"Is this conversation even going anywhere?"
Yagura's face turned red with frustration, his neck bulging slightly from the strain. Combined with his boyish features, his expression could almost make one want to say:
"Little brother, don't stress yourself too much. You'll hurt yourself if you're not careful."
Despite his youthful appearance, Yagura was actually around the same age as the Legendary Sannin and, in some aspects, even more accomplished.
After all, while the Sannin were still single, Yagura already had kids who were nearly ten years old.
In this alone, Yagura had left the Sannin far behind.
"If you keep talking like this, you won't have any friends."
Minato looked helplessly at Takuya, lightly nudging him as a reminder to stop spouting nonsense. They were supposed to be discussing serious matters.
"Fine, I won't mock you guys anymore. No point in driving people away."
Shrugging, Takuya said, "Alright, let's put the past behind us. Since you, Yagura, took the huge risk of sneaking into Konoha, you must have something really important to say.
"So go ahead. If you can convince me, I'll take you to meet Lord Hokage."
If Yagura couldn't even convince him, then he might as well go back where he came from.
No, wait!
Go back? What nonsense!
Konoha and the Mist Village were at war. Yagura had walked right into their hands. Did he really think he could leave?
Dream on!
Since he'd come this far, he might as well stay and be Konoha's guest.
Gotcha!
Seeing Takuya's amused smirk, Yagura's youthful face darkened. He could tell exactly what Takuya was thinking.
They wanted to detain him and keep him in Konoha.
While Yagura remained relatively composed, his guards weren't as calm. Their wary gazes locked onto Takuya, prepared to fight at a moment's notice.
If Takuya and Minato attacked, the guards were ready to risk their lives to protect Yagura and get him out.
Nothing is ever simple, is it?
Exhaling heavily, Yagura rubbed his temples, already feeling a headache coming on. With a resigned tone, he explained, "This war came out of nowhere. However, the Mizukage was determined to wage it, and no one in the village dared to oppose him.
"But as the war went on, we started noticing strange behavior from the Mizukage."
"You should've realized it sooner."
Takuya interrupted impatiently. "An elderly man on the brink of death suddenly makes a miraculous recovery—that's suspicious enough."
"…"
Yagura was briefly at a loss for words. Takuya was blunt, but he wasn't wrong.
When the Third Mizukage had awakened and recovered, the entire Mist Village had been overjoyed. No one had stopped to question it.
Everyone had simply assumed that divine intervention was at play, that their village was being blessed by the heavens.
Who cared about the details? Even those who had doubts wouldn't dare voice them. After all, the Third Mizukage was the founder of the Mist Village's infamous blood mist regime.
To suspect he was being controlled or replaced was tantamount to courting death.
Looking back now, everything seemed suspicious.
Yagura shook his head. "There's no point dwelling on it. What's done is done. I came here today because of this matter."
Meeting Takuya and Minato's gazes head-on, Yagura bit his lip and said, "I suspect that the Mizukage has been controlled—or possibly replaced!"
Now you suspect it? Isn't that a bit late?
Takuya didn't know how to respond. Mist ninjas had a remarkable tolerance for strange behavior. If this had happened in Konoha, someone would've sounded the alarm long ago.
Who would let things spiral so far out of control, much less gamble their village's future on a pointless war?
No way!
Minato's eyes widened in disbelief. Unlike Takuya, he wasn't privy to the underlying details. Hearing Yagura's claim that the Third Mizukage was potentially being controlled left him stunned.
This was shaping up to be a major event.
"So…"
What does the Mist Village's Mizukage being controlled or replaced have to do with Konoha? Why are you here, Yagura?
You'd better explain yourself quickly. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to invite you to stay as our guest. After all, Konoha's prison still has plenty of room.
Here comes the real deal.
Yagura knew that if he couldn't convince Takuya, meeting the Third Hokage would be out of the question. Heck, he'd be lucky to leave Konoha alive.
Just Takuya alone was terrifying enough. Add Minato, the Yellow Flash, and Yagura doubted he could escape unscathed.
Grinding his teeth, Yagura finally said, "I want to meet your Hokage. I propose an alliance to investigate this matter together. Once the truth comes to light, I believe the war between our villages can end. Surely Konoha has no interest in prolonging a meaningless conflict."
The Mist Village was fighting desperately, and Konoha had no choice but to match their efforts. A prolonged war would benefit neither side.
Even if one village achieved victory, it would be a hollow, Pyrrhic victory.
As for reparations? Forget it. The Mist Village wasn't any richer than the Sand Village.
The ultimate result would be two villages drained of resources and with nothing to show for it.
What now?
Should they take Yagura back to the village?
Minato turned to Takuya. From his perspective, ending the war with the Mist Village would benefit Konoha immensely.
However, investigating the Third Mizukage would undoubtedly complicate matters.
"This is just…"
Minato's expression grew serious as he pondered the situation. To everyone's surprise, Takuya suddenly burst out laughing.
"Uh…"
Brother, this isn't the time for jokes.
Minato was dumbfounded. He couldn't understand why Takuya was laughing. Did he find Yagura's proposal ridiculous?
Was it?
It didn't seem like it to Minato.
"What's the meaning of this?"
By all rights, Takuya should have been weighing Yagura's words carefully, not laughing. To Yagura, the laughter felt mocking—like a direct insult to him and the Mist Village.
His face darkened, his gaze fixed on Takuya with a sharp intensity.
"Apologies, that wasn't my intention."
Takuya rubbed his face, trying to suppress his laughter. "I laughed because you bigshots always seem to have an uncanny sense of timing. Even strange events like this align perfectly."
"What?"
Yagura was momentarily stunned, unable to grasp Takuya's meaning.
Takuya clarified, "Not long ago, Lady Chiyo of the Sand Village brought reinforcements to aid Konoha. Upon arriving at the frontlines and sharing intelligence with Orochimaru and Jiraiya, she began suspecting your Mizukage was being controlled. She even sent word back to her village to investigate."
"And as luck would have it, our Hokage had the same suspicions. He wanted me to take on this mission, ideally meeting you or even Genji to discuss the matter. But I turned it down. And here you are, Yagura, showing up in Konoha."
"Isn't that a bit too coincidental?"
"…"
"Quite the coincidence indeed."
Realizing it was a misunderstanding, Yagura felt a bit embarrassed. Even his guards, who had been treating Takuya like a mortal enemy moments earlier, gradually lowered their hostility.
After all, it wasn't mockery—it was just the absurdity of the situation that had amused Takuya.
So that's what it was. Minato sighed in relief, thinking he had misread Takuya's laughter as something malicious.
"Then why did you refuse the mission?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Takuya rolled his eyes at Minato. "This kind of mission is off-limits for both of us."
"Why?" Minato asked, puzzled.
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Next Bonus: 400
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