It took nearly a quarter of an hour for the dark smoke to gradually dissipate.

The power of such a violent explosion is naturally far inferior to Deidara's self-destruction, and is far inferior to the so-called 600 billion detonating tags that Konan used against Uchiha Obito in the original work.

But it is more than enough to deal with these Black Zetsu and White Zetsu whose secret techniques are strange but whose true bodies may not be that powerful.

At the bottom of the deep pit created by the violent explosion shock wave, a black shadow rose from the ground.

"It was really thrilling. I almost died."

"die?"

Another white humanoid creature also broke out of the ground.

"It's strange that such a superficial attack can kill you. Unless you can be dug out from the ground veins hundreds of meters deep, it will be difficult to kill you. However..."

White Zetsu sensed the chakra reaction around him.

"The main body seems to be completely dead!"

Black Zetsu said nonchalantly:

"Let him die. Although he is called the real body, to Bai Zetsu, he is just a transit station of his will. Anyway, without him, you clones will not die."

This is indeed the case. Unless there is a problem with the Outer Path Demon Statue, or the Ten-Tails, the connection between White Zetsu's original body and its clones may not be that close.

Although he is called the real body, he is actually just the first commander created by Uchiha Madara using the cells of the first generation and the help of the Outer Path Demon Statue to control the White Zetsu Army.

"What you said about not being able to kill me is not entirely accurate. At least this guy Kakuzu has a way to do it."

The indescribable sense of threat that Kakuzu had felt earlier was definitely not an illusion.

"So, you just abandoned this guy without hesitation?"

All in all, the sense of crisis in reality is the key reason why Black Zetsu decided to abandon Kakuzu.

"I don't know what happened to Kakuzu. I was planning to interrogate him about his mental abnormalities, but now it seems that we haven't even got a piece of his body. It seems that we can't figure out whether someone is plotting against us in secret."

There are people who suspect, not only the hostile Mizuki, the five major ninja villages, the ninja coalition, but even Uchiha Obito is suspected.

Although it seems that Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu are in the same group, is this really the case?

Is it true that Uchiha Obito, who was bound by the curse seal of Uchiha Madara, has no ulterior motives?

Not to mention the most hidden Black Zetsu. Everyone is a suspect and a chess piece that can be used, of course this includes Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara.

"That's it. This attempt failed, and losing Kakuzu is not a big deal. Let's go back and prepare and start the next plan."

It is really not an easy thing to be the mastermind who controls everything.

Since everyone is treated as chess pieces at his disposal, it means that Black Zetsu has no real allies at all. Not only must he constantly reflect on his own control, but he must also guard against betrayal by his apparent subordinates and even guide hostile forces to act according to his own plans. Every step must be made without error. Once an accident occurs, remedial measures must be prepared, just like the actions of Mizuki and Konoha Village not long ago. I don't know how many things were ruined, but fortunately, the development of things has not yet gotten out of control.

However, there were too many accidents, and many things seemed to be true and false. I always felt that some people were doing bad things behind the scenes and were ready to take advantage of the situation.

Although there were some worries, as long as the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki appeared, everything would be settled. The fruit was right in front of them. After waiting for nearly a thousand years, there was finally hope of picking it.

…

In the Konoha Village Security Department, Hatake Kakashi recounted in detail what happened on the Giant Turtle Island in the Land of Lightning and waited for Mizuki's reaction.

In fact, at this time, Mizuki was regretting the loss of Kakuzu's last hope of survival.

Mizuki, who was trying to do two things at the same time, was listening to Kakashi Hatake talking about the accident that happened on Giant Turtle Island not long ago, while commanding the remaining water-attribute heart monsters of Kakuzu to make their final struggle.

"It still failed."

Mizuki couldn't help but shake his head and sighed.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"nothing!"

Shuimu, realizing that he had been distracted, smiled coldly.

"I already know the situation, thank you, Kakashi!"

"Really? That's good!"

Hatake Kakashi shook his head in embarrassment.

"I'm still a bit unfamiliar with this!"

If it were in the past, Mizuki would never speak of such an important matter so coldly, and he probably wouldn't be honest with Kakashi about his thoughts in the future.

Everyone who is familiar with Shuimu knows that this guy, who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, has a very extreme way of dealing with interpersonal relationships. Although he seems a little reserved due to his high position and power, he is also polite in dealing with people. He also has a sense of humor that makes people stay away from him in front of familiar people. Although he is a little sharp-tongued, people who can be talked to generally don't have bad intentions.

But only relatives and friends know the indifference hidden under the warm smile on the face towards unrelated strangers. If Shuimu cannot treat you as "one of our own", then you are no different from the stones on the roadside. The only difference is that there are useful stones and useless stones.

Of course, Kakashi knew that he and Mizuki had not broken up, but the so-called friendship of chatting and laughing would never exist again.

"Shuimu..."

Although I had known that once Shuimu knew about my choice, there would be such changes, but it happened much earlier than I expected.

"Neither I nor the village have any ill will towards you..."

"I know, Kakashi..."

Shuimu stood up, pushed open the office door and was about to leave.

"If I really had bad intentions, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you nicely."

"Don't blame Lady Tsunade..."

Kakashi was about to say something else, but he saw Mizuki disappear around the corner.

"well……"

Hatake Kakashi sighed, pushed the pile of documents in front of him, put his feet on the desk, and leaned back in his office chair.

"I can't handle what's coming next!"

Although Mizuki said that he was not angry, Kakashi hoped that Mizuki could find him or the Hokage and have a big fight. Such a cold attitude made him even more worried.

The opposite of liking is not disliking, nor is it hating, but indifference.

If Shuimu still had any deep feelings for the village, he would never tolerate such grievances.

Mizuki is different from other ninjas. He has always felt alienated from Konoha Village... No, it should be said that he has always felt alienated from the ninja world. Kakashi Hatake doesn't know why Mizuki has formed such a worldview, but geniuses naturally have some quirks. In comparison, Mizuki's little flaw is really not worth mentioning.

But after a long time together, whether it was Kakashi Hatake, Tsunade who was the Hokage, or even Jiraiya who was also one of the three ninjas, they all said privately that if Mizuki was turned into Orochimaru, it would be more harmful to Konoha Village and the entire ninja world.

This is absolutely not an empty statement.

During the battle for the Three Tails, if you had to say who performed the most eye-catchingly, it would undoubtedly be Mizuki.

Even though they lost the Three-Tails in the end, it was not their fault. The enemy was simply too strong, and the five major ninja villages had not formed an alliance at that time, so they did not exert their full strength.

Just with the combat power of the physical clone and the Flying Thunder God Technique, he is able to restrain four or five puppets that possess the power of the Rinnegan and use Yin-Yang Escape. Such strength is truly terrifying.

Although Mizuki only revealed six or seven clones, no one knew how many he had created in private.

If such a physical clone is like White Zetsu, there will not be tens of thousands, but only one or two thousand, and combined with the unreasonable power of Fire and Melt Release of the original body, it will be able to flatten the entire ninja world.

Of course, such a powerful physical clone must have limitations. Let alone raising thousands of clones, it is not easy to feed even a pig.

But no one knows where Shuimu's limit is.

In addition, as Mizuki's strength is exposed more and more, especially the illusion of sleeping that he taught Sakura, it is really worrying. Although no one knows what Mizuki is thinking, there is no doubt that Mizuki, whose eyes are becoming more and more profound, has definitely touched the taboo of the soul.

"In the final analysis, you are just too strong!"

Having said that, Kakashi actually understood that no matter how strong Mizuki was, it was not a problem. The key to the problem was that Mizuki was not yet Hokage.

Shuimu is very strong. The stronger the person is, the more intense the trembling feeling will be when he gets close to Shuimu.

Although Mizuki may not be invincible, the only person in the ninja world who can cause more damage than Mizuki is probably the Rinnegan, which has appeared a few times.

It is not a bad thing to have a compatriot who is so strong that almost everyone is afraid of him, but when he is so strong that there is no way to restrain him, what he brings to the world is no longer luck.

Extreme wisdom will lead to harm, deep love will not bring longevity, extreme strength will lead to humiliation, a humble gentleman is as gentle as jade.

Shuimu is too far away from a gentleman. Since he is not restricted by the rules, he will inevitably be excluded by the rules.

The only solution is to let Mizuki become Hokage.

As strong as the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was, after he became the boss, all problems were solved.

The second-generation Hokage, Tobirama Senju, who touched a taboo, is still doing well.

When he thought of the Hokage, Hatake Kakashi couldn't help but smile bitterly.

There is nothing that a smart person cannot understand.

The war is imminent. If Mizuki performs well in the Fourth Ninja War, Tsunade will abdicate after the war and let Mizuki take over, all problems will be solved.

But it is easier said than done.

Because Mizuki is a representative of a civilian ninja's counterattack, a considerable number of ninjas support him.

Because of his powerful strength and outstanding military achievements, as well as his feat of confronting the legendary Sage's Eye head-on in the battle for the top three, he was even more outstanding than Jiraiya and won the favor of a considerable number of militant and radical factions.

But that’s not how politics works.

Since there are so many fanatical supporters of Shuimu, there must be a considerable number of opponents who dislike Shuimu.

The position of Hokage is not something you can take just by having more supporters than opponents.

In contrast, because of his good popularity, if Kakashi Hatake put his weapons into storage and let his horses go to waste after the Fourth Ninja War, it would be disadvantageous to Mizuki.

The Hokage does not represent the interests of the majority of Konoha Village, but the wishes of the entire village.

If they were to choose the successor to the Hokage, Mizuki would naturally be the most suitable, in the eyes of Mizuki's supporters, but Kakashi also seems to be a good choice and not so unacceptable.

However, in the view of Shuimu's opponents, if Shuimu succeeds, they will inevitably oppose strongly, which may even lead to a split in public opinion in the village. Such a chaotic situation will be very unfavorable to Shuimu.

Why was the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze able to defeat Orochimaru and win the trust of the Konoha villagers?

Because like Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake, he may not have an advantage in terms of popularity and reputation, but he is a candidate that is acceptable to all parties.

Politics is about compromise. The Hokage does not need to be the character that most people are most satisfied with, but the "least bad" one recognized by everyone.

The key to becoming the Hokage is not having many "die-hard fans" but having few "anti-fans".

And this is precisely the point that there is no way to get around it. For Shuimu, there is not much time left to change the bad impression that a small number of people have of him.

In the long run, Mizuki has a better chance of becoming the Sixth Hokage than Kakashi Hatake, or even all the candidates, but in the short term, the possibility of the villagers accepting him as Hokage is lower than that of others.

Outside the office door, several figures were looking over here stealthily.

Although the specific reason is unknown, it seems that someone noticed that the minister and deputy minister of the Security Department had a conflict. Instead of arguing, they were having a serious discussion. However, in the eyes of their subordinates, this was very strange.

Shiho watched as Vice Minister Mizuki came to see Minister Hatake Kakashi with a frosty face. The two had a secret conversation for a while, and then Vice Minister Mizuki left the Security Department without looking back. As for work, no one dared to stop Mizuki, who exuded the aura of "Keep Out".

"What are you looking at? The war is about to start, why don't you prepare?"

After sending that group of people away, Kakashi sorted out his thoughts and walked towards the Hokage's office. He had to report to Lady Tsunade what happened today.

As for where Mizuki went after leaving the Security Department, no one dared to ask, and no one knew.

…

In the Land of Rain, Hope, the physical clone who is debugging the fusion degree of Xishuixiang and the God of Death, is processing the residual soul of Kakuzu who has just been recovered, and trying to use the authority of the God of Death who has been initially fused to utilize some of the souls that have been harvested.

At this time, Shuimu's real body suddenly appeared here.

"Why are you here at this time? Are you here to see if Kakuzu's special soul is well preserved? Don't worry, even if Kabuto gets Kakuzu's body tissue, he can't be resurrected by the Impure World Reincarnation."

In order to establish a complete life cycle, even the God of Death has taken action. Anyway, the Ninja World has been blatantly planning to deal with him, so why should he be polite? Isn't it natural to snatch soul resources?

"I remember that the five major ninja villages invited the Rain Village to participate in the Ninja World Alliance Alliance not long ago, right? Promise them..."