"Who is this person?" Mei Terumi asked Ao while they were chasing.
Ao shook his head solemnly. "Not sure. This person stayed hidden underground, so I didn't see their face."
Mei Terumi: "What about their abilities?"
Ao: "So far, I only saw that their arms can extend freely. It seems they can elongate any part of their body and possess a sword with a will of its own."
As he finished speaking, Ao pointed in Chojuro's direction.
Mei Terumi looked and saw Chojuro battling a nimble sword, the outcome still undecided.
"That sword... could it be the Kusanagi Sword... the Sky Sword?"
"Kusanagi Sword?" Ao was shocked. "Isn't that Orochimaru's sword? Could this mysterious person be her?"
Kirigakure had always had a fondness for famous swords since its founding. The Mizukage had a habit of collecting such swords, and the secret archives held information on various ancient swords. However, the divine Kusanagi Sword series had always eluded them.
Mei Terumi pondered for a moment and shook her head.
"It's too early to draw conclusions. We've never fought Orochimaru, so we can't be sure which Kusanagi Sword she uses. It's said there are eleven Kusanagi Swords, the most powerful being the 'Totsuka Blade,' and the sharpest and most convenient is the 'Sky Sword'..."
Despite her words, Mei Terumi was beginning to suspect that the mysterious person was indeed Orochimaru...
But she didn't want to admit it, at least not in front of Ao...
After all, she shared the same identity as Orochimaru...
They were both Natsuhane's wives.
As "family," Mei Terumi felt conflicted.
'Could Orochimaru be doing this on Natsuhane's orders?'
'But why didn't Natsuhane inform me beforehand? If he had said, I would have given not just one Taketori clan member, but a hundred...'
'Could it be... Natsuhane loves Orochimaru more than me?'
In matters of love, a woman's mind is sensitive.
One could say they like to overthink.
'...'
"It's strange, when did I become so obsessed with love? This isn't like me at all..." Mei Terumi murmured to herself.
Ao: "Lady Mizukage, what did you just say?"
Mei Terumi snapped out of her thoughts and coughed lightly in embarrassment. "Oh, nothing. Where is the mysterious person now?"
Ao: "We're close! It seems carrying someone is slowing him down. We'll catch up soon! Um...!"
Before he could finish, Ao's foot slipped, causing him to lose his footing on a branch and fall heavily to the ground.
"Lord Ao, what happened? Are you alright?"
Seeing Ao's predicament, the following Kirigakure ninjas and Mei Terumi quickly stopped and surrounded him.
"Phew... cough, cough..."
Ao's face was pale, and he said apologetically with a pained expression, "I'm... I'm fine, just too exhausted. It's okay, help me up. I can still continue. We... can't let that thief escape!"
Hearing this, Mei Terumi sighed, looking at her subordinates who had fought alongside her for days, their faces full of exhaustion...
"Forget it, let's stop the chase..."
"The destruction of the Taketori clan is a foregone conclusion. Even if there is a survivor, they can't cause much trouble. From today, the Taketori clan can be considered extinct in the Land of Water. Let's go back..."
...