Over the next few days, Diarmuid did not receive an answer from Sasori. Furthermore, the puppet master had become preoccupied, frequently slipping away on mysterious excursions and returning with fresh intelligence. Diarmuid surmised he was making contact with informants.
Kakuzu was not one to sit idle. Once his daily training was complete, he would begin his incessant grumbling.
"We've wasted so much time for a measly fifty thousand Ryo. It's a loss. If Uchiha Kagami never shows up, are we supposed to rot here forever?" Kakuzu sat beside Diarmuid, his voice laced with displeasure. After a brief pause, he added, "How about I continue teaching you Ninjutsu? Just pay me whatever you think is fair."
Diarmuid's eye twitched. This guy never misses an opportunity to squeeze out a coin.
"Do you really take me for a total sucker?" Diarmuid retorted. "Didn't I hand over all the funds from the Exchange Point to you? You're the one managing our finances now. Where would I get any money?"
Kakuzu fell silent for a moment before nodding. "True."
This was one of the primary reasons Kakuzu acknowledged Diarmuid. When he had tentatively suggested teaming up and taking charge of the finances, Diarmuid had agreed without a second thought, handing over the bulk of the liquid assets brought from the Land of Bears. To Kakuzu, actions spoke louder than words. This gesture had laid the foundation of absolute mutual trust between them.
As they chatted, a small bird flew in from the distance, familiar in form and plumage. It chirped twice and landed on Kakuzu's outstretched arm, regurgitating a small scroll from its beak.
Kakuzu unfurled the scroll, scanned it, and stood up. "Let's go. It's finally time. That guy found Uchiha Kagami."
A grin spread across Diarmuid's face as he rose. "Let's move!"
Diarmuid didn't know exactly how strong Uchiha Kagami was, but by reputation alone, as one of the three current icons of the Uchiha Clan, he was bound to be formidable. He had been a student of the Second Hokage, who trusted him deeply. Given that the Second Hokage eventually died to save Kagami's team, their bond must have been deep.
It's highly likely he's awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, Diarmuid mused.
His knowledge of Kagami was sparse. In the original story, the man hadn't featured prominently in the main narrative, serving instead as a legendary background figure who died under mysterious circumstances. Some speculated it was the work of the old conspirator, Danzo.
In this reality, as the Third Shinobi World War loomed, Uchiha Kagami was very much alive and highly renowned. He was the bridge between the Uchiha and the village leadership, a close friend of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
From a political standpoint, Kagami was a far more suitable candidate for Hokage than Uchiha Fugaku. Sarutobi himself saw Kagami as a potential catalyst to resolve the internal friction between the Uchiha and the village. If Kagami were to become Hokage, Konoha's future would look vastly different.
The problem was that Sarutobi's opinion mattered little when Shimura Danzo, who considered himself the only rightful choice for the seat, was involved. Danzo didn't just have a grudge against Kagami; he despised anyone qualified to succeed the Hokage.
After traversing the mountain forests of the Land of Rice Fields, Kakuzu and Diarmuid heard the unmistakable sounds of battle ahead. It wasn't a mere skirmish between a few individuals; it sounded like a massive chaotic melee.
They quickly closed in on the sound. Sasori, hidden in the shadows, signaled them, and the three of them hunkered down behind a massive rock formation.
They were still some distance from the battlefield, but the view was clear. Konoha shinobi were locked in combat with Kumogakure forces.
Currently, Kumogakure held the advantage. Almost all Cloud ninja were combat specialists, masters of Nintaijutsu. In an encounter like this, where the battle lines were blurred and both sides were entangled, Nintaijutsu offered a distinct edge. Large-scale Ninjutsu, such as Fire Release, risked hitting one's own allies in such a frantic scramble. Nintaijutsu, however, was focused on the self—clean, efficient, and precise.
This chaotic state was likely a deliberate tactic by Kumogakure. Consequently, Konoha was suffering heavy losses.
Observing the battle, Diarmuid concluded that shinobi warfare was more precise and "artistic" than the grand-scale naval wars of his home world. Yet, it also felt smaller in scope and spirit, a result of the differing environments of the two worlds.
"Where is Uchiha Kagami?" Diarmuid whispered.
Sasori looked at Diarmuid with a hint of surprise. As a puppet master who lived inside Hiruko and had modified his own body into a puppet core, he took great pride in his ability to mask his presence. Yet, sitting right next to Diarmuid, he couldn't sense the man's presence at all. It was absurd. His eyes saw a person, but his senses felt a ghost.
"How are you doing that?" Sasori asked, bewildered.
"Doing what?" Diarmuid asked, confused.
"It's called Observation Haki," Kakuzu answered dismissively, cutting to the chase. "Where is Uchiha Kagami?"
"He hasn't arrived yet," Sasori replied, dropping the subject for now. "But it should be soon. I received intel and specifically set this stage, ensuring word of the Konoha ninjas' disadvantage reached their headquarters. If Kagami has no intention of abandoning his comrades, he will come."
Diarmuid raised an eyebrow. So this whole mess was his doing? No wonder he's been acting so suspicious; he was baiting a trap.
The three men fell silent, using Earth Release to further camouflage their positions behind the rocks. They waited for over half an hour. The Konoha forces were on the brink of total collapse, yet there was still no sign of reinforcement.
"He's here!" Diarmuid suddenly announced.
Kakuzu and Sasori extended their sensory abilities, scanning the surroundings, but found nothing. However, they didn't doubt Diarmuid's word. They tightened their concealment and waited.
While Diarmuid's ability to sense Chakra might not match veterans like Sasori or Kakuzu, his Observation Haki was potent. Even with the limitations of this world, a range of several kilometers was easily within his grasp.
Six minutes later, the Konoha reinforcements arrived.
A large group of shinobi charged into the fray, led by a man who immediately commanded the battlefield. He wasn't exceptionally handsome, but his presence was magnetic. He moved like an unstoppable force, his mastery of the ninja sword so great that no Cloud ninja could withstand more than three of his strikes.
As he cut through the enemy, he performed rapid hand signs, unleashing Ninjutsu to support distant teammates with surgical precision, never harming an ally. He was like a painter of slaughter, using the battlefield as his canvas.
From their distance, they could occasionally catch a glimpse of his eyes, glowing a brilliant, piercing red.
This was undoubtedly Uchiha Kagami. The power of the Sharingan was no myth.
"What's the plan?" Diarmuid asked, turning to his companions.
"Kill them all," Kakuzu said, his tone ruthless. To him, every head on that field was a bounty.
"Just the three of us? That might be troublesome. What if some escape?" Sasori suggested. "Better to wait for them to exhaust each other, then strike. We only need Kagami; the rest are irrelevant."
"Heh, no one is escaping while Diarmuid is here," Kakuzu chuckled disdainfully.
Sasori looked at Diarmuid, his expression questioning.
How does a human puppet make such a vivid expression? Diarmuid wondered silently before nodding. "Fine, I'll clear the field first."
He pressed both hands toward the ground. His Chakra and Devil Fruit powers had not yet fully fused, so both energies surged forth simultaneously.
Casting from this distance? And why are there no hand signs? Sasori thought in shock. He knew Diarmuid was strong from their brief clash, but "strength" was a vague concept. He didn't understand the scope of Diarmuid's capabilities. Kakuzu, by contrast, looked completely unfazed.
Diarmuid's previously hidden presence exploded outward. On the battlefield, Kagami felt a jolt of pure terror. After felling a Cloud ninja, his three-tomoe Sharingan locked onto the source of that overwhelming aura.
"Hidden enemies! All units, stay sharp!" Kagami bellowed.
Both Cloud and Leaf ninja were stunned. The enemy has reinforcements?
"Abyssal Darkness: Gravity Field!" Diarmuid growled.
The moment the words left his lips, the powers of the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Gravity-Gravity Fruit erupted in unison. A crushing gravitational force instantly slammed the "physically fragile" shinobi into the dirt. Even Kagami was forced to his knees, the pressure visible on his straining frame.
What kind of Earth Release is this?! Kagami thought, his mind racing. He had never heard of such a technique.
Before he could process the confusion, he saw the distant ground being rapidly dyed by a thick, swirling darkness. The black energy expanded at a terrifying speed, reaching him in an instant. Within seconds, the entire landscape within his vision was pitch black.
"What is this?!" Kagami was utterly bewildered. Shadow Possession? No, this is different!
The impossibilities continued to mount. The shinobi trapped within the darkness began to sink into the ground, as if being swallowed by the abyss itself.
"Help..."
"I can't break free... what is this?"
"Damn it!!!"
It wasn't just the shinobi on the battlefield who were shell-shocked. Beside Diarmuid, Sasori stared in disbelief. "What kind of Ninjutsu is this?"
"It's Diarmuid's Kekkei Genkai," Kakuzu said with a smirk, sounding strangely proud.