"Senior Brother, I just don't understand. Why did you give up the opportunity to attend the Five Kage Summit?"
Seiren threw his katana onto the weapon rack with a frustrated expression and plopped down heavily onto a chair.
"Why should I fight for the position of Kirigakure's representative? What good would it do me?"
Yeming casually replied while carefully polishing his weapon—a gleaming double-edged barbed iron hook—with a silk cloth, his tone indifferent.
"It would signal to all the other villages that you are the true leader of Kirigakure!"
The one speaking was Grand Guardian Cao Cang. The other guardians behind him nodded in agreement.
"Heh, what a joke. Do you think that if the other four great villages don't acknowledge me, I wouldn't still be the leader of Kirigakure?"
Yeming didn't even lift his head, his focus entirely on the iron hook, seemingly unsatisfied until it could reflect his own image.
"You all need to think things through. What is a Mizukage? What is a Gensui? They're just titles. Without the capability to bear such a title, even if you wear that hat, it would just slide right off."
"What do you mean?"
Seiren asked, puzzled.
"Yagura Karatachi, that guy, has always liked to play the innocent child. Does he really think he can fool me? His intention in having me attend the Five Kage Summit is nothing more than to lure me away from Kirigakure so he can deal with all of you in my absence!"
"And by the time I return, forget about being Mizukage—I'd be lucky to even keep my life."
Yeming nodded, seemingly satisfied with the sharpness of the iron hook.
"I see!"
"Master Yeming's insight is unparalleled!"
"Senior Brother, your wisdom knows no bounds!"
Flattering voices filled the room instantly.
"Now it's Yagura who's caught in a dilemma."
Yeming carefully sheathed the iron hook into a sharkskin scabbard.
"Either way, it's just a matter of a year. If he goes, we'll take the opportunity to wipe out his forces in Kirigakure. If he doesn't go..."
With a flick of his wrist, the iron hook was back in his hand. His movement was as smooth as flowing water, and his speed rivaled that of a master swordsman. Considering that wielding a hook is far more challenging than a blade, this showcased his unparalleled mastery of the weapon.
"...then he'll lose all public support and credibility. What will he have left to compete with me?"
As he finished speaking, he casually tossed the silk cloth into the air. In a flash, the iron hook danced through the air, slicing the cloth into tiny fragments in an instant. His movements were so swift that they were nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.
"Master Yeming, urgent news!"
A figure burst into the room in a fluster.
"Zhongfu, you're the second-ranking guardian. How can you be so reckless? Stay calm in the face of any situation. Now, speak—what's the matter?"
"The Third Mizukage is dead!!!"
With a loud clang, the iron hook fell to the ground.
"Quick! To the Mizukage Hall!"
"How is he?"
Yagura Karatachi asked anxiously.
"Not well. If you hadn't been supplying him with chakra daily to keep him alive, he likely wouldn't have lasted this long. But his prolonged immobility has caused his joints to stiffen and his muscles to atrophy. At this rate, he won't survive another year."
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head as he looked at the Third Mizukage lying on the bed. The Mizukage's eyes were shut, his lips dry and cracked, his complexion pale and waxy, his body emaciated. Though only in his forties, his long hair had turned completely gray. If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, he could easily be mistaken for a corpse.
"Enough talk. Can this genjutsu be broken?"
"Let me try."
Uchiha Fugaku focused his Sharingan, forming hand seals as he shouted, "Release!"
But there was no reaction.
"What a formidable genjutsu!"
Uchiha Fugaku staggered back, visibly shocked.
"Is there a way?"
Yagura's eyes were filled with hope.
"I can try. Flip his eyelids open for me, but don't let go until I say so."
"Understood!"
Yagura carefully propped the Third Mizukage up against himself and gently opened his eyelids.
"Shinobi Shōmatsu-sama, Maki-sama, I am about to cast a genjutsu on the Third Mizukage. Please guard me. If I remain unresponsive for three hours, reverse the chakra flow to wake me up."
"No problem!"
Uchiha Fugaku locked eyes with the Third Mizukage, forming hand seals once more.
"Genjutsu: Mental Invasion!"
In an instant, Uchiha Fugaku entered the mental world of the Third Mizukage.
"What is this?!"
Before him stretched an enormous labyrinth, so vast that its end was nowhere in sight. The walls of the maze towered over ten meters high. Uchiha Fugaku leapt onto one of the walls, surveying the labyrinth's structure from above.
"To construct a maze of this scale, the caster must have unparalleled mastery of genjutsu."
Even as Uchiha Fugaku pushed his Sharingan to its limits, the maze's end remained elusive.
"It seems I'll have to find the Third Mizukage first before figuring out how to bring him out."
With that thought, Fugaku tore a strip from his shirt, tying one end around his waist and letting the other trail behind him. With a leap, he landed on another wall, glancing back to ensure the cloth remained straight before confidently advancing deeper into the labyrinth...
"Can we trust this guy?"
Maki turned to Hatake Sakumo.
"Of course. Among the Uchiha clan of this generation, his abilities are the strongest—especially his mastery of genjutsu, which rivals that of Uchiha Kagami in his prime. Otherwise, neither Hiruzen-sama nor Danzō-sama would have pulled him from the Police Force to join the Anbu. He's been doing an excellent job," Sakumo replied, raising an eyebrow in a playful, almost taunting manner, as if boasting about how many Sunagakure spies had fallen into their hands.
Maki, however, remained unimpressed and continued, "If you trust him so much, then I suppose this will work. Since the three of us are here, we might as well discuss our next steps."
Yagura, still holding the Third Mizukage's eyelids open, nodded in agreement. Sakumo offered no objections.
"Let me start," Maki said.
"Previously, we baited Yeming with the opportunity to represent Kirigakure at the Five Kage Summit, but he didn't take the bait. My plan is to increase the stakes!"
"How so?" Yagura asked.
"Regardless of whether the Third Mizukage wakes up or not, we claim that he's dead!"
"Brilliant!" Sakumo's eyes lit up, clearly taken with the idea.
"We'll announce that the Third Mizukage left a will naming Yagura as the Fourth Mizukage. Yeming will undoubtedly challenge this, sparking internal conflict. That will be our opportunity!"
"But we don't have enough strength," Yagura said, his face clouded with worry.
"Of course you don't. That's why you'll stage a retreat, preserving your elite forces. Once Yeming lets his guard down, we strike!"
Yagura, no fool, quickly grasped Maki's intent. "You mean to say, feign defeat, conserve our strength, and wait for an opportune moment to assassinate him during the succession process?"
"Exactly. I recall that the succession process across the ninja world is fairly uniform. There's a public inauguration ceremony, followed by a private meeting with the Daimyō, correct?"
"That's right. In Kirigakure, the Gensui serves as the introducer."
"Then this is the perfect opportunity! As long as we coordinate with the Daimyō of the Land of Water, this plan is entirely feasible."
"But Yeming's personal strength is formidable," Yagura pointed out.
"I believe that with our combined efforts, we can take him down. Look, the Hokage even gave me this—I'm sure you'll find it useful."
Sakumo pulled out a scroll from his cloak, unrolling it on the ground. With a puff of smoke, four of the Seven Ninja Swords, previously confiscated, appeared.
"Consider these returned to Kirigakure. Just make sure you honor your agreement with Konoha," Sakumo said confidently.
Maki chimed in, "Indeed. And don't forget about Sunagakure. We've come all this way to help you—you owe us."
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