"Who are you? What's your intention?" Ryuhi asked in a deep voice, holding a kunai.
"Who I am is not important. What's important is, do you know what your Grass Ninjas have done?" Mokgetsu turned to look at Ryuhi who had walked in, with a faint smile.
"Blazing Sun Mokgetsu?!" Upon seeing Mokgetsu's face, Ryuhi's pupils instantly shrank, and his heart was in shock.
For the Grass Village, the Seven-Swords Ninja were not to be trifled with, and Mokgetsu's first notable achievement on the East Coast Battlefield was in one battle killing four of the Seven-Swords Ninja plus a renowned Ice Release user.
Ryuhi's hand holding the kunai trembled slightly, his forehead quickly secreting fine sweat, frantically pondering over the implications of Mokgetsu's words.
"It seems I'm not completely unknown in the Land of Grass, at least you're not calling for the Yellow Flash." Mokgetsu joked amiably.
It was probably because Namikaze Minato became famous early on that Mokgetsu was often mistaken for him, even Pakura had once mistaken him for Minato.
"Your Excellency is too modest. It's not just the Grass Village or the Land of Grass; there are few ninjas in the entire Ninja World who do not know of Blazing Sun Mokgetsu." Ryuhi took a deep breath, speaking flatteringly.
Although he was much older than Mokgetsu, relying on age to act superior to a strong figure in the Ninja World he had no ties with was somewhat rash.
"Could it be that some short-sighted Grass Ninja offended you, Lord Mokgetsu? What's their name? I will immediately send someone to capture and investigate them." Ryuhi continued.
He had a vague suspicion that maybe Yokokawa Tsutomu had done something, infringing on Konoha's interests.
He could sense the recent anomalies in the Grass Village, but Yokokawa Tsutomu covered his tracks well, and he hadn't been able to find the reason.
"Yokokawa, I really should have competed with you with all I had back then," Ryuhi regretted in his heart.
For someone as famous as Blazing Sun Mokgetsu to personally intervene, what Yokokawa Tsutomu did was certainly no small matter.
"Your Grass Ninjas dared to join forces with the Hidden Rock to directly attack the Konoha Ninja Squad; would you still care if a Grass Ninja offends me?" Mokgetsu's smile was still warm, but his words sent a chill down Ryuhi's spine uncontrollably.
Ryuhi slowly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, inwardly cursing Yokokawa Tsutomu multiple times.
This was simply the worst-case scenario. If the Konoha Ninja Squad wasn't temporarily engaged elsewhere, Mokgetsu wouldn't even need to come; the Konoha Ninja Squad stationed in the Land of Grass could have directly flattened the Grass Village.
"Lord Mokgetsu, these are solely the actions of Yokokawa Tsutomu and his Grass Seed acting on their own whims. Many ninjas in the Grass Village are innocent, and we, the Grass Flower, had no idea he conducted such despicable and evil actions in secret." Ryuhi spoke quickly.
Although he wished to tear Yokokawa Tsutomu apart, Ryuhi's mind was still intact. Since Mokgetsu could sit calmly in the living room, it meant there was still room for negotiation.
If Mokgetsu truly intended to act, the time they spent talking would have been enough for Mokgetsu to kill him multiple times.
Ryuhi never dared to underestimate powerful figures from the Great Ninja Villages like Mokgetsu; they were existences the Small Ninja Villages almost could not cultivate.
"As long as you, Lord Mokgetsu, give the command, I will immediately gather my comrades from the Grass Flower to confront Yokokawa Tsutomu for answers. I absolutely refuse to allow such a malicious person to continue serving as the Leader of the Grass Village." Ryuhi's words seemed to align him as Mokgetsu's subordinate, standing on the same side as Mokgetsu.
Ryuhi's underlying message was simple. If they could take out Yokokawa Tsutomu, they hoped the Konoha leaders would not hold past grievances, and in exchange, the Grass Village would become a subordinate to Konoha and work for them.
"There's no need for you to go that far, Konoha doesn't lack ninjas capable of carrying out missions," Mokgetsu declined.
Through his Byakugan, Mokgetsu observed that the Chakra inside the Box of Bliss had accumulated to a certain level, and with a little more effort from Yokokawa Tsutomu, the box could be opened.
With such a useful worker to exploit, Mokgetsu couldn't just kill him.
If a cut was necessary, it would be after he was used up.
Mokgetsu had to admit that Yokokawa Tsutomu's efforts had extended his life a bit.
If it wasn't for the fact that the Box of Bliss was about to open, Mokgetsu would surely not have bothered to wait and would have completed the task directly.
After all, there would be opportunities to train his disciples in the future, and there was no guarantee that opening the Box of Bliss would yield anything useful to him.
But if it were something that could be conveniently accomplished, then the cost-effectiveness would rise, especially since he was already there.
"What you need to do is to find concrete evidence of the collaboration between the Hidden Rock and the Grass Ninjas, and then be ready to become the Leader of the Grass Village at any time," Mokgetsu instructed.
Actually, the former wasn't necessary for Ryuhi to do, because Mokgetsu could obtain such evidence whenever he wanted. Mokgetsu aimed to test Ryuhi's character.
If Ryuhi chose to help them find definite evidence to overthrow Yokokawa Tsutomu, thinking they hadn't obtained any evidence, it would show Ryuhi had a clear mind and might be useful in the future.
If Ryuhi chose to communicate privately with Yokokawa Tsutomu and reveal Mokgetsu's visit to the Grass Village, then Mokgetsu would replace him with someone smarter as the Leader of the Grass Village.
Not to mention whether Mokgetsu had the ability to find evidence, during wartime, Konoha didn't really need such concrete evidence; just a reason would actually suffice.
"I will complete it as quickly as possible, Lord Mokgetsu," Ryuhi promised.
Listening to Mokgetsu's words, Ryuhi was relieved.
Since Konoha decided to support him, the Grass Flower, to become the leader, the Grass Village would not face complete destruction.
Although weakening was inevitable, most of the high-level Grass Seeds would likely perish.
For Ryuhi, this outcome was already favorable, at least it wasn't Blazing Sun Mokgetsu storming the Grass Ninja's office building, exterminating the higher-ups, then launching an indiscriminate attack on the entire Grass Village.
PS: It seems that the recovery is okay, at least my eyes are not giving out after writing for an hour or two. I will try to write more in the future, attempting to return to an 8k daily update.