Now, Black Zetsu finally understood how Seiryu had single-handedly dragged the Uchiha clan from ruin to dominance.
Though Seiryu's strength didn't match Madara's, not even Indra or Asura's other reincarnations had such power to sway a crowd with a few words.
"Friends! This is a war—a war about to erupt! The oppressors will perish in war!" Seiryu's clone shouted passionately, whipping the tavern into a frenzy.
Mei was completely at a loss. Why had she started talking to this man? What was he planning?
"Will you keep drinking here? Do you want your children to have to risk their lives for a C-rank jutsu after graduation? Act now! Overthrow the oppressors! This village belongs to you, to me, to every ninja who fights for the Will of Water! For a better Mist—kill the bloodline clans!"
"Kill the bloodline clans! Glory to the Mist!" The crowd roared, following Seiryu's clone out of the tavern.
Black Zetsu hurried after. Mei also climbed over the bar and chased the crowd.
"That direction? The Kaguya clan?" Mei's heart pounded. Her organization had recently learned the Kaguya clan was planning a revolt against the Fourth Mizukage's Bloody Mist policy. If these civilian ninja surrounded their compound, open conflict was inevitable.
"That guy looks like a mere chunin?" Mei gritted her teeth and followed.
Seiryu led the civilian Mist ninja to surround the Kaguya compound, then, at the gate, fired a Water Fang Bullet after forming seals.
"Bastard!" Kaguya ninja, having received the alarm, gathered. The leader, furious, shot a bone spike at Seiryu.
Seiryu didn't dodge, taking the attack with White Zetsu's body and falling back several meters, spitting blood as planned.
"You okay?" a Mist Jonin crouched beside him.
"Comrades! Don't mind me! Revolution always demands blood and sacrifice. Let it start with me! For the Will of Water—kill them!" Seiryu coughed up blood, feigned collapse, and closed his eyes.
"Damn you bloodline ninja!" With Seiryu's death, the civilians' rage exploded, and a melee broke out.
Seiryu's clone, meanwhile, was spirited away underground by Tobi and reunited with Black Zetsu.
"This is how you incite conflict?" Black Zetsu was stunned. In less than an hour, Seiryu had sparked a battle involving hundreds.
"Was it so hard?" Seiryu smiled. "Mist ninja have long simmered under the Bloody Mist's oppression. I just gave them an outlet."
Black Zetsu studied Seiryu, then asked, "Is peace truly your goal?"
"Are you pitying them, ancestor?" Seiryu squinted.
"No, I just think your methods and ideals don't match," Black Zetsu said stiffly. He was beginning to doubt whether Seiryu could be controlled like Madara.
"It's the only path to peace," Seiryu said coldly. "They're enemies on the road to unity. The more die now, the fewer of our own will die in future wars. After Infinite Tsukuyomi, they'll all be reborn in a world without war or pain. Right, ancestor?"
"Alright, I understand," Black Zetsu nodded. "What now?"
"Now?" Seiryu looked at the ongoing battle, then smiled. "Let's visit the Mizukage. Lead the way, ancestor."
...
Soon, Tobi and Black Zetsu brought Seiryu to the Mizukage's office. As they appeared, the Mangekyo marks flashed in Yagura's eyes, and he respectfully bowed to them.
Just then, urgent footsteps sounded outside. Seiryu and Black Zetsu hid.
A squad of ANBU entered, reporting the evening's Kaguya compound conflict. Both sides suffered heavy casualties—nearly half of the civilian ninja perished, and the Kaguya lost several jonin.
"Lord Fourth, the rioters have been subdued. They say the ringleader died in the fighting, but the Kaguya want an explanation."
"Explanation? What kind of explanation?" Seiryu, controlling Yagura, said coldly. "If they want an explanation, tell them to come to my office and ask me themselves!"
"Yes!" the ANBU replied. "What about the ninja who joined the riot?"
"Handle them? Handle what? They responded to the Bloody Mist policy and possess the Will of Water! After this bloodbath, they'll be stronger! Release them all."
"Understood," the ANBU left.
Afterwards, Seiryu and Black Zetsu reappeared. Black Zetsu was curious.
"You plan to have the Mizukage support the civilians? If Yagura appears publicly, someone might notice something's off."
"To stir chaos in Mist, we must help them," Seiryu replied.
"How?" Black Zetsu asked.
"By doing nothing," Seiryu said.
"Nothing?" Black Zetsu was confused.
"We can offer every support—except direct help," Seiryu explained.
"And if they demand help?"
"Then we follow four-stage tactics," Seiryu said, sitting at Yagura's desk.
"Four-stage tactics?" Black Zetsu asked.
"It's a crisis management strategy I learned from Hiruzen Sarutobi," Seiryu explained.
"Step one: Deny anything happened.
Step two: Admit something might have happened, but say no action is needed.
Step three: Admit action might be needed, but say nothing can be done.
Step four: Admit something could have been done, but now it's too late."
Black Zetsu: ...
After a while, Black Zetsu muttered, "Isn't that just muddling through?"
"What else? We're not here to govern the Mist," Seiryu shrugged.
"Alright, ancestor, let's go. Let the Mist run wild for a while." With that, Seiryu dispelled his clone.
...
Back home, the real Seiryu, meditating in his courtyard, abruptly opened his eyes.
He walked to the ninja world map on his wall, deep in thought.
"The Land of Water is stable for now. The real trouble comes from…"
He eyed the map's upper left and right corners.
The Land of Wind is too poor to worry about. In the Five Great Nations, only the Lands of Lightning and Earth matter.
First, the Land of Lightning—full of muscle-heads who respect only strength. Seiryu wasn't sure if his methods would work there; it would be hard to stir internal strife without direct intervention.
Then, the Land of Earth—compared to Hiruzen, Onoki was a far savvier politician. Iwagakure was tightly under his control. Aside from succession problems, the place was ironclad, leaving little room for Seiryu to maneuver.
'If the Land of Earth is to be thrown into chaos, it needs a trigger…'
'The small countries between Fire and Earth…'
'The Land of Rain… Not the right time to fight Akatsuki. The Land of Waterfall is neutral but leans pro-Konoha, so it's safe for now. That leaves the Land of Grass.'
"The Land of Grass…" Seiryu mused. By now, Karin and her mother should have been kidnapped and used as blood supplies, meaning he had a perfect pretext for intervention.
"Crushing Grass is easy, but dragging the Land of Earth into it will take careful planning." Seiryu stared at the map, lost in thought.
After a long time, he glanced at the calendar. "Two weeks from now is the anniversary of Uzushiogakure's fall."
...
The next day, after the village's routine meeting, Seiryu called out to Tsunade, who was about to return to the medical academy.
"Hokage-sama, if it's not urgent, don't bother me. My students are waiting for class," Tsunade said impatiently.
Seiryu: ...
It was clear Tsunade wasn't happy about the early meetings, especially since she spent her nights gambling miles away and now had to work overtime. Of all the villagers, Tsunade was the least deferential to Seiryu, except during funding days.
But Seiryu didn't mind. After all, he'd been the one to invite her back. Only Tsunade could train a new generation of medical ninja, so he respected her attitude as an elder.
"Um, Lady Tsunade, do you have any news about the Uzumaki survivors?" Seiryu asked.
Tsunade's face instantly darkened. "Why do you suddenly ask, Hokage-sama? The Uzumaki were wiped out decades ago."
Her reaction was understandable. That was her grandmother's clan, and Konoha had betrayed them. Seiryu's question could only make her suspicious.
"It's like this," Seiryu said gently. "Decades ago, Konoha did abandon the Uzumaki. But now, as Hokage, having learned the truth, I want to do something to make amends to our village's most loyal friends."
PS: Hiruzen achieved many things by doing nothing. lol