Land of Water, Hidden Mist Village.
Mizukage's Office.
The Third Mizukage finally opened his perpetually slightly closed eyes and said in disbelief, "Are you saying that's true?"
Of course, he understood in his heart that as members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Since Kisame Hoshigaki and Suikazan Fuguki stood before him, while the other four were nowhere to be seen, this matter was indirectly confirmed to be true.
But he subconsciously didn't want to believe it, and even more so, dared not believe it.
These were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!
Even if one was missing, there were still six Elite Jonin!
And they almost suffered total annihilation just by going on a mission to the already destroyed Uzushigakure?
If the place they went to was Konoha, then it would be understandable.
But that was the Uzushigakure, the Uzushigakure without the Uzumaki Clan!
Yet, the facts laid before him forced him to admit that the Uzushigakure had probably changed dramatically!
He took a deep breath; such a massive loss gave him a headache.
Uzushigakure, Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Who exactly were the people in this organization? And what was their purpose?
What was their connection to the Uzushigakure?
Mysterious ninja sword, Ninjutsu that didn't require hand signs, powerful Lieutenants.
The Uzushigakure didn't even deploy its Captain-level figures, whose existence was unknown!
The Third Mizukage had his secretary organize the intelligence brought back by Kisame Hoshigaki and the others into a scroll.
Then he had Anbu notify all high-ranking officials to come to the office for a meeting.
When everyone had arrived, the Third Mizukage distributed the intelligence scrolls to them and said expressionlessly, "Take a look."
The other high-ranking officials received the scrolls with puzzled expressions, which then turned increasingly solemn.
Some even exclaimed, "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were almost completely wiped out? And the enemy suffered zero casualties?!"
Hearing this, Kisame Hoshigaki and Suikazan Fuguki's faces darkened slightly.
But it was indeed their incompetence.
Not only could they not win, they couldn't even achieve a one-for-one exchange.
After everyone had finished reading, the atmosphere in the office became increasingly oppressive.
At the same time, a question arose.
Could an unknown organization truly be that strong?
And those so-called ninja sword.
Besides the Hidden Mist Village, was there actually anyone in the Ninja World who understood ninja sword better than them?
They subconsciously didn't want to believe it, but the victims of the incident were right in front of them.
They had no choice but to believe it.
The Third Mizukage glanced at the high-ranking officials present and then said, "The Uzushigakure was originally a strategic stronghold designated by our Hidden Mist Village, but now a mysterious force has appeared there."
"And this mysterious force is extremely powerful; merely deploying Lieutenants, in one-on-one situations, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were no match at all!"
At this point, Kisame Hoshigaki and Suikazan Fuguki bowed their heads even lower, feeling as if they were sitting on pins and needles.
The Third Mizukage paused, then continued, "Moreover, six of the Hidden Mist Village's ninja sword were confiscated. Everyone, what should we do?"
Six? Shouldn't it be five?
Everyone subconsciously looked at Kisame Hoshigaki and Suikazan Fuguki.
When they saw Kisame Hoshigaki's empty back, they suddenly realized.
Although Kisame Hoshigaki continued to maintain his cool and aloof persona, he now wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
Suikazan Fuguki, standing nearby, slightly straightened his posture.
Seeing this, the others casually continued to ponder the words of the Third Mizukage.
If the Uzushigakure was gone, then it was gone.
After all, the Land of Water didn't have a place like the Uzushigakure before.
It was just that they saw an opportunity to radiate inland this time and wanted to give it a try.
If they failed, then so be it.
Anyway, the Land of Water had always managed this way.
Instead, the six ninja swords were more important.
After all, they were the Foundation of the Hidden Mist Village's high-end fighting power.
If they lost the ninja swords, cultivating Ninja like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist would not be as easy as before.
At that point, the Hidden Mist Village's strength would drop another tier.
They were already at the bottom among the Five Great Nations.
If they dropped another tier... they couldn't lose the ninja swords!
However, the faction on the Uzushigakure was indeed very troublesome.
Just reading the description in the intelligence reports, one could feel their strength.
The Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Thirteen Divisions, and merely six Lieutenants appearing were enough to utterly defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Four dead, two fled.
The two who fled were only spared because the Lieutenants had no intention of pursuing them.
Simply put, they were granted their lives.
For a moment, all the higher-ups felt things were tricky.
If the Lieutenants were like this, could the Captains all possess Kage-level strength??
Mad, when did the Ninja World get so many strong individuals?!
Of course, that's what they thought.
But deep down, they didn't believe this organization had thirteen Kage-level existences.
Even the Mizukage felt the same.
After all, even the currently strongest Konoha, a single Ninja Village, didn't have so many Kage-level individuals.
The Third Mizukage tapped the table and reminded them, "Speak your minds, don't hold back."
The Clan Chief of the Terumī Clan spoke first: "Currently, our intelligence on them is insufficient.
Before we confirm whether the so-called Thirteenth Division Captains exist, I suggest using diplomatic means to ransom the ninja swords."
The Third Mizukage neither shook nor nodded his head, wanting to continue hearing others' opinions.
The Clan Chief of the Kaguya Clan suddenly stood up.
"What Thirteen Court Guard Squads nonsense! I propose immediately mobilizing the Hidden Mist Village's entire military force to attack the Uzushigakure!"
What a brute!
Everyone inwardly complained.
The Third Mizukage was also somewhat speechless.
Although he believed that if the Hidden Mist Village went all out, they could indeed take down that organization.
After all, the Ninja Village had a massive base number of Ninja; even if they just used sheer numbers, handing out C-rank Ninjutsu, they could pile up enough damage to kill a Kage.
But how could a Ninja Village possibly go all out?
Even though the Land of Water is surrounded by sea, other Ninja Villages aren't particularly interested in them.
But as long as the Hidden Mist's military forces are all deployed externally, you can bet others will try to sneak into your home.
The Mizukage did not adopt his proposal, and the discussion in the office grew louder.
But until the sun set, they still hadn't discussed a suitable plan.
Instead, the Mizukage's suggestion was currently the most appropriate.
However, the Mizukage did not adopt it on the spot, but instead asked them to go back and think carefully.
What if there was an even better solution?
When the Mizukage Office returned to silence, leaving only the Mizukage himself, he stood by the window, silently staring at the setting sun, and opened his slightly closed eyes.
A flash of bright red crossed his eyes.
"It seems I heard something interesting."