"It's not as easy to do…The research will take time and the shinobis commanded by the elders of the hidden stone are looking behind the disappearances of the people. It is becoming hard to find enough people to experiment on. I will need more time." Priest Ji said. The task that Jiro had given him was not easy at all and it could put him and his cult into the spotlight. Priest Ji had expected the one who attacked the warehouse to make the matter public but luckily nothing like that happened.
"I still think contacting the hidden leaf is a better option." Moji said which made Jiro's expression turn ugly. He felt like Moji was looking down on the hidden stone and trying to gain favor with the hidden leaf.
"NO…I will never agree with that and neither will Tsuchikage-sama. Don't do something stupid or you will get yourself killed and I will also not be spared in the process." Jiro furiously revolted against Moji's idea. Even though he was strong enough, he knew that he was nothing in front of the Tsuchikage who is capable of using particle release.
"Then are you telling me to stay like this with my hands tied and wait for the bloodline clans to kill me and my faction?" Moji asked. He was getting quite impatient with this. He had tremendous hatred for the bloodline clans so he wanted to eradicate them as soon as possible. He knew that currently with the help of Jiro and his men, he would be able to do that but Jiro was playing the long game and it was costing Moji too much.
'I can't let it go like this. I need to make him trust me again or he will do something stupid.' Jiro thought as he looked at Moji.
"Fine, you want to use that kid to negotiate then we will do it. But not with the hidden leaf instead we do it with the bloodline clans." Jiro suggested.
Moji stood up in anger as he heard that and said "You must be out of your mind if you think I will negotiate with those bloodline bastards." He gritted his teeth in anger but Jiro remained calm. Priest Ji was watching all this from the side and for him, this was pure entertainment.
Jiro shook his head and said "We will say that we want to negotiate and give the kid to them in return for some of our spies that they have imprisoned. We will ask more than one of our spies to be released and have them meet us inside the forests which are divided between both forests."
Priest Ji decided to interrupt and said "Are you sure they will listen to him? He has already created quite a scene when he went to the Terumi mansion a few days ago."
Jiro nodded at what Ji said and replied "That is why we will make our request this time sound very unreasonable due to which they think that this a serious offer."
"But what will that give us?" Moji asked to which Jiro replied "A chance…a chance to ambush them. We will kill them in the jungle and lay the first blow to them. This time we will take the Anbus dressed as normal shinobis so they aren't on alert." Jiro said and smirked.
Priest Ji understood what Jiro was planning and said "I agree with him, Lord Moji. They can't ignore a chance to get that kid back or else the hidden leaf won't let them be."
Hearing Jiro and Ji's explanation, Moji was convinced that this was the best move now. He had already suffered enough losses this week and the only way to even the playing field was to do the same to them.
Moji looked at Jiro and asked "Taking out a few people that have come for a prisoner exchange won't do much damage to them. I assume you have something in mind."
Jiro nodded and said "That's why our first condition would be that all the four clan leaders must be present during the exchange. To even it out we will also go personally for the exchange. This is the only chance that the bloodline clans will have to negotiate with me to take my support back from you so they won't miss it for the world."
Moji quickly looked at Jiro in shock and said "But that would make our chances of ambushing them even slimmer. They are at least elite jonin shinobis and I assume Yoshiro Terumi is Kage level powerhouse."
"We will overwhelm them with numbers and our utilities…We have already lost nearly 40% of the weapons supplies in last night's raid done by that guy so this time we have to give our all." Jiro said as anger began to seep into his words. A single variable had caused his plan to go sideways and he didn't want any more setbacks because of the same guy.
Priest ji noticed Moji hesitating a little and said "Lord Jiro I will have a few squads ready just in case the Intruder from last night decides to interfere. It will take 4-5 days for the people from my church to come here but they can handle 2 Kage-level powerhouses so I don't think anyone will pose a problem."
"What do you say Moji? This is the only way to tip the scales in our favor."
Moji thought for a few seconds without saying anything and then said "I think that is the only way we have right now so I will get the preparations done." Jiro and Ji looked at each other and then at Moji who nodded. They talked for a few more minutes deciding on what to demand from the bloodline clans. It was just a ruse so they didn't have to think much.
"We will take our leave now. We have a lot of preparations to do as well." Jiro said as he and Priest Ji left the office.
Moji sat in the same place for a few seconds and then looked up at the ceiling. At first, it was normal but then he saw purple eyes made of mist and he said "You heard it…prepare a letter with everything that we just discussed and have it sent to the Terumi mansion.
The purple eyes again dissipated in the thin mist as if they were never there in the first place.
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2 Days later
Yami was sitting in his room reading the documents that he had taken from the 2 bases. In the past few days he had left the tavern only twice and both times it was to meet Zabuza. Both times Zabuza had reported the movements of Moji's faction and Jiro's people. There wasn't much to be suspicious about but he said that they have been so quiet after the incident that his senses are telling him something is about to happen. The other big thing was that his feat of putting multiple people in a genjutsu and slaughtering 2 bases had spread all over the hidden mist and the shinobis had named him 'The Genjutsu Demon'. Zabuza was excited about this but Yami wasn't. The last thing he wanted was for him to appear in the spotlight.
Yami finished reading a few documents and cast them aside as he laid back on the bed. 'Zabuza is sure that something is going to happen and Moji and Jiro's people are doing it very secretively. I have already made them desperate enough to start a war but the fact that they are planning something tells me that whatever is happening is bigger than a normal face-to-face conflict. The documents that I got from the small base had information about the ones who were at sea. Their routes, names, and even all they have looted in the past few months. I have no use for them now, but if I need to escape from the hidden mist, this information is golden. The documents of the second base are way more interesting. The commander had documented all the movements of Jiro and the priest from the Jashin cult. He had started following Priest Ji but couldn't get anything concrete on where the man came from or what he was capable of.'
Yami packed up all the documents and put them back in the scroll. Yami left the tavern a few minutes later and started searching for a way to find information. He had remembered the faces of the Anbus that had come that day to kidnap him. He also had one of his bats track the most talkative of those Anbus to his home. Today he decided to make use of that information and see if he knows something.
As Yami reached the place where his bat had tracked the Anbu, he used his enhanced senses and heard the man inside. The man wasn't talking was running around the house in a hurry. Yami sneaked a peek through a small broken window and saw the Anbu packing all his stuff. 'Is he fleeing from the village?' Yami wondered.
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