Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"I'm sorry, Murasaki, I'll help you get rid of your pain right away."

underground,

Kazuma stared blankly up at the rocks and soil above him, as if he could see Murasaki wailing incessantly through the thick layer of rock and soil.

In fact, he did see it.

The shadow clone that had been turned into a rat on the ground, after actively contacting the Shadow Clone Technique, transmitted the information from the ground into her mind. Then, she immediately took action, unleashing the forbidden technique, "Raging Heaven," where a dazzling, destructive white light surged upwards.

"What is that...?"

Hozuki Mangetsu sensed something was amiss.

He was constantly on guard against Kazuma, who had infiltrated underground. Although his water-based magic made him immune to most attacks, there were still a few methods that could harm him. For example, if the explosive tags could accurately hit him, in large numbers, it was entirely possible to go from being injured to being killed.

Therefore,

He remained vigilant at all times.

Therefore, when changes occurred underground that could no longer be concealed, they detected the rapid expansion of the destructive aura emanating from underground as quickly as possible.

Without any hesitation or doubt, guided by his intuition, he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leap into the air. In the next second, white light surged from the ground, and the extremely destructive light annihilated the rocks and soil, obliterated the vegetation, and even swallowed up the agonizing Zi Zi.

In the instant it was swallowed by the white light,

A relieved smile appeared on Zizi's face.

······

Three seconds later

The white light faded.

The original teahouse is gone, replaced by a circular pit that cuts off the main road connecting the north and south. At the edge of the pit, a pool of clear water ripples gently in the breeze, and Hozuki Mangetsu cautiously peeks out.

"What a joke! This destructive power is simply... simply... terrifying! Is this the forbidden technique of the Earth Spider Clan?"

Hozuki Mangetsu stared blankly at the sinkhole in front of him.

My emotions were surging and I couldn't control myself.

It's normal for him to know about the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden techniques. As the vice-commander of the Konoha-Kirigakure Joint Rogue Ninja Investigation Department, he was familiar with people like Kazuma who were specially marked, and it was they who saved Enjouji's granddaughter back then.

Unfortunately, no one was able to save the geisha or kill Kazuma at that time.

all in all,

He had seen the name of the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique, "Rage of Heaven," in the files related to Kazuma. It was noted that Kazuma might have mastered it, but now it seemed that it was no longer a possibility, but a certainty that he had mastered the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique, "Rage of Heaven," a purely destructive forbidden technique.

Standing at the edge of the deep pit for a long time, he finally sighed softly, "They're really that strong and unreasonable. If I hadn't run fast, I might have lost my life here today. It was quite thrilling. But... what are these guys doing in the Land of Water? Even if they're going to cause trouble, shouldn't they be causing trouble for Konoha in the Land of Fire?"

He Ma and Tianmu had already fled.

The moment the devastating white light faded, he observed his surroundings, trying to see if he could find any clues about Kazuma and the others' escape. Unfortunately, he was not a sensory ninja and could not find any clues about Kazuma and the others' escape. Even if he wanted to track them down, he had no way to do so.

"What terrible luck."

Hozuki Mangetsu rubbed his face, looking unhappy.

In this unexpected attack, two of her companions died and one was captured. To be honest, the deaths of the two companions she didn't know very well didn't affect her much. Firstly, they weren't very familiar with each other and there wasn't much affection between them. Secondly, she probably has a somewhat cold-blooded personality.

But thinking of Hirosaki's capture...

He couldn't help but frown.

He could disregard the deaths of Hirosaki's two companions, but Hirosaki... this young man with the Boil Release Kekkei Genkai was the cousin of the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, and a rising star of the Kirigakure's Shimizu clan.

Today, Kirigakure is dominated by three major clans.

The Terumi, Shimizu, and Hozuki clans hold a similar status in Kirigakure as the Uchiha and Hyuga clans in Konoha. The Terumi clan has recently declined, and even though they produced a Mizukage like Mei Terumi, no one else has awakened their family's [Lava Release] bloodline limit except for Mei Terumi. Everyone can see the decline.

The Shimizu clan inherits the bloodline limit of [Boiling Release] and is also Mei Terumi's maternal family. Hirosaki... the young man whose full name is Shimizu Hirosaki is a member of the Shimizu clan and Mei Terumi's cousin. Hozuki Mangetsu was commissioned by Mei Terumi to carry out the mission with Shimizu Hirosaki.

result--

They completely failed to take care of the Fifth Mizukage's cousin.

They were kidnapped.

To be honest, I don't even know how to report this situation to Lord Mizukage.

"Did they capture Hirosaki... for the Boil Release Kekkei Genkai? But what use is a few rogue ninjas even if they have a Kekkei Genkai? Or... is there someone else behind them?" Hozuki Mangetsu pondered for a while, but came up with nothing.

Was it for the Boil Release bloodline limit? If it was the Sand Village, Konoha, or Cloud Village that made the move, it wouldn't be surprising. It's like when the Cloud Village stole the Magnet Release bloodline limit from the Sand Village, or when the Cloud Village tried to steal the Byakugan from Konoha. The Mist Village has also done similar things, coveting each other's bloodline limits. These are all common occurrences, nothing unusual.

But a group of rogue ninja

What use is a bloodline limit to a rogue ninja who has no future?

We still don't have enough intelligence.

I have absolutely no idea why Kazuma and the others captured Shimizu Hirozan.

"Never mind, never mind, let's report this to Lord Mizukage first!" Hozuki Mangetsu circled around and found the teahouse owner and customers who had been knocked unconscious. It has to be said that they were lucky. Although they were thrown into the bushes and fed to mosquitoes for a while, at least they survived and didn't lose their lives.

The teahouse owner was the worst off; his teahouse was gone, completely vanished in a physical sense, leaving not even a trace behind.

Hozuki Mangetsu interrogated the teahouse owner and several customers one by one.

Still, nothing was gained.

Seeing that he couldn't extract anything useful from here, Hozuki Mangetsu stopped wasting time and began heading towards Kirigakure at full speed, intending to return to the village and report the matter.

[Chapter 297. The Reaction of Kirigakure]

The power center of Kirigakure—the Kirigakure Building—stands in the center of the village. Unlike Konoha, which expands in a fan shape starting from the Hokage Building, Kirigakure is a rather irregular circle, and the Kirigakure Building is naturally the center of that circle.

The atmosphere in the first conference room, which the Mist Ninja commonly referred to as the small conference room, was heavy at this moment.

According to the Fifth Mizukage's orders, an emergency meeting is being held here. The topic of the meeting is the bad news brought by Hozuki Mangetsu, who returned to the village alone this evening, covered in dust. The rising star Shimizu Hirosaki, who inherited the Boil Release Kekkei Genkai, was kidnapped by Kazuma, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, at noon today. Two of his teammates died, leaving only Hozuki Mangetsu alive.

This matter can be big or small.

On a small scale, it's just the death of a couple of people, which is nothing to a behemoth like Kirigakure, which has tens of thousands of ninjas. In many cases, such a matter wouldn't even warrant a mention to the Mizukage. On a larger scale, however, this matter could be considered a matter of security for the Boil Release bloodline limit. If not handled properly, it could lead to the Boil Release bloodline limit being leaked.

This matter is clearly being treated as a major issue.

The people gathered in this meeting room were all prominent figures from the village.

First, there's Zabuza Momochi, the 'demon' who likes to wrap his face in bandages, and he's assisted by the Mizukage.

Then there's Kisame Hoshigaki, the head of the Anbu, who is known as the "Tailless Tailed Beast" because of his naturally enormous amount of chakra.

Besides these, there is also Ao, the 'Byakugan Killer' who represents the master, sitting here; the head of the Shimizu clan; the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Uta; and Hozuki Mangetsu... Among all these people, only Ao and the head of the Shimizu clan are relatively old; the rest are all energetic young people.

It's obvious.

The fifth Mizukage aims to establish a young government.

The master must have expressed his support, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy to appoint Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki as the assistant to the Mizukage and the head of the Anbu respectively. No matter how bad Kirigakure is, it still has some nails. There are still quite a few experts in their prime. Of course, there are probably not many who can defeat Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki.

Anyway,

The Hidden Mist Village now appears to be in a vibrant and dynamic state.

"The key question now is how confident we are in saving them."

Zabuza Momochi's deep, hoarse voice echoed in the conference room.

This statement wasn't exactly profound, but it was something that needed to be said.

"Kisame, have the tracking team been dispatched?"

The Fifth Mizukage, seated in the main seat, looked at the head of the Anbu to his right.

"Based on the intelligence provided by Mangetsu, six tracking teams have been dispatched, but I can't be sure if they can rescue the person." Kisame Hoshigaki said, glancing at the Fifth Mizukage, and asked, "Lord Mizukage, can we talk about that matter?"

"You mean the Cloud Ninja and the Iwa Ninja? Go ahead and say it! If it weren't for this matter, we might not even have held this meeting today."

Mei Terumi nodded and gave permission.

Hearing the conversation between the Mizukage and the head of the Anbu, the expressions of everyone present changed slightly. Some raised their eyebrows, some waited intently, and some were indifferent... This refers to the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Uta, who is known for his carefree and leisurely personality as the only Jinchuriki in Kirigakure.

Aside from spiritual practice, his favorite thing was probably sleeping in a high place.

He wouldn't bother attending this meeting if it weren't for Mei Mei's orders.

However, aside from him being a slacker, everyone else was quite serious.

"About three days ago, Konoha sent us intelligence that a Cloud Ninja with the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai was captured about a month ago. The attacker's identity is unknown, but a large crater was left at the scene, destroyed by devastating power."

"Then, more than twenty days ago, an Iwa ninja with the Lava Release bloodline limit was attacked while on a mission in the Land of Earth. The attacker's identity was revealed on the spot: Kazuma, one of the original Twelve Guardian Ninjas of the Land of Fire."

This time,

Everyone realized that this matter was not as simple as they had imagined.

This has dragged both the Cloud Ninja and the Iwa Ninja into it.

Happening

"The fact that this group was able to succeed in both the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth and escape unscathed... to be honest, if it weren't for the full moon this time, they might have been able to escape unscathed as well. However, even if one of them was lost because of the full moon, whether the pursuing forces can catch up with Kazuma and the others, and whether they can rescue Shimizu Hirosaki after catching up... are all uncertain."

At this point, Kisame Hoshigaki went on to explain why he dared not boast that he could definitely save the person.

"So... does that mean Hirosaki...?"

Chief Qingshui looked pale

While the Kirigakure ninjas may show no mercy when attacking their own people, unity within the clan is still essential. Of course, strained father-son relationships are family disputes, not clan issues, but as the clan leader, caring for the clan members is a fundamental responsibility.

Hirosaki Shimizu is a rising star in the Shimizu clan. Although he is not as good as Hozuki Mangetsu and Kisame Hoshigaki, he is still a close follower and a person who can fully support the clan. No clan would easily give up on him.

"It may be cruel to say this, but Chief Shimizu, please be prepared for the rescue to fail."

Kisame Hoshigaki said in a deep voice.

To be honest, after listening to the information provided by Hozuki Mangetsu, he had no hope of rescuing the people. It wasn't that Kazuma and the others were particularly difficult to deal with, nor that the forbidden techniques of the Tsuchigumo clan were particularly terrifying. The key point was that the other party clearly had no intention of engaging in a head-on confrontation. Even if it meant abandoning their companions, they wouldn't linger for even a second, focusing all their efforts on escaping with their prey.

It's very difficult for such 'professional kidnappers' to catch up with their victims immediately after the crime. This is a lesson Kisame Hoshigaki learned from working in the ANBU for so long.

Of course, some things can't be said so bluntly.

Nothing in this world is absolute; there's always a glimmer of hope... We can only ask those involved with the victim to be mentally prepared.

"······I see."