Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Yangdo knew the young Kusagakure ninja had his own plans, but he couldn't have cared less.

A powerhouse like Iwagakure wasn't something a weakling village like Kusagakure could ever dream of taking down.

So when he saw Mui agree, he gave a satisfied nod. "Don't get impatient. Your day will come!"

With that, he spun on his heel and strode out of the room.

"Revenge?" Mui's eyes gleamed with mockery, but he made no sudden moves—only sitting quietly in his chair, as if lost in thought.

About two hours later, a sound stirred from outside the window.

Mui opened the window quietly—a pigeon stood perched on the windowsill, smoothing its feathers.

When it saw Mui, the pigeon spat out a small scroll it had been hiding in its beak.

While less efficient, attaching messages to legs carried a much greater risk of detection.

Mui picked up the scroll, quickly scanned through it, carefully wrote something on the back, then rolled it up again and pushed it back into the pigeon's mouth.

The entire exchange took under a minute.

Confirming nobody had noticed, Mui exhaled in relief, his eyes flashing with madness. *"Heh! That's what real revenge looks like!"*

After finishing everything, he finally leaned back on the bed and began his daily cultivation session.

Minutes passed, and just as Mui's restless heart started to settle, a voice jolted him wide awake.

"Senior Mui, we meet again!"

Mui shot his eyes open—Seiki was already seated in the chair, smiling.

"When did he…?" A thousand thoughts raced through Mui's mind before he laughed and hopped off the bed. "Seiki, what brings you here? Where are Asuma and the others?"

Seiki smiled. "I came alone today because there's something I'd like to ask for your help with."

Hearing that Seiki had come alone, Mui relaxed slightly. "Anything I can do, consider it done without hesitation."

"That's great to hear," Seiki said, pulling out a small scroll. "Actually, I need your help translating these ciphers!"

Instantly, Mui's expression froze—but only briefly before he recovered. "Haha, isn't that kind of work supposed to go to the cipher unit?"

"I think going straight to the person involved might be faster, don't you think?"

"The person involved… Seems careless indeed!"

Seiki grinned. "Then would you kindly explain, Mr. Undercover?"

Mui wiped the smile off his face, glancing around the room. "This is a Soundproof Barrier Jutsu, huh? You really are cautious!"

Seiki shrugged with a helpless smile. "Can't be too careful."

"But even so," Mui smirked slightly, "you're still too careless. Did you realize this inn is full of people from Iwagakure?"

"I know."

"You *know*?" Mui's confident tone faltered for a moment as he stared at Seiki in shock. "Then do you know that all I need is a few steps forward to break free from this room?"

"Hearing that may sound a bit rude…" Seiki maintained a gentle tone while smiling at Mui. "…but in front of me, Senior, you won't have any chance to resist at all."

Mui's anger flared instantly. Although he now realized his talent might pale in comparison to his opponent's, he was still a prodigy of Kusagakure, had been cultivating for several more years than Seiki, and could have become a Chunin long ago if not hiding his strength.

At the very least, he should have been able to escape the room—wasn't that possible?

"Then let's see…"

Bang!

Before his words even faded, he kneeled helplessly on the floor.

Then, like a wooden puppet, he was manipulated into sitting down in front of Seiki.

"How is this possible? I couldn't even take a single step… His hand seals were lightning-fast, and the Genjutsu was unstoppable…"

Though silenced and powerless, shock flashed in Mui's eyes.

He thought he had sufficiently underestimated his opponent from the beginning—his only plan had been to escape just a few steps away.

But now it seemed that not only had he underestimated the other party, but so did Yangdo.

This wasn't just an unpolished genius at all—it was a beast in disguise.

"So my strength has been exposed. What comes next must be elimination then?" Mui thought to himself, feeling no fear, only a twisted sense of pleasure instead. "Yangdo, if you knew what you just let go, you'd definitely regret today's decision!"

With a snap of fingers, Mui regained control of his body.

Seiki shook the small cipher scroll and asked, "Senior Mui, will you tell me what this cipher means now?"

Rubbing the part of his body he had hurt from falling earlier, Mui wore a cold expression. "If I wasn't ready to die, I wouldn't have become a ninja in the first place! Kill me if you want. I won't say anything!"

Seiki didn't look angry. He merely tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Senior Mui, have you heard of Konoha's Yamanaka clan?"

When Seiki mentioned the Yamanaka clan, Mui's expression slightly changed.

"It seems you know about them," Seiki observed, noticing Mui's subtle change in expression. "Unfortunately for you, my instructor is none other than an elite Jonin of that clan."

"And as for me, I can use Genjutsu to manipulate you into going to meet the Yamanaka instructor. This would make it seem like another betrayal from Iwagakure toward your village!"

"Now, tell me, how do you think those furious Iwagakure ninjas would treat Kusagakure and your people?"

Clutching his fists tightly, Mui growled, "That's despicable!"

Maintaining his calmness, Seiki replied, "For a ninja, 'despicable' isn't even a strong word!"

Mui lowered his head weakly. Indeed, being a ninja was never associated with righteousness, and his own methods were far from honorable either.

Just when he had accepted defeat and prepared to reveal everything, he suddenly heard Seiki burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Mui glared darkly.

"Haha, caught you off guard!" Seiki chuckled briefly, then straightened his face. "I said all that just to show you that your actions may affect others too."

Mui's expression turned complicated. "You don't want the answer anymore?"

Knowing full well that the psychological defenses of the opponent had begun to crack, Seiki said, "Of course I want to know, but I won't learn it through methods that deepen hatred further!"

"Besides," Seiki said with a smile, "you still have the Seal, don't you?"

"The Seal?" Mui was taken aback. The suppressed memory suddenly surged back into his mind. He glared at Seiki angrily. "You only released part of the genjutsu just now!"

Since he had learned so many secrets, naturally Iwagakure had placed a seal on him.

In other words, even if he were controlled and appeared before Inoichi Yamanaka, Iwagakure wouldn't suspect him of betrayal. They'd simply assume he had been coerced.

Realizing this, Mui's face darkened. "Have you done all this just to mock me?"

Seiki shook his head slowly. "No. I did this to see your true heart."

"My heart?" Mui looked confused but couldn't be bothered to think much about it. "With the Seal in place, I can't give you an answer. Go ahead and do what you want!"

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