Chapter 79: The Reason We Cannot Kill That Woman!
It was already close to midnight. Inside the Mizukage's office, Terumī Mei pushed back her chair and stood up, stretching lazily.
"Finally done… haa!"
She let out a long breath, glanced out the window, and suddenly felt a slight stir. Casually turning her head toward the door—
Sure enough, two seconds later, someone pushed it open and walked in.
"Risa, it's you… How did the mission go?"
Mei relaxed, gently rolling her shoulders.
"Lady Mei, Lady Yekura has been captured by Lord Oborotsuki and is now imprisoned in the ANBU dungeon."
"Everything went very smoothly."
Risa reported seriously.
But upon hearing this, Mei's brows furrowed slightly:
"You brought her back alive?"
"Wasn't the order very clear—to eliminate her on the spot?"
Mei was genuinely puzzled.
This wasn't her personal decision—it was the collective resolution of the village elders, led by Master Gen.
Moreover, the mission had been personally requested by the daimyō of the Land of Water.
The ultimate goal of this operation was singular: to eliminate the dangerous kunoichi Yekura.
Only by doing so could they bring peace to the souls of the countless Kirigakure shinobi who had died by her hand.
Yet now, Oborotsuki had actually brought the woman back alive.
He had completely disregarded the order to kill the target.
What exactly was going on?
Risa was stunned.
She blinked her large, watery eyes in confusion, looking at Mei:
"Lady Mei… isn't this… your order?"
"My order?"
Mei's gaze sharpened:
"Was this Hōzuki Oborotsuki's idea?"
She immediately understood.
Her subordinates would never dare disobey her orders or act on their own.
Only that guy Oborotsuki had the audacity to do something like this.
"This…"
Risa hesitated at Mei's question.
"Where is Oborotsuki right now?"
Mei asked seriously, her expression grave, already knowing the answer from Risa's reaction.
She could let this slide—after all, impersonating her orders wasn't a huge issue.
But disobeying the village elders—led by Master Gen—and even defying the direct command of the daimyō of the Land of Water?
That was a serious problem.
"Why aren't you answering?"
When Risa remained silent, Mei frowned and pressed again.
"He… didn't let you say?"
"No—no, Lady Mei… Lord Oborotsuki is currently in the dungeon interrogating Yekura."
Risa hurriedly replied.
Mei's brows furrowed even deeper:
"Interrogating a prisoner? Yekura doesn't need interrogation, does she? Does she have intelligence we need?"
"I… I'm not really sure."
Risa shook her head.
Without another word, Mei turned and headed straight for the office door.
She was going to the ANBU prison to see exactly what that guy was up to!
…
Mei, with Risa in tow, had just left the office and reached the bottom floor of the Mizukage building.
Looking up, she saw Oborotsuki walking toward her—followed by a tall, thin man with long black hair.
That man gave off a cold, ruthless aura.
And… he looked somewhat familiar!
"Oborotsuki, I was just looking for you."
Mei walked straight up to him. While speaking, her gaze had already fallen on the man beside him—Orochimaru.
"I was just coming to find you too."
Oborotsuki approached with Orochimaru, glanced back at him, and said:
"This is Orochimaru."
Upon hearing the name, both Mei and Risa tensed instantly. Their eyes became filled with extreme wariness.
"One of Konoha's Three Sannin… Why is he here?"
Mei frowned, staring intently at Orochimaru.
The latter was currently wearing a wicked, playful smile, sizing up the very young Fifth Mizukage with amusement.
Two seconds later, Orochimaru spoke with a teasing tone:
"So this is the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure? Younger than I imagined."
"I'm afraid your qualifications are still insufficient for this position, aren't they?"
"Oborotsuki—answer my question!"
Mei said seriously, completely ignoring Orochimaru's clearly provocative remark.
Bringing a foreign shinobi—let alone one of Konoha's Three Sannin—into Kirigakure was far too outrageous, even for Oborotsuki!
"Don't be so serious…"
"Orochimaru is someone I met in Akatsuki. Like Sasori, he also betrayed his village."
Oborotsuki smiled and spread his hands as he explained.
Since he had already told Mei earlier about joining Akatsuki after leaving Kirigakure, she understood the context.
Hearing this, Mei paused slightly:
"A missing-nin…?"
She became even more surprised.
"I brought him here to help. This is also related to what I wanted to tell you—Yekura cannot be killed."
Oborotsuki said calmly with a smile.
Although the earlier "interrogation" hadn't gotten him what he wanted,
A few more sessions should do the trick.
So of course Yekura couldn't be killed.
"Why not?"
Mei frowned in confusion. She was still scrutinizing Orochimaru.
Even though she trusted Oborotsuki's words, someone like Orochimaru was far too dangerous for Kirigakure.
If he caused any trouble in the village,
She—as the Fifth Mizukage—would bear enormous, unforgivable responsibility.
"Orochimaru, explain it yourself."
Oborotsuki turned to look at him.
The latter immediately flashed a wicked smile, his snake-like eyes gleaming as he answered Mei:
"Konoha once secretly conducted massive human experiments in order to recreate the First Hokage's Wood Release kekkei genkai."
"And I… happened to be one of the main people in charge of those experiments."
These words instantly caused Mei's expression to change slightly. Risa beside her also looked shocked and uncertain.
"Wood Release kekkei genkai?"
"Are you saying… Konoha has already mastered that power?"
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, had once dominated the entire world.
During his lifetime, the other four great nations had been extremely obedient, not daring to act recklessly.
The reason they feared Hashirama so much was precisely because of his Wood Release.
So when Orochimaru said this, Mei naturally felt deeply shocked.
"Heh heh…"
"Through those massive human experiments in Konoha, I grasped the key techniques for studying kekkei genkai."
"That's why Oborotsuki brought me here to help."
Orochimaru didn't answer Mei's question directly—he simply continued speaking.
Hearing this, Mei turned to look at Oborotsuki.
He spread his hands casually:
"Yekura's Scorch Release is also a kekkei genkai. You should know better than I do just how powerful it is."
"If we can master that power, it would significantly boost Kirigakure's combat strength, wouldn't it?"
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