After completing the inauguration ceremony for his appointment as the Fourth Mizukage, the very first policy Yoru implemented was expanding the population recovery plan of the Yuki Clan into a village-wide Hidden Mist Village Population Revival Plan.
Even though some conservative elders felt this was an unseemly and vulgar way to begin his administration, Yoru didn't care.
Population was the foundation of everything. Whatever Yoru wanted to do in the future required sufficient population to support it. If he didn't even have people under him, then no matter how outstanding and brilliant a leader he was, it would be meaningless.
"Thanks to your brilliant plan, the village now sounds like a mating zoo day and night," grumbled Terumi Mei , a top-tier genius with two Kekkei Genkai, who was used as an intelligence officer during the war and then pulled in by Yoru to be his secretary after the war ended, couldn't help but complain
"And what's the deal with that kunoichi you brought back from the Five Kage Summit? Trying to set a personal example for the repopulation effort, Lord Mizukage?"
"...Well, if you want to interpret it that way, I won't stop you."
Yoru didn't even look up from the document he was stamping.
"Wha—?! Can you hear yourself right now?!"
Mei was about to explode. She already knew this man was an incorrigible womanizer. She had known him since they were young—she was supposed to be the childhood friend! And yet he always had a new woman on his arm.
First it was Uzumaki Hiromi.
Now it was that woman, Pakura.
And lately, even Yuki Kira from the Yuki Clan had been acting strange...
What about me, huh?!
"As my trusted personal secretary, it's fine if you keep tabs on me all day—but I would really appreciate it if you could also handle some of these more... practical matters," Yoru said, finally looking up and handing her a file.
"What do you think of this plan?"
"Deadbeat womanizer... You lie to me, sweet-talk me, and now you want me to be your overworked assistant too..."
Still, Mei took the document, sighed, and scanned it with a furrowed brow.
A moment later, she responded professionally.
"Changing the Third Mizukage's Ninja Academy policy back to the Second Mizukage's original system is definitely fine. After all, the reason Konoha could field so many troops to simultaneously counter attacks from multiple great nations during the war was precisely because of that academy system."
"While the Second Mizukage's academy system might not instantly equip graduating children with the mental fortitude to fight on the battlefield, it can alleviate the Hidden Mist's current population shortage. It also fosters emotional bonds between ninja, increases their affection for the village, and thus reduces the appearance of rogue ninja."
"Impressive. No wonder I hand-picked you as my personal secretary."
Yoru nodded in satisfaction. "Then I'll leave the educational reforms to you. Coordinate with the academy faculty and revise the curriculum and graduation requirements."
"Wait, me?!"
Mei Terumi blinked.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not doing this to be lazy or to indulge in those inappropriate thoughts you have in your head." Yoru tapped Mei Terumi's forehead, pointing irritably at the pile of documents on the table.
"This includes distributing pensions for ninja killed or wounded in action, allocating personnel to complete various requests and missions accumulated during the war, and even promoting young ninja who accumulated merits and achievements during the war to fill the gaps in the mid-to-high level ninja ranks caused by the conflict..."
"Additionally, an envoy from Konoha should arrive soon. I'll need to receive them then—that's a huge sum of fifty million ryo!"
"I'm quite busy, so could you please respect and understand your Fourth Mizukage, my dear secretary?"
"...I'm sorry!"
Face flushed with embarrassment, Mei gave a 90-degree bow.
She had indeed just been thinking that this bastard was pawning off all the work so he could go womanizing again.
"Well, I suppose I'll let you off this time," Yoru said smugly.
Just as he was about to say more, his expression suddenly changed.
"What is it?" Mei asked, instantly alert.
"A flaw in the plan?"
"No... Something I left behind just triggered. A small surprise."
Yoru's voice deepened slightly.
Yoru spoke in a low voice. "You go ahead and work with the school teachers and administrators to formulate the educational matters. After that's settled, if I haven't returned, please help me handle the administrative backlog here."
"W-What? Yoru—"
Before she could finish, Yoru vanished from the office in a shimmer of mist.
The next instant, a blinding pillar of light burst from outside the village.
Mei rushed to the window and stared through the fog.
"He activated the barrier marker? That means it's not a village matter..."
She whispered to herself.
"Yoru… please be careful."
Land of Rain — Amegakure
No matter how heavily the rain fell, it couldn't douse the burning fury in the hearts of the two young men.
"Why, Lord Hanzō?! Why would you betray us?!"
Soaked to the bone, Yahiko screamed toward the hilltop, where a crowd of shinobi stood, led by a once-revered figure.
"Didn't we agree to fight for Amegakure's peace? To work together toward peace for the entire shinobi world?! Why would you do this?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. There was never any 'cooperation.'"
The withered voice echoed coldly from behind a gas mask.
The decaying demigod held Konan hostage with chilling indifference.
"You naive children don't understand how cruel the world truly is. Your ignorant and fearless development has touched things you shouldn't have, so naturally, you must pay the price."
"We never intended to replace you, Lord Hanzo. The Akatsuki's development was all for the betterment of Amegakure, all for—"
Clang—!
A kunai buried itself at Yahiko and Nagato's feet.
"Spare me your childish delusions, Yahiko. Amegakure no longer needs your Akatsuki. And I want your death as its leader to prove that."
"Damn you!"
Yahiko clenched his fists.
The Hanzō he had once admired—the man revered by the people of Ame—was no longer here. All that remained was a decaying tyrant, corrupted by power, no different from the warmongers they'd always opposed.
"If you resist... this girl dies."
The poison-tipped threat was delivered with callous precision. Hanzō showed no shame.
Yahiko was enraged, but Konan's life hung in the balance. Abandoning a comrade was unthinkable.
"What's wrong? Can't do it? Hah... Then how about you, red-haired brat? Kill Yahiko, and I'll let you and the girl go."
"No! Nagato! Run! Don't listen to him!"
Konan screamed, voice hoarse with desperation.
She hated Hanzo for breaking his word, she hated the enemy's despicable shamelessness, and she hated her own powerlessness even more! Why was she captured? Why was she dragging everyone down? She should have died under that poisonous mist with her comrades.
She wanted to commit suicide, but her hands were bound, and her chakra was completely sealed. Konan had tried some special methods, but without proving her value as a captive, how could the cunning Hanzo allow his hostage to die?
"Konan... Yahiko... I…"
"You won't let her die, will you?" Hanzō prodded, watching Nagato's trembling hands.
"I am not intolerant of you; I simply cannot tolerate your leader, whose ambition reaches for the heavens. Such thinking, such conviction, will bring disaster upon our Amegakure!"
"So, hurry up, boy, kill Yahiko, and I will release this woman and promise never to move against your Akatsuki again. We are all one family in Amegakure. If there were truly no other way, why would I move against my own family?"
The vile voice reverberated. Hanzo's brainwashed supporters remained unmoved, but a few strange expressions appeared in the eyes of Uchiha Shisui and the others standing on the other side.
But it was only that.
They were mission executors. By helping Hanzo deal with the Akatsuki, they would gain Hanzo's support, thereby alleviating Konoha's pressure on the Iwa front.
The lives and deaths of outsiders were insignificant compared to Konoha's safety, even if those outsiders were idealistic youths who yearned for peace!
"Hurry up, boy, my patience is limited!"
Nagato's body trembled.
They would not abandon a comrade, but they would certainly not kill one comrade for the life of another.
Seeing Nagato tremble, and Konan held captive by Hanzo, Yahiko's eyes flickered with unwillingness, lingering attachment, and hatred for the enemy.
Finally, countless emotions solidified into resolve.
He knew that the timid Nagato couldn't make a decision in such a situation. Moreover, he hoped Nagato and Konan could live safely!
"Nagato! Kill me!"
Yahiko took a deep breath and spoke slowly and firmly.
"W-what..."
Nagato stared blankly at Yahiko.
His long-held resolve was to protect them both from any harm, no matter the pain or consequences. But now, fate was forcing him to choose between the two people he wanted to protect most.
Why was this happening...
"Nagato!"
Seeing Nagato hesitate, Yahiko knew that the longer they waited, the more dangerous it became. For the first time, he shouted loudly at Nagato.
"No!"
Hot tears mixed with the rain streamed down the girl's cheeks, like a weeping angel.
"Hurry up, or this woman will die!"
Victory was within reach. Ambition and desire drove the decaying ruler to continue pressuring the boy on the verge of collapse!
Nagato's body trembled, and his feet slowly moved forward. He picked up the kunai from the ground.
Those few short steps seemed to drain all his strength. He breathed heavily, as if that was the only way to get the meager oxygen in the air.
His hand gripping the kunai trembled uncontrollably. He still couldn't make a choice.
After everything had been destroyed by the shinobi of Konoha, it was Konan and Yahiko who took him in. It was their companionship, their determination, their unwavering beliefs and support that rekindled the warmth in his nearly frozen, despairing heart — the very things that allowed him to hold on, step by step, until today.
And now...
"Konan, Yahiko, I..."
"Thud!"
It was the sound of a sharp object piercing flesh!
Looking at Yahiko, who had suddenly leaned closely against him, and feeling the warm liquid slowly flowing from his hand, Nagato's pupils contracted, his eyes trembling with shock.
The entire world seemed to fall silent at that moment. Countless eyes fell upon the young man who had deliberately thrown himself onto the kunai.
Shock, emotion, excitement, pain.
And... relief and liberation in Yahiko's eyes.
"Nagato... you and Konan, no matter what... you must live..."
Yahiko, his heart pierced, leaned weakly on Nagato's shoulder. Streaks of blood flowed from his mouth. His trembling voice, mixed with unwillingness yet containing a hint of relief, slowly spoke: "You are... the savior of this world... If it's you... perhaps you really can..."
The young man, filled with dreams and hope, fell weakly onto the muddy ground soaked with rain. The sky, already heavily obscured by thick clouds, seemed to grow even gloomier at this moment.
"No... no... no!!"
The dawn light that had pierced his inner darkness fell before him.
To protect his life and his comrades.
Nagato stood stunned in place, blood vessels surfacing in his Rinnegan. A cold, despairing chakra emanated from his body.
"YAHIKO!!!"
"Go!"
"Having eliminated the Akatsuki's most powerful leader without lifting a finger, Hanzō, his scheme now successful, no longer bothered to conceal his vile intentions. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes as he gave a sharp wave of his hand.
Dozens of Amegakure elite ninja lunged at Nagato. Countless shuriken shot out, flying towards Nagato's face, but they were all blocked by an inexplicable barrier.
"Everything will now begin."
Feeling that special chakra, an uncontrollable excitement appeared in Obito's eyes. His gaze also fell on Shisui in the distance, who wore only his ninja battle uniform to conceal his identity.
Shisui, quietly observing everything, seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.
Their crimson three-tomoe locked across the air, and in that instant, both figures vanished from their spots!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin