Chapter 39: Both Sides Wanting to Hide Secrets
"But, this guy wants more."
Kisame Hoshigaki's expression gradually turned grave, then suddenly relaxed, "Unless Mangetsu Hōzuki wants to defect, otherwise, he definitely wants to silence us two witnesses!"
"One person can't do two things at once... Tsk, so there's backup."
Uehara Naraka nodded, a card flickered at his fingertips. His body took flight using the Flight Technique, hovering in the air to observe the surroundings.
"Looks like you guessed it!"
Mangetsu Hōzuki sent the Fourth Mizukage Yagura flying with a slash of his sword, revealing his sharp teeth as he smiled, "No matter who it is, no one can escape!"
The Hōzuki clan's nature had always been bloodthirsty. If Mangetsu Hōzuki were a gentle ninja, how could he live up to those sharp teeth he possessed!
Since Uehara Naraka and Kisame Hoshigaki had guessed, Mangetsu Hōzuki didn't intend to hide it either, just shouting loudly, "Come out, Zabuza-senpai!"
"..."
A moment of silence flashed through the air.
Uehara Naraka's expression was slightly odd, even feeling a bit like laughing.
If he hadn't misheard just now, the name Mangetsu Hōzuki called out sounded a bit familiar!
Uehara Naraka stiffly turned his neck, looking at Kisame Hoshigaki, "Are you Kirigakure (Village Hidden by Mist) ninjas always so sloppy? Why would he think Zabuza Momochi could stop the two of us?"
"..."
Kisame Hoshigaki shook his head, indicating he didn't know either, but he wouldn't underestimate Zabuza Momochi.
Kisame said in a low voice, "Zabuza is proficient in the Hidden Mist Technique and does have the ability to stop me, but I don't think he can defeat Lord Uehara."
"Incomprehensible."
Uehara Naraka watched Mangetsu Hōzuki, who was still suppressing the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, and asked with a frown, "Before looking for backup, don't you inquire about their combat strength? That guy Zabuza Momochi..."
"Hey, kid, don't look down on people!"
A figure suddenly shot out, cursed loudly, then leaped into mid-air, swinging the large sword [Kubikiribōchō] in his hand towards Uehara Naraka—it was precisely the looked-down-upon Zabuza.
Uehara wasn't flustered. He was far more agile in the air than Zabuza. He just slightly lowered his head to avoid the Executioner's Blade, then placed his wrist horizontally against Zabuza's chest and suddenly exerted force!
Bang!
Zabuza Momochi fell miserably from the air to the ground!
Uehara Naraka looked at Zabuza, shook his head, and sighed, "Zabuza, haven't seen you for three days, and your strength has gotten weaker!"
"Pah!"
Zabuza spat out bloody foam. Although partly due to the heavy injuries sustained during the earlier assassination attempt on Yagura, Zabuza clearly felt that Uehara Naraka's strength had increased again.
How much time had passed since they last met? This kid Uehara Naraka's strength seemed to have grown exponentially! What on earth was going on?
Mangetsu Hōzuki couldn't help turning his head towards Zabuza Momochi and asked softly, "Zabuza-senpai, do you know each other?"
"..."
Zabuza Momochi fell silent.
Losing to Uehara Naraka before was not something glorious.
Uehara Naraka slowly landed beside Zabuza, seemingly understanding Zabuza's thoughts, and chuckled lightly, "Mr. Zabuza, no need to be reserved about our relationship... After all, many people have been defeated by me, but very few are spared."
"..."
Hearing these words, Mangetsu Hōzuki couldn't help showing a trace of astonishment. The current situation seemed somewhat out of his control!
(Flashback/Recap)
Six hours ago.
Zabuza Momochi believed the time to assassinate Yagura had come. He quietly arrived at Yagura's residence wanting to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage.
Unexpectedly, his strength was far from sufficient. He was utterly defeated by Yagura and fled, and the news also leaked out.
Mangetsu Hōzuki, responsible for village defense, was the first to receive news of the Mizukage being assassinated by Zabuza. He didn't choose to send support directly; instead, he killed the Mizukage guard ninja who returned to the village seeking help, immediately suppressing the news.
Mangetsu Hōzuki found Zabuza Momochi, obtained intelligence about Yagura from him, and then planned to come here to look for an opportunity.
If Yagura were still in perfect condition, Mangetsu Hōzuki would still be the Seven Swordsman loyal to Lord Mizukage. If Yagura was heavily injured, Mangetsu Hōzuki wouldn't mind sending him off; their Hōzuki clan never had any pacifist ideas!
However, when Mangetsu Hōzuki arrived here, he didn't know that just giving Uehara Naraka a little time would have been enough to directly kill Yagura.
Mangetsu Hōzuki only noticed the heavily injured Yagura.
Therefore, this current young head of the Hōzuki clan immediately decided to act, planning to kill both Yagura and Uehara Naraka.
But the current situation had clearly spun out of control.
"Alright, let's clarify the current situation!"
Uehara Naraka clapped his hands, pointed at the heavily injured Yagura in the distance, and said softly, "Looks like our objectives overlap. Everyone wants to directly kill His Excellency the Fourth Mizukage. You shouldn't have any objections to this point, right?"
"..."
The three Seven Ninja Swordsmen looked at each other. Zabuza Momochi snorted coldly, Mangetsu Hōzuki nodded, and a smile appeared on Kisame Hoshigaki's face.
Truly a tragedy of the era...
Kirigakure's strongest ninja team, the second generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen, only had three members now, yet all of them wanted to kill their direct superior.
Fourth Mizukage Yagura's eyes shifted. Sizing up everyone present, he actually laughed bleakly, "I didn't expect you few..."
"Apologies, almost forgot, Your Excellency Mizukage is still alive!"
Uehara Naraka didn't even turn his head, still looking at Zabuza Momochi and Mangetsu Hōzuki. He just snapped his fingers in Yagura's direction!
While everyone was still somewhat surprised, they saw a bizarrely shaped shark suddenly erupt from the ground beneath Yagura's feet, opening its mouth and swallowing him!
Moments later, the shark dove back into the ground, leaving only the corpse of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura lying solitarily on the ground...
Chum the Waters, this strange skill, if the sneak attack succeeded, its effect was unexpectedly powerful!
Uehara Naraka just snapped his fingers, summoned a strange shark, and killed the Fourth Mizukage Yagura. Seeing this, horrified expressions flashed across the faces of both Zabuza Momochi and Mangetsu Hōzuki!
Kisame Hoshigaki, however, chuckled lightly, "As expected, Lord Uehara excels most at seal-less ninjutsu, right?"
Whenever Kisame Hoshigaki saw Uehara Naraka form seals, he always felt something was strange, because he would occasionally make small mistakes.
Thinking back now, perhaps those were just Uehara Naraka's disguises to appear weak?
As an outstanding seal-forming ninja and a loyal subordinate, Kisame Hoshigaki thoughtfully suggested, "If Lord Uehara is willing, I could help compose some beautiful hand seal sequences for you."
Kisame Hoshigaki was quite proficient in matters of hand seals.
Uehara Naraka nodded, somewhat tempted, then shook his head, "Forget it, let's talk about learning seals later... Let's deal with the matter at hand first! Regarding the killing of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, I don't want anyone knowing Kisame was involved!"
"Then our thoughts coincide."
Mangetsu Hōzuki slowly grasped the scroll on his person [Hiramekarei] and said softly, "Besides Zabuza-senpai, I also don't want more people knowing I wanted to kill Yagura."
(End of Chapter)
---
Read up to 20 chapter ahead of time on patreon.com/Legendryweeb
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*