A/N: Get the Story to 600 powerstones by Sunday, for a double release next Monday. This story's continuation depends on your support—so don't forget to give the story powerstones! New Goal: 600 Powerstones!
Goro stood in a tree above the Kumogakure Cemetery. Getting into the Kumo cemetery was much harder than entering the Leaf cemetery, because Kumogakure's Cemetery was located on top of a cliff within the village, with a flat summit.
'This cemetery is going to be a pain to visit regularly. I want to make this my one and only trip. After this, I'm never coming back here again.'
Goro wore a black cloak and a white mask with a blue teardrop beneath the left eye, and a frowning mouth. He had stolen it from a local shop while disguised as someone else. He didn't want to leave any traces, so he hadn't bothered to purchase it legitimately.
'What I'm about to do will put the village on high alert for a while, but they shouldn't be able to trace it back to me. I won't leave any evidence behind.'
Goro watched as five different funerals took place. He assessed the surroundings to ensure his plan would go smoothly. Once he was confident nothing would interfere, he jumped down from the tree, landing in the cemetery, which was surrounded by fences, and rushed toward the first funeral.
The family and soldiers were lowering the body when Goro swooped in, cut off a finger, and dashed toward the next target. His movements were so swift that it took the families a few seconds to realize what had happened.
Closing in on the next funeral, Goro flickered into the grave, which had yet to be filled with earth, and cut the corpse's finger off through the cloth.
Goro repeated this process for the next targets, except for the last two. The final two funerals had families nearby but minimal security, indicating they weren't high-profile individuals.
With these victims, Goro took their hearts instead of fingers, then flickered on top of a small shed within the cemetery.
Cries of shock and outrage erupted. Families, confused and terrified, cowered behind the ninja guarding the corpses, while the Cloud shinobi drew their weapons—some wielding swords, others armed with regular kunai.
In a rush, Goro frantically pulled out his storage scroll, placed it down, and sealed the body parts he had collected, slipping the scroll into his back pocket.
"Get him!" one of the ninja shouted. At his command, 15 shinobi rushed toward Goro, each eager to claim the kill.
Two shinobi, in particular, led the charge. From their movements alone, Goro could tell they were highly skilled.
'They seem to be at the level of Elite Jonin. I don't know how many shinobi of this caliber the Cloud have, but it wouldn't hurt to thin their numbers a bit.'
Instead of dodging the attack and leaving the cemetery as planned, Goro pretended to weave two hand signs. A beam of lightning materialized, growing in size. The two shinobi in the front, seeing the attack, yelled, "MOVE!" but only three escaped in time.
The rest, including the two leaders, were engulfed by the massive lightning beam, which danced through the charging shinobi, claiming their lives one by one.
'All that, and I only used 20% of my chakra? Kakuzu's abilities are quite the asset.'
The sound of the attack echoed throughout the entire village, alerting everyone nearby that a battle was taking place.
'It'll take a minute for reinforcements to scale this mountain. I should get out while I still can. I'll spare the onlookers so they can report it was a lightning attack. I don't want unnecessary suspicion falling on Konoha, though it's highly likely. At least this way, Konoha will have a plausible excuse.'
Taking in the fear on the faces of the Cloud shinobi, Goro left the cemetery, flickering to an empty area in the training grounds. Still transformed into a random civilian, he removed the cloak and set it ablaze. The mask, however, Goro stored in his scroll; he had taken a liking to it.
Goro surveyed his surroundings, ensuring no one was nearby. Once confident, he reverted to Namaki's form and strolled toward Miki's house, pretending nothing had happened.
'Not only did I thoroughly check, but I also highly doubt any Anbu are lurking here. They'd be more concerned with the incident that just occurred.'
Upon reaching his destination, Goro knocked on Miki's door, which was opened by a middle-aged woman.
"Namaki, is that you? My, how you've grown!" the woman exclaimed, placing both hands on her cheeks.
'Miki's mother?'
Chuckling nervously, Goro replied, "Yeah, it's me. Nice to see you, ma'am."
Miki's mother frowned and crossed her arms, her disappointment clear as she looked at Goro. "I told you this is your home, didn't I? You never bother to come and say hello! I've been worried about you, and the only way I know you're doing alright is through Miki!" she chided.
Bowing slightly, Goro said, "I've been spending all my time training and haven't had much chance to visit. I promise I'll come by more often in the future."
'From what I've gathered while being in his body, this should be the right response.'
Sighing, Miki's mother gestured for Goro to follow her inside. Once at the dining table, she pulled out a chair for him and said, "You and your training—that's all Miki ever tells me about. You're constantly at it. Take a break for once. You're just like your mother—stubborn, always wanting to do things her way. I think that's what made her such a remarkable woman. She never let anyone tell her what to do and always had a strong sense of duty to her family."
Goro smiled and took the seat Miki's mother had offered.
"Miki! Namaki's here!" she called.
Miki came running down the stairs, still in her pajamas, and sat at the table.
Pointing at her attire, Goro asked, "You know it's 1 p.m., right? Why are you still in your pajamas?"
Miki rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at Goro, still clearly tired. "That exam really took a toll on me…" she mumbled, struggling to stay awake.
"After we eat, we're training, so you'll wake up soon enough," Goro replied.
'She asked me to train with her, but she's not even prepared…'
Miki's mother brought the food to the table, and all three sat down to eat. While they were eating, a sudden knock at the door startled Goro.
"Oh, that must be your sister," Miki's mother said, heading to answer the door. As it opened, a woman with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail entered.
'Yugito Nii?! I thought she was an orphan…'
Yugito walked over to the table, sat down, and sighed deeply.
"Tough day, dear?" Miki's mother asked, rising to get her a plate.
Leaning back in her chair, Yugito replied, "There was an incident at the cemetery. Someone stole the hearts of the dead and cut off their fingers. It was bizarre—I've never seen anything like it."
As she placed food on Yugito's plate, Miki's mother asked, "Did they catch the culprit?"
Yugito took a sip of water and stared at the glass for a moment. "No. The culprit is still at large, so the village is going into lockdown for a while. My guess is it could last anywhere from a week to a month. The person responsible is highly skilled, so I think it'll be on the longer side," Yugito explained.
"Is the culprit stronger than you, sis? If you fought, would you lose?" Miki asked.
Looking up from her glass and meeting Miki's gaze, Yugito replied, "Nah, I'd win."
Unconsciously, Goro made a face that showed he strongly disagreed.
'She doesn't even know what her enemies are capable of, yet she's so overconfident… It's obvious that her lack of caution is what got her caught by Kakuzu and Hidan.'
Turning to Goro, Yugito greeted him, "Namaki, how have you been? Still training hard as usual?"
Goro nodded, quickly shifting his expression back to a neutral one. "Yeah, I've been trying my best," he said.
Yugito gave him a look of approval. "You know, since the Raikage doesn't want me and Bee working on the case, how about I train you two today?" she offered.
Miki's eyes sparkled with excitement—she greatly admired her older sister, and training with her was an opportunity she'd never pass up.
"Yes! We'd love to!" Miki replied, answering for both of them.
'She didn't even bother to ask my opinion… Whatever, it's a great chance to see where I stand compared to her.'
Reminder: Get the Story to 600 powerstones by Sunday, for a double release next Monday. This story's continuation depends on your support—so don't forget to give the story powerstones! New Goal: 600 Powerstones!