Unlike other data puppets, as a World Subordinate, his soul was locked inside the Mirror World—but interestingly, his body was still controlled by his own consciousness.
In a sense, the consciousness of a World Subordinate was forcibly split in two—or more precisely, his soul had been cloned. Even if the body-controlling version of him disappeared, it wouldn't affect the soul locked inside the Mirror World.
"Hey, Naruto—looks like that guy's being toyed to death by Kurama and Isobu!"
Muwang's voice echoed in Naruto's mind. With a thought, Naruto entered the Mirror World—only to find a man with orange hair kneeling between three Tailed Beasts, eyes wide in sheer terror.
That man was none other than Yamanaka Kaze, one of Danzo's most trusted operatives.
Naruto sneered and brought up a massive floating interface. A top-down map of the entire Hidden Leaf Village appeared. At the base representing Root's headquarters, a triangular symbol marked its location—and a flashing red dot was rapidly approaching it.
Kurama, stone-faced, tapped the screen a few times, and Yamanaka Kaze saw himself and his teammate dashing through the village, heading toward their base.
Just as they neared the Root compound, his teammate voiced confusion:
"Why did your Mind Transfer Jutsu fail earlier?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Through the Mirror World's link, he issued a command to Yamanaka Kaze.
"Don't ask. The Jinchūriki already went to see the Hokage. We need to report this to Lord Danzo immediately. If the Third Hokage learns about our actions, it'll jeopardize the entire plan."
What the hell is going on?!
The real Yamanaka Kaze, kneeling in the Mirror World, screamed inwardly. He was clearly trapped here—yet in the screen hovering above him, he saw "himself" conversing with Torune.
Not only that, but he could feel every thought and action of that other "self" reflected clearly back to him. Before he even had time to process what was happening, his other self naturally responded to Torune, and the two entered Root's base.
He watched helplessly as his other self and teammate knelt before Danzo and began their report.
"Lord Danzo! The mission failed. Contrary to the intel, the Jinchūriki's connection to the Nine-Tails hasn't been sealed off by the Third Hokage. He's already gone to the Hokage's office!"
Danzo opened his left eye without expression.
"No matter. The Third doesn't have much time left. Leave immediately for the Land of Fields. Return only after retrieving Orochimaru's latest experiment data."
"Yes, sir!" ×2
Danzo finished speaking and hobbled into the shadows on his cane. Only after the tap of the cane faded into silence did the two operatives stand, head to the changing room to don their gear, then enter a hidden passage.
Naruto closed the scene. Given their speed, they'd need at least three days to reach the Land of Fields. He walked over to Yamanaka Kaze.
"Have you guys checked his memories yet?"
Kurama grinned.
"Not yet—but he's more fun than that Ido thing."
Naruto raised a brow.
"Fun how?"
"Like this!"
Isobu gave a grunt and used his claw to toss Yamanaka Kaze into the air. A giant interface appeared midair, and as Kaze flew into it, a flash of light turned him into a character avatar.
Yamanaka Kaze has been added to the character database.
Naruto waved the interface away and gave Isobu a puzzled look.
"What's so fun about that?"
Muwang flicked his tail.
"Yeah, I don't get the appeal either."
Kurama's crimson eyes turned mischievous.
"We're not done yet."
He sat up, reached his paw into the air—and it vanished as if punching through dimensions into another world.
Ah, so that's what they meant by fun.
Naruto watched with a strange expression, knowing exactly what Kurama was doing. Muwang probably found it boring because…
"Got him again!"
Just as Naruto glanced at Muwang's feet, Kurama shouted excitedly. His paw returned, clenched into a fist.
Before Naruto could respond, Kurama tossed the figure into the air again. The interface popped up, and Yamanaka Kaze's avatar reappeared.
Before the window could close, Isobu followed up with another throw.
In no time, Kurama and Isobu had tossed Kaze dozens of times, like a twisted game of hot potato.
"…Boring."
Muwang muttered and turned away to start a new battle scenario.
Naruto shook his head and exited the Mirror World. It was time to report to the Third Hokage.
Half an hour later, Naruto returned home. Before long, he sensed the Third Hokage leading a team toward the Root base.
After dinner, night had fallen. Naruto entered the Mirror World again—only to find Kurama missing and Isobu still tossing Yamanaka Kaze like a toy.
"Isobu, don't you think fighting puppets is way more fun than this?"
Naruto clearly saw the despair and numbness in Kaze's expression midair.
"I don't think fighting is fun either. And Kurama keeps wanting us to fight those with Sharingan. I don't want to see those eyes anymore."
Isobu's voice was honest and a bit dull as he caught Kaze again.
"Suit yourself."
Naruto's mouth twitched as he brought up a new interface to choose a puppet opponent. He was going to pick Haku, but remembering Muwang was still analyzing a reward, he instead tapped on the avatar of the Fourth Mizukage.
The Next Day – Land of Waves
"You said that while negotiating bridge repairs with the Land of Hot Springs representative, some old man suggested you build a bridge linking the Land of Waves directly to the Land of Fire?"
It was noon. Naruto and Sasuke had just returned to the academy in the daimyo's estate using Transformation Jutsu after training. Gato immediately came over to report.
"Yes, my lord. According to people at the port, the old man arrived here by ship last week. When I escorted the emissary from the Land of Hot Springs this morning, he suggested to the construction crew that we should build the bridge toward the nearest part of the Land of Fire."
Gato thought for a moment before answering seriously.
Could it be Tazuna?
Naruto instinctively thought of the bridge builder from the original story who had once tricked Konoha.
But why would he want Gato to connect the Land of Waves to the Land of Fire?
It only benefited Konoha. Once the bridge was complete, it would become a strategic foothold for any future conflict between Konoha and Kirigakure.
Even without Naruto's involvement, if Konoha and the Mist ever went to war, this bridge would become as important as the Kannabi Bridge was during the Konoha–Iwa conflict.
"Where is that old man now?"
"He's camping near the northern port. My lord, I think he's suspicious. He carries a cast-iron pot and looks like a chef, but he's been hanging around the port, watching our students use ninjutsu."
That rules out Tazuna.
But the mention of the iron pot stirred a vague memory. As Naruto tried to recall the scene from past episodes, Sasuke suddenly stood up.
"That guy's definitely suspicious!"
Naruto nodded.
"Maybe a spy sent by Konoha or the Land of Fire after discovering what's going on in the Land of Waves."
Soon after, Naruto and Sasuke found the old man at the port.
"So it's Maruboshi Kosuke!"
Naruto instantly recognized the man.
"Maruboshi Kosuke?" Sasuke asked, watching the old man laugh and chat with the workers. "You know him?"
"Yup." Naruto's eyes gleamed.
"He was acknowledged by both the Second and Third Hokage. Skilled in kenjutsu, Water Release, and mechanical ninjutsu."
Sasuke's face turned serious.
"Someone recognized by two Hokage? He must at least be a Jōnin."
Naruto chuckled.
"He's elite, alright—but he's just a Genin."
Sasuke blinked.
"A Genin? But elite… that seems contradictory—"
"What?" Naruto walked toward Kosuke with a smile.
"Looking down on Genin now? You're not even one yet. And look—he noticed us long before we got close."
Sasuke sharpened his gaze. The old man had discreetly cast a genjutsu to dismiss the workers around him.
He quickly caught up with Naruto.
Just a few steps later, the old man suddenly pulled a pigeon from his sleeve and released it.
Sasuke frowned.
"You're just going to let him go?"
Naruto looked at the sky, the pigeon already a tiny dot.
"I actually hope Konoha sends more people."
Kosuke, now carrying his iron pot on his back, had a serious expression.
"You two… You're the real masterminds behind the takeover of the Land of Waves!"
Naruto's voice remained calm.
"You shouldn't have come to the Land of Waves. And you definitely shouldn't have done that. This time, your actions won't just cost two of your comrades' lives."
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