Kirigakure teetered on the edge of chaos.
The air was taut, as if a single breath could ignite a storm.
Elder Gen'yū had seen countless wars, assassinations, and coups in his lifetime,but even he could not suppress the tight knot of anxiety twisting in his chest now.
Half of the Elder Council had been taken hostage.
Including the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, the very symbol of Kirigakure's authority and unity.
The gravity of the situation pressed down like a mountain.
Even if one ignored the lives of those captured, the outbreak of full-scale conflict within the village could mean annihilation for Kirigakure,no matter who emerged victorious.
The Bloody Mist era had already drained the village to its very core.
Now, nearly all of Kirigakure's remaining elite forces were concentrated on this one battlefield.
Open war here would not produce victors,only mutual ruin.
Kirigakure's last hope for revival teetered on the edge of a knife.
For the first time in decades, Gen'yū hesitated.
His eyes slowly rose to meet Chiba's, silently passing the weight of decision to the man already recognized as the next Mizukage.
And yet, Gen'yū froze.
Chiba remained calm.
Even serene.
As if he had foreseen every move, every potential calamity.
Had he already woven a contingency for this very moment…?
Mei Terumī felt the same gnawing anxiety claw at her chest.
Every scenario Gen'yū feared,she had envisioned as well.
Civil war could resolve the immediate threat,but the cost would be unbearable.
How could such a risk be mitigated?
Her gaze instinctively shifted to Chiba.
And her breath caught.
He was still smiling.
Not the shallow grin of bravado, but the calm, calculated smile of a strategist who had already accounted for the chaos around him.
Mei's heart beat steadily as understanding dawned.
Time and again, Chiba had demonstrated uncanny foresight.
He had suppressed the rebellion with precision.
He had retrieved the Rokubi Jinchūriki flawlessly.
Every peril had unfolded according to his orchestration.
Could this moment,this near-impossible standoff,also be part of his plan?
Her pulse steadied.
Yes… this was the security others had spoken of.
A leader whose calm inspired confidence.
Even in the face of apparent disaster.
Fuguki Suikazan, meanwhile, could not comprehend it.
Chiba's composed smile ignited a wildfire of rage within him.
"Chiba! Even now,you dare remain calm?!"
"Very well! I admit it!" Fuguki bellowed.
"Your strength… your cunning… they surpass mine!"
"But so what?!"
"I have devoted decades of my life to Kirigakure!"
"My seniority! My achievements! My contributions!"
"They are no less than yours!"
"And more importantly,"
"I have my loyal subordinates, the finest I have nurtured with my own hands!"
"What do you possess that could possibly challenge me?!"
Fuguki's laugh was unhinged, echoing like a drumbeat of war.
"When you suppressed the rebellion, your Ice Age technique froze thousands in an instant!"
"But are you truly willing,"
",to unleash that on your own people?!"
He gestured wildly at the ranks of elite shinobi behind him.
"Look at them!"
"They are my subordinates,but also Kirigakure's last elite force!"
"If you destroy them with your own hands,"
"Then even if you ascend as Mizukage, you will be nothing but a hollow shell!"
"And worse,"
"You will forever be remembered as Kirigakure's greatest traitor!!!"
Elder Gen'yū clenched his fists, white knuckles trembling.
Anger surged, tempered by a cold dread.
Every person present felt it,the fear, the tension, the impossible choice.
They despised Fuguki's audacity.
Yet, painfully… they could not deny his words.
The bitter truth was undeniable, and that was what made it all the more unbearable.
The political landscape of Kirigakure had never been so fragile.
Every betrayal, every ambition, every hidden grudge,the entire village seemed poised on a knife's edge.
And at the center of it all stood Chiba, calm, measured, and perfectly in control.
This was no mere battle,it was a test of leadership, strategy, and the very essence of what it meant to lead Kirigakure.
The final confrontation had begun.
Only Chiba remained calm, his lips curved in that faint, unshakable smile.
Fuguki Suikazan's rage boiled over.
"Why?! WHY are you still so calm at a time like this?!"
"Can't you show even a hint of panic,just once,for me to see?!"
Chiba's smile widened, calm and almost teasing.
"I do feel panic," he said softly, "but you simply cannot see it."
"Why?" Fuguki spat venomously.
"Because you are not worthy."
Fuguki roared, laughter bursting from him like a man unhinged.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Hahaha! I want to see it! I want to see how you intend to escape this absolute dead-end!"
"I hold half the Elder Council in my hands! I hold the life of Yagura Karatachi! Do you dare attack me?!"
"And my forces,the last elite of Kirigakure,are behind me! Will you fight them?!"
"Chiba, you cannot win!"
"Because you cannot bring yourself to kill me!!!"
Chiba's calm did not waver.
"I will not kill you," he said simply.
"But someone else will."
Fuguki's laughter faltered.
"Someone else? Hahaha! Tell me,who dares to kill me?!"
"Who dares to kill me?" Chiba repeated, his voice low, deliberate.
"Who dares to,"
At that very moment, Chiba snapped his fingers.
Suddenly,
Behind Fuguki, Kisame Hoshigaki sprang into motion with lethal precision.
Drawing his sword, he struck without hesitation.
The blade pierced straight through Fuguki Suikazan's back, tearing through flesh, ribs, and into the very center of his heart.
The battlefield fell completely silent.
Every breath seemed suspended, every eye wide with disbelief.
Fuguki's gaze snapped to the blade buried in his chest.
Impossible.
His most trusted subordinate,his right-hand man,Kisame Hoshigaki,was the one who had struck him.
"You…!" Fuguki gasped, shaking, unable to comprehend.
"Why? Why betray me?!"
Kisame's lips curved in a faint, almost mocking smile.
"You're mistaken, Captain," he said.
"It wasn't you who betrayed me… no."
"It was us."
With a swift, merciless twist of the blade, Kisame shattered Fuguki's heart.
Blood erupted from the corners of his mouth.
His eyes widened in pain, screaming in agony, reaching desperately for something,anything,to hold, to strike, to punish.
To kill Kisame. To kill Chiba. To kill everyone present.
But it was already too late.
The world before him blurred into crimson, then slipped into eternal darkness.
With a heavy thud, Fuguki Suikazan collapsed to the ground.
Dead.
The battlefield froze. Shock and disbelief rippled through everyone.
No one could comprehend what had just happened.
But one thing was certain,every move, every strike, every outcome,had unfolded exactly according to Chiba's plan.
The calm smile on Chiba's face was no longer arrogance,it was mastery.
Strategy had become destiny, and destiny had become the weapon that claimed Fuguki Suikazan's life.
The message was clear to all who witnessed it: this new Mizukage was in complete control of Kirigakure's fate, and nothing would stand in his way.