Chapter 143: The Ones Who Covet
Uchiha Obito's accusations were extremely harsh. Although Itachi had been forced to join Akatsuki under duress, the fact remained that he hadn't left the organization. As Obito said, capturing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki didn't directly violate their original verbal agreement—as long as it didn't target Konoha outright, it could be considered tolerable.
Obito's questioning was sharp and hard to answer. With Konoha's current state, there was no way Naruto would be allowed to leave the village without heavy protection. As for whether Jiraiya was in the village or not, even with White Zetsu's unparalleled scouting ability, it wasn't easy to track Jiraiya's whereabouts consistently.
Obito was essentially reminding Itachi: "Akatsuki kept its promise not to launch a full-scale assault on Konoha. Now it's your turn to fulfill your obligation."
"I don't need you to remind me." Itachi understood that Obito didn't expect an answer—nor would he dignify the baiting with one. Trust, once broken, was hard to restore—and there hadn't been much trust between them to begin with. "Next time, don't interfere in my matters without informing me."
With that final line, Itachi turned and left the room without waiting for Obito's response.
Outside, Kisame caught up with him.
"How'd it go?" Kisame asked.
"Fine," Itachi replied tersely.
"So it didn't fall apart? Then I guess it's over."
Itachi nodded.
"So we're still teammates, huh? Not bad. But if this happens again, my Samehada won't be so easygoing."
Kisame ultimately sided with Itachi. At the very least, this organization still had one person he could work with.
…
"Just like that?" White Zetsu walked in after Itachi left, finding Obito gazing out the window at the town below.
Obito turned. "Didn't you hear it all?"
"This isn't a terrible outcome… But it's a shame about Deidara." Zetsu had been unable to locate him. All obvious detention areas had been searched with no luck. There were still heavily guarded places in Konoha, and even for Zetsu, infiltration wasn't always possible.
"Don't worry about Deidara. I've already made arrangements."
"Really? You don't have to lie to me, Obito—I'm not one of your pawns."
"…Alright, fine. I haven't exactly made arrangements. But I've got a lead. Our contacts in the Land of Earth are working to influence things. As long as we can't destroy Konoha outright, we need to find another way."
This mission exposed many problems. Even with Konoha still recovering from Orochimaru's assault—and the death of the Third Hokage—sending four Akatsuki members had still failed to accomplish the mission. This showed that, without Nagato's Rinnegan, Akatsuki's elites weren't enough to take down one of the Five Great Nations alone. And a full mobilization from such a loosely connected organization? Nearly impossible.
"Figure it out. If that doesn't work, find a replacement before we start sealing the Tailed Beasts. But let's face it—this plan has gone far worse than expected, and we've revealed too much information. Even the fact that our goal is the Tailed Beasts is no longer a secret."
Zetsu was clearly dissatisfied. So much effort had gone into the plan—only for it to yield nothing.
Obito ignored the complaints and brought up a more pressing matter: "What about the intel you mentioned earlier—someone using Shinra Tensei a few days ago? Have you narrowed it down?"
Zetsu perked up. "We've narrowed it to two suspects, but so far, no useful intel."
"Who could stump even you? The head of the Hyūga Clan?"
"That's one of them," Zetsu nodded. "The Byakugan's surveillance makes it hard to get close. Of the others we've identified—one's a Suna Jinchūriki, one's an ordinary kunoichi, one's a Hyūga servant, and one's a Konoha genjutsu specialist. All have been ruled out. But one chunin's movements are suspicious…"
"A chunin?" Obito frowned. "What's the name?"
"Mizuki. Do you know him?"
"That guy?" Obito mused. "I vaguely remember him. A decent but otherwise average ninja. We crossed paths a few times back in the Academy. Are you sure he's suspicious?"
"Trust my intel, Obito. This guy isn't normal." Zetsu was confident. "In the past few days, I've discovered many secrets surrounding him."
"Secrets? More than the Hyūga clan head?"
"Hard to compare, but yes. Just recently, they had a very private meeting—and the Hyūga even tried to hide it…"
"Tell me everything about him."
"Until a few months ago, just like you said—utterly ordinary, even in a bad position socially. But suddenly, his skills exploded. He became recognized for his sealing arts, shown to be highly talented in medical ninjutsu, and his chakra control is near perfect. Though his taijutsu is still average, and his physical abilities aren't great, those are the easiest to fix for an elite ninja. Mizuki already has all the traits necessary to become a top-tier ninja."
"What caused the change?" Obito was intrigued. Such transformations were rare—typically linked to the Uchiha and awakening the Sharingan through trauma.
"Unclear. It seems he was heavily punished for something and then severely injured on a mission. After that, his abilities started showing."
"Sealing techniques…" Obito muttered, recalling something.
"You understand, don't you? Think of the Uzumaki Clan—strong bodies are one thing, but natural talent in sealing is even rarer than bloodline limits. That's why the clan was wiped out."
Many shinobi can use basic sealing techniques, but true mastery is scarce.
The vast repository of Uzumaki knowledge had been scattered. Only those who reached a certain level of understanding could grasp just how terrifying sealing arts could be if properly applied.
"Investigate him thoroughly. If he's connected to the Rinnegan, we need to know. Fortunately, Sasori kept quiet about this in his report—maybe out of ignorance, maybe intentionally. Either way, let's keep Pain in the dark for now…"
"That's easy for you to say. Hyūga Hiashi is one thing—but a sealing arts master is always a sensory-type with exceptional control. They're incredibly hard to monitor…"
"Stop whining. I'll return and discuss this with Pain." Though technically not obligated to report, a face-to-face talk would preserve the alliance.
"And you—head to the Land of Water. The situation in Kirigakure is deteriorating. We're losing our grip. If possible, secure the Tailed Beast first."
"I'll check it out and decide."
…
Back in Konoha, Mizuki finally found a rare moment to relax. Though there were still lingering threats, nothing demanded immediate attention.
The Akatsuki's attack had been repelled, and Mizuki hadn't been assigned any official mission. He had just happened to get involved, acting on his own initiative. Technically, he was still recovering from serious injuries. Apart from Danzo, who coveted his research, no one else had reason to monitor him closely. Capturing a White Zetsu clone wouldn't raise any issues either.
Mizuki used downtime to read, organize his research, and review notes. His second artificial Jinchūriki hadn't been in his hands long, so there was little breakthrough yet—but he had begun studying some recent data sent by Tsubaki.
"This cursed mark stuff… everyone's leaving hidden tricks in it." Mizuki shook his head, reading through encrypted notes. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for Sasuke. So many people were plotting around that clueless boy.
Tsubaki's notes detailed how, during separation experiments, chakra from Sasuke's cursed mark was divided into five portions. One was normal fire/lightning-nature chakra—clearly Sasuke's own. A large portion was natural energy—powerful and hard to control. The rest? Three strange foreign energies.
The first was aggressive and corroded Sasuke's chakra—possibly a conduit for a foreign consciousness.
The second was calm but cold, seemingly a detached observer. It had deep ties to natural energy, reabsorbing easily into it.
The third was the most mysterious—Mizuki couldn't affect or analyze it at all. It faded away once freed from its seal, leaving no clues.
If he had to guess:
First type: Orochimaru's possession tool for Living Corpse Reincarnation.
Second: residual traces from Jugo or the Snake Sage.
Third: possibly tied to Indra's reincarnation—or left by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki himself.
"This world is full of traps. Let your guard down, and you're done."
Mizuki reflected on a long-standing mystery: why could Kabuto master Snake Sage Mode using Orochimaru's cells, while Orochimaru himself failed?
Clearly, Orochimaru didn't lack the aptitude or intelligence. Perhaps he simply refused to learn a power with obvious hidden dangers. If Mizuki could detect the risks, surely Orochimaru had seen them too.
"The cursed mark… maybe I can sneak something of my own in there."
Progress was slow in understanding pure natural energy—but every bit counted. Only once he mastered its nature could he attempt to practice Sage Mode.
…
The next morning, Mizuki visited the long-closed flower shop.
These past few chaotic months—especially the last one—were finally calming down. Mizuki felt lucky to have survived. He glanced at the memorial stone, engraved with countless fallen names, and felt a rare sense of gratitude.
To live quietly as a small business owner with a modest flower shop and a fiancée—in his past life, Mizuki might have called that a dream come true.
"If only things stayed quiet... maybe get married, have a daughter—that'd be a perfect life."
---
Read up to 20 chapter ahead of time on patreon.com/Legendryweeb
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*