I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 177 The Rogue Ninja Mei Terumi

Above the Land of Whirlpools, the barrier between Konoha and Kirigakure.

Under the cover of night, leaving behind a shadow clone, Uchiha Yoru revealed his true form, wearing a mask, and secretly arrived at the forest outside the city.

In the dark forest, Mei Terumi leaned against a large tree, panting heavily. Her body was covered in injuries as she looked at the ninjas surrounding her and gritted her teeth, revealing her anger.

"Mei Terumi, you betrayed the village by selling out its information as a ninja of the Mist. The Fourth Mizukage has ordered the retrieval of your body."

Suddenly, the Mist Ninja from the same village turned against them, and judging from the situation, it was clear that these were not ordinary Mist Ninja, but rather the village's pursuit force.

"Damn it, what evidence of betraying the village?!"

Mei Terumi shouted weakly, unwilling to accept her fate. In truth, she knew that since the Mizukage had truly given this order, she had no chance to explain, so she was simply stalling for time.

"Evidence? Both pieces of intelligence you provided were traps set by Konoha, which resulted in the loss of over fifty ninjas on the village's front lines."

Mei Terumi was completely bewildered. She had infiltrated the village as a spy and reported all the intelligence she had discovered in detail, but now she was being accused of betraying the village and colluding with Konoha to set a trap.

Especially the sudden betrayal, the poison on the opponent's blade greatly reduced her fighting strength, and she was panting heavily as her eyes gradually turned cold.

She's not stupid; this situation clearly indicates that she's been framed, or that someone is secretly trying to kill her.

Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique

Suddenly, she exhaled a large amount of mist, and in an instant, the sounds of fierce fighting rang out from the thick fog. At the same time, the powerful clash of ninjutsu caused the trees in the forest to rumble and fall continuously.

At the other end of the forest, two figures appeared on the treetops, calmly gazing at the thick fog rising from the forest in the distance. Both of them wore masks.

"Kid, this is Mei Terumi, the Kirigakure ANBU ninja who ambushed you last time. Here's her information."

The larger one was Suigetsu Hozuki. He showed no shame for betraying the ninjas of his own village, and instead coldly continued, "This is the territory of our Kirigakure. The remaining one, Kisame Hoshigaki, is my capable assistant. Right now, your Konoha has sent Sarutobi Shinnosuke, and I still need people. I will send them to you in a while."

Their transactions during this period were simple: Mei Terumi would report the information she had gathered to her superior, while Suigetsu Hobuki would then pass the information on to Yoru Uchiha.

The two conspired to devise a plan: Konoha would use information about Uchiha Yoru to ambush Kirigakure. After several victories, Sarutobi Shinnosuke couldn't help but feel secretly pleased, which at least proved that Uchiha Yoru was very cooperative with him.

The fact that Suigetsu Hozuki's plans were repeatedly thwarted by Konoha's ambushes clearly indicates an intelligence leak, and all signs point to Mei Terumi as the source of the intelligence.

After several losses, the evidence is now overwhelming, and all signs point to this genius of the Anbu. In addition, as the Hidden Mist Village has developed a sense of rejection towards bloodline ninjas, the Fourth Mizukage of the village naturally took the opportunity to label this Anbu genius a rogue ninja.

As far as the Fourth Mizukage, or rather Obito, was concerned, he would be happy to see Kirigakure, the culprit who killed Rin, cripple her. Naturally, he wouldn't stop them; on the contrary, he would encourage them.

Furthermore, given that Mei Terumi is currently just a genius and not yet a Kage-level powerhouse at her peak, the Kirigakure Genji weighed the pros and cons and ultimately chose to remain silent.

An elite Jonin wasn't worth the risk, and that's how Mei Terumi was branded a rogue ninja.

"Mei Terumi!"

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but slowly curl up the corners of his mouth, and a smile appeared on his face. He didn't care what the changes would bring; what he wanted was what suited his own interests.

The intelligence report in his hand contained only basic information about Mei Terumi. Suigetsu Hozuki, standing beside him, said in a deep voice, "Mei Terumi is a member of the village's ANBU. All her information has been sealed. This is all the intelligence we have."

The intelligence was so rudimentary that it only included a name, gender, and approximate age, along with the details of the secret service's missions; there wasn't even a single photograph.

"When will my Samehada sword be ready?!"

The eyes of the pufferfish monster that Suigetsu had revealed showed a fierce aura, clearly indicating that his patience was nearing its limit. In contrast, Yoru Uchiha calmly put the scroll in his pocket.

"The next time you give away Kisame Hoshigaki, Samehada will return to you."

Upon hearing this, Suigetsu Hozuki immediately revealed a murderous intent. "Kid, my patience has its limits. Don't push me!"

"This is intelligence from within the towns of the Land of Whirlpools."

Faced with Suigetsu Hobuki's rage, Uchiha Yoru calmly pulled out another piece of information he had prepared beforehand. He knew he couldn't just keep taking; he should give the other party a little something in return.

After obtaining all the information about Konoha, Suigetsu Hozuki's anger subsided somewhat, but he still snorted coldly and put the information into his pocket after only glancing at it.

"Next time, I'll wait for you to bring Kisame Hoshigaki, and I'll bring Samehada with me."

Uchiha Yoru spoke calmly, explaining that his elaborate schemes against Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki had two purposes.

The first purpose was to test the future Kage-level powerhouses: one was an important member of the Akatsuki, and the other was the future Fifth Mizukage.

So, these two are supposed to be people with great fortune. What would happen if he got involved and forced them to rebel? What would happen if he subdued them? He wanted to give it a try.

His second purpose was to leave himself a way out. After all, there was no turning back once he started, and if he failed in Konoha, he would face the prospect of fleeing to the ninja world.

As the saying goes, "a hero needs three helpers," and Xiaotian's group even knows how to organize their forces, let alone him.

"Kid, I hope you won't disappoint me next time!"

Suigetsu Hozuki revealed a cruel look in his eyes. He had already made up his mind that if the other party still wanted to use this to restrain him, then he would let this brat know the power of anger.

Uchiha Yoru also sneered inwardly. He knew that the cooperation between the two sides was inherently fragile, and that a slight misstep could lead to a complete breakdown in relations.

"It seems your target has escaped."

As the two were talking, the thick fog in the distance gradually dissipated, and the sounds of fighting disappeared. Instead, they saw the figures of the Mist Ninja chasing the Anbu in the distance.

Seeing this, Suigetsu Hozuki smiled coldly, while Uchiha Yoru shrugged and laughed nonchalantly, "It's alright, just leave the bloodline ninja's body behind."

Between Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki, he preferred Kisame, the pure ninja. After all, Mei Terumi was able to become the Fifth Mizukage, and her intellect and methods were extremely remarkable.

Subduing this person would be too much trouble, and he would need to be wary of him in the future. So if Mei Terumi were to be killed by the Kirigakure, he would only need to collect her body.

"Cold-blooded brat."

Suigetsu Hobuki said coldly, and finally said in a deep voice, "Recently, too many bloodline ninjas have died or gone missing on the front lines, which has already attracted the attention of some people in the village."

It was clear that he had begun to lose interest in cooperating with Uchiha Yoru.

Uchiha Yoru shrugged and casually said, "It's alright. Just say that according to the investigation, we have suspected that Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was found."

After exchanging a glance, seeing Uchiha Yoru's mocking gaze, Suigetsu Fuguki couldn't help but curse him inwardly as shameless.

They really do bring up their teacher whenever there's trouble. One reason is to intimidate him, implying that he has powerful backers, and the other is to use this as an excuse to fob off Kirigakure.

After all, the major ninja villages in the ninja world are aware of Orochimaru's situation. He is obsessed with the research of forbidden techniques and has conducted human experiments, so it is normal for him to appear on the battlefield to collect bloodline ninjas.

A night breeze rustled through the treetops, and under the moonlight, the figure of Suigetsu Hozuki gradually disappeared. Before leaving, he gave Uchiha Yoru a warning and ferocious look.

"Next time, I'll bring my Samehada sword!"

As the figure disappeared, Uchiha Yoru gazed at the bright moonlight, a smile appearing on his face as he murmured to himself, "Mei Terumi, what a pity. Let the heavens see if your fate is truly sealed."

"If you die here, I will collect your body in consideration of the luck you provided. If you are not destined to die, I will try to see how much luck a future Mizukage can bring me."

A night breeze swept by, rustling the treetops, and the figure had long since vanished without a trace.

……

The sky was just beginning to lighten in the early morning, and a light mist still lingered in the woods.

"Hey? Hey, wake up, are you alright?"

A drop of dew fell on her brow. At the call of a familiar voice, Mei Terumi slowly opened her tired eyes. As her blurry vision gradually cleared, a familiar face appeared before her.

"Are you alright? I see you have a lot of injuries all over your body, and you were swept up by the river."

In Mei Terumi's eyes, the other person was clearly that hateful Uchiha Yoru's face. Just as she was about to make a move, she suddenly realized that she couldn't move even her fingers.

Beneath her stiff body and dazed mind, Mei Terumi quickly regained her composure. Looking at Uchiha Yoru's hateful face, she put on a gentle smile, but she knew all too well how ruthless he was; she had almost died at his hands twice.

"Me~"

With a hoarse voice, the pain from the sharp knife stinging her throat caused her great agony as she spoke, while Uchiha Yoru feigned a gentle demeanor.

"You must have been affected by the war as well; this is the cruel reality of war."

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru had a gentle smile on his face and sighed as he spoke of the cruelty of war, but in Terumi Mei's eyes, it was a feeling of resentment. You almost stabbed me to death on the battlefield, twice at that.

"My name is Kobe Yoru. Don't worry, my carriage is right next to me."

Kobe Night?

Only then did Mei Terumi notice the difference in the other person's attire. Gone was the flamboyant style of the past; beneath the simple ninja clothing, his hair was slightly curly, and his ninja sword was slung behind his back.

It's a complete change in appearance, and there's also the so-called Kobe Night that the other party mentioned!

In an instant, Mei Terumi realized that Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who was on the front lines of Konoha, had replaced this Uchiha, so it seemed that he had been exiled here.

In an instant, she began to quickly analyze the current situation. She was now clearly listed as a rogue ninja by the village. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a dull pain, but more than that, she was furious. She was determined to find out who had framed her.

"My name is Ming. Our caravan was attacked."

With a weak voice, Mei Terumi managed to speak haltingly, and at the same time, she felt the mask on her face shatter during the battle last night, revealing her true appearance.

Instantly, she sneered inwardly. Kobe Yoru! Even if you turned to ashes, I would still recognize you, Uchiha Yoru! You may not recognize me, but I know you.

"Don't speak yet, let me treat you first."

Kobe Yoru showed a concerned smile, as if he were a kind person, and began to bandage the other person's wound.

What was the purpose of the other party disguising themselves like this? And why did they save her? Was it because of her beauty? No.

Just as Terumi Mei was secretly guessing the other party's purpose, Kobe Yoru said softly while bandaging her wound, "Don't be afraid. I am a blacksmith. I heard that this place is rich in fine iron and chakra metal, so I came here to buy some."

"By the way, are you from around here?"

Kobe Yoru's seemingly casual questioning instantly made Terumi Mei realize that he wanted to find out if she was a local. If so, he wanted to use her identity to infiltrate the area without arousing suspicion.

After instantly guessing the other party's thoughts, Mei Terumi said weakly and hoarsely, "I am from Nishiyama Village, but our village was destroyed by war some time ago."

As she spoke, a look of sadness appeared on her face, but at the same time, she saw a flash of joy in Uchiha Yoru's eyes when he heard that she was a local.

really!

"It's alright. Your injuries are quite serious, and you seem to have been poisoned. Let me help you to the carriage first."

Beneath Uchiha Yoru's gentle and kind smile, the two were completely harboring their own ulterior motives. Mei Terumi was not only severely injured but also deeply poisoned, rendering her completely immobile. She could only pretend to be an injured ordinary person for the time being; that was her role.

Uchiha Yoru plays the role of a blacksmith who comes here to purchase fine iron and a little chakra metal.

In Mei Terumi's eyes, the other party needed to use her identity to infiltrate the city, and she also wanted to take this opportunity to hide herself and make plans after she recovered from her injuries.

Moreover, the other party clearly did not know his identity.

Mei Terumi feigned weakness, pretending to have fainted again, while Yoru Uchiha, looking at Mei Terumi, had his own plans in mind.

The injuries are quite severe, but the inability to move is due to the toxins he extracted from his own body a few days ago—enough to give you a hard time.

He wanted to subdue the future Fifth Mizukage, but since the latter was now a rogue ninja, there was almost no chance. However, the latter was not as easy to subdue as Guren.

Since you're not destined to die, perhaps I can add you to the script I've carefully crafted this time. I've already set the stage, and I'm just waiting for the supporting characters to appear one by one. I hope you won't disappoint me.

He also wanted to see how many luck coins he could gather by subduing the Kage of the five future great ninja villages.

I originally planned to release all my drafts this month on May 5.1st, but luckily I was selected by Yuewen. I didn't expect to be chosen at the time.

I'll be going to Shanghai for a week of training at Yuewen from the 22nd to the 27th, but don't worry, thankfully I have this batch of drafts saved up, so updates will be normal.

(End of this chapter)