Chapter 252: The Weapon Couldn't Be Summoned Back, A First Meeting with Takuya

"Snap out of it, you idiot!"

Minato called out to Nawaki, who had been daydreaming. Startled, Nawaki blinked and snapped back to reality.

Seeing that both Minato and Takuya were focused on the sea, he quickly stood up to take a look.

When he noticed the two small black dots on the horizon, growing larger with each passing moment, his face darkened.

"Is that the Mist Village's ship?"

"Almost certainly. Mist Village's shinobi regularly patrol the surrounding seas. Each patrol lasts anywhere from three to seven days. In some cases, it can stretch to half a month or more."

A missing patrol unit would definitely raise alarms in Mist Village. Even more so because the leader of that missing unit was none other than Fuguki Suikazan, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and he had been carrying Samehada, a blade of utmost importance to the village.

In other words, it might be acceptable for people to go missing, but not the weapon. The sword was far more valuable than its wielder. If someone were lost, Mist Village could always find a new shinobi to inherit Samehada, but if the weapon itself were lost, it would leave the Seven Ninja Swordsmen one sword short.

And what would happen to their fearsome reputation if they had only six swords?

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen? More like the Six," people would scoff, which would drive Mist Village crazy.

On one of the Mist Village's warships, Yagura's face grew grim as he confirmed that the team led by Fuguki Suikazan had not returned.

This could only mean two things: they had either defected or encountered an enemy far stronger than anticipated and been annihilated.

Yagura wasn't just making wild guesses. Ever since the Third Mizukage initiated the Bloody Mist Era, Mist Village had earned the highest defection rate among the Five Great Shinobi Villages—a fact no other village could compete with.

Even Konoha, despite its internal political struggles, couldn't compare to the chaos in Mist Village.

While the Uchiha Clan had clashed with Konoha for decades, ultimately leading to their massacre, Mist Village had seen numerous bloodline-limit clans wiped out in internal conflicts, long before the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, ever took power.

Thanks to the Third Mizukage's oppressive policies, the rate of shinobi defecting from Mist Village was higher than anywhere else.

In other villages, if you failed a mission, you might lose credit or receive a minor punishment.

But in Mist Village? The moment you returned to the village, death awaited you.

It was no wonder so many shinobi chose to flee.

Strangely enough, when Yagura sought out the Hozuki Clan to summon Samehada back, the summoning failed.

Between defection and death, Yagura was more inclined to believe that Fuguki Suikazan had been killed. But an investigation was still necessary to confirm what had happened.

"Lord Yagura, ahead lies the Fire Nation's shipping route, and a Konoha warship is directly in our path," one of the Mist shinobi reported, breaking Yagura out of his thoughts.

Looking out at the seemingly insignificant Konoha warship, Yagura's eyes narrowed.

"Approach them," he ordered in a cold tone.

"Yes, sir!" came the sharp reply.

Despite Yagura's youthful appearance and slightly soft voice, the Mist Village shinobi didn't dare ignore his orders.

Over the years, Yagura had personally eliminated many individuals while serving under the Third Mizukage.

He might look small and innocent, but his hands were soaked in the blood of both enemies and his own comrades.

Even more shocking, he was already a father…

Although the Fire Nation had many coastlines, their warship construction couldn't compete with Mist Village's. Konoha's warship looked like a large toy compared to the more formidable Mist warships.

"Prepare for battle," Yagura commanded as the distance between the two ships shrank.

"Yes, Lord Yagura!"

The Mist shinobi on board began preparing for combat.

"Wait!"

As the two ships drew closer, Yagura spotted someone standing at the bow of the Konoha vessel. The figure had one foot propped on the ship's railing, casually observing the approaching Mist ship.

Yagura's mind raced, piecing together the information he had on the figure before him.

"Everyone, move to the other ship. Do not approach without my command, and do not engage!" Yagura suddenly ordered.

The Mist shinobi exchanged confused glances. What? We're about to fight, and now we have to leave?

Still, they didn't question Yagura's command.

"Yes, sir," they chorused, quickly boarding the second ship, which remained anchored at a distance. Only a few shinobi stayed with Yagura as he closed in on the Konoha warship.

"That's Samehada! So, it was Konoha after all," Yagura muttered darkly.

Even from a distance, Yagura could clearly see the large, bandage-wrapped sword strapped to Takuya's back. Samehada's unique design, especially its handle, made it unmistakable.

Despite being wrapped in bandages, there was no mistaking it—Takuya was carrying one of Mist Village's seven legendary swords, Samehada.

"Be careful. This one is no pushover," Yagura cautioned his remaining men.

Just as Yagura had recognized Takuya, Takuya had also identified Yagura.

This was no ordinary Mist shinobi—it was Yagura, the personal bodyguard of the Third Mizukage, future Fourth Mizukage, and host of the Three-Tails… and a puppet of the Uchiha.

That's right—just a puppet.

Mist Village had been thoroughly manipulated by Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito.

Although the original story never explained this in full detail, Takuya was convinced that Madara had tampered with the Third Mizukage's mind.

Think about it: a Mizukage who once loved his village and his people suddenly turned cruel, kicking off the Bloody Mist Era, where his temper flared violently, and he killed anyone who displeased him.

It was as if the Third Raikage had possessed him!

But no, even the Third Raikage wasn't that brutal. At least the Raikage didn't slaughter his own people.

But the Third Mizukage? He massacred his own shinobi with relentless cruelty.

The direct proof of this manipulation came during the Third Shinobi World War, when Mist Village sealed the Three-Tails inside Rin Nohara and sent her back to Konoha, intending for the beast to be unleashed and wreak havoc.

Takuya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. Was Mist Village out of their minds?

The war between Konoha and Mist was already over, and peace talks were underway.

Yet, Mist Village suddenly had the insane idea of sealing their own tailed beast inside a Konoha girl, hoping to create chaos in Konoha?

Did they really think Konoha's shinobi were stupid?

A Jinchuriki, especially one who had just been sealed, couldn't control the tailed beast's chakra. They'd be detected from miles away.

Takuya could confidently say that even if Rin hadn't been killed by Kakashi, she never would've made it past Konoha's border checkpoints.

The entire plan reeked of one purpose: to drive Obito Uchiha to madness, pushing him toward complete despair.

Who else could possibly conceive such a senseless, cruel plan besides Uchiha Madara?

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<One Piece: The Strongest Female Pirate Crews.>

<Ninja World: I Have a Life Simulator>

<One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks>

<Starting from One Piece: Multiverse Simulation>

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