"I've done so much for the village, yet they refuse to acknowledge me."
"They like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen so much?"
"But I am the Mizukage!"
"Kirigakure is my Kirigakure!"
"If they don't like it, they can get out!"
Yagura roared inwardly.
But he had already lost the mood to continue observing how the rumors were spreading through the village.
Instead, he returned directly to the Mizukage Building.
At almost the same time Yagura received the news, the daimyo of the Land of Water also learned of it.
Right now, the daimyo was extremely dissatisfied with Yagura.
"I knew long ago that Yagura Karatachi had a wolf's ambition."
"Even if the matter of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was not entirely caused by him, it definitely cannot be unrelated to him."
"He removed his rivals, seized the Mizukage position, and yet he has managed the village this poorly."
"If there were any other choice, I would truly want to choose another ninja village."
An official stepped forward.
"My lord, I have an idea."
The daimyo glanced at him faintly.
"What?"
"No one has ever stated that a great nation can only have one ninja village. Not to mention, Kirigakure is performing so poorly now that it has no way to fulfill your demands."
"In that case, why not find someone else, my lord?"
The daimyo frowned slightly.
"Find someone else? Who are you referring to?"
"The Samehada Sailing Crew and the Blast Sword Sailing Crew."
The official below said,
"As the story of Pirate King continues its serialization in Ninja Major Events Weekly, more and more people are yearning for the sea. They all hope to find treasure out there."
"They all hope they can encounter something similar to Devil Fruits."
"The rise of sailing crews has already become a trend. It can no longer be stopped."
"If it cannot be stopped, then you can place the strongest sailing crews under your control, my lord."
"Let them exist legally."
"Let them work for the Land of Water."
"At the same time, they can also restrain Kirigakure."
"That would solve multiple problems at once."
The Land of Water daimyo's eyes lit up.
It sounded like a compromise strategy, but for the current Land of Water, it was indeed a decent choice.
The rise of sailing crews had already become inevitable. It could not be blocked.
Not by the Land of Water.
Not by Kirigakure.
The sea was too vast.
There were too many islands.
Trying to control every single sailing crew would be extremely difficult.
If they adopted overly aggressive measures, it would be very easy to force those sailing crews to unite.
That would be terrifying.
With Fuguki Suikazan and Jinin Akebino taking the lead, such a force could wander around the waters near the Land of Water.
When pursued, they would hide and flee.
Once the ninja forces were no longer gathered in large numbers, they would emerge and counterattack.
Neither the Land of Water nor Kirigakure had enough energy to be dragged into that kind of mess.
"Fine. Since you proposed this, you will go negotiate."
"What I want is a sailing crew absolutely loyal to this daimyo. Money, women, reputation—I can give them all of that. But what I want is obedience."
"Do not disappoint me."
The official below nodded heavily.
"Yes, my lord!"
Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence in his hand and recalled Kirigakure's previous behavior.
"It is not impossible."
"Given Yagura Karatachi's situation, if the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were still around, it would indeed have been very difficult for him to obtain the Mizukage position."
"For the sake of becoming Mizukage, doing something like that would make sense."
"That position is far too tempting."
"Just like Danzo. He has coveted the Hokage position for a long time. If this old man still did not have some ability, I am afraid that fellow Danzo would have replaced me long ago."
A trace of envy appeared in Danzo's eyes.
"The me back then was still lacking a bit of decisiveness."
"I was not as ruthless as Yagura Karatachi."
"Back then, I had too many chances."
"If I had raised my hand one step before Hiruzen, Teacher Tobirama should have given the Hokage position to me."
"Even after Teacher Tobirama gave the Hokage position to Hiruzen, if Hiruzen had died, the Hokage position would still have been mine."
"I was thinking too much for the village."
"Unlike Yagura, who is so selfish."
"But selfless people always live worse than selfish people."
"This is my sacrifice for Konoha."
Danzo sighed over his own greatness.
"In terms of ability, I am above Yagura."
"In terms of strength, I am not weak either."
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were stronger than Yagura, but Hiruzen may not necessarily be stronger than me."
Iwagakure.
Onoki shook his head.
"This is why I must personally choose my successor."
"If the successor is not decided, everyone will think they have a chance."
"Everyone will fight."
"And once they fight, internal conflict begins."
"Only by setting the rules in advance can a village reduce infighting."
"A village consumed by internal conflict can never become strong."
Onoki thought of Sunagakure again.
During the last arena matches, Onoki felt he had suffered a loss.
Sunagakure had brought out Retsu. It fit the rules, but it was not reasonable.
They had taken away a portion of the share that should have belonged to Iwagakure.
"I have to admit, Rasa's methods are indeed very strong. He also has no real bottom line."
"He forcibly broke through the situation where he was contending against Pakura."
"Sunagakure's current strength can no longer be underestimated."
"If such a person were in my Iwagakure, that would be wonderful."
"I would not have to worry about having no successor."
Onoki stood behind the window, looked outside, and sighed.
"Poor Iwagakure. Even now, we still have not produced a suitable successor. When this old man grows older, whose hands can I entrust Iwagakure to without harming the village?"
Kumogakure.
During this period, the Fourth Raikage had not been in a good mood.
Previously, Kumogakure had prepared to target Konoha and obtain a pair of Byakugan.
If Kirigakure could have it, why couldn't Kumogakure?
Whatever Kirigakure had, Kumogakure should have as well.
But unexpectedly, before Kumogakure could make a move, Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure had all ceased fighting.
As a result, Kumogakure had no way to act for the time being.
They could not find a suitable opportunity at all.
When news about Kusagakure came out, the Fourth Raikage had not paid much attention at first. Only later did he realize that Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha had reached a tacit understanding.
The three great ninja villages had jointly divided up Kusagakure.
The Fourth Raikage naturally did not want to miss such a good thing.
But when Kumogakure prepared to act, they were late again.
The three great ninja villages had divided Kusagakure at an astonishing speed. Everything was completed in one go.
Thus, Kumogakure lost its chance to intervene again.
Even if they forced their way to Kusagakure, what was left in a Kusagakure that had already been carved up once?
Missing one chance, then missing a second, left the Fourth Raikage full of regret.
"This Yagura Karatachi is a ruthless character."
"For the sake of his own Mizukage position, he completely ignored the village's interests."
"If nothing had happened to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, it would not have been so easy for Sunagakure to reverse the situation."
"Kirigakure's situation would be far better than it is now."
Fuguki Suikazan and Jinin Akebino were among the second group to learn of this rumor.
The moment Fuguki Suikazan heard it, his face sank.
"I knew it!"