Chapter 254: The Karatachi Clan: He's More Terrifying Than a Tailed Beast

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At this time, the person handling all the affairs in Mist Village was Genji, someone with authority nearly equal to the Third Mizukage.

Genji certainly didn't want Mist Village to provoke a conflict with Konoha. However, Samehada couldn't be left outside the village either, so diplomatic negotiations were inevitable.

After all, it was the best way to recover Samehada.

Unfortunately, Takuya wasn't the type to easily hand over something that had become his. Mist Village hoping to retrieve Samehada? That was nothing but a pipe dream.

"Future Fourth Mizukage, huh? Isn't that the same as how things are now with Sakumo-senpai?"

Mizukage...

Minato turned to glance back toward the direction of Konoha.

Would his dream of becoming Hokage still come true?

Sakumo Hatake was already wearing the Hokage's informal robes, a decision approved by both the Fire Daimyō and the Third Hokage. In Konoha, most people believed that Sakumo Hatake was the clear candidate for Fourth Hokage.

As soon as the Third Hokage's age began to show, Sakumo was bound to take the position.

Even Minato had accepted this idea, which only showed how immense Sakumo's prestige was in Konoha at the moment. Even the Sannin had to step aside for him.

Only Tsunade had enough sway to stand her ground, while Orochimaru and Jiraiya were completely outmatched.

As the Mist Village's warship departed, Takuya relaxed and turned to ask, "Who told you that Sakumo-senpai is definitely going to be the Fourth Hokage?"

You guys seriously overestimate the morals of the Third Hokage, Danzo, and the elders.

They were people willing to do anything for power.

It looks like the time for Sakumo's 'incident' is fast approaching, Takuya thought.

"Everyone's saying it," Minato responded. "He's already wearing the Hokage's informal robes. Isn't it obvious?"

"That's unlikely. If you don't believe me, we can bet on it."

Takuya shook his head slightly.

Even if Sakumo didn't die as tragically as in the original story, there was no way he'd become the Fourth Hokage. Danzo and the others would never allow it. Even the Third Hokage wouldn't hand over power so easily.

Sakumo wasn't someone they could turn into a puppet like Minato.

If Sakumo rose to power, there was no doubt he would seize full control. With his immense reputation and strength, it would be impossible to justify keeping power from him.

At that point, Danzo and his group would surely find a way to tarnish Sakumo's reputation.

That was exactly what they did in the original story. What they didn't expect, though, was that Sakumo would choose to take his own life, robbing Konoha of one of its greatest pillars.

Sakumo's death had surely been a cause for celebration in other villages. Konoha was too powerful at the time—a situation none of the other villages were happy with.

The more Konoha's strong figures perished, the better.

"No bet!" Minato said, turning his head, and even Nawaki remained silent.

Just like Tsunade, neither of them had ever won a single bet against Takuya.

"..."

They had learned their lesson—they weren't falling for it anymore.

"Well then, how about we play a game of cards? There's still a month left before the mission ends. We need something to pass the time."

"No thanks!" Nawaki and Minato both refused immediately.

They knew all too well that whenever they played games with Takuya, the money in their pockets would inevitably end up in his.

Especially Nawaki—he had never won once. If Tsunade was known as the "Big Fat Sheep," Nawaki could easily be called the "Little Fat Lamb."

Fresh, tender, and ready for slaughter.

He lost everything every single time.

"…"

They've grown up. I can't trick them as easily anymore.

Back on the Mist Village ship, Yagura's dark expression said it all. The Mist ninjas who accompanied him dared not even breathe too loudly.

They were terrified that in Yagura's anger, he might take out his fury on them. In the world of ninjas, they may have been accustomed to risking their lives, but that didn't mean they wanted to die.

All the Mist ninjas stood with their eyes lowered, trying their best to blend into the background and avoid catching Yagura's attention.

Luckily, Yagura wasn't someone who killed on a whim, despite the number of lives he had taken. Most of the time, it was because he was carrying out orders from the Third Mizukage.

"Genji-sama."

After returning to the village, Yagura didn't go to see the Third Mizukage. Instead, he went to Genji.

"Have you figured out the cause?" Genji asked, a bit surprised. Yagura had only been gone for a short time, yet he had already gathered all the necessary information.

"Come, sit down. It looks like you have bad news."

From the look on Yagura's face, Genji knew trouble was brewing.

Yagura respectfully bowed, then sat down with a straight back and placed his hands neatly in his lap—more respectful than he was even toward the Mizukage.

Such troubled times… Genji thought, sighing as he held his tea cup. "Alright, tell me what you've discovered."

"Yes," Yagura replied with a slight nod before explaining, "There's been no word from Fuguki Suikazan, nor from the team he led. There are only two possibilities: either they defected, or they encountered a powerful enemy and were wiped out."

"I asked the Hozuki clan to summon Samehada back, but they failed."

"Hmm." Genji nodded, signaling Yagura to continue.

After a brief pause, Yagura said, "In the patrol area of Fuguki's team, I encountered a Konoha warship and confirmed that Konoha was responsible."

"Has anyone from our village attacked Fire Nation shipping routes recently?" Genji asked suddenly.

Yagura blinked, then nodded.

"Ah… I see."

So that's it. Genji waved a hand, urging Yagura to continue.

"There weren't many of them—just three. Leading them was Yagami Takuya, who rose quickly during the Second Ninja War but then disappeared just as fast."

"Samehada is in his possession, and it looks like it's been sealed. The Hozuki clan couldn't summon it back."

"Yagami Takuya?" Genji's brow furrowed. "I've heard of him. Some say he's Konoha's second Hashirama Senju. After meeting him, what do you think?"

A genius, no doubt. Otherwise, such rumors wouldn't have spread so far.

But comparing him to Hashirama Senju? That was hard to believe. After all, Hashirama was the God of Shinobi, a man who had single-handedly brought the entire shinobi world to its knees.

Even if he had been somewhat eccentric.

"He's incredibly strong."

Yagura's face, which had gradually relaxed during the conversation, tensed up again as he recalled his encounter with Takuya.

"Though we didn't fight, he felt like a human-shaped Tailed Beast. No, even more terrifying than a Tailed Beast. The pressure he exerted on me far surpassed that of any Tailed Beast."

The Karatachi Clan was a rather special family in the Land of Water.

The specifics of their uniqueness were rarely known to outsiders. And because the clan had so few members, it wasn't widely recognized in the ninja world.

Yagura had the ability to sense things that others couldn't, even though Takuya had concealed his power as perfectly as possible.

Otherwise, with Yagura's usual decisive nature, there was no way he would have let himself be mocked, humiliated, and then simply withdrawn.

"Is he like Kisame?" Genji asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yagura shook his head. "No, more like an actual Tailed Beast."

Genji: "..."

"It seems Konoha has produced quite the remarkable young man. You made the right decision to withdraw. This is not someone we should clash with. We'll handle this diplomatically; the Third Hokage, at least, is still fairly reasonable."

Of course, when Genji said "reasonable," he didn't mean it as a compliment. He meant that the Third Hokage was soft.