The spirits of many Hidden Mist Ninjas have been severely shaken, leading to a rapid increase in suicide and defection rates. Those who can maintain their sanity are ostracized, facing various assassination attempts, and ultimately can only be stationed at the borders to escape persecution from the Blood Mist faction ninjas.
Behind all this, there are shadows of the Daimyo of the Land of Water and the nobility. They wish to turn Hidden Mist Village into their personal weapon through the changes brought by the Blood Mist, rather than merely maintaining a 'cooperative' relationship.
"Precisely because of this, there is a necessity to cooperate with Yagura. After all, it is the Daimyo of the Land of Water and those nobles who have pushed Yagura and the Hidden Mist to our side. In this aspect, I really have to thank them for their overreaching ambition, it has helped me a great deal."
With the matters in the Hidden Mist concluded, Hakushi felt no need to stay. He departed with Ruri, heading back to the Land of Demons.
◎
"Sit."
After bidding farewell to Hakushi, Yagura returned to the village and went into a relatively intact room.
Someone was already there waiting for him.
The person sat in a spacious chair, holding a snake-shaped cane—it was the Elder Master of the Hidden Mist Village.
The Elder Master had stopped Yagura's further rampage, making him ceasefire with the Third Mizukage, preventing the Hidden Mist from falling into deeper chaos.
"Most members of the Blood Mist faction have already surrendered. Only a small number of stubborn forces are still resisting. I believe that before sunset today, the unrest will be completely pacified."
Yagura sat across from the Elder Master and spoke first.
The Elder Master nodded and said, "The most crucial task right now is to restore the village's development as soon as possible. To be frank, if there were a more suitable candidate in the village right now, I absolutely wouldn't support you becoming the Fourth. Even if you control the Three-tailed, the result would be the same."
The biggest issue with Yagura was the illegitimacy of his succession. After this incident, the controversy surrounding him in the village would only grow.
Supporting Yagura to become the Fourth Mizukage, the Elder Master also faced tremendous public pressure.
Most importantly, as the Elder Master mentioned, among all ninjas under forty in the village, there was none whose abilities and power surpassed Yagura's as a Jonin.
Moreover, with Yagura having many subordinates, the Elder Master suspected that Yagura had already secretly taken control of all the deployment units in the Land of Water. Combined with the village ninjas, they numbered at least several thousand.
If Yagura is not appointed as the next Mizukage, and those people express their dissatisfaction, it could escalate into a terrifying situation.
Instead of this, it's better to go with the flow, filling the vacancy of the Fourth Mizukage and also appeasing Yagura's numerous subordinates, giving them reassurance that the leadership will not seek retribution.
"It's an act of necessity. If you want to cultivate a new Mizukage, Master Elder, it would take at least ten years, if not more."
Yagura also understood that the Elder Master supported him for the greater good of the Hidden Mist, rather than truly favoring him as the Fourth Mizukage.
Yagura was aware of this reality.
"Until then, the position of Mizukage will be temporarily entrusted to you. Your way of handling matters is too reckless. From now on, pay a little more attention and avoid resorting to violence as a means to solve problems."
The tone of the Elder Master indicated his dissatisfaction with Yagura's previous actions.
Because the subsequent handling was quite troublesome, and any mishap could lead to further chaos.
This handover of the Mizukage position is a profound challenge to traditional legitimacy, setting a poor example for successors.
And this exemplary power was precisely brought by Yagura.
"Gentleness is not suitable for today's Hidden Mist. For the Blood Mist faction, one must take drastic measures. Wasn't it also you, Master Elder, who knew they were secretly conspiring with the Hidden Cloud ninjas? In fact, without my intervention, you would have proposed a motion against Suikazan Fuguki becoming the Fourth Mizukage during the meeting."
Yagura understood the reasoning.
However, unlike the Elder Master, he chose a more radical path instead of considering the bigger picture.
The consequence of failure would be death, but if he won, he could lead the Hidden Mist into a new era.
As for whether this new era would bode well for the future of the Hidden Mist, Yagura couldn't foresee.
But apart from this path, there was no other way to go.
These years, he had been observing the governance system of the Land of Demons precisely because the Daimyo and nobles of the Land of Water had become untrustworthy, forcing the Hidden Mist to seek alternative routes.
However, the era of one nation, one village has weathered several decades of storms, receiving the full support of most countries and ninja villages. After all, the person who created this era is named Senju Hashirama.
The God of Ninja!
Instances such as the daimyo and nobles of the Land of Water digging their own graves and ignoring contracts and rules are still quite rare.
The evolution of the Blood Mist in the Hidden Mist is merely an accidental mutation in the history of ninja evolution, not something that can be considered universally existent.
Of course, it's also possible to lead the Hidden Mist to reconcile with the ruling class of the Land of Water... but once some things are broken, they're difficult to restore to their original state.
It takes ten years or decades to build mutual trust, but losing trust often only takes a moment.
"Since you have this awareness, lead the Hidden Mist towards greater strength. However, I will also be monitoring your every move from behind the scenes and will not allow you to mess around in this village again."
The Elder Master sighed.
Yagura was not his most preferred candidate for the Fourth Mizukage.