In a forest outside the Hidden Mist Village...
"Come out. Why are you sneaking around following me?"
Jūzō Biwa shouted angrily toward an empty clearing.
"As expected of Jūzō Biwa-sama. Your senses are sharp indeed."
Tengawa Kōjin stepped out from behind a large tree.
The moment he saw Jūzō Biwa, he almost felt like crying.
Do you know how I've survived these past few days?
Never in his life had he imagined that the hardest part of eliminating a target would be waiting for the target to finally show up.
All these days, Uchiha Kamito, disguised as Tengawa Kōjin, had been stuck inside Tengawa Restaurant...
Forced to keep acting affectionate with Mei Terumī, flirting with her, pretending to be in love.
Do you have any idea how painful that's been?
Now that the mission could finally be completed, why did he suddenly feel a little reluctant?
"So it really was you. I already thought something was off. How could the Hidden Mist Village possibly have a chef from the Land of Fire with cooking this authentic?"
The moment Jūzō Biwa said that,
Uchiha Kamito suddenly realized the truth.
So that's why. I'd hidden myself perfectly, yet Mei Terumī came knocking immediately. It was because of the food.
But seriously, as a blind man, being able to cook properly at all was already difficult enough, okay? And you people still expected me to match the tastes of the Land of Water too? Isn't that asking a bit too much?
"Although I don't know why you're also a target, judging by your strength, you don't seem qualified to join that organization."
"What?"
Jūzō Biwa froze at Kamito's words.
What organization?
Slash—
Jūzō Biwa's head fell to the ground.
"Defeating enemies is getting easier and easier lately. I think I finally understand the joy Minato felt."
"But still... I want to be the kind of guy who makes huge flashy scenes. That would look way cooler."
Uchiha Kamito picked up the Executioner's Blade from the ground and sealed it away with a sealing technique.
My spoils of war. Yet you people from the Hidden Mist Village still left tricks on it, summoning it back whenever you want. Isn't that a little too shameless?
"Back to infiltrating. There's still Kisame left. Hurry up and show yourself already. Otherwise I'll have to keep flirting with Mei Terumī for even longer. What a pain."
After Uchiha Kamito left... two Hidden Mist ANBU discovered the scene.
"Hurry back and report this. Jūzō Biwa, wielder of the Executioner's Blade and member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, is dead."
"Yes, sir."
One ANBU returned to report, while the other stayed behind to guard the scene.
...
Mizukage Office.
"Mizukage-sama, Jūzō Biwa, wielder of the Executioner's Blade, has died."
"Mm. Tell the next wielder of the blade to report here tomorrow."
Karatachi Yagura didn't even look up.
With the twisted inheritance system of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, no matter how bizarre their deaths were, nothing felt surprising anymore.
Besides, hadn't he himself obtained the position of Mizukage by killing the previous Mizukage?
This was the Hidden Mist Village. People dying wasn't a big deal. If a day ever came when nobody died, that would be the real problem.
"Yes."
The ANBU acknowledged the order and withdrew.
...
Tengawa Restaurant.
Mei Terumī caught the scent of blood lingering on Tengawa Kōjin and asked suspiciously,
"Kōjin-kun... did you kill someone?"
"Yeah, that's right. Some blind idiot gangster picked a fight with me, so I casually dealt with him. Why? Is there a problem?"
A problem? The problem is huge, okay?!
Aren't you supposed to be a spy?
Even though she still couldn't determine which faction he belonged to, how could he openly kill people inside the Hidden Mist Village without the slightest restraint?
And after killing someone, he didn't even bother masking the smell of blood on himself.
What kind of spy operates like this?!
Mei Terumī was beginning to doubt her own judgment.
Had she been mistaken all along? Was Kōjin-kun actually just an ordinary Hidden Mist villager who happened to possess incredibly authentic Land of Fire cooking skills?
There was a saying for this kind of thing:
The more obvious something is, the harder it becomes to notice.
The most arrogant person, the least likely suspect... was often the deepest-hidden spy of them all.
...
"Have you thought about it?"
"Uh... Shiken, isn't this kind of thing a little inappropriate to discuss so directly?"
Sakumo Hatake looked troubled.
What kind of normal person casually discusses starting a war in broad daylight?
At the very least, it should happen on a silent, gloomy night.
Maybe with you wearing a mask—or me wearing one.
That would at least create the proper atmosphere, wouldn't it?
Talking this openly about it... I'm not used to this at all.
"Don't worry. You're not the first one. Shikaku already agreed before you did. As his direct teacher, even if things go wrong, you won't escape responsibility anyway."
Nara Shikaku: What the hell?! When you talked to me, you absolutely never mentioned that part! I know nothing about this, and I am definitely not taking the blame!
"Shikaku agreed?"
"That's right. He personally drafted this plan. Please take a look."
Aburame Shiken handed Sakumo Hatake the freshly completed "Plan for Unifying the Ninja World" written by Nara Shikaku.
"It really is Shikaku's handwriting."
Nara Shikaku: It's over.
Sakumo Hatake carefully read through the proposal.
His tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, then gradually tightened again.
"I've reviewed the plan. It's flawless. A proposal personally written by Shikaku leaves very little room for criticism. But there's one thing I don't understand. Why would Shikaku suddenly develop ambitions to unify the ninja world?"
"That's because..."
Nara Shikaku: How the hell did this suddenly turn into me wanting to unify the ninja world?! Sensei, why don't you just call me over and ask directly?! What exactly did you discuss with that bastard Aburame Shiken? Does a single truthful sentence even come out of his mouth?!
Over the next several hours,
Aburame Shiken delivered a comprehensive, multi-angle explanation of Shikaku's "good intentions."
The story was far too long to recount in full, but the classic lines included:
"My father died at the hands of the Hidden Cloud Village. If I don't destroy them while I'm alive, how could I possibly face my father in the afterlife?"
"If we don't eliminate every external enemy while we're strong, should we wait until we grow weak and beg for mercy instead?"
"If our generation fights the wars of three generations, then maybe the next generation won't have to fight at all."
"Isn't Konoha an incredibly happy ninja village where everyone lives in peace and prosperity? If so, then why can't we turn the entire ninja world into one giant Konoha?"
...
"Good! That boy Shikaku... I never realized such burning determination was hidden beneath that lazy exterior. I underestimated him. Shiken, tell that boy his teacher fully supports him."
"Shikaku is truly fortunate to have a teacher like you."
Nara Shikaku: Just destroy everything already. I'm tired.