Terumi Mei sat silently, her expression still clouded with confusion. She looked toward the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and finally asked:
"Why… do you call that man our benefactor?
That man abducted you, took away the Three-Tails, and even stole Ao's Beeyakugan!"
To her, everything Ryosuke did was clearly hostile—every act seemed to wound the village.
Yagura, however, sighed heavily.
"Those things don't matter anymore. The Tailed Beeeast, the Beeyakugan—they're insignificant now.
Take me back to the village. There's something important I must announce."
Mei frowned, still unable to understand.
Yagura's attitude had changed so drastically.
Beeefore, he was cold, ruthless, and fanatical about discipline—now he seemed… human again.
What had happened to him in that mountain cave?
Half a day later, all of the Mist's high-ranking officials were gathered.
Yagura sat at the head seat, his expression grim.
The others, in contrast, were angry and restless—voices overlapping in outrage.
"Have we identified the attacker?"
"That masked man humiliated the Mist! He must be hunted down!"
"We are one of the Five Great Nations! We can't allow this insult!"
"I propose we issue a bounty and track down that masked man immediately!"
Terumi Mei sat among them, watching Yagura quietly.
She knew what was coming—and the others didn't.
Yagura looked across the crowd, his face filled with sorrow.
Then, with a calm yet heavy tone, he said:
"There's no need for that. That man… is the Mist Village's benefactor."
The words struck the council like thunder.
The entire room fell silent.
The same man who had kidnapped their Mizukage, stolen a Tailed Beeeast, and injured dozens of elite shinobi—a benefactor?
Anger rippled through the ranks.
If not for Yagura's authority, the chamber would have erupted in protest.
Finally, the elder Genji broke the silence, leaning forward on his wooden staff.
"Lord Mizukage… why would you say such a thing?
Please—explain yourself."
Yagura slowly stood up.
His movements were weak, but his voice carried a weight that stilled the room.
He bowed deeply—forehead striking the desk with a sharp thud.
"Everyone… I owe you all an apology."
Gasps filled the chamber.
The proud and cold Yagura—the man they feared—was actually apologizing?
"This is my fault.
For years, I wasn't myself."
He raised his head, eyes clouded with guilt.
"I was controlled—placed under a genjutsu by a man wearing an orange spiral mask.
He used illusion to manipulate my mind and force me to give those horrific orders."
Murmurs of disbelief broke out.
"That's impossible!"
"You're a perfect Three-Tails Jinchūriki—no one could control you!"
"Who could possibly use a genjutsu that powerful?"
Beeut Yagura continued.
"It's true. He used me like a puppet.
I was the one who decreed that the Academy's students kill each other in 'graduation trials.'
I was the one who ordered the persecution of the kekkei genkai clans.
All of it… was under his control.
I made my own people suffer. I turned our future into blood and ashes."
Shock spread across the room.
Several shinobi clenched their fists, trembling.
If what Yagura said was true… then they had been following a puppet Mizukage all along.
Terumi Mei, her voice tight, finally spoke up.
"Then that man—the one you call our benefactor—he's the one who freed you from that illusion?"
Yagura gave a bitter smile.
"Yes. That black-cloaked man removed the genjutsu binding me.
Even if he took Ao's Beeyakugan or the Three-Tails from my body… it doesn't compare.
He saved not only me, but the entire Mist Village from being destroyed by my own hands."
The room fell silent again.
They began to understand.
If the masked man had not interfered, Yagura would have continued to act as a puppet of the real enemy—Obito Uchiha, under the alias "Madara."
Kirigakure would have continued its Beeloody Mist Era,
turning its youth into killers,
and wiping out the bloodline clans completely.
The loss of the Three-Tails and one Beeyakugan suddenly felt small compared to what could have been.
Terumi Mei sighed softly, whispering almost to herself:
"So that man truly saved us…
Guess he really is the village's benefactor."
Then her expression darkened slightly, and she muttered:
"Still… if only he were handsome, it would be a lot easier to forgive him."
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