What exactly does it take to become a Kage?
In Konoha, it might mean being the disciple of a previous Hokage.
In Iwagakure or Kumogakure, maybe it's about reputation, political backing, or simply inheriting the position from father to son.
But Kirigakure?
Their rule is much simpler.
Beat the living crap out of every competitor… and be strong enough to suppress a Tailed Beast.
That's it.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, climbed to power exactly like that. With overwhelming strength, he seized the top position and even dragged Kirigakure out of the chaos of war, eventually ending their conflict with Sunagakure.
Unfortunately… things later turned embarrassingly ugly.
After becoming Mizukage, Yagura ended up as nothing more than a puppet controlled by someone else.
And now the awkward truth was obvious.
Kirigakure didn't have anyone strong enough to stop him.
Whether it was Ao with his Byakugan, Hōzuki Mangetsu, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, or Terumi Mei, the woman with two Kekkei Genkai…
They were all elite ninja.
But against a rampaging Three-Tails, they were still getting bullied like rookies.
Mangetsu gripped Hiramekarei, channeling chakra into the massive blade.
With a heavy swing, he fired a compressed chakra cannon, blasting Isobu straight into the lake.
Without missing a beat, Terumi Mei formed hand seals.
"Boil Release!"
The lake instantly began to heat up like a giant damn kettle. Soon, violent bubbles started rising from the surface.
Under the unbearable heat, the Three-Tails had no choice but to crawl out of the water again and face the Mist ninja waiting on the shore.
Seeing the plan working, Mangetsu grinned.
"Terumi Mei, I never expected you to be this strong," he said casually.
"Have you considered becoming my subordinate? Kirigakure will need powerful people like you in the future."
Terumi Mei snorted.
"The Fourth Mizukage isn't even dead yet, and you're already advertising your political campaign?"
Mangetsu shrugged without shame.
"Look, even if the Fourth Mizukage was manipulated, someone still has to take responsibility for the bloody policies of these past years."
"He should step down."
"Once he does, the candidates for Fifth Mizukage are basically just you and me."
He paused before adding dryly,
"Unless you expect Elder Genji to crawl out of retirement and do the job again."
Terumi Mei rolled her eyes.
"Forget the Mizukage election for now."
She looked toward the rampaging Three-Tails.
"First we need to stabilize the Fourth Mizukage and break whatever control is affecting him."
"The ninja manipulating him must be nearby."
Mangetsu chuckled.
"No need to worry. I already arranged someone to handle that problem."
"With his strength, he'll definitely buy us enough time to beat the Fourth Mizukage."
Terumi Mei frowned.
"Who did you invite? A Kage from another village?"
"This is Kirigakure's problem."
Mangetsu scratched his head.
"He's not one of the Five Kage… but honestly, his strength probably isn't any weaker."
"The first time Zabuza and I met him, we both got our asses kicked."
"But don't worry. He doesn't have any ambition to control Kirigakure."
Even as he said that… Mangetsu sounded slightly unsure.
Terumi Mei's expression darkened.
But she didn't have time to argue.
Because the Three-Tails attacked again.
This time, the massive turtle curled its body into a ball.
Then it started spinning.
Fast.
Really fast.
It became a gigantic spinning death top, tearing through the forest like a lunatic blender.
Trees exploded. Rocks shattered. Mist ninja who failed to dodge in time were crushed into paste.
Using a hillside as a ramp, the enormous beast launched itself into the air.
Its massive body cast a terrifying shadow over the ground.
BOOM!
The Three-Tails crashed down, smashing a gigantic crater into the earth.
Everything nearby—trees, stones, and several unlucky ninja—was pulverized instantly.
After finishing its destructive rolling attack, the Three-Tails settled in the center of the lake.
And then…
A Tailed Beast Bomb began forming in front of its mouth.
The enormous black sphere pulsed with terrifying chakra.
Despair spread through the Mist ninja ranks.
They had no idea how to stop it.
Hell, they didn't even know how to survive the next five seconds.
Terumi Mei shouted anxiously,
"Mangetsu! Where the hell are your reinforcements?!"
Mangetsu was sweating too.
He looked around desperately, searching for Naruto's figure.
If the Three-Tails fired that attack, the village would suffer catastrophic losses.
Even if Mangetsu later became Mizukage… it would be a throne sitting on top of a pile of ashes.
A few seconds later…
The Tailed Beast Bomb finished forming.
Then it fired.
The black sphere shot across the lake like a cannonball.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted across the water.
A shockwave sent waves dozens of meters high crashing toward the shore.
The Mist ninja braced themselves for death.
But strangely…
They were still alive.
Confused, they looked toward the center of the lake.
The small island that had once stood there was completely gone.
In its place rose a towering mushroom cloud.
Did the Fourth Mizukage wake up and change the direction of the attack at the last second?
No one understood what just happened.
Standing on a treetop to avoid the flood, Terumi Mei and Mangetsu had seen everything.
From their angle, a mysterious man wearing a black fox mask had suddenly appeared.
With some invisible force—like an enormous chakra net—he had redirected the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The attack detonated right beside the Three-Tails itself.
The explosion was so violent that even the tailed beast was blasted unconscious, now floating helplessly on the lake.
Terumi Mei's mouth hung open.
"…Mangetsu."
"Is that the foreign help you invited?"
"Isn't he a little too damn strong?"
"That attack was way more outrageous than anything Mizukage-sama has done."
Mangetsu scratched his head awkwardly.
"I… honestly didn't expect him to be this ridiculous either."
"But hey, the Mizukage problem should be solved now."
"Let's focus on waking the Fourth Mizukage. If he steps down early, the village can elect the Fifth Mizukage sooner."
Terumi Mei stared at him like he was an idiot.
"I think the Fifth Mizukage election can wait."
She glanced toward the masked man standing on the lake.
"Right now we should figure out how to properly entertain our extremely terrifying guest."
She narrowed her eyes.
"What exactly did you promise him to get help like this?"
Mangetsu answered casually.
"Oh, nothing much."
"Just something similar to the alliance treaty between Konoha and Sunagakure."
"Kirigakure will fully support Lord Mianma in establishing a brand new ninja village."
Terumi Mei slowly turned her head.
Her eyes twitched.
"You call that 'nothing much'?"
"The Konoha–Suna treaty isn't an alliance. It's practically a half-vassal agreement."
"You basically sold the village just to get backup!"
Mangetsu raised his hands helplessly.
"Look, compared to being secretly manipulated like puppets by the Fourth Mizukage…"
"These terms are already pretty generous."
"At least with Lord Mianma, we can negotiate."
"With that masked bastard, we just get screwed and accept everything like idiots."
Terumi Mei sighed.
Annoying as it was… he had a point.
But ultimately, decisions like that weren't for them to make.
It depended on the opinions of the Fourth Mizukage and Elder Genji, the true power holders of Kirigakure.
Suddenly Mangetsu pointed forward.
"Look!"
"The masked guy controlling the Fourth Mizukage has appeared!"
"He's regained control of the Three-Tails and is fighting Lord Mianma!"
Terumi Mei followed his gaze.
Two masked figures stood on the lake, facing each other.
After staring for a moment, she said thoughtfully,
"…Mangetsu."
"Do all powerful weirdos in the ninja world enjoy fighting while wearing masks?"
"What kind of strange taste is that?"
Mangetsu was speechless.
At their level, identifying someone by their face was useless anyway.
Experienced ninja relied on chakra signatures and subtle sensing techniques.
Disguising that was much harder than hiding your face.
Still…
Mangetsu suddenly remembered certain rumors about Terumi Mei.
Despite being young and beautiful, she had never had a boyfriend.
Mostly because many men were terrified of her Kekkei Genkai.
But apparently…
She had a very strong preference for powerful men.
And judging by the way she was staring at the mysterious masked ninja on the lake…
Lord Mianma might have just accidentally passed her very specific standards.
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