Chapter 321: The Upheaval in Kirigakure!

Chapter 321: The Upheaval in Kirigakure!

Land of Water, Kirigakure, Mizukage Tower.

The Third Mizukage awoke from a daze, feeling as if he had just emerged from a terrifying nightmare that had lasted for decades.

Most of the scenes from the nightmare were already indistinct, like a memory reel covered in a thick filter, making it difficult to feel as if he had truly experienced it.

The only clear image, one so clear it was seared into the Third Mizukage's memory for life, was a pair of scarlet eyes.

Crimson pupils, black tomoe, the infamous Sharingan…

The Third Mizukage felt his old, stiff body. He struggled to turn his neck, looking out the Mizukage's office window.

A deep, heavy white mist shrouded the entire village. Simple, gray buildings loomed in and out of the fog, as if it had been this way since ancient times.

But as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, even in broad daylight, the warm, bright sun could hardly penetrate this cold and silent village, let alone disperse the stagnant, acrid smell of blood that hung in the air.

Staring at the cold, desolate village, which was devoid of any human vitality, the Third Mizukage ground his teeth and spat out a name.

"Uchiha—Madara!"

Decades ago, the First Mizukage, Byakuren, had tirelessly traveled during the harsh Warring States period to build Kirigakure from nothing.

After the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, took over, he emulated Konoha's Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, by establishing Kirigakure's Ninja Academy and ANBU, and also instituting the village's secrecy laws.

During the Second Mizukage's tenure, Kirigakure's comprehensive strength was greatly enhanced and developed.

Although the "secrecy laws" created a rift between Kirigakure and the people of the Land of Water, shinobi were fundamentally creatures of the shadows. "Guarding intelligence" was an instinct carved into every ninja's bones.

Overall, the "secrecy laws" did not negatively impact Kirigakure's strength; it still retained the power and prestige of one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

However, after the Second Mizukage was assassinated and the Third Mizukage took his place, Kirigakure slowly gained a very special nickname—

"The Village of the Bloody Mist!"

The Third Mizukage spoke this name with deep anguish, his heart filled with grief and indignation.

In the so-called "Bloody Mist," killing fellow villagers was treated as commonplace.

Even one of the conditions for graduating from the Academy was to personally slay a classmate.

The Third Mizukage learned from his fragmented memories that in the last two years, an "incredible" "genius" had appeared in the Kirigakure Ninja Academy.

During the graduation exam, this "genius" had single-handedly killed every other student participating. The moment he graduated, he earned the special title of "Demon," a name that terrified ordinary people.

Any sane shinobi knew what kind of harm the actions of the "Demon" Momochi Zabuza would bring:

An entire generation of Kirigakure's shinobi died worthless deaths in a small graduation exam!

As the Third Mizukage, he naturally understood the severity of this incident.

But unfortunately, "he" at that time did not realize the damage this did to Kirigakure.

Or perhaps...

The "Third Mizukage" at that time didn't care about anyone else in Kirigakure at all.

The great Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, was, in fact, just a small tool in his hands…

The Third Mizukage of today couldn't remember what had happened back then.

He only knew that after the Second Mizukage, Lord Gengetsu Hōzuki, was assassinated by Iwagakure's Second Tsuchikage, he had succeeded the title, and then...

...he was controlled by Uchiha Madara's genjutsu.

How could a normal Mizukage possibly sit by and watch his own village turn into the so-called "Bloody Mist"?

Only an outsider would hold the lives of Kiri shinobi in such contempt.

The Third Mizukage's heart was filled with resentment for Uchiha Madara.

But he also knew that, for some reason, he had now broken free of Madara's genjutsu.

The most urgent task was not to decry Uchiha Madara's actions.

It was to end the cold, cruel, terrifying Blood Mist era!

The first step was to pull Kirigakure out of the quagmire of the Third Great Shinobi War!

But as soon as he thought of the war, the Third Mizukage inevitably thought of Kirigakure's losses.

The Three-Tails Jinchuriki, the Three-Tails, the ANBU Head, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the seven swords, the Kirigakure forces…

"Koff—Pfft!"

The Third Mizukage coughed violently, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, staining the cold floor of the Mizukage's office with a glaring smudge.

This coughing of blood wasn't just from rage. It was also because, after being under genjutsu control for so long, Uchiha Madara's Yin Release chakra had inflicted severe, irreversible damage on his body!

Even without seeing a doctor, the Third Mizukage knew his time was short.

But at this point, he had no intention of saving himself.

As the "main culprit" who had caused the "Bloody Mist," if he didn't have to consider the stability of the village, the Third Mizukage would have ended his own life right now. He would go to the Pure Land to perform a dogeza and apologize to Lord Byakuren, Lord Gengetsu Hōzuki, and all the other Kiri shinobi who had died during the Blood Mist era!

Casually wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the Third Mizukage shouted to the outside of his office.

"Someone!"

Almost as soon as his voice fell, a short-statured shinobi pushed the door open.

The Third Mizukage recognized him.

Yagura Karatachi.

After the previous ANBU Head, Hōzuki Mangetsu, "mysteriously disappeared" in the Land of Hot Water, this short Yagura had taken his place, becoming Kirigakure's new ANBU Head.

In other words, Yagura Karatachi was now the number-two man in Kirigakure!

"Lord Third!"

The moment Yagura entered the office, he dropped to one knee, bowing his head in greeting.

But in that instant, Yagura saw the glaring pool of blood on the floor, and his pupils involuntarily constricted.

'Lord Third... coughed up blood?'

A thought flashed through Yagura's mind.

"Yagura, koff... koff..."

The Third Mizukage's voice sounded extremely weak, but the determination in his tone was audible to anyone.

"Send a message to the troops stationed in the Land of Waves. Tell them to stop all advances!

"Dispatch an envoy to Konoha, to the Third Hokage... Sue for peace!

"It is time for Kirigakure to withdraw from this war!"