Two days later.
Kirigakure, Mizukage's Tower.
"You three!"
The Mizukage's furious roar echoed so loudly that even those outside the office could hear it clearly.
Zabuza, Haku, and the others were eavesdropping right outside the door, shoulders trembling as they struggled to suppress their laughter.
If they ended up coughing up blood from holding it in, they were definitely going to file for workplace injury compensation from Yagura.
Inside, Yagura slammed his desk, fuming.
"Without my authorization—who the hell gave you permission to make a reckless move like that?!"
The three culprits shrank back, each trying to make themselves smaller than the next.
Among the contestants in this round of "turtle retreat," Kisame lost outright—he was too tall, too stiff, and far from flexible.
"I sent the three of you on that mission to make sure you'd come back in one piece! But nooo, you set your sights on the damn stars!"
Seeing no way to duck any lower than his two teammates, Kisame braced himself and spoke up,
"You're one to talk. You ran off to Kumogakure without a word and brought back two Tailed Beast Jinchūriki."
"Hmph!"
Yagura dropped into his seat, slapping a stack of diplomatic protests from Kumogakure onto the desk.
Beside it was the latest headline: Shimura Danzō broadcasts to the world—Kirigakure killed Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mifune of the Land of Iron during the Five Kage Summit.
"If I hadn't made my move, Kumogakure and Konoha would've already teamed up and declared war on us."
Yagura was justifying his own high-risk actions while simultaneously pinning blame on the trio's impulsive behavior.
"But you three? You handed Danzō the perfect excuse to start a war—killing Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mifune."
Whether or not those three actually killed Hiruzen was irrelevant.
If they had pulled that off, Yagura might've even given them a pat on the back.
"Oh, so it's our fault now?"
Outreasoned and outgunned with blame, Mangetsu shrugged, straightening up without the slightest hint of remorse.
Mei Terumī glanced at Mangetsu and Kisame—neither of them seemed willing to play along with Yagura's performance anymore. So she smoothly redirected the conversation back to serious matters, helping soothe Yagura's temper:
"From what you just said, Kumogakure has backed off from waging war alongside Konoha?"
Yagura waved a hand, his tone finally easing. That meant the topic was over.
"Obviously. What war? Ōnoki just lost Kitsuchi to Konoha. If he wants to switch sides now, he's got to think about public opinion."
"Right now, we've got the Four-Tails in Iwagakure, and the Akatsuki still controls the Seven-Tails. That makes nine Tailed Beasts in our hands."
Yes—all nine. Including the Five-Tails that Obito had been hiding in secret.
After Obito's death, the organization he built quietly fell apart like a snake without a head.
Uchiha Itachi had returned to Kirigakure shortly after Mangetsu's team, bringing the unconscious Five-Tails Jinchūriki with him.
That's when Yagura learned that Itachi had survived the Uchiha massacre—rescued by Obito that very night.
Right now, Itachi was staying temporarily under Shisui's watch.
Kirigakure had taken custody of the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, though they hadn't announced it publicly yet.
Yagura handed the Kumogakure document to Mei for her usual review.
"The strength gap is ridiculous. Raikage would have to be made of nothing but muscle to think he could win."
Kumogakure's Raikage had only ever wanted to take the top spot in the shinobi world—but now that he'd lost both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails, he'd have to seriously reevaluate his strength.
The only surprising part was how calm he remained, despite his sworn brother Killer Bee being missing and possibly dead. That was unexpected, even for Yagura.
Mei quickly read through the papers and frowned.
"Raikage's demanding we return the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails…"
"We'll give back Killer Bee—the Eight-Tails—after the war ends."
Yagura understood exactly where Raikage's pain point was.
If Killer Bee were truly dead, Raikage might lose it and launch a full-scale war, no matter the cost.
And if it came to that? Yagura wasn't the least bit afraid.
But if there were allies to be gained or coalitions to be formed, he'd rather take them.
Yahiko played the diplomat abroad. Back home, Yagura had no desire to see Kirigakure's casualty numbers pile up.
"I get it."
Mei caught on quickly and slid effortlessly back into her role as Yagura's advisor.
"I'll handle the follow-up talks with Kumogakure."
The plan was to let the Fourth Raikage know that Killer Bee was still alive, being held hostage.
In return, Kumogakure would agree not to back Konoha during the upcoming war—essentially trading Bee's life for neutrality.
Yagura nodded, confident leaving it in Mei's hands.
"It's all yours."
The Fourth Raikage—or whoever had brains in Kumogakure—had probably already guessed what Kirigakure would do.
Which was why, despite all the noise from Danzō's propaganda machine, Kumogakure had stayed dead silent.
"Mangetsu, are you absolutely sure Uchiha Obito is dead?"
"Totally~"
Mangetsu vividly described how he finished off Obito—dead beyond dead.
Then he flashed Yagura a grin. "That ought to earn us a little redemption, right, Lord Mizukage~?"
"Hmph…"
The news that his biggest hidden threat was gone caught Yagura completely off guard—and utterly thrilled.
Even if he didn't want to hand out rewards like candy, he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.
Pretending to still be stern, Yagura finally exhaled and offered a genuine smile.
"Alright, you did me a huge favor. If there's anything you want in return, name it. If it's within my power, I'll grant it."
Kisame responded respectfully, "Yes, sir."
He hadn't thought of a reward yet. At the moment, life was going pretty great—he had both love and career on lock. In every sense, he was winning at life.
Maybe once his kid was born, he'd ask Yagura to name the baby?
Or maybe something else…
Yagura watched Kisame drift off in thought and couldn't help but laugh.
"No rush. When things settle down, just come find me then."
Kisame snapped out of it and gave an awkward grin, nodding obediently.
"Yes."
Yagura shifted his gaze to Mangetsu, who was practically radiating "Ask me, ask me, ask me!" with an eager twinkle in his eye—he wasn't even trying to hide it.
Yagura tilted his head, a little puzzled.
"You already have an idea?"
Mangetsu jumped on the cue.
"Of course~"
Uchiha Obito—the man who'd haunted Yagura's thoughts for so long—was dead.
And now... maybe Yagura could finally let go of everything that had weighed him down.
"Seems like you've been planning this for a while."
It wasn't some minor issue that could be easily taken care of.
But for now, he'd set it aside. There wasn't time.
Yagura cast a glance at Kisame.
"Once the war with Konoha is over, come see me—with Kisame."
That chapter of his private affairs was closed.
...
Yagura called in the few shinobi who'd been eavesdropping outside the door and began laying out the strategy for their next move against Konoha.
Unlike Kumogakure, who had openly declared their intent to seize power, Danzo had provoked outrage purely by existing—his passive scheming had earned him nothing but enemies. The Land of Fire was a prime piece of land that had always been coveted by other nations. Konoha might've held the title of top village in name, but in truth, they had long since fallen from grace.
Kirigakure was aiming to establish a new world order. And that could only be done by stepping over Konoha's corpse.
Since returning from Kumogakure, Yagura had already completed emergency mobilization.
"Make the most of the time we have. Zabuza, Haku, Mangetsu, Kisame, Sasori, Mei—you're all going in this time."
If everything went according to plan, this would be the final battle. There was no reason to hold anything back. He was putting all available forces on the table.
He paused, then seemed to remember something.
"Also, notify Menma and Suigetsu. Let them head to the battlefield too—good chance for them to gain some experience."
Assuming nothing unexpected happened, the next thirty to forty years—at least for as long as Yagura remained in power—would see no war of this scale again.
They had to use this last opportunity to hone the next generation.
"The morning after tomorrow, Uzumaki Nagato and Konan from Akatsuki will launch a surprise assault on Konoha. Their mission is to sow chaos inside the village and eliminate Hokage Danzo."
This assassination plot had been initiated by Nagato himself.
Publicly, Danzo was an enemy of Yahiko's vision of peace.
Privately, he'd once teamed up with Hanzo to attack the original Akatsuki—there was still an old score to settle.
Danzo had done enough evil for several lifetimes.
Yagura turned to Shisui, whose expression had grown somber, as if he could barely contain the gravity of the moment.
He knew Shisui had been waiting for this day for a long time. There was no need to stall any longer.
"Shisui, you can leave for Konoha today. Coordinate with Uzumaki Nagato. You can pick your own squad, and what comes after is up to you."
Shisui answered without hesitation, his voice carrying an emotion it hadn't held in ages.
"Understood!"
Yagura gave him a gentle nod and smile. "Go."
Shisui bowed deeply, with force and sincerity—
Then turned and left.
Nagato, Konan, and Uchiha Shisui.
Yagura exhaled softly to himself.
Danzo... this karma is long overdue. Let's see how you like the boomerang this time.