"What!? The Fourth Mizukage!?"
Beside the small table, Suigetsu, who had been busy stuffing his face, suddenly jerked up with wide eyes, staring at Naruto in shock.
"Are you serious? That's impossible! The Fourth Mizukage is the strongest Mizukage in Kirigakure's history!"
He couldn't comprehend how they'd gone from talking about the Uchiha to suddenly dragging the Fourth Mizukage into it.
And this matter directly related to his own Hōzuki Clan!
"Suigetsu, don't talk with your mouth full!"
Kimimaro's face darkened, now covered in rice from Suigetsu's enthusiastic outburst.
"Sorry…"
Suigetsu apologized casually, but in the next second—splat!—another spray of rice flew into Kimimaro's face.
"You—!"
Kimimaro's eyes bulged. He stood up, furious, and the pale bones of his Shikotsumyaku sprouted from his arms.
Startled, Suigetsu quickly gulped down his food.
"My bad, my bad! I was just really shocked! I mean, I am a shinobi from Kirigakure—and so are you! How did neither of us know that the Fourth Mizukage was a puppet!?"
Kimimaro snorted coldly and sat back down.
"I'm not a Kirigakure shinobi. I serve Orochimaru-sama. What happens in the village has nothing to do with me."
Suigetsu pouted and muttered under his breath,
"Calling yourself Orochimaru's man, yet you're still following Menma's orders like a lapdog…"
Kimimaro shot him a death glare.
Meanwhile, Izumi ignored their bickering and looked anxiously at Naruto.
"Menma-dono, you said the Fourth Mizukage is being controlled by a Mangekyō Sharingan, but how? Our Uchiha clan only had Shisui and Itachi who awakened it."
"Even if Itachi did it, the timing doesn't match—he only awakened his Mangekyō recently…"
"Don't tell me… there's another Uchiha still out there…"
"Don't forget that masked man on the night of the massacre."
Naruto answered directly.
Izumi's pupils dilated.
She recalled that terrifying man on the night of the Uchiha's destruction—the one in the tiger-striped mask, wielding chained blades, coldly butchering her clan.
Yes… the eye behind his mask had definitely been a Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Who is he!?"
Izumi's eyes brimmed with killing intent.
"Knowing won't help you. In fact, it might put your entire clan at risk."
Naruto shook his head.
If Uchiha Obito's identity were exposed now, no one knew what he and that conniving Black Zetsu might do.
Those two together were like walking disasters.
Better to keep things as they were for now.
Izumi didn't care if she got herself killed.
But when she heard it might endanger what remained of the Uchiha clan, she bit her lip and let it go.
Suigetsu shrugged and muttered,
"So the one who killed your clan… wasn't Itachi, but another Uchiha? Geez, your clan's messed up…"
"Even we in the Hōzuki Clan wouldn't attack our own."
"Suigetsu!!"
Izumi growled through clenched teeth, turning to Kimimaro.
"You want to teach this guy a lesson?"
Kimimaro nodded silently.
The two rose, grabbed Suigetsu by the arms, and started dragging him outside.
"W-Wait! Calm down, you two! Menma-dono! Help me! They're trying to kill me—!"
Naruto watched the trio leave and sighed.
He turned his attention to the surrounding chatter.
This underground bounty exchange center was a hub for all kinds of people—rogue ninjas, spies, bounty hunters.
Listening to their bragging and gossip was a great way to understand the current state of the shinobi world.
After a while, Guren finally couldn't hold her tongue.
"Naruto—I mean, Menma-dono—don't tell me our target this time is the Fourth Mizukage…?"
Fear laced her voice.
He was a Kage, after all—far more dangerous than Orochimaru.
Offending Orochimaru was one thing. But offending the Fourth Mizukage meant war with the entire Hidden Mist Village.
"No." Naruto shook his head.
Guren had just started to breathe easier when—
"My target is the Tailed Beast inside him—Sanbi."
"…A Tailed Beast!? The Sanbi!?"
Guren's eyes flew wide open.
She hadn't expected Naruto to go after something so grand.
Tailed Beasts were often more vital than the Kage themselves.
They were human weapons meant to protect the entire village.
Naruto just smiled and closed his eyes, turning his focus inward to the Gate of Worlds in his mind.
Thanks to his effort over this period, the once immovable gate now had a visible crack.
Through that crack, he could faintly glimpse an ocean and islands beyond.
"Judging by the scenery, it's definitely the Grand Line. I can get in now, but I'm still far from ready…"
Naruto licked his lips excitedly.
The Sanbi was the only fully aquatic Tailed Beast.
If he could tame it, he'd be unstoppable in the pirate world.
Even the Sea Kings would pale in comparison.
"And I need to finish training the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)."
Naruto muttered to himself.
It was the only space-time ninjutsu he'd truly mastered.
He wanted to see if he could plant Hiraishin marks in the pirate world.
If successful, he wouldn't need to rely on the Gate of Worlds.
That would bring tremendous benefits to his future plans.
He could even link the two worlds permanently—
Bring Boa Hancock or Nico Robin into the ninja world…
Or take Guren, Kimimaro, and Izumi into the world of pirates.
As Naruto mulled over his ambitions, he stayed in the bounty exchange a few more hours, gathering intel.
Once he had a full picture of Kirigakure's current state—
"Let's go, Guren."
Naruto rose to his feet.
"Yes, Menma-dono!"
Guren and the others responded respectfully.
They moved swiftly through the Land of Water, soon reaching a village shrouded in thick mist.
Ninjas could be seen passing through the fog.
"…The stench of blood is intense…"
Guren clutched her nose near the village's outer wall.
"This is really Kirigakure? Why does it reek of blood!?"
It wasn't just the mist.
Even the soil had a faint metallic stench, like it had absorbed blood for years.
It felt less like a Hidden Village and more like a battlefield drenched in slaughter.
"This is normal," Suigetsu said casually.
"You're a Jōnin, right? Surely you've heard of the nickname 'Village of the Bloody Mist.'"
Kimimaro added coldly,
"I don't know much about Kirigakure. But in my clan, slaughter was common."
Guren shivered, taking in a sharp breath.
Only now did she understand just how cruel the so-called "Village of the Bloody Mist" truly was.
But Naruto wasn't surprised at all.
He already knew how twisted Kirigakure was from the original timeline.
During Zabuza's time, the infamous "Blood Mist" policy forced academy graduates to kill their classmates in order to pass.
If a class had thirty students, only fifteen—or fewer—would walk away alive.
That wasn't even the worst of it.
The cruelty extended far beyond the students.
Even Jōnin were forced into deadly missions and betrayal.
It was under this brutality that Kirigakure earned its notorious nickname…
The Village of the Bloody Mist.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]