The Land of Waves incident ended very smoothly.
After Kisame Hoshigaki and Zabuza Momochi used the advantage of a surprise attack to brutally bleed Konoha's pursuers, the dizzy and disoriented shinobi were sent back to the coast of the Land of Fire.
Although they were dissatisfied with Kirigakure's rather overbearing style of action, considering the other side had restrained themselves from killing anyone and even provided some treatment for their more seriously injured companions, Konoha's shinobi could only silently swallow the bitter result of their mission failure and return to the village to report what they had seen and heard.
As for whether the missing Mitarashi Anko had fallen into Kirigakure's hands, and whether Kirigakure truly had colluded with the defected Orochimaru, that was something Konoha's higher-ups would need to judge after comprehensively examining information from all sides.
They no longer needed to point fingers about anything.
As for the residents of the Land of Waves, they were notified in a completely bewildered state that the Land of Waves' government had already been destroyed, and that from now on, they would become citizens of the Land of Water and be governed by Kirigakure.
If it had been another country whose ruler had more presence, such a simple and crude method would more or less have stirred up some unrest among the natives.
But because the rulers of the Land of Waves had always lacked ambition and presence, even after something like this happened, the people of the Land of Waves found it hard to feel anything other than confusion.
Although there were people like the still-young bridge-building expert Tazuna, who had seen the outside world and were worried about the arrival of Kirigakure, a village with a reputation like the Village of the Bloody Mist, it was precisely because of that reputation that they did not dare casually organize opposition or resistance.
After all, shinobi from the Village of the Bloody Mist really might kill everyone who opposed them without mercy.
"The reputation of the Village of the Bloody Mist only has some positive meaning at times like this. It truly makes one unsure whether to laugh or cry."
On the coast of the Land of Waves, Rei Kaguya, who was investigating the nearby hydrological conditions, listened to the report brought back by Mangetsu Hozuki and the other two, then commented as such.
"If even this small country without a shinobi village dared resist us, that would be the real joke," Zabuza Momochi said with a disdainful curl of his lips.
"Whatever happens with that is fine."
Mangetsu Hozuki cut into the conversation, his eyes shining as he stared at Rei.
"Fourth Mizukage, you said earlier that as long as I preserved those Konoha shinobi's lives, you would bestow a Curse Mark or whatever on me… That promise has not expired yet, has it?"
"Relax. I am not so petty that I would play tricks on a little brat like you over such a small matter."
Rei used the Summoning Technique to call out the little white snake carrying Curse Mark power.
After briefly communicating with it, he had the little white snake bite Mangetsu Hozuki on the neck.
As the bound Curse Mark power and senjutsu chakra were infused into him, the wound bitten open by the little white snake quickly changed into the shape of two interlocking tomoe.
Mangetsu Hozuki's body also abruptly exploded into water droplets that scattered everywhere under the infusion of Rei's chakra.
"Cough, cough, cough—what, what is this!?"
Mangetsu Hozuki, whose body had exploded into countless water droplets, first let out a terrified voice.
But immediately after that, he discovered that he could still reconstruct his body through the surrounding water vapor.
He could even clearly sense the location of every droplet that had split away from his body.
With the help of the moist air around him, he could even instantly move to the location of other droplets.
"This… This is practically like the Yuki clan's Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals…"
Watching Mangetsu Hozuki's figure dart around everywhere while shouting, Rei nodded thoughtfully and muttered to himself,
"As expected. The Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique is also, in a sense, a secret technique created to allow a certain degree of natural energy usage, just like the Curse Mark. That is why it was strengthened so much at once after receiving the complete boost of senjutsu chakra…"
"When I get back, I need to talk to the Hozuki clan elders and see if I can exchange for the training and usage methods of the Hydrification Technique and turn it into a public teaching material for the next generation… In any case, this technique should only require Water chakra nature to train. The thing Kirigakure lacks least is shinobi skilled in Water Release."
Compared to Rei, who had already been mentally prepared, the characteristics Mangetsu Hozuki displayed after receiving the Curse Mark had a much greater impact on Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
"Lord Fourth… Is this the power of the Curse Mark you mentioned?"
Kisame Hoshigaki subconsciously turned to Rei.
"Why does it feel like… Mangetsu Hozuki's body has developed a presence somewhat similar to yours?"
"Because the Curse Mark is essentially an inferior, low-end version of Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode."
Rei stroked the little white snake wrapped around his fingertip and said in a relaxed tone,
"The authentic Ryuchi Cave senjutsu has a high entry threshold and is difficult to train. Once something goes wrong, it will trigger the rampage of natural energy and backlash against the practitioner. Although it brings an extremely exaggerated improvement to individual strength, in the end, it is still a high-end product only a very small number of people are qualified to touch."
"The Curse Mark was created and developed as a forbidden technique to solve that overly high threshold. Although the earliest version developed by Orochimaru is not much less risky than directly training senjutsu, it did lower the entry barrier. Thanks to the groundwork he laid in the early stage, I was able to develop an improved version of the Curse Mark this quickly."
"Orochimaru?"
Hearing this name, Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki looked at each other.
Both saw understanding on the other's face.
No wonder Lord Fourth had inexplicably sent them to carry out a contact mission.
Not only did he not explain who the mission target was, but he also attached the mission of taking the Land of Waves as a disguise.
He had even sent a clone to follow behind them.
So the two sides had already reached a certain degree of understanding?
Rei was too lazy to explain all the twists and turns inside this to them.
After all, Kirigakure would still have many research projects that needed to be outsourced to Orochimaru later.
Letting everyone get used to his existence in advance was not a bad thing.
After giving them some time to digest this news, Rei looked at the reassembled Mangetsu Hozuki and asked with a faint smile,
"How does it feel?"
"Great. Better than ever!"
Mangetsu Hozuki clenched his fist hard.
Under the enhancement of Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique, his arm suddenly swelled until it was taller and larger than a person.
He smashed a punch into the beach in front of him.
Amid flying mud and sand, a large pit more than five meters in diameter and over half a meter deep appeared.
"Both taijutsu and ninjutsu effects have received an extremely exaggerated boost. It almost feels unreal how strong I am… And the burden on my body is not too heavy. With this enhancement, even if Kisame and Zabuza-san joined forces, I would have absolute confidence in beating you within a short time!"
"What an arrogant tone, Hozuki brat…"
Kisame Hoshigaki first frowned, then turned to Rei, whose smile had become subtle, and asked,
"But Lord Fourth, such powerful strength cannot be without risks and side effects, right?"
"For now, there are still some."
Rei raised two fingers and said with a smile,
"First, after using my Curse Mark, the surrounding natural energy will rapidly flow into your body, freezing your physical energy and spiritual energy in a one-to-one-to-one ratio and reducing the total amount of chakra you can use. If your remaining chakra is too low, there is also the risk of being turned into stone by natural energy."
"This problem can be solved either by learning senjutsu yourself or by having someone who has mastered senjutsu help you draw away the excess natural energy. Which method to use depends on your talent and personal will."
"Second, the more times you use the Curse Mark, the stronger the control the person who planted it in you—that is, me—will have over you… Similarly, this problem can also be solved by mastering senjutsu yourself. But before that, none of you need to think about betraying me."
"In other words, as long as we are willing to be loyal to you, these side effects basically amount to nothing, right, Fourth Mizukage?"
Mangetsu Hozuki grinned, not caring at all.
"As for betraying you after mastering senjutsu… If senjutsu were that easy to learn, there would not have been only a sparse handful of sages in the history of the shinobi world."
"You understand very well, Mangetsu."
Rei nodded and said with some appreciation,
"After I finish researching the Cursed Seal of Heaven on this little girl Orochimaru threw over, you can come be the first volunteer to upgrade the quality of your Curse Mark."
"It can still be upgraded!?"
Mangetsu Hozuki's eyes widened.
"Of course. You did not think a Curse Mark that can at most take effect in battles around special jonin level is the limit of this technique, did you?"
Rei shook his finger and narrowed his eyes.
"The limit of this technique should be that it can still play a role even when fighting opponents at the level of the Five Kage…"
Hearing the term "Five Kage," the three boys present all fell silent.
A long while later, Zabuza Momochi was the one who broke the silence that made their hearts beat faster.
"Then what do we need to do to receive your Curse Mark, Lord Fourth?"
"Swear loyalty to me. That is all."
Rei looked at Zabuza with some surprise.
"I thought the first to speak would be Kisame or Mangetsu. Unexpectedly, it was you, the one who looks the most unruly, Zabuza?"
"Because you said, Fourth Mizukage, that the Curse Mark is only an inferior version of Sage Mode. It is only a method you use to reward and control your subordinates. But even so, it possesses a terrifying upper limit that can be used to oppose the Five Kage…"
Zabuza Momochi took a deep breath.
Astonishing heat and curiosity burst from his eyes.
"Since opponents at the level of the Five Kage are, in your eyes, only enemies that subordinates who fully unleash the power of the Curse Mark can handle… then just how strong are you, who possess the true senjutsu of Ryuchi Cave?"
"If I am going to establish a target that I must spend my entire life challenging, there is no reason to choose those obsolete people who clearly can no longer keep up with the times, right?"
"Not a bad reason… Then what about you, Kisame? Do you want it, or not?"
Rei nodded, accepting Zabuza's reason, then turned to Kisame, who had not spoken and showed little expression.
"There is no reason not to want it, right?"
Kisame grinned.
His smile was ferocious, but his tone was serious.
"Although I have no intention of challenging you, Lord Fourth, I also do not want to be kicked out of your trusted circle early because of something like this…"
"But once you board my ship, there will be no room to turn back or regret it. Are you fine with that too, Kisame?"
"I have already committed an irreversible mistake. Even if I make a little more of one, it cannot make me any more beyond saving."
Kisame Hoshigaki looked at his hands, which seemed as if they could still feel the warmth of his comrades' blood, and said as such.