After confirming that Mahiru Uchiha's physical condition remained as excellent as ever, Hyuga Soushu finally felt reassured.
Next, he had to deal with the situation in the Land of Water.
Ever since the Third Mizukage ruthlessly carried out the massacre at the Daimyo's court, the Land of Water had effectively become no more than a historical and geographical name.
But the question remained—where would the ninja of New Mist now find their place? And what was the point of continuing the fight?
Though these choices might seem abstract or theoretical, they weren't meaningless at all. In times of uncertainty and wavering morale, it was especially important to give these clan ninja a reason to keep going.
After discussing with some of the clan leaders within the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, Hyuga Soushu made his decision—to significantly increase aid to New Mist while completely cutting off all external communications belonging to the Bloodline faction.
In short, necessary measures must be taken to lock down any possible spread of the Bloodline faction, including but not limited to privateering, trade blockades, or even directly deploying the Ninja Force in full force. Their goal must be to crush the Bloodline faction before it could even grow.
And the reason was simple: the Bloodline faction, uncontrolled and relying solely on violence as its only means of expression, was extremely dangerous. This ideology—an extreme ninja-centered view surpassing even clan nationalism—was no different from the ronin remnants of the Warring States era reborn under a new shell. If this highly provocative thought were allowed to spread unchecked, not only would aristocratic daimyos suffer, but even the ninja clans themselves would eventually face serious consequences.
After all, even the core forces of the Hyuga Clan included numerous non-Hyuga chunin and genin forming the foundation of its military power. To maintain the clan's status, besides instilling loyalty into these individuals, there was also a need to prevent the dangerous ideology of the Bloodline faction from spreading.
Therefore, all attending clan leaders not only fully supported Soushu's plan to deploy the Standing Ninja Army if necessary, but also expressed willingness to issue mobilization orders, combining the strength of every ninja clan to suppress the Bloodline uprising.
Of course, such support did not come without conditions. Before committing troops, each clan demanded its own share of the Land of Water once matters were settled.
Hyuga Soushu commended the clan leaders for their foresight and spirit of sacrifice, though he made no concrete promises regarding the future division of the Land of Water.
After all, the various ninja clans in New Mist hadn't yet voiced their positions on this matter either.
Shortly afterward, Hyuga Soushu issued an order and sent it to Hizashi Hyuga stationed at the Eastern Ninja Force headquarters, then resumed spending quality time with Mahiru Uchiha.
Whether it was just her hormones or not, after Mahiru confirmed her pregnancy, her desires seemed to double overnight! At the same time, out of concern for possibly affecting the unborn child developing inside her womb, Soushu no longer dared to indulge recklessly as he used to. He simply let go and gave Mahiru Uchiha full control, letting her have her way with him.
"It's truly both painful and delightful."
After just seeing off a group of clan leaders who had come for a secret meeting, Mahiru Uchiha walked into Hyuga Soushu's office with a radiant smile, gently carrying a bowl of soup. She even playfully kicked the door shut behind her, her beautiful eyes brimming with alluring charm.
"Soushu-kun, drink this soup first—it's full of all sorts of good, nourishing things."
Mahiru Uchiha sat directly on Hyuga Soushu's lap and whispered enticingly.
Hyuga Soushu took the bait without hesitation.
Nine out of ten households lay empty across the Land of Water, even as the rare and brief ceasefire following the annihilation of its daimyo nobility began. Yet throughout the entire country, an absolute stillness reigned.
Once-thriving farmlands, fishing ports, and mining facilities were either completely destroyed by both warring factions or had fallen entirely inactive.
In comparison, the New Mist ninjas, supported by their Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, weren't doing too badly. They had never controlled much in terms of productive resources to begin with, relying mostly on family reserves and corporate aid for warfare. With increased assistance from the company, they could still sustain continued combat operations.
But the Bloodline faction, by contrast, was facing enormous problems.
Following the Third Mizukage's irrational eradication of the noble families, the resulting nationwide collapse quickly affected the Hidden Mist Village Headquarters.
From the Mist Elders down to the ninja remaining in the village, they suddenly realized—supply sources for everything had completely vanished!
Basic food supplies, steel, and precious chakra-infused metals—all essential ninja resources—were gone overnight.
Merchants who had once been considered vulgarly commercial and commonplace vanished entirely within a single night. As for the goods previously delivered to the village for sale, only limited stock remained!
Compounding this with the effects of wartime conditions, the village's inventory had already been slim to begin with. Therefore, the Mist Elders realized that if they relied solely on stored supplies to support the ninja population, they wouldn't last more than about two months. Even if the Hidden Mist Village immediately initiated large-scale production, they'd run out of food long before the next harvest season arrived.
Moreover, there was another crucial issue—the complete collapse of currency.
With the utter destruction of the daimyo and court noble classes, the already teetering monetary system of the Land of Water officially crumbled. What little trust had remained vanished overnight, rendering the issued paper money utterly worthless—too stiff and useless even for wiping.
Although with ninja force alone, the village could choose to lower itself to outright looting or forced purchases, the problem was—where exactly were the wealthy households left to plunder in this barren nation?
And besides, looting could only offer short-term relief—not a sustainable solution.
Additionally, the Hidden Mist Village also faced unresolved issues such as how to establish a new income distribution system for lower-level ninja in the absence of mission-based funding, along with restoring internal commodity circulation. Surely they couldn't possibly rely on barter trade forever!
"Has the Mizukage not emerged yet?"
The Mist Elders gathered together to discuss countermeasures. The very first question raised concerned the current status of the Third Mizukage.
"The Mizukage Building is still under Anbu lockdown. No one is allowed near it," said an elder who had tried contacting the Mizukage, shaking his head in frustration. "It's been so long, yet Lord Mizukage still insists on this approach. I truly don't know what else to do."
"If we keep dragging our feet like this, the chunin and genin will become dissatisfied."
"They're already beyond fed up!"
"Then should we continue maintaining the old isolationist policies between ninja villages and civilian society? Shouldn't we follow the example of the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation and implement centralized production?"
"With practically no civilians left alive—thanks to those 'Bloodline faction' bastards wiping them out—how exactly do you plan to implement centralized production?!"
"Well then, why not have the genin go out to sea and fish! We can't let them just sit around the village eating for free while complaining about everything!"
"Ninjas fishing? Are you out of your mind!"
The elders bickered endlessly.
Eventually, all their gazes turned collectively toward Master Genzu, who sat there with eyes closed, apparently meditating.
With the Mizukage unavailable, Master Genzu, as one of the village's senior veterans, was now the only figure capable of keeping the various Mist factions nominally united under a single banner.
"The village faces its most dangerous moment ever," Genzu finally spoke slowly.
The assembled Mist Elders nodded solemnly.
From food supplies to morale, and even the most basic sense of order and unity—the village stood on the verge of total collapse. That was something none of them could deny.
"All the village can do now is maintain order—and gradually expand that order outward until it covers the entire Land of Water," Genzu continued.
The Mist Elders remained silent, continuing to listen carefully.
To the Elders, Genzu's idea seemed strikingly similar to the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation's centralized production model.
Not a bad idea necessarily, but whether they could actually implement and sustain such a system remained highly questionable.
"Fundamentally, order requires force. That's why our greatest base of support lies within the village ninja themselves," Genzu went on, speaking more empty platitudes.
Everyone understood this principle already—but how did this relate to the actual crisis they faced right now?
Several Mist Elders exchanged furtive glances, trying to guess Genzu's true intent, but none could quite grasp it.
"How about a work-for-relief program? After all, our ninja definitely need something useful to do."
Genzu stopped using lofty language: "We'll rotate ninja teams—some to gather scattered civilians, others to rebuild basic infrastructure. Once the civilians return, they can start producing goods. All we need to do is collect taxes."
"Would that really work?" the Mist Elders hesitated.
This approach had already come dangerously close to the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation's centralized production model.
Not that the method itself was wrong per se—but where would they find the resources needed to organize and sustain production throughout this entire process? After all, neither ninjas nor civilians could be expected to work on empty stomachs!
"There's no such thing as suitable or not. Just capture civilians and make them fish, farm, mine, and smelt steel—it's definitely better than having our ninja do all that!"
Master Genzu still had that same blank expression. He tapped his staff to silence the room before continuing, "As for whether this path will work, we must take the first step first!"
"But we don't have enough supplies."
A Mist Elder stood up and questioned, "If we fail, the village might not even last two months!"
"The village's resources belong to all its ninja. What does that have to do with those captured civilians?"
Master Genzu said in obvious surprise, "You're not thinking of giving them food too, are you?"
"This… How could I…"
The Mist Elders immediately lost their composure.
"No work, no food—it's that damn simple!"
Master Genzu said impatiently, "They've got free time after work—let 'em fish or hunt for food themselves!"
The Mist Elders were left speechless.
At first, they thought Master Genzu was just another conservative—but now even the radicals think he's gone too far!
"If no one has any objections, let's proceed accordingly!"
Master Genzu continued.
"What about the village's monetary system?"
One Mist Elder quickly asked.
"Use only Gold Kan!"
Master Genzu answered decisively.
"But they only have paper money."
"Then let them take on missions issued by the village and earn payment through completing missions!"
Master Genzu remained firm.
In other words, he had already decided to completely abolish the old currency system of the Land of Water, which had already lost its credibility and value. As for whether to establish a completely new system or maintain the primitive gold-standard trading method, that decision couldn't be made at present.
After all, the Hidden Mist Village's Gold Kan reserves weren't that plentiful either—it barely maintained the internal economic cycle within the village's sphere of influence.
"What about the Mizukage then?"
Another Mist Elder raised his concern.
"The Mizukage doesn't need to deal with these trivial matters!"
Master Genzu declared unusually firmly, "Those ninja in the field only need to worry about fighting enemies, while we organizers behind have far too much to think about!"
"Exactly!"
"That's absolutely true!"
The Mist Elders deeply agreed and nodded approvingly at Master Genzu's foresight.
Inside the Mizukage Building.
An Anbu ninja strolled casually to the floor where the Mizukage's office was located. After theatrically knocking once, he pushed open the door and walked straight in.
From start to finish, his—perhaps more accurately stated, its—demeanor couldn't be considered respectful; it was completely against the standard conduct expected of a Mist Anbu ninja.
But that didn't matter, because the Anbu guards stationed at critical floors were all its own people.
"Mizukage, I've come to report!"
This strange Mist Anbu entered and first sneered at the Third Mizukage seated at the desk like a lifeless puppet with no will of its own, before respectfully prostrating himself toward the shadowed corner: "Lord Madara, everything has unfolded exactly as you foretold!"
"Is that right?"
The shadows in the corner shifted slightly, and an aged Madara Uchiha slowly emerged.
However, unlike usual, a row of strange tubes was now embedded into his back. These tubes connected back into the shadows of the corner, as though they had transcended space itself.
"My order has already completely collapsed!"
A Mist Anbu gave a low chuckle. His disguise gradually faded away, transforming him into a bizarre White Zetsu: "Moreover, all of them have lost interest in fighting and are now preparing to build their own 'cages'!"
Madara understood exactly what the White Zetsu meant by "cages"—he meant the concept of rulership. Therefore, he wasn't particularly surprised.
As for the conservative Elder faction at the Mist village headquarters, the Bloodline faction ninjas deployed on expeditions, and even those so-called New Mist clan ninjas, Madara didn't care much about whatever schemes they might be plotting.
After all, in his eyes, the entire Land of Water—Mist included—was merely a testing ground for his order, just like an anthill some child enjoyed playing with. Watching these insects fall from ambition to despair and breakdown was as intoxicating as fine wine.
"Dispatch a hundred White Zetsu to reinforce the Mainland - Ninja World!"
Therefore, since Madara believed the overall situation had stabilized, it was time to deploy more forces into the Ninja World: "The progress on Hakone Prefecture city's underground secret base is far too slow—it must absolutely be due to laziness among the White Zetsu over there!"
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