Under the night sky, the village wrapped in thick mist was being gently caressed by drizzling rain.
As an island country and hidden village, it experienced the rainy season for almost half the year, leaving even the air damp.
In such an environment, the people on the streets moved swiftly in raincoats, unwilling to linger for even a moment.
Even the occasional Kirigakure shinobi passing by paid no attention to several cloaked figures in the street, simply wanting to avoid getting soaked.
One of the cloaked figures asked, "Menma-dono, according to what you said, we're going to be staying in Kirigakure for a while, right?"
The leading figure nodded. "Mm. According to my guess, something big is about to happen in Kirigakure. So we'll stay here for a bit. No need to rush back."
Another female figure asked, "Then where are we going to stay during this time?"
The silver-haired youth in a raincoat said indifferently, "From what I know, Kirigakure is very unfriendly toward outsiders. Staying at an inn would get us exposed easily."
"That's right!" the leading figure—Naruto—nodded and smiled as he looked at Kimimaro and Suigetsu, both cloaked in rain gear.
"So we can't stay at an inn. But we can consider using your clans' residences."
Kimimaro: "…"
Suigetsu: "…"
"The Kaguya clan is out of the question…" Kimimaro shook his head coldly and said, "During the rebellion back then, the Kaguya clan was completely exterminated by the Yondaime Mizukage. Even the buildings were reduced to rubble."
Afraid Naruto wouldn't believe him, Kimimaro even added a clarification:
"Orochimaru-sama said that the Yondaime used a Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb) to directly blast the Kaguya compound into a giant crater."
Suigetsu: "…"
Feeling the gaze of everyone shifting to him, Suigetsu sighed helplessly.
"Alright, then we'll go to the Hōzuki clan's place. Because of our status, the buildings there are still intact."
His clan had produced a Mizukage before, and their unique Suika no Jutsu (Hydrification Technique) gave them special standing in Kirigakure.
Even if the Yondaime Mizukage was displeased with the Hōzuki, he didn't dare act against them openly.
However, under the Yondaime's pressure, the clan still declined. Suigetsu himself had been captured by Orochimaru, and his brother died a few years back...
"I figured as much," Naruto smiled, clearly having planned for this outcome from the start.
Soon, the group arrived at the Hōzuki compound.
Though it was once a grand clan estate, it now felt dark and deserted, as if no one lived there anymore.
Without hesitation, Naruto's group took up residence.
During the day, Naruto used Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique), creating over a thousand clones to train in Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
At night, he would call in Guren, and together they would "train" in bedroom arts.
And just like that, the days flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
—
Inside a secret room in Kirigakure…
Terumi Mei, known as the most beautiful kunoichi of the village and a jōnin-level elite, was having a secret meeting with another elite jōnin, Ao.
Their expressions were unusually grim—downright heavy.
Wearing black stockings, Mei took a deep breath. Her eyes flashed with icy light as she asked coldly, "Ao, what did your investigation reveal?"
She was extremely tense.
Not long ago, based on years of changes within the village, she'd deduced a shocking possibility:
That the Yondaime Mizukage… might be under someone's control.
It wasn't baseless speculation—it was the result of careful analysis of his personality shift and increasingly erratic policies.
It was as if, one day a few years ago, the Yondaime's entire disposition had changed.
Not only had he grown violent and cruel, but his behavior became increasingly bizarre.
He'd locked himself away from others, issued missions only to certain individuals, and even annihilated many of the major clans within the village…
Since then, Kirigakure's military power had plummeted.
It wasn't just a generational gap anymore.
It was a total collapse.
Right now, other than the Yondaime himself, Mei was the village's strongest shinobi—and there were no other capable elites left.
Because of this, she ordered Ao to investigate the Mizukage personally.
After all, Ao had a Byakugan taken from the Hyūga clan, capable of clearly seeing a person's chakra flow.
Ao gulped and reported, "Mei-dono… you were right. The Mizukage is being controlled."
He swallowed hard again and added with difficulty, "I used the Byakugan to look at his chakra network. In his eyes, there's a strange chakra hidden within."
"This chakra is extremely eerie—it's fully dominating the Mizukage's mind. It's more like hypnosis…"
"I've seen this kind of ability before in the last Ninja War. There's no doubt about it—this is the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan…"
"And I suspect… it's not an ordinary Sharingan. It should be the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan…"
"Mangekyō Sharingan!?" Mei's beautiful eyes shrank in shock, but then she quickly recovered, clenched her fists, and shouted with rage:
"Konoha! It must be them! Those bastards actually dared to manipulate our Mizukage—do they want war with Kirigakure?!"
Ao coughed awkwardly. "Mei-dono… according to the intel we have, the Uchiha clan has already been wiped out."
"And…" He sighed. "With the current state of Kirigakure's strength, we have no right to go to war with Konoha."
Mei gritted her teeth so hard she nearly broke them, but she knew Ao was right.
Given how weak Kirigakure had become, if war did break out, they might be completely destroyed by Konoha.
"Regardless, we cannot let the Mizukage remain under control…"
Mei's eyes flashed with killing intent as she said coldly, "Ao, let's come up with a way to lure the Mizukage out of the village. We'll remove the genjutsu control in secret."
"And if we encounter the Uchiha shinobi responsible during the operation, we'll eliminate him."
"If the Mizukage loses control and goes berserk…" Mei paused, then spoke resolutely:
"Then we'll take him out too. Kirigakure can't continue like this."
Ao looked at her with admiration, then nodded firmly.
"I understand, Mei-dono!"
—
Time passed quickly once again.
At the Hōzuki compound, a black crow landed on Izumi's shoulder.
Upon receiving the intel carried by the crow, Izumi's eyes lit up and she rushed to the training ground.
"Menma-dono, according to the crow's scouting, the Yondaime Mizukage has just left the village."
"Not only that—he was accompanied by elite jōnin Mei and Ao."
"What should we do? Should we make our move?"
(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!]