---Ryouma's POV---
The moment I saw the expression on Shiori's face, I knew she had caught me. That thoughtful look in her eyes made it clear, she definitely remembered our promise.
I watched as her cheeks puffed out slightly without her realizing it. She was clearly waiting to hear what kind of excuse I would come up with.
I had remembered our promise, of course. I was originally planning to explain it away by saying I had left in a hurry or something like that, but when I saw how different she looked when she was angry compared to her usual self, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hahaha!"
"Pfft~" To my surprise, after I laughed, Shiori laughed as well. Though, as she laughed, she threw a punch into my chest.
"Ow!" I let out an exaggerated yelp. My over-the-top acting made even Shukaku avert his gaze in embarrassment.
Shiori tossed her long hair and said, "Whatever. You're stronger than me anyway. If you want to do something, you'll do it."
I could tell the reason she wanted to join the battle against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was mostly out of concern that I might get into trouble.
"You've already accomplished your goal here, so what's your plan now?"
Hearing her question, I suddenly felt like I might be a little too easy to read, she had seemed to pick up on my thoughts ever since we met. Pushing down that weird feeling, I replied, "You really get me. I was just thinking about whether I should stay here or go support the Land of Hot Water."
"And? What did you decide?"
Without hesitation, I answered, "I plan to go to the Land of Water first, then head to the Land of Hot Water. Gotta fight against some Kumo ninjas. Since you weren't invited to the battle against the Seven Swordsmen, I guess I can take you along this time."
As I mentioned the Kumo ninjas, I threw a few punches in the air. It had been a while since I had a truly satisfying fight over in Kiri. I figured Kumo might have some opponents worth getting excited about.
The thrill of combat... Was this why Goku kept seeking battles?
But when she heard me mention going to the Land of Water, Shiori suddenly seemed to freeze. Her eyes went blank, as if she was staring at something far away that only she could see.
"Don't go to the Land of Water…" she murmured.
"What?"
"Don't go… to the Land of Water… or you'll… regret it…"
"What's wrong?"
I noticed her dazed look and leaned in, waving my hand in front of her face while calling out loudly.
"Don't… go to the Land of Water?" Shiori murmured again.
My ears were sharp, and I clearly heard what she said, though I didn't quite understand the meaning behind it.
Curious, I asked outright, "Are you saying you don't want me to go to the Land of Water? But why would you say that?"
Hearing my question, Shiori looked just as confused as I felt. That strange look on her face disappeared, and she seemed to relax a bit, as if whatever had been bothering her had passed.
"Ryouma, just now, when you said you were going to the Land of Water, suddenly in my mind..."
---
After listening to Shiori's explanation, I rested my chin on my hand and began to think.
"You're saying that the moment I mentioned going to the Land of Water, that voice appeared and told you not to go? That you'd regret it if you did?"
Shiori nodded. "Exactly. And it repeated over and over again. I couldn't have misheard it."
I was a bit lost at this point. This situation felt similar to the Yamanaka clan's mental techniques.
But first off, there was no one from the Yamanaka clan in this camp who would use such a technique on her. And second, if the voice felt familiar to her, that possibility could probably be ruled out.
"What do you think?" I tossed the question over to Shukaku, curious about its opinion.
Shukaku, too, was intrigued by what Shiori had said. He began wagging his single tail that was a habit he had when deep in thought. "I recall that you hadn't told anyone about your plan to go to the Land of Water."
Shiori heard this and looked to me for confirmation.
I replied, "Yeah, that was before I killed the Seven Swordsmen. Back then, I couldn't find any trace of them in the Land of Fire, so I figured I'd just go straight to Kiri and attack."
Hearing my plan, her eyes widened in shock. "You were planning to challenge an entire hidden village by yourself?"
I scratched the back of my head and laughed sheepishly. "Haha, well, the Seven Swordsmen kept hiding, and I couldn't just sit around forever. But now that I've achieved my goal, this time I'm just planning to go destroy some of their village's infrastructure."
Shiori looked toward Shukaku, she was starting to understand why he had brought this up.
I, too, realized something and turned to him. "You're saying someone was spying on me, learned about my plan to go to the Land of Water, and then used some ability to transmit that info into her brain?"
Shukaku nodded and continued analyzing: "It doesn't necessarily have to be spying. With your perception skills, this person probably used some other means to learn your plan."
My eyes sharpened. "So you're saying... it might be someone we know? That would explain why the voice felt familiar to her."
A cold wind swept past us, as if casting a shadowy veil over our group.
The more we analyzed, the more disturbed I felt. There could be someone dangerous hiding in plain sight, disguised as someone close, silently watching our every move from the shadows.
With that thought, I suddenly activated my Rikugan at full power, instantly scanning and absorbing all information within several kilometers around us. But I found nothing strange. No unusual people, and no signs of White Zetsu-like entities.
That only made it more puzzling.
"No... that's not it." I realized I needed to approach this from a different angle.
Maybe the voice wasn't malicious when it said, "Don't go to the Land of Water." And just because the voice appeared when I mentioned going there, didn't necessarily mean I was the one being warned.
I felt like I was starting to grasp something.
Then Shukaku suddenly shouted in confusion, "Why would that person think you'd regret it? Unless... it's a prophecy or something?"
Shiori furrowed her brows tightly, puzzled, and said, "What exactly is this person trying to do? They couldn't possibly think that just saying one sentence would make you abandon your original plan, right? What a joke."
"Exactly. For now, we'll stick to the original plan."
Though it was a bit arbitrary, I still decided to proceed with my plan to infiltrate the Land of Water and attack Kiri.
I was confident that nothing could stop me, when I wanted to flee.
Shiori said, "In that case, I'll come with you."
But I rejected the suggestion.
"No. I can move more freely on my own. If anything unexpected happens, I can teleport away at any time using the Flying Thunder God Technique."
If the only enemy had been Kiri, bringing Shiori wouldn't have been an issue. But given the current unknown threat, solo action offered a higher level of mobility and flexibility.
After all, confidence was good, arrogance wasn't.
---Third POV---
In a dark underground location of the Land of Water, lived an old man, who had feigned death after his battle with the First Hokage, and survived until now.
"Madara-sama, this is the information you asked me to gather on Uchiha clan members suitable to become pawns." A half-spiked White Zetsu handed a scroll to the withered old man.
Madara snatched the intel and started reading. The moment he saw the first report, he frowned and said impatiently,
"Shiori? Why are you giving me information on a little girl? Have you been slacking off lately?"
The spiky White Zetsu explained helplessly, "This girl is extremely talented, she's already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan."
Madara scoffed, "She's just a girl. The speed of awakening the Sharingan doesn't mean much for an Uchiha."
While commenting, he continued reading. Two names among the reports caught his attention.
"Shisui? Suspected of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Noticing his interest, White Zetsu added,
"Though he hasn't used any specific Mangekyō techniques, his strength far exceeds that of other Uchiha with regular three-tomoe Sharingan."
Madara hadn't expected that in this era of short-sighted Uchiha, someone capable of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan could still appear. However, the stronger one was, the harder they were to control. This Shisui wouldn't make a good pawn.
But another name in the report caught his eye.
"Obito?"
White Zetsu looked puzzled. "Madara-sama, this boy has very low talent. He hasn't even awakened his Sharingan yet. He's not very smart either. His only real strength seems to be that he likes helping old people."
"Haha." Madara let out a cold laugh. "The best soil for the Mangekyō Sharingan to bloom is an Uchiha full of love. A simple-minded person is easier to manipulate. Since he likes helping old folks so much, let him come help me right here."
"Uh…" At that moment, White Zetsu really couldn't understand what Madara was thinking, but hey, he was the boss after all.
Madara stepped down from the chair where he had been sitting and stretched his body a bit. He spent most of his time in a dormant state, only waking up when White Zetsu brought particularly important intel.
After finishing the information on Obito, he turned and asked, "Who is this Ryouma?"
The moment Madara brought him up, White Zetsu got excited. He immediately started rattling off all the war-related intelligence he had gathered, like reciting a list of treasures.
If anyone had been in the spotlight of the shinobi world recently, Ryouma would definitely be among the top names. After all, he was the man who had singlehandedly ended wars involving two great hidden villages.
However, what interested Madara more was not Ryouma's military achievements, but another identity of his.
He was the person Obito valued the most.
According to the intel White Zetsu brought, the one who had the greatest influence on Obito wasn't his teacher Minato, nor his teammate Kakashi, or even Rin, but this Ryouma.
His mind started racing, plotting how to use this bond to lure Obito into falling completely into darkness.
The simplest method would be to orchestrate Ryouma's death, after all, Obito clearly had an almost blind admiration for him. If he were to witness even someone as strong as Ryouma become just another casualty of the ninja wars, he might become so disillusioned that he'd reject the world entirely.
But that was only the starting point. If he truly wanted to push Obito into utter despair, just killing Ryouma might not be enough. He needed a bigger shock, something foolproof.
Thinking along those lines, Madara started considering what other pawns he could use.
According to the intel, Ryouma's strength was already on par with a Kage, and he had mastered the despicable Flying Thunder God Technique. So, he needed a way to keep the boy from escaping.
Just like how the Gold and Silver Brothers had once killed Tobirama with an ambush.
With that in mind, he looked up and asked, "Is there anything he deeply values?"
White Zetsu tilted his head, trying to remember. "Judging by his current actions, he seems like a ninja who's inherited the Will of Fire perfectly. As long as it's someone from Konoha, he'd likely care about them."
Seeing Madara's dissatisfied expression, he paused, then continued, "But if you want to talk about what he values most, that would be his childhood friend, Rin. Others who are important to him include Kakashi, Shiori, Heiji, and Tsunade."
Madara sat back in his chair and closed his eyes to think.
Rin, Tsunade, and Heiji were all currently within Konoha, so the chances of targeting them successfully were too low. That left only Shiori and Kakashi, who were currently on the battlefield.
But which one to use as the bait for a fixed battleground trap?
He would have to observe a bit more before deciding. However, considering proximity, both Shiori and Ryouma were on the same battlefield at the moment, which was a perfect opportunity.
Ideally, he could lure both of them to the Land of Water. There, he could personally use genjutsu to control the girl and have her kill Ryouma. Then he'd frame the whole thing on Kiri.
That way, Obito would surely fall right into his grasp.
Madara glanced around and asked, "Where's Tobi?"
White Zetsu shrugged. "No idea. Probably off outside... watching bugs or poop or something."
"No wonder he's a failure grown from Hashirama's cells. I'm going back to sleep for a while. Keep an eye on the girl's movements and figure out a way to lure her to the Land of Water."
"Yes, Madara-sama."