Having been discovered, Sakumo had no choice but to retreat. Despite the strangeness of seeing the Mizukage running while holding his pants, there was no time to dwell on it. If he didn't escape soon, he'd be surrounded by Mist Village forces, making it nearly impossible to flee.
What a stroke of terrible luck.
He had chosen what he thought would be the easiest place to infiltrate, only to find the Mizukage sitting on the toilet. If Sakumo had known the Mizukage had been sitting there for hours, he might have coughed up blood from frustration.
Why on earth would the Mizukage spend hours in the bathroom instead of being in his office?
Still, this mission hadn't been a total failure. Sakumo had gathered valuable intelligence, and now it was time to leave.
He quickly fled along his designated escape route.
"What happened?" Yagura asked, arriving at the chaotic scene at the Mizukage's office. Several Anbu ninjas were already present and bowed to him immediately.
"Yagura-sama, someone infiltrated the Mizukage's office and attempted to assassinate Mizukage-sama!"
How bold!
Yagura's face twisted in anger. He had just left, and now there had been an assassination attempt on the Mizukage. This was a direct slap to his face.
"Who did it?" He demanded.
"According to Mizukage-sama, the infiltrator was Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake. After discovering the Mizukage, Hatake immediately launched an attack and then quickly retreated."
"Sakumo Hatake!!"
Yagura's face burned with fury.
"You lot stay here and protect Mizukage-sama. The rest of you, follow me!"
With clenched teeth, Yagura barked his orders. "If he dared to sneak into the Mist Village to assassinate our Mizukage, then Sakumo Hatake must stay here forever."
Yagura had avoided clashing with Takuya at sea earlier, knowing it wasn't worth the trouble. But Sakumo Hatake? He wouldn't let this go.
Sakumo's assassination attempt wasn't just an attack on the Mizukage-it was an insult to the entire Mist Village.
No one could have predicted that what began as a covert intelligence mission would escalate into an assassination attempt on the Mizukage. And as word spread, more and more people learned of the incident.
Even clans with internal conflicts temporarily set aside their differences to join in the hunt for Sakumo.
Thousands of Mist ninjas followed the trail Sakumo left behind, some searching for any sign of him within the village.
The fact that an enemy had infiltrated the village and targeted the Mizukage was a significant breach of security, and many would face consequences for this failure especially Yagura, who oversaw security.
"The Mist Village must be going mad," Sakumo muttered to himself as he evaded yet another group of Anbu pursuing him.