"Every clan must commit all of its strength."
Mei Terumi's aura of authority was palpable as she slammed her hand down on the table.
"Ahem."
At that moment, an elder sitting behind her cleared his throat and said confidently, "Mei, demonstrate your ninjutsu. Let our guests see for themselves. Their hesitation stems from not knowing your current strength."
Mei nodded. She formed a single hand seal and began to control her chakra output, careful not to destroy the barrier as she revealed her ninjutsu.
"Lava Release!"
"Boil Release!"
With the two releases, the table in the conference room met its doom, turning instantly to ash.
"A Kekkei Genkai... and two of them?!"
"To awaken two Kekkei Genkai at the same time? How is that possible?"
It was widely known that Onoki had fused three nature transformations to create a Kekkei Tota—Dust Release. Afterward, he dominated the ninja world. To this day, no one dared to face a single one of his Dust Release attacks head-on. The ability to disintegrate matter into atoms was simply too powerful. At least, no one currently could confidently take such a blow, not even the Third or Fourth Raikage in their Lightning Release Chakra Modes.
And now, Mei Terumi had awakened two Kekkei Genkai. Fusing them represented a qualitative leap in power, a fact that could not be doubted. And in truth, while its power might have been a bit less than Dust Release, an Uchiha's Susanoo stood no chance against Mei's fused techniques.
Later, Sasuke's Susanoo would be instantly melted by one of Mei's techniques. If he hadn't escaped quickly... then when challenging Onoki's Dust Release, he was nearly turned into atoms himself, saved only by Obito's timely space-time ninjutsu.
"Since Mei has awakened two bloodlines, our clan will fully support this plan. I will inform our clan head when I return."
"The same goes for us. We will offer our full support. All of our clan's best will participate in this operation."
The representative from the Hozuki clan also declared, "Our Hozuki clan as well. It's a shame Mangetsu died so young, otherwise..."
The representative glanced at Mei. Barring any accidents, after the Fourth Mizukage stepped down, she would be the next in line. It was a pity about Hozuki Mangetsu. He had been the Hozuki clan's most powerful genius. If he hadn't died, with his mastery of the Seven Ninja Swords, his bid for the Mizukage position would have been unquestionable.
What angered them even more was that Hozuki Suigetsu, whose talent was second only to his brother's, had been abducted by a mysterious person during the Kaguya clan's demise. His fate was still unknown. As a result, they could now only watch as others vied for the Mizukage's seat.
The elder in the back nodded with satisfaction. As expected, after Mei displayed her dual bloodlines, the attitudes of these people changed immediately. Even if Mei's current strength was not yet equal to Yagura's, her potential was no less. The reputation of a Kekkei Tota was just that formidable.
Most importantly, this was the Land of Water. Mei was a Water Style user, and her skills were among the best. Who knew if she might fuse a third nature transformation in a few years?
Seeing that everyone was in agreement, they began to discuss the next steps. The first and most important point was to kill Yagura before he was completely freed from the genjutsu. While under its influence, no matter how powerful he was, his reactions would not be as sharp as when he was clear-headed.
"Alright. Everyone, you may return for now. The time is set for three days from now."
Three days later was the Mist Village's Chunin Exam, the same kind of exam where Zabuza slaughtered all of his classmates. Of course, the Zabuza who had failed his assassination attempt was long gone, having become a rogue ninja. His ability to escape with his life was also thanks to the arrangements of the various great clans.
After discussing with the elder, Mei took out the kunai Uchiha Nagi had given her and channeled a thread of chakra into it. A moment later, a figure suddenly appeared in the meeting room.
Black hair, black eyes, a temporarily purchased katana hanging at his waist, and bangs covering the Yin Seal on his forehead. The young man was Uchiha Nagi—though this was just a shadow clone.
One could never be too careful. He wasn't going to let his guard down just because Mei was beautiful.
After several days of travel by shark-powered boat, Uchiha Nagi had successfully reached the Land of Water and settled on a small island not far from the Mist Village. The seawater would ensure he was isolated from White Zetsu's prying eyes. When Mei summoned him, he sent a shadow clone to collect the money.
"Is the money ready?" Uchiha Nagi asked.
Money, money, money. Is money the only damn thing in your eyes?
Mei angrily threw a chest at him. "Here! There are two hundred million inside. Take it for now."
Hm? Not two hundred and fifty million? That's not what we agreed on.
He looked at Mei questioningly. Mei snapped back, "We could only gather this much cash for now. We've been buying a large amount of combat supplies recently. We'll give you the rest after the battle is over. You don't have to worry about us defaulting. If we don't pay, you can just keep the Three-Tails."
Uchiha Nagi nodded. That made sense. The Three-Tails was worth far more. Mei was right; if they didn't pay, he would just hold onto the beast.
"Fine. This is for you."
Uchiha Nagi took out a scroll and tossed it to Mei.
Mei was puzzled. "What's this?"
Uchiha Nagi smiled. "It's a kunai with a Flying Thunder God formula. You should all know that Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God requires a marker, right? When the battle starts, you use this kunai. I will move in the shadows and look for an opportunity."
"...?"
Mei's mouth fell open, unsure of what to say. Their original plan, of course, was to have Uchiha Nagi charge in at the front while they provided cover. An Uchiha with a Susanoo was the perfect vanguard.
But from the looks of it, he had no intention of being on the front lines. Instead, his attitude was, You guys go ahead, I'll cover you.
"Don't you push it! You took so much money, you're getting the Three-Tails, and now you want us to be the vanguard?"
Mei glared at Uchiha Nagi, her eyes practically shooting fire.
Uchiha Nagi spread his hands. "A trump card is most effective when it's a fatal blow. It's no fun if it appears too early."
"You..."
"That's enough, Mei."
The elder behind her stopped her. "Let's proceed as Mr. Nagi wishes. The village's Chunin Exams are in three days. As Mizukage, Yagura will definitely be present. We will make the first move to assassinate him then. You can move in the shadows and wait for an opportunity."
Uchiha Nagi smiled and nodded. "That's how it should be."
Shun!
With a flicker of the Flying Thunder God, he vanished from the meeting room.
BAM!
"Damn it! That good-for-nothing who takes money and does nothing!" Mei slammed her fist into the wall, her eyes erupting with fury.
In this operation, her own villagers would be on the front lines. Who knew how many would die? The Mist Village, already severely weakened, was about to suffer another major loss of personnel.
"Mei, your eyes—"
"Mei, your body..."
Hm?!
Mei looked down and saw that her two Kekkei Genkai seemed to have been released simultaneously, something that had never happened before. In the past, she could only use one at a time, at best switching between them quickly in battle. Every time she tried to fuse the two to release a ninjutsu, something always felt missing, and she could never succeed.
She never expected that after just two encounters with Uchiha Nagi, she would be angered into achieving it.
"Could it be... anger?"
Mei looked at the flame in her hand, a fusion of her two Kekkei Genkai, and fell into thought. She was exceptionally talented; otherwise, she wouldn't have become the Fifth Mizukage in her twenties. Now, she seemed to understand. The catalyst for fusing her two bloodlines—or rather, the opportunity—was rage. By channeling her emotions, by forgetting everything else, she could guide them to merge.
The elder said excitedly, "Excellent, Mei! As long as you can master your abilities, the position of Fifth Mizukage will definitely belong to our clan!"
Mei, however, had calmed down. "It's too early to say that. Let's talk again after we survive the operation in three days."
White Zetsu was not unaware of the undercurrents surging through the Mist Village. It had been the same before Zabuza's assassination attempt on the Fourth Mizukage. Without the secret planning and support of the great clans, Zabuza, a mere elite jonin, thought he could assassinate the Mizukage? In his dreams.
Never mind the Fourth Mizukage's own strength; the Anbu protecting him were not just for show. And escaping unscathed after a failed assassination? It could only be said that everything Zabuza did was orchestrated by a faction of the great clans. It was even possible that some of the Anbu by the Mizukage's side were their chess pieces.
Finally, the day arrived.
It was the Mist Village's Chunin Exams, a continuation of the Bloody Mist policy. While it made the Mist ninja incredibly bloodthirsty and fierce, it also made them extremely disunited, as if everyone was an enemy. To graduate from the academy, you killed a classmate. For the Chunin Exams, it was still a battle to the death. As a result, while the ninja the Mist produced each year were elites, their numbers were pitifully small.
In the spectator stands were the common folk of the Mist Village. For them, watching the gruesome deaths of the high-and-mighty ninja-sama was one of their few forms of entertainment.
The surrounding seats were already filled with Mist ninja, many of whom were members of the great clans in disguise.
Yagura Karatachi, standing less than one and a half meters tall, wearing the white Mizukage robe and hat, walked onto the high platform and shouted, "The Chunin Exams, begin!"
The referee in the center of the arena nodded, blew his whistle, and shouted, "First match, Kaneichi versus Yamamoto Juro!"
Two young boys walked into the arena and immediately began a spectacular fight, filled with kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and finally, various Water Style ninjutsu.
The magnificent life-or-death struggle made the crowd in the stands roar with excitement. The cruelty and bloodlust hidden in the bones of humanity had never disappeared. Watching their own people fight like beasts in an arena, the spectators felt the bloodthirsty genes in their bodies surging wildly.
Only Ao frowned. Because his Byakugan saw that Yagura's eyes were not vacant. There was no genjutsu chakra in his brain.