"Advance!"
Naruto led the way!
As soon as he left the room, he transformed into the likeness of Ao.
He, Uzumaki Naruto, wasn't brazen enough to swagger around Kirigakure in his true form.
As for the other Anbu members inside the room, they naturally dispersed to their assigned positions.
Everyone's destination was the same: the high tower in the village!
That was the Advisor's (Moto-Shishu's) residence. All the subverted Anbu would lie in wait around it to prevent any possible mishap.
As for Naruto, disguised as 'Ao,' he would personally go to see 'Advisor-sama'!
Exiting the underground and reaching the surface, Naruto observed Kirigakure.
The first thing to greet his eyes was the village's signature thick fog.
While it didn't disrupt daily life, the pervasive fog obscured the sky, making it impossible to see the sun clearly.
And the humidity...
Naruto wondered if laundry would ever dry in a place like this.
He thought the Land of Waves was unappealing enough, but he never expected a place that surpassed it.
Naruto quickly abandoned any thought of sightseeing in Kirigakure.
"Ao-sama."
"Mmm."
When people greeted him on the road, Naruto simply nodded and continued on his way.
"What's wrong with Ao-sama? Did someone provoke him again?"
As soon as Naruto passed, the person asked the one beside them.
"How would I know?" The person who was asked scratched his head, completely bewildered.
Scenes like this repeated themselves many times behind Naruto.
Naruto had deliberately chosen a heavily populated route. He walked along with a stern face.
He intended to walk brazenly straight to the high tower, under the gaze of everyone.
"Ao-sama..."
Arriving at the high tower, the two ninjas guarding the door and performing protection duties spoke out upon seeing Ao.
"Mmm."
Naruto, disguised as 'Ao,' nodded calmly, glancing inside. "Is Advisor-sama in?"
"Yes, Advisor-sama is reading documents. Should I go and inform him?"
"No need!"
'Ao' stopped the doorman, his face cold. "I will go in and report myself."
"Uh..."
The two doormen exchanged glances, then nodded. "Understood, Ao-sama."
"Mmm."
Naruto opened the door and walked straight in.
With one foot inside, he turned back to look at the two and instructed, "The Advisor and I have matters to discuss. Remember, no matter what happens, do not come in!"
"That..."
The doormen found this unbelievable. How could that be?
Yet...
They looked down at each other, then back up at Ao-sama. After just one look into 'Ao's' eyes, they felt a sudden wave of dizziness.
"You two are Anbu, aren't you? You missed the internal Anbu meeting because you were on duty. I'll make sure you catch up now."
Saying this, Naruto extended his 'black hand.'
A moment later.
Leaving the two men standing rigidly in place with determined, sacrificial looks, Naruto stepped inside the room.
"Who is it?"
The Advisor took off his reading glasses.
He had heard muttering outside the door just now and thought something was wrong, but then he looked up and saw a figure.
Due to the light, Ao was covered in shadow as he walked in, only his outline visible.
But the Advisor's eyesight was still keen, and he saw the eye patch over the newcomer's right eye.
"Ah, it's Ao. What is it? Has the matter been settled?"
The Advisor only glanced up, recognized the person, and continued looking down at his documents.
His aged voice was hoarse and not loud, but clear enough to be heard in the empty room.
He never imagined that an unexpected event could occur deep inside the secure Kirigakure.
Naruto walked toward him slowly and deliberately.
From this distance, Naruto clearly saw the Advisor's appearance.
According to Ao's memories, the Advisor was older than the Third Hokage and belonged to the generation of the First and Second Mizukages.
Due to his advanced age, his hair was completely gone.
His bald head was like a large lightbulb, slightly reflective.
His old face was covered in wrinkles, his teeth seemed to have all fallen out, and his cheeks were sunken.
At this moment, the Advisor seemed thirsty and directly picked up the cup of tea from the nearby table and drank it.
The Land of Water had a humid climate, and tea drinking was popular, especially moisture-removing teas.
After finishing his tea, the Advisor finally noticed the strangeness of Ao's continued silence.
He looked up at 'Ao' standing in the shadows, wondering if something had gone wrong.
His tone was concerned. "What is it? Did the plan not go smoothly?"
"It seems... there was a small, little accident." Naruto's voice carried a hint of amusement.
"Accident?"
The Advisor was an elder who had served under the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Mizukages—a truly experienced old man.
The tone of 'Ao' instantly alerted him to an anomaly.
He scrutinized the newcomer.
Naruto stepped out of the shadow, appearing directly in front of the Advisor in full light.
Although it was the same 'shell' of Ao, the inner spirit was completely different!
"You are not Ao!"
The Advisor's old voice was decisive.
Naruto's lips curved upward, the smile no longer hidden. "You've figured it out already?"
This smile further confirmed the Advisor's suspicion. He had watched Ao grow up; Ao was a reserved man who rarely smiled.
But...
How could this person, who is not Ao, be inside Kirigakure?
And standing before me!
And impersonating Ao?
"Who are you? Where is Ao?" The Advisor slightly raised his voice, hoping to attract the attention of the people outside the door.
"Who am I?"
The smile on Naruto's face broadened. "That's hard to say, as I have too many identities. As for Ao? He's probably fallen into a deep slumber."
Slumber?
Though his mind was somewhat slow due to age, the Advisor quickly understood that Ao had most likely been kidnapped, or worse.
The fact that the person before him could directly infiltrate Kirigakure, kidnap Ao—that experienced Jonin—and appear before him...
The Advisor's heart immediately sank!
"What is your objective?" He chose to stall for time while probing the opponent's intentions.
"Objective? Probably to change the ninja world!"
The Advisor's small eyes, which always seemed half-closed, were now wide open, constantly observing Naruto's expression.
"Change the world?"
He repeated Naruto's statement, his mind churning. Thinking of Ao's recent mission, a possibility suddenly occurred to him.
"Did Zabuza send you?" the Advisor guessed, though the probability was very low.
"Tch—"
Naruto almost burst out laughing. What virtue does Zabuza have to be the Boss behind him?
But he managed to restrain himself.
This expression made the Advisor realize something instantly. "No, that's not right. Are you behind Zabuza?"
Naruto looked deeply at the old man before him.
This old fellow's mind turns fast!
What a pity!
"I won't waste any more breath with you!"
Saying this, Naruto deliberately raised his voice and shouted furiously, "Advisor-sama, why won't you agree to Terumī Mei becoming the Mizukage?"
This statement startled the Advisor.
What about Terumī Mei becoming the Mizukage?
How did the conversation suddenly jump to this?
However, what horrified the Advisor was that the voice coming from the person before him was still Ao's original voice.
And Naruto continued his lament, or rather, his passionate argument.
"Why? You're almost ninety years old! You've become an old fool! How can you still cling to this high position and monopolize the village's power?"
At this statement, the Advisor was instantly alarmed!
Eighty years of experience told him that the person before him had a terrifying objective!
This sentence, in particular, blatantly exposed his goal.
He's aiming for the Mizukage position?
No!
This cannot happen!
The Advisor wanted to say something, but he realized, with despair, that he couldn't even open his mouth.
In fact, let alone opening his mouth, even moving a finger was impossible!
"You old man, you're clinging to power even at nearly ninety years old, refusing to step down for the young generation! Look at the state Kirigakure is in now!" Naruto, using Ao's voice, delivered a harsh insult.
His voice was loud, even propagating downward, clear enough for passersby downstairs to hear.
"What? You want to hand the Mizukage position to that Zabuza?
"Because Terumī Mei doesn't meet your requirements, you would just hand it over to a defector? What does Zabuza have that makes him better than Terumī Mei?"
Pfft—
Hearing this, the Advisor was overcome with anger and almost spat out a mouthful of old blood!
When did he ever say he would give the Mizukage position to that rogue ninja Zabuza?
It's bad!
The Advisor almost spat out another mouthful of blood.
He understood!
He understood everything!
Combining his current paralysis with the actions of the 'Ao' before him, the Advisor instantly deduced the person's objective.
Loud Conspiracy: To publicly announce his chosen successor for the Mizukage!
And to announce it through the mouth of 'Ao.'
The key point was—the wrong choice of successor!
But it was their chosen candidate!
If Ao, the one who had been recommending Terumī Mei, were to kill him, then Terumī Mei, as a contender, would be forever disqualified from becoming the Mizukage!
The whole village knew about the working relationship between Terumī Mei and Ao!
No!
He absolutely could not let this person succeed!
Otherwise, once he died, there would be no way to disprove the claim!
Given his prestige, the 'designated' next Mizukage would absolutely be Zabuza!
No!
The Advisor knew that if this continued, Zabuza would become Mizukage, and the entire Kirigakure Village would fall into the clutches of the person before him!
No!
The Advisor used all his strength to try and break the invisible 'genjutsu,' but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even make a sound, let alone move a finger.
Meanwhile, Naruto's performance continued.
"Advisor-sama! You are mistaken!"
"You are abandoning Kirigakure Village! I will not agree to this choice, and neither will Terumī Mei!"
"Please, reconsider!"
"No, I beg you, reconsider your decision!"
"You! Don't make me force your hand!"
At the same time.
Downstairs, because of the volume of 'Ao's' voice, which was loud enough to be heard throughout Kirigakure, quite a few people had already gathered.
"What is Ao-sama doing?"
"Didn't you hear? Advisor-sama wants to make Zabuza the next Mizukage, and Ao-sama disagrees; he wants Terumī Mei to be the next Mizukage."
"This... This Ao-sama might be going too far, don't you think? Zabuza-sama seems pretty good, too! Even Advisor-sama approves. Why shouldn't Zabuza-sama be Mizukage? Why insist on Terumī Mei?"
"Who knows?"
The crowd downstairs murmured, listening to the voices from above.
"Move aside, move aside!"
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Two figures appeared.
"Aoi-sama! Gonbee-sama!"
Someone in the crowd recognized the newcomers, but the two called out looked grim.
"What exactly is Ao doing?"
Aoi, Ao's early partner and a trusted confidant of the Advisor who was involved in village management, wondered aloud.
He didn't believe Ao would be so short-sighted as to publicly force the issue in this manner!
Although Zabuza had a good reputation, wasn't the Advisor's private stance clear enough?
He exchanged glances with Gonbee, preparing to go up.
Before they could take a step, the voices from above abruptly ceased.
The next second.
Crash, bang, boom—
The sound of shattering glass came through, followed by a figure leaping out of the room and landing on a distant rooftop. The person turned back to look at the crowd.
Everyone saw clearly that the person was none other than Ao!
Suddenly.
Ao fled into the distance, moving quickly. In just two or three leaps, his figure disappeared, swallowed by the thick fog.
Then,
"Ahhhh—"
A sharp scream of terror broke the silence.
"Advisor-sama... Advisor-sama is dead!"
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