Mei Terumī shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at Yūto, who was still lazily lying on the rock.
"By the way, you should be very busy right now, shouldn't you?"
Yūto closed his eyes and spoke softly.
However, as soon as Yūto finished speaking, his nose twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, looking at Mei Terumī beside him with a smile, saying:
"Indeed, you understand me best."
Mei Terumī smiled and blinked, saying:
"Lord Yūto, are you praising me?"
As Mei Terumī spoke, she pulled out a bag of fish balls from behind her and held it in front of Yūto.
Yūto's smile widened. He took the fish balls from Mei Terumī's hand and began to eat them heartily, thoroughly satisfied.
Mei Terumī's eyes flashed with a smile as she watched Yūto eat the fish balls, saying:
"It seems Lord Yūto isn't very worried about the situation in the Ninja World."
Yūto shook his head, swallowing the fish balls in his mouth:
"There's nothing to worry about. They're just a bunch of clowns."
Mei Terumī also nodded, then fell silent for a moment. Her face showed a mix of doubt and seriousness as she looked at Yūto, saying:
"Lord, intercepting those Three Great Ninja Villages doesn't seem like your style. Doing so might expose your identity."
"Orochimaru is dead. As long as Kirigakure develops steadily, we can slowly devour them without the Four Great Shinobi Villages knowing."
Yūto nodded slightly and said with a smile:
"That was indeed the initial plan, but now we have to change our original strategy."
Mei Terumī was startled and quickly said, "Has Lord Yūto discovered something?"
"I did discover something interesting, but it won't be long before the entire Ninja World knows about it. That's also why I'm suddenly not worried about my identity being exposed."
"On this grand chessboard of the Ninja World, from the Sengoku period until now, it's still those same few players."
Yūto's eyes held a deep gaze as he spoke faintly.
Mei Terumī raised an eyebrow, somewhat bewildered, clearly not understanding the meaning of Yūto's words.
Just as Mei Terumī was about to ask again, a whooshing sound came from a distance.
In a few blinks, Ameyuri Ringo had already appeared not far in front of Yūto and Mei Terumī.
"Lord Yūto! Lord Mizukage!"
Ameyuri Ringo was startled when she saw Mei Terumī sitting beside Yūto, then quickly bowed and spoke respectfully.
Yūto turned and looked at Ameyuri Ringo, chuckling, "It seems the Sand Ninja have arrived?"
"Yes, Lord Yūto, the Sand Ninja Village has indeed sent Ninja to negotiate with us. They want to exchange for Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro."
Ameyuri Ringo nodded, revealing her sharp teeth.
"Who currently leads the Sand Ninja Village?"
Yūto turned his head to Mei Terumī and asked curiously.
"It's Chiyo, who is known throughout the Ninja World as a super-class puppeteer," Mei Terumī said softly.
It really is her!
A glint flashed in Yūto's eyes. He looked back at Ameyuri Ringo and asked curiously:
"How do the Sand Ninja plan to exchange for Gaara and the others?"
Ameyuri Ringo pouted: "The Sand Ninja who came said that their Sand Ninja are willing to exchange them for money or land, and they can even form an alliance with our Kirigakure."
"Money? Land? How much money can the Sand Ninja have? As for land, it's all desert, and there's a Konoha in between. Even if they gave it for free, we might not want it. As for the alliance, the Sand Ninja Village wouldn't lose out."
Hearing Ameyuri Ringo's words, Mei Terumī spoke disdainfully.
"Tell Chiyo, there's no problem exchanging for Gaara and the others. I imagine their identities, plus the Ichibi Shukaku, should be enough to exchange for a forbidden jutsu in her possession."
Yūto's lips curved into a slight smile as he spoke softly.
"Lord Yūto, what secret jutsu do you want from the Sand Ninja?"
Mei Terumī looked at Yūto curiously. As far as she knew, besides puppetry, the Sand Ninja Village was only famous for various poisons, and Lord Yūto probably wouldn't care for either of those.
"A forbidden jutsu in Chiyo's possession—the Reanimation Jutsu."
Yūto narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled.
Not long after that Ninja received Kirigakure's demand, the Sand Ninja Village quickly received the request from Kirigakure through a Summoning Technique.
"How did the people of Kirigakure know that my sister has the 'Reanimation Jutsu'?"
Ebizo's aged face was deeply furrowed as he spoke in a serious tone.
Chiyo, who was sitting beside him, was silent for a moment, then turned to Maki beside her and said:
"Agree to Kirigakure's demands. As long as Gaara and the others can return safely, I can give them this jutsu."
"Sister! Do you really intend to give this jutsu to the Mist people?"
Ebizo's expression changed, and he spoke seriously.
"It's just a forbidden jutsu. How many people in this world would use this jutsu at the cost of their own lives?"
Chiyo's face was calm, but her eyes held a faint trace of sorrow.
When Yūto received news of Chiyo's agreement, he released Temari and Kankuro with a smile on his face.
As for Gaara, Yūto naturally intended to verify the authenticity of the Reanimation Jutsu.
————
In a dense forest.
Yakushi Kabuto wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked behind him, finding that no one had pursued him so far. He couldn't help but slowly let out a sigh of relief and collapsed against a large tree.
Lord Orochimaru is dead!
And he himself had witnessed that scene firsthand.
It was a battle where one side was completely crushed.
Orochimaru, whose strength he once found terrifying, had no power to resist the young man from beginning to end.
He was easily cut down!
One can imagine the shock and fear in Yakushi Kabuto's heart at that time.
So, the moment he saw Orochimaru killed, Yakushi Kabuto turned and ran. He had been rushing desperately for several days, just afraid of being caught.
Because Lord Orochimaru, before his death, not only explained how to revive him but also told him a secret.
A secret that made Yakushi Kabuto's hair stand on end: the legendary First Mizukage Yūto had been resurrected!
Someone who deliberately hid himself, now having his existence known to others, one can imagine…
And Yakushi Kabuto didn't want to die!
So, after learning this secret, Yakushi Kabuto fled desperately.
However, up until now, Yakushi Kabuto found that no one had come to chase him yet.
"Do they not know of my existence? Or are they no longer concerned about their identity being exposed?"
Yakushi Kabuto was silent for a moment, muttering to himself.