Back on the Mist Village ship, Yagura's dark expression said it all. The Mist ninjas who accompanied him dared not even breathe too loudly.
They were terrified that in Yagura's anger, he might take out his fury on them. In the world of ninjas, they may have been accustomed to risking their lives, but that didn't mean they wanted to die.
All the Mist ninjas stood with their eyes lowered, trying their best to blend into the background and avoid catching Yagura's attention.
Luckily, Yagura wasn't someone who killed on a whim, despite the number of lives he had taken. Most of the time, it was because he was carrying out orders from the Third Mizukage.
"Genji-sama."
After returning to the village, Yagura didn't go to see the Third Mizukage. Instead, he went to Genji.
"Have you figured out the cause?" Genji asked, a bit surprised. Yagura had only been gone for a short time, yet he had already gathered all the necessary information.
"Come, sit down. It looks like you have bad news."
From the look on Yagura's face, Genji knew trouble was brewing.
Yagura respectfully bowed, then sat down with a straight back and placed his hands neatly in his lap―more respectful than he was even toward the Mizukage.
Such troubled times... Genji thought, sighing as he held his tea cup. "Alright, tell me what you've discovered."
"Yes," Yagura replied with a slight nod before explaining, "There's been no word from Fuguki Suikazan, nor from the team he led. There are only two possibilities: either they defected, or they encountered a powerful enemy and were wiped out."
"I asked the Hozuki clan to summon Samehada back, but they failed."
"Hmm." Genji nodded, signaling Yagura to continue.
After a brief pause, Yagura said, "In the patrol area of Fuguki's team, I encountered a Konoha warship and confirmed that Konoha was responsible."
"Has anyone from our village attacked Fire Nation shipping routes recently?" Genji asked suddenly.
Yagura blinked, then nodded.
"Ah... I see."
So that's it. Genji waved a hand, urging Yagura to continue.
"There weren't many of them-just three. Leading them was Usagi Xin, who rose quickly during the Second Ninja War but then disappeared just as fast."
"Samehada is in his possession, and it looks like it's been sealed. The Hozuki clan couldn't summon it back."
"Usagi Xin?" Genji's brow furrowed. "I've heard of him. Some say he's Konoha's second Hashirama Senju. After meeting him, what do you think?"
A genius, no doubt. Otherwise, such rumors wouldn't have spread so far.
But comparing him to Hashirama Senju? That was hard to believe. After all, Hashirama was the God of Shinobi, a man who had single-handedly brought the entire shinobi world to its knees.
Even if he had been somewhat eccentric.
"He's incredibly strong."
Yagura's face, which had gradually relaxed during the conversation, tensed up again as he recalled his encounter with Xin.