Triggered

"It really is the Fourth Mizukage!"

After taking the initiative to explore one direction, the few remaining members of Power of the Era in the Hidden Mist Anbu also caught sight of the unconscious Fourth Mizukage, who had been rescued.

Though it had only been a hurried glance and the area had been tightly sealed off,

they still used communication methods outside the ninja system to send the information out before the gag order was issued.

Sure enough, those Japan fellows were still far ahead in their progress through this Mission Space!

This time, they had indeed shown considerable sincerity by providing such important information for free.

In that case, if they contacted the other ninja clans and worked together, then coordinated with some jonin who had long been dissatisfied with the Fourth Mizukage, their chances of success would rise without limit.

Ever since entering this Mission Space, they had stayed holed up in Kirigakure. Their own strength and foundations were sufficient, and while Power of the Era had been making arrangements, they had also built up quite a number of character relationships.

Now, it was time to make use of that power!

They could even give up some of the benefits and rewards they had gained during this period to win those people over.

With the Fourth Mizukage severely injured and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki having defected, who else in the village could stop Lord Curse Sacrifice’s advance?

If they could overturn Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Villages,

the rewards would probably surpass imagination!

That was something they had never even dared to think of at the start!

At first, they had only wanted to obtain the Taketori Clan’s Kekkei Genkai and complete a few Hidden Mist missions.

Only now did they realize that Utakata’s consecutive defection and the Mizukage’s grave injury had given them such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As for whether Muto might interfere or scheme against them, there was no need to worry too much. In terms of strength, Lord Curse Sacrifice was above Muto.

Besides, he had to consider the consequences of offending their legion.

Japan was ultimately nothing more than a rising star for now.

In the Reincarnation Space, profit came before all else. No matter how one looked at it, joining forces with them and gathering two Kage-level big shots to carry out a coup in Kirigakure was far more worthwhile!

Still, Japan had really been generous this time. They would have to show some appreciation after returning, to make future cooperation easier…

Mei Terumi’s expression was extremely grim as she looked at the intelligence scroll Xu Yue handed over.

"So? It shouldn’t be fake, right? I was worried you wouldn’t put any effort into catching the assassin, so I had my bodyguard look into it himself. And look what he found—something this serious. You should at least give me a discount."

Xu Yue still looked like a man who only cared about money.

He seemed completely unable to see Kirigakure’s predicament, like some outsider who believed that a great village could suppress a rebellion in minutes.

Taking a deep breath and calming the magnificent rise and fall of her chest, Mei Terumi thanked Xu Yue.

"Thank you for the warning. I’ll handle this matter."

On the way here, Mei Terumi had already decided to change the village’s current state and force the Fourth Mizukage to step down.

But after the severely injured Fourth Mizukage was brought back, Ao had used the Byakugan taken as spoils to discover traces of an Illusion Technique on him.

All this time, the Fourth Mizukage had actually been under someone else’s control!

After discovering this, Mei Terumi was naturally furious.

At such a critical moment, just after the Mizukage had been severely injured, someone had joined forces with forces dissatisfied with the village to rebel. In Mei Terumi’s eyes, this was very likely the work of the faction that had secretly controlled the Mizukage.

They had discovered that the Fourth Hokage was no longer viable, so they had chosen another method.

No matter what, she could not let them succeed!

Yet the enemy’s gathered strength was truly formidable now. According to the intelligence, there was even someone suspected to be Kage-level among them, which gave Mei Terumi quite a headache.

Most ninja clans possessed bloodlines and were individually powerful. Together with the jonin who had been incited to join them, that force alone was enough to badly damage the village.

With the hidden faction added on top of that, the situation had truly become precarious.

Even if they won, Kirigakure would likely lose its status as one of the Five Great Villages.

That was absolutely not something Mei Terumi wished to see.

After hesitating for a moment, she asked Xu Yue,

"Would it be possible for me to speak with your bodyguard alone?"

"Ah? You’re trying to poach him? No way."

Xu Yue replied with a guarded expression.

"We can pay his employment fee for you."

"Deal."

Xu Yue grabbed Mei Terumi’s little hand and shook it up and down several times. His speed in changing his expression caught even her off guard…

Mei Terumi’s meeting with Xu Yue’s real body was quite discreet.

Looking at the figure wearing a Cat Face Mask without any attempt at concealment, Mei Terumi’s expression was solemn.

"Sure enough, someone capable of sensing that the other side has a Kage-level expert must naturally be Kage-level himself. I just don’t know whether you are Uchiha Itachi or Uchiha Yue."

"Who I am isn’t important. I only came to the Land of Water this time to test my own capacity. Whether I use the Taketori Clan or Kirigakure as the test makes no difference to me. It depends on whether you have something that can move me."

Xu Yue’s tone was indifferent, yet beneath that indifference was a bloodiness that Mei Terumi could almost smell.

But the more Xu Yue responded this way, the more Mei Terumi relaxed. A flicker of understanding passed through her eyes.

Sure enough, protecting that stingy fellow on his trip here had merely been incidental. That miser really dared to hire anyone just to save money.

You’re lucky to be alive~

Though this man was dangerous, as long as he was willing to negotiate, there was value in negotiating with him!

Kirigakure was currently at its most critical moment, so even if the other side made an outrageous demand, they would have to satisfy him.

And compared with those arrogant ninja clans, the village’s accumulated resources were far richer.

But before she could speak, Xu Yue said calmly again,

"If you mean the wealth within the village, then forget it. If I help the other side take the village, I can obtain that as well. What I need is something they don’t have—or rather, what you personally can give me…"

His ominous scarlet eyes watched the beautiful figure before him through the mask, his tone carrying a hint of teasing…

Bloodline Scroll: Lava Release. (The issue of Lava Release and Melting Release was mentioned before, so it will not be explained again.)

Acquired!

And although Mei Terumi did not know that Xu Yue was that stingy merchant, the space’s judgment allowed a certain degree of substitution through the expenditure of favorability, combined with what she was about to offer.

Thus, once he successfully helped Kirigakure, he would no longer need to pay any fees to learn from the scroll.

On the third day after Xu Yue agreed to Mei Terumi’s request, she seemed to have completed her preparations.

Xu Yue and all the laborers automatically received a prompt from the space.

Triggered Mission: Suppress Rebellion. Assist Kirigakure in suppressing the rebellion and drive back the Reincarnators aiding the rebels. Base reward upon completing the mission objective: B-Rank Mission Plot Points ×1. Additional rewards will be granted based on mission contribution.

Seeing the space’s reward, Xu Yue could not help but smile. There were more than ten people from the Laborer Group in this Mission Space. Judging from the difficulty of the mission rewards, the rebel forces were indeed somewhat stronger, but only to a limited extent.

Kirigakure also had a Kage-level expert in Mei Terumi.

If he wanted to raise his score as much as possible, he needed to increase the difficulty a little and steal more kills.

Hmm, it would be best to bring those laborers along to steal kills too. They also needed to get used to bloodshed. He could only give them an introduction; in the future, they would have to rely on themselves…

Two updates complete~