"Genji Senpai, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Genji shook his head and said, "Back in the day, I was also a ninja. It's been a while since I trained, but I still have some foundation. This level is completely manageable."
The two pushed open the door and entered a secret room. The Skeleton Emperor stood against the wall. Sensing Soma and Genji entering, the shadow of the Third Mizukage appeared.
"Genji, Soma."
"Mizukage-sama."
"Mizukage-sama."
The Third Mizukage looked towards Genji.
"Genji, how are things progressing?"
"I've issued all the orders," Genji said. "Yagura is on his way back to the village. The situation on the battlefield shouldn't be too problematic."
"At the Hidden Sand Village front, Juzo can contend with Pakura, even gaining the upper hand."
"On Konoha's front, without Yagura, our top ninja are at a disadvantage, but as long as we withdraw bit by bit, Konoha can't deal us a fatal blow."
"Unless..."
Genji didn't finish his sentence, but the Third Mizukage understood his meaning.
"Unless those few who attacked me strike again."
The Third Mizukage sighed.
"The critical issue now lies in the unknowns of our intelligence."
"The four of them are indeed strong, but there are ways to counteract them."
"It's just that we don't know how many more of them there are, or what Konoha's intentions are."
"However, they haven't appeared on the battlefield before, so the likelihood of them showing up now is low."
"At least, not so soon."
"We need to figure out how many of these individuals Konoha has and what they're trying to achieve."
"Otherwise, we'll be too passive."
From the perspective of the Third Mizukage, this is indeed the case.
Just when he was feeling satisfied with his achievements, he was suddenly attacked and killed, only his soul remaining thanks to the Skeleton Emperor.
Such a blow is massive.
Soma knew that even if he took the risk and revealed information about Obito now, no one would believe him.
But soon, Soma remembered the Nine-Tails Incident in Konoha.
Once the Nine-Tails Incident erupts, Hidden Mist Village will gain some intelligence from it.
At that time, the Third Mizukage and Genji will know that Obito and others are not actually aligned with Konoha.
"Genji, pass on an order to Kaguya Neko to see if he can gather any relevant information."
"Kaguya Neko?"
Genji was not involved in the situation with the Kaguya Clan.
There were speculations before, but hearing Third Mizukage say this confirmed Genji's earlier suspicions were true.
Soon after, Genji left and Soma returned to the forging room. After finishing the breathing forging training, he glanced at the semi-transparent panel in front of him.
"Reputation, 2000!"
"Finally reached 2000 reputation points."
Without hesitation, Soma started the lottery.
"Twenty consecutive draws, begin!"
[Physique +1!]
...
[Physique +1!]
[Thug Recruitment Token X1!]
[Physique +1!]
...
[Dragon's Jewel X1! (Green)]
"Dragon's Jewel?"
Soma's thoughts stirred, and the Blueprint appeared.
A surge of information flooded his mind.
"From the Inuyasha World. By inputting energy, it can evoke a dragon that can fatally entangle the opponent."
Soma recalled relevant scenes.
"This Dragon's Jewel seems quite easy to use."
"It only requires Chakra input to activate."
"However, if the opponent's strength is sufficient, they can break free from the dragon's bindings."
"This dragon is not a real dragon, just a dragon-shaped entity."
The ability of the Dragon's Jewel appears convenient to use, but Soma wanted to see if there was something better.
"Refresh!"
The Blueprint content changed.
A wave of new information entered Soma's mind.
"The Human Head Cane!"
Soma: "..."
"Another Human Head Cane?"
In the previous Green Blueprint, the Human Head Cane had already appeared after a refresh.
However, Soma chose the Lightning Blade that appeared afterward.
"Refresh again!"
The Blueprint content changed once more.
"Peach Hermit Garden Box!"
"A garden bonsai created by Peach Hermit using Senjutsu. It's true to size, two meters square, containing a village, mountains, and water, like another world. Approaching the Peach Hermit Garden Box will draw you inside."
"Eating the food inside, drinking the water inside, will both lead to control, turning people into fools."
"A Senjutsu creation, difficult to destroy."
"A non-combat ninja tool, unable to form a contract with living beings, needing to be bound to a fixed area."
Soma's eyes lit up.
"Peach Hermit Garden Box."
"Equivalent to a small world."
"Difficult to destroy means I can use this thing as armor."
"Once danger arrives, I can enter it and hide."
"And if enemies follow closely, they will also be affected by the Garden Box's power, shrinking in size and entering it."
"As long as they eat the food inside or drink the water inside, they'll become fools."
"If that's the case, I can easily kill them."
"It's both armor and a trap."
"Besides that, it can also be used for storage."
"There are many ways it can be used."
"Additionally, this Garden Box also utilizes the power of Senjutsu."
"If I obtain the Materials, there will certainly be Materials inside that grant me Senjutsu power."
"Senjutsu in the Inuyasha World and the Naruto Ninja world may be different."
"But there might be similarities."
"Perhaps I can use this to research the Earth Core Polishing Technique."
Soma looked at the Blueprint in his hand.
"Maybe this ninja tool won't earn me as much reputation."
"But its value is extraordinary."
"It's not something that can be compared to Human Head Cane or Dragon's Jewel."
Soma finalized the Blueprint.
The Blueprint no longer changed and was confirmed as the Peach Hermit Garden Box.
Soma noticed that there was no blank hexagram above.
This meant that this Blueprint's mission was a solo mission for Soma.
"In that case, I don't need to prepare much."
"Usually, solo missions aren't combat missions."
"And my current condition is pretty good."
Soma equipped God's Hand and Pioggia.
"Enter Dungeon Instance."
The next moment, Soma's figure disappeared from Forging Island.
When he appeared again, he was on top of a mountain.
The trees and grass were dense, and the air was fresh.
It was dusk at this time.
A breeze blew on the mountaintop, bringing a chill.
Soma looked up towards the direction of the mountaintop.
He had been to the Inuyasha World once before.
It was during the last mission for the Lightning Blade.
"I wonder if Mizukage-sama, now in spirit form, can still be summoned as a fighter."
"If possible, once Mizukage-sama's spiritual strength recovers, he could provide significant assistance to me."
Third Mizukage stated that despite being killed by Obito and his companions, after death, his control over the Skeleton Emperor reached a higher level through spiritual power. He then used the Skeleton Emperor to severely injure one of Obito's associates.
"I wonder to what extent Mizukage-sama has injured Nagato's Puppet."
"The Skeleton Emperor's power should not be able to infect the main body through the Puppet."
"Even if the Puppet was affected, it probably wasn't completely destroyed."
"The decaying power of the Skeleton Emperor can spread, but the damage can be avoided by promptly severing the limb."
"In the Shinigami World, Muramasa was also injured by the Skeleton Emperor, but after promptly severing his arm, no further damage was sustained, as long as the wound was treated properly."
Soma withdrew his gaze.
"According to Mizukage-sama's own words, staying within the Skeleton Emperor allows the spiritual power to slowly recover."
"Once fully restored, Mizukage-sama can again use the Skeleton Emperor for attacks."
"Being able to severely injure one of the pains in a siege indicates the tremendous strength of Mizukage-sama's strike."
"It's very likely that it has surpassed the level of an ordinary Kage."
"The only drawback is that using it once consumes a large amount of spiritual power."
"I wonder how long it will take for Mizukage-sama's spiritual power to recover."
Soma walked towards the mountaintop.
This mountain gave Soma a different feeling compared to the one where Manten was last located.
The previous mountain emitted a purely evil and eerie atmosphere to Soma.
However, this mountain gave Soma a sense of purity mixed with a hint of strangeness.
A figure appeared in front of Soma.
More precisely, it was a bonsai.
A large, white flower.
In the center of the flower, there was a face.
An old man's face.
White hair, white eyebrows, white beard.
The aura seemed very weak.
A voice sounded.
[Instance Mission: Peach Hermit's plea for help.]
[Mission Reward: Materials of Peach Hermit Garden Box.]
[Do you accept the mission?]
"Accept!"
...
...
While Soma was undertaking the dimensional instance mission, Yagura returned to Hidden Mist Village.
Immediately, he met with Genji.
After confirming that the Third Mizukage had indeed disappeared, Yagura fell silent for a long time.
"Elder Genji, what should we do next?"
"For now, let's keep this news hidden from other ninja villages. I will swiftly handle the village affairs with you, Yagura. Once you have a good grasp, you will officially succeed to the position of Mizukage."
"At that time, we will announce Third Mizukage's disappearance."
Yagura nodded.
"Alright, I'll go along with what you've said, Elder Genji. I will definitely do my utmost to stabilize the village's situation."
Yagura took over the village affairs with great enthusiasm.
First was the ANBU.
Now that there were no longer the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the ANBU ninjas were the Mizukage's most important reliance.
He arrived at the Mizukage's Building.
A large number of documents were piled up in the office.
Genji pointed to the documents and said, "Let's start with these documents. Once you've gone through them, you'll have a basic understanding of the village's situation."
"So many?"
Yagura's eyes widened involuntarily.
"Is this what being a Kage entails?"
Genji smiled.
"This is just a part of it."
Yagura nodded.
"Alright."
Soon, Yagura's gaze became firm again. He thought about his situation after becoming Mizukage, and about the changes he could bring to the Hidden Mist Village.
He was gradually changing the Hidden Mist Village, making it better step by step.
Looking at these documents again, Yagura didn't feel as overwhelmed.
The news of Third Mizukage's disappearance hasn't spread.
However, within the Hidden Mist Village, quite a few people are aware of this information.
The village elders' ninjas.
Various major ninja clans.
Kaguya Masui looked towards the direction of the Mizukage's Building, feeling somewhat worried.
Kaguya Neko's actions were confirmed by Third Mizukage.
"Chief Uehara..."
Kaguya Masui suddenly thought of Soma.
"Chief Uehara is willing to let Neko use the Dragon-Bone, showing sympathy towards our Kaguya Clan."
"Also, Kaguya Satoru and Kaguya Izumi are currently serving as guards on Forging Island."
"If the Kaguya Clan can strengthen ties with Forging Island, Chief Uehara should be able to embrace Kaguya Clan."
"While Mizukage is undoubtedly the leader of Hidden Mist Village, Chief Uehara's position in the village is also quite eminent."
Soma's position in Hidden Mist Village is indeed high. After the reforms in the forging department, Soma has become a person with real power, a true village Elder.
Moreover, Ninjas who possess Zanpakuto show respect to Soma. It's impossible for anyone to target Soma. The Shinigami Squad has already placed those Ninjas under its influence, forming a faction with united interests. They stand together and fall together. If any member of the Shinigami Squad is mistreated by others, the rest will surely step up in their defense.
Moreover, there's Soma.
"The Shinigami Squad belongs to Hidden Mist Village, that's correct."
"But it's also Chief Uehara's Shinigami Squad."
"I should find a time to visit Chief Uehara."
"I just don't know what to bring as a gift."
On the other hand, the Hozuki Clan also received news of Third Mizukage's disappearance.
Immediately, some members of the Hozuki Clan were alarmed.
But surprisingly, certain members even showed expressions of delight.
---
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