She had not made contact with the rumored Konoha's Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, nor had she managed to recruit the former Kirigakure's [Demon], Momochi Zabuza, back.
If they had failed while attempting to break the control over the Mizukage, leading to a counterattack, was there really anyone in Kirigakure who could stop the Mizukage?
Leaving the Land of Vegetables, Mei couldn't help but feel some anxiety.
However, her worries were completely unnecessary.
The moment Mei returned to the village, she received messages simultaneously from Ao and Elder Genji.
The content of the messages was the same.
The Fourth Mizukage was missing!
Inside the meeting room, the atmosphere was somewhat strange.
Originally, the disappearance of a village's Kage should have caused worry among most people… at the very least, they should have sent out large numbers of people to search.
But the various policies implemented by the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, during his tenure, if not causing outright disloyalty, had indeed shaken many of the original 'hardcore Mizukage supporters'.
The most significant impact was the persecution of numerous Kekkei Genkai Clans.
This even included the Hozuki Clan.
Not long ago, Hozuki Suigetsu, upon returning home, received news that his elder brother, Hozuki Mangetsu, had defected from the village.
During this period, the small movements of Mei and Ao had actually been noticed by many within the village, but not a single one of them chose to report it to the Mizukage.
Whether they believed the matter of 'the Mizukage being controlled' was true or false, letting them try couldn't hurt.
Even if they failed, these people would just watch from the sidelines.
Creak-
The meeting room door opened. Mei walked in with her subordinates and exchanged a glance with Ao not far away.
They were both tacitly silent.
Their goal was to break the control over the Fourth Mizukage, not actually kill the Mizukage.
Now that the Mizukage was missing, this messy situation would most likely be pinned on them.
After all, as mentioned earlier, their recent small actions had been watched by the village's upper-echelons.
'Cough...'
At that moment, an old man sitting by the meeting table cleared his throat, attracting everyone's attention.
This old man was called Elder Genji, the most respected senior in Kirigakure.
It could be said that aside from the Mizukage, his authority was the highest.
"The Mizukage's disappearance from the village for no apparent reason is a matter that still requires investigation," Genji said.
To Mei's surprise, he did not immediately point the finger at their faction.
"Some time ago, we received a message from Konoha."
As he spoke, he slowly unfolded a letter from Hiruzen.
"Currently, an organization named Akatsuki is engaged in capturing Tailed Beasts... this has been confirmed in Sunagakure."
Although Genji looked old and barely able to move, it was clear he had planted many informants in the Land of Wind as well.
"Sunagakure's One-Tail was taken, and now the Fourth Mizukage has disappeared. It's very likely these people are responsible."
This news was the first time Mei had heard of it… she had been outside the village performing missions while gathering support.
"Henceforth... village affairs will be temporarily managed by me. Mei, you are responsible for leading a team out of the village to search for clues regarding the Fourth Mizukage."
Genji, trembling, reclaimed the Mizukage's power for the upper-echelons. No one else present raised any objections.
Clearly, some kind of understanding had already been reached among the village's upper-echelons before Mei's return.
Genji was highly respected, so him taking over management after the Mizukage's disappearance was justifiable.
"...Yes."
Mei knew that at this point, whether she agreed or not, the matter was settled.
-Moreover, the truth was, she didn't really have ambitions for the position yet.
The reason she and Ao had prepared to move against the Mizukage was more out of loyalty to the village.
"Additionally, some of the previous Mizukage's policies are no longer suitable for current Kirigakure. After discussion, we have decided..."
After that, Genji listed a series of policy changes, including the removal of restrictions on Kekkei Genkai Clans.
These decisions were also the result of negotiations among the high-level figures.
Regarding this, Mei had no objections.
Rather, as a Ninja who possessed a Kekkei Genkai herself, she was happy to see this change.
After leaving the meeting room, Mei received the mission document and returned to their base with Ao and a number of other Ninjas.
"...So, our plan?"
"Let's find Mizukage-sama first."
Mei's words shut down any further discussion from Ao and the other subordinates.
The top priority was to find the Fourth Mizukage.
This not only concerned the dignity of Kirigakure, but more importantly, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was also the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails.
Kirigakure had already lost one Six-Tails Jinchuriki, so they couldn't afford to lose their only remaining Jinchuriki.
At this time, Mei did not yet know that all the Jinchuriki across the Ninja World would eventually leave their villages, either voluntarily or by force.
And where was the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, whom they were so concerned about?
The answer was simple: he was following Obito and Black Zetsu, moving away from the Land of Water.
Mei's search was destined to be futile.
Because the three had already completed their sea crossing and reached the mainland.
After opening a stone door to a hidden base, Yagura followed the two inside.
The Mizukage, with his boyish face, now had no expression on his face, having completely become a puppet controlled by others.
"Lie down here."
Obito's instructions were concise. He didn't plan to waste words on such a puppet.
Black Zetsu turned his gaze towards him.
"Have you made up your mind?"
He wasn't concerned about Obito… he was just confirming if the other had resolved himself.
This determined whether he needed to make other preparations in advance.
Obito's response was to turn around and take out the container holding the Rinnegan.
Opening the special sealed container, Obito directly took out one Rinnegan.
Then, he removed his mask, revealing the spiral-patterned face beneath.
Without much hesitation, he used his bare hand to pluck out the spare Three-Tomoe Sharingan he had 'reloaded' into his eye socket, so that he can use Izanagi at any time.
"Hmm-"
Even though he was accustomed to pain, the sensation of 'hot-swapping' eyeballs was still very unpleasant.
Immediately after, Obito aligned the Rinnegan with his eye socket and pressed it in.
Closing his eyelid, he felt the eyeball, brimming with mysterious Chakra, quickly connecting with his flesh.
This was followed by a rapid drain of Chakra from his body.
Fortunately, Obito, having already transplanted Hashirama's cells, had a significantly increased Chakra Reserve, so this consumption wasn't a major concern.
The next step was the real challenge.
Without overthinking, Obito brought his palms together.
"Summoning Technique: Gedo Statue!"
This time, the Chakra drain from the Rinnegan was no longer a 'trickle'.
Obito could feel the Chakra within his body being sucked out wildly as if a floodgate had opened.
But thankfully, the Gedo Statue was successfully summoned.
The next step was to extract the Three-Tails, Isobu, from the Fourth Mizukage's body.
Following Obito's mental commands, the ten fingers of the Gedo Statue lit up rapidly, and its mouth opened.
"Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals!"
Performing this technique alone was quite draining for Obito, as in the original plan, the cost of this technique was supposed to be shared by ten Akatsuki's members.
Massive Chakra formed several dragon heads that extended from the Gedo Statue's mouth and 'bit' onto the Fourth Mizukage lying on the ground.
Perhaps sensing the life-threatening danger, Yagura, who had been motionless until now, showed an expression of pain and struggle on his face.
Inside him, the Three-Tails Isobu also resisted frantically.
"You've awakened? But it's too late."
Clearly, the natural suppression power of the Ten-Tails' shell and the Rinnegan gained the upper hand.
As Obito continued the extraction, Yagura's struggles visibly weakened until they ceased completely.
The Fourth Mizukage was confirmed dead.
"Whew-"
Feeling the ocean-like Chakra within the Gedo Statue now connected to his Rinnegan, Obito couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
It was roughly as he had guessed.
After sealing one Tailed Beast as a 'reserve energy source', he at least no longer needed to contribute his own Chakra just to operate the Gedo Statue.
This way, he only needed to continue capturing the other Tailed Beasts.
Obito was confident that with a few more Tailed Beasts captured as energy sources, even Naruto would not be his match.
"I'll let you all live a little longer..."