Only You Are Qualified to Become the Fifth Mizukage!
"You're welcome."
Uchiha Yi waved casually, smiling with exaggerated satisfaction, as though he were some noble young hero performing good deeds without asking for reward.
Across from him, Uchiha Obito nearly choked.
Beneath the spiral mask, his face darkened visibly.
Yet he still forced out a foolish laugh, maintaining the persona of the clumsy subordinate.
"Haha… Senior is too kind!"
Anyone watching would think the two were close comrades, sharing a warm moment.
Only they knew the truth.
"Senior… I have other matters to attend to. I'll take my leave!"
Before Yi could respond, Obito's body blurred.
His form phased.
Kamui activated.
He vanished almost instantly, leaving behind only a faint spatial ripple like someone fleeing a battlefield rather than departing politely.
Inside that disappearing vortex, murderous intent churned.
Petty bastard.
Back when they first met in the Akatsuki, it had only been a harmless intimidation just a little psychological pressure to establish hierarchy.
Was it really worth holding a grudge this long?
Now the man dared to humiliate him repeatedly.
Fine.
Let him grow.
Let him shine.
And when the time came
When his value had been fully extracted
He would erase him.
That was Obito's way.
Anyone he truly hated never met a pleasant end.
But did Uchiha Yi still fear him?
Not anymore.
Yi calmly opened his inner interface.
Numbers flickered across his consciousness.
≈ 1500 points.
A quiet sense of security settled into his bones.
Power.
Resources.
Momentum.
All of it was accumulating.
Still, there was no time to consider how to spend these "assets."
A shadow clone's memories returned.
And with them
Chaos.
Kirigakure was on fire.
The clan behind the upheaval was none other than the Kaguya clan descendants of brutal warriors obsessed with battle, wielders of the Shikotsumyaku bone release.
Their imprisoned leader had been broken out of confinement.
The fuse had been lit.
The clan patriarch Kaguya Shiro in this timeline was forced into rebellion. With no path of retreat left, he chose to ignite a full-scale coup.
For years, resentment against the Fourth Mizukage had simmered beneath the surface.
Now it erupted.
Kaguya Shiro declared openly:
Today, we overthrow tyranny!
End the Bloody Mist!
Though many Kaguya were battle-crazed extremists, their leader retained some rationality. He knew one truth clearly
The Kaguya clan alone could not topple Kirigakure.
So he sought allies.
Dissidents.
Marginalized clans.
Hidden power brokers who had long been dissatisfied with the Mizukage's rule.
To his surprise
Many responded.
For a brief moment, momentum surged.
It even gave Shiro the illusion that the Mizukage's seat was already within reach.
The rebellion strategy was simple.
Gather overwhelming force.
Force the village into submission.
A direct approach befitting the Kaguya.
But that very momentum created panic among the neutral factions.
Because while they opposed the Fourth Mizukage's tyranny, they feared something even worse
A Kaguya Mizukage.
A village ruled by warmongers would doom Kirigakure faster than any tyrant.
Thus, neutrality collapsed.
They needed a third option.
And that option had always existed.
The elder.
The pillar of Kirigakure's past.
Gengetsu Hōzuki (Yuan Shi analogue)'s ideological successor in this timeline known simply as Elder Yuan, a revered statesman who had guided the village through multiple eras.
Soon, Kirigakure fractured into three forces:
The Mizukage faction under Yagura Karatachi
The rebelling Kaguya faction
The neutral reformists under Elder Yuan
A three-way deadlock.
One misstep
And civil war would consume the Mist.
Inside a hidden underground chamber within Kirigakure.
Several young elites gathered.
Terumi Mei.
Ao.
Chōjūrō.
Hōzuki Mangetsu.
All present.
"Elder Yuan… what do we do now?"
"If this continues, Kirigakure will collapse."
Mei's voice trembled with restrained anger.
She loved the village.
She had always dreamed of a strong, stable Kirigakure.
But reality had betrayed that dream.
Now the Mist stood on the edge of destruction.
Three factions.
Three ambitions.
One spark from annihilation.
All eyes turned toward the elderly figure seated in the shadows.
Elder Yuan sighed heavily.
If not for the village's desperate state, he would never have stepped forward at his age. His body was already nearing its limits.
Yet fate had dragged him back into the storm.
"…Such bitter karma."
He murmured.
Why did Kirigakure repeatedly descend into chaos, while villages like Konoha endured and thrived?
"Elder, please say something!"
"The Kaguya may strike at any moment!"
Ao urged urgently.
Yuan glanced at Mei.
Then suddenly complained with mock irritation.
"Mei-chan… must you burden these old bones so much?"
"If you keep this up, you'll send me to my grave early."
Mei panicked instantly.
"No! That won't happen!"
"I swear we won't let Kirigakure fall like this again!"
She spoke without hesitation.
Without noticing
She had already stepped into the trap Yuan had carefully laid.
The old man's eyes softened.
"Then… how about this?"
"Mei-chan becomes the Fifth Mizukage."
Silence.
Mei froze completely.
She had never expected this.
Not even in her wildest thoughts.
"M-me…? No… there are more capable people…"
She faltered.
But Yuan's gaze sharpened.
"Do not shrink back."
"I have watched you grow."
"You carry the will this village needs."
"If it were anyone else… I would never approve."
Before Mei could respond
Ao stepped forward.
"I agree."
"You are the only suitable candidate."
His voice was firm.
Unwavering.
Then Mangetsu laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Sister Mei, don't look at me!"
"I have zero interest in the Mizukage seat!"
"But once you're Mizukage, remember to support me as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!"
Even Chōjūrō nodded shyly from the side.
Support surrounded her.
Warm.
Unconditional.
Mei's chest tightened.
"…Everyone…"
Yuan smiled faintly.
"Do you understand now?"
"There is nothing left to hesitate over."
"You are the most suitable person to lead the Mist into a new era."
"So tell me, Mei-chan."
"What will you choose?"
A long silence followed.
Then
Mei exhaled deeply.
Resolve hardened in her eyes.
"If everyone believes in me this much…"
"Then if I refuse"
"I would be betraying that trust."
She stepped forward.
Chakra stirred.
Determination radiated like heat haze.
"Very well."
"I will become the Fifth Mizukage."
Far away, Uchiha Yi watched events unfold through intelligence relayed by his clones.
The gears of history were accelerating.
And the Mist
Was about to change forever.
Yi's Mangekyō flickered.
A new era was coming.
And he intended to stand at its center.
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