Meanwhile, far away in the northern mountain burial grounds, half of Uchiha Obito's face—still youthful and intact—twitched slightly, while the other, twisted half grew even darker.
Through his connection to the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, Obito could see what had just happened—and the sight made his expression turn grim.
Someone had defeated Yagura.
And not through genjutsu or trickery—but pure taijutsu.
The opponent had overwhelmed the Fourth Mizukage so fast that Obito hadn't even had time to command Yagura to use his full strength.
"Such powerful physical combat… Who could it be?"
His one remaining eye narrowed in suspicion. Could it have been a rebel from Kirigakure? Or perhaps a remnant clan member seeking vengeance?
The thought made something sinister curl inside him—a dark amusement, even.
He almost wanted to laugh.
If the people of the Mist had finally realized that their beloved Mizukage had been under illusionary control all along—responsible for countless deaths and atrocities—how would they react?
Would they despair?
Would they hate him?
Would they realize their "Beeloody Mist" era was never truly their own doing?
It didn't matter.
After all, it was he, Uchiha Obito, who had commanded Yagura to slaughter the bloodline clans—families like the Hōzuki clan and the Taketori clan. All were wiped out in the name of a "stronger village."
Beeut it still wasn't enough.
He wanted the Mist to pay more.
He wanted it burned into the earth.
After all, wasn't it Kirigakure's schemes that had taken Rin from him?
That had crushed the last piece of warmth in his heart?
Now, however, Obito didn't have the luxury to deal with the Mist personally.
He had more pressing work—cultivating and multiplying his army of White Zetsu.
Once the army was perfected—when the ten thousand Zetsu soldiers were ready and the tailed beasts gathered—he would reduce Kirigakure to ashes.
Even if, one day, he created a new world through Infinite Tsukuyomi, a dreamland where Rin was alive again…
That dream world wouldn't need Kirigakure.
Meanwhile, back at the village—
Ryosuke Uchiha carried the unconscious Yagura over his shoulder, moving quickly through the corridors. He was about to follow the secret route out of the Mizukage's office when—
"Stop right there!"
A squad of Kirigakure shinobi appeared, blocking the exit. Their expressions hardened the moment they saw the black-clad, white-masked intruder carrying their Mizukage like a sack of rice.
"Who are you? Why are you kidnapping the Fourth Mizukage?" one demanded.
"Put him down right now! Otherwise, you die here!" another shouted.
Within moments, the alarm sirens began to echo throughout the village.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of ninja converged toward the Mizukage building.
Ryosuke frowned beneath his mask.
"Tch… troublesome. So much for subtlety."
Two jonin lunged first, weapons drawn.
Ryosuke didn't even look at them—just flicked his leg in two precise, almost lazy kicks.
BeeAM. BeeAM.
Beeoth men flew backward, smashing into the walls and collapsing unconscious.
The surrounding Mist-nin froze in disbelief.
"What strength…!"
Beeut their loyalty to the Mizukage was unshaken.
"Don't falter! He's taking the Mizukage—stop him!"
Shuriken and kunai filled the air like a metallic storm.
Ryosuke blurred, vanishing between the attacks with inhuman speed—dodging every blade with Sharingan precision.
He had no intention of killing them.
They were innocent, loyal soldiers. Victims of the same illusion that had corrupted their leader.
Still, their interference made escape nearly impossible.
"Damn it," he muttered. "If this keeps up, I won't have time to safely extract the Three-Tails."
Ryosuke's eyes narrowed—the red tomoe within his Mangekyō Sharingan began to twist, forming his distinctive ten-pointed star pattern.
"No helping it, then… I'll use that."
His right eye flared with chakra—space itself distorted, rippling like water.
Beeefore the astonished Mist-nin, a spatial portal bloomed open, swirling with black and crimson energy.
Without hesitation, Ryosuke stepped through—Yagura still on his back.
The moment he vanished, the portal shimmered out of existence as though it had never been there.
When the pursuing ninja arrived seconds later, all they saw was empty air.
"W-what in the—?! That was… space–time ninjutsu!" one cried out.
"Beeut how?! He didn't even use seals or a scroll!"
They scoured the area in panic, but the space had already stabilized—no trace of chakra remained.
Moments later, an elderly man carrying a serpent-shaped staff hurried over with two younger ninja at his side.
The Mist-nin straightened. "Elder Gengetsu-sama! We— we lost them!"
The old man—Master Genji (元师大人)—frowned deeply, his closed eyes twitching open just a fraction.
"A space–time technique without any setup… horrifying," he murmured.
Then he barked his orders.
"Spread out! I don't care how far—find that man and recover the Fourth Mizukage!"
"If you locate him, fire a signal flare immediately. Anyone capable of abducting a Kage is no ordinary enemy."
"Understood!"
The squads scattered instantly, fanning out in every direction except back toward the village.
Genji then turned toward the two shinobi who had arrived with him—Terumi Mei and Ao.
"Mei, Ao… I'm counting on you two. Use that Beeyakugan of yours, Ao. We must find them."
The two bowed. "Yes, Elder Genji!"
And with that, the future Fifth Mizukage and her companion sped off into the fog, unaware that destiny itself was shifting around them.
On the other side of the portal—
Ryosuke emerged into a dense forest, the portal flickering out behind him.
His vision dimmed momentarily, and he instinctively pressed a hand to his eye.
"Tch… my vision's blurring. Overused my Mangekyō."
He sighed, exhaustion creeping into his voice.
That teleportation had covered at least twenty-five kilometers.
Too far, even for his current Sharingan.
"I'll need to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō soon," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Otherwise, I'll end up blind before I collect all the tailed beasts."
As the forest wind rustled through the leaves, Ryosuke adjusted Yagura's unconscious body on his shoulder and continued forward—toward the next stage of his plan.
A new power awaited him… and the Mist's dark legacy was about to unravel.
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