Naruto: Becomes a Rebel Ninja After Annihilating the Hyuga Clan - Chapter 89
“Big sister, I have to go to class now, so I can’t accompany you…”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll see you off,” Mei Terumi’s eyes curved into a smile.
Needing more information to confirm her suspicions, Mei Terumi thought that Hashirama arranging for her to stay in the same room as this innocent little girl must mean he didn’t mind her doing some basic intelligence gathering.
Along the way, Mei Terumi kept observing the surroundings. Although this newly established Kengakure Village was rudimentary, it already had basic characteristics. The ninja activity area and the residential area were separated by a river.
The buildings in the ninja activity area were tall but sparse. Apart from the Kengakure Tower, which served as the administrative center, other structures such as the ninja academy, ninja hospital, and training grounds were scattered around. In the distance, other students carrying long swords were silently heading towards the academy.
The buildings in the residential area were small but numerous, with various shops and residential buildings of different shapes and sizes. In the morning, people who had just woken up would hang their washed clothes and salted fish on ropes to dry before starting their busy day. The children, although mostly sensible, still received endless reminders from their parents before they left:
If it rains, make sure to bring in the clothes and fish in time!
Despite this, there were still children who forgot due to playing and ended up eating a meal prepared by their parents with some added punishment at night.
Compared to the quiet ninja area, the residential area was bustling with people. The strong smell of salted fish permeated the river that separated the two areas, lingering in Mei Terumi’s nose and weaving through the lives of many ordinary people in the Land of Waves.
A fishing net passed down from the previous generation, to oneself, and then to the next generation.
The inertia of inheritance carried a weight beyond material significance. The fishing net was no longer just a simple tool for livelihood, and salted fish was no longer just ordinary food on the table. It carried a certain destined aura, not necessarily in a positive sense, especially in a place separated by a river from the ninja activity area. The shackles of fate that were once difficult to perceive became increasingly unbearable with each glance from these ordinary people across the river.
There were more houses under construction in the residential area. These buildings did not continue the oceanic style typical of the Land of Waves, instead awkwardly mimicking the buildings across the river. Although Hashirama had not imposed any strict rules on the architectural style of the residential area, the workers on the island still consciously adhered to some unspoken consensus during construction.
Red walls interspersed with cement, and newly laid tiles glistened in the sunlight.
Mei Terumi didn’t realize the residential area was so lively. After all, when she went up the mountain yesterday, there didn’t seem to be so many people?
“Because the bad guys from Kirigakure attacked the Land of Waves yesterday, and Hashirama drove them away, everyone wants to be closer to him,” Winterflower explained softly.
In fact, what Winterflower said was only part of the reason.
The siphoning effect of a ninja village on surrounding settlements had always existed.
And in this country where Cardo controlled external trade and the wealth of the citizens was forcibly taken by the big capitalists, joining Kengakure Village was the greatest dream and only way out for many people in the Land of Waves.
This was not only because Kengakure Village provided high subsidies to its members, but also because, after witnessing the bloody war between Konoha and Kirigakure and seeing Hashirama single-handedly annihilate the entire Kirigakure army, the urgency to seek protection and power made many people on the island who had been hesitant decide to follow Kengakure Village more closely, even if they couldn’t pass the aptitude test.
If I had never experienced light, I might have tolerated the darkness.
If I had never witnessed resistance, I might have tolerated oppression.
The people of the Land of Waves, who had always been submissive, saw another possibility in Kengakure Village.
Some people almost overnight realized that the smell of salted fish they had been smelling all their lives was not pleasant.
The fishing net used for three generations was not easy to use.
They did not intend to let their descendants continue to use this broken fishing net or eat salted fish for their entire lives.
So today, the originally peaceful residential area of Kengakure Village suddenly saw many families from the Land of Waves moving in.
The aptitude test of Kengakure Village, which had reached a bottleneck, also became lively again.
Mei Terumi watched all this thoughtfully.
…
The academy of Kengakure Village was just a very spacious wooden building. Looking at this building that was obviously generated by Wood Release techniques, Mei Terumi felt a bit inexplicably envious.
The academy was already filled with students. They placed their long swords on the tables and curiously looked at Mei Terumi at the door, with some seeming to recognize her, their eyes changing slightly.
“Sister, I’m going in now.”
“Yes, go ahead, little Winterflower.”
Mei Terumi smiled as she watched the students inside whispering to each other, not knowing what she was thinking,
“It’s really good that they can graduate from the ninja academy without killing each other.” A voice suddenly sounded.
Mei Terumi turned around and saw a very handsome long-haired boy.
Haku.
“Isn’t that what you think too, Lady Mei?” Haku tilted his head and looked at her, a little puzzled.
“What are you doing here?” Mei Terumi frowned. She didn’t have much good feeling towards this guy who had defected from the Kirigakure tracking unit.
“Teaching them,” Haku glanced at the students in the academy and said softly.
“Hashirama said yesterday that you didn’t join Kengakure Village,” Mei Terumi squinted her eyes.
“That was yesterday,” Haku shook his head and explained calmly, “And ‘we’ didn’t join Kengakure Village. Zabuza is not suitable to be a teacher. Due to the worrying education level of Kirigakure, his impression of ninja academies is very rigid and bloody, which could badly influence the students here.”
“So, I’m the only one who joined Kengakure Village to teach.”
“It’s rare for you two to be apart,” Mei Terumi said with a bit of sarcasm.
The combination of Zabuza and Haku had always been a headache for the Kirigakure tracking unit. This descendant of the Yuki clan with the Ice Release kekkei genkai was young, and although he followed Zabuza’s lead like a little brother, his presence was very low when standing next to the arrogant and jumpy Zabuza. However, his actual combat power was not to be underestimated. The tactical team of Kirigakure speculated that his full strength might be even more dangerous than Zabuza.
Moreover, he was very young with a lot of growth potential.
“Being partners doesn’t mean always sticking together. He has other things to do, and I quite enjoy teaching at Kengakure Village,” Haku smiled gently at her, as if he didn’t understand the hidden meaning in her words.
The smile slightly eased Mei Terumi’s hostility. She shook her head, took two steps back, and made way for Haku to enter.
As Haku passed by her, Mei Terumi suddenly spoke: “Cherish your current life. I failed, but that doesn’t mean Kirigakure failed. Despite being at the bottom, Kirigakure is still one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.”
Haku’s footsteps didn’t stop, but his voice carried back: “Then let Kirigakure cherish its days as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.”
Indeed!
Mei Terumi suddenly turned around: “How long do you plan to wait before taking action against Kirigakure?!”
Haku didn’t explain anything more to her. He just tapped the table with his fingers and smiled slightly amid the students’ surprised gazes:
“Hello everyone, I am your new teacher, Haku. From now on, I will be teaching you one of the practical ninja subjects, assassination.”
“Today is the first day of class, so I won’t teach anything too difficult. I’ll just ask you one thing: Do you have a target you want to assassinate?”
“Oh, Cardo? So unanimous, it seems he must be a very bad person.”
“Very well, then your graduation exam will be to assassinate Cardo. If you can’t kill him, you’ll stay in the ninja academy.”
“Any questions?”
“… You really asked… I’m a boy, so I don’t have a boyfriend,” Haku replied with a smile.
The classroom fell into a strange, sorrowful atmosphere.
Mei Terumi didn’t hear the answer she wanted. She took one last look at the classroom and then turned and left.
Originally wanting to confirm Haku’s words with Hashirama, Mei Terumi searched Kengakure Village but couldn’t find him.
She stood at the top of the nine-story Kengakure Tower, which should have been built recently using Wood Release techniques, and looked down for half an hour. She didn’t see anything special or any internal defense forces of the village intervening.
In the back mountain, people participating in the Kengakure Village aptitude test had already formed a long queue. Mei Terumi didn’t know the form and content of the test. She was initially very interested in the method that could detect whether a person had ninja aptitude, but whenever she approached the back mountain, her heart would ache. From then on, Mei Terumi realized that the entire
Kengakure Village was a huge prison for her.
But within the prison, she couldn’t go wherever she wanted. The back mountain of Kengakure Village didn’t welcome her.
…
In a remote courtyard in the Land of Waves, Tsunade opened her eyes.
Her consciousness was hazy.
Her vision was shaking.
The candlelight dispelled the darkness.
A familiar figure in a white coat was constantly moving in front of her.
“Orochimaru…?” she murmured, as if a scene from her memory had reflected into reality.
Had he finally decided to act against her…
The figure paused slightly, seemed to look at her, then continued to be busy.
When her consciousness finally cleared and her vision focused, Tsunade stared at the boy in front of her and widened her eyes.
“Neiki!!” she growled, about to punch this bastard, but found she couldn’t move at all.
Looking down, she discovered her hands and feet were bound.
Weird black needles were inserted into her acupoints, making it impossible to mobilize even a bit of chakra.
Memories flooded back like a ship opening its gates.
She finally remembered why she was here!
Neiki had infiltrated their returning ship with the Flying Thunder God Technique and ambushed her!
“You bastard, what happened to them?!!”
“Why did you bring me here?!” she roared, spitting in anger.
“You have too many questions,” Neiki shook his head, but his hands didn’t stop. A huge needle pierced Tsunade’s well-defined arm, and as the plunger pulled back, pain spread. Watching her blood flow into the syringe, her body gradually became weaker. The sudden blood loss also struck Tsunade’s already fragile nerves.
“You bastard…”
“I’m very interested in your body, but don’t worry, I’m not a mad scientist. I don’t need much,” Neiki said calmly, then pulled out the needle.
Tsunade winced again.
“… My body?” she asked weakly.
“Yes, your body, chosen by one of the three great sanctuaries, the Shikkotsu Forest,” Neiki dripped the blood into a prepared container.
“Is that… why you brought me here?” Tsunade smiled mockingly.
“No, this is just for data storage,” Neiki shook his head, “I have other uses for you.”
While speaking, Tsunade looked around.
Byakugan.
Sharingan.
Sealing scrolls.
And an unknown green liquid that exuded a familiar, vigorous life force.
Undoubtedly, this was Neiki’s lair, and the items around her were his spoils from Konoha.
She clenched her fists.
“… Are we still in the Land of Waves?” Tsunade asked directly.
“No,” Neiki replied casually.
“I don’t believe you,” Tsunade’s smile grew again.
“You’re forcing me to kill you,” Neiki glanced at her. This woman was very sharp.
“I’d love that,” Tsunade shook her head vigorously.
“Boring tricks,” Neiki shook his head. Did this woman think provoking him would let her die gracefully?
She was too naive.
Tsunade fell silent, her body’s strong recovery ability trying to alleviate the dizziness from blood loss. This might be another reason Neiki was interested in her body.
Looking at Neiki in his white coat, he was almost a copy of Orochimaru…
“… How long have I been unconscious?” she asked, feeling a bit bored.
“Three days,” Neiki replied while keeping Tsunade’s blood active in the solution.
Tsunade’s heart pounded. She suddenly felt nervous:
“… How’s the battle at Konoha?”
Neiki paused. He stopped his actions, raised his head, and quietly stared at Tsunade.
This gaze made Tsunade’s whole body tingle.
No way…
“Say something…” she urged, showing a bit of a girlish attitude.
“To avoid Konoha’s eyes, Kumogakure borrowed a route from Sunagakure to launch a surprise attack on Konoha…”
Neiki paused, then continued working.
“Konoha has fallen. Jiraiya took the remaining forces and retreated from the Iwagakure battlefield, whereabouts unknown.”
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