Chapter 363: The Bloodline Clans of Mist Stirring
The Elder sighed.
"We don't have enough evidence at the moment, we need to investigate further. Yagura, I need your help with this."
As one of the village's elders, almost as senior as the Third Mizukage, the Elder Genji had no interest in fighting for power, nor did he see any need to do so. What he wanted was simple—for the Mist Village to flourish.
"Master, please, tell me what to do."
"I want you to go and meet that old Hōzuki. Convey my intentions to him—he'll cooperate. Other clans will support you too. We need to bring some of the frontline forces back."
Whether or not the Third Mizukage was truly being controlled, the Mist Village still needed some of the military power to be under the village's control.
Was this possible?
Yagura felt that the Third Mizukage wouldn't relinquish control so easily. Trying to take away some of his power would be an uphill battle.
"The Kaguya clan is becoming increasingly restless. I trust that you can manage."
If there wasn't a reason, then they would create one. If there wasn't an excuse, they would fabricate one. Besides, the Kaguya clan had been acting up for a while now.
Not only the Kaguya, even the Yuki clan had become more active and unpredictable. The Elder could never truly understand what these bloodline clans, so frequently pushed out of the center of power, hoped to achieve.
Overthrow the government? They lacked the capacity and the means.
Seek a place at the core of power? They stood no chance.
If they had no hope and no ability to rebel, why stir things up at all?
One misstep and their entire clan could face annihilation.
No matter how weakened, a major Hidden Village was not something that a few small bloodline clans could challenge.
"Understood."
Yagura's expression was conflicted. He hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing.
"Master, I will continue investigating the evidence. But if I ultimately find no crime has been committed, I will not stand against Mizukage-sama."
After bowing apologetically, Yagura left the Elder's home.
Two hours later, the Third Mizukage, still on the frontlines, received Yagura's message.
"The Kaguya and Yuki clans want to rebel?"
What nonsense. The Third Mizukage, visibly irritated, said:
"Tell Yagura I'll send a unit back, and he should deal with those clans as soon as possible."
Seriously, of all times for this nonsense!
No wonder the Mist Village had struggled to grow. They'd been under Madara's control for so long, and no one had noticed.
Indeed, only Konoha had ever truly piqued Madara's interest.
The Third Mizukage didn't care whether the accusations against the Kaguya and Yuki clans were true.
What he cared about was how to bring Iwagakure and Kumogakure into the conflict, making the Third Great Ninja War even more chaotic.
If it weren't for the need to avoid drawing attention, the Third Mizukage wouldn't even bother with Yagura.
Let them rebel if they want—what do I care? I'm not really the Third Mizukage anyway.
The more chaos, the better. Ideally, everyone would end up dead.
In the following days, Mist Village showed no signs of preparing for an attack, leaving all of Orochimaru's defensive measures aimed at empty air.
Throwing punches that failed to land, Orochimaru only ended up hurting himself.
After days of non-stop work, with no sleep, Orochimaru had finally managed to set everything in place, just waiting for the enemy to strike. Yet no enemy appeared—the feeling of throwing a punch into thin air was immensely frustrating.
Having run himself ragged for nothing, Orochimaru felt like a fool.
With no sign of an impending attack, the squad had a few peaceful days to rest—a pleasant little break for Takuya Yagami.
As for what Orochimaru thought of it all, that was none of Takuya's concern.
At that moment, Takuya's squad was gathered, with Minato eyeing Takuya pulling out his Kusanagi Sword, clearly intending to use it to slice some meat. Minato's forehead creased with a few lines of exasperation, and he hurriedly handed over an unused kunai.
"Takuya, I know the Kusanagi Sword is sharp, but using a sword meant for killing to slice meat seems a bit much, don't you think?"
"Go play with your eggs!"
Takuya shoved Minato aside with a bit of annoyance and grabbed a bandage, wiping down the Kusanagi Sword. "Slicing meat is Nawaki's job, I'm just maintaining my weapon. Relax."
Using a weapon meant for killing to slice meat was like using a watermelon cleaver to grind meat—Takuya wasn't that careless.
The Kusanagi Sword was indeed one of the rare treasures in the shinobi world, far surpassing the Thunder God Sword.
Sharp, durable, with good flexibility, it wouldn't easily get stuck during cuts or thrusts, and breaking it would be a challenge.
Scoring this weapon from Orochimaru had been totally worth it, in Takuya's eyes.
As for the near-broken Thunder God Sword, Takuya planned to take it back home and hang it as a memento.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the renamed Thunder Kusanagi Sword would be by his side for a long time.
After cleaning the blade, Takuya applied maintenance oil, commenting, "I was just making a point; no way would I use a killing tool to cut meat. Speaking of which, can't you change the design of this kunai? It looks like a dung fork."
Minato's specially designed kunai for the Flying Thunder God Technique still had the original three-pronged design—heavier and longer than regular kunai, almost like a short sword. Too bad the prongs weren't sharpened.
"Pfft~~~"
Nawaki, who was slicing meat, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"I always thought it looked like a dung fork too. I've told him several times that the triple-prong design makes it bad for stabbing and slashing, but he won't believe me—he thinks it makes the Flying Thunder God cut more powerful."
Minato had spent quite a bit of money on those kunai. After all, they were specially crafted, designed to work with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But the shape of the kunai had always been a subject of teasing.
"Don't you think it looks pretty cool, though? Like a maple leaf? Besides, I find this shape really comfortable to use."
With Takuya and Nawaki criticizing his design, Minato felt compelled to defend himself.
"Alright, as long as you're happy."
Takuya shook his head, unwilling to argue further. He had already offered his advice—if Minato didn't take it, there was nothing more he could do.
Minato spun the kunai in his hand, a gleam in his eye. Suddenly, he lunged toward Nawaki, who was still slicing meat.
"Whoa! Are you insane?"
Hearing the sound of the kunai slicing through the air behind him, Nawaki instinctively raised his own kunai in defense.
"Clang!"
The two different kunai clashed, and Nawaki's kunai immediately broke.
Ordinary kunai stood no chance against Minato's specially crafted one. Not everyone could afford to forge kunai with rare metals like Minato.
Though his kunai had broken, the remnants got caught between the three prongs of Minato's kunai, making it difficult for Minato to advance further.
Nawaki almost had a heart attack, while Takuya burst out laughing. It was rare to see "Little Sunshine" show such a dark side, using Nawaki as a guinea pig for his experiments.
"That triple-pronged design—it makes it easy to get things stuck in it. In a battle, it could leave you vulnerable if it catches on something. If you're fighting a heavily armored opponent or a large creature, this kunai design could become a liability."
"I'll consider it."
Minato wasn't eager to abandon his chosen design after putting so much effort into it.
Damn it!
Being used as a guinea pig left Nawaki visibly annoyed, his face turning red in frustration.
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Next Bonus: 2000 power stone
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at Patreon com/ Emik01.
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