The shower roared as hot water cascaded down in a steady stream, steam rising thickly as it washed over the young man's body.
Kyusei looked at the horrifying scars crisscrossing his body and couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
kaoru really had gone all out that time…
She'd truly been trying to beat him half to death.
But thinking it over, this was something he deserved.
With that thought, Kyusei stopped dwelling on it.
After taking one step through the gates of hell, he'd learned his lesson. Thoroughly. Completely.
He was scared now. Truly scared.
That wasn't a beating—that was an execution attempt.
Once he finished washing up, Kyusei grabbed a clean towel from the side and dried himself off.
It had already been over a month since he was discharged from the hospital.
A lot had happened during that time.
The most important development was this:
The death of the Third Mizukage had been fully confirmed by the other great nations.
This didn't surprise Kyusei in the slightest.
At the time, the Third Mizukage had already been at the end of his rope—how could he possibly survive a point-blank Tailed Beast Bomb fueled by hatred?
Not only had the Third Mizukage died, but of the thousand-strong Mist ninja force, fewer than one in ten survived that blast.
Kirigakure had, in every sense of the word, fallen from the pedestal of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
The newly appointed Fourth Mizukage was named Yagura Karatachi—
the same man who, in the original timeline, would become the perfect jinchūriki of the Three-Tails.
Yagura, together with the village elder Ao—no, Genji (Yagura's chief advisor)—had overridden all opposition and immediately submitted an alliance proposal to Konoha, hoping the Leaf would protect Kirigakure, whose strength had now fallen to a historic low.
The terms were staggering.
As compensation, the Land of Water would:
Fully open all shared sea routes and trade ports to the Land of FireGrant comprehensive tax exemptions across all industries to Fire Country merchantsProvide additional preferential trade policiesAnnually gift 40% of the Land of Water's national profits to the Land of FirePay two billion ryō as compensation over the "Byakugan incident"
When Sarutobi Hiruzen received the news, he immediately departed for the Fire Capital to discuss the matter directly with the Fire Daimyō.
There was no denying it—
Genji was ruthless.
This agreement looked like an alliance.
In reality, it was a surrender document.
Everything short of territorial cession and foreign garrisons was already included.
But they had no choice.
The Land of Water had always practiced an elite-focused ninja doctrine. Compared to the other great nations, its total ninja numbers were already low.
Kyusei's single Tailed Beast Bomb had crippled Kirigakure.
Add to that the deaths of both the Three-Tails and the Third Mizukage, while the Six-Tails jinchūriki had yet to fully master Tailed Beast transformation—
The Land of Water was now nothing more than fish on a chopping block.
Anyone could come and take a bite.
A month had passed, and the other four great nations had already probed Kirigakure's true condition.
Iwagakure, in particular, could barely restrain itself.
The Mist and the Stone had a blood feud dating back to the Second Shinobi World War, where both of their Second Kage had perished together.
That hatred had never faded—on either side.
Rather than being carved up alive by everyone, it was better to grit their teeth, cut off a piece of their own flesh, and offer it to the strongest village in exchange for survival.
Even though it was that very village that had pushed them into this situation—
When survival was on the line, pride meant nothing.
If this were only about themselves, Yagura and Genji would never have bowed their heads.
But behind them stood Kirigakure's legacy… and its people.
They had no choice.
All Konoha had to do was extend a hand when Kirigakure was on the brink.
It was an extremely profitable deal.
Too profitable.
Even Sarutobi couldn't help but feel tempted.
If the Land of Fire was the most prosperous nation in the shinobi world, then second place undoubtedly belonged to the Land of Water—with its endless wealth drawn from the sea.
Forty percent of that annual income was an almost irresistible figure.
In fact, Sarutobi had briefly considered outright annexation.
But the distance was too great.
An ocean separated the two nations, and Konoha simply didn't have the manpower to occupy and defend such a vast maritime treasure.
So Yagura's "obedience" aligned perfectly with Konoha's interests.
What made the situation more troublesome, however, was that Yagura made no attempt to conceal his movements.
He traveled openly and conspicuously to the Land of Fire.
Every major nation's spies were fully aware of his itinerary.
He was gambling—confident that Konoha and the Fire Daimyō would never reject such a surrender.
And he was right.
But because of this, news of the Fire–Water alliance swept across the entire shinobi world almost overnight.
Even worse, the alliance document—supposed to be top secret—was somehow leaked.
Within days, Konoha became the focal point of every major power.
Such a massive prize, swallowed whole by Konoha—
How could anyone not be jealous?
Hokage Tower
Council Chamber
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared coldly at the short-statured Fourth Mizukage seated across from him.
"Mizukage," he said icily,
"what exactly is the meaning of this?"
Less than three days after the alliance was signed, its contents were common knowledge—even beggars on the street knew the details.
If Yagura claimed he had nothing to do with it, Sarutobi might as well step down as Hokage.
"What does the Hokage mean by that?"
Yagura calmly lifted his teacup, took an unhurried sip, and looked at Sarutobi with apparent confusion.
"Kirigakure sincerely wishes to befriend Konoha," he said gently.
"I hope the Hokage won't do anything that might hurt the hearts of the people of our two nations."
Sarutobi's expression darkened.
He'd been played.
Such an enormous offering could never be free.
In the eyes of the world, the Land of Water had effectively become Konoha's vassal.
Anyone who wanted to devour Kirigakure would first have to face Konoha's blades.
Perhaps some sharp minds could see through the arrangement—
But who would dare gamble that, if they attacked the Land of Water, the Land of Fire wouldn't immediately strike their homeland in retaliation?
That risk was very real.
After all, among the Five Great Nations, Konoha was the one that most loudly championed the so-called Will of Fire—the value of comrades and bonds.
With the alliance now public knowledge, if the Land of Water were attacked and Konoha did nothing—
Public outrage alone would push Konoha into war.
With this single move, Yagura had bound the Land of Fire and the Land of Water together like two grasshoppers on the same rope.
He had effectively turned Konoha's military might into Kirigakure's shield.
At the same time, the remaining three great nations—Wind, Lightning, and Earth—would never allow Konoha to grow unchecked.
Sarutobi could already foresee it:
The Third Shinobi World War would be far more brutal than he had anticipated.
What was once a chaotic five-way conflict had now been forcibly divided into two camps.
The schemes might be fewer—but what remained would be pure, brutal confrontation of raw strength.
The future might very well become:
Fire + Water vs. Wind + Earth + Lightning
Sarutobi stared at Yagura, his gaze icy.
Yagura, however, simply returned a gentle, harmless smile—
calm, composed, and completely unfazed.
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