136. 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 clan right. We were former allies."

Izuna nods his head.

"Yes, our Yuki clan was a close aide of Terumi clan. One thing led to another and my clan 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 clan.

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 clan. 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 places. 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 villages?"

Izuna curiously questions him.

"Humm… another village 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 villages 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 village. 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 nonchalance.

'Such disrespect… and to address Fuji-sama in such a casual manner.' Wakan is about to lash 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 accept 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.

Clatter… clatter….

Some Anbus clatters 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 clan has made their move. To think that they will send the 'Night Reaper' to assassinate him."

Elder Genji nods his head as he explains.

"It may seem unnecessary… but the Noble clan wants to assert their dominance over us… they wanted to show their power. If the 'Night Reaper' is successful… then it will serve as a warning for us. But if he fails… then the Noble clan 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 only lament 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 trusted companions. We lived through the Second Shinobi war and I saved his life on one occasion. He is still grateful to me for that."

Fuji chuckles as he places a Shogi board on the table.

"How about a round of Shogi… elder Genji?"