"Not good!"
"There's an intruder! Protect the Mizukage!!"
The Mizukage's office was instantly thrown into chaos. Even Yagura, who had just left, was shocked.
Who would have the guts to infiltrate the Hidden Mist Village and try to assassinate the Third Mizukage?
Without wasting time, Yagura rushed back to the office with his men.
"Mizukage-sama!"
The first to arrive at the scene were the ANBU guards, but they were greeted by an unexpected sight. A figure stumbled out from the dust, looking flustered and, bizarrely, holding up his pants.
"..."
Seeing the group of ANBU ninjas rushing to protect him, the Third Mizukage finally came to his senses.
I'm not White Zetsu, I'm the Third Mizukage!
Realizing that his first instinct when facing an enemy had been to flee while holding his pants was mortifying. If word got out, it would be beyond embarrassing.
"Damn it!" The Third Mizukage cursed loudly, his face full of rage. "It was Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake! He infiltrated the building and tried to assassinate me!"
"What?!"
The shocked ANBU quickly shook off their disbelief, ignoring the embarrassing scene they had just witnessed, and immediately surrounded the area.
But it was too late—Sakumo Hatake was already gone.
Having been discovered, Sakumo had no choice but to retreat. Despite the strangeness of seeing the Mizukage running while holding his pants, there was no time to dwell on it. If he didn't escape soon, he'd be surrounded by Mist Village forces, making it nearly impossible to flee.
What a stroke of terrible luck.
He had chosen what he thought would be the easiest place to infiltrate, only to find the Mizukage sitting on the toilet. If Sakumo had known the Mizukage had been sitting there for hours, he might have coughed up blood from frustration.
Why on earth would the Mizukage spend hours in the bathroom instead of being in his office?
Still, this mission hadn't been a total failure. Sakumo had gathered valuable intelligence, and now it was time to leave.
He quickly fled along his designated escape route.
"What happened?" Yagura asked, arriving at the chaotic scene at the Mizukage's office. Several ANBU ninjas were already present and bowed to him immediately.
"Yagura-sama, someone infiltrated the Mizukage's office and attempted to assassinate Mizukage-sama!"
How bold!
Yagura's face twisted in anger. He had just left, and now there had been an assassination attempt on the Mizukage. This was a direct slap to his face.
"Who did it?" he demanded.
"According to Mizukage-sama, the infiltrator was Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake. After discovering the Mizukage, Hatake immediately launched an attack and then quickly retreated."
"Sakumo Hatake!!"
Yagura's face burned with fury.
"You lot stay here and protect Mizukage-sama. The rest of you, follow me!"
With clenched teeth, Yagura barked his orders. "If he dared to sneak into the Mist Village to assassinate our Mizukage, then Sakumo Hatake must stay here forever."
Yagura had avoided clashing with Takuya at sea earlier, knowing it wasn't worth the trouble. But Sakumo Hatake? He wouldn't let this go.
Sakumo's assassination attempt wasn't just an attack on the Mizukage—it was an insult to the entire Mist Village.
No one could have predicted that what began as a covert intelligence mission would escalate into an assassination attempt on the Mizukage. And as word spread, more and more people learned of the incident.
Even clans with internal conflicts temporarily set aside their differences to join in the hunt for Sakumo.
Thousands of Mist ninjas followed the trail Sakumo left behind, some searching for any sign of him within the village.
The fact that an enemy had infiltrated the village and targeted the Mizukage was a significant breach of security, and many would face consequences for this failure—especially Yagura, who oversaw security.
"The Mist Village must be going mad," Sakumo muttered to himself as he evaded yet another group of ANBU pursuing him.
He hadn't expected things to spiral out of control like this. Thankfully, he had planned his escape route before collecting any intelligence, otherwise, his chances of survival would have been slim.
With thousands of enraged Mist ninjas chasing him, even someone as skilled as Sakumo couldn't afford to slip up. He had no choice but to keep running, while the Mist forces showed no signs of giving up.
They were determined not to rest until Sakumo was captured.
Still, thanks to his meticulous planning, Sakumo managed to evade capture and continued his flight toward the Land of Fire. The only thing on his mind was escape.
"How dare they!" shouted Mist Village elders during a meeting.
"Is Konoha declaring war on the Mist Village?"
An assassination attempt on a village leader was one thing, but to do it in the Mizukage's own office? That was an outright provocation.
Sakumo, however, stuck to his plan and avoided any unnecessary risks. He soon reached the Land of Lightning, intentionally avoiding the Land of Fire, where he might have been expected to flee.
After several attempts to track him, the Mist forces eventually lost Sakumo's trail.
By the time he entered the Land of Lightning, Sakumo had already changed his disguise and made his way back to Konoha as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, Mist Village ninjas continued to search the coastal areas near the Land of Fire, unaware that Sakumo had already given them the slip.
The news quickly spread.
The Mist Village wasted no time keeping this quiet, and the Third Mizukage, now fully assuming his role, called for a high-level meeting.
During the meeting, the enraged Mizukage demanded an explanation from Konoha, threatening war if they didn't comply.
"Did you suggest this?" the Third Hokage asked, utterly bewildered when he heard the news in his office.
What is going on?
Sakumo's mission had been to gather intelligence from the Mist Village, not assassinate the Mizukage!
And now, the Mist Village was demanding an explanation from Konoha, threatening to go to war if they didn't receive a satisfactory answer.
The war threat came out of nowhere, and no one had anticipated things would escalate this way.
The Third Hokage's first instinct was to call Danzo.
"This has nothing to do with me!" Danzo immediately denied, visibly annoyed. "I never even spoke with Sakumo Hatake, let alone gave him any instructions to assassinate the Mizukage!"
Of course, Danzo, often blamed for these kinds of incidents, was quick to deflect suspicion, though the Third Hokage couldn't help but doubt him.
Who could blame him? Danzo was always a suspect when things like this happened.
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Next Bonus: 500 Power Stones ╰ (´꒳`) ╯
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. ಥ‿ಥ
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