Suspicion

But now, as she watched Zabuza Momochi remain perfectly composed, Mei Terumī began to entertain other thoughts.

"Zabuza Momochi is Elder Genshi’s man?" she asked in surprise.

"I wouldn’t say he’s my man." Genshi smiled faintly. "But I was indeed the one who gave him the idea back then, so naturally I had to lend him some support afterward."

Mei Terumī nodded slightly. As for that so-called idea, it was naturally the incident where Zabuza Momochi had killed all his fellow students.

Thinking carefully, although Zabuza had always appeared cold and ruthless in Kirigakure, he was not the kind of bloodthirsty madman who killed for pleasure. Back then, he had clearly not slaughtered all his classmates because of his personality.

And to come up with such a method to oppose the Bloody Mist Policy, one needed not only a resolute will and the courage to ignore others’ scornful remarks, but also a certain degree of intelligence. Otherwise, how could someone have thought of such a tactic? This was not something a ten-year-old ninja academy student could come up with.

Back then, Zabuza Momochi had wanted to end the Bloody Mist Policy, while Elder Genshi had simply gone along with the flow and offered him advice.

"Alright, it seems everyone has arrived." Genshi lightly tapped his cane, his expression turning grave. "What do you think about the Kaguya Clan?"

So it was indeed this matter, Mei Terumī thought to herself, though she was not surprised. After all, it was the most sensational incident to occur in Kirigakure recently.

"I don’t think the Fourth Mizukage was responsible, right?" Surprisingly, it was Mangetsu Hozuki, the current leader of the Bloodline Clan faction, who spoke first. "There shouldn’t be anyone under the Fourth Mizukage capable of punching through the entire Kaguya Clan alone."

The person who understood you best was often your enemy. Though Kirigakure’s Bloodline Clans and the Mizukage could not be considered true mortal enemies, they had never ceased guarding against one another.

For that very reason, Mangetsu Hozuki knew the strength of the Mizukage’s subordinates extremely well. This ninja who had suddenly appeared had never been in the records of any of the Bloodline Clans.

Mei Terumī frowned slightly. Though she was also considered a clan ninja, the Terumi Clan she belonged to was not some great clan, nor did it possess a Bloodline Limit. The two Bloodline Limits she wielded had both been formed and cultivated by herself, so her position was closer to that of ordinary civilian ninjas.

As a representative of small clans and civilian ninjas, Mei Terumī actually had a fairly close relationship with the Mizukage. Though civilian ninjas were somewhat mediocre in strength, they were far easier to use than those Bloodline Clans, and it was not as if there were no geniuses among them.

But precisely because she was close to the Fourth Mizukage, Mei Terumī was certain that none of his subordinates possessed the ability to defeat the Kaguya Clan alone.

If she alone held this opinion, it might have been possible that this ninja was a hidden force of the Fourth Mizukage. But with Mangetsu Hozuki in agreement, it was almost certain that this ninja was not one of the Fourth Mizukage’s subordinates. The intelligence network represented by the two of them together was hardly inferior to that of the Fourth Mizukage, and they might even have had a clearer picture than the Mizukage sitting in that lofty position.

"But the problem now is that the Fourth Mizukage hasn’t denied that he did it!" Ringo Ameyuri said impatiently.

Obito Uchiha was acting guilty. He did not want more people investigating Akatsuki, and he knew that Kirigakure’s ninjas had no chance of capturing Yota and the others. But if Yota revealed anything during a battle, Obito Uchiha would be in serious trouble. That was why the two sides had such an information gap.

"So the most likely possibility is that the Fourth Mizukage colluded with other ninjas? But… that still doesn’t make sense!"

Colluding with outsiders was not unheard of, and the upper ranks of ninja villages had done it plenty of times. But for someone of the Mizukage’s status, doing something like that would hardly be worth the cost. After all, even without outside help, he could have easily crushed the Kaguya Clan by invoking the authority of the ninja village.

And even if he truly had colluded with outsiders, the Mizukage would not have left any Kaguya Clan survivors once it was done. How could he have handled it as crudely as this?

"There’s no point discussing this here!" Zabuza said coldly. "If we catch those people, won’t everything become clear?"

"The enemy is powerful. Your individual strength may not be enough, which is exactly why I summoned you," Genshi said, glancing at everyone.

"You are all the finest of Kirigakure’s younger generation, so I am entrusting this mission to you. I hope you can work together as one."

"And…" Genshi frowned slightly. "As for the Fourth Mizukage…"

To be honest, Genshi had already begun to suspect the Mizukage. This time, with Deva Path Pain pressing him so urgently, Obito had acted far more crudely than usual. The Fourth Mizukage’s change had been far too abrupt, leaving people unable to make sense of it.

Someone like Genshi, who had struggled through the era of the First Mizukage and seen countless schemes and intrigues, naturally harbored some suspicions.

But naturally, he would not mention such matters to these youngsters.

"For now, cut off his channels of intelligence. At the very least, the Mizukage must not learn anything over the next three or four days!"

The finest young generation of Kirigakure had gathered here, accounting for nearly seventy to eighty percent of the village’s total strength. These people had a strong chance of overthrowing the Mizukage if they wished, let alone merely delaying intelligence for a while.

"The weather in the Land of Water is truly awful. I always feel damp all over."

Yota sighed as he activated Shikotsumyaku, producing several bone materials.

Sasori of the Red Sand looked at Yota with utter fanaticism. The Shikotsumyaku materials Yota produced were practically the most perfect puppet materials in his eyes.

There was naturally a reason Puppet Technique used wood rather than steel. Biological materials conducted Chakra well, allowing ninjas to control puppets with greater ease. They could even use puppets to perform some simple ninjutsu directly, such as the Transformation Technique.

As for steel, unless Chakra Metal was used, ordinary steel was vastly inferior to biological materials in terms of Chakra conductivity. When used in puppets, this resulted in sluggish movements and severe Chakra consumption.

Therefore, even though steel was far harder than wood, puppet masters still chose wood as their primary material.

But the Bloodline Limit known as Shikotsumyaku perfectly avoided this weakness. It was harder than steel and conducted Chakra far better than wood. Combined with Yota’s own strength, he had developed Shikotsumyaku to a level that ordinary members of the Kaguya Clan could scarcely imagine. Its toughness was not inferior even to Chakra Metal.

For Sasori of the Red Sand, this was simply an irresistible temptation.