Chapter 176: The Manipulated Mizukage

After Pain and Konan departed...

The revelation that the Mizukage had been manipulated by Uchiha Obito's genjutsu shocked everyone in the room.

In the aftermath of this surprise, they couldn't help but consider the state of the Hidden Mist Village in recent years:

The Fourth Mizukage imposed a cruel and oppressive regime, turning the village into the "Bloody Mist," leading to numerous shinobi defections and a swift decline in the village's strength.

The circumstances were indeed suspicious.

With this in mind, Ohnoki and Rasa exchanged worried glances, their attention shifting to Mizukage Yagura Karatachi.

"Hmph."

Yagura scoffed, not uttering a word. Semi-transparent red chakra flowed out of him, forming three tails behind him. The terrifying aura was enough to make anyone's heart palpitate.

"Be careful!"

Seeing this, the others in the room mistook Yagura's actions as a prelude to an attack. They rose from their seats, readying for a fight.

Unexpectedly, Yagura chuckled and said,

"I, Yagura Karatachi, am a Kage and a perfect Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails. The idea that mere Sharingan genjutsu could control me is a joke."

Upon finishing, he pulled back his Three-Tails chakra.

Indeed.

Ohnoki and Rasa exchanged glances, both feeling there was some truth to Yagura's words.

After all, if even a perfect Jinchūriki like Yagura couldn't escape the control of the Mangekyō Sharingan, what hope did they have?

Neither the Tsuchikage nor the Kazekage believed that Uchiha's Sharingan could be that powerful.

At that moment.

Kisame Hoshigaki, the guard standing behind Yagura, stepped forward to speak:

"I have always been by the Mizukage's side and have never detected any suspicious individuals. The claim that he was manipulated by Uchiha Obito's genjutsu is nothing more than an attempt to sow discord."

Kisame was a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a formidable fighter. His words held considerable weight.

However, the other guard, Mei Terumi, seemed uncertain, her eyes flickering with thoughts.

"Mizukage, about what Pain just said..."

Ohnoki was still somewhat uneasy and wanted to ask Yagura a few more questions to clarify the situation.

Just then.

With a sizzling sound, a figure wrapped in blue lightning, returned to the meeting hall in a fit of rage.

It was the Fourth Raikage, who had activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

"Where is he? Where's Pain?"

The Raikage's eyes were bulging, his blond hair standing on end. It seemed he was still itching for a fight with Pain.

Ohnoki shook his head helplessly, speaking to the hot-headed Raikage:

"He's already left. We invited Pain and the Hidden Rain to join us in attacking Konoha."

Rasa added, his brows furrowed, "Raikage, if you're hell-bent on settling the score with Pain, it's best to wait until after this war."

Boom!

With a loud noise, the Raikage, in his rage, smashed the conference table with a single punch.

For him, this was a significant blow to his pride.

The Fourth Raikage had been sent flying by a single strike from Pain, the leader of Amegakure. Once this news spread, it would undoubtedly be a massive blow to his personal prestige. It would also put the Hidden Cloud ninja in a difficult position in front of the Hidden Rain.

"Damn, I underestimated him. I should've gone all out from the beginning," the Raikage muttered in frustration.

Yagura glanced at everyone and said coldly:

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the meeting room with his two guards.

Watching Yagura's hasty departure, both Ohnoki and Rasa fell into thought.

Despite Yagura's vehement denial of being controlled by Obito...

They had to consider that, given Pain's aloof nature and his apparent disregard for everyone else, would he really lie?

Moreover...

Obito was once a member of Akatsuki. If he really did control the Mizukage with his genjutsu, it would make sense for Pain, as the leader of Akatsuki, to know about it.

All in all, the more they thought about it, the more uneasy they felt.

"What happened?"

The Raikage, noticing the expressions on the other's faces, asked in confusion. Upon learning the details, he too was shocked.

In a forest within the Land of Fire...

At the edge of a large lake, the Mist's forces had set up camp.

"Mizukage-sama."

Under the reverent gazes of the Mist's shinobi, Yagura walked expressionlessly towards the main tent.

Despite his youthful appearance and small stature, which at first glance made him seem like a cute teenager, he was actually a deeply cunning man, a grandfather.

In particular, Yagura's policies after taking office, his series of oppressive measures, showed the shinobi of the Mist his ruthless side, making everyone fear him.

Mei Terumi followed behind Yagura, her gaze fixed on the Mizukage's back, her brows furrowed.

In the few short years following the Third Shinobi World War, Yagura had turned the Hidden Mist upside down, leading to a significant loss of skilled shinobi.

Even former members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist - Raiga Kurosuki and Tsurugi Misumi - had defected from the village, unhappy with the Mizukage's tyranny.

In reality...

Yagura's strange behavior had caught the attention of the higher-ups in the Hidden Mist, leading them to suspect that something was wrong with him.

Mei Terumi had been ordered by the elder of the Mist, Gengetsu Hōzuki, to observe and monitor Yagura while serving as his bodyguard.

Today...

Pain's words seemed to confirm the suspicions of the Hidden Mist's higher-ups.

Should she tell Kisame?

Looking at Kisame beside her, Mei decided against it.

From her perspective, Kisame's behavior had also been somewhat suspicious.

So...

Without showing her thoughts, Mei sought out one of the Hidden Mist's elder shinobi - Ao, known as the "Byakugan Killer."

Ao was a middle-aged man with long gray-blue hair.

He was known as the "Byakugan Killer" because during the Third Shinobi World War, he had obtained a Byakugan from the Hyūga clan on the battlefield and implanted it into his own right eye.

"This is the situation."

Mei informed Ao of what she had seen and her suspicions, asking him how likely it was that the Mizukage was under Obito's control.

In response, Ao looked serious, saying:

"If it's the Mangekyō Sharingan, anything is possible."

During the Third War, Ao had fought against the Uchiha clan of Konoha.

At that time

, he had led an elite group of Mist shinobi into the Land of Fire, only to encounter the long-range genjutsu attack of Uchiha Shisui.

Knowing that he was no match for Shisui, Ao led his team in a hasty retreat.

"Shisui's genjutsu directly entered the enemy's brain, forcing them to experience the harshest realities under his will, all while the manipulated were completely unaware.

It's the highest level of genjutsu.

As a Mangekyō user from the Uchiha clan, if Obito's visual prowess is similar to Shisui's, it wouldn't be surprising for him to manipulate the Fourth Mizukage with genjutsu."

Ao gave a detailed analysis.

Upon hearing this, Mei Terumī looked aghast, unable to believe it.

Could the Mangekyō Sharingan truly be that terrifying?

No wonder all the major ninja villages waited until the Uchiha Clan left Konoha before daring to declare war on the village.

Coming back to her senses, Mei Terumī quickly asked, "Then, can you break the genjutsu cast on Mizukage?"

"I'll give it my best shot. However, we must act quickly to prevent Uchiha Obito from noticing," Ao responded, his face stern.

That night.

Inside the main tent of the Hidden Mist.

Thud.

Yagura Karatachi knelt on the ground, gasping for breath, his face expressing shock as if he had just awakened from a dream.

Just now, Ao had successfully used his Byakugan to break the genjutsu on Yagura.

"Mizukage."

Two Anbu quickly came forward to help Yagura up.

Besides the Anbu, those present included Mei Terumī, the Six-Tails Jinchūriki Utakata, the Ghost Man Kisame Hoshigaki, and two members of the new generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist: Ringo Ameyuri and Mangetsu Hōzuki.

To prevent unexpected situations - such as an attack by Obito - almost all of the Hidden Mist's top fighters had gathered here to protect the Mizukage.

"Where did that Kisame guy go?"

The one known as "Little Apple," Ringo Ameyuri, looked around curiously and asked, "Should I go get him?"

Kisame, another member of the new generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, was nowhere to be found.

"No need."

Yagura stood up, looking despondent. He said to everyone, "Kisame has joined Uchiha Obito. He must have sensed the situation was unfavorable and fled."

Kisame was indeed a problem.

Upon hearing this, Mei Terumī felt her suspicions were confirmed.

"Mizukage, what should we do next?" Ao asked, his gaze fixed on Yagura.

The Hidden Mist's declaration of war on Konoha was initiated by Obito manipulating the Mizukage, not the Mizukage's own will.

Yagura was indecisive for a moment, as if he hadn't fully awakened from the effects of the genjutsu. He frowned and asked his subordinates for their opinions.

"What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Terumī replied without hesitation, "I suggest we retreat immediately! Our top priority should be to return to the Hidden Mist, root out Uchiha Obito's influence, and maintain peace in our village."

In Mei Terumī's view, resolving the internal issues in the Hidden Mist was the most important thing.

But as soon as she finished speaking, she was rebutted by Kisame Hoshigaki.

"Retreating at this point would surely lead to dissatisfaction among the Mist ninjas, and we would also lose the chance to divide up Konoha. It would be the most foolish action."

Kisame was a fervent warmonger, and there were many like him among the five thousand Mist ninja.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Yagura pondered for a moment before finally making a decision:

"Although I declared war on Konoha under the manipulation of Uchiha Obito, this war is in the Hidden Mist's best interests. We must join with other ninja villages to eliminate Konoha."

Ao nodded in agreement, adding, "Mizukage is right. At this point, it's clear that Konoha is destined to lose. If the Hidden Mist withdraws now, we might miss a great opportunity to divide up Konoha."

"But..."

Mei Terumī wanted to say something else, but as a peace advocate, her voice was hardly influential in the Hidden Mist camp.

She had to compromise.

"Please help me keep the fact that I was manipulated by Obito a secret. If word got out, it would be terribly embarrassing."

With those final words, Yagura dismissed everyone, indicating that he needed rest.

"Understood."

All the Mist ninjas nodded in agreement.

The idea of a village's Kage being manipulated by the Sharingan was indeed too absurd. If the news got out, it would undoubtedly invite ridicule.

Under the cover of night.

Kisame Hoshigaki, with his large sword Samehada on his back, fled the Hidden Mist camp without looking back, heading west to a location several dozen kilometers away.

In a cave there, he met with Obito.

Kisame was a pure ninja.

He regarded the completion of missions as his duty, tirelessly serving the Hidden Mist, even if it meant killing his own comrades on a mission. He never hesitated.

However...

When Kisame found out that his superior, Fuguki Suikazan, had betrayed the village by selling information to neighboring countries, his faith as a ninja collapsed.

Afterwards...

When Kisame personally killed Fuguki and came face to face with the Fourth Mizukage, upon seeing the Sharingan pattern in his eyes, he couldn't help but lament—

He had been living in a world of deception, and his life as a ninja had no meaning.

That's when Obito appeared.

He claimed to be Uchiha Madara and told Kisame that he could help him escape from his illusory pain and invited Kisame to join him.

After hearing about Madara's "Eye of the Moon" plan, Kisame was intensely drawn to the world created by the Infinite Tsukuyomi and readily joined Akatsuki.

Later, even though Obito's false identity was exposed, Kisame continued to trust Obito and looked forward to the day when the "Eye of the Moon" plan would come to fruition.

Now, after seeing Obito...

Kisame reported everything truthfully.

This included the fact that Pain had publicly stated at the Kage Summit that the Mizukage was being manipulated by Obito, that Pain threatened to capture the Nine-Tails, and that the Mizukage's genjutsu had been broken by the Mist ninja.

"What a shame."

Obito's eyes flickered, realizing that the Hidden Mist was out of his control.

He had anticipated that Pain would come and cause trouble. After all, he had gone to the Hidden Mist with Pain and Konan, and had manipulated the Mizukage right in front of them.

However, with all the major ninja villages converging on Konoha, all that was left was to watch the show.

As for Pain capturing the Nine-Tails...

He'd let that fool try. It would be best if he could capture all nine Tailed Beasts, as in the end, they would all serve him, Uchiha Obito.

That fool Pain wanted to capture the Tailed Beasts only to create weapons of war. Little did he know, the true value of the Tailed Beasts was to create the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, giving the user power on par with the Sage of Six Paths.

And the secret technique to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūri

ki was in Obito's hands.

"I heard that Uchiha Dan has also returned to Konoha. With this, Pain and Dan might very likely clash. It seems like it will be quite a thrilling match."

Obito murmured to himself.

He couldn't wait for Pain and Dan to have a titanic battle, preferably ending with both sides severely injured.

Obito was already eager to see that scene unfold.

In the Leaf Village...

Facing the impending invasion, the hundreds of thousands of Leaf villagers had taken refuge.

Now...

Traps and mechanisms were set up everywhere in and around the Leaf Village, forming a dense defense line. The entire village's defense was watertight.

For the Leaf Village, this was the biggest crisis since its establishment, a battle of life and death.

On the rooftop of the Hokage building...

The Daimyō of the Land of Fire, the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Koharu, and Homura, among other high-ranking officials, gathered here, gazing down solemnly.

The streets below were crowded with twenty thousand Leaf ninja, stretching as far as the eye could see.

This was the final mobilization meeting before the war.