Just as Yagura left the Mizukage's office, the enemy infiltrated and directly attacked the Third Mizukage. Afterward, Yagura led a group in pursuit, but they never even caught sight of Sakumo Hatake. This gave those with grudges against Yagura a chance to mock him.
"Yagura is ruthless when it comes to pursuing his own people, but when it's a ninja from another village, he turns into a coward," they said.
Yagura had earned himself many enemies within the village while working for the Third Mizukage, having killed numerous comrades. These detractors were more than willing to kick him while he was down.
Gengetsu, aware of Yagura's frustration, offered no words of comfort. Instead, he lamented how Konoha seemed to produce one genius after another—each generation had talents famous throughout the ninja world.
In contrast, the Mist Village produced such talents rarely. And even when they did arise, they were often snuffed out in their infancy, usually by their own people. Compared to Konoha, with its legendary shinobi from each generation—the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju; the Second generation's Third Hokage, Danzo, Kagami Uchiha; the Third generation's Sakumo Hatake and the Sannin; and now Takuya, Minato, and others who were already thriving—the Mist seemed lacking.
Even Cloud Village and Stone Village, which had military strength comparable to Konoha's, fell short in producing remarkable talents in every generation like Konoha did.
"Sakumo Hatake chose to flee into the Land of Lightning, while our men wasted time searching the seas towards the Land of Fire. By now, he's probably already back in Konoha," Gengetsu remarked.
"Is Mizukage-sama still insisting on starting a war?" Gengetsu sighed. Before the Third Mizukage's recovery, he had been like a bloodthirsty madman, killing whoever displeased him. And now that he had recovered, he was insistent on going to war with Konoha over Sakumo Hatake's infiltration.
Yagura nodded solemnly. He had tried to dissuade the Mizukage and had been thoroughly scolded for it. Losing Sakumo was one thing, but this was another level of frustration.
Something isn't right with the Mizukage! Yagura thought, but he kept it to himself after much hesitation. He had no evidence, just suspicions. Without proof, voicing such concerns would only make it seem like he was bitter about his earlier failure, leading others to think he resented the Mizukage for reprimanding him.
"Let's just hope this ends well," Gengetsu sighed. The Third Mizukage was determined to go to war, and there was nothing they could do to stop him. Despite Yagura's authority, the Mist Village was ultimately under the rule of the Mizukage.
Gengetsu could only hope that Konoha would send a delegation for negotiations, to avoid the outbreak of war. A war would benefit neither Konoha nor the Mist Village. It had only been two or three years since the Second Great Ninja War ended, and Konoha was still focused on rebuilding. The Mist Village was in no better condition. Though they hadn't participated in the previous war, the brutal Blood Mist policies had caused significant losses among their shinobi.
Starting a war now? Forget teaching Konoha a lesson—it would be a miracle if they weren't the ones getting chased down by Konoha. The war might even end with the Mist Village having to pay heavy reparations.
Even though Konoha had just been through the Second Great Ninja War, Gengetsu was under no illusion that the Mist could actually win a conflict against them.
Back in Konoha, Sakumo Hatake had finally returned safely. His heart was full of mixed emotions—never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that his infiltration would lead to a direct encounter with the Third Mizukage, especially in a restroom.
The atmosphere at that moment had been indescribable.
"Hokage-sama," Sakumo said as he entered the Hokage's office, even though it was the middle of the night.
"You've done well," the Third Hokage greeted him. The moment Sakumo returned, the ANBU had informed the Hokage, who then summoned Tsunade, Koharu Utatane, and the others to the office.
The Mist had pushed for a response multiple times; it was time for this matter to be settled.
"Rest for a bit first. We'll start once everyone's here," the Third Hokage said. It was evident that Sakumo was exhausted, and the Hokage allowed him some time to rest.
Despite her irritation, Tsunade put on her clothes and came to the office. The others had arrived before her, making her the last to join.
"Now that everyone's here, Sakumo, please tell us what happened in the Mist Village," the Third Hokage instructed.
The members of the Council of Elders weren't many—besides Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, there had been Torifu Akimichi and the late Kagami Uchiha. With Kagami gone, Torifu had no interest in getting involved and preferred a quiet life, which left Koharu and Homura as the de facto representatives of the council. They had the authority to make decisions on behalf of the council.
"Before we begin, I have a question," Koharu said, looking at Sakumo. "Sakumo, the village assigned you a mission to gather intelligence. Yet, the Mist sent us a letter accusing you of attempting to assassinate the Third Mizukage. What do you have to say about that?"
"I did not attempt to assassinate the Mizukage," Sakumo replied firmly. "During the infiltration, I accidentally ran into the Third Mizukage and had no choice but to engage. I then fled the Mist Village as quickly as I could."
"Then..."
"Enough with the questions! Let the man finish first!" Tsunade interrupted, leaping to her feet. "Let him finish, then ask whatever you want. Seriously, acting all high and mighty just to show you have authority."
"I..." Koharu hadn't expected Tsunade to openly oppose her. Before she could retort, the Third Hokage intervened.
"Enough. Save your questions for after Sakumo has finished," the Hokage said, trying to ease the tension.
Sakumo knew all too well about the tension between Tsunade and the Council of Elders, but he hadn't expected their relationship to be this strained. Not that he minded—he wasn't fond of being badgered by Koharu either. Couldn't she wait until he was done before grilling him?
With the Third Hokage stepping in, both Tsunade and Koharu fell silent.
Sakumo then began his report. "I took on the village's mission and infiltrated the Mist Village. I managed to gather a significant amount of important intel. The Third Mizukage appears to be physically weakened, with a fragile mental state—prone to fits of rage and violence.
"While in hiding, I learned that the Mizukage had seemingly recovered. I decided to infiltrate the Mizukage's office to gather more critical intel. But I never expected..."
Sakumo paused, gritting his teeth, clearly frustrated at the memory.
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Next Bonus: 1000 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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