Chapter 172: The second thirty consecutive draws is about to begin!

Kohachi Kuriarare obtained the Blade of Destruction.

Yagura gained reputation and hearts.

Everyone has a bright "future."

However, when Yagura returned home, an invisible vortex appeared.

Before Yagura realized it,

"Mangekyo Sharingan!"

Obito used Mangekyo-level Genjutsu on Yagura.

Yagura couldn't resist.

Unlike the situation with the Third Mizukage,

Yagura was immediately controlled.

He fell into the Genjutsu.

Obito didn't leave right away but continued to strengthen the Genjutsu on Yagura to achieve absolute control over him.

The night passed quietly.

Yagura went to the Mizukage's Building as usual while Obito left the Hidden Mist Village.

He took away a lot of things and also left behind a lot.

What he took were intelligence about the Hidden Mist Village.

"The information I obtained from Yagura is definitely accurate."

"The Third Mizukage has indeed disappeared."

"That Zanpakuto is also missing."

"The Zanpakuto was crafted by a young Blacksmith named Uehara Soma."

"He is now the Chief of the Forging Department on Forging Island."

"There are three Blacksmiths below him, two guards, and the guards are not weak, especially the one named Ao, who has received the Byakugan from the Hyuga Clan."

Obito's eyes flickered.

"In that case, Yagura should visit Forging Island as little as possible to avoid contact with Ao."

"Given the situation in the Hidden Mist Village, Ao is unlikely to suspect Yagura and use the Byakugan to observe him, which would be very disrespectful to a Mizukage. However, accidents can happen."

"Therefore, minimizing contact is the best approach."

"As for those Zanpakuto..."

"Only those who are recognized can truly unleash the power of the Zanpakuto."

"Others can use it as well, but they cannot fully utilize its abilities and will expend more Chakra when using it."

"A very unique type of Ninjato."

"It's somewhat similar to Kakashi using my Sharingan."

"Kakashi gained the abilities of the Sharingan, but the existence of the Sharingan also placed a significant burden on him."

"Besides the Zanpakuto, there are also the Skillful Grade Sword and the Great Grade Sword."

"If things develop normally, the Hidden Mist Village will become very strong in the future."

Obito's expression grew cold.

"But the Hidden Mist Village does not deserve it!"

"Rin's death is not just the fault of the Third Mizukage, but the fault of your entire Hidden Mist Village!"

"I will cut off your hope!"

"I will let you sink into pain!"

"Only after I complete my plan and ensure Rin lives a happy life will the remnants of the Hidden Mist Village be worthy of being freed in the Moon's Eye Plan."

Obito wants to take revenge on the Hidden Mist Village.

However, due to the importance of the Eye of the Moon Plan,

revenge on the Hidden Mist Village takes a back seat.

Thus, Obito did not take very radical actions.

Instead, he gave Yagura a relatively "reasonable" order.

"Strengthen the Bloody Mist Policy!"

"Make the competition more intense, let more people die."

"Use their deaths to honor Rin!"

This is Obito's plan, which neither exposes Yagura's abnormality nor arouses suspicion from the Hidden Mist Village, while still allowing him to take revenge on the village.

In addition, Obito has another plan.

That is to control the Hozuki Clan.

Currently, the situation in the Hidden Mist Village is a confrontation between the Hozuki Clan and the Zanpakuto.

Obito wants to prevent Soma from forging more Ninjato.

To stop the Hidden Mist Village from becoming strong,

killing Soma is the best choice.

However, the existence of Ao's Byakugan and the shock brought by the Skeleton Emperor make Obito hesitant to directly attack Soma on Forging Island.

Obito wants to use the Hozuki Clan to do it.

If the Hozuki Clan can kill Soma, that would be ideal.

Even if the Hozuki Clan does not pose a real threat to Soma's life, the process of attacking him can still yield valuable intelligence.

After controlling Yagura, Obito infiltrated the Hozuki Clan and used Genjutsu on Hozuki Kazuhiko.

"But…"

Obito rubbed his eyes.

"In such a short time, using Genjutsu to control two people has been a huge drain on my ocular power."

"But fortunately, the gains are substantial."

Obito set two short-term goals:

Strengthen the Bloody Mist Policy to cause more casualties in the Hidden Mist Village.

Kill Uehara Soma.

And one long-term goal: Control the Hidden Mist Village and turn it into an asset for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

However, what Obito did not know was that shortly after he completed the control of Yagura, Ao had already discovered it.

"Mizukage-sama."

Ao, Soma, Genji, and others had all arrived before the Third Mizukage's phantom.

"I've seen that the Fourth Mizukage has been controlled by Genjutsu."

At these words, everyone's expressions immediately grew serious.

The Third Mizukage's face darkened.

"That guy really came!"

The Third Mizukage turned to Genji.

"Genji, I'm counting on you. Gather trusted Elders from each department and the Clan Heads of the major Ninja families for a meeting. Put on a show in front of Yagura."

"Make the mastermind believe that they have control over the Hidden Mist Village's information."

"Then, create an opportunity to lure him in."

"Ambush him."

"Break his limbs, seal his Chakra, and extract all the information from his mind. I want to see just how deep Konoha's secrets are!"

Genji nodded and asked,

"Mizukage-sama, will you make an appearance?"

The Third Mizukage thought for a moment.

"I'll preside over the first meeting."

Genji is indeed an Elder of the Hidden Mist Village and holds a very high position in the village, second only to the Mizukage.

However, this matter involves the Fourth Mizukage.

The Third Mizukage feels that if he doesn't step in, Genji might not be able to fully control the situation.

Some people might think that Genji wants to "usurp" power.

But if the Third Mizukage himself appears, it would be different.

"Ao, you and Genji go together."

The Third Mizukage said, "Given the way Konoha operates, it's likely that there's more than one person being controlled. There might be others under Genjutsu as well."

"Yes, Mizukage-sama."

The two stood up, ready to leave.

But before they could walk out, Ao thought of something.

"Mizukage-sama, should we invite the Hozuki Clan?"

"Hozuki…"

The Third Mizukage is well aware of the current conflict between the Hozuki Clan and the village, which is comparable to the previous conflict with the Kaguya Clan.

As the Shinigami Squad continues to perform excellently, the criticism directed at the Hozuki Clan has been increasing.

But this is neither Soma's fault nor the fault of the Shinigami Squad members.

It's just the backlash from the Hozuki Clan's own actions.

They forcibly seized the Seven Ninja Swords and privatized them.

They belittled the Zanpakuto and the members of the Shinigami Squad.

…

"Let's invite them anyway; after all, they are still members of the Hidden Mist Village."

After saying this, the Third Mizukage suddenly felt that he had become a bit softer compared to his past self.

"Forget it, let's leave the Hozuki Clan out of it for now."

"With their current situation, telling them this news and the risk of their non-cooperation, not telling them won't have much impact on our overall plan."

Genji and Ao exchanged glances.

"Yes, Mizukage-sama."

Ao thought the Third Mizukage had a point.

Currently, Ao, as a member of Soma's camp, was naturally dissatisfied with the Hozuki Clan.

Genji, on the other hand, was indifferent.

Soon, under Genji and Ao's arrangements, everyone arrived at the meeting room prepared by Genji.

Everyone arrived one by one, without drawing any attention.

Soma had brought the Skeleton Emperor in advance, hidden in a wooden box.

This way, when the Third Mizukage appeared, it would only be a phantom.

The Skeleton Emperor would not be displayed in front of everyone, reducing the likelihood of them overthinking things.

One by one, figures entered.

Soma looked around.

The Chief of the Medical Department, Mayuko Ringo.

The ANBU Chief.

The Chief of the Mission Department.

The Chief of the Police Department.

The Head of the Ninja Academy.

Genji.

Kaguya Masui.

The Clan Head of the Hoshigaki Clan.

…

It could be said that the core of the Hidden Mist Village was essentially all here, except for the Clan Head of the Hozuki Clan, the Clan Head of the Karatachi Clan, and Yagura.

Many people were also observing Soma.

After all, in terms of age, Soma was the youngest present.

However, in terms of importance, Soma was the most significant here.

No one dared to underestimate Soma.

Some people were simply curious, as it was their first time seeing Soma.

Curious about what someone who can forge so many Zanpakuto looks like.

"Everyone."

Genji stood up and cleared his throat.

Everyone's attention turned to him.

"You are all very important to our Hidden Mist Village, the heads of various departments, and the Clan Heads of major Ninja families. The reason I've called this meeting is extremely important."

"It concerns the survival of the village."

"Before we start the meeting, allow me to introduce someone."

As Genji finished speaking, the phantom of the Third Mizukage slowly appeared.

"Mizukage-sama?"

The Third Mizukage looked around.

"Everyone is here."

Hearing the familiar voice, everyone was further convinced.

"Mizukage-sama!"

"Mizukage-sama, you're still alive?"

"What happened to your disappearance?"

"Who did it?"

The appearance of the Third Mizukage left everyone present in shock.

For a moment, they couldn't process the information.

"Silence!"

Everyone finally quieted down.

The Third Mizukage spoke.

"I am already dead, only my soul remains in the village."

"What I am about to tell you must be remembered and kept absolutely confidential. Do not mention it to anyone."

"Otherwise, the Hidden Mist Village will be destroyed by your hands."

"Do you all understand?"

Everyone exchanged glances and nodded.

"We understand."

"Good. One by one, when I call your name, promise me."

The matter was too serious. The Third Mizukage knew these people were trustworthy, but he still needed to emphasize the importance of the matter. Otherwise, the Hidden Mist Village would indeed be doomed.

After receiving everyone's promises, the Third Mizukage continued.

"I was attacked by Konoha's ninjas."

"There were four of them."

"These four were very strong."

"One fought using paper, another used a secret jutsu involving attraction and repulsion, and one could absorb ninjutsu."

"The key lies with the fourth person."

"This person simultaneously possesses Wood Release, the Sharingan, and space-time ninjutsu."

Everyone's pupils shrank sharply.

No one had ever seen or even heard of such a person.

Moreover, a ninja with all these abilities must be extremely powerful.

"These four are not any of the known Kage-level ninjas from Konoha."

"Konoha has hidden a lot of strength and has major conspiracies."

"And now, they have infiltrated the Hidden Mist Village, using genjutsu to control Yagura."

Everyone was shocked again.

The Kage of a village was silently controlled by Konoha's ninja using genjutsu?

What an absurd situation.

What kind of great ninja village is the Hidden Mist Village under such circumstances?

Wouldn't the Hidden Mist Village be at the mercy of Konoha?

"Before this, I was also controlled by Konoha's ninja using genjutsu. The plan to seal the Three-Tails into Konoha's ninja was carried out while I was under genjutsu control."

"That is the power of the Sharingan above the Three Tomoe."

"It is somewhat similar to Uchiha Madara's Sharingan from back then."

"The conflict and contradictions between Konoha and the Uchiha clan are likely a facade they deliberately created."

"Yagura being controlled is a terrible thing for our Hidden Mist Village."

"But at the same time, it is also an opportunity for us."

"Let Konoha think they have already taken control of our Hidden Mist Village. We can use this to investigate Konoha's secrets."

"Then, we will expose Konoha's conspiracies to the entire ninja world."

"Before that, I need all of you to fully cooperate with our actions."

"Pretend you don't know that Yagura is under genjutsu."

"Your attitude towards Yagura should remain unchanged."

"However, for orders and actions proposed by Yagura, if they have no negative impact on the village, execute them as usual. If they have a negative impact, report to me immediately."

"I need you to work with me to complete this plan."

Everyone took a long time to digest this information, their moods becoming heavy. They had thought that the village's situation had greatly improved and that defeating Konoha and Hidden Sand Village was just around the corner. They believed that the future Hidden Mist Village would surely become the number one ninja village. But they hadn't expected such a situation. The Hidden Mist Village, no, the entire ninja world, except for Konoha, was facing a huge crisis.

"Mizukage-sama, we will do our utmost!"

Soma felt a bit conflicted.

"I wonder how things will develop from here."

"But the situation in the Hidden Mist Village will surely not be worse than in the original storyline."

Suddenly, Uehara Soma felt a flicker before his eyes. The number in the reputation column on the semi-transparent panel jumped directly to over 3000.

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