Chapter 175: Ao from the Land of Water

*Author Note*

A little late, but here you go~

hikari_izuki made another sticker.

*End of Author Note*

Like every day, quite a few small groups were prowling around the Uzumaki compound, while making sure to take note of everyone who entered and exited the compound. This was a pretty normal procedure that was used against every clan of significance, even if it rarely produced any worthwhile information.

One group, however, had slightly different intentions today. A middle-aged man with blue hair and an eye patch over his right eye was being followed by a total of 5 people. These five people had been trying to analyze the barrier surrounding the Uzumaki clan for multiple months now, and they believed that they had finally made a breakthrough.

The man with the blue hair, Ao, a shinobi of Kirigakure, was here because of that breakthrough. Back in Kirigakure, a rebellion was about to start any day now and Ao was looking for possible allies. One of these possible allies was Zabuza Momochi, who hadn’t been seen for quite a long time now.

The only information that Ao managed to dig up about Zabuza was, that he was defeated but not killed by Kakashi Hatake in the Land of Waves and was then convinced by Kakashi to help the Land of Waves to recover from the tyranny of Gatou. This information alone wasn’t enough to catch Ao’s interest and he was pretty sure that quite a few parts of that story were falsified, but he got another piece of information that could at least shed some light on Zabuza’s current location: Haku, the young girl that was always following around Zabuza, was inside Konoha and could go in and out of the Uzumaki clan as she wished.

Ao’s first thought, when he heard that, was that his people should just kidnap her and force Zabuza to appear, but since he wanted Zabuza to help with the rebellion he quickly discarded that plan. Truth be told, he wasn’t even sure if Zabuza was actually inside the Uzumaki compound. That was actually what today’s operation was about. The five people that were following him will open the barrier surrounding the Uzumaki compound for a short while and he will scan the whole place with the Byakugan that was hidden under his eye-patch. He took it from a Hyuga in the last war, and so far, the only two people who knew about it were Mei Terumi, the person he was supporting during the rebellion, and Yagura Karatachi, the current Mizukage, who he was rebelling against.

After he confirmed that Zabuza was actually here, he could put pressure on the Uzumaki clan, due to Zabuza being a wanted man in the Land of Water. Well, all Ao wanted was a meeting with Zabuza. Since Zabuza became a wanted man due to trying to assassinate the current Mizukage, Ao was sure that he would help the people that were rebelling against him.

He was just about to start the operation when everything fell apart before he could say a single word. Two blurs appeared between the five men that were following him, one red and blue, the other orange, and before Ao could understand the situation, all five of them were knocked out, while a sword was pressed against his neck from behind.

It took him a few seconds, but when he realized what kind of Jutsu the two people, whom he could easily identify as Yuna and Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze used, he felt cold sweat flowing down his back like a river.

‘I heard some rumors that Yuna could use the [Flying Thunder God], but since when could her brother use it as well? Isn’t one person with that kind of overpowered jutsu enough already? Besides that, who is the person currently holding a blade to my neck? I couldn’t feel a presence at all and neither could I see anything with the Byakugan. Is it another user of the [Flying Thunder God]? What is going on here?’

The first one to speak was Yuna who couldn’t help but chuckle a little when she saw the current situation.

“Hehe, how interesting. One was kicked out of the Hyuga clan, and the other stole one of their eyes. Such a fateful meeting.”

Ao’s eyes widened when Yuna casually mentioned his Byakugan that was supposed to be hidden by seals, but after hearing Yuna’s words, he realized who the person holding the sword to his neck was and got even more surprised.

‘It’s Hinata, who discarded her clan’s name?! I heard that she could even sneak through the view of her father’s Byakugan, but I dismissed it as a stupid rumor. The Byakugan is known as the all-seeing eye, after all. It seems like I have to revamp my thought about the Byakugan a little…That is, of course, if I survive this encounter.’

“Why did you attack me like this? I have done nothing to warrant such an attack. Although I admit that I possess the Byakugan, that shouldn’t matter to the Uzumaki clan. Treating mercenaries like me so unreasonably could lead to harsh consequences for you.”

For now, Ao decided to act as a mercenary. So far, he hasn’t done anything illegal and if rumors got out that Konoha is treating mercenaries badly, it will have a negative impact on the country, itself. It might not be the most prestigious of occupations, but not every problem in the country could be solved by Konoha’s shinobi. Hiring shinobi from Konoha wasn’t cheap at all, so quite a lot of normal villages rely on mercenaries for their protection.

Yuna, however, only chuckled at Ao’s attempt to trick her.

“Oh? I could have sworn you weren’t a mercenary but a shinobi from Kirigakure named Ao.”

Although Ao shook a little when Yuna casually mentioned his name, he decided that he couldn’t give up so easily. He was just about to continue speaking when Yuna beat him to it.

“Well, if you aren’t actually from Kirigakure, I am sure you wouldn’t mind if I increase the price of the Uzumaki clan seals that are bought by your Daimyo by…let’s say five percent~”

Although Ao started sweating a little when he heard that, considering his faction was currently at war with the Mizukage that was funded by the Daimyo, it could actually be a good thing for now. As for what happened afterwards… he wasn’t sure yet.

Yuna, however, was far from done.

“Hehe, or how about I only increase the prices for the people from Kirigakure that pretend to not come from Kirigakure while trying to hide their identities?”

Ao started sweating even more when he heard that statement. The biggest problem with what Yuna just said was, that it implied that there were two factions inside Kirigakure. Although that was true, as far as Ao knew, no one should know about the rebellion yet.

“Haha, since this doesn’t seem to bother you at all, how about we make it ten perc…”

Before Yuna could finish speaking, he lowered his head as far as the sword that was still touching his neck allowed him to.

“I’m sorry, I am from Kirigakure and I would like to negotiate about something.”

Another chuckle escaped Yuna as she nodded her head in acknowledgment.

“See? It’s much easier for you if you obediently admit it. Now follow me. If you want to negotiate, I am happy to oblige.”

Although Ao gritted his teeth at being humiliated like that, the only thing he could do for now was to follow Yuna inside the Uzumaki compound. Although Hinata moved her sword away from his neck, he was under no illusion that he could actually get out of this situation by attempting to run away.

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