PS: The subsequent plot regarding Uchiha Madara has been arranged, please don't worry.
Autumn.
Unlike the warm and gentle sunshine of the Land of Fire, which was filled with the joy of harvest everywhere, the Land of Water, an island nation shrouded in ocean and dense fog all year round, had welcomed its unique chill early on.
The humid and salty sea breeze passed through the tall and oppressive buildings of Kirigakure, bringing with it whimpering sounds like the wailing of ghosts.
The sky was an eternal grayish-white. The fog, so thick it wouldn't disperse, completely swallowed the sun's rays, soaking the entire village in a gloomy darkness where the sun was never seen.
Mizukage's Office, top floor.
The Third Mizukage, Gengetsu, stood with his hands behind his back in front of the huge square window, quietly overlooking the village he ruled.
His figure was slender, his face lean, and his long dark blue hair draped casually behind his head. The blue Mizukage robe embroidered with water wave patterns was the only bright color in this slightly dim office.
His eyes were as calm as a bottomless ancient well, but perhaps only he knew what surging anxiety and pressure lay beneath that calm.
On the desk lay a report just submitted by the Anbu.
The content of the report had given him a headache for three whole days.
"Report on the Recent Riots and Damage Assessment of the Three-Tails Isobu and Six-Tails Saiken."
Kirigakure was one of the five great ninja villages, possessing two Tailed Beasts just like Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
This should have been a powerful strategic weapon enough to make any country wary, but now, they had become two sharp swords hanging over Gengetsu's head, ready to fall at any moment.
Since being distributed by the First Hokage, these two Tailed Beasts had been trapped in a natural prison in the eastern part of the village called the "Sea of Ten Thousand Whirlpools."
The currents there were complex and whirlpools were dense, making it a natural forbidden zone.
But, they were merely trapped.
Every once in a while, these two Tailed Beasts would riot for unknown reasons.
Every riot was like a small natural disaster.
The huge chakra impact would trigger tsunamis, swallowing surrounding islands, and could even completely change the terrain of the sea area.
To suppress them, the village had to dispatch a large number of ninja to form a sealing squad, patrolling around the sea area twenty-four hours a day without interruption.
The cost involved was astronomical.
In the report, the casualty numbers marked in red ink pierced his heart.
"...During the tenth joint sealing operation, encountered corrosive gas attack from the Six-Tails Saiken. The first sealing squad, eight chunin, melted instantly, leaving no bones..."
"...During the thirteenth riot, the Three-Tails Isobu attacked the patrol fleet. Two warships sank, twenty-three ninja killed in action, two missing..."
"...According to preliminary estimates, the casualty rate of dispatched ninja is as high as twenty-five percent..."
Gengetsu slowly closed his eyes.
If this continued, without waiting for other villages to attack, Kirigakure would be dragged down and destroyed by these two unaffordable Tailed Beasts.
He had to find a way to perfectly control them, or even utilize their power.
And where was the top sealing jutsu in the ninja world?
A name involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
The Land of Whirlpools, the Uzumaki clan.
But immediately after, the name of another village made him suppress this thought firmly.
Konoha.
The Uzumaki clan was Konoha's staunchest ally. The wife of the First Hokage—Uzumaki Mito, was still alive in Konoha.
Touching the Land of Whirlpools was equivalent to declaring war on Konoha.
And the current Konoha...
Gengetsu walked to the desk and picked up another piece of intelligence.
That was the battle report about Konoha in the Second Great Ninja War.
A four-pronged assault, simultaneously launching counterattacks against the four countries of Rain, Sand, Rock, and Cloud, and achieving an overwhelming victory in a very short time.
The White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, raided a thousand miles, killing the genius puppet master couple of Sunagakure.
The Konoha Sannin, fresh out of the academy, shone brilliantly on the Land of Rain battlefield.
The Wall of Illusory Eyes formed by the Uchiha clan turned Iwagakure's proud Earth Release unit into blind men.
The most terrifying one was that man.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
With the power of one person, he faced the thousands of troops of Kumogakure head-on and forced back the Third Raikage, who was known to possess the "strongest spear" and "strongest shield."
The intelligence said that the Third Raikage didn't even touch the corner of Sarutobi Hiruzen's clothes. He was played around by the opponent using an unheard-of combat method, and finally had to sign a humiliating treaty with reparations of hundreds of millions of ryo.
"Intelligence near demonic..."
Gengetsu looked at this evaluation of Sarutobi Hiruzen in the intelligence report, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the desk.
He admitted Konoha's strength, but he didn't believe Konoha was invincible.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's methods were more like an... incomprehensible vision that transcended the cognition of this era.
He must have a secret.
But now was not the time to think about this.
"Roar—!"
Outside the window, a roar full of wildness came from the training ground in another direction of the village, interrupting Gengetsu's thoughts.
He walked back to the window and looked in that direction, his brows furrowing even tighter.
The Kaguya clan.
A group of lunatics who only knew how to fight, whose brains could hold nothing but slaughter and glory.
Since the end of the war, this group of lunatics had been restless, often causing trouble in the village.
The clan head, Kaguya Soranosuke, had repeatedly clamored in public to break this "suffocating" peace.
And the Yuki clan, those Ice Release users who considered themselves noble and looked down on everyone.
The clan head, Yuki Yukinijo, a man more beautiful than a woman, whose thoughts were harder to fathom than the whirlpools of the deep sea.
Although not as flamboyant as the Kaguya, Gengetsu could feel that under those elegant emerald eyes, there also hid dissatisfaction with the status quo and a burning ambition.
Internally, there were these unruly Kekkei Genkai clans eyeing covetously.
Externally, there was the mountain of Konoha pressing overhead.
And the village itself was dragged down by two Tailed Beasts, making every step difficult.
This feeling was like being trapped in the deep sea, with cold seawater pressing in from all directions, squeezing every inch of his nerves, making him feel hopeless.
This couldn't go on.
The current cannot be reversed, but a reef can alter the course.
Changes must be made.
Gengetsu took a deep breath, his narrowed eyes slowly opened, and a hint of determination flashed in them.
He pressed the summons bell on the desk.
"Lord Mizukage."
A black shadow appeared silently in the shadows of the office, kneeling on one knee.
"Relay my orders."
Gengetsu's voice echoed in the empty office.
"Notify Elder Gen, and the clan heads of the Kaguya, Yuki, and Hozuki clans to come to the highest conference room in an hour for a high-level meeting."
"Yes!"
The Anbu ninja acknowledged the order, his figure blending into the darkness again, disappearing without a trace.
Gengetsu walked back to the window, looking down at the village shrouded in dense fog.
A storm that would determine the future fate of Kirigakure was about to be unleashed by his hands.
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