"Fine, if you think it's okay, then go ahead. Exposing them to reality is a key part of their training. Though honestly, there's no need to say much—they wouldn't get it anyway."
"You might be right," Kakashi agreed. "But teaching them only about our village doesn't reflect what's happening in other nations across the ninja world. It's still important they learn this—at least enough to avoid mistakes caused by naivety and childish assumptions..."
Mizuki chuckled and replied, "I guess this counts as our first major teaching disagreement. Having your own opinions isn't a bad thing, Kakashi—but know your limits. They might not be as smart as Shikamaru, but they're not short on brains either. Half-knowledge tends to make them overthink things..."
Mizuki stopped trying to argue further, and Kakashi let the topic drop too.
"What we just discussed also relates directly to part of our mission—to clarify conditions here in the Land of Water. We need to contact Lord Jiraiya soon. I was here not long ago, simply checking whether Kiri village faced potential rebellion, and didn't do more than briefly glance at other areas. This time though, we'll need detailed intelligence for assessing this Hidden Mist Village trying to rejoin the Five Great Ninja Villages' order."
"So you mean this aspect will mainly fall on me?" Mizuki frowned slightly. "That's quite delicate work."
"Your observational abilities—and your thinking style of looking beyond appearances—suit this task better than mine..."
"Alright, I agree with that. Then when dealing with other issues, you'll have to put in extra effort—I won't interfere. After all, a bystander sees more than a player."
"You've just given yourself an excuse to slack off," Kakashi said helplessly with a smile.
"How could that be? I'm actually a model employee. Currently working while injured, no less."
"Injured? Now that I think about it, your body hasn't fully recovered yet, has it?"
"Hayate Gekko is still bedridden, so I replaced Yuhi Kurenai as squad leader. The life-saving pills I used outnumber those consumed by both of them combined. Why would you assume I'm fine?"
Mizuki spoke lightly, his tone nowhere near resembling someone speaking about his own impending death.
"Even Lady Tsunade couldn't resolve your condition?"
Mizuki shook his head regretfully. "If there were solutions, Hayate Gekko would've been saved already."
"I see," Kakashi said thoughtfully, feeling equally regretful. "Still, judging from your appearance now, you seem to be in decent shape."
"Don't worry. I hate dying young. At least in the short term, I'll be around. You'll just have to put up with me a little longer."
...
The night grew deep. Other than the rhythmic crashing waves pushed aside by passenger ships outside the window and the soft rustling of sea winds, no other sounds remained. Lying on a wooden bed inside the room, Mizuki kept turning back and forth, endlessly pondering over Kakashi's words.
The assigned mission wasn't particularly concerning. There wasn't much worth investigating in Kirigakure at the moment. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was already dead, having lost the Three-Tails. Meanwhile, Ukai, the Six-Tails jinchuriki, had also defected. In other words, Mist Village's strength had never been weaker than it was now. The only real combat presence was Mei Terumi. As for the rest—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were nearly all deceased or had gone rogue. Truly, Mist had little formidable battle strength left. Ao could even be considered one of the few exceptions worth noting. As for the Sixth Mizukage candidate Chojuro, whether he had even obtained one of the Seven Ninja Swords—Hiramekarei—was still uncertain. Therefore, assessing Mist's military strength wasn't difficult; the real difficulty lay elsewhere.
A ninja village wasn't like a wandering band of mercenaries—it was an official national military force. What needed consideration went far beyond just combat capability. During the process of forming alliances, aside from military strength, there were factors such as wartime mobilization capacity, leadership abilities of the village leader, internal conflicts, and relationships with the country's Daimyo—many issues requiring evaluation. Among these, internal conflicts would serve as the most important focal point.
Having seized power through rebellion and political coup, could the Fifth Mizukage effectively manage internal affairs, maintain control over Kirigakure, and stabilize the Land of Water? That was exactly what Konoha wanted to know most.
There was also one issue which Mizuki had deliberately ignored in the past—Kakashi's remark about whether ninja were "disciplined."
As time passed since his reincarnation into this world, Mizuki increasingly sensed something strange about this realm. Native inhabitants born and raised in the Ninja World probably grew accustomed to it and no longer saw anything unusual. But Mizuki possessed memories from his previous life, so he wouldn't fall victim to that "familiarity blindness."
The Ninja World was a place where chakra—a transcendent power—existed. This word, "transcendent," wasn't used lightly.
Comparing it to his former life, considering all sorts of historical divine religions, the modern age filled with knowledge explosions seemed fine enough. Yet back in ancient times of ignorance, merely knowing herbal remedies and basic disease treatment allowed someone to fool many pious souls. By pretending to be a deity, such sham holy men could easily captivate ignorant villagers.
Yet when compared to the Ninja World, the differences became apparent. If in those bygone eras, mere ability to practice medicine and pull off some religious tricks could allow someone to fabricate a god, then ninja capabilities weren't far from what gods themselves could offer. Healing injuries? That was trivial. At its peak, medical ninjutsu could even bring back the dead. Blessings and disaster removal sounded challenging, yet prophetic deception wasn't impossible either. As for civilians' dreams—flying, diving deep seas, controlling and utilizing natural phenomena—how many things once considered divine feats couldn't be accomplished by ninja?
But throughout the last thousand years, despite countless ninja equaling or surpassing gods, only one figure—the Sage of Six Paths—had ever been deified as a god. None of the others had ever been worshipped as deities. This wasn't normal at all.
Over the past thousand years, Ninjas — who've fundamentally drifted apart from regular folks — haven't been shunned or "worshipped" by civilians. It must be said that most Ninjas have played a major role in "following the rules."
Compared to the vast civilian population, the number of Ninjas remains quite scarce. Inside the ninja villages, the situation is somewhat better, because even those who aren't Ninjas are often descendants of Ninjas or possess the potential to give birth to Ninja offspring. Though they aren't Ninjas themselves, they still see themselves as gifted — just not gifted enough.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>