Yes, the Hokage

"The Executioner's Blade has already been given to Momochi Zabuza, one of Yagura's subordinates, in exchange for me."

"Zabuza... Hmph, so that brat was forced to take a place among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist too?" Kisame grinned. "Our Mizukage really doesn't have many capable people left."

It's not that Zabuza is incompetent, but rather that he's too young. Zabuza is about the same age as Kakashi and Obito, but he doesn't have the power-ups that Feng Lan gave Obito. It's a bit too much to expect him to secure a place among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist with just a Executioner's Blade.

"I hope you will accept this scroll," Mei Terumi said, enunciating each word clearly. "The choice of who will wield the remaining five ninja swords is entirely up to you."

Kisame was silent for a moment: "Only the Mizukage is qualified to appoint the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. What do you mean by that?"

"Isn't the meaning obvious?" Mei Terumi stood up. "I hope you can... become the Mizukage!"

"And what about you?" Kisame was looking up at Mei Terumi while still sitting on the box.

"I... will take the place of Fenglan and Danzo, and do my best to help you break free from Konoha's control!" Mei Terumi concealed her fate, only telling Kisame this.

Kisame, being an honest man, didn't understand these scheming and intrigue matters, nor did he understand Mei Terumi's determination to die: "Me, the Mizukage? I think you're much more suitable."

"The Mizukage doesn't necessarily have to be good at handling political affairs and intrigue. He can also be like the Yellow Flash of Konoha, a spiritual sustenance, a symbol, representing hope and the future."

Mei Terumi said calmly, "You've come to be the hope and symbol of Kirigakure. By actively participating in the war, you'll naturally gain people's recognition and followers. As for those dark forces behind the scenes..."

A resolute look appeared on her face: "Leave it all to me."

Chapter 139 The Akatsuki's Operations

The next morning, the Akatsuki members had all assembled, and Pakura, Kisame, and Mei Terumi were all dressed in their signature red cloud-patterned black robes.

Hashirama and Tobirama stood not far away watching all this. Tobirama said calmly, "That brat Yahiko is not behaving himself."

"What do you mean?" Hashirama turned his head, still holding Killer Bee, who was temporarily unconscious.

"That brat from Iwagakure... claims to be Bakuto and brought Iwagakure's goodwill." Tobirama is a sensory ninja, and with his deliberate attention, there's almost nothing in Amegakure that can be kept from him. But Yahiko doesn't know that the Flying Thunder God Technique is preceded by sensory perception, which is a blind spot in his knowledge.

“Yahiko, that kid, passed on the information about sending troops to Kirigakure to Onoki last night before the operation was carried out.”

“Onoki…isn’t that the boy from Iwagakure?” Hashirama recalled.

“The boys of our generation are now old men.” Tobirama sneered. “That guy seems to have developed the same cunning habits as Ishigawa (the First Tsuchikage). He realized the Akatsuki’s advantage and took the initiative to send someone to make contact. It seems he has the same idea as Fenglan.”

"And that kid named Yahiko undoubtedly also had the idea of ​​using Iwagakure to counterbalance Konoha, which is why he informed Onoki about this operation."

"So what should we do?" Hashirama frowned. "Should we issue a warning to both sides?"

“There’s no need for that,” Tobirama said calmly. “Given Maple’s personality, he’s probably already figured this out. Pakura said that the information about us being resurrected during the Five Kage Summit has been leaked. Even if Onoki knows about Kirigakure, he won’t dare to act rashly because he’s afraid of your strength, brother.”

"As for three months from now... Hmph, if that kid can't even handle a mere Amegakure, he shouldn't be playing the mercenary game anymore. He should just obediently go back and protect Konoha."

“You’re right, we should have faith in the power of future generations.” Hashirama smiled. “Let’s go, we’ll deliver this rap kid to Sunagakure, and then we’ll set off to search…”

"I know, I know, you've been talking about finding Ban for a while now, I'm sick of it."

"Tobirama, we are in the Edo Tensei state, so no trace will be left on our bodies."

"You talk too much!"

……

"This is Pakula, the commander-in-chief of this operation!"

After Yahiko finished his introduction from the platform, he took a few steps back. Of course, he was unwilling to relinquish command so easily, so he deliberately didn't say much to restrain his subordinates.

Pakula's gaze swept over each of his temporary subordinates, finally settling on that exquisitely sculpted, flawless, handsome face.

"Sasori of the Red Sand." She jumped straight off the platform. "The Sand Village rogue ninja who killed the Third Kazekage."

"What?" Sasori naturally recognized Pakura, yet remained completely unfazed. "Are you here to avenge our beloved Kazekage?"

“No, I’m trying to restrain you,” Pakula said calmly. “In the upcoming operation, you are not allowed to use the Third Kazekage’s puppets. Otherwise, it will not only affect Lord Fenglan’s plans, but also bring great trouble to the Akatsuki.”

"Ha!" Scorpion sneered. "Why should I listen to you? It's one thing to fight under your command, but you also have the audacity to criticize my fighting style?"

Pakula turned his head and glanced at Nagato indifferently.

Nagato immediately understood and raised his hand, shouting, "Shinra Tensei!"

Scorpion immediately tried to defend himself, but under that unparalleled repulsive force, he could not resist it at all. He was knocked straight back, flying high into the air and then crashing heavily to the ground. If his body hadn't already been a puppet, he would have been in so much pain that he wouldn't have been able to get up for a long time.

"Hey!" Although it didn't hurt, Sasori was still annoyed at being hit for no reason. "What does this mean? When I joined Akatsuki, I never heard of a tradition of helping outsiders bully their own members!"

Yahiko sighed and explained, "Pakula is right. If you use the Third Kazekage's puppet in a battlefield of this level, there's no reason why the news won't leak out. We'll inevitably incur the hostility of Sunagakure, and the consequences will be dire."

"Tch." Sasori sneered. "Isn't Sunagakure already Konoha's lackey? Why bring this up again..."

Although he complained in a low voice, he didn't say anything more, which could be considered as giving in. But Pakula was not willing to give up: "Also, I know you have a fetish for collecting corpses to make human puppets, but you are not allowed to touch a single corpse during this operation."

"What's the reason?" Scorpion's gaze grew even colder.

"Because Kirigakure is both our mission objective and our ally. Every corpse that falls on the battlefield is a relative, friend, or comrade of our ally... Is that reason enough?"

Scorpion snorted coldly again, turned his head away, and remained silent.

Pakula ignored her and jumped back onto the platform: "So, is there anyone else who has a problem with me being the leader?"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Even the most unruly among them did not want to suffer the consequences of Shinra Tensei for no reason, so at least on the surface, they all adopted an attitude of obedience.

“Very good,” Pakula said calmly. “Next, I need to take stock of your numbers, names, and abilities to ensure unified command and control during the war…”

[I miscalculated; I didn't expect this guy to be so shrewd.]

Yahiko felt annoyed as he watched Pakura's methods. He had planned to stay out of it and watch the show, but Pakura used the excuse that Sasori would affect the Akatsuki to suppress Sasori. Since it involved the interests of the organization and the village, he couldn't stop Nagato from helping.

Therefore, Pakula successfully established her authority, and if her subsequent commands were also swift and without any mistakes, she would no longer be able to interfere.

This was indeed an underestimation of Pakura. While she was still a clumsy chess player, she was an elite and hero of Sunagakure. She was very familiar with this method of establishing authority and assessing the situation within a small team. In addition, she knew about Sasori's various situations and naturally knew who to target.

What made Yahiko's eyelids twitch even more was that after Pakula finished compiling information on all the members, he actually sent a copy directly to Fenglan!

It's worth noting that among those who joined Akatsuki later, aside from Kisame being introduced by Fenglan and Sasori being recruited based on Fenglan's intelligence, Kakuzu and Bakutsuchi were both won over by Yahiko himself. He originally intended to gather skilled individuals in secret so that he could launch a surprise attack on Fenglan at a crucial moment, but unexpectedly, his entire plan was exposed.

Damn it... Did Feng Lan plan all this in advance? If she could even predict this, it's terrifying...

Yahiko didn't believe that anyone could have planned from the beginning of the alliance with Amegakure all the way to the surprise attack on Kirigakure after the Five Kage Summit, but his hard-earned trump card was indeed exposed.

But hiding your moves is not an option either, since the opponent is from Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Nations. Hiding your moves against an enemy of that caliber is tantamount to courting death.

Hopefully, that guy won't see through my disguise. As for my trump cards, I'll just have to slowly build them up later.

He was overthinking it. Feng Lan was indeed not divine enough to plan for such a long time, but unfortunately, Onoki sent Deidara's teacher, and he was a transmigrator. As soon as he saw "[There is a self-proclaimed artist and explosive genius in the Akatsuki organization]", he would immediately realize Deidara and connect it with Onoki, knowing that Yahiko and Iwagakure had made contact.

Then... there definitely won't be any good juice left.

While he was still processing these thoughts, Pakula had already raised his hand high and then swung it down forcefully: "Akatsuki... Let's go!"

……

Meanwhile, in Fenglan's office, Inuzuka Tetsuya stood in front of his desk, sweating profusely.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous." Feng Lan still had that smiling expression, casually placing the thick, brick-like document on the table. "This thing, you wrote it, didn't you?"

"Yes...no!" Inuzuka Tetsuya was truly as cowardly as a dog in front of Fenglan. He instinctively told the truth at first, but then immediately realized the danger and changed his story.

"Oh? If you didn't write it, then who did?" Feng Lan tapped the table slowly.

"This..." Inuzuka Tetsuya's expression was one of utter panic.

After a few seconds of pause, Feng Lan said calmly, "Can't remember? How about I remind you... Was it Lady Koharu who asked you to write it?"

"This..." Inuzuka Tetsuya really couldn't figure out Fenglan's thoughts and didn't dare to speak rashly.

“No need to be so careful. You’re not my subordinate, you’re with Minato,” Feng Lan said with a smile. “As long as you remain loyal to him, even I can’t do anything to you casually. So answer me now…”

"Did Koharu-sama, the one who asked you to write this document?"

Chapter 140 Twenty-four years old, the Hokage

Inuzuka Tetsuya's brain was spinning at high speed. Without a doubt, this document was written by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. With Lord Furan's abilities, there was no reason why he couldn't see through this. However, he only asked him to confess to Utatane Koharu. Could it be that he was planning to make a move against her?

But... even if they really had to make a move, they should have dealt with Mitokado Homura, who was already almost flattened, first. There was no reason to target Utatane Koharu, who was still very stable. Did Lord Furan only fight the elite?

After all, given his status, he had no access to higher-level intelligence and was unaware that no one could temporarily replace Mitokado Homura in her position, while Utatane Koharu could be directly replaced by Tsunade and then seamlessly transferred to Shizune.

However, Inuzuka Tetsu knew one thing: he was now in danger of losing not only his future but also his life, so whatever Lord Fuuran, who had considerable influence over the Fourth Hokage, said went.

“Yes, sir.” Inuzuka Tetsu lowered his head. “This document was written by Lady Utatane Koharu.”

“Very good, very good.” Feng Lan patted the document in her hand. “Then, let’s wait for Minato to get some information from Mr. Shikaku before we proceed.”

……

While Fenglan was manipulating Inuzuka Tetsu, Minato was indeed listening to Nara Shikaku's report in the Hokage's office: "You mean, regarding how to handle the diplomatic relations with Takigakure, Lord Mitokado Homura and Lord Utatane Koharu didn't go through the Hokage's office at all?"

“Yes.” Shikaku nodded solemnly. “And it’s not just now. Ever since the time of the Third Hokage, the diplomatic handling of small countries has always been controlled by the two of them. There are no discussions, no meetings, only… a document submitted afterward.”

"All the previous documents are with the Third Hokage, and we have no way to get them. So Konoha's diplomatic policy towards small countries since World War I... is a blank for us."

"Lord Mitomon Homura did bring over a thick document yesterday," Minato said, scratching his head. "But it's been with Fuuran."

“If it’s with Lord Fenglan, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.” Lu Jiu smiled. “He’s been studying it all night, so he probably already has a solution.”

"To be honest, it's precisely because he seems to have a solution that I'm a little worried," Minato said awkwardly. "Fenglan thinks that the elders in charge of diplomacy and their subordinates are all cowards, wimps, and short-sighted fools who only care about money... I wonder what Mr. Shikaku thinks?"

Clearly, the golden retriever was starting to think Feng Lan was being a bit too radical again. Lu Jiu shrugged: "Uh, it shouldn't be entirely... right?"

Seeing Minato's speechless expression, he quickly added, "How about this, I'll immediately go and invite the highest-ranking diplomatic official besides those two elders over, and you'll know as soon as you ask."

Such opportunities are almost nonexistent under normal circumstances. The two elders usually protect their subordinates very well, but now the third generation has gone into seclusion for some reason, and the two were humiliated yesterday, especially Mitokado Homura, whose image has almost collapsed. Therefore, Nara Shikaku, relying on his status as a newly appointed advisor to the elders' council, quickly brought someone with him.

"This is Koji Mitokado. Let him tell you about the diplomatic officials' plans for dealing with Takigakure."

【Mito Gate... huh?】

Minato recalled what Mitomon Homura had said yesterday—behind us, there was a system operating with tens of thousands of people, including Sarutobi, Mitomon, and the Utatane clan. Clearly, this Koji was one of those tens of thousands of people in the system.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Koji." This was actually their first meeting, and Minato was very polite. "You look so young. May I ask when you took this position?"

Koji Mitokado said with a hint of nervousness, "Twenty-four years old, a student... cough cough, no, a diplomatic official."

Twenty-four years old...?

Minato frowned again, feeling that the other party seemed too young, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that he had become Hokage at the age of twenty-four, so he didn't say anything more.

"Alright, let's get down to business. How much do you know about Takigakure?"

Koji Mitokado revealed a clear yet foolish look, much like a slacking graduate student being asked a question by his professor. After pondering for a long time, he actually passed the buck back to Hokage: "Hokage-sama, how much do you know?"

"You're the diplomat, not me!" Minato looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Um... Did my men say anything?" Mitokado Koji first tried to shift the blame, but when that didn't work, he resorted to the all-purpose excuse, "Please rest assured, Hokage-sama, we have taken care of everything and it will absolutely not pose any threat to the village."

But Minato had been tricked by Feng Lan for so long that he was already immune to this simplest way of fooling people: "What I want to hear is your specific handling method!"

"This... we may have to wait until our diplomatic council finishes its discussions before we can give a specific answer."

“But the Elders’ documents regarding the diplomatic outcome have already been submitted to me.” Minato slammed his hand on the table. “Are you sure they’re telling you everything they know?”

Koji Mito was stunned for a long time: "At least you'll tell me what you think I should know."

“Well…” Minato sighed. He now understood that this so-called highest official was just a puppet put forward.

"Wait, Hokage!" Koji Mitokado also sensed something was wrong. "I believe everything is under our control, so please don't worry."

"Before the Five Kage Summit began, the Fourth Raikage also felt that with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and his AB combination, he was unstoppable and that his plan to seize the Byakugan was under control." Minato barely managed to suppress his eye-roll at Koji in front of him.

"Are you saying that the diplomats don't know what they're doing?" Mitokado Koji instinctively invoked his powerful backer, "Hokage-sama, we are all elites of the Mitokado, Utatane, and Sarutobi clans, it's impossible for us to be like this..."

"I just feel like you haven't told me what you're doing." Minato's eyes gradually sharpened.

“This is absurd!” Koji Mito instinctively retorted. “Nine out of ten of the questions I asked received satisfactory answers.”

"What about the questions you didn't ask?"

"for example?"

"For example, the diplomatic situation of Takigakure."

“I don’t usually ask those kinds of questions…” Mitokado Koji said in a low voice, “Lord Hokage, regarding the various contingency plans and potential impacts that may involve our active intervention in the sovereignty affairs of other countries, I must point out that once such decisions enter the implementation stage, their subsequent development will be difficult to completely control within the expected range, and at that time there may be no room for adjustment.”

Clearly, this sentence was given to him by Mitokado Homura as the ultimate method to deal with any questions Minato might ask. Unfortunately, Minato is no longer afraid of such immature and complex sentences. After all, the most crucial point he learned from Kaze was to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

"Are the diplomats to obey me, or am I to obey you?"

This question stumped Mitokado Koji. He was a guy who held a high position because of his bloodline, but was actually just a figurehead. He hesitated for a long time and finally managed to stammer out two words: "Hard to say."

……