[Activation successful!]
Ebizo moved fast. By the next day, his agents were already heading toward the Land of Water to spread the rumor.
Hidden Mist Village.
Yagura Karatachi looked at the report in his hand and clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Too bad."
The report detailed the three-village tournament between Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha.
What disappointed him was that the three villages hadn't turned on each other and started a full-scale war. If they had, the Hidden Mist might've had a chance to slip in and profit from the chaos.
But instead, they'd just let their young ninja fight in a tournament. No opening for anyone else. And now those nine kids were getting famous across the entire ninja world.
Kakashi the genius!
Asuma, the Hokage's son!
Might Guy, the ultimate taijutsu specialist!
Kitsuchi, solid as a rock!
Kari, the explosion master!
Bunya, steady as earth!
Kisame, the ninjutsu killer!
Baki, son of the wind!
Ryo, the genius puppet master!
Two of those names made Yagura's blood boil.
Kisame Hoshigaki — a former Mist ninja now fighting for Sunagakure.
"Even if the Hidden Mist sold you out, it was a necessary sacrifice for the village. Everything we did was for the Mist."
"But now you're fighting for Sunagakure? You betrayed us!"
"Unforgivable!"
Yagura's eyes flashed with rage.
"Before, I didn't understand why Sunagakure specifically demanded Kisame's name. Now it's obvious. They already knew how much potential he had."
"They wanted him for themselves."
"Does that mean the pressure on the Hoshigaki clan… was also Sunagakure's doing?"
He frowned.
"And how the hell is his chakra absorption this strong now? He completely shut down Kitsuchi — the Tsuchikage's own disciple. Why was he so average when he fought for the Mist?"
Yagura's expression darkened.
"Don't tell me he was holding back the whole time. Fighting half-assed for the Hidden Mist… but going all out for Sunagakure?"
He was done with Kisame. Done with the entire Hoshigaki clan.
Then his eyes moved to Ryo.
Ryo himself didn't bother him.
What pissed him off were the two puppets.
Jinin Akebino and Kushimaru Kuriarare — turned into puppets using their corpses.
"Playing with dead bodies! Turning Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen into puppets… Sunagakure is disgusting!"
"Despicable."
"They're bullying the Hidden Mist!"
"The first chance I get, I'm making them pay. And Raiga Kurosuki and Mangetsu Hozuki might already be puppets too."
Yagura's face twisted.
"Elder Haruna is being completely unreasonable. He keeps stalling on the perfect jinchuriki extraction method, saying he needs more time for his 'disciple.'"
"But there is no perfect method."
"I can't keep waiting."
"The Hidden Mist can't afford to wait."
Right then, a ninja burst into the Mizukage Tower.
"Lord Mizukage! Bad news!"
"What is it?"
"There's a rumor spreading inside the Land of Water. It's about you, Lord Mizukage."
Yagura's brow furrowed.
"What rumor?"
The ninja spoke fast.
"Lord Mizukage… the rumor says you orchestrated the downfall of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. That you framed Fuguki Suikazan. That you deliberately sabotaged Jinin Akebino and the others by feeding information to Sunagakure and cutting off their support. And that you added Elder Genshi and Jinpachi Munashi's names to the surrender list yourself."
For a second, Yagura saw red.
"Who?!"
"Who the hell is spreading this bullshit?!"
"This is outrageous!"
"Pure slander! Complete and utter slander!"
He was shaking with fury.
"Sunagakure! It has to be Sunagakure!"
"They love this kind of shit! Spreading lies, killing people with words without ever lifting a finger."
"If they have a problem with the Hidden Mist, fine. But using such underhanded tactics to smear my name? Unforgivable. I've given everything to this village. Everything!"
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen situation had nothing to do with me!"
Yagura was beyond pissed.
He'd never wanted Genshi to go on that suicide mission. But the elder had insisted, and Yagura had let him — partly because it helped meet Sunagakure's demands and partly to keep Genshi from causing more internal problems.
But the old man's explosion hadn't hurt Sunagakure nearly as much as planned. Instead, it had made everything worse for the Mist.
And those "hundreds of Sand casualties" Sunagakure kept claiming? Complete bullshit. Fabricated numbers.
Then there was that damn One Piece serialization.
Yagura was one hundred percent sure Sunagakure was using that story to stir shit up — encouraging people to form navigation groups and pirate crews, turning the Land of Water's civilians against the village and the daimyo.
Now the daimyo was breathing down Yagura's neck about the chaos at the borders.
And to make it worse, Fuguki Suikazan and Jinpachi Munashi had taken full advantage. They'd formed the Shark Skin and Exploding Blade navigation groups and were already pulling in rogue ninja — and even some active Mist shinobi who were fed up with the village.
Yagura stepped out of the tower, wanting to see how bad the rumor had gotten inside the village.
The second he reached the street, he heard it.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were the true heart of the Hidden Mist!"
Yagura froze.
He turned and saw two young Mist ninja arguing.
They spotted him.
Their faces went white. They didn't even say "Lord Mizukage" — just bolted in opposite directions like their lives depended on it.
"I've done so much for this village. Sacrificed so much."
"And they're still obsessed with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
"If those idiots had actually been useful, the Hidden Mist wouldn't have lost in the first place."