"Hayate Gekkō, Yūgao Uzuki, and Isamu Uchiha are the most skilled members I encountered." Kabuto said after thinking for a while.
Although Hayate Gekkō had sold him out before, causing him to be challenged by Isamu Uchiha, he already apologized to him. Besides, Isamu Uchiha did not cause him any trouble, so he did not take it personally. The two of them also had become somewhat close in the Special Combat Division.
Although Hayate Gekkō looked sickly, he was talented. He picked up Wind Breathing very fast, and he could already dish out ordinary wind blades.
Yūgao Uzuki was also quite talented. She was only slightly less talented to Hayate Gekkō in terms of Wind Breathing, but she was considered outstanding among her peers.
As for the reason why Kabuto mentioned Isamu Uchiha, it was because Isamu Uchiha had been challenging him for so many times, so Kabuto knew too well how strong he was.
Maybe it was because the Breathing Style he picked was compatible with him, or maybe it was because he was talented, or maybe it was because he was working hard, or maybe all three of them.
In short, Kabuto considered Isamu Uchiha as one of the promising members.
"I see." Nagasawa nodded.
Among those three, Nagasawa already knew about Hayate Gekkō and Yūgao Uzuki through the manga, and he had already figured out that they would perform well.
Isamu Uchiha, however, was the unexpected name. Nagasawa hoped that Isamu could keep it up.
Nagasawa finished the red beans bowl and went back to his room to sleep.
Although it was still noon, it did not prevent Nagasawa from sleeping. After camping outside for some time, he had to make up for it by sleeping in his comfy room.
Kabuto silently picked up Nagasawa's bowl and chopsticks and walked into the kitchen.
Kabuto's training with the Third Hokage was Wednesday and Sunday. Since today was Saturday, there was no need to go.
April would come soon, and Academy's new term was about to start. Should he give Itachi a gift to commemorate his enrolment?
He planned to do so. After all, Itachi gave him a graduation gift.
However, what should he give him? Should he buy a customized Kunai or Shuriken?
Kabuto was suddenly stumped. He realized that he did not seem to have any experience in choosing gifts.
Kabuto began to think from another angle. If it were him, what kind of gift would he like to receive?
Kabuto quickly gave up on this idea as this approach didn't work for him because he probably wouldn't care what kind of gift he'd get. The important thing was the person who gave the gift.
He was in a dilemma. Shuriken was more useful, and the custom-made Kunai could be used as a collection.
"I should just ask him during our afternoon training." In the end, Kabuto was still unable to make a decision and planned to ask Itachi directly.
...
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
Inside an ordinary outer residential room sat two important figures of Kirigakure.
Ther person on the left was a slender and tall shinobi. He had no eyebrows, creases under his eyes, and a cross shaped scar on his right cheek. His hair and eyes were dark grey in colour and his hair was short and spiky. He had light tan skin. He also had a red grid-shaped marking covering his jaw. In addition, he had pointed teeth. He was the current wielder of Kubikiribocho, Jūzō Biwa.
Sitting in front of him was a man with blue eyes with a darker ripple around the pupil, waist-length green hair with the top two bangs falling down on his cheeks on each side, and having dark, full lips. In addition, he had a bandage wrapped around his upper body. He was Raiga Kurosuki, one of Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, just like Jūzō Biwa.
"What do you think of the village now?" Jūzō Biwa was the first to ask.
"What other word can describe it except crazy?" Raiga Kurosuki said with a sneer.
"It seems that you don't agree with Fourth's current policy as well." Jūzō Biwa said in a deep voice.
Jūzō Biwa felt that there was something wrong with the Fourth Mizukage recently, and all of her policies were extreme.
Even the selection for the new Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had been canceled, and the reason was that there were no suitable candidates.
Jūzō Biwa felt that the Fourth Mizukage was talking nonsense. His reason didn't make any sense as there were a lot of sword users in Kirigakure.
Even if there was no suitable candidate, shouldn't they nurture the new candidates?
Therefore, Jūzō Biwa felt that the Fourth Mizukage was afraid that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist might become a threat to him, so he decided to cut them off.
"That kind of policy will only make the village worse." Raiga Kurosuki's already gloomy face became even gloomier.
"We can't let this go on. We have to find a way to stop that bastard. We can't let him mess around anymore." Jūzō Biwa said.
"That's impossible. That guy has so many people backing him up. Even we stand no chance against them." Raiga Kurosuki shook his head.
Although the Fourth Mizukage's policy received a lot of opposition, there was always a group of higher-ups who could make profit from it. This was one of the reasons why Fourth Mizukage's policy could be carried out even though it sounded unreasonable.
In the eyes of those higher-ups, although Kirigakure would suffer a small loss, it did not matter if they could make profit out of it.
"Moreover, I'm afraid that the Fourth alone is already terrifying on his own. That guy is a Jinchuriki. His strength is even more terrifying than he used to be." Raiga Kurosuki reminded.
Raiga Kurosuki probably already guessed that Jūzō Biwa planned to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage.
However, Yagura Karatachi became Mizukage for a reason. In addition, he became Jinchuriki, which made him stronger. Assassinating him was basically suicide.
"I will try to knock some sense into his head every day. If I fail, I will probably leave Kirigakure." Jūzō Biwa said as he got up.
"That's probably wiser. The village is too dangerous now. I might leave soon as well." Raiga Kurosuki said as he also stood up.
After chatting, the two of them left the small house.
Jūzō Biwa walked on the streets of Kirigakure Village with a dejected heart.
It was as if Kirigakure Village had been struck by bad luck ever since they participated in the Third Shinobi World War.
At first, the situation was in their favor. Facing Four Great Shinobi Countries, Konoha showed signs of weakening.
However, who knew that a random Shinobi would suddenly kill four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist on the battlefield, while the three barely escaped.
In any case, since Land of Water was far away from the other Four Great Shinobi Countries, and Land of Water had rich experience in naval warfare, no country had the intention to invade Land of Water.
Despite that, the Fourth Mizukage began to make some mess.