"Go, Hi-kun. Take Obito and join the others to watch Sarutobi Hiruzen's performance..."
Madara waved his hand casually. "I need to think about the next stage of the plan!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Madara-sama..."
"Thank you for your hard work, Great Clan Head..." Obito echoed, though he still felt something was a little strange.
He'd figured it out...
Great Clan Head was seriously conflicted inside. He kept testing Hokage-sama while also wanting to help him!
'Typical Warring States old-man thinking. Fugaku-san told me that Clan Head Isshin used to think the same way, always saying things like hardship was the best nourishment for a shinobi...'
'Actually, plenty of the old people in the village give me the same feeling! They're always trying to toughen up the younger generation by making them suffer...'
'Fugaku-san is the one who's actually a great educator! Great Clan Head should really sit down and learn from him. Fugaku already has two sons, while Great Clan Head and Clan Head Isshin never even had children. They're just theorizing about something they've never done...'
'And the Gold and Silver Brothers and Ashina-ojiisan are the same. Not a single normal person among them...'
Obito complained viciously to himself.
'What kind of mysterious organization is this supposed to be? It's obviously the Warring States Freak Association!'
What Obito didn't know was that Isshin had already changed.
And if Obito hadn't stopped him, Fugaku—the great educator in Obito's mind—would have taken Itachi onto the battlefield...
When it came to education through pressure, Fugaku could even push the reincarnation of Indra past his breaking point.
He was practically an existence beyond the Sage of Six Paths.
Obito and Hi-kun went next door and joined the four Kage in watching the live feed.
"Gengetsu and Mū are about to make their move..."
"They're going all out this time. I wonder if they can actually give Sarutobi Hiruzen trouble. Mū has Dust Release, after all. If that lands, it's over."
Gold folded his arms and analyzed the situation.
"It would definitely be over. But knowing Senju Tobirama, people from the Warring States generation like us aren't going to go easy on the younger ones. If he dies, it just means he wasn't good enough."
Silver narrowed his eyes. "Still, this is an insane level of difficulty. Two Kage at once, and enhanced ones at that..."
Ashina didn't seem concerned. He merely smiled as he waited to see how Hiruzen would perform.
As far as he was concerned, any shinobi capable of mastering the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal would succeed at whatever they attempted...
As for Dust Release, Kekkei Tōta might be troublesome, but at its core it was still chakra!
And if it was chakra, then Fūinjutsu could counter it. At the very least, it could reduce its effects...
Obito grew nervous listening to them.
During his time here, he'd come to understand that while this group of Warring States freaks all had personalities that were strange beyond belief, when it came to fighting, every last one of them was terrifying...
Even Konoha's Council Members might not necessarily come out ahead against them unless they were among the ones who specialized in combat!
'Hokage-sama, please be careful!'
Obito silently prayed for Hiruzen.
...
Land of Water border.
Hiruzen arrived in haste with Nakamaro, Kisame, Terumī Mei, and a group of Kirigakure elites.
Once again, it was the familiar coastal battlefield.
At that moment, the Third Mizukage was fleeing madly ahead of them, accompanied by the few followers he had left.
Only Genji, Suikazan Fuguki, and Karatachi Yagura remained, along with several ANBU who had records from the Bloody Mist era.
Among them, Fuguki was one of those with a record.
Genji was neutral. Yagura had wanted to run, but the Third Mizukage had kept an extremely close eye on him, effectively dragging him aboard his sinking ship by force...
"SA! RU! TO! BI! HI! RU! ZEN!"
"Do you really have to drive me out of the Land of Water?"
"Fine! Then we'll take to the sea. One day, I'll come back!"
The Third Mizukage's eyes gleamed with resentment. "Destroying something is always easier than building it. I can't defeat you head-on, but that doesn't mean I'm easy to deal with..."
Yagura and Genji both looked troubled.
But there was nothing they could do...
A chain of suspicion had already formed.
Forget the fact that neither of them could defeat the now-maddened Third Mizukage.
After being kept at his side for so long, even if they surrendered immediately, there was no guarantee Hiruzen would spare them.
Behind them, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
A Kage skilled in Water Release who had completely abandoned his dignity and resorted to endless flight and banditry really was as troublesome as a fly.
Still, Hiruzen wasn't overly worried.
Even if Kiritori escaped, once the Land of Water's Flying Thunder God relay network was rebuilt and the security system became even more comprehensive, entering the country's interior again would be suicide!
But just before Kiritori reached the sea...
Someone from his past—someone he had never imagined seeing again—appeared directly in front of him.
It was a chibi Hōzuki Gengetsu in the form of a Steaming Danger Tyranny clone...
It suddenly dropped its invisibility at extremely close range and tilted its head at Kiritori with a bizarre look.
Kiritori's eyes went wide!
At that exact moment, another visible Steaming Danger Tyranny clone appeared behind him, its sharp blade instantly piercing through his body!
"How... how is this possible..."
"Hōzuki Gengetsu's technique? Two clones?!"
Kiritori trembled as large amounts of foul blood poured from his mouth.
The moment the Steaming Danger Tyranny blade pierced him, an enormous quantity of oil spread through his body, preventing him from using Water Release to escape.
"Second Mizukage-sama?"
Genji and Yagura shouted at the same time.
"Get lost!"
The voice came from nowhere, thick with impatience.
The Kiri shinobi scattered instantly.
Almost simultaneously, a violent explosion erupted!
Both Steaming Danger Tyranny clones detonated at once. The powerful blast and scorching steam rapidly mangled Kiritori beyond recognition, leaving him sprawled on the ground like a broken rag doll.
With Mū's Dustless Bewildering Cover further concealing the Steaming Danger Tyranny clones...
Combined with the Rinnegan's Animal Path strengthening clone and summoning abilities, as well as the unique fusion of Impure World Reincarnation with a Six Paths puppet body...
The current Gengetsu was different from an ordinary Impure World Reincarnation body.
He was even stronger than he had been while alive!
Steaming Danger Tyranny could now produce multiple clones at once, and their destructive power had increased considerably...
Kiritori lay on the ground, his eyes trembling.
The most humiliating and powerless moment of his life had crossed thirty years and returned as though it were happening all over again!
In his heart, the humiliation of being defeated by Gengetsu even surpassed the shame of abandoning Kirigakure and becoming a wandering shinobi...
"I used to think you were at least a man."
"But now, the moment I see you, the sole of my shoe starts itching. Your head too, right?"
Gengetsu emerged from the genjutsu and stomped hard on Kiritori's head.
His little mustache twitched as the fury on his face became impossible to suppress.
And after using the Rinnegan's abilities, his eyes had also taken on the characteristic ripple pattern.
"You..."
"Why are you still alive?!"
Kiritori struggled and roared, "Didn't you die together with Mū?!"
"Plenty of people are still around. But a sewer rat like you—what can you do besides run? The moment someone pins you down, you don't even have the strength to fight back!"
"Stealing my techniques was bad enough. Did I teach those techniques so you could abandon Kirigakure and run away?!"
Gengetsu spoke while repeatedly kicking Kiritori.
At that moment, Kiri shinobi from both sides were dumbfounded.
A previous Mizukage had suddenly come back to life just to kick the Third Mizukage half to death?
That was outrageous.
Something like this could actually happen?!
The shinobi world really was incredible...
"See these eyes of mine? Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't stand watching a worthless bastard like you anymore, so he personally sent me back from the Pure Land to kill you!" Gengetsu shouted furiously.
"Forget it. Trash who can't even survive one move from me doesn't deserve to hear this much!"
"You've lost all the way to this point and still never fixed your sensory weakness. You can't even be a wandering shinobi properly!"
Gengetsu's eyes turned vicious.
He compressed an enormous amount of Water Release into a single point. With oil already controlling Kiritori's body and preventing him from using Water Release himself, Gengetsu killed him on the spot with a Water Gun!
He knew Kiritori's techniques far too well...
At that moment, a chameleon suddenly appeared beside Genji, its long tongue wrapping around the veteran who had survived the Warring States era and served through several generations of Mizukage.
Gengetsu turned his head and stared at him coldly.
"You were made an Elder so you could speak up for what was right when the Mizukage made mistakes..."
"You're just as disgusting as Kiritori. All you ever thought about was yourself. Did you ever think about Kirigakure?"
"You even supported something like the Bloody Mist. Hurry up and die!"
Gengetsu fired another Water Gun, blowing Genji's head apart.
Then a bull descended from above and sent his entire body flying.
He was clearly beyond dead.
Once the Second Mizukage made his move, he killed a Mizukage and an Elder in the blink of an eye...
That efficiency was even higher than the Bloody Mist!
"Anyone else want to die? Step forward if you supported the Third Mizukage!"
Gengetsu swept his gaze around.
He noticed that Yagura and some of the other Kiri shinobi looked relieved, which eased his mind slightly.
But then he spotted Fuguki and several other Kiri shinobi looking terrified.
The Steaming Danger Tyranny clones had already re-formed after exploding and silently appeared behind them.
The Rinnegan's Animal Path activated.
Centipedes, strange birds, hellhounds...
In an instant, every Kiri shinobi terrified by the Third Mizukage's death was brutally wiped out by Gengetsu.
Yagura and the others, on the other hand, were left untouched.
"You lot may be useless, but the real problem was mostly with the Mizu... with Kiritori. Stand down for now."
"Wait over there. This has nothing to do with you anymore!"
Gengetsu looked at them sternly.
Yagura blinked.
He seemed to detect something else in Gengetsu's words...
It felt as though the Second Mizukage was deliberately creating a path to survival for those of his own people who had been dragged along by Kiritori...
Yagura immediately dropped to one knee in gratitude.
Then he stood, gathered the remaining personnel, and led them to a position well away from the coastline, where they obediently stood in silence.
The sheer decisiveness with which Gengetsu appeared and killed people left Nakamaro, Kisame, and the other Kiri shinobi staring.
Leaving aside the question of how this man had even appeared...
His ruthlessness was, if anything, even greater than the Third Mizukage's...
Efficient indeed!
'The Rinnegan?'
'The same eyes Nagato was reported to have possessed...'
'So it wasn't a coincidence. There must be some connection between Nagato and Madara...'
'As for these strange summons and Hōzuki Gengetsu's resurrection, those should also be related to the Rinnegan. None of the intelligence reports ever mentioned Gengetsu possessing abilities like these.'
Hiruzen rapidly ran through the intelligence in his mind again and again.
"You should all withdraw as well. This is between me and the former Mizukage."
Nakamaro, Kisame, and the others froze.
But Hiruzen's authority had become deeply rooted in their minds over these past days, so they obediently retreated at once while remaining ready to provide support at any moment.
Gengetsu and Hiruzen stood facing one another.
Meanwhile, Mū remained concealed in midair with Dustless Bewildering Cover.
Using the Naraka Path, he stayed ready to extract Gengetsu at any moment, while his sharp gaze searched for an opportunity to use Dust Release and see whether he could kill Konoha's Hokage...
Senju Tobirama had told him to do it.
Naturally, there was no reason to hold back!
After a brief silence, Gengetsu slowly spoke.
"For everything you've done for the Land of Water and Kirigakure these past few months, you have my thanks."
Hiruzen paused.
This Mizukage actually seemed polite and capable of normal conversation.
It had been thirty years since Hiruzen last dealt with him...
Back then, Hiruzen had still been young, and he hadn't formed much of an impression of Gengetsu.
"There's no need to thank me. The Kiri shinobi are actually good people. Their environment simply forced them to become monsters..."
Hiruzen smiled. "Since you've returned from the Pure Land under the Sage of Six Paths' instructions, I assume killing Kiritori wasn't the only reason you came back?"
Gengetsu smiled as well.
"Of course not."
"I hear some Kiri shinobi have already started calling you the 'First Mizukage.' If you're going to be Mizukage, then as a former Mizukage myself, I should at least exchange a few moves with you according to the rules Byakuren-sama established."
"In the name of the Second Mizukage: defeat me, and you'll become Kirigakure's legitimate new Mizukage."
"Lose..."
"And you can go to the Pure Land."
Gengetsu stared at Hiruzen.
Not far away, the Giant Clam—its invisibility further enhanced by the chameleon—was continuously spewing thick clouds of superheated saltwater mist.
The ambush had been prepared long ago.
Demonic Illusion: Steaming Multistoried Building had already been set up...
Three full Steaming Danger Tyranny clones appeared in front of Gengetsu.
Hiruzen watched thoughtfully.
A small fireball appeared at his fingertip and flew toward Gengetsu.
It passed straight through his body.
"Useless..."
"No attack can affect me..."
Gengetsu watched quietly.
He had no intention of explaining his technique to Hiruzen.
The inheritance of the Mizukage was Kirigakure's final shred of dignity.
It could not be reduced to child's play!
"Under these conditions, I cannot lose."
Gengetsu smiled arrogantly.
The reason his old rival Mū had developed both invisibility and powerful sensory abilities in the first place was precisely because this technique was so troublesome.
The only real answer had been to build an equivalent set of abilities to counter it.
Actually breaking through it was far more difficult!
"Answer one question, and I'll give you a hint."
A thought occurred to Gengetsu, and he spoke.
"Why... why is it that Kirigakure and the Land of Water were in such terrible condition, yet after falling into your hands, they became prosperous within only a few months?"
"You didn't seize any spoils of war, and you didn't pour enormous amounts of supplies into the Land of Water. Konoha and Kirigakure merely started trading, and everything improved..."
"How does that work?"
High in the sky, Mū covered his face.
His old nemesis really couldn't keep anything to himself!
One moment he'd declared that if Hiruzen lost, he'd be sent to the Pure Land.
The next, he was openly offering him hints...
He might as well write "I want Sarutobi Hiruzen to keep being Mizukage" across his face!
"I don't need any hints. Since this is an exchange between Mizukage, we should treat the battle properly."
Hiruzen understood.
Wasn't Gengetsu basically delivering the final missing piece that would make his legitimacy perfect?
Defending against aggression, rebuilding the Land of Water, and now receiving public recognition from a former Mizukage...
His claim to the position of Mizukage would actually be firmer than his claim had been when he'd inherited the title of Hokage years ago.
Back then, there had still been some controversy...
Some of the lingering doubts hadn't completely disappeared until Akimichi Torifu stepped forward and spoke fairly on the matter.
"The principle is very simple."
"A farmer in the Land of Water might put in a certain amount of work and receive one measure of grain, while the same amount of work in the Land of Fire might produce ten. That's determined by the natural productivity of the land."
"Conversely, if a fisherman in the Land of Fire wants to obtain one unit of seafood, he may need to put in several times as much effort as a fisherman in the Land of Water."
"Once the Land of Water opened up, it and the Land of Fire could complement each other's strengths. By directing valuable labor and productive capacity toward the areas where each is most efficient, prosperity naturally followed."
"Trade also creates many new kinds of jobs. As the saying goes, people with stable livelihoods have stable minds. Once people have reliable work that can feed them, the broader environment settles down very quickly."
"I call this the 'Theory of Comparative Advantage.'"
"Every hidden village should focus on what it does best. Even if Konoha can sustain itself in isolation, if it does so forever, it will always remain merely the Konoha of the Land of Fire, rather than something belonging to the entire shinobi world..."
Gengetsu was taken aback.
Coveting Konoha had always been something all the hidden villages had in common...
But could the situation really be understood this way?
"As for Kirigakure, perhaps what you're really wondering is this: Konoha clearly benefits from the trade, so why hasn't the Land of Water and Kirigakure suffered losses? Why have they prospered as well?"
Hiruzen smiled at Gengetsu, who was listening intently and nodding repeatedly.
The former Mizukage's expression reminded Hiruzen somewhat of himself back when he had still been a student...
A thought occurred to him, and he decided to explain it in the simplest possible terms.
"Because relations between hidden villages don't necessarily have to be a zero-sum game, where one side must win and the other must lose, like Water Release against Fire Release."
"They can instead strengthen and combine with each other, producing something more powerful—like the Kekkei Genkai Boil Release."
"In absolute terms, Konoha may have gained somewhat more than Kirigakure. But one side merely increased what it already had, while the other went from zero to one. I'm sure you can understand the difference."
Put that way, not only Gengetsu but even the other Kiri shinobi secretly nodded.
"Kirigakure used to focus constantly on spoils of war, but it never calculated the cost of taking those things—the damage to social stability and the loss of personnel."
"That doesn't mean military development should be abandoned. It simply means economics isn't only about fighting and killing."
Seeing Gengetsu's eyes light up, Hiruzen shook his head.
"There are many other considerations as well..."
"For example, a hidden village's core industries cannot be allowed to depend entirely on outsiders. Development also creates new problems of its own. But none of those things will stop the Will of Fire from moving forward."
"Since you've appeared before me as a former Mizukage, I'll speak frankly with you."
"I will not use Kirigakure's dependence on us to strangle it. As long as Kiri shinobi follow the Will of Fire and move forward together with Konoha, one day our two sides will become one family."
"And if we're family, then we should help one another. I will also continue promoting greater integration between us."
Hiruzen looked directly at Gengetsu.
"But for now, let's follow the rules Byakuren established..."
"You and I will determine a winner."
Gengetsu was just about to respond.
Then he saw Hiruzen unleash an extraordinarily powerful Ice Release.
A layer of extremely cold ice spread rapidly across the area around the coastline, sharply lowering the ambient temperature.
One honeycomb-shaped ice core after another then emerged from the ice, radiating bone-chilling cold.
In the blink of an eye...
Countless glittering silver particles suddenly appeared within the white mist blanketing the battlefield.
They were salt crystals precipitating from the highly concentrated saltwater mist produced by the Giant Clam under the extreme cold...
And Gengetsu's illusion began to distort in bizarre ways.
His enhanced Demonic Illusion: Steaming Multistoried Building could produce multiple illusions.
But in an instant, some were stretched into long, thin noodles, others flattened into sheets of paper, while still others were flipped upside down.
Like shadow puppets being torn apart by a gale, the illusions shook violently in the freezing air, shattered, and broke apart into irregular patches of light.
At last, Gengetsu's real body was revealed...
His little mustache twitched as he stared in complete disbelief.
Hiruzen smiled faintly.
"I've had many sensei..."
"One of them knew a little about research and once taught me the basic principles of light refraction."
"Now..."
"It's my turn, Second Mizukage."
A layer of bluish-white light appeared around Hiruzen's body.
Spirit Release Chakra Mode...
Activated!
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