Hoshigakure, Hoshikage Building.
nma sat in the main seat, twirling a glass tube in his hand. Inside it, a pale green liquid preserved a Three-Tomoe Sharingan. The scarlet pupil emitted an eerie glow under the shifting light.
"His na was Shisui?" nma placed the glass tube lightly on the table. After listening to Kanon and Hikari's battle report, he raised an eyebrow. "So, is this the left eye or the right eye?"
"The left eye." Hikari replied. She is seated in the first position to nma's left, a place that signified her status within the organization.
From the seats on the right, Kakuzu's hoarse voice erged from behind his mask: "Uchiha Shisui of Konoha Village. During the Third Great Ninja War, he earned great rit in battles against Kirigakure. With his unique Body Flicker Technique, he gained the title [Shisui of the Body Flicker]. Kirigakure even placed a bounty of thirty million Ryo on his head."
As a frequent visitor to the bounty exchange, Kakuzu knew every na on the bounty list like the back of his hand.
'Such a renowned Elite Jonin had actually been defeated by Nanashi… and according to the battle report, she had single-handedly crushed the three Ninjas sent by Konoha.'
'Though she hadn't captured any Konoha's Ninjas, she had seized one of Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan.'
Kakuzu couldn't help but feel even more wary of Nanashi's strength.
'And then there was Uzumaki Kanon, who had been only at Chunin-level not long ago. Yet during this mission, she had managed to restrain a Jonin from Iwagakure and two Chunin. Her growth was alarmingly fast.'
nma rested a hand on the glass tube, tapping the lid rhythmically with his index finger. The crisp sound echoed sharply in the silent hall.
Of course he was very familiar with the na 'Uchiha Shisui'.
This person's Mangekyo Sharingan is said to possess the strongest Genjutsu, [Kotoamatsukami], which is capable of altering a person's will.
And now, Hikari had torn it straight out of his eye.
'Tsk tsk.'
However, nma remained cautious and didn't rush to transplant the Sharingan into himself.
After all, it would be troubleso if Shisui left Transcription Seal in this eyeball.
Besides, with so many things happening lately, getting tied down wouldn't be ideal.
nma pocketed the Sharingan and said to Hikari: "Well done. I like this Sharingan very much."
Hikari feigned indifference with a light hum and turned her head slightly.
But the slight upturn of her lips betrayed her inner delight.
Next, nma listened to Kakuzu's report on the capture of the two Sunagakure's Ninjas.
After separating from Pakura, the two had tried to blend into a rchant caravan to infiltrate Hoshigakure, only to be intercepted by the Anbu under Kakuzu's command.
As for Pakura, nma rembered the stubborn look on her face as she tried to form hand seals even with her limping leg.
"Based on preliminary interrogations of these infiltrators from other villages, it's clear that soone from the Land of Bears, or even Hoshigakure itself, sent out letter for help." nma said, propping his chin on one hand as he glanced at Yosei.
The forr Third Hoshikage of Hoshigakure imdiately dropped to his knees: "Shura-sama, I swear this has nothing to do with !"
"I know. You wouldn't have had the ti." nma's tone was casual, "Do you have any suspects?"
This made Yosei hesitate.
When everyone saw this, they realized that Yosei was hiding sothing.
"You old fool, spit it out already! What's there to hide?!" Gato yelled at Yosei in an impatient manner.
At this point, Hoshikage had no choice but to confess honestly: "Shura-sama... Hoshigakure indeed still has two Jonin who have been operating outside."
Yosei explained slowly.
It turned out that a year ago, the two most skilled ninjas in the village who had trained with the teorite, Hotarubi and Natsuhi, discovered the side effects of the teorite training and decided to steal it to destroy it.
Just as they were about to escape the village, Yosei led the Anbu to intercept them.
But Yosei also knew that the teorite's side effects had caused many of Hoshigakure's young geniuses to die prematurely. So he took the opportunity to seal away the teorite training, forbidding villagers from practicing it.
anwhile, he entrusted Hotarubi and Natsuhi with an important mission… to monitor the village's movents from outside.
If anyone tried to restart teorite training after he is no longer here, the two were to handle it.
To the villagers, Yosei announced under his title as the Third Hoshikage that Hotarubi and Natsuhi had died heroically while fighting enemies attempting to steal the teorite.
"Are you sure it was them who sent the letter for help?" In fact, nma had already known about Hotarubi and Natsuhi. He was simply giving Yosei a chance to see if the old man would co clean on his own.
Now, Yosei had passed the test.
"I... I'm not entirely sure either..." Cold sweat dripped from Yosei's graying temples.
Both Hotarubi and Natsuhi are the strongest young Ninja in Hoshigakure, which was why he had placed such high hopes in them.
"Go and bring them back." nma said to Yosei, "If they submit to the investigation willingly, I'll deal with them if they're guilty. If not, then the organization will gain two more Jonin."
nma faintly recalled that Natsuhi had mastered the Mysterious Peacock thod and might be the strongest fighter among Hoshigakure's Ninja.
However, her husband, Hotarubi, is not in good condition. After being corroded by the teorite's radiation, he likely didn't have many years left.
"Yes, Shura-sama!" Yosei accepted the order respectfully.
After Yosei retreated, nma tossed a scroll to Kakuzu, "Arrest the people on this list. The interrogations are your responsibility."
nma has the Negative Emotions Sensing of the Black Nine-Tails, so he knows very well which people in the village harbored the most hostility toward him.
Round them all up, interrogate them one by one, and the traitor would eventually be found.
"Hehehe!" Kakuzu let out a hoarse, unpleasant laugh as he tucked away the scroll.
But just as Kakuzu stood up and prepared to leave, Kanon stood up and volunteered, "Shura-sama, allow to assist in the interrogations."
"Hm?" nma sounded puzzled.
Kanon explained: "I've been practicing the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. I've discovered that this secret technique can sense subtle changes in Chakra, so it might prove useful during interrogations."
It turns out that Kanon wanted to try whether [Mind's Eye of the Kagura] could be used as a lie detector.
"Very well, go ahead." nma nodded in approval.
…
The Land of Rain.
Akatsuki's headquarters.
A spatial vortex swirled, and the masked figure of Uchiha Madara materialized.
"Where have you been? You reek of blood." Konan remarked coldly, her eyes narrowing at the faint tallic scent lingering on Uchiha Madara's sword.
"Just so personal entertainnt." Behind his mask, Obito's lips curled into a rare smirk.
He had just helped a young Uchiha awaken his Sharingan… successfully placing another pawn on the board.
From the shadows, Pain slowly opened his eyes: "Zetsu has brought back so intel. That mysterious Shura might be hiding in Hoshigakure."
"Oh? Since when did you take an interest in that coward?" Obito rested a hand on his sword hilt, his Sharingan locking onto Pain's Rinnegan through the tiger-striped mask.
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