Pain calmly said,
"Someone else has already captured the Three-Tails Jinchūriki."
The image of that person instantly appeared in Kisame Hoshigaki's mind.
That mysterious masked man...
Uchiha Madara!
---
Naruto was stunned.
"The Three-Tails Jinchūriki is actually the current Fourth Mizukage?!"
He had never heard of anything like that before.
Kakashi Hatake nodded and recounted everything he had learned during the flight.
In truth, Kakashi's heart was flooded with emotions.
The Three-Tails Jinchūriki...
That title carried a special and painful meaning for him. It was connected to one of the darkest memories of his life.
Hinata seemed to sense the sadness hidden within Kakashi's voice, but she remained silent.
At that moment, Suigetsu Hōzuki could no longer hold back.
"Hey, hey! You Konoha ninja are pretty arrogant, aren't you?"
"As I've already said, I have no intention of returning to the Hidden Mist Village!"
Naruto crossed his arms.
"That's not your decision."
"Besides, weren't you captured by that bastard Orochimaru? Why would you want to go back there?"
Suigetsu sighed.
"Yeah, Orochimaru captured me. But I had already left the Hidden Mist Village long before that."
"Actually..."
"The current Hidden Mist Village isn't much different from Orochimaru's hideout."
Naruto's curiosity immediately grew.
"Is the Hidden Mist Village, one of the Five Great Villages, really that terrible?"
"I only heard Zabuza talk about it. He called it the Bloody Mist."
Suigetsu's eyes lit up when he heard Zabuza's name.
"Ah, Zabuza Momochi—the Demon of the Hidden Mist."
"I've heard about what happened to him."
"I never expected him to die at your hands."
"To outsiders, Zabuza-senpai was just a rogue ninja. But if you truly understood how cruel and oppressive the Bloody Mist era was, your opinion of him might completely change."
"In my eyes, his attempt to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage was completely justified."
Naruto frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Suigetsu laughed bitterly.
"The Bloody Mist was a terrifying political system enforced throughout the Hidden Mist Village. Outsiders can never fully understand just how horrifying it was."
"You know how Zabuza graduated by killing all of his classmates, right?"
"That's why he was called a monster."
"But think about it."
"Did Zabuza create that system?"
"No."
"The village leadership forced children to kill one another."
"After Zabuza slaughtered everyone, the village finally realized how insane the policy was and abolished it."
"So if you think about it, wasn't Zabuza actually a reformer?"
Hinata's eyes widened.
"You're talking about the Bloody Mist graduation policy?"
"Exactly."
Suigetsu nodded.
"Not only that, but the village also persecuted Bloodline Limit clans."
"Wasn't Haku one of the Yuki Clan?"
"He was another victim of the Bloody Mist."
"And what about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
"They were once the pride of the Hidden Mist."
"But look at what happened."
"Jūzō Biwa defected."
"Zabuza defected."
"Kisame defected."
"Suikazan Fuguki betrayed the village and was eventually killed by Kisame."
"If one person defects, maybe it's a personal choice."
"But when so many elite ninja choose to abandon the same village..."
"Don't you think there's a deeper reason?"
Naruto fell silent.
His previous image of Zabuza and Haku suddenly became blurry.
The merciless Demon of the Hidden Mist seemed to have carried his own ideals.
Even his partnership with Gatō may have been an attempt to gather resources and continue his rebellion against the Fourth Mizukage.
If the Fourth Mizukage was truly responsible for creating and maintaining the Bloody Mist system...
Then were the rebels actually the heroes?
Suigetsu continued with a mocking smile.
"It wasn't just elite ninja and Bloodline Limit clans that suffered."
"The Hōzuki Clan suffered too."
"My brother, Hōzuki Mangetsu, was known as a genius throughout the ninja world."
"He dreamed of restoring the glory of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"He collected four of the legendary swords and made countless contributions to the village."
"But then..."
"He died suddenly and violently during the Bloody Mist era."
"To this day, I still don't know the exact cause of his death."
"But if someone told me it had nothing to do with the Bloody Mist Village..."
"I wouldn't believe them even if they beat me to death."
"That's why I ran away."
"Being captured by Orochimaru and used as an experiment was horrible."
"But honestly?"
"Compared to the Hidden Mist Village, there wasn't much difference."
Suigetsu pointed accusingly at Naruto.
"And now you Konoha ninja want to drag me back into that living hell without even asking what I want!"
Kakashi calmly replied,
"It's a mission. We don't have a choice."
However, Naruto suddenly spoke.
"Suigetsu."
"If the Hidden Mist Village is really as terrible as you say..."
"I won't force you to stay there."
Suigetsu blinked in surprise.
"Huh?"
"Didn't Kakashi just say it's a mission?"
"Are you planning to disobey orders?"
Naruto grinned.
"It's not the first time."
"Right, Hinata?"
Hinata smiled and nodded.
Naruto then briefly told Suigetsu about Karin.
After hearing the story, Suigetsu was visibly moved.
"I remember Orochimaru saying Karin was basically one of his victims."
"And yet you went against your mission and brought her back to Konoha."
"There are really people like that in the ninja world?"
Naruto laughed.
"Of course there are."
"I guarantee it!"
Kakashi sighed helplessly.
"Naruto, don't make promises so casually."
Naruto scratched his head.
"Kakashi-sensei, aren't you the one who taught us this?"
"Those who abandon their mission are trash."
"But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
Kakashi's heart trembled.
The Hidden Mist Village.
The Three-Tails Jinchūriki.
Naruto's familiar words.
All of it caused long-buried memories to surface once again.
After a moment, he shook his head.
"Suigetsu Hōzuki isn't our comrade."
Naruto immediately replied,
"He could be!"
Kakashi: "..."
Even Suigetsu was caught off guard.
Then he laughed.
"What a selfish guy."
Hinata smiled softly.
"That's just how Naruto-kun is."
Kakashi stared at Naruto's face.
Slowly, another figure from his past seemed to overlap with him.
A young man who had once spoken with the same conviction.
Just then, Naruto interrupted his thoughts.
"Kakashi-sensei."
"If the Hidden Mist Village is really that dangerous, will they even let us enter?"
Kakashi smiled.
"Don't worry."
"Lady Tsunade has already informed the Hidden Mist Village."
"No matter how isolated they are, they'll still show respect to the Hokage."
"Besides, our visit will benefit them as well."
"Considering that their Jinchūriki has been captured and Jiraiya-sama's previous warnings, they should have realized the seriousness of the situation by now."
Hinata quickly understood.
"So the Hidden Mist Village already knows why we're coming?"
"Exactly."
Kakashi nodded.
"We want information about the situation inside the Hidden Mist Village."
"And they want intelligence regarding the Akatsuki."
"It's an unspoken agreement."
Naruto thought back to all the ninja he had met from the Hidden Mist Village.
The Demon Brothers.
Zabuza Momochi.
Haku.
Kisame Hoshigaki.
All of them seemed to share one thing in common.
A disregard for life.
Not only the lives of others, but their own as well.
Perhaps that was the true legacy of the Bloody Mist era.
As Naruto thought about it, he felt a deep sense of sadness.
Becoming Hokage had always been his dream.
But now he realized something.
The title itself meant nothing.
The Fourth Mizukage possessed power equal to a Hokage, yet had brought suffering to countless people.
For the first time, Naruto questioned the significance of the Five Kage.
"It seems that what matters isn't the title..."
"It's the person who holds it."
Kakashi nodded approvingly.
"You're right, Naruto."
"Being one of the Five Kage doesn't automatically make everything you do correct."
"Sometimes, the greater your authority, the more people suffer from your mistakes."
"I know you want to become Hokage."
"And I believe you'll achieve that dream one day."
"But before then, you must always remember something."
"Hokage isn't the goal."
"A person who can truly bring peace and stability to others is someone truly great."
Naruto listened carefully.
His heart trembled.
Then he slowly nodded.
"I understand, Kakashi-sensei."
A grin appeared on his face.
"Wow."
"I didn't know you could say such serious things."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Hm?"
"Am I usually not serious?"
Naruto scratched his cheek.
"Well..."
"You're always carrying those inappropriate books written by the Pervy Sage."
"You act lazy all the time."
"You're always late."
"You constantly make excuses."
"And you're kind of a liar."
Kakashi's face immediately darkened.
"..."
Naruto had clearly gone too far.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)