"You have never seen it. None of you from the Hidden Mist have ever seen it. Not a single one of you has witnessed it… but I've seen it all.
"Before the First Great Ninja War, I saw a Tailed Beast Bomb, one so enormous I didn't even know what words could describe it back then, shoot out from the Land of Fire across the ocean.
It flew all the way to our Land of Water, passed right over my head… and then an entire town of our country was wiped clean off the map.
"Do you know what that was?
"That was nothing more than a clash between the Legends of the Warring States: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
No, 'clash' is exaggerating it. It was the aftershock of their battle… no, strictly speaking, not even an aftershock.
"To those two, that attack was nothing more than a shuriken tossed casually during a scuffle.
The difference is that while our shuriken take only one life at most, Hashirama and Madara's 'shuriken' could erase an entire town… even a small country."
The Third Mizukage swept his gaze across the crowd.
Anyone who met his eyes seemed to glimpse, within that despair and helplessness, the image of that overwhelming Tailed Beast Bomb Madara had casually launched across the ocean toward the Land of Water.
"..."
Yagura fell silent.
"..."
Tsunade and Orochimaru were silent as well.
The only one not moved by the Third Mizukage's words was Garp.
Not only because such things were insignificant in his eyes, but also because he had personally smashed both Hashirama and Madara before, how could he possibly be intimidated by one Tailed Beast Bomb?
"If I told you that the original target erased that day wasn't that town, wasn't those countless lives… but our Hidden Mist Village itself, and every single Mist ninja standing here today, Yagura… what would you think?"
The Third Mizukage suddenly asked, looking at the speechless Yagura.
"What?"
The color drained from Yagura's face.
A wave of terror and despair washed over every Mist ninja present.
"That must be why Byakuren dropped dead back then.
Taking a direct hit from Madara's Susanoo-Kurama… the fact he didn't go straight to the Pure Land on the spot is already impressive."
Standing atop Isobu, Garp spoke with certainty.
Even though he had already retired by then and hadn't participated in that battle, or even watched it, he still knew everything clearly.
"As Lord Garp said, it was the First Mizukage who used his life to shield the Hidden Mist Village back then."
The Third Mizukage took a deep breath, forcibly dragging himself away from those terrifying memories of the past.
"The First Mizukage…"
"It was actually him…"
Yagura, Mei, and the rest of the Mist shinobi wore complicated expressions.
Clearly, none of them had ever imagined that the First Mizukage, someone they viewed as selfish, ruthless, and cunning, had died protecting the Hidden Mist.
By now, the sharp-minded shinobi like Orochimaru and Shikaku understood why Byakuren wished to live another life… and why the Third Mizukage had spared no effort to support his resurrection.
"You all must've heard this saying before.
To be born in the same era as the heroes of the Warring States is the greatest tragedy for any ninja or samurai.
"Do you know why it's a tragedy?
Because to those three heroes, even a casual flick of a shuriken becomes an unavoidable, annihilating calamity the moment it lands on any person, any faction, any nation."
The Third Mizukage swept his eyes not only across the Mist ninjas, but also the Konoha shinobi.
"In front of the strength of the Three Legends, whose power lies not just above all ninja and samurai, but an entire dimension beyond, even the Five Great Ninja Villages only survived because they sheltered beneath the protection of Kage on the level of the First Hokage.
"At the very least… they wouldn't be erased by an accidental blow during a fight between Hashirama and Madara!"
The Third Mizukage's words again shattered everyone's understanding of the Warring States era.
The sorrow, the despair, those born in the era of ninja villages truly could not understand it through thought alone.
Only someone who had seen despair, lived through despair, and felt despair, like the Third Mizukage, would resort to any means necessary to revive the First Mizukage.
All of it was for one thing, to grant the Hidden Mist Village even the tiniest shred of a chance to survive.
"No wonder… no wonder the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, despite the death of his own son, endured the laughter and scorn of every force in the ninja world… and directly sent a letter of surrender to Lord Garp."
At this moment, Orochimaru, the Ino–Shika–Cho trio, Shisui, Fugaku, and the rest of the Konoha shinobi looked at Garp with changed expressions.
Beyond their respect, there was now a faint trace of fear.
Even if the Three Legends of the Warring States had deep connections to Konoha, that did nothing to stop them from fearing a man who wielded power beyond the dimension of ninja.
"But… but the Warring States era… it's already over. It's history…." Yagura muttered, his voice shrinking the more he spoke.
Because he remembered the man standing atop Isobu.
A man even more terrifying than Madara, who nearly erased the entire Mist Village with a single strike across the ocean before the First Great Ninja War.
"That's only what you, and most people living in the ninja village era, naively believe!
"The Warring States era may be history, but the man who destroyed that history is standing right in front of you."
The Third Mizukage let out a cold snort. Then, to everyone's shock, he removed the Mizukage hat from his head and placed it directly onto Yagura's.
"Lord Mizukage, what are you doing?"
The sudden, forceful bestowal of the Mizukage title left Yagura completely stunned.
.........
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