Chapter 255: Framing

Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Framing

After spending so much time with Jūzō Biwa, Shinichi had actually come to understand him fairly well. Although Jūzō looked difficult to get along with on the surface, in truth, he was someone who placed great importance on loyalty and bonds.

In private, Shinichi had even teased him before, saying that Jūzō didn’t resemble a vicious, ruthless rogue ninja at all.

Because of that, Shinichi understood that Jūzō’s warning came entirely from good intentions. He smiled.

"Alright, alright. Since you’ve gone this far to warn me, I guess I’ll take this seriously for once!"

Jūzō didn’t waste any more words and asked directly, "What’s the plan?"

Activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Shinichi surveyed their surroundings as he replied, "Same old method!"

Jūzō hoisted Kubikiribōchō onto his shoulder and nodded knowingly.

Just as Jūzō drew back Kubikiribōchō, the Swift Release ninja, who had been waiting for an opening, suddenly struck.

The charging Swift Release ninja left a long trail of afterimages behind him. In an instant, he appeared directly in front of Jūzō, his right hand gripping a kunai as he viciously thrust it toward Jūzō’s throat.

At almost the exact same moment, Shinichi, who had already been prepared, completed his hand seals and shouted in a low voice:

"Fire Style: Fireball Technique!"

Whoosh...

The massive fireball roared toward the Swift Release ninja.

The Swift Release ninja clearly hadn’t expected Shinichi to time his Fire Release so precisely. He knew that if he insisted on following through with his attack, he would inevitably be struck by the Fireball Technique. Left with no choice, he pulled back his right hand and flashed aside, dodging Shinichi’s Fire Release.

By then, Jūzō had also completed his hand seals and shouted, "Water Style: Giant Vortex Technique!"

Splash...

A massive torrent of water surged through the forest before finally colliding with the Fire Release Shinichi had unleashed moments earlier.

The instant fire and water collided, thick steam spread throughout the forest.

Jūzō continued forming hand seals before shouting in a low voice, "Hiding in Mist Technique!"

Soon, the mist that already blanketed the forest grew even denser.

Previously, whenever the Swift Release ninja raced through the forest, he left behind nothing more than a series of afterimages that vanished in an instant. But now, whenever he moved through the thick mist, his passage left behind a clearly visible trail.

An ordinary person might have struggled to catch such traces, but for Shinichi, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, tracking them—and even predicting where they would lead—was effortless.

Thus, after only a brief moment, he saw through the Swift Release ninja’s movement pattern.

His figure flickered.

In the next instant, Shinichi appeared directly along the path the Swift Release ninja was bound to take.

The Swift Release ninja abruptly halted, shock flashing across his face.

"You...!?"

At that moment, the Mangekyō Sharingan in Shinichi’s eyes began spinning rapidly.

As the Swift Release ninja stared into Shinichi’s Mangekyō Sharingan, his expression quickly turned vacant. His entire body swayed a few times before he toppled headfirst onto the ground.

Jūzō walked over and remarked, "You Uchiha really do have some convenient genjutsu."

Shinichi covered his eye and took a moment to recover before saying, "Alright. We can report back now!"

......

Land of Fire.

A distorted vortex suddenly appeared out of thin air, and moments later, Obito stepped out from within it.

After glancing around, Obito leaped onto the branch of a large tree.

Suddenly, Zetsu’s body emerged from the tree trunk.

"It’s been confirmed. The Five Kage Summit will be held in Yokosuka City, northwest of the Land of Fire, near the Land of Grass."

Obito frowned slightly. "Yokosuka City? Why there?"

Zetsu replied, "None of the major ninja villages trust one another, and they refused to give ground on the location. In the end, they had no choice but to settle on Yokosuka City, which lies near the center of the shinobi world."

Obito asked again, "What about the information I told you to investigate?"

"As for Kumogakure, the Raikage will personally attend the Five Kage Summit. But because Kamigami has shown interest in the Tailed Beasts, he won’t be bringing either of the jinchūriki with him."

After a brief pause, Zetsu continued, "So this time, the Raikage’s guards will be the Storm Style ninja Aida and another Kumogakure jōnin."

Obito smiled. "Good."

Hiruko needed the body of a ninja possessing the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai. However, Storm Release was exceedingly rare, with only a handful of shinobi possessing it even within Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Therefore, if they wanted to get their hands on a Storm Style shinobi, they would inevitably have to make a move against Kumogakure.

And attacking the Raikage’s party while they were traveling to the Five Kage Summit was obviously far more convenient and much safer than infiltrating Kumogakure itself.

Obito quickly made up his mind.

He tossed a black cloak toward Zetsu and instructed, "Put this on, then help me lure the Raikage away."

Zetsu caught the cloak Obito had thrown him and examined it. The black cloak with golden trim looked almost identical to Kamigami’s attire.

"You want me to disguise myself as a member of Kamigami?"

Obito nodded.

Obito had grown increasingly wary of Kamigami.

Especially after learning that Kamigami was also targeting the Tailed Beasts, the uneasy feeling that events were slipping beyond his control had only grown stronger!

At present, Akatsuki had yet to officially begin collecting the Tailed Beasts, so Obito had no desire to confront Kamigami head-on.

But neither could he simply stand by and watch as Kamigami continued growing stronger.

Therefore, Obito intended to use the Five Kage Summit as an opportunity to frame Kamigami, turning all Five Great Ninja Villages against them and using their power to eliminate the troublesome Kamigami on his behalf.

With Zetsu leading the way, Obito soon located the Raikage’s party as they made their way toward Yokosuka City.

Gazing coldly at the Raikage’s party in the distance, Obito instructed Zetsu beside him, "Go."

Zetsu nodded before sinking into the ground.

A short while later, Zetsu appeared directly in front of the Raikage’s group.

The moment the Raikage saw Zetsu standing before them, dressed in a black cloak with golden trim and wearing a mask covered in strange patterns, he flew into a rage before Zetsu could even speak.

"You bastards actually dare show yourselves in front of me again!"

With that roar, the Raikage charged at Zetsu alone without the slightest hesitation.

Zetsu didn’t dare waste a moment. He immediately sank underground and fled into the distance using an Earth Style tunneling technique.

Consumed by rage, the Raikage didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and raced after Zetsu, following the chakra trail Zetsu had deliberately left behind.

Aida, the Storm Style ninja serving as one of the Raikage’s guards, hurriedly shouted, "Lord Raikage, don’t chase him!"

But before Aida had even finished speaking, the Raikage, moving as fast as lightning, had already vanished from sight, leaving Aida and the other Kumogakure jōnin staring at each other.

The other Kumogakure jōnin asked, "What do we do?"

Aida sighed. "What else can we do? We chase after him, of course. I’m worried this might be a trap set by Kamigami!"

Just then, a distorted vortex suddenly appeared behind the two of them.

A hand reached out from within the vortex, seized the Storm Style ninja Aida, and dragged him straight inside...