Chapter 399: The Sound Four

Chapter 399: Chapter 399: The Sound Four

Afterward, Akatsuki learned that the reason Yugito had suddenly broken free from the genjutsu was because something had gone wrong on Obito’s end.

However, it was precisely because of this incident that Akatsuki realized the genjutsu’s control over Yugito was far from secure. If anything happened to the caster, Yugito could potentially break free from the genjutsu at any time.

Therefore, after Obito placed Yugito under genjutsu once again, Akatsuki assigned Shinichi, who also possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, to partner with her.

This way, even if Yugito broke free from Obito’s genjutsu again, Shinichi, acting as her watcher, would still have the ability to subdue her. And after learning their lesson from this incident, Akatsuki decided that they would no longer deploy Yugito casually.

Once Shinichi was reassigned as Yugito’s partner, Jūzō Biwa was left without a partner of his own. As a result, Akatsuki dispatched him to the Land of Rice Fields, temporarily appointing him captain of the Mist squad and tasking him with supervising the three newly recruited members.

In the original timeline, Akatsuki’s internal monitoring of its members had actually been rather lax.

For the most part, everyone simply did their own thing. As long as they fulfilled the mandatory objective of capturing the Tailed Beasts, Pain, as the organization’s leader, barely bothered managing them.

Even when it came to hunting down the traitor Orochimaru, Akatsuki had never taken the matter particularly seriously. For the longest time, only Sasori and Deidara had been responsible for pursuing him.

That was because, in that timeline, Akatsuki regarded everything with utter contempt. Their leader, Nagato, even proclaimed himself a god and paid no heed whatsoever to the Five Great Shinobi Villages. A little leakage of information was hardly something they cared about.

But in this timeline, the existence of Hyuga Kagami’s Kamigami had changed everything.

Nagato himself had nearly died in a surprise attack by Kamigami’s leader. Under such immense pressure, Akatsuki had been forced to make numerous changes.

The three men Obito had recruited from Kirigakure this time—Kisame and the other two—were a perfect example.

Akatsuki was worried that their loyalty was insufficient and that they might defect just as Orochimaru and Shinno had, potentially exposing the organization’s secrets. Because of this, Akatsuki had yet to summon the three of them to its new secret base.

Instead, they had assigned them a troublesome mission—

hunt down Orochimaru.

Once everyone had assembled, the Mist squad wasted no time and headed straight for the place where Orochimaru had previously been spotted.

It was a dilapidated little village. Many of the houses bore signs of having been burned, and most had already collapsed. The entire village looked as though it had been abandoned for a long time, without a single trace of human habitation remaining.

Glancing around, Kisame asked in confusion, "What was Orochimaru doing in a place like this?"

Jūzō Biwa was equally puzzled. With no answer, he simply instructed the others, "Split up and search. See if you can find any clues!"

At that moment, Ryū, who had been scouting the surroundings, pointed into the distance and warned, "Everyone, be careful. Someone’s coming."

Before long, a four-man shinobi squad arrived in front of the Mist Squad and demanded, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

This shinobi squad also consisted of four members. Their leader was a boy around sixteen or seventeen years old, while the other three were only about ten—still little more than children.

Their clothing was noticeably different from the style worn by shinobi of other villages, and the symbol engraved on their forehead protectors was a musical note none of the Mist Squad had ever seen before.

Ryū muttered, "Shinobi from the newly established Otogakure?"

Kisame turned to Jūzō Biwa. "What do we do with them?"

Before Jūzō Biwa could answer, the hot-tempered Renge shouted impatiently, "They’re nothing but cannon fodder from some tiny shinobi village! What’s there to talk about? Just kill them!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Renge’s figure blurred as he charged toward the four Otogakure shinobi.

In the eyes of shinobi from the great villages, ninja from the smaller villages were hardly worth mentioning. And considering how young these Oto ninja were, they clearly looked like nothing more than cannon fodder sent to make up the numbers.

Seeing Renge make his move, the other members of the Mist Squad no longer hesitated.

After all, their mission this time was an assassination mission.

They had to ensure that no one discovered their movements.

Renge’s target was the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old captain of the Oto squad, but before he could reach him, a white-haired boy from the opposing team darted in from the side and intercepted him.

Bang...

Their fists and feet collided, producing a muffled thud before both sides sprang backward.

"Huh... You’re Kimimaro?!"

Only after retreating did Renge get a good look at the white-haired boy who had just blocked his attack and realize that he was actually a member of his own clan.

With one hand resting on his hip, Kimimaro said calmly, "Your opponent is me!"

"Hmph, brat!" Renge snorted. Looking at Kimimaro, who was only ten years old and barely reached his chest, he said, "You must’ve escaped from the dungeon during the chaos on the night our clan was wiped out. And now you’ve fallen so low that you’re serving as cannon fodder for some third-rate little shinobi village. What a disgrace to the Kaguya Clan!"

The moment Renge finished speaking, a clear, youthful shout rang out from nearby.

"Ice Style: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

In an instant, a freezing chill spread through the surroundings as a ring of ice mirrors materialized out of thin air, trapping Jūzō Biwa, Kisame, and Ryū within.

At the same time, wooden stakes suddenly erupted from the ground. Like agile serpents, they rapidly coiled around Jūzō Biwa and the others trapped inside the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.

"Ice Release!?"

Renge stared at the surrounding ice mirrors in astonishment.

They were all Kirigakure shinobi, so naturally none of them were unfamiliar with Ice Release. And Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals was a secret technique of Ice Release—one that even among the Yuki Clan, not everyone was capable of performing.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

After cursing inwardly, Renge immediately rushed toward the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals trapping Jūzō Biwa and the others. After all, if they attacked it from both the inside and outside, breaking through the technique wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A sudden series of piercing whistles sounded beside his ears.

Renge’s heart tightened mid-charge, and he immediately stopped himself.

The instant he came to a halt, two tiny white streaks shot past the very tip of his nose!

"That was close!"

Renge was inwardly shocked, because he had already recognized the two white streaks that had just grazed past his face.

They were one of the secret techniques of the Kaguya Clan’s Shikotsumyaku—

Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!

If the Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets struck him squarely in the face, even he would be severely injured—and might even be killed on the spot.

Kimimaro said coldly, "I already told you. Your opponent is me!"

Being looked down upon by a ten-year-old child immediately sent Renge into a rage.

"You damned brat! I’ll crush your skull with my own hands!"

At that moment, a blond-haired boy from the Oto squad walked over and asked Kimimaro, "Need my help?"

Kimimaro shook his head.

The blond boy immediately replied, "Then I’ll go kill those guys first. I’ll come back and help you afterward!"

As he spoke, a strange transformation began spreading across the blond boy’s body.

Bizarre markings crawled across the surface of his skin, and at the same time, a violent and ferocious chakra erupted from within him!

"This...!?"

Renge’s expression froze.

For a fleeting moment, he even wondered whether the blond-haired boy before him was a jinchūriki with a Tailed Beast sealed inside his body.

The chakra erupting from the boy was simply that ferocious.

Kimimaro didn’t so much as glance sideways. Paying no attention whatsoever to the bizarre transformation occurring to his companion beside him, he merely said indifferently,

"No need. I’ll finish him off before you guys are done!"