"Another Uchiha ninja again!", Everyone who had witnessed that battle earlier noticed the Sharingan mark in the giant eye of the Three-Tails.
That was a sign of being controlled by the Sharingan.
So naturally, they all realized that the one who had attacked the Mist Village this time was a ninja from the Uchiha clan.
"Lord Genshi, do you think all of this could be part of Konoha's conspiracy?"
On the way to the meeting room, one of the village elders whispered his suspicions to Genshi, the old man walking beside him who could barely move anymore.
How could it be such a coincidence? It seemed to be a Uchiha ninja who released the Three-Tails and controlled the beast to attack the village. And right at that moment, the disciple of Konoha's Hokage happened to be in the village.
And then that same disciple resealed the Tailed Beast and captured the culprit.
"Yes, maybe he's the one who released the beast. It could all be a Konoha self-directed performance."
The Mist Village couldn't even subdue a rampaging Three-Tails, yet now they had to call a Konoha boy their "hero who saved the village." The elders of the Mist Village were all deeply uncomfortable about it.
Genshi listened to the chatter of the few elders around him, leaning on his snake-headed cane as he shuffled forward without even lifting his eyelids.
He already saw through their intentions. Aoba was Terumi Mei's fiancé, and now he'd shown off his strength in front of everyone in the village.
Now Terumi Mei had not only gained the Three-Tails but also a powerful shinobi standing behind her.
They were worried that the authority they'd fought to hold on to as elders would soon be gone, so they wanted to dump some fabricated blame onto Aoba. To use that to weaken Terumi Mei's reputation within the village.
That was why they were whispering among themselves, afraid Aoba might overhear, hoping this old man would help them carry the matter instead.
They were treating him like an idiot.
No matter the village, there would always be people who would do anything to cling to power.
Fortunately, they were still a minority. If there were too many of them, especially sitting in such important elder positions, the Mist Village would soon be drowned in chaos.
And they clearly weren't thinking straight. With Aoba's level of strength, if he wanted to destroy the Mist Village, why would he need to stage anything?
His power was already beyond the category of an ordinary ninja.
Just like the "God of Shinobi" from back then. One person strong enough to suppress the entire ninja world, so that no one dared to cause trouble.
All intelligence and schemes were meaningless before such overwhelming strength.
He had previously worried that this man might use Terumi Mei's position as Mizukage to interfere with the Mist Village's internal decisions, but now it looked like they'd actually managed to hold on to a strong thigh for support.
He could only hope that this young "God of Shinobi" would be as easy to talk to as Senju Hashirama once was.
With a heavy heart, Genshi pushed open the doors to the meeting room. The chattering elders behind him immediately went silent.
As soon as he entered, he saw Terumi Mei sitting in the main seat, and Aoba seated beside her.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman, truly a perfect pair.
"Aoba-sama, this old man's legs are not what they used to be. Forgive me for being a bit late."
Genshi nodded slightly toward Aoba.
At his age, if he bent down to bow, he probably wouldn't be able to straighten back up again.
"No problem, that's understandable."
Aoba quietly brushed Terumi Mei's hand away under the table and looked at the elders behind Genshi with an odd expression.
He had, in fact, heard everything they'd said earlier. With his sensory ability, as long as there wasn't a barrier in place, it was easy to hear conversations within a hundred meters.
So the upper ranks of the Mist Village had their fair share of parasites too.
Still, their political system was pretty decent. The Mizukage couldn't make decisions alone, as the Elder Council was set up to balance her power.
Every one of those elders was older than Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.
That saying "old but not dead means becoming a thief" probably referred to people just like them.
When the Three-Tails was rampaging, they were nowhere to be seen. But once it was dealt with, they all came crawling out.
Sure, Hiruzen was old, but at least he still had real strength and guts. When the Nine-Tails attacked, he had the nerve and power to smack it out of the village with a single staff blow.
As for the elders in front of him, did they even have chunin-level strength?
Especially this Genshi, he didn't even have a single good tooth left.
While Aoba was silently sizing up the group, the elders were starting to feel a crushing sense of pressure.
The few who had spoken earlier were already sweating on their foreheads.
"Lord Genshi, please have a seat. The reason we've called you all here so late at night is mainly to discuss the matter of the Three-Tails rampage."
"Mm."
Genshi glanced at Aoba's expression before finally sitting down in his seat.
The other elders only sat down after he did.
Seeing the scene, Terumi Mei's lips twitched slightly. She reached under the table and pinched Aoba's thigh.
She felt like her authority as Mizukage was being challenged.
Aoba couldn't help rolling his eyes. He hadn't even started putting pressure on them yet, and Genshi was already scared stiff.
"Lord Genshi, I heard you had some objections to my engagement with Sister Mei."
"I did before. Not anymore."
Genshi nodded calmly.
"Oh? Looks like Lord Genshi is a wise man then."
Aoba raised an eyebrow. He had no interest in picking on a half-dead old man.
"Wise man?", Genshi didn't quite understand what Aoba meant by that.
Aoba didn't bother explaining. Instead, his gaze shifted to the few gossiping elders from earlier.
"I also heard that you all had some opinions about me?"
"No, no, absolutely not!"
"Aoba-sama is the hero of our Mist Village. How would we dare have any opinions?"
The elders shook their heads in panic, cold sweat soaking their backs.
They had only whispered a few complaints outside earlier, surely he hadn't really heard them, right?
"Is it that you don't have opinions? Or that you just don't dare to?"
That one line from Aoba immediately choked them into silence.
"Alright, Aoba. These elders are getting up in years, their minds are a bit muddled. They probably just said a few wrong things by mistake," Terumi Mei spoke up to ease the situation.
After all, as Mizukage, if she didn't say something now, rumors would spread through the village afterward.
"The Mizukage is right, we just…"
A few of them were about to follow her lead and explain, but Aoba cut them off.
"If your minds are already muddled, and you still occupy these elder seats, aren't you just bringing harm to the village and its people?"
The smiles on their faces froze instantly. Their mouths hung open, but no words came out.
"She's right," Aoba added smoothly, "Since you admit you're getting senile, such important positions really should be handed to the younger generation."
The elders' eyes widened in disbelief. If they still didn't realize these two were playing a double act, they'd have to be blind.
They were clearly planning to use this chance to purge the Mist Village's upper ranks.
But there was nothing they could do. They could only turn their pleading gazes toward Genshi.
Genshi merely looked at Terumi Mei and Aoba silently, saying nothing.
[T/N: It SEEMS my 2nd Account has been suspended 😞. I can't operate it anymore. But, if you search, you can see it still there. Novels are all there. I have made another account("Ambi_Guy") for now and will shift the novels as soon as possible. It may take 1-2 days, so I ask your all understanding. I have also sent an email to WebNovel and asked regarding the situation. As soon as I get an update, I will let you all know. Have a great read~ 👍😄👍]
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