Sakumo swept his gaze around the group studying the map, then finally fixed his eyes on Hoshiyomi and said:
"We came here this time mainly to hear your opinion."
As he spoke, he nudged his son.
Kakashi immediately stepped forward without hesitation, tapped a spot on the map, and explained:
"This is where we are now.
We're roughly at the border between Kirigakure's conservative faction and the militant faction.
The village is basically split in two along this curved line."
He paused, glanced apologetically at Haku, and continued:
"The situation in Kirigakure now is even more chaotic than what our earlier intel suggested.
The kekkei genkai clans have truly gone mad with killing.
At first, both sides acted according to the commands of the factions backing them.
But as the conflict intensified and disputes over benefits grew, Kirigakure has basically turned into a pot of boiling chaos."
Pointing to various annotations around the map, Kakashi continued:
"Very few kekkei genkai clans still obey the conservative or militant camps.
Starting with the conservatives—the side closer to us—Elder Genji's current position isn't good.
Originally, the conservatives consisted of the four major kekkei genkai clans, several smaller kekkei genkai clans, and many civilian shinobi.
But as the conflict escalated, the Yuki clan and several small clans were wiped out.
Two of the remaining major clans abandoned the conservatives entirely and took several small clans with them, fighting everywhere for territory.
Now, the only clan truly following Genji's commands is the Terumi clan, along with a few scattered small kekkei genkai clans.
The main force he relies on is actually the civilian shinobi led by Ao, who completely obey his orders."
After finishing the conservative side, he naturally moved on to the militant faction:
"The militant faction has almost no civilian ninja.
They're basically a coalition of kekkei genkai clans that were suppressed for years.
Compared to the conservatives' disorder, their side hasn't changed much—mostly because they were already loose and chaotic from the start.
That doesn't mean they're united—they've always fought independently.
So while they look stable, they're far from being of one mind.
The militant faction is mainly made up of the families of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the Kaguya clan.
The strongest of them are the Kaguya and the Hōzuki clans, though they don't get along at all.
According to Elder Genji, the Hōzuki clan thinks the Kaguya clan is brainless, and the Kaguya think the Hōzuki rely only on schemes.
You could say they just 'mutually dislike each other.'
If not for their shared hatred of the conservatives, those two clans might have started fighting each other already.
To prevent that, the two clans are currently stationed on opposite sides of the village—north and south—each fighting their own battles."
"Other than those two, the Momoch) clan is worth mentioning.
According to Genji, they're the most promising clan to recruit.
The previous clan head was replaced by a young and talented rising star named Momochi Zabuza.
Since taking over, Zabuza hasn't continued attacking the conservative-aligned kekkei genkai clans.
It looks like he might be open to negotiation."
After finishing his detailed explanation, Kakashi fell silent and passed the conversation back to Sakumo.
Sakumo patted his son's shoulder and continued speaking to Hoshiyomi:
"That's about all we learned from Elder Genji.
Judging from what we saw, he wasn't lying.
From our conversation, it's clear he genuinely wants Kirigakure to return to unity and elect a new Mizukage."
He also vaguely hinted that they hoped we could hide our identities and help them, but I'm not sure whether we should get involved in this muddy mess that Kirigakure has become.
Although the purpose of our mission is to resolve Kirigakure's current conflict, I can't shake the feeling that this whole situation is designed to lure us into intervening.
If we secretly help the conservative faction and never get exposed, that's one thing.
But if our identities are revealed, we'll definitely face backlash. There are countless eyes across the ninja world watching Konoha.
If people discover that Konoha interfered in Kirigakure's internal affairs for no reason, it could be very bad for us."
Hearing this, Hoshiyomi subconsciously narrowed his eyes. From Sakumo's words he could faintly sense Black Zetsu's influence.
This kind of scheme that forces others into a trap… was far too much like Black Zetsu's style.
Combined with the original story's plot where Obito manipulated Yagura, Hoshiyomi believed there was a high likelihood that Kirigakure's current chaos was orchestrated by Black Zetsu.
And if Black Zetsu was behind this… Hoshiyomi absolutely wasn't going to sit out.
Having been tricked by Black Zetsu once, there was no way he would pass up a chance to mess with him—especially since Hoshiyomi also planned to bring Kimimaro back to Konoha.
With that thought, Hoshiyomi immediately made up his mind:
"Kiri's situation is exactly as you said—if we're exposed, it could harm Konoha. But letting the village continue falling into chaos isn't an option either. So I've decided to step in. As long as we don't get caught, it's fine."
Seeing Hoshiyomi's faintly excited expression, Sakumo sighed helplessly:
"I knew you would react like this… Since you're so determined, then tell us—what exactly do you have in mind?
Don't tell me your grand plan is to sit here and wait for an opportunity.
And don't forget, you can only stay here for seven days. Today is already the second day."
Hoshiyomi lowered his head, studying the map on the table. His gaze lingered a little longer on the area marked as the Kaguya clan's territory.
From what he remembered, the Kaguya clan really did have… less-than-ideal intelligence.
In the original story, pressured by the Bloody Mist policy, they recklessly tried to fight the entire village by themselves and ended up annihilated.
If that's the case, then maybe the quickest way to end this rebellion is to start with that clan.
After all, the only person Hoshiyomi wanted to save was Kimimaro.
As for the rest of the Kaguya clan—Hoshiyomi had no interest in them.
A clan foolish enough to imprison a genius like Kimimaro in a dungeon since childhood… honestly wasn't a clan he felt any obligation to save.
After staring at the map a moment longer, Hoshiyomi withdrew his gaze and said:
"I don't have a concrete plan yet. Let me infiltrate the militant faction's clans and observe things firsthand. We'll decide after that."
..
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