Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Choices



Night fell, shrouding the land in darkness.

At this time, inside a house in a small town roughly twenty kilometers southwest of the Hidden Hot Spring Village...

A dozen figures sat around a large rectangular table, dim lighting casting faint shadows across their faces.

Their appearances were extremely sinister—not due to their looks, but because of the ominous aura emanating from between their brows.

Seated at the head of the table was Tachiyama Shinsaburo, his neck and left arm wrapped in white bandages, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. As Sakumo had predicted, his left hand, destroyed by a loud explosion, had fully recovered.

He folded both hands together, resting his elbows on the table, partially concealing his pale face beneath the light.

Tachiyama Shinsaburo turned toward Ryo Yagura, seated at his left, and asked, "Can't we request more ninjas from Kumogakure? With our current strength, this plan is far too risky. Besides, standing against us is Sakumo Hatake."

Though Tachiyama hadn't witnessed the entire battle that night, the outcome was clear enough.

This high-ranking member of the Yagura Clan in Kumogakure had clearly been no match for Sakumo Hatake. Even with two jonin assisting him, one still ended up severely injured.

Moreover, though the Hidden Hot Spring Village was small, its leader was by no means weak.

"So what if he's there? Do you really think I can't take him down?" 

Ryo Yagura's tone still carried anger. At the mention of Sakumo Hatake, his eyes darkened ominously.

"Of course not," Tachiyama Shinsaburo replied with a soft chuckle, though his smile looked strangely unsettling.

Yagura glanced sideways at him before continuing, "With tensions running high among the Five Great Ninja Nations, forces are stretched thin. Sending us out here is already the limit for our village. Besides, it would take two or three days to travel from Kumogakure to here. Are you willing to give the Hidden Hot Spring Village that much time to prepare even further?"

"Also, Konoha is much closer to the Hidden Hot Spring Village than Kumogakure."

His meaning was clear—the Cloud Village currently couldn't spare any reinforcements. Correspondingly, since Sakumo Hatake himself had joined this conflict, it was evident that Konoha had begun treating the matter seriously.

Requesting reinforcements from Kumogakure was now impossible. At this moment, Tachiyama Shinsaburo appeared somewhat hesitant.

Though eager to achieve the true Immortal Body as soon as possible, the current situation was grim. Victory would not be easy to obtain.

"There's no need to hesitate! By the grace of our Evil Deity, we will achieve success!"

One man among the dozen figures suddenly shouted, his eyes burning with fanaticism.

"The divine is on our side—we shall emerge victorious!"

"The Evil Deity is omnipotent..."

As these words rang out, they ignited a surge of frenzied cheers. Each leader of the Evil Cult wore an expression of fanatical devotion toward this so-called deity.

Watching them with disdain, Tachiyama Shinsaburo inwardly sneered. He himself had never believed in any so-called Evil Deity, nor did he think the Immortal Body came from divine power.

According to his research, it appeared more like an ancient secret technique from a thousand years ago. Once the ritual was completed, one could obtain an undying body.

With this kind of power, he wouldn't have to fear being hunted down by Konoha ninjas anymore.

Let one come... and he'll die.

But for now, he represented the Divine Envoy. Facing these fanatic followers, he rose to his feet, stretched out both arms, striking the pose of a fraud preacher, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"You are right. The mighty deity shall grant us invincible strength, allowing us to defeat all enemies. The gods must not be defied, and I... am their Divine Envoy."

Everyone in this room, except Ryo Yagura, belonged to the Evil Cult. Their blind fanaticism disgusted him slightly...

"Fine. Just let me know when we're leaving. I have no interest in wasting time here with you."

Dozens of eyes turned sharply toward him at once. Ryo Yagura glanced at them dismissively before walking out without hesitation.

"A brainless brute," Tachiyama Shinsaburo mocked inwardly. Though Ryo Yagura might possess great strength, he was also terribly foolish.

A ninja must always stay calm and rational.

"Divine Envoy." At that moment, someone entered from outside and knelt before Tachiyama Shinsaburo.

Then, handing him a scroll, the man turned and left.

Carefully reading through its contents, even Tachiyama Shinsaburo's expression subtly changed.

"It seems that fool's identity has already been exposed. How pathetic — an elder of the Hidden Hot Spring Village who couldn't even find the exact location of the Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons."

Tachiyama Shinsaburo chuckled coldly. Even among the upper ranks of the Hidden Hot Spring Village, there were those secretly craving the Immortal Body and eternal life.

The older those old men got, the more terrified they became of dying.

The report indicated that only Fuu Akimoto, the leader of the Hidden Hot Spring Village, knew the true whereabouts of the Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons.

This made things far more complicated. Searching for a single weapon within such a massive village would be nearly impossible.

Yet within this intelligence was something far more valuable.

"Divine Envoy, the cultists are almost gathered. What are your orders?" someone beside Tachiyama Shinsaburo asked.

Gathering up these fanatics meant acting as quickly as possible.

As Ryo Yagura said, dragging it out would only give the Hidden Hot Spring Village time to react.

"We move now — infiltrate the Hidden Hot Spring Village and seize the holy relic!"

Tachiyama Shinsaburo immediately stood, raising his arm high. The others erupted into fervent cries, their eyes burning with hatred.

To them, the Hidden Hot Spring Village had stolen the Bloodthirsty Sickle of Three Moons — an insult to the gods themselves. They would pay dearly for that blasphemy.

Outside this small town, over a thousand followers of the Evil Deity Cult had gathered, surrounding Tachiyama Shinsaburo, the Divine Envoy, treating him as a living representative of the Deity himself.

By pleasing him, they believed they could obtain divine power and achieve an immortal, indestructible body.

"What's your plan?" Ryo Yagura asked. Invading a ninja village naturally required strategy. He wouldn't charge in blindly like some fool.

Upon hearing this, Tachiyama let out a cold chuckle and said, "Most of you will launch a frontal assault. I'm sure Sakumo Hatake will target you first…"

"As for me," he continued, "I'll sneak attack the SHELTER directly. Once I've got Fuu Akimoto's mother, our objective is done."

Ryo Yagura's expression darkened slightly. What a despicable bastard—he intended to force the leader of the Hot Spring Village ninjas into making an agonizing choice—save his mother or protect the village.

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