Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

"Kid, let me teach you this final lesson of your life!"

As Ren looked at the invitation in her hand, she seemed to see Hozuki Shingetsu's smug expression, and a disdainful smile appeared on her face.

Chapter 83 Riot! Riot!

When the news spread that Ren would be attending the New Year's banquet hosted by the Hozuki clan, most people in Kirigakure breathed a sigh of relief, seeing it as a sign that Ren was accepting the Hozuki clan's overtures.

Accepting this signal of goodwill means that Ren intends to reconcile. With both sides working together, the prosperity of Kirigakure will be just around the corner.

However, many people are also worried about this, because judging from the past behavior of this Mizukage, he is not someone who gives up so easily.

However, the passage of time will not be slowed down or accelerated because of whether Lian is sincere or not.

A week later, the day that would decide the fate of Kirigakure finally arrived.

On the night of January 3rd, in the 33rd year of Kirigakure and the 34th year of Konoha, at the Hozuki clan's mansion.

The mansion was brightly lit and bustling with people. At this moment, the Hozuki Mansion had gathered all the well-known ninja clans and ninjas from the entire Hidden Mist Village.

It's no exaggeration to say that if Madara Uchiha had the ability to launch a meteor shower from a distance and hit the Hozuki Mansion directly, Kirigakure would have been wiped out of the ninja world.

The people here are truly a case of Jonin everywhere, Chunin less than dogs. On the contrary, Genin are the rarest. After all, the Genin who can enter this kind of event are basically the heirs of various ninja clans, brought by their parents to broaden their horizons. Therefore, Genin are particularly precious in this setting.

"Has Lian not arrived yet?"

Hozuki Shingetsu stood at the entrance of the mansion, welcoming the guests, and took a moment to ask Ao beside her.

As a time traveler, he had no airs whatsoever, and didn't think it would be shameful for him to greet guests at the door given his new status. For him at this point, the reputation of being "respectful and courteous" was still something he needed to make use of.

"No, they probably thought they'd come last!"

Qing shook her head, indicating that she had not received any messages.

"Ha, what a boring little trick." Hozuki Shingetsu shook his head dismissively.

Hozuki Shingetsu has always looked down on this kind of little trick where the most distinguished person always makes a last appearance.

Well, this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was the organizer and couldn't show up at the end.

"Have all the members of the Uzumaki clan arrived?"

Hozuki Shingetsu turned to look at Yukinagi beside her—this spot should have been occupied by Uzumaki Kushina, but knowing what was going to happen today, why would Hozuki Shingetsu have let her be here? She would have had her stay home on standby long ago.

With her Jonin-level skills, Yukinagi should have no problem protecting herself in the upcoming events, as long as she isn't in the heart of the battlefield.

Yukinagi, unaware of the specifics, seemed genuinely pleased to be standing beside Hozuki Shingetsu in this setting, and responded with a smile:

"They're all in position. There are two elders of the Uzumaki clan overseeing the area around Yagura, and our people are also stationed all around the perimeter. That should be enough to guarantee their safety. It's absolutely foolproof!"

Upon hearing this, Hozuki Shingetsu felt somewhat relieved.

He put himself in Ren's shoes and realized that the only thing Ren could do today was to sabotage Yagura's suppression of the Three-Tails, causing him to fail at the last minute. Therefore, he made special preparations for this.

As for the Six-Tails... it's not that he didn't want to tamper with things, the key is that Kirigakure isn't his alone, and the place where the Six-Tails is suppressed is not something the Hozuki clan can access at all, it's handled by Elder Genshi.

Helpless and trusting of Master Yuan, Hozuki Shingetsu did not make any preparations against the Six-Tails—after all, his manpower was limited, and he could not eliminate all unstable factors; he could only select a few of the most likely targets for focused defense.

Just then, Ren finally arrived late with Kaguya Yoshio and the others.

Upon his arrival, he joked with Hozuki Shingetsu, "Haha, it's quite an honor to have our renowned 'Ninja Fox Demon' waiting here!"

"Lord Mizukage is joking. This title is merely bestowed upon us by others out of respect for Kirigakure. Besides, how can this 'Demon Fox of Ninja' compare to Lord Mizukage, the pillar of Kirigakure?"

In response to Ren's teasing, Hozuki Shingetsu replied respectfully.

Those who witnessed this scene were once again convinced that the Hozuki clan had the idea of ​​reconciling with the Mizukage—otherwise, Hozuki Shingetsu wouldn't have lowered his stance so much.

"good very good!"

Ren smiled and patted Hozuki Shingetsu on the shoulder before entering the venue without saying anything more.

However, the Kaguya clan members, including Kaguya Yoshio, who were following closely behind him, were not so friendly towards Hozuki Shingetsu. They were already being very polite by not spitting at him in front of everyone—they hadn't forgotten how Hozuki Shingetsu had refused the Kaguya clan's marriage proposal in front of so many people!

Hozuki Shingetsu seemed unconcerned, raising his head and turning to follow them into the mansion. As they entered, the gates of the Hozuki clan slammed shut with a loud bang.

-

"...I am very pleased that Yagura Karatachi was able to take on the responsibility of being the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails. This is what makes him an excellent ninja of Kirigakure!"

As soon as Hozuki Shingetsu entered, he heard Ren already speaking in the banquet hall. His words were quite normal, expressing his appreciation for Yagura Karatachi and his satisfaction with the Hozuki clan's use of this opportunity to gather everyone. Hozuki Shingetsu had Yagura Karatachi perform the tailed beast sealing today under the pretext that many ninjas were present and any unexpected events could be dealt with at any time.

Hozuki Shingetsu didn't react to Ren's overbearing behavior, which was exactly what he expected.

The rest is up to our Mizukage to figure out how to stop Yagura Karatachi...

hold head high!

Just as Hozuki Shingetsu was thinking this, the unexpected happened. Accompanied by an angry roar and the sound of houses collapsing, a frenzied aura of chakra rose from the secret area behind Hozuki's mansion, and a heavy pressure suddenly pressed down on the hearts of the ninjas present.

Three tails!

Upon sensing this familiar chakra, all the ninjas present had a grim expression.

Only Lian, upon seeing this scene, smiled slightly, as if this situation was not unexpected.

"why?"

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at Ren with confusion, not understanding how he could interfere with Yagura's actions despite the heavy defenses.

As the relatives of the Second Mizukage, the Hozuki clan naturally possessed an extraordinary clan residence. When it was built, the residence even encompassed an entire mountain, and the place where Yagura Karatachi secluded himself was a secret chamber at the bottom of that mountain.

Two elders of the Uzumaki clan and elites of the Hozuki clan guarded the secret chamber at all times. Hozuki Shingetsu couldn't understand how Ren had managed to get past the defenses.

Bang!

Just then, a memory suddenly came to Hozuki Shingetsu's mind, which made him understand why the Three-Tails was still berserk despite being guarded by the two Uzumaki elders—it was the memory that Hozuki Shingetsu sent back after the shadow clone he placed next to Yagura Karatachi dissipated.

Hozuki Shingetsu narrowed his eyes slightly and said, word by word, "Whirlpool White Zetsu!"

In fact, Yagura Karatachi's process of subduing the Three-Tails went extremely smoothly; he had even just successfully become the Three-Tails' jinchūriki with the help of the two Uzumaki elders. However, just as Hozuki Shingetsu's shadow clone was about to send back this message, White Zetsu appeared.

Disguised as Ghost Lantern Crescent Moon, he easily bypassed the tight defenses and, taking advantage of the situation, killed two Vortex Elders in a single encounter.

And Hozuki Shingetsu's shadow clone was no exception, unable to stop it in the slightest.

Before the shadow clones dissipated, what I saw was the Sharingan appearing in Yagura's eyes.

However, as the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly. Just as the ninjas present were preparing to subdue the Three-Tails, a beastly roar suddenly came from outside again, and a new surge of violent chakra appeared once more.

At the same time, a ninja covered in blood appeared and shouted:

"The Uzumaki clan has been attacked by the Six-Tails!"

"The Six-Tails has gone berserk!"

-

"This scene is truly captivating; I never tire of seeing it, no matter how many times I look at it!"

Gazing at the Three-Tails wreaking havoc in the distance, a look of ecstasy appeared on Black Zetsu's dark face.

"With the Three-Tails and Six-Tails appearing together, coupled with the internal war between the Hozuki clan and the Mizukage clan, after today, regardless of who wins or loses, Kirigakure can truly be considered the last of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!"

White Zetsu glanced in another direction and, echoing the Three-Tails, the Six-Tails, which was also constantly destroying buildings, spoke with great interest.

"Ha! They brought it on themselves! Betrayal, internal strife... So even after a thousand years, humanity hasn't changed at all..."

Black Zetsu looked up at the moon in the sky, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

-

"Six-Tails rampage? Uzumaki clan attacked?"

Upon hearing this, the banquet hall fell silent instantly, and then the atmosphere began to boil over.

Unlike most of the ninjas who were in a hurry to rescue, the high-ranking members of the ninja clans present all thought of one thing—the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails went berserk one after another, and both of them happened to choose this time. Could it really be a coincidence?

Could it be that our Mizukage really intends to incite internal strife?

After all, Hozuki's side would never allow the tailed beasts to cause trouble at this time. Judging from the current momentum of the Hozuki clan, as long as they develop their strength steadily, Hozuki Shingetsu will be the fourth Mizukage. There is no need to take such a huge risk at this time.

They exchanged a knowing glance with Ren, who stood calmly in the center of the room, and Shingetsu Hozuki, whose face was grim. They couldn't help but speculate.

Meanwhile, Hozuki Shingetsu was indeed in a terrible mood.

Upon hearing that White Zetsu was controlling Yagura and that the Six-Tails had gone out of control and attacked the Uzumaki clan's territory, he knew he had miscalculated.

The main reason for his misjudgment was the addition of the Uzumaki clan. The addition of the Uzumaki clan, who possessed the ability to unleash the "Dead Demon Sealing Technique," instantly unbalanced the power between friend and foe, and also made him complacent and arrogant.

In addition, Black Zetsu's previous act of giving him information also misled his judgment.

That incident led him to mistakenly believe that Black Zetsu thought that after the Uzumaki clan joined Hozuki's side, even if White Zetsu joined the war under the threat of the "Reaper Death Seal," Ren would not be able to defeat Hozuki's side. Therefore, rational considerations, coupled with his consistent "continental balance policy" and his actions that disrupted the ninja world, forced Black Zetsu to abandon Ren and support him instead.

But now it seems he was too naive.

Supporting him and causing heavy losses to the Hidden Mist Village are not contradictory.

Judging from this, the Six-Tails was probably released by Black Zetsu and Ren.

Moreover, the Six-Tailed Rampage means that Yuan Shi, who was able to keep Lian in check in terms of prestige, has encountered an unexpected situation.

The moment the news arrived, he went to look for Master Yuan.

However, the Yuan Master who was originally present suddenly disappeared, which made him realize that the Yuan Master from before was not the Yuan Master at all—it was Jue in disguise.

"Black Zetsu... Well done!"