The Kaguya clan was planning to rebel alongside the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?
Even Shimizu had not expected news like this.
Who would have thought that Kirigakure itself was already riddled with internal conflict?
For a village with so little unity, how had they even managed to keep the war going this long?
Not only did the battle-crazed Kaguya clan harbor thoughts of rebellion, but even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—the very symbol of Kirigakure's military strength—were leaning in the same direction.
It seemed the Third Mizukage was not only "mediocre" in strength, but perhaps lacking in leadership as well.
Of course, that was another misunderstanding on Shimizu's part.
No one who could rise to the position of Mizukage could truly be incompetent. The fact that the Third Mizukage had managed to push the traditionally conservative and isolationist Kirigakure into war was already proof of his ability.
At that moment, Shimizu temporarily abandoned the idea of silencing the man in front of him.
The real issue now was how to extract more information.
How should he approach this?
Meanwhile, his brief silence was interpreted by Kaguya Ameyama as hesitation.
And to Ameyama, this looked like the perfect opportunity to persuade "Kurosuki Raiga," one of the remaining Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
After all, among the surviving members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Jūzō Biwa had already openly joined their side, while Suikazan Fuguki had shown clear interest in cooperating with them.
Only "Kurosuki Raiga" had yet to express a definite stance.
In fact, relations between both sides had never been particularly friendly before.
So Kaguya Ameyama began speaking patiently.
"Right now, the Third Mizukage is clearly determined to continue the war, yet he chooses to heavily favor the Yuki clan and the Hōzuki clan while pushing our Kaguya clan aside. As for your Seven Ninja Swordsmen… your situation probably isn't much better, is it?"
"Not much better" was an understatement.
During the previous campaign, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had nearly been wiped out entirely.
Their luck had simply been terrible.
They had encountered Might Duy, a man capable of opening the Eight Gates and unleashing power beyond the Kage level. As a result, the mission to raid the borders of the Land of Fire had ended in catastrophic losses.
Four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had died.
And after such an extreme disaster, conspiracy theories naturally began spreading throughout Kirigakure.
Some people claimed the Third Mizukage had intentionally arranged for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to be eliminated.
At first, almost no one believed such an absurd accusation.
But suspicion was like a seed.
Once planted in fertile soil, it would inevitably take root.
Over time, as contact between the Kaguya clan and the remaining Seven Ninja Swordsmen became more frequent, thoughts of betrayal slowly began to grow among them as well.
Rebellion was now only a matter of timing and opportunity.
This was massive intelligence.
If the Third Mizukage truly was the one driving Kirigakure's war effort, then what roles exactly were Madara and Tobi playing behind the scenes?
If they were truly involved…
Then based on Shimizu's understanding of the two of them, there was little doubt they were secretly manipulating events to make life difficult for Konoha while throwing the entire shinobi world into chaos.
That had always been their style.
If he wanted more answers, he would have to probe further.
At worst, he could simply kill the man afterward.
"Our situation has indeed been disastrous," Shimizu replied slowly. "Which is exactly why we need to be cautious about our next choice."
"But no matter what, both our sides are victims under the Third Mizukage's rule. We already have a foundation for cooperation." The more Kaguya Ameyama spoke, the more hopeful he became. "Jūzō Biwa and Suikazan Fuguki have already agreed to work with us. So among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen… only you remain."
So this man was acting as a negotiator.
And two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had already definitively chosen rebellion.
"I'll consider it carefully."
Shimizu paused briefly. Now that he knew the other side needed something from him, he decided to probe even more boldly.
"Still, I've heard some rumors about the Kaguya clan's current predicament. It seems the Third Mizukage recently gained assistance from outsiders?"
"You mean those two suspicious wandering shinobi?"
There it is.
"One of them wears a spiral mask?" Shimizu continued testing carefully. "And the other is a middle-aged man around fifty years old?"
"So you've already received information too." Kaguya Ameyama still showed no suspicion toward the "Kurosuki Raiga" before him. "According to Elder Roku, both of them are extremely powerful…"
His expression darkened with dissatisfaction.
"For years, the Third Mizukage has wanted to gain control over the Three-Tails, but he's never had a suitable jinchūriki candidate. So those two have been searching for one all this time."
"No one knows what kind of agreement they reached."
So it really was Madara and Tobi.
And they were searching for a Three-Tails jinchūriki.
Wait—
Three-Tails jinchūriki…
Nohara Rin?!
A sudden chill spread through Shimizu's entire body.
"When did this start?"
"You didn't know?" Kaguya Ameyama still had not the slightest suspicion toward the "Raiga" standing before him. "This has already been going on for over a month."
So when Madara and Tobi came to Konoha last time, they had also been searching for a suitable Three-Tails jinchūriki?
And if the two of them had already discovered Rin's value…
What would happen then?
Shimizu's thoughts rapidly spiraled.
If he were Konoha's enemy, and he knew the village was already fighting enemies on all sides while its internal defenses were weakened…
Then the simplest way to destroy Konoha would be to throw a fully transformed jinchūriki directly into the village.
That would be a disaster on the scale of a living nuclear weapon.
Just like the night the Nine-Tails rampaged through Konoha in the original timeline.
The Third Hokage had to be warned immediately.
Konoha needed to raise its guard as soon as possible.
Fortunately, both the Third Hokage and Orochimaru were still stationed inside the village.
And beyond that—
this battle here had to end quickly.
Then he needed to return to the southwestern camp in the Land of Fire immediately and find Rin.
Because if Madara truly had his eyes on her…
Then Obito would inevitably—
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Shimizu's eyes turned ice-cold.
"Lord Mizukage?"
"What?!"
The instant he heard the words "Lord Mizukage," the already guilty Kaguya Ameyama instinctively reacted. His eyelids twitched as he subconsciously turned around.
A flash of cold light swept through the corridor.
A streak of blue sliced cleanly across his neck.
His head fell instantly.
He died with shock still frozen on his face.
Whether he had been shocked by the supposed sudden appearance of the Mizukage—
or by "Kurosuki Raiga's" betrayal—
no one would ever know.
...
The battlefield had already become a meat grinder.
Less than ten minutes had passed since the fighting began, yet hundreds of corpses already littered the ground along the path of battle.
The Uchiha clan and the forces led by Commander Takano had been intercepted on their advance toward the Mizukage Building by troops personally commanded by the Third Mizukage himself.
More accurately, the Third Mizukage had been attempting to withdraw from Kirigakure through a gap in the battlefield—
only to run directly into Uchiha Fugaku, who was desperate to claim merit.
And so, a battle to the death erupted.
The Third Mizukage's forces fought while retreating toward the northern entrance of the village. The moment he caught sight of the massive lake ahead, the tension on his face visibly eased.
"At last," he muttered. "Ahead lies the Lake of Hidden Mist."
The Fire Release techniques of the Uchiha clan were simply too overwhelming. Their destructive power was terrifying, and with Kirigakure already at a disadvantage in numbers, defeating these Konoha shinobi head-on was nearly impossible.
But if they could fight beside the Lake of Hidden Mist—
then the advantage of Water Release would increase exponentially.
"Uchiha Fugaku!" the Third Mizukage shouted coldly. "You've pushed too far. Do you really think I fear you?"
Standing atop the lake surface, he immediately began forming hand seals.
Nearly a hundred Kirigakure shinobi guarded him from all sides.
This was Kirigakure's final remaining strength.
If they could defeat them here—
then the Uchiha clan would gain unimaginable glory.
"He's pouring massive amounts of chakra into the lake!" Fugaku's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly as he observed every movement of the Third Mizukage with absolute focus. He instantly realized how dangerous this technique was. "Stop him!"
The sheer scale of chakra involved meant only one thing—
a terrifying jutsu.
And they absolutely could not allow him to release it unopposed.
At once, hundreds of Konoha shinobi launched a furious assault.
Countless kunai rained toward Kirigakure's defensive lines.
Hundreds of blades of wind screamed across the battlefield in an instant.
Blue arcs of lightning crackled violently through the air.
And above all else came the overwhelming Fire Release techniques of the Uchiha.
An endless torrent of fire dragons, Phoenix Flower Jutsu, and gigantic Great Fireballs surged forward beneath blazing orange flames, radiating astonishing heat as they crashed toward the Mist forces.
BOOM—!!!
Explosions erupted one after another.
Kirigakure's forces could do little except desperately defend against Konoha's ferocious offensive.
Gradually, the surface of the lake began to churn violently.
Then, after only a single breath—
the Third Mizukage finally completed his lengthy sequence of hand seals.
The jutsu was complete.
In the next instant, a monstrous tidal wave dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide rose into existence.
The enormous wall of water swallowed every trace of firelight before crashing toward Konoha's forces with devastating force.
"Scatter!!!"
Faced with such overwhelming power, even Fugaku had no choice but to order a retreat.
After witnessing that colossal wave, every shinobi instinctively fled backward with everything they had.
But against a large-scale ninjutsu of this magnitude…
those desperately retreating figures looked as though they would all be swallowed whole by the monstrous wave behind them.
...
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