Chapter 386: Infiltration

Chapter 386: Chapter 386: Infiltration

"You..."

Staring at the three figures who had suddenly appeared before him, the Kirigakure ANBU guarding the main entrance of the Mizukage Building immediately tensed and warily drew his longsword.

But before the cold, gleaming blade could even fully leave its sheath, his movements suddenly became sluggish.

Immediately afterward, the Kirigakure ANBU’s body began to sway. As though drunk, he stumbled around dizzily for two steps.

Thud...

With a dull sound, he collapsed onto the ground.

His head tilted to one side as he fell into a deep sleep, while the half-drawn longsword slowly slid back into its sheath.

Everything returned to silence once more, as though nothing had happened at all.

Only then did Itachi withdraw his gaze. Within his scarlet eyes, the three rapidly spinning tomoe gradually slowed.

Beside him, Shisui surveyed their surroundings and asked in confusion, "This is far too abnormal. How can the Mizukage Building’s defenses be this weak?"

The Mizukage Building was the very heart of Kirigakure, yet there were fewer than three squads guarding its perimeter. Even at the main entrance, there had only been a single jōnin-level Kirigakure ANBU stationed as a guard.

Shisui found this almost impossible to accept.

Hyuga Kagami pushed open the door and calmly walked inside.

"This is probably another method the Kirigakure higher-ups are using to pressure the Fourth Mizukage. Looks like there aren’t many people left around him that he can still rely on."

The Kirigakure higher-ups were clearly trying to use the Fourth Mizukage’s complete isolation to force him to face reality and step down as soon as possible.

Shisui sighed with emotion. "I never expected the Fourth Mizukage’s situation to have deteriorated this badly. Maybe you were right, Senpai. I’m afraid the Fourth Mizukage really won’t be able to hold onto his position."

Hyuga Kagami glanced at Shisui and said, "That’s a power struggle for you."

Kirigakure was willing to throw away even its dignity as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages just to publicize the Fourth Mizukage’s failures. This showed that the Kirigakure higher-ups had not only already chosen someone to replace the Fourth Mizukage, but were also impatient to force him from power.

However, the Bloody Mist was different from the other shinobi villages.

Becoming Mizukage did not require the recognition of every Kirigakure shinobi.

In this land of bloodshed and slaughter, as long as one possessed sufficient strength, one was qualified to become Mizukage. That was precisely why the fiercely ambitious Zabuza had dared to launch a coup.

He understood very well that as long as he killed the Fourth Mizukage, regardless of whether Kirigakure’s shinobi acknowledged him or not, he would have an excellent chance of ascending to the position of Mizukage and becoming the Fifth Mizukage.

And because the Fourth Mizukage was strong enough, Kirigakure’s higher-ups could only resort to these underhanded and distasteful methods.

After infiltrating the Mizukage Building, the three rounded a corner and came face-to-face with two Kirigakure guards.

"Who are you?!"

The words had barely left their mouths when, just like the Kirigakure ANBU before them, the two guards went limp and slumped onto the floor, immediately falling into a deep sleep.

Hyuga Kagami quietly put the kunai he had just pulled from his ninja pouch back inside.

Then he glanced over his shoulder at Shisui and Itachi, both of whom had activated their Sharingan, and muttered, "So one look is enough to deal with them..."

In a one-on-one confrontation, there were almost no shinobi capable of resisting the genjutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

And among all Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, Shisui and Itachi were undoubtedly at the very pinnacle when it came to genjutsu. Even Obito and Shinichi were far inferior to the two of them in this regard.

It could be said that Shisui and Itachi currently stood at the very peak of ocular genjutsu in the entire shinobi world.

Itachi asked, "En-senpai, why do we almost never see you use genjutsu?"

Shisui’s interest was also piqued, and he turned to look at Hyuga Kagami.

For the Uchiha Clan, genjutsu could practically be considered one of the foundations upon which they built their strength. Even Sasuke from the original timeline—who, because his clan had been wiped out, had never received a proper Uchiha education in genjutsu and tended to solve things through brute force—would occasionally show off his genjutsu skills, though more often than not, he would immediately get slapped back down.

It could be said that for any Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan, genjutsu was a mandatory subject. And those who possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan were almost universally experts in genjutsu.

"Ahem..."

Hyuga Kagami coughed awkwardly twice before saying, "These small fries simply aren’t worthy of me using genjutsu!"

Itachi nodded seriously. "So that’s how it is."

Shisui knew that the Sharingan currently sitting in Uchiha En’s eye sockets were the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, whose ocular power surpassed even that of the ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan, so he nodded along as well.

The reason Shisui and Itachi didn’t doubt Hyuga Kagami’s words was simple.

As geniuses themselves, they innocently assumed that Uchiha En—who should likewise be a genius—couldn’t possibly be bad at genjutsu.

The three continued toward the entrance of the underground palace.

Because there were so few Kirigakure guards along the way, and every single one of them was subdued by Shisui and Itachi’s genjutsu the instant they crossed paths, the three reached the entrance to the underground palace without ever alerting Kirigakure.

All they left behind was a trail of Kirigakure guards sprawled across the floor, snoring away in deep sleep.

Soon, Hyuga Kagami took the lead and entered the underground palace beneath the Mizukage Building.

Following behind him, Shisui observed the underground palace before finally being unable to hold back his question.

"En, you..."

Hyuga Kagami waved his hand dismissively. "We’ve already come this far. Even if you want to back out now, it’s too late!"

Shisui replied, "I was going to ask why you’re so familiar with this place! Isn’t this supposed to be one of Kirigakure’s forbidden areas?"

Itachi leaned over to Shisui’s ear and whispered, "En-senpai infiltrated this place once before. She even looted Kirigakure’s treasury."

"All right, we can talk about that later." After a brief pause, Hyuga Kagami continued, "There are actually many areas of this underground palace that even I haven’t explored. We could run into the Fourth Mizukage at any moment, so Itachi, stay focused and be ready to act at all times!"

The Fourth Mizukage was actually extremely powerful.

If they wanted to defeat him through conventional means, Hyuga Kagami and the other two were naturally capable of doing so. But that would inevitably result in a major battle and alert the entirety of Kirigakure.

Therefore, they needed to deal with the Fourth Mizukage as quickly as possible and keep the battle contained within the underground palace.

Moreover, in the original timeline, the Fourth Mizukage had been easily subdued by Itachi’s Amaterasu. Because of that, Hyuga Kagami had already formulated their plan before the operation began.

The moment they encountered the Fourth Mizukage, Itachi would make his move.

There would be no probing, no testing each other’s strength.

The instant they met, Itachi would directly unleash Amaterasu!

Itachi quickly replied, "Mm, I understand!"

Before long, the three arrived outside the treasury where Hyuga Kagami and Obito had previously fought their fierce battle.

Several warning lines had been set up outside the treasury, and two Kirigakure shinobi stood guard at the entrance.

Judging from the sounds coming from within, there seemed to be other shinobi inside as well. It was unclear whether they were gathering intelligence and clues left behind from Hyuga Kagami and Obito’s battle, or simply repairing the treasury that had been left in complete ruins.

Hyuga Kagami gave Shisui and Itachi a look.

The two immediately understood and stepped forward, silently subduing the two Kirigakure ANBU guarding the treasury with genjutsu.

The entire process happened without a sound.

They didn’t even alert the Kirigakure personnel who were busy working inside the treasury.

After interrogating the guards through genjutsu, Itachi turned to Hyuga Kagami.

"En-senpai, the Fourth Mizukage is indeed inside the underground palace. He should be in a lounge on the southeastern side."

Hyuga Kagami nodded lightly.

"Let’s go. We’re heading to the lounge!"

...

Inside the underground palace’s lounge.

The Fourth Mizukage rubbed his temples, his face filled with exhaustion.

The physical exhaustion was secondary.

What truly weighed on him was the village pressing him harder and harder with every passing moment.

Still young, the relentless pressure left him deeply dejected and dispirited, even causing him to lose sight of what he should do next.

Just then, an ominous premonition suddenly surged through his heart.

He immediately pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

From the corridor outside the lounge came the faint sound of several approaching footsteps...