[Kirigakure, Mizukage's Office]
Mei and the elders shot to their feet in fury. Ao, Chōjūrō, and the others were all equally enraged.
As those who had overthrown the Fourth Mizukage, they were well aware that Yagura had been secretly placed under a Genjutsu by someone, and they had been investigating who it was all along.
Unexpectedly, it was actually Uchiha Obito. The mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Rampage in Konoha and the one controlling the Fourth Mizukage turned out to be the same person.
"Obito!!"
"And this Akatsuki…!"
Mei gritted her teeth, naturally linking Obito with the Akatsuki.
"Just because one person died, he caused the deaths of so many of our people!!" An elder's voice trembled.
Ao clenched his fists, "Mizukage-sama, we must take the initiative and unite with the other hidden villages to hunt down Obito! If we don't, with his elusive abilities, we'll never have peace."
Mei took a deep breath, "Good! Ao… contact the other four villages later and clarify the stakes. We must secure cooperation. We can give them all our intel—no point worrying about embarrassment, since the screen has already told everyone in the world!"
"Also, effective immediately, Kirigakure is now under Level One Combat Readiness. All intelligence networks are to search with full force for Obito's whereabouts. The moment he is found, eliminate him at all costs!"
Just then, Chōjūrō asked quietly, "Mizukage-sama, what about Zabuza?"
"Zabuza?"
Mei blinked, then waved her hand. "Send him a message through intermediaries. If he's willing to return to Kirigakure, his missing-nin status will be revoked. After all… that man has remained loyal to the village at heart."
The elders glanced at Mei but raised no objection.
Zabuza had once attempted to assassinate the Mizukage in order to overthrow the Bloody Mist policy.
Though his methods were extreme, his intent was not bad. Now that the truth was revealed, it was only right to give him a chance.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Land of Waves, a hidden room.
Zabuza stared at the screen, completely stunned.
All these years, he had been obsessed with overthrowing the Bloody Mist policy—only to learn that it had all been caused by the Fourth Mizukage being manipulated?
Then everything he had done—killing all the students in his graduation exam, attempting to assassinate the Mizukage, defecting, taking mercenary jobs to earn money—had all been for nothing?
His hands had taken so many lives, and he hadn't even known who the real enemy was.
---
The other major villages watching the screen were equally alarmed.
[Land of Lightning, Kumogakure]
A stood up abruptly. "Uchiha Obito was controlling the Mizukage?! That's a Kage-level fighter! He can also control tailed beasts, and he has space-time Ninjutsu—just how many trump cards does this bastard have?"
Dodai looked grim. "Raikage-sama, we must unite with the other villages to hunt down Obito. This man is too dangerous!"
A gritted his teeth. "Issue the order: have our sensory shinobis inspect everyone in the village. Also, contact Konoha—they need to take a firm stance on this!"
---
[Land of Earth, Iwagakure]
Ōnoki hovered in midair, his face ashen. "Controlling the Mizukage? Uchiha Obito… this man is far more terrifying than we imagined."
Kitsuchi asked from the side, "Father, should we also—"
"Yes." Ōnoki interrupted him.
"Issue the order. All of Iwagakure's intelligence networks are to search for Obito with full force. If this man isn't eliminated, the Five Great Nations will never know peace."
---
[Land of Wind, Sunagakure]
Rasa looked at the screen, his hands unconsciously clenching. "Uchiha Obito… a member of the Akatsuki who can control Kage-level fighters. Does Sunagakure also have anyone under his control?"
Chiyo shook her head. "I don't know. But we can't afford not to be cautious."
Rasa nodded. "Increase vigilance. In particular, all high-ranking officials must undergo regular checks for traces of Genjutsu."
---
[Konoha Village, Hokage Office]
Tsunade and Hiruzen looked at each other in silence.
That was a Kage!
Don't think that the Mizukage was weak.
Before the Sky Screen revealed the existence of Super-Kage and Six Paths-level fighters, the Mizukage was one of the strongest known figures in the Shinobi World.
And yet he had been secretly controlled by someone—it was terrifying.
Add to that Obito's terrifying ideology; so he must be hunted down.
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
Deidara looked at the screen and let out a whistle. "That guy can even control the Mizukage? Tsk, tsk. He hides his depth well."
Hidan hoisted his scythe. "No wonder he wears a mask all day. He's afraid of being recognized."
Pain's eyes grew even more guarded.
It was already troublesome enough that Itachi had the Kotoamatsukami in his possession. And now Obito's Genjutsu could also control a kage.
These Uchiha were truly a pain.
[Speaking of Zabuza, we must talk about Haku.]
[Haku, a beautiful youth of ambiguous gender, possessing the rare Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. Because of Kirigakure's policies, he became an orphan.]
[Zabuza, early on, took notice of Haku's bloodline limit and took him in, training him into an excellent Shinobi.]
[Although Zabuza claimed to regard Haku as nothing more than a tool, it was clear that he cared deeply for the boy. Haku, having grown up without parents, had no place to belong. It was Zabuza who freed him from despair and gave him hope, becoming the most important part of Haku's life.]
[And Zabuza, who always said, "In the world, there are only relationships of use and being used—shinobi are merely tools," was cold and ruthless on the surface—but had in fact already been melted by Haku.]
[When Haku sacrificed himself to save Zabuza's life, this seemingly cold-hearted antagonist was spiritually destroyed, allowing him to completely reveal his true heart and admit his genuine feelings for Haku.]
The scene shifted, and Kakashi appeared once again, but the battle had shifted to a mist-shrouded bridge.
Clearly, this was the subsequent battle between Team 7 and Zabuza.
Kakashi used Chidori, lightning crackling in his hand, charging toward Zabuza, who was pinned down by summoned dogs.
Squelch!
In Zabuza's wide-eyed gaze, Haku's body appeared in front of him—his chest pierced by the Chidori, blood splattering across Zabuza's face.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Somewhere in the Land of Waves, a hidden room]
Zabuza stared at the image on the screen, completely frozen.
'Haku will die?'
If he continued with Gato's mission, Haku would die at Kakashi's hands?
His hands started trembling.
Whether it was anger or fear, he couldn't tell. But it was more like something Zabuza couldn't put into words.
Meanwhile, Haku, who was on surveillance duty for Zabuza, heard the Sky Screen's words and slowly stopped walking, looking up at the images.
The screen called him a beautiful youth—was that a compliment?
And when he heard "Zabuza freed Haku from despair, gave him hope, and became the most important part of Haku's life," Haku's eyes grew slightly moist.
"Zabuza-sama…" he murmured.
Ever since that man had picked him up from the snow and asked if he wanted to live, his life had belonged to Zabuza.
"When Haku sacrificed himself to save Zabuza…" The screen's narration continued.
Haku watched the version of himself on the screen with a Chidori through his chest—and saw no fear in his own eyes.
If he could save Zabuza-sama, what did death matter?
But he also knew that Zabuza-sama wouldn't want him to die.
Zabuza-sama really was like that—tough on the outside, soft on the inside.
---
[Konoha, Year 50]
Somewhere on a cliff in the Shinobi World.
Obito gritted his teeth. 'That Kakashi—why does he like stabbing people in the chest so much?'
His own chest began to ache faintly again.
*****
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