Chapter 49: Terumī Mei: Stay at My Place for Now!
Recalling the overwhelming strength Oborotsuki displayed earlier—how he handled the Six Paths of Pain with apparent ease and inflicted devastating losses on them—
Everything pointed to Oborotsuki being far from ordinary.
At first, Obito had assumed it was simply prodigious talent and rapid growth in a short time.
But now, thinking back carefully, a possibility suddenly occurred to him.
"Could Sensei Minato have had some connection to Kirigakure?"
"If Hōzuki Oborotsuki really did rescue Kushina, then he was the mysterious figure who used Flying Thunder God to attack me that night…"
"But there's an even bigger question! A jinchūriki is supposed to die once the tailed beast is forcibly extracted. How could Kushina possibly…"
"So from the very beginning, that kid was deliberately hiding his true strength to deceive us?"
"Damn it!"
The more he thought, the more unsettled he became. Obito's fists clenched involuntarily.
Seeing Obito's reaction, Black Zetsu added:
"However, she seems to be under Hōzuki Oborotsuki's protection now."
"And that kid will most likely return to Kirigakure soon—if he hasn't already."
"It appears we can only proceed with the tasks at hand for now."
Obito fell silent.
Even without Black Zetsu's reminder, he knew the situation was troublesome.
For Kushina to have survived the extraction, Obito suspected it was either Minato or Oborotsuki who had used Sage Mode from one of the three holy lands—Mount Myōboku.
He knew his teacher Minato had mastered both Flying Thunder God and Sage Mode.
And he was now almost certain Oborotsuki also possessed Flying Thunder God.
With Kushina under Oborotsuki's protection, dealing with her would no longer be so simple.
"Hmph…"
"For now, monitor their movements closely!"
"Once the plan is complete, none of them will escape!"
With that, Obito activated Kamui and vanished into thin air.
…
Dawn had fully arrived.
As the sun rose, the pervasive mist over Kirigakure quickly dissipated.
The two chūnin standing guard at the village gate suddenly noticed several figures approaching from the end of the road.
"Hm?"
"That's…"
They had already received orders from above.
They knew today would see the return of former missing-nin.
"It looks like Hōzuki Oborotsuki… but I didn't hear anything about him bringing so many people…"
"Anyway, let's report it first!"
The news quickly reached the Mizukage's office.
Yagura, exhausted from working through the night, immediately perked up upon hearing that Oborotsuki had apparently returned with other Hōzuki clan members.
"Pass down the order—handle the identity verification of the others as gently as possible. Do not make things difficult for them!"
Yagura issued the command without hesitation.
He had no choice but to humble himself.
The mistakes of the past were far too grave.
They had caused massive casualties among the village's forces.
These actions were merely a small attempt at atonement before he officially stepped down.
But before Yagura could issue the order, Terumī Mei had already set out ahead of time.
At this moment, Mei walked calmly down the village's main road toward the gate.
From a distance, she spotted Oborotsuki and his group undergoing questioning and verification.
She saw that beside Oborotsuki—other than the woman she had met yesterday (Konan)—there were several more women, nearly all either heavily pregnant or carrying children.
Instantly, Mei—who had originally come with a relaxed, playful attitude, planning to trade barbs and flirt with Oborotsuki again—froze in place.
"…This guy."
Her gaze burned as she stared at Oborotsuki. She quickened her pace and walked over.
"Yo~ Did you come personally to welcome us?"
Oborotsuki teased as soon as he saw Mei approaching.
"Hōzuki Oborotsuki, you never mentioned you'd be bringing so many people back."
"None of these are Hōzuki clan members, are they?"
Mei placed one hand on her hip, smiling charmingly as she reached him. Her eyes swept across Mayumi, Kushina, Konan, and Red in turn.
Each one was youthful and beautiful, with stunning features and alluring figures.
This guy really was blessed with good fortune!
"Damn it…"
Mei felt an inexplicable pang of irritation inside.
"These are all my concubines. The children are mine too. So tell me—are they Hōzuki clan members or not?"
Oborotsuki spread his hands with complete confidence, then glanced back at Mayumi, Red, and the others.
Almost all of them remained calm and composed—only Kushina showed a slight flicker of discomfort in her eyes, but she said nothing.
Mei's irritation grew even stronger.
"Damn it… this brat actually says it so shamelessly!!"
"What a complete playboy!"
Mei mentally raged, left speechless.
The two chūnin guards responsible for registration could only exchange awkward glances, silently waiting.
"Oh right—has my clan compound been arranged yet?"
Oborotsuki smiled.
"Hmph…"
"Since they're all your concubines, just register them."
"Come with me!"
Mei's attitude did a complete 180°—gone was the playful teasing from earlier. Now she was cold as ice.
Without another word to Oborotsuki and the group, she turned and walked away.
The chūnin guards, seeing Mei's retreating figure, stared blankly for two seconds before snapping back to reality and hurriedly began registering Oborotsuki's group.
Oborotsuki smugly withdrew his gaze from Mei's back. When he turned around, he saw Konan glaring at him with a death stare.
Red and Mayumi also looked at him with strange, meaningful expressions.
Only Kushina remained relatively calm—though she too gave Oborotsuki a deep, meaningful glance.
"Haha…"
Oborotsuki pretended nothing happened, led the group through registration, and quickly caught up to Mei.
"What? Jealous?"
He asked with a cheeky grin as soon as he reached her side.
"Jealous of you? In your dreams!"
Mei rolled her eyes.
"Fine then—how about tonight?"
Oborotsuki teased shamelessly.
"You—"
"Shameless!"
Mei froze for a second before reacting. Her cheeks flushed as she shot him a resentful glare, then glanced back at the four beautiful women following behind.
"The former Hōzuki clan compound inside the village was heavily damaged."
"But the Fourth Mizukage has ordered urgent reconstruction. It will take some time. Until then… you'll temporarily stay at my place."
Mei changed the subject, speaking seriously.
"Stay at your place?"
"That doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"
Konan, who had been quietly following, immediately froze upon hearing this.