Chapter 140: A Game of Pawns
Izuna quickly follows after Mei. Mei ignores him for the entire duration.
They reach the foothill of a small hill surrounding by many shinobis. There is a middle-sized mansion on top of the small hill.
The shinobi guard recognizes Mei and allows her to enter. Mei turns towards Izuna and questions him.
"You must have heard of the Terumi n right. We were former allies."
Izuna nods his head.
"Yes, our Yuki n was a close aide of Terumi n. One thing led to another and my n is on the verge of extinction. Sigh"
Izuna sighs depressingly. Mei looks at Izuna with conflict and chooses to remain silent.
Izuna turns towards Mei and speaks.
"But I was surprised when I came to know about your identity. You are that famous princess of the Terumi n.
Then that makes me the knight on the white horse who saved the princess. Haha.."
Izuna chuckles at Mei.
Humph
Mei snorts and turns around.
"Don''t get too cocky. If I wasn''t exhausted from my previous fight... then I would have dealt with them. Also, with that scrawny body and girly face I can''t imagine you as a knight on a white horse. So stop with your fantasies."
""
She harshly rebukes Izuna. Izuna raises his hand and silently follows after her.
Soon, a ninja walks in front of them.
"Miss Mei I will take it from here. You must be exhausted from your previous mission."
Mei nods her head and walks in another direction.
''I am both mentally and physically tired from that fight. I will take a break in hot springs.''
After Mei''s departure, the shinobi turns towards Izuna and snorts.
"Don''t foster any fancy ideas for our princess. She is destined to be the next leader of the Terumi n. A homeless and reputation less person like you is nothing in front of her."
The Shinobi has a pervert expression on his face as he is lost in his fantasies.
""
Izuna looks at the buffoon shinobi and wonder.
''They even have such kind of people in their security.''
Cough cough
Izuna coughs to gets his attention.
"Can you lead the way?"
Ahem
The shinobi clears his throat and takes him inside the manor. Izuna curiously inspects the mansion.
''Although the mansion doesn''t look special from outside it is quite fortified inside. There are various traps and seals in ces. I guess Kiri has an entirely different power system from Konoha.''
He curiously turns towards the shinobi and questions him.
"Then who do you think is most suitable for Miss Mei? It certainly isn''t you... right." Izuna smiles at the shinobi.
"No I am nowhere close to her status." The shinobi shakes his head in depression.
"But but If would have to say a suitable candidate.... then there are quite a few people."
The shinobi ponders over the name of suitable candidates for Mei.
"There is no suitable candidate for her in Kiri if it was before then maybe Fourth Mizukage... but he is a little old for Miss Mei despite his young appearance."
The Ninja shakes his head in denial.
"Then what about other viges?"
Izuna curiously questions him.
"Humm another vige that''s not possible. Kiri will never rely on outsiders to grow stronger..." The shinobi immediately refutes Izuna''s question.
"But if I had to pick... then there are only a handful of powerful shinobis from other viges suitable for Miss Mei"
He ponders for a while before replying.
" then it must be Izuna Uchiha ''The Shinigami''. He is just way too powerful with such a huge bounty on his head. As for his strength.... that is undeniable. But many higher-ups of Kiri hate him. They have suffered quite a few losses under his hand.
Izuna Uchiha has assassinated many shinobis from our vige. So this hatred is unreconciled."
The shinobi has a fervent expression on his face.
"If only it had a percentage of Izuna Uchiha''s ability... then I am sure I would be able to impress Hana."
""
Izuna speechlessly stares at him.
''I wonder what his expression would be if I reveal my identity.''
Izuna shakes his head to discard such useless thoughts. They arrive in front of a room.
The shinobi bows in front of the door and speaks.
"I have brought him here Fuji-sama."
"Hu you may return now."
The shinobi bows his head and retreats.
"Yuito Yuki I summoned you here to have a little discussion with you."
The door opens up, and Fuji Terumi greets Izuna.
"It''s my honor to have a conversation with you... Fuji-san. I would like to know the reason for our meeting. I am sure you haven''t called me here for an ideal chatter... right?" Izuna calmly speaks to him.
Humph
Wakan frowns at Izuna''s nonchnce.
''Such disrespect and to address Fuji-sama in such a casual manner.'' Wakan is about tosh out my Elder Genji stops him and shakes his head.
Wakan returns to his position as he angrily stares at Izuna.
"Quite the blunt person are you?" Fuji chuckles as he stares at Izuna in the eyes.
"Then I will be straightforward with you. I investigated your background and found your story to be true. Now... since you have lost your family and friend and have nowhere to go then why don''t you join us?"
Fuji raises a proposal to Izuna.
"I am sure with your Ice Release you will be an asset for our faction and also you will be able to rise in ranks and get a stable position in future safeguarding your brother."
''Hmm so he is sweet-talking me to join his faction... but at the same time he is also threatening me using Kimimaro well... this is how power struggle works. They don''t want any spy or traitor among their ranks. Since I am here on infiltration or to say vacation I will ept the deal. Also I am restricted to Ice Release it will help me further improve my control over Arctic Release.''
Izuna ponders for a while. Fuji and Elder Genji calmly stare at Izuna''s expression.
''Has he figured out the meaning behind my words? If yes then he can be a valuable ally if not then he can only be a second rate disposable pawn in this battle.'' Fuji thinks to himself.
"Fine I will join your faction as for my brother''s safety you don''t have to bother with it."
Izuna stares in Fuji''s eyes.
The temperature of the room falls.
tter tter.
Some Anbus tters their teeth as they shiver from the cold.
"Very well it''s fine with us. You can return for now I will summon you when I need you to do a task."
Fuji nods his head as Izuna walks out of the room.
After making sure no one was around, Fuji turns to Elder Genji and speaks.
"Seems like he is not a fool. If his abilities are as described by Mei then we have got our hands on a powerful ally. It is our chance to seize the position of another elder in this meeting."
Fuji clenches his hands.
Swoosh swoosh
An anbu member silently flickers near Elder Genji. He passes a scroll to him before disappearing.
Elder Genji opens the scroll and reads its content. He tosses the scroll towards Fuji.
"You don''t have to wait long to test his abilities. You will know it tomorrow."
Fuji frowns and catches the scroll and reads its content.
"So the Noble n has made their move. To think that they will send the ''Night Reaper'' to assassinate him."
Elder Genji nods his head as he exins.
"It may seem unnecessary but the Noble n wants to assert their dominance over us they wanted to show their power. If the ''Night Reaper'' is sessful then it will serve as a warning for us. But if he fails then the Noble n will be forced to take more drastic measures."
Elder Genji burns the scroll to ashes.
''Either way it is an opportunity for us to test the capabilities of our new ally. If he fails and dies... then we can onlyment the loss of a pawn... but if he lives then we would have much more to see in the future. In any case it is a win-win situation for us.''
"Very well" Fuji turns to Wakan.
"Wakan go and personally monitor the situation tonight. I want you to assess the ability of our new member. You will only spectate the assassin you will not interfere with it."
"Yes Fuji-sama." Wakan nods his head and flickers out from the room.
"Wakan maybe a little hot-headed but he is one of my most trustedpanions. We lived through the Second Shinobi war and I saved his life on one asion. He is still grateful to me for that."
Fuji chuckles as he ces a Shogi board on the table.
"How about a round of Shogi elder Genji?"