The Hidden Mist Village

The fight for the Fourth Mizukage soon turned into an internal struggle. All ninjas who were qualified to become Mizukage were frequently assassinated and tried, and even their subordinates and families could not avoid the bloody disaster.

The Third Mizukage's disciple, the powerful water-style elite jonin Karatachi Yagura, was the first victim of this civil strife.

As the most competitive contender for the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura was besieged by many competitors, and assassination attempts against him were endless.

The powerful Karatachi Yagura skillfully resolved them one by one and did not encounter any danger, but his parents and family members died due to negligence.

The grief-stricken Yagura wanted to take revenge, but he gave up after only ten days of investigation because there were too many suspects and all the participants had been silenced.

Considering that the planner himself might have found a way to erase his memory, and without any evidence, Karatachi Yagura would never be able to find the real murderer.

Karatachi Yagura knew that if he wanted revenge he could only expand the scope of attack, such as killing all the guys who were competing for the Mizukage. Although most of the injuries would be accidental, at least the real culprit would not escape.

But each of these ninjas competing for the position of Mizukage is a powerful Kage-level ninja, and each of them has a large group of supporters or ninja clans behind them.

As the strongest ninja in the Hidden Mist Village, Karatachi Yagura believes that he is capable of killing these Kage-level ninjas through assassination. However, before he kills everyone, he will be surrounded and attacked by a combined force, and in the end, he will fail to achieve revenge and be killed instead.

He finally decided to give up his boring dignity and no longer dream of becoming the Mizukage by his own strength.

Only by becoming the Mizukage can Karatachi Yagura use his power to kill these people openly, exterminate their supporters and clansmen behind them, and avenge his family.

He found the oldest ninja master in the Hidden Mist Village, hoping to get his support.

The master looked at the young boy named Yagura in front of him and was so surprised that the teacup in his hand fell on the table.

Yagura Karotachi, who was arrogant and thought he must be the Fourth Mizukage, knelt down in front of the servants and guards who had not yet left when he saw the Master without hesitation.

Yagura didn't say anything, but his actions said it all.

The Master's resolute neutrality was shaken. He stroked the snake-headed cane given to him by the First Mizukage, and thought silently.

Goju Yagura didn't say anything, just bowed on the ground, quietly waiting for the master's decision.

This is a decision with huge impact. The master represents the civilian ninjas and the small ninja clans, which are the most powerful force in the Hidden Mist Village.

Since the establishment of the ninja school by the first Mizukage Byakuren, the Hidden Mist Village has accumulated a large number of civilian ninjas. Despite the heavy losses caused by the terrible attrition rate, it has still accumulated a group of powerful ninjas.

Also gathered under the Yuanshi were the small ninja tribes, whose ninjas were even more outstanding.

In the environment of the ninja village, the small ninja clans were able to make up for the insurmountable resource gap in the Warring States Period, and ninjas emerged who were comparable to the big ninja clans.

For example, in this defeat, Terumi Jonin performed very well.

Not only did he perform well in the war, but what was even more commendable was that after being defeated, he stood up and organized his subordinates to break through the blockade of the Konoha ninja and return safely. He also annihilated a group of Hyuga ninjas on the way and was lucky enough to get a complete Byakugan.

Because they did not know how to preserve the secret technique and were worried that the Byakugan would be damaged during transportation, and because Terumi's subordinate Ao had lost an eye in battle, the Byakugan was placed in his eye socket.

In the future, this will be a strategic-level Byakugan ninja, a Byakugan ninja belonging to the Hidden Mist Village.

These outstanding ninjas all came under the protection of the Master, obeyed the Master's 40-year policy of neutrality, gave up the fight for the Mizukage, and exchanged obedience to orders and fighting for their own safety.

This policy has lasted for nearly thirty years, which is enough time for two generations of ninjas to grow up. The neutrality of the Master has become an unspoken fact in the Hidden Mist Village.

In fact, there are ambitious people among the three major ninja clans. They have all thought about swallowing up the power of the Yuanshi, strengthening their own strength, and thus realizing their personal ambitions.

But in the end, these people chose to give up.

Thirty years ago, the three major ninja clans indeed spared these weak civilian ninjas simply out of respect for the Master.

Twenty years ago, the three major ninja clans discovered that consuming the Yuanshi's power would likely cause serious losses to themselves, which would not be worth the cost.

Ten years ago, everyone knew that Yuanshi was stronger than the Kizuna family, even though the second generation Mizukage at that time was from the Kizuna family.

Today, the three major ninja clans must unite to ensure absolute advantage.

No one in the Hidden Mist Village is thinking about swallowing up Yuan Shi's power, but no one is worried that Yuan Shi will threaten them in turn, because this power is too scattered. Although Yuan Shi has enough prestige, he does not have enough leadership to organize them into an invincible fighting force.

Therefore, Karutagi Yagura's request was not for the master to support him, but for the master to hand over the power to him so that he could organize all the ninjas and form a force that could overwhelm the three major families.

This is definitely the most significant change, and there is no turning back after taking this step. Either the shackles of the Kirigakure Ninja Clan's domination of everything are successfully changed, and the Kirigakure will embark on a road to prosperity, or the power of the civilian ninjas will be defeated, and the Kirigakure will sink from then on.

The master was thinking and Yagura was waiting, and the atmosphere became more and more depressing.

The guards behind Master Yuan could hardly bear the solemn atmosphere. They soon broke out in sweat and their calves were tingling.

The maids who were serving tea and water, on the other hand, felt nothing at all. They were only amazed at Karitachi Yagura's youth and Dogeza's courtesy, and were completely unaware of the change in the atmosphere.

After a long time, Master Yuan sighed and asked, "Do you think now is the right time?"

Kuju Yagura's body, which was as steady as a rock, suddenly trembled. He quickly sat up straight and answered seriously and firmly: "Yes, Master Yuanshi, the time is ripe now."

"The three major families have lost more than a thousand people this time, and each family has also lost a Kage-level ninja. Their strength has undoubtedly been halved."

"Sir, if we cannot seize the opportunity created by Konoha Village this time, how long will Kirigakure have to wait before it can usher in real change?"

Master Yuan sighed deeply and said with emotion: "Yes, this opportunity is rare."

"But it would have been nice if you had come to see me fifteen days ago..."

Karuji Yagura was stunned, sadness appeared in his eyes, and he murmured, "I'm sorry."

The Master shook his head and continued, "You come to me now, I can't help but worry that after you become the Mizukage, you will kill people indiscriminately in the village."

"You know, I'm not against killing people. I've known for twenty years that the Hidden Mist Village must kill ruthlessly and clear out the three major ninja clans that control most of the resources before it can gain a true new life."

"Only by shedding enough blood can a new Mist Village be nurtured."

Although the history of the ninja world is short, the master, based on his age and experience, compared the rise and fall of the Hidden Mist Village and the other four major ninja villages, and got the most correct answer.

Every powerful ninja village did not appear out of thin air. They all distributed resources to the greatest extent possible, allowing as many children as possible to obtain sufficient resources, and from them emerged several or even dozens of times more powerful ninjas than before, and only then did they dominate the ninja world.

The first to become strong was of course Konoha Village, known as the cradle of geniuses. Konoha also had the Ino, Shika, and Chou clans, the Aburame clan, the Inuzuka clan, the Sarutobi clan, and the Shimura clan. In fact, in the Warring States Period, there was only one famous ninja, Sasuke Sarutobi.

It was these ninjas at that time, so why couldn't they produce any geniuses?

It was because Uchiha Madara was ruthless that he either killed or drove away a large number of ninjas, and distributed the resources to the many ninjas and civilians in Konoha.

In addition, the Senju clan used their own capital to open ninja schools to spread knowledge of ninjutsu, which led to the emergence of endless talented ninjas.

The resource allocation of Sand Village in the Wind Country is not so bloody. The second generation Kazekage took a different approach and pioneered the path of puppet masters, which traditional ninjas disdained. When puppet masters became the strongest ninja force in Sand Village, Sand Village also became the strongest ninja village under Konoha.

Of course, any change without bloodshed would not be thorough. The Third Kazekage was a magnetic ninja who was famous for suppressing puppeteers.

After he took over, the resource allocation of Sand Village was quickly reorganized, and the growth of strength stagnated. In the last war, the village lost all its wealth. The middle generation of Sand Village only had two Kage-level ninjas, and the younger generation only had one Scorpion.

The ninja village that started the Third Ninja World War, its leading ninja who were holding the fort on the battlefield, turned out to be a group of old guys in their fifties, and it looked like they were on the verge of collapse.

Even more impressive is the Hidden Cloud Village. After thirty years of hard work, the third Raikage of the Yeyue family, Ai, finally took back the power of all ninja clans, including Yeyue himself who disbanded the family power structure.

More than 30 years of continuous bloodshed and struggle caused the Hidden Cloud Village to perform poorly in the two wars, but it has risen rapidly in the past few years.

Outstanding new generation of ninjas in the Hidden Cloud Village continue to emerge, and powerful tailed beasts are sealed into practical jinchūriki, forming a strong deterrent on the battlefield.

Therefore, if the Hidden Mist Village wants to become stronger, it must allow the three major ninja clans to decline, release the resources that have been wasted and squandered by them, and distribute them evenly to more children.

It is impossible for the ninjas of the three major ninja clans to give up their interests voluntarily, so killing is necessary.

"But the killing cannot be endless!"

The master stood up, picked up his snake-head staff and hit the floor hard, making a dull sound.

He said with eyes wide open: "We must not be like the Iwagakure Village, killing all of our own bloodline limit ninjas, killing off the elites and leaving no one to take over!"

"The inheritance of bloodline limits is very important. The era of the ninja village created by Hashirama Senju was an even more cruel era of great strife."

"If our Kirigakure doesn't have a stable Kage-level ninja, we won't be able to face the four major ninja villages on the continent, and we can only survive in this small country with difficulty."

"Ninjas with higher bloodline limits are very important. We must not kill them all."

"Can you promise? Karutagi Yagura, can you not be blinded by blood feuds, and kill with restraint and moderation, leaving the foundation of a strong ninja village for the Fifth Mizukage?"

Hearing the question from the master, Goji Yagura's eyes widened. Is it necessary to give up hatred?

…

When Karutagi Yagura walked into the master's residence, the three major ninja clans realized that it was possible for them to unite. It was also at this time that they suddenly discovered that they were no longer the strongest force in the Hidden Mist Village.

The ninja clan leaders who were unwilling to accept defeat quickly gathered together and sent out all the ninjas to monitor the Yuanshi residence, waiting for the final outcome of this incident.

When waiting for bad news, the atmosphere is always very depressing and tense.

The new chief of the Snow Clan, Tu, finally couldn't hold back his irritability anymore and questioned the other two chiefs. He complained in a tone he couldn't suppress: "Who did it?"

The head of the Kaguya clan, Kaguya Yoshi, was stunned and asked subconsciously: "What did you do?"

Gui Deng Xian Yue said unhappily: "He was asking who killed Kuji Yagura's parents."

Kaguya Yoshi shook his head: "It wasn't us who did it. If our Kaguya family kills someone, we kill the whole family, but we never carry out assassinations."

"Hey, with our Kaguya's fighting style, we can't assassinate him even if we want to."

Tu sneered: "If it was any other Kaguya, I would believe it, but you... you Kaguyaji are an outlier in the Kaguya family."

"Didn't you succeed in ascending to power by successfully assassinating your grandfather, father, and brother?"

"Hahahaha, so that's what people are saying outside. I say it again, this is not true. They were infected with the plague and unfortunately died of the disease."

"Haha, a plague that only killed three people?"

"Then just think of it as a genetic disease."

"I……"

Gui Deng Xian Yue shook her head helplessly and said to Tu: "Why are you arguing with Kaguya Yoshi? It's not like you just found out today how shameless he is."

Then he said to Kaguya Yoshi in a serious tone: "No more jokes. At this point today, we are no longer qualified to fight. We must exchange information now."

"I, Kizuki Kizuki, declare on the honor of my family that we did not assassinate Yagura Karuzuki's parents."

Kaguya Yoshi sighed and said seriously: "I, Kaguya Yoshi, declare on the honor of the Kaguya clan that we did not assassinate Karatachi Yagura's parents."

Tu's beautiful eyes widened, but he immediately restrained his expression and announced the same words in the name of the family.

"None of us three did it, so who did it?"

Announcing this on the basis of family honor is a very serious attitude for the ninja clan, and they will never tell lies.

The three clan leaders were all confused, they had always suspected that someone else did it. Just because they were sure that they didn't do it, after discovering that Yuanshi and Yagura had met, they were still able to sit here steadily and wait for the final result.

This is because they all understood that the union between Yuanshi and Karuta Yagura was actually not stable.

It’s not that the Master’s credibility is bad, but the small ninja clan ninjas and civilian ninjas have no understanding of Karatachi Yagura, and lack basic trust in him.

The pain of having his family destroyed and his entire clan wiped out that Karutagi Yagura suffered is the only anchor point that can make the ninjas under the master empathize with him, and this anchor point is easy to destroy by simply handing over the murderer and the patriarch of the murderer's family.

When the civilian ninjas see this, they will definitely think that no one cares about their family members who have died. Even the patriarch of a big clan had to pay with his life when Karatachi Yagura's family died.

They will deeply realize that Karuta Yagura is completely different from them and their status is vastly different. How can they empathize with him?

Without empathy, the alliance will naturally fall apart.

But now they found out that the murderer was not one of them, which was terrible.

You have to know that before this, they themselves firmly believed that it was one of the three who did it. Who could believe them when they explained that it was not them?

"Granny, we have no choice but to fight now." Kaguya stood up suddenly, "No more waiting, it's useless, I have to go back and gather my tribesmen, what about you?"

Kizuna sighed: "I will go home and gather the ninjas too."

Tu's face was pale. She tied her long hair back into a medium ponytail hairstyle that the Snow Clan used for battle, and walked out of the room without saying a word.

The civil war in the Hidden Mist Village is inevitable.

The three clan leaders resolutely returned home to gather their tribesmen and prepare for battle, but the unsolved mystery in their hearts still troubled them.

Who did it?

If we knew who it was, we would kill him first, otherwise we would all be killed!

The three clan leaders did not notice that a black and white shy grass was hiding underground in the corner of the conference room where they were meeting. After confirming that the three clan leaders had chosen war, it quietly left underground.

Of course, the parents of Karatachi Yagura were killed by Black Zetsu. It was a small matter like killing one or two old ninjas that the generous and simple-minded Madara would never have thought of, so it was naturally solved by Black Zetsu.

A thousand years, Black Zetsu lived for a thousand years, and also worked hard for a thousand years.

Due to his innate limitations, Black Zetsu is unable to accumulate strength and can only strengthen himself in terms of intelligence and wisdom.

He learned the most sophisticated conspiracies and tricks from the nobles, and was best at easily taking out one or two key figures at critical moments, allowing the situation to develop in the direction he wanted.

The Hidden Mist Village was in chaos. Only by taking back all the power and cutting off contact with the outside world could a large enough gap be created to lay the foundation for Uchiha Madara to control the Hidden Mist Village.

After all, Uchiha Madara is an old man who is about to turn 76 and his body is completely broken.

Normally, he wouldn't necessarily die of old age at this age, but Uchiha Madara once came back to life and developed a pair of invincible Rinnegan. He also had the flesh and blood cells of Senju Hashirama.

With such heavy burdens, anyone else would have died in old age. Only Uchiha Madara could survive until the age of 76.

Relying on the chakra from Nagato supplied by the Outer Path Statue, Uchiha Madara can still be healthy and alive for at least another five years, but he can no longer live without the life-extending power of the Outer Path Statue.

It might be possible to cut the connection a few times, but it would be short-lived and would not allow for high-intensity combat.

In order to complete the control of the Hidden Mist Village, Black Zetsu needs to fulfill the prerequisites to the best of his ability.

Satisfied with his work, Black Zetsu left the Hidden Mist Village.