"My dear Mizukage, you finally decided to leave your bedroom?"
Master Genzu was far from thrilled at the sudden appearance of the Third Mizukage. No one expected him to step out of the Mizukage Building again.
And in such an unexpectedly violent manner, no less.
Master Genzu's gaze shifted directly outside the meeting room. From his perspective, what met his eyes were splatters of bloodstains and fallen corpses, forming a horrifying and gruesome scene.
"Not interested in sleeping on your soft bed for a few more years? So impatient to come out already?"
Seeing the tide turn against him, Master Genzu kept his voice calm but cold.
"You shouldn't mistake my tolerance for weakness."
The Third Mizukage sighed slightly with a touch of helplessness on his face before saying, "Moreover, how could things go well when I left the village under your insects' control!"
The Mist Elders didn't dare to argue back; they pleaded with their eyes for him to stop provoking further conflict.
After all, if they truly enraged the Third Mizukage, the executioner's blade might directly reach their necks!
They were elders—high-ranking ones—and none of them wanted to die!
"Still sending people to haggle with Fuguki Suikazan—what a laughing matter!"
Master Genzu remained silent, but the Third Mizukage's mocking expression deepened as he continued ruthlessly, "You've grown old. It's time you threw in the towel."
"So, does this mean the Mizukage plans to eliminate us useless old men?"
Master Genzu paused, leaning on his cane before speaking slowly, "However, if the Mizukage can make the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist, whose forces are stationed far away, bow down, then indeed, you will have done better than us aging relics."
"That'll do. Don't forget the choice you make today."
The Third Mizukage nodded contentedly, and the elders immediately felt relieved.
Then, the Third Mizukage raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Snap!"
Everyone, including Master Genzu, suddenly saw ripples across their vision, followed by a wave of dizziness.
Immediately afterward, the bloody scene outside the door transformed back into its original form. The corpses scattered across the floor now revealed themselves as ninjas lying prostrate on the ground, clearly conscious and breathing.
"What the—…?"
Although the elders had long stepped away from active ninja life, they could easily discern that they had just fallen victim to the Third Mizukage's genjutsu!
The problem was, the Mist clan had never possessed such bizarre genjutsu techniques in their traditions—and none of them even sensed they'd been under any illusion!
This was simply absurd!
"The Second's secret jutsu?"
Frowning, Master Genzu briefly considered that possibility, but soon shook his head in denial: "No… This doesn't resemble it. Even the Second's genjutsu couldn't produce such an effect!"
"You can't keep clinging to the past forever."
With an indifferent remark, the Third Mizukage turned and walked away by himself.
The personal ninja guards of the Elder Faction who had been incapacitated by genjutsu were each carried away by Anbu ninja from Hidden Mist.
Even trash has its use. Madara Uchiha, impersonating the Third Mizukage, wasn't about to be wasteful just yet.
After all, good material was required to produce high-quality combat-type white zetsu. These personal guards from the Elder Faction made perfect disposable resources.
As for whatever thoughts the Elders might have harbored inside, nobody cared in the slightest.
Power does not remain vacant—it naturally seeks a master whose virtue matches its worthiness.
Ever since taking command on the battlefield, Fuguki Suikazan felt as if he were floating through life, filled with a dreamy, satisfied bliss.
Although within the Crimson Mist faction's main forces there were still power bases formed by six other swordsmen, overall, Fuguki Suikazan still maintained control over authority.
This feeling was like the most intoxicating, refined wine—so delightful that Fuguki became completely addicted.
Moreover, as raiding privateer ninja and rebellious New Mist forces fell one after another, Fuguki's reputation soared like midday sun, making his position even more solid than before.
Therefore, he had already decided that after eliminating the final remnants of the Mist Ninja Clan, he would carry forward Hidden Mist's main headquarters with the momentum of great victory, force Master Genzu to hand over power, compel the Third to abdicate, and claim the position of Fourth Mizukage for himself.
But this plan collapsed too quickly for Fuguki Suikazan to adjust accordingly.
First came the new wave of privateer fleets rushing in, destroying the model production zone painstakingly built by the Crimson Mist faction—a trial project through which Fuguki wished to prove his administrative capabilities. Then came successive deep incursions and harassment operations, tying down large portions of the Crimson Mist faction's forces.
Though these privateer ninja varied greatly in strength and their overall fighting power was negligible, when fires broke out from all directions, the Crimson Mist faction still found itself overwhelmed, chasing relentlessly but capturing very little.
Thus, Fuguki Suikazan's original scheme of gradually consuming the Ninja Clan's territories went bankrupt, forcing him to withdraw the frontline ninja forces originally deployed and consolidate his basic stronghold instead.
Just then, the Third Mizukage reappeared publicly, stirring unrest among the Crimson Mist faction's army ranks.
Fuguki Suikazan's leadership methods weren't particularly sophisticated—he relied merely on heavy rewards and severe punishments, otherwise known as the stick and carrot method, punish once and soothe thrice. In the long run, from a broader moral perspective, this approach truly had merit.
Especially now, with the current Third Mizukage opposing him.
So when Anbu ninja arrived from Hidden Mist's main headquarters, Fuguki Suikazan initially wanted to execute them on the spot. But after thinking it through, he decided to swallow his pride and receive the village's messenger.
"The Mizukage, Honorable One, commands: abandon all southern and western islands immediately! Regroup at the central region to establish a firm defensive line, completely sealing off every waterway leading into the inland sea!"
Upon entering, the Anbu messenger stated his purpose plainly.
There was absolutely no room for negotiation—his tone left no doubt that it was an order demanding immediate compliance.
"You must be a traitor to the clan, impersonating one of our own to come here and deceive us!"
Raiga Kurosuki, another of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist, rose furiously and leveled a serious accusation at the Anbu messenger before Fuguki Suikazan could even speak. "Remove your mask so we can verify your identity, or we'll execute you on the spot!"
The Anbu messenger neither showed anger nor engaged in argument in response to Raiga's aggression. Instead, he kept his calm gaze fixed on Fuguki Suikazan, as though waiting for his reply rather than indulging in pointless quarrels.
Then one after another, senior ninja from the Crimson Mist faction stood up in outrage. Some bitterly accused the messenger of disregarding the sacrifices and hard work of the Ninja Force and making unilateral decisions; others firmly believed this was a plot by spies from rival clans, vowing to expose their true identities, purge the outsiders, and protect the purity of the Crimson Mist faction.
The air crackled with tension and suspicion, as if it might erupt at any second.
"My brothers are supporting me, willing to stand behind me, so I have no choice."
Fuguki spread his arms wide, a cold smirk clearly visible on his face, his tone laced with deep malice and killing intent. "With nothing more than empty promises — 'air and teeth' — do you really expect us all to abandon our aspirations? Has Mizukage been asleep so long she still hasn't woken up from her dream?"
Judging by his aura, the Anbu ninja sent here to deliver the final ultimatum possessed only about the strength of a Chunin-level ninja. In terms of power, he couldn't be compared even to bloodthirsty members of the Seven Swords, let alone experienced Chunins within the main forces of the Crimson Mist faction. Besides, Fuguki and others harbored great ambitions. It would have been a miracle if they'd actually obeyed such ridiculous demands.
"If none of you esteemed Jonins are willing, then please allow me to return to the village and report back to Mizukage-sama."
The Anbu ninja didn't seem affected by the fierce, murderous words coming from these senior ninjas of the Crimson Mist faction. He simply formed a single hand seal and prepared to leave.
But how could the arrogant senior ninja of the Crimson Mist faction tolerate such audacity from a mere Anbu Chunin?
"Why don't you stay instead?" Raiga Kurosuki snarled, still barking threats. "When our main forces return to the village, we'll lock you up together with The Third. Then you can report all you want!"
Raiga led the charge forward. Immediately afterward, the senior ninja of the Crimson Mist faction readied themselves to capture this reckless Chunin-level Anbu agent.
"Goodbye!"
In an instant, the Anbu agent dove underground and vanished without a trace.
These senior ninja had originally looked down on this weak Chunin and were completely unprepared for such a swift escape. Right under their noses, the messenger slipped away before anyone could react.
"This is..."
A group of conceited yet nearsighted senior ninja from the Crimson Mist initially stared at each other in confusion, quickly turning furious. They activated their advanced perception techniques and even employed secret Earth Release methods, attempting to harden the surrounding ground into unbreakable stone.
However, all these efforts were like throwing stones into the sea — the Anbu Chunin's trail remained completely invisible.
This bizarre event silently cast a thick shadow across Fuguki Suikazan's heart, like clouds blotting out the sun.
"Could it be that The Third is really planning to make a move?"
Fuguki Suikazan looked calm on the surface, but his thoughts were in chaos. He ran through all kinds of possible scenarios in his head, each one filled with worry and dread over what was coming.
"Hurry! Have the Uzumaki ninja activate the barrier early!"
At a farm outside Hakone Prefecture City, frantic Shinsengumi ninja, acting on newly acquired intelligence, had finally cornered for the first time a group of summoned beast frogs whose origins remained unknown.
The encounter had been quite strange: originally, several Genin simply patrolling outside the city walls suddenly heard an ear-splitting frog croak. Curious, they approached to investigate and found giant frogs standing upright beneath the full moon, howling toward the sky as if calling out to it.
The lower-ranked ninja hadn't bothered concealing their presence at first, so their clumsy movements were quickly detected by the moon-watching frogs. Just as they prepared to attack, however, the frog ninja merely shouted "Ninjas who can fight back have arrived!" before leaping into a nearby cave.
The Genin then followed procedure to report upward, and after passing through layer upon layer of command, the elite forces under Hyuga Soushu's command within the Shinsengumi finally arrived—late to the scene, including sealing technique specialists from the Uzumaki clan.
Everyone initially assumed this mysteriously appearing frog ninja would immediately relocate upon realizing exposure, but unexpectedly, even after the Shinsengumi's arrival, reconnaissance using Byakugan techniques revealed no fewer than fifty frog summoning beasts still hiding underground!
This was an incredible opportunity!
Thus stunned by this sudden fortune, the Shinsengumi forces sprang into action immediately, preparing to first cut off escape routes from the subterranean frog nest before capturing them all at once.
[Sealing Steel Earth Mandala!]
Though flustered, the Uzumaki ninja rapidly executed the sealing technique under the Jonin Officer's instructions.
The brilliance of this sealing method lay in its ability to penetrate underground, transforming soft soil and rock layers surrounding the subterranean nest into indestructible steel-like chakra-infused rock formations. This aimed to completely eliminate any possibility of the frog summoning beasts escaping through earth release techniques.
Earth Release squad forward! Fire Release squad prepare!
Immediately afterward, the Shinsengumi's Jonin Officer began barking orders, preparing to dig downward for an assault!
With this development, even the most sluggish and careless frogs could now sense abnormal chakra fluctuations coming from all directions.
"Alert! Alert! Enemy attackers incoming!"
Instantly, chaos erupted within the underground nest.
While merely one of several temporary evacuation bases for these frog ninjas, regarding secrecy and safety, discovery should've been practically impossible. So even when the surface-level Shinsengumi forces busily deployed above ground, those below remained completely unaware.
This absolute secrecy carried an inherent drawback: achieving complete concealment required eliminating any outing that might risk exposure, which inevitably resulted in reduced vigilance and security awareness.
What's worse, the spy frogs around the nest hadn't spotted any danger at all!
"Done for! Done for! The upper soil layer is the only soft spot left—everything else has hardened!"
As the danger became clear, the ninja frogs only got more panicked.
"Then charge up and fight Hyuga's minions head-on!"
A tall ninja frog bared its teeth, gripping a trident in its weirdly-shaped hand. It was the first to rush upward through the ground.
"Let's fight! Let's fight!"
Ninja frogs might have seemed half-rational on the outside, but deep down, they were still monsters through and through. Under the influence of the leading frog, the originally panicking frogs immediately self-organized into a vanguard formation and prepared to break through.
"They're about to emerge!"
A Hyuga ninja who had been observing with his Byakugan eyes immediately alerted the others.
"Excellent!"
Jonin Officer of Shinsengumi instantly gave orders: "Earth Release squad, activate techniques! I'll crush these monsters directly underground!"
And this was exactly where human ninja fundamentally differed from monster ninja frogs.
Humans were naturally skilled at tactics.
Though the surface soil layer seemed loose, it was actually deliberately left behind by Shinsengumi ninja as bait, specifically waiting for these frogs to attempt escape in this direction.
Once these frogs used Earth Release to ascend through this soil layer, then everything would become easy!
Whether creating earthquakes or controlling soil compression through ninjutsu, the ninja had too many methods available!
"Huh! Didn't expect it to be this easy!"
Outside the battlefield where Shinsengumi ninja fought against ninja frogs, two White Zetsus were hiding underground, secretly observing the combat zone.
"My disguise was flawless—I had them all fooled from the start!"
The White Zetsu disguised as a ninja frog was extremely proud, clearly pleased with itself.
"No fun at all! Way too simple!"
The other White Zetsu shook its head while speaking: "Next time you lure them in, and I'll be the bait!"
Of course, those spy frogs deployed around the nest becoming ineffective was also the work of these omnipresent White Zetsus!
Black Zetsu's strategy of pitting one side against the other could be considered a partial success!
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