Inside the conference room, the other Hidden Mist ninja finally understood the gravity of the situation.
It turned out that the Fourth Mizukage truly had been under someone's control all along.
And it was that white-masked man in black who had broken into the village who had released him.
They were filled with a mixture of intense shame and fury.
They had been played for fools, turned into a blade used by another to persecute their own village.
They felt a deep sense of frustration—how could they have failed to notice that anything was wrong?
A heavy atmosphere now blanketed the entire conference room.
The Fourth Mizukage let out a long, weary sigh.
"The disaster brought upon the village this time is entirely my responsibility."
"I will bear all the guilt for these events."
"It was my own negligence that allowed me to fall under the enemy's genjutsu."
"I will resign from the position of Fourth Mizukage. Elder Genji will temporarily lead the village until a new Mizukage is chosen to guide us back onto the right path."
Genji let out a sigh of his own.
His own eyes had grown dim with age as well.
To think the Fourth Mizukage had been controlled by genjutsu for so long...
...bringing such a catastrophe to the village.
He, too, shared an inescapable responsibility.
"Let it be as the Fourth Mizukage says; he shall step down from his post immediately."
"Now, we must identify the orange-masked man in black who controlled the Fourth Mizukage and forced him to do these things."
"Fourth Mizukage, do you know his identity?"
The Fourth Mizukage shook his head.
He did not.
Back then, the masked individual had faced three of them.
He hadn't expected two of them to possess such overwhelming combat power; he was ensnared in an instant, and even the Tailed Beast within him fell under the genjutsu.
But he still recognized the eyes that had cast the illusion.
"I don't know who he is, but I know he used the Sharingan."
Hearing this, the faces of every Hidden Mist ninja present changed drastically.
The Hidden Mist had fought against that clan during the Third Great Ninja War.
That clan's Fire Style and genjutsu had left a deep and terrifying impression on them.
Even though their Water Style gave them an advantage against fire and illusions, they had still been at a slight disadvantage back then.
What shocked them even more was that the clan was currently on the rise.
They were beginning to regain the aura of the world's greatest clan once again.
All because of a peerless genius named Ryōsuke Uchiha.
He had appeared out of nowhere, a man capable of taking on an entire village alone.
Someone asked in disbelief.
"Could it be that new genius, Ryōsuke Uchiha?"
"He has even awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan."
"It's possible he used those eyes to control both the Tailed Beast and the Fourth Mizukage simultaneously."
The others found this logic very sound.
It made sense if the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan possessed such terrifying power.
Legend had it that Madara Uchiha, the shinobi who rivaled the God of Shinobi Hashirama Senju, possessed those very eyes.
This new peerless genius seemingly possessed strength comparable to Madara Uchiha himself.
This realization left the Mist ninja feeling somewhat demoralized.
Faced with such a powerful enemy, even if they knew he was the culprit...
...would they dare seek revenge?
Not even the most radical Hidden Mist ninja dared to claim they would retaliate.
The opponent was simply too strong.
However, the Fourth Mizukage lowered his head in thought and spoke slowly.
"It might not be this Ryōsuke Uchiha."
"He only started making a name for himself in recent years."
"But I have been under control for many years already."
"When I was first ensnared, Ryōsuke Uchiha was likely still just a child."
Genji also agreed with the Fourth Mizukage's assessment.
It probably wasn't him.
If such a person truly intended to target the Hidden Mist, it would be an absolute disaster.
A person like that was simply too dangerous.
In the shinobi world, there were likely only two men capable of taking on an entire village alone.
They were the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha.
The combat power of those two was several levels above even the current Kage of the Five Great Villages.
It couldn't be helped; battles between those two were known to reshape the very landscape.
Even the Third Raikage, who had famously fought ten thousand Stone Village ninja alone during the Third Great Ninja War, fell slightly short in comparison.
Because those two previous legends were not the type of opponents who could be overcome by sheer numbers.
On the contrary, a larger army only meant more senseless casualties.
In truth, he had a suspicion regarding the identity of the person who had controlled the Fourth Mizukage.
He spoke up.
"Perhaps the one who controlled the Fourth Mizukage is the same person who manipulated the Nine-Tails to attack the Leaf Village years ago."
"If he could use the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, he could naturally control the Three-Tails as well."
The others began to nod in agreement with this theory.
It was indeed plausible.
News reaching them had confirmed that the Uchiha Clan was not responsible for the Nine-Tails Rampage in the Leaf Village.
The Uchiha Clan could already be ruled out as suspects.
Therefore, it definitely wasn't an act by the Uchiha.
Some Mist ninja felt a surge of anger.
It must be the same person who brought ruin to the Leaf, now coming to destroy the Mist.
Genji concluded that the orange-masked man in black was indeed the culprit behind the Nine-Tails Rampage, but he had no way of deducing who was actually behind the mask.
After all, no such information had made its way over from the Leaf.
He looked at the Fourth Mizukage.
"Then, do you know the identity of the other white-masked man in black?"
The Fourth Mizukage shook his head.
"I don't. I was unconscious when the genjutsu was broken."
Genji felt a bit helpless.
They didn't even know the identity of their savior?
However, it didn't matter much for now.
He wasn't an enemy; on the contrary, he had saved the Hidden Mist. They could express their gratitude later.
Now was the time to heal the village; things could not continue this way.
Meanwhile, Ryōsuke did not activate the teleportation technique of his right Mangekyō Sharingan.
Instead, he picked up his pace and headed back to the harbor where they had first arrived.
He found Zabuza and Haku waiting there.
Seeing the white-masked man in black, Zabuza felt a surge of excitement.
"How did it go?"
"Did you successfully break the genjutsu on the Fourth Mizukage?"
Ryōsuke nodded.
"Naturally."
Having said that, he produced the sealed bottle containing the Three-Tails from his system space.
Inside, a Tailed Beast resembling a tortoise lay crouched.
Sensing the sudden change in its environment, the Three-Tails opened its eyes, glaring with hostility at the person before it.
However, it didn't struggle to bash against the glass again.
It had already tried that before to no avail; the barrier was impossible to break.
Zabuza stared at the contents of the bottle. What else could it be but the Three-Tails?
It seemed this guy really had broken the Fourth Mizukage's genjutsu.
After all, he had even extracted the Tailed Beast from within the Fourth Mizukage.
He immediately dropped to one knee.
"Lord God King, from this day forward, I will serve the organization with all my heart."