Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"Rotama...Utaka is currently..."

"Lady Terumi Mei, something terrible has happened! Utakata has disappeared!"

Just as the guy with the white eyes realized what was happening, before he could finish speaking, a masked henchman from the ANBU appeared beside him and hurriedly said something.

"What?! What happened? When did I disappear?"

The future Mizukage's pupils contracted, and she hurriedly asked.

Just when she was worried about Yu Gao, he disappeared!

If that mysterious person really manages to control them and launch another attack, then the Fog Village will truly be in trouble.

"I don't know the details either. We were watching Utakata the whole time, and shortly after the Three-Tails appeared, we inexplicably passed out. When we woke up, Utakata was gone, and there were signs of a Six-Tails battle at the scene..."

The ANBU underlings were also extremely nervous. Although they were far away when the Three-Tails appeared, they could still feel how ferocious it was. The screams of their companions were incessant. However, they had to keep an eye on Utakata and couldn't run into the fight. Not long after, they inexplicably fainted. When they woke up, they saw a mess in front of them, with large amounts of chakra fluctuations and the corrosive effects of the Six-Tails' power still remaining.

At that moment, they knew something was terribly wrong and rushed over to report.

"Damn it, go find him! You must find Yu Gao no matter what!"

Because of his rather flamboyant movements, the old guy who had been hiding somewhere eating sunflower seeds during the battle against the Three-Tails and hadn't even broken a sweat, suddenly appeared next to the future Mizukage. He felt a wave of dizziness and quickly said to this ANBU underling.

They appeared as soon as Golden Lion entered the arena, staying close to the future Mizukage. They had overheard their conversation and had previously expressed doubt about Golden Lion's words. Their experience far surpassed that of the younger Mizukage; they were just children when Madara Uchiha dominated the ninja world. Having lived through that era, they knew just how powerful Madara was. Their First Hokage, after the Land of Water accepted the Kaguya clan and established the village, was utterly defeated by Madara. Perhaps due to his age and fading beauty, he couldn't even last a single round against Madara. But... Madara was already over fifty at the time...

If someone truly awakened eyes like Madara Uchiha, would they still be hiding in the Land of Water? Given the Uchiha's tendency to take on five opponents at once, they would have already risen up and conquered the world!

Therefore, even though the Three-Tails had Sharingan, they were reluctant to believe Shiki's words. It was possible that it was some secret technique or forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha clan. No one knew how many forbidden jutsu a clan with such a long history, almost dating back to the Ninja Clan era, possessed. They had participated in the battle in the Land of Whirlpools with the Third Hokage and truly witnessed the formidable power of such a long-established clan.

The Uzumaki clan, an ancient family not as powerful as the Uchiha, can even summon Shinigami, and a whole group of them. So, the Uchiha, a family that has been fighting the Senju clan for the title of the strongest clan in the ninja world for years, might have some forbidden techniques that allow them to control tailed beasts even without eyes or evolution. The Golden Lion's exaggerated claims are probably just a case of reverse hype.

This is his usual tactic. If he doesn't exaggerate his opponent's abilities, how can he prove that he is more awesome for defeating his opponent?

But now I heard from the Anbu underlings that the Six-Tails Jinchuriki was taken away, and the timing was right when they were fighting the Three-Tails. There aren't many people in the ninja world who could take down the Six-Tails and take away the Jinchuriki in such a short time. The first one is Shiki, but Shiki was chasing Kakuzu to their Kirigakure and then helped them fight the Three-Tails, so it couldn't be Shiki.

If it wasn't Golden Lion, then it's confirmed. Golden Lion wasn't bragging; someone did evolve eyes like Madara Uchiha. Only such eyes could have prevented the Six-Tails from taking away the Jinchuriki in such a short time without them noticing.

These old guys are really scared to death. The Three-Tails is already this difficult to deal with; what if the Six-Tails is also in their hands...?

"No need to look anymore, cough cough... The Six-Tails wasn't taken by that mysterious person. This is a letter left at my door by the bounty hunter Kakuzu. Take a look."

At this moment, an old voice came from afar, followed by a group of underlings and a small old man leaning on a cane that looked like a dragon's head. He took out a piece of paper and dripped it in front of the future Mizukage and the others, saying...

........

“Brother Kakuzu, I’ve finished my mission and will head back now. The rest is up to you on how to negotiate with Kirigakure. You know better than me about this. You can contact that girl in a couple of days. If I’m not mistaken, she should be the next Mizukage.”

After leaving Kirigakure, Masato went to a grove of trees not far from Kirigakure and spoke to Kakudo.

"...You might be wrong about that. Although the woman who awakened two bloodline limits might become the next Mizukage, the Fourth Mizukage is dead now, but the one who really holds the reins is the elder of Kirigakure, the 'Marshal.' I left a note at his door when I left, and I guess he's seen it by now."

Kakuzu's eyes gleamed with excitement as he exclaimed, "This is a huge deal! I'm much more interested in it than my best friend. Besides, having been in the ninja world for so many years, I know the situation of the major ninja villages better than my best friend."

828. The Hidden Mist is no longer capable of double-crossing.

? ? ? ?

"Marshal? What's his background? I've never heard of such an impressive title before. (⊙_⊙)?"

Shinto stared at Kakuzu with a completely bewildered expression.

He genuinely didn't know that there was such a person in Kirigakure. Although he had been around for decades, he hadn't had much contact with Kirigakure and didn't know that there was such a person there. He thought that the female Mizukage from the original story had become the Fifth Mizukage, and that Kirigakure should be deserted now that Obito had messed things up like this.

Judging from Kakuzu's words, this old fellow called Marshal must hold a very high position in Kirigakure.

But he had never heard of it before.

Could there be some hidden hero among them?

"That old guy used to be Hozuki Gengetsu's right-hand man, and now he's the most senior person in Kirigakure, about the same as Chiyo's position in Sunagakure. But ever since you made Hozuki Gengetsu die with the Second Tsuchikage, the competition for the Third Mizukage in Kirigakure became so fierce that he became disheartened and went into seclusion for many years. I guessed that Kirigakure was severely weakened this time, so I left a note at his door before I left. I guess they already know that the Six-Tails is in my hands and are waiting for me to come over and negotiate a price with them."

Kakuzu said with great interest.

The thought of the huge sum of money that was about to be in his hands made his eyes gleam even brighter.

"Wow! I didn't expect there to be such an old guy in Kirigakure."

Upon hearing Kakuzu's explanation, Shinto understood. The average lifespan of a ninja wasn't very long. Although it was longer than during the Warring States period, it was still just so-so. Generally speaking, living to sixty was considered a long life, and living to seventy or eighty was extremely rare, though not impossible. Umekawa Hakuchi was a prime example. Over the years, the Umekawa clan had spent a great deal of money to prolong his life. However, that was because Umekawa Hakuchi had suffered too many injuries in his youth, unlike Chiyo and Ebizo, who hadn't suffered many injuries in their youth. In addition, they were pharmacists and doctors, and they focused on health preservation in their later years, maintaining a good condition. As long as nothing unexpected happened, living another ten or twenty years wouldn't be a problem.

He had never heard of this "Marshal" of Kirigakure before. He guessed that he was just a figurehead like Azaburo, who served alongside Hozuki Gengetsu. They didn't need to fight; they just needed to use their brains. Decades ago, the general education level of ninjas was not very high. They only learned how to fight. Therefore, people who could use their brains and had an intelligence of over 90 were very rare. Just look at how Onoki doted on Tsuchiki for decades.

This "Marshal" is from the era of Hozuki Gengetsu, and would be at least seventy years old now. Most people who are still alive today were writers in their youth...

However, he has enough seniority and made great contributions to the village when he was young, so even though he is old and no longer as good as he used to be, he can still command respect. As for that future Mizukage girl, although she is currently considered the strongest in Kirigakure, she is too young and did not participate in the Third Shinobi World War. Therefore, she will need to build up her reputation for a few more years and will not become the leader so soon.

"I'm relieved that you have a plan. My task is complete; the rest is up to you."

Seeing that Kakuzu seemed very confident and had everything under control, Masato flew towards Sunagakure after he finished speaking.

It's been less than a week since he and Kakuzu left. Given Tsunade's fiery temper, Nawaki must have gotten beaten up quite a bit during that time.

So he still has to go back to rescue his brother-in-law, Nawaki. Whether he can flirt with Yokura or not is no longer important; he at least has to flirt with a girl, right?

......

Three days after Shinto left, Kirigakure had already prepared funds in anticipation of Kakuzu's arrival.

Kirigakure isn't like Onoki, a cunning old fox with a double-cross mentality. Or rather, even if they did, their current strength wouldn't be enough to take him down. The only double-flower red-staff member in the entire village is the future Mizukage. If they were to fight Kakuzu, it's hard to say who would win. After all, Kakuzu is a seasoned veteran who once attempted to assassinate Hashirama Senju and is still alive. His seniority in the ninja world is even longer than theirs as "Marshal." To outmaneuver such a veteran, absolute power is almost impossible.

Moreover, the Six-Tails was still in their hands, so after seeing the note Kakuzu left for them, they gave up the idea of ​​using force to bring the Six-Tails back. Their village didn't have the strength to do so. The Three-Tails and the Mizukage were dead, and the village's elite forces were gone. There wasn't a single one who could be considered capable. Now that the important matter was that the Six-Tails needed to come back to protect their home, it would be best to solve the problem with money and avoid casualties among their subordinates.

Therefore, Kakuzu's negotiations with Kirigakure went quite smoothly. Although Kirigakure had declined and the village had been ruined by Obito, the wealth accumulated over the years by powerful clans like the Hozuki and Minazuki clans had significantly increased Kirigakure's wealth. The money to buy the Six-Tails was just a drop in the ocean for them. What Kirigakure needed now was to develop cautiously and not to be reckless.

When Kakuzu was ready to haggle, he thought he was asking for an exorbitant price, but the other person didn't even haggle and simply waved the money away, leaving Kakuzu completely stunned. Kakuzu even momentarily thought that all his years of studying economics had been utterly useless...

I spent the whole night preparing a bargaining strategy, but it turned out to be completely useless.

.....

"Where did she run off to this time? She hasn't been seen for over a week. Your Tsunade has been blowing up several of our doors during this time."

As soon as Masato landed at home, Chiyo, holding little Karin, looked at him with annoyance and said...

"Isn't it all because your precious grandson went to Kirigakure to run business with Kakuzu? You know how expensive your precious grandson's puppet research is. Over the years, you've asked Kakuzu to take care of your precious grandson. You have to repay this debt of gratitude."

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you, but do you know what's going on in Kirigakure right now? The Fourth Mizukage's Three-Tails Jinchuriki was controlled by a genjutsu, and they almost wiped out all of Kirigakure's bloodline limits. The Hozuki clan, the Minazuki clan, the Kaguya clan—they're all dead. If I hadn't been there to help them deal with the Three-Tails, I think Kirigakure would have been completely wiped out."

Masato took a sip of tea and sat down in front of Chiyo.

"What?! The Fourth Mizukage's powers are being controlled?! Σ(?д?lll)"

"Tell me what happened, and who did it?"

Just as Masato finished speaking, a surprised voice came from behind him. Ebizo quickly walked up and asked nervously.

He had originally planned to confront this bastard for letting the Senju clan's crown prince flirt with their village's only Scorching Release technique, but upon hearing about this, he instantly forgot all about the Senju clan crown prince's flirting.

829. Fat Cat is too pathetic; nobody wants him.

The identity of the Fourth Mizukage has remained a mystery for many years. Since the Land of Water closed itself off from the world, there has been little information about Kirigakure. Over the years, they have speculated that something might have happened to Kirigakure based on the fact that Kirigakure did not participate in World War II and even immediately announced its closure after the war. They also speculated that the Third Mizukage might have died. After all, given the Third Mizukage's style, if he were still alive, Kirigakure would not have been absent from World War II. Moreover, Kirigakure's brainless fighting style in the last war was not like that of the Third Mizukage.

After all, he was once the bodyguard of the First Mizukage, Suiren, and the right-hand man of the Second Mizukage, the cunning Hozuki Gengetsu. As the saying goes, "One is influenced by one's company," so even if he wasn't very smart, he wasn't brain-dead.

However, the tactics employed by Kirigakure in the last major war were utterly idiotic to these seasoned veterans who had experienced several world wars. Who sends so many people into battle at the very beginning? Wasn't the lesson learned by Iwagakure during World War I profound enough?

The last time Iwagakure did this, it was because Onoki was setting a trap. Kirigakure is far away and there's no need for them to set a trap. They didn't even dare to send Jie to hunt in the wild with too many people. So, in Ebizo's opinion, Kirigakure's last war was just brain-dead and completely unlike Kirigakure's traditional style.

Therefore, they had always guessed that the person in charge of Kirigakure should be the fourth generation. However, the background of this fourth Mizukage had always been a mystery. Now, when he heard Masato say that the fourth Mizukage was the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, he was not surprised. However, the fourth Mizukage, who was the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, was actually controlled by someone.

This caused him to eat several kilograms of food.

"I'm not entirely clear on the details either. When Kakuzu and I arrived at Kirigakure, I sensed that the Fourth Mizukage's chakra was chaotic, like he was under a genjutsu. The atmosphere throughout Kirigakure remained tense. Most importantly, there wasn't a single member of the Hozuki or Mizuki clans, and their clan territories were in ruins. Then, a large group of Kirigakure ninja stormed towards the Mizukage's residence and engaged the Fourth Mizukage in battle. When the Fourth Mizukage released the Three-Tails, I saw that the giant turtle's eyes had Sharingan eyes that were exactly the same as the Nine-Tails' eyes when it attacked Konoha. That's when I realized that the Fourth Mizukage was under a genjutsu and being controlled. You didn't see it, but compared to Kirigakure's strength during the last war, the current Kirigakure is incredibly weak. They can't even handle the Three-Tails. If I hadn't intervened, the ninja world would probably only have the Four Great Ninja Villages left."

Masato spread his hands and began to explain.

"...The Sharingan can control tailed beasts...Could it be that Uchiha from the Land of Water who did it? The Third Mizukage was probably killed by him long ago."

Chiyo and Ebizo both frowned, and after a long while, Ebizo guessed.

If that's the case, then the timeline makes sense, and it explains why Kirigakure didn't participate during World War II. With the leader missing, what's the point of fighting if there's no leader? They had to find a leader first. After World War II ended, Masato went to the Land of Water and happened to encounter this wild Uchiha. According to Masato's testimony at the time, this wild Uchiha was strong enough to easily kill the Third Mizukage.

They also knew that the Nine-Tails incident in Konoha was controlled by this wild Uchiha. If he could control the Nine-Tails, controlling the Three-Tails would be a piece of cake.

It's very likely that the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by someone a long time ago, and the Nine-Tails incident also shows that this wild Uchiha's relationship with Konoha wasn't very... harmonious. This also explains why Kirigakure was so brainless during the last war, recklessly fighting Konoha to the death.

The Fourth Mizukage was controlled, and Kirigakure isn't theirs to mess around with; they can just go wild and die without a care in the world.

However, it's terrifying to think about. Their village also has two tailed beasts. Shuri is alright; as a member of the Uzumaki clan's top bloodline, her chakra is enormous, and after spending so many years with the Seven-Tails, she can perfectly control its power. Although he doesn't quite understand the principles behind this wild Uchiha's control over tailed beasts and Jinchuriki, he imagines that it must be extremely difficult to make a member of the Uzumaki clan fall under a genjutsu. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible for this wild Uchiha to wait until the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Konoha was giving birth before making his move.

But Gaara, Rasa's youngest son, is still a baby, and the One-Tailed Beast is the weakest of all the tailed beasts. He was also beaten up by Shinto back then. If he comes to their village to cause trouble and control Gaara, they'll be in big trouble.

It's not that I'm worried about the One-Tail causing any damage to the village. Even if we don't have Shinto, who can fight the Nine-Tail one-on-one, Shuri, the Seven-Tail Jinchuriki, can handle the One-Tail.

The key issue is that Gaara is a kid from their village and Rasa's youngest son. This makes it really difficult to take action against him!

Rasa's wife risked her life to give birth to this child. Even he, who had seen so much life and death over the years, was deeply moved by this great maternal love. Rasa was willing to let his youngest son become a Jinchūriki for the sake of the village, and Karura even risked her life to give birth to this child. They just couldn't bring themselves to do it!

"...It's possible. After all, that guy didn't die after fighting me; he was just seriously injured and had to run away. However, I didn't see him in Kirigakure at the time, so I can't be sure. But judging from what he's done over the years, he's targeting Konoha, so you can rest assured that it has nothing to do with us. Besides, our Sunagakure's Tailed Beast Sealing Technique was obtained from Mito Uzumaki. With Mito Uzumaki's sealing technique level, controlling a Jinchuriki wouldn't be that easy. Moreover, the one in Gaara's belly is just a piece of trash called One-Tail. They wouldn't even look at it. If they were going to look for one, they would look for the Eight-Tail or others with more tails. Controlling Gaara and One-Tail would be useless and would only alert them. They're not that stupid."

Seeing Ebizo's worried and frightened expression, Masato pursed his lips speechlessly.

To be honest, in the original work, the Akatsuki crew really looked down on the One-Tailed Cat. It had few tails and was weak. Compared to the other tailed beasts, it was not even worth mentioning. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let Sasori and Onoki, that good-for-nothing blond disciple who only knew how to create explosions and turn into sea stars, fight the One-Tailed Cat.

In the end, even the handsome Sasori looked down on the One-Tailed Beast and let Deidara, the blond-haired guy, take it on himself, which shows how low the One-Tailed Beast's status was in the hearts of the Akatsuki.

Although the rice-carrying foreman wasn't highly educated, as the founder of the Akatsuki, he still had a good grasp of the combat capabilities of these core members. He might have some understanding of Sasori's puppetry techniques, but Deidara was just there to fill a spot. And since Sunagakure was Sasori's hometown, if they really valued the One-Tailed Beast, they wouldn't have sent those two; they would have sent the strongest team, including Itachi Uchiha, long ago.

If it weren't for the need for the One-Tailed Beast to enter the Ten-Tailed Beast's body, even the rice-carrying foreman probably wouldn't bother with this fat One-Tailed Beast.

830. If that kid weren't an idiot, he would have coughed up blood.

“…”

Although it was a bit harsh, Chiyo and Ebizo couldn't really refute it. Back then, they didn't know the difference between the tailed beasts, so when Hashirama Senju auctioned off the tailed beasts, Chiyo thought that although theirs was only one tail, it was still a tailed beast. Although it had fewer tails, she thought the difference shouldn't be too big, so she didn't participate in the auction.

However, ever since the Seven-Tails was taken from Takigakure by their beloved nephew, they have come to realize that the difference between tailed beasts is not as simple as having a few more tails. The Seven-Tails may seem to have only six more tails than the One-Tails, but the difference is enormous. When the Seven-Tails was sealed, the power it unleashed after being unsealed was several times that of the One-Tails.

This is also why they did not refute the genuine debate.

Compared to the other tailed beasts, the One-Tailed Cat, despite its bad temper, is definitely the worst.

If they were that mysterious person, and they could even control the Nine-Tailed Fox, they would naturally look down on this fat cat with the One-Tailed Fox.