Headless Chickens?

They shouted the last part and started retreating in a particular direction. Seeing that the direction was far from where the released prisoners including the Terumi couple were standing, Santo and Kana sighed in relief.

"I don't think there is a better time to attack them old man." Riko said as he was ready to chase the retreating mist and stone shinobis.

Asami also agreed with his request and looked at the old man for approval. While Yoshiro was busy instructing his men to create a secure way to bring the Terumi couple to him, Zabuza started walking toward Yami. At first, he was going to act as if he did all this on his own but when he heard Yami take credit for breaking out the shinobis out of prison, he understood that his alliance with Yami has been exposed. In the letter which Yami had given Haku when he sent her out of prison, he had instructed Zabuza to break out the bloodline clan shinobis which were imprisoned by Moji and his faction. Turns out many of them were declared dead even though they were just in a prison cell.

Zabuza stood close to Yami and said "Why did you have me wear this tape on my head? I am sure they would love my new look. and Haku is angry that you told him not to interfere in this matter. He is not that week, you know."

Yami deactivated his Sharingan and without looking at Zabuza he said "If Kakashi and the others see your face and show it to Lady Tsunade then she would know that it was you who gave the letter...the same reason to keep Haku hidden. Now we have to be more careful since anything related to you can be easily tracked to me."

Yami said all this while showing his back to Kakashi. He knew how good Kakashi was with lip reading so it was better to hide his face while talking.

"Yami...aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend here?" Kakashi said as he walked toward Yami. He didn't look or sound serious while saying this but everyone present there knew how serious Kakashi was. Contracting a criminal from the bingo book to kill shinobis of his own village... was not a small offense if seen this way.

"Kakashi I think we should let Yami explain when he feels like it." Kurenai interrupted. She didn't want Kakashi to interrogate Yami. She knew that Kakashi was doing this just to show the boundaries a shinobi must never cross.

Yami looked at Kakashi and said "While I was attacking the medium-sized base, I faced a few obstacles in which Zabuza helped me. As our goals to defeat the Mizukage faction aligned, we decided to work together again." Yami then looked at Zabuza who nodded and said

"Of course, and at that time I didn't know who the genjutsu demon was or what he did. In fact, if I knew he was a kid then I wouldn't have aligned myself with him." Zabuza said and ruffled Yami's hair.

Yami tilted his head a little looking at Zabuza which made him remove his hand from Yami's head awkwardly. Zabuza did try his best to show that he regarded Yami as his equal and treated him like a kid but from seeing his expression it was evident to everyone that he was horrified of Yami.

"Yami it is good that you are here now but what are we going to do next? Tell us any information that you can think of so we can make a plan." Asuma asked as he looked in the direction Moji, Jiro, and the others left.

"I think we should postpone any attack for a few days. Let's get the prisoners back to the bloodline faction and get them treated and properly fed. They all look so malnourished." Mei said as she waved her hand toward the prisoners who were being supported by the shinobis.

Yami shook his head subtly which was noticed by everyone but the first to ask was Mina, the Terumi siblings' mother.

"Kid you don't seem to agree with what my niece Mei suggested just now. Since you have done so much for our faction, tell me what you think is the right move." Mina asked.

Yami looked at Asuma and Kakashi who nodded permitting him to speak freely. Yami saw that even though the woman was in rag-tag clothes and looked a bit weak, Yoshiro or the other clan leaders did not question her authority.

"I do not know why they all went in that direction but I can guess that they will take refuge in the large base nearby. They must have also had their troops lay in wait in the direction somewhere around the base so they can jump in and start the war."

Mina and the clan leaders nodded. For the next few seconds, they whispered among each other. "Are you suggesting that we must launch an attack on their base with their army backing them?"

Yami shook his head and said "No you all could take advantage of this situation and get the hidden mist rid of the other bases. All the while only keeping an eye on where Moji and the others are hiding."

"What good will that do? They have a hidden stone backing them. They can build those bases back within a week." The old man asked.

Yami didn't reply which got the others curious and then he saw a man walk toward him from the side. Yami looked in that direction and saw it was Mina's husband walking toward Yami while taking Santo's support.

He was a bit taller than normal people so he looked down at Yami and asked "Kid why does it feel that you are still holding out on us?"

"Yami what is it that you are hiding?" Kurenai asked as well. This was becoming a headache for Yami...' That's why I like to work in the dark.' Yami thought.

'Yami, so that's his real name.' Everyone except the 3 leaf jonins thought at the same time.

Yami looked at everyone and said "To defeat an enemy you must know what it wants and what ticks the enemy. I know what Moji and Jiro want but what I don't understand is why the Jashin cult is involved. Many people think that all cults are just lunatics and do things without any aim or goal but I beg to differ. Ji took me hostage, in the middle of the exchange derailing Moji and Jiro's plans which means he is more desperate than the other two."

"Are you saying that his reason to attack is more dangerous than Moji and Jiro's goal to wipe out the bloodline clans?" Asami asked.

Yami shrugged and said "Could be. I am sure Kakashi would fill you in about the Jashin cult."

Asami looked at Kakashi and the other 2 jonins with him and asked "Is that your recommendation as well?"

The clan leaders didn't know how much of a threat the Jashin cult possessed but now that they were ready to initiate the war, they didn't want to back down. The Old man thought for a few seconds and said "I cannot waste more time on this kid. We will destroy the nearby bases to isolate the base where Moji, Jiro and the others are hiding. But all that only till tonight. Just as the sun rises tomorrow morning, we will launch our attack...whether with the help of the hidden leaf or without their help."

Yami nodded and said "Then I better get going now." Kana and Mei wanted to stop Yami and say something but they then saw this body disintegrate into multiple bats and they all fly away in different directions.

Seeing that Yami had left, Zabuza also wanted to leave but Yoshiro stopped him and said "Zabuza I don't know what you have done these past few years but I thank you for setting our shinobis free. Please come with us to the Terumi estate. The morale of the forces will surely increase once they know that one of the seven mist swordsman has sided with us."

Weighing the pros and cons, Zabuza decided to go with Yoshiro to the bloodline clans.

___________________________

The Large Base (Belongs to Jiro and Moji)

Jiro was sitting in the corner of a big room with a doctor to his side. The doctor was trying to heal his eye as he sat beside him. On a sofa a few feet away from him sat Moji, and Jiro surrounded by few stone shinobis.

"What the hell just happened out there?" Moji asked but Jiro didn't answer. After a few seconds Ji groaned and said "The helpless kid turned out to be the genjutsu demon."

Moji and Jiro both looked at Ji with anger as they heard his voice to which Ji spread his hands and said "What? If it wasn't for me stopping the exchange, we would have never found out so don't look at me like that."

(The final war has started and the chp has been posted in my P@treon's Jonin Tier already.)

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