"It was all done by that old bastard, Shimura Danzō!"
Gonbee's words were assertive, as if the fact was undeniable.
As soon as he said this, the assembled participants immediately erupted in murmurs.
"Shimura Danzō?"
One ninja looked at a familiar partner and asked in confusion, "Is that the elder who defected from the Leaf Village?"
"Yes, that notorious villain who was in charge of the Root Anbu!"
"It was actually him?"
From their elevated seats, Gonbee and Heki exchanged glances and nodded subtly at the noisy debate below.
Who was the real killer?
They naturally didn't know.
The only possible suspect currently was Ao!
Initially, they suspected that Ao, who had assassinated the Elder Statesman (Gensui) yesterday, was someone disguised.
However, after searching every corner of the village, they found that Ao himself had vanished.
Therefore, Ao was very likely the one who killed the Elder Statesman.
This much was certain.
However.
After discussing through the night, Gonbee and Heki decided to slightly alter that conclusion!
Shimura Danzō was the mastermind behind everything.
And Ao was merely a puppet manipulated by his Genjutsu!
This alteration was the result of their careful deliberation, all for the sake of the Hidden Mist Village!
The current political climate, both within the ninja world and the Hidden Mist, was teetering on a dangerous edge.
Especially the Hidden Mist, which had barely emerged from the "Bloody Mist Village" era and begun to recuperate for less than two years before such an incident occurred.
The entire village was currently leaderless, bordering on chaos, one step away from the abyss.
This kind of confusion in the Hidden Mist was the easiest for external forces to exploit!
If a war were to break out with other nations at this moment, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Based on historical experience, Gonbee and Heki concluded: among their "neighbors," the Land of Lightning was preoccupied with its own issues, and the Hidden Sand was in a similar state. They didn't need to worry about those two. The only one to fear was the Leaf Village!
If there was one village in the entire ninja world that harbored the deepest hatred for the Hidden Mist, it was undoubtedly the Leaf Village!
That's why, when they learned a while ago that the Leaf Village had acquired the so-called "God of Shinobi"—Uzumaki Naruto—the Elder Statesman had been worried for quite some time.
Fortunately, the Leaf Village remained its usual "peace-loving" self!
Unlike other villages, such as the Hidden Stone and the Hidden Cloud, which possessed a strong desire for aggression and war.
In the decades since the founding of the Hidden Villages, and after being tempered by three great wars, the Hidden Mist high command had a clear understanding of the Leaf Village's policy: a love for peace.
First, there was the peerlessly powerful First Hokage, who nonetheless knelt before the other Four Kage.
Then, there was the "good old man," Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Compared to other villages, the Leaf Village was a beacon of peace, adhering to the principle: we won't offend those who don't offend us.
This was rare and valuable in the ninja world!
So, when the Elder Statesman was assassinated, and the Hidden Mist fell into chaos while the ninja world edged toward war, the two discussed it.
To prevent the village from disappearing from history and, more importantly, to prevent the Leaf Village from coveting the Hidden Mist, they decided to pin the blame on the Leaf Village!
After all, the Leaf Village was the ninja world's rare "good guy" village.
And good people, well, they deserved to be the ones with the gun pointed at them!
Shifting the blame to Shimura Danzō was equivalent to shifting it to the Leaf Village!
When the Leaf Village was justly incriminated and speechless in its defense, it would allow the Hidden Mist to gain a precious opportunity to recuperate!
The Leaf Village would surely, as before, avoid initiating external wars, especially when they were in the wrong. They wouldn't attack the Hidden Mist.
...Right?
Gonbee looked at the crowd, a flash of determination in his eyes.
The Hidden Mist was cornered!
"Everyone, quiet down!" he roared, knocking on the table to silence the conference room.
Once the room was completely quiet, he began to recount the "investigation report" from the Anbu the previous day!
Whether Danzō's defection was real or fake, he had conspired yesterday to overthrow the Hidden Mist government.
The cunning Shimura Danzō used his Sharingan to control Ao and used Ao to assassinate the Elder Statesman!
Danzō might have other, more insane plans in the future.
As soon as Gonbee finished speaking, the crowd erupted into discussion once more.
"So that's it!"
One ninja exclaimed after listening, "No wonder our beautiful neighbor's underwear hanging outside was stolen."
"What?" the ninja next to him was shocked. "Was that also done by Shimura Danzō?"
"Hmph! It must have been that old bastard!"
The ninja who spoke earlier was absolutely certain!
His voice was a bit loud, loud enough for Gonbee on the dais to hear.
Gonbee couldn't help but glance at the man, instantly recognizing him as a habitually lewd young man.
He felt speechless but could not say anything.
"Everyone, you must be careful and prepared for Shimura Danzō's next move!"
Gonbee finally instructed, "The village will enter a state of full alert starting now. No one is allowed in or out!"
"Yes!" (A collective response)
"Meeting adjourned!"
As the words fell, the people in the conference room began to file out.
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out.
"Lord Gonbee! The Elder Statesman has passed, and we don't even have a Kage. Shouldn't we elect a new Mizukage to lead the Hidden Mist forward?"
A Mizukage?
Hearing the suggestion, everyone instantly stopped, their eyes fixed on the speaker.
"Aoi?"
Gonbee's gaze pierced the crowd, but seeing it was a familiar Anbu member, his expression softened.
Before he could speak, another voice chimed in.
"That's right, Lord Gonbee, the Mizukage position has been vacant since the Fourth Mizukage. It's time to choose a new Mizukage."
This remark was like a signal, immediately followed by more voices in agreement.
"Exactly!"
"Lord, it is time to choose a Mizukage."
Gonbee, standing high, saw clearly. He distinctly noticed that most of the speakers came from the Anbu, with a few from other divisions.
But nearly all of them were Jōnin.
Faced with the pressure from so many people, Gonbee hesitated.
He had planned to postpone the selection of a Mizukage for a while, as Terumī Mei, whom the Elder Statesman had initially favored, was currently caught up in the "Ao assassination" incident.
Though full of inconsistencies, the incident had undeniably occurred.
This left him in doubt.
Everyone's eyes were locked on Gonbee, awaiting his answer.
The absence of a Mizukage was fine before, but now that the Elder Statesman had died, it was time to elect a new one!
One must know that the election of a Mizukage represented a major reshuffling of interests!
Almost everyone present was a "Brahmin" of the Hidden Mist, and they all wanted to reap significant benefits from this Mizukage selection!
"Didn't the Elder Statesman think highly of Lord Zabuza? Will we welcome Lord Zabuza back to become the Mizukage?"
Suddenly, someone tentatively asked.
This question was like a giant rock thrown into an otherwise calm lake!
"Momochi Zabuza? He's just a rogue ninja! How could he possibly become the Mizukage!" An elder whose interests were threatened furiously retorted, as if his mother had just died.
"But Lord Zabuza was personally endorsed as the Mizukage successor by the Elder Statesman!"
Hearing this, Gonbee's face immediately darkened.
How did a lie uttered by the rogue ninja Ao become a "personal endorsement"?
How did he not know that the Elder Statesman favored Zabuza?
"I think Lord Terumī Mei is a better choice. Lord Terumī Mei is strong and her background is trustworthy."
"Bah! I think you are the traitor! Ao, the one who murdered the Elder Statesman, was Lord Terumī Mei's partner!"
"But wasn't Lord Ao controlled by Danzō?"
In an instant, the conference room turned into a chaotic marketplace, with everyone presenting their own views, completely unable to convince their opponents!
In the midst of the clamor, certain Anbu members remained silent, simply noting down every person and the candidate they supported.
In particular, they meticulously recorded the names of all those who did not support Zabuza!
"Enough!"
Gonbee roared, cutting off the chaos.
The Elder Statesman had just died, and the Hidden Mist was already in such disarray?
Did they still look like proper ninjas?
When Gonbee spoke, everyone stopped arguing.
"This matter will not be discussed for now. A special meeting will be held later. For now, adjourn!"
"Hmph!"
The people, now instantly antagonistic towards each other due to the previous arguments, left one after another.
Immediately after the meeting concluded, the minutes appeared on Mizuyuki Tetsuchu's desk.
"Too much controversy. Plan A has failed."
Putting down the meeting report, Tetsuchu said coldly, "Initiate Plan B!"
Get ready for a massive disturbance!
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