After the ceremony, a fine drizzle arrived silently, enveloping the entire Uzushiogakure like smoke and mist.
The dense raindrops hit the ancient stone path of the shrine, splashing tiny water droplets, and the air was filled with the salty dampness brought by the sea breeze, as well as the fresh smell of earth.
The distant sea merged with the gray sky, adding a touch of poetry and depth to this post-victory moment.
Senju Mori and Uzumaki Chizawa strolled out of the shrine, walking along the secluded path wet with rain. Both enjoyed this rare relaxation, casually chatting about Village affairs and idle talk.
Even then, a hint of disbelief lingered in Uzumaki Chizawa's eyes. In his view, the complex situation had been easily resolved by Senju Mori in just one day.
Senju Mori's thoughts, however, had already drifted to another matter. He opened his mouth and asked:
"Chizawa, you told me earlier that you caught a few Hidden Mist spies. How is their interrogation progressing now? Do you know their mission and specific identities?"
"Chizawa?"
Senju Mori called his name again, and only then did Uzumaki Chizawa snap back to reality and reply:
"Ah, their identities have all been clarified."
As a thousand-year-old clan famous for Sealing Jutsu, the Uzumaki Clan naturally had achievements in interrogation and intelligence gathering, even being no less inferior to Konoha's Yamanaka Clan.
He continued:
"The missions were nothing more than routine reconnaissance tasks: gathering information about the Village, finding defense nodes for the barrier, and identifying areas with weaker Village defenses."
"However, the identity of one of them is quite interesting; he is a member of the Yuki Clan from Hidden Mist."
"Yuki Clan?"
Upon hearing this, Senju Mori couldn't help but recall Haku, that tragic character whose gender was ambiguous, and his special Bloodline Limit ninjutsu.
So he couldn't help but ask curiously:
"That Bloodline Limit clan famous for Ice Release?"
Since Konoha's establishment, it had almost never engaged in truly large-scale wars with that island nation isolated on the high seas. Senju Mori naturally had no opportunity to fight with Hidden Mist Village.
Therefore, regarding various intelligence within the Land of Water, Uzumaki Chizawa of Uzushiogakure was actually more knowledgeable.
He explained:
"Yes, but I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. This fellow we captured has not mastered Ice Release."
"Just like the Uchiha's Sharingan and the Hyuga's Byakugan, the Yuki Clan's Ice Release and the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku are not innate abilities."
"Instead, they require clan members to possess a certain talent and can only be awakened under specific circumstances."
"Even within the Yuki Clan, Ninja who can awaken Ice Release are considered highly talented and outstanding clan members, receiving special protection and training, and would not be sent to perform such dangerous missions."
"I see."
Senju Mori nodded, not surprised by this situation.
Just like the Uchiha Clan, they treasured every clan member who awakened the Sharingan. To prevent the loss of the Byakugan, the Hyuga even came up with methods like the Caged Bird Seal.
All Bloodline Limits based on heredity were full of variables and accidents in their awakening, often relying on exceptionally talented clan members and intense emotional stimuli.
In contrast, those secret jutsu clans passed down through generations, often due to more stable inherited special physiques, allowed most clan members to master the family secret jutsu passed down through generations.
For example, Ninja Clans like Konoha's Nara Clan, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka, and Aburame rarely produced idiots who couldn't even learn their family secret jutsu.
It is worth mentioning that the Hōzuki Clan's Hydrification Jutsu in Hidden Mist Village is actually a type of family secret jutsu, not a Bloodline Limit truly inherited through genetics.
"Where is this guy now? You haven't disposed of him, have you?"
Thinking of this, Senju Mori pressed again.
Uzumaki Chizawa responded with a smile:
"He's still imprisoned in the Village's jail. I guessed this guy might be useful to you, so I specifically kept him."
"Take me to see him. This guy was probably sent out by the Second Hokage Hōzuki Gengetsu. Having been locked in Uzushiogakure's jail for so long, he probably doesn't even know that Hidden Mist Village has long since changed."
He didn't know what he was thinking, but a glint of interested light flickered in Senju Mori's eyes. His gaze pierced through the rain, as if he saw further away.
In Uzushiogakure's heavily guarded underground interrogation room, the atmosphere was cold and oppressive.
The young man named Yuki Nobugen was chained to the wall, and special Sealing Jutsu restricted his Chakra. His face was pale, and his black hair was slightly disheveled.
But in those equally dark eyes, besides the pride unique to Bloodline Limit clan members, there was also a trace of barely concealed apprehension.
A captive whose memories had been emptied was as good as worthless. Yuki Nobugen himself knew this; his fate was nothing more than death, or even becoming experimental material for Uzushiogakure to study family Bloodline Limits.
Senju Mori pushed open the cell door and walked leisurely to Yuki Nobugen, observing the disheveled man with a calm gaze.
Yuki Nobugen stubbornly raised his head, forcefully suppressing the extra emotions in his heart, and met Senju Mori's gaze without showing any weakness.
However, Senju Mori's next words seemed to strike like a thunderbolt in his heart:
"You are faithfully carrying out your mission, but unfortunately, the object of your loyalty no longer exists."
Yuki Nobugen suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock, anger, and disbelief:
"You're talking nonsense! Lord Gengetsu he..."
"Not long ago, Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu and Tsuchikage Mū perished together in battle."
Senju Mori interrupted him, his voice without a ripple, as if stating a simple fact.
"Hidden Mist Village is now in the era of the Third Mizukage 'Gengetsu'."
"Having been captured for so long, as a member of the Yuki Clan, one of Hidden Mist's three great clans, aren't you curious why no one has tried to rescue you?"
He carefully observed the shock and bewilderment on Yuki Nobugen's face as the color instantly drained from it and his pupils suddenly contracted, continuing to cut through his psychological defenses with words:
"You think you are being loyal to Hidden Mist, to the Mizukage? No, you are now just a mark of the previous dynasty that the Third Mizukage is eager to erase, a troublesome legacy of a deceased Mizukage."
"How do you think a new Mizukage, who has just taken office and needs to establish authority and eliminate dissidents, will view a direct descendant of the previous Mizukage who has been captured by Konoha for many days?"
"Will he rescue you, or... let you disappear quietly, so that he can take over the power that originally belonged to Hōzuki Gengetsu more quickly?"
Each sentence was like a heavy hammer, striking Yuki Nobugen's psychological defenses. The beliefs he relied on—loyalty to Hōzuki Gengetsu, and a sense of belonging to the Village—were shattering inch by inch.
If what Senju Mori said was true, then he had not only lost the object of his loyalty but might also have been regarded as a discarded pawn, or even an enemy or hidden danger, by the new Village leadership.
Watching Yuki Nobugen's eyes gradually change from pride to despair and confusion, Senju Mori knew the time was right.
He changed the subject, his tone still calm, but with a different nuance:
"Great power should not become a political sacrifice, and the Yuki Clan, possessing the Ice Release Bloodline Limit, should not be so lightly regarded."
"I have no ill will towards the Second Hokage Lord Gengetsu. On the contrary, I respect him as a true hero, and for his loyal old subordinates, I am willing to offer a way out."
He took out a specially designed Kunai and placed it in front of Yuki Nobugen.
"I don't need you to betray Hidden Mist, at least not now. I can even let you go back."
"Take this. When you, or your Yuki Clan, or even other old guard from Hōzuki Gengetsu's era, feel that you cannot remain in Hidden Mist, you can take it to any Konoha outpost."
"It will open a new door for you and those you wish to protect."
After saying this, Senju Mori turned and left, leaving Yuki Nobugen in the cell staring blankly at the Kunai, his heart in a fierce internal struggle.
Outside the cell, Uzumaki Chizawa stepped forward to meet him.
Senju Mori looked at the continuous rain and said softly:
"The seed has been sown. Now, it depends on where Hidden Mist's wind will blow it. If there's an opportunity, we can also try to contact the Kaguya and Hōzuki clans."
The patter of rain seemed to speak of the approaching storm.