Chapter 269: He Came After All
Terumi Mei pushed open the office door and stepped aside.
"Come in."
Kitahara Kaede led the others inside.
The moment he entered, he noticed the place where he had once sat.
The surface was spotless.
It was obvious someone maintained it with great care.
Mei noticed where he was looking. The tips of her ears warmed, and she hurriedly changed the subject.
"You’ve traveled for so long. Are you thirsty? Should I pour everyone some water?"
She was already moving toward a cabinet to retrieve cups, her actions slightly forced.
Kaede looked away, understanding perfectly.
He shook his head.
"No. Business first."
Mei’s outstretched hand paused, then withdrew as though nothing had happened.
She walked behind the desk, took out a map, and spread it across the surface.
Every coastal outpost in the Land of Water was marked in detail. Several areas had been heavily circled in red ink.
Kakashi stepped forward without a word and rapidly examined the defensive information.
Rin remained quietly beside Kaede, leaning forward with curiosity as well.
Mei placed a finger on a forested area in the southwest corner of the map.
"After your warning in the letter, I reorganized the intelligence network around the entire outer perimeter of the village."
Kaede studied the markings and understood clearly.
She probably hadn’t done all of this solely to protect the Jinchuriki.
Mei continued.
"The first several months were completely peaceful. Nothing unusual happened."
"Only recently did the Six-Tails Jinchuriki’s regular route begin to show signs of trouble."
Kaede looked at her, indicating she should continue.
Mei tapped the symbol for a hot spring on the map.
"The Six-Tails Jinchuriki has a habit of spending one night at a hot spring outside the village every so often."
"It isn’t exactly a secret, but few people know. He travels with very few guards, and his route almost never changes."
Her fingertip moved slowly along a winding trail on the map, eventually stopping at the circled forest.
"He must pass through these woods on the return trip."
"The terrain is complicated, and patrols have always been thin in the surrounding area."
"If someone wanted to attack him, this would be the best place."
Kaede looked at her and asked directly, "What did your people discover?"
"I assigned an ANBU squad disguised as ordinary patrol ninja and increased surveillance throughout the area."
Mei’s expression turned cold.
"Three days later, that squad disappeared."
Rin instinctively held her breath.
An entire ANBU squad had vanished without sending a distress signal. The enemy’s strength was obvious.
Mei continued without pausing.
"I didn’t publicize it, nor did I immediately close the route."
"Afterward, I approved the Jinchuriki’s next trip as usual and allowed him to visit the hot spring on schedule."
Kaede seemed to understand.
"Another team vanished?"
"Yes. A second one."
Kakashi, who had remained silent, finally spoke.
"Why continue sending him?"
Mei glanced at him.
"Because someone was watching from the shadows."
"He wanted to learn when the Jinchuriki left the village, how many guards accompanied him, which section of the road was easiest to attack, and where our defenses were weakest."
Kakashi asked nothing further.
He understood.
Mei withdrew her hand.
"If he wanted to watch, then I gave him a performance."
"The patrol routes and visible defenses remained unchanged, making him believe his opportunity had arrived."
Kaede studied the forest and understood her plan.
Mei smiled.
"On the surface, the Six-Tails will pass through this route as usual today."
"In reality, every hidden guard has been replaced with an elite I selected personally."
She stared at Kaede.
"If the enemy dares appear, that forest will become his grave."
Kaede couldn’t help admiring her confident design.
Mei’s strategy was extremely sound.
He nodded.
"You’ve planned thoroughly."
At a single word of praise from him, the oppressive coldness around Mei vanished instantly.
Her brows lifted, pride impossible to hide in her voice.
"Of course."
"How could I possibly mishandle something you asked me to do?"
Kaede didn’t respond to the coquettish undertone and changed the subject.
"What about the Three-Tails?"
"Yagura has remained inside the village."
Mei pointed toward a residence on the map.
"He rarely goes out now, and I’ve increased the guards around him. It should be nearly impossible for the enemy to act inside the village."
Remembering Black Zetsu’s elusive methods, Kaede refused to relax.
"Keep watching him. Don’t become careless even inside the village."
"Don’t worry." Mei nodded. "Someone is already observing him twenty-four hours a day."
Kaede nodded.
"When does the operation begin?"
Mei rolled up the map.
"Now that you’re here, we can begin immediately."
Kaede turned toward Kakashi and Rin.
"Let’s move."
Mei raised a hand and beckoned.
An ANBU operative appeared silently in the doorway.
"Pass down the order. Proceed according to the original plan."
"Yes!"
The operative accepted the command and vanished.
Not long afterward, the four left Kirigakure through a remote side gate.
Half an hour later, they reached a hillside outside the forest.
An abandoned outpost stood there.
Its wooden walls were badly damaged, several large holes gaped in the roof, and an old rusted brazier lay discarded in a corner.
Kaede approached a broken opening in the wall and looked down.
The narrow path through the forest wound directly across the foot of the hill.
The vantage point was excellent, placing most of the road within view.
If anything happened, they could descend from here and reach the battlefield in only a few breaths.
"A good position," Kaede said.
Mei stepped beside him and explained, "It used to watch for foreign enemies. It’s been abandoned for a long time, and no one normally comes here."
Kaede surveyed the environment, then looked back at the other two.
"Stay here. I’ll scout the surrounding area."
Mei instinctively started to follow.
But after seeing the unquestionable expression on Kaede’s face, she stopped herself.
"It’ll be a while before the Six-Tails team reaches this point. Don’t go too far."
Kaede acknowledged her, then vanished into the forest.
Rather than following the road, he deliberately circled deep into the woods behind the outpost and carefully inspected the roots of every large tree and the cracks around every boulder.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu could merge with the earth.
He disliked the feeling of being watched from the shadows.
Yet after a meticulous circuit of the entire area, he discovered no unusual chakra fluctuations.
When Kaede returned to the outpost, Mei immediately approached.
"How was it?"
"Nothing suspicious for now."
Kaede walked back to the opening and looked down.
"We wait."
The outpost fell silent.
Kakashi leaned in the deepest corner with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
But the hand beside him never left the ninja tool pouch at his waist.
Rin stood to one side. Her gaze repeatedly drifted toward Kakashi, carrying heartache, guilt, and a trace of fear that kept her from approaching.
Mei didn’t look outside at all.
Her gaze remained almost entirely fixed on Kaede’s profile, filled with undisguised fascination.
Kaede focused every ounce of attention on the forest below.
His mind rapidly played through every possible way the enemy might appear, along with the proper response to each.
Time passed one second at a time.
The mottled sunlight in the trees gradually turned golden.
At last, movement appeared on the distant forest road.
Kaede slowly raised a hand and gave a signal.
The other three instantly stilled every motion and concealed their presence.
A three-man team emerged from the trees.
The person in the center was a pale-faced young man wearing Kirigakure’s standard outer garment. His expression appeared somewhat careless.
Kaede studied the unfamiliar face.
It wasn’t Utakata.
But that was normal.
From the moment Kaede decided to change the future, many events had already deviated from their original course.
Two alert guards walked before and behind the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
Kaede’s eyes remained fixed on the team as they entered the forest step by step, moving into the ideal ambush point.
At that moment, the air behind the two guards distorted without warning.
An eerie spiral-shaped rift silently expanded.
A black-gloved hand reached out from the void, aiming directly for the back of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki’s neck.
Then a spiral mask slowly emerged from space.