen to someone like Gatō, and that Gatō was far more likely to be killed by him in advance, and aside from the fact that he would not target Naruto and the others, everything else seemed almost the same.
Shaking his head, Natsuhiko decisively threw this thought out of his mind.
Although Zabuza seemed fairly impressive, since he had single-handedly beaten the legendary savior Team Seven quite badly, Natsuhiko was far stronger than Zabuza.
"Kid, are you willing to come with me?"
Natsuhiko slowly placed Haku on the ground, then touched his chin and asked. At the same time, he also took off his cloak and draped it over the little child.
At this moment, the weather was freezing, and this little child was only wearing thin clothes. The fact that he had not frozen to death was truly thanks to the kekkei genkai he was born with.
But Natsuhiko could see that this kekkei genkai was still too weak right now, and the child's face had already turned blue.
Although it could not be ruled out that he had been frightened by Natsuhiko, Natsuhiko would still do what he could. After all, he still had a glow of humanity and his own moral standards.
Even if those two things were flexible and could rise or fall at any time.
"Thank you, ninja-sama."
Haku, now wrapped in the cloak, looked somewhat overwhelmed. He had experienced far too much during this period, and even Natsuhiko's casual gesture brought a trace of warmth to his heart.
However, Natsuhiko's question left him unsure how to respond. After hesitating for a moment, he asked timidly,
"Sir, do you need me?"
"Whether I need you or not depends on how much value you can show."
Natsuhiko gently shook his head. Although he was wearing a mask, he still maintained a smile. Kashin Koji's half-mask was something Natsuhiko truly liked quite a bit.
"If you can show your own value, then my answer is yes, I need you.
"But if you cannot show your own value, although I will not abandon you, I will be very disappointed."
"I understand."
After hearing Natsuhiko's words, Haku thought carefully for a moment, then spoke with great seriousness.
"I am willing to follow you, sir. I will definitely become someone with value!"
"Very good."
Hearing this answer, Natsuhiko nodded with satisfaction. As for what kind of value Haku could show, Natsuhiko was not too clear about it, since this child was far too kind.
But Natsuhiko could still try. After all, this was Ice Release. Even if Haku could not become a qualified ninja, adding another kekkei genkai to Konoha would still be acceptable.
However, there was one question that made Natsuhiko think a little. After looking this child up and down for a long while, Natsuhiko slowly asked.
"Still, I have one question."
"Sir, please ask."
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
...
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