The tranquility of Hyuga Soushu's mansion was broken by hurried footsteps.
An urgent report from the Land of Water had thrown all the attendant ninjas under Hyuga Soushu into a flurry of activity.
Even Hyuga Soushu himself—who had originally planned to gradually infiltrate and destabilize the Mist Ninja Clan by imitating their tactics—had been caught completely off guard by this sudden blow.
"Warships are out of the question. There are only ten seaworthy long-range battleships stationed in the eastern coastal region; the rest are nothing but transport ships that can be easily destroyed."
"The Eastern Camp has already completed its mobilization. A total of 1,300 ninja troops are currently conducting drills!"
"Recent conscription in the central region has gathered about seven hundred Ronin Ninjas from territories including the Land of Iron and the Land of Snow. However, their combat effectiveness is extremely concerning."
"Considering we must ensure sufficient personnel on the defensive line, our headquarters could at maximum dispatch one thousand ninja troops."
"Honorable Leader! Emergency notices have been successfully delivered to every ninja clan. All families have declared they will attend the emergency joint meeting immediately. However, due to geographic constraints, it will not be possible for everyone to gather before noon the day after tomorrow."
"I understand."
Hyuga Soushu handled all internal affairs with mechanical efficiency, swiftly making the necessary arrangements.
In short, whether or not he could interfere, he needed to display a fully-prepared posture.
After all, this upheaval in Mist came too suddenly!
Though it could be interpreted as a butterfly effect incident, the brutality and bloodshed Mist demonstrated were terrifying enough.
"Up until today, Mist's civil war still rages on," said Mahiru Uchiha as she entered the office of the leader, personally delivering intelligence returned via the Ninja Cat Clan. "Currently, the Kaguya Clan plays a significant role. Their counterattack disrupted all plans of the Bloodline faction within Mist."
"At the same time launching attacks against the three great ninja clans—I really wonder what the Third Mizukage is thinking."
Hyuga Soushu briefly flipped through the intelligence report before shaking his head with a sigh.
Pointless—that was his most direct initial feeling.
The transformation in Mist's paradise occurred three days ago. During these three days, aside from that first night where both sides performed magnificently, nearly all subsequent time had been spent locked in brutal urban warfare continuing endlessly inside the Hidden Mist Village.
Though cruel and bloody, there remained an unplaceable feeling of something missing—an inexplicable sensation gnawing restlessly at one's heart.
"It would be impossible to intervene anyway," Mahiru Uchiha added as she walked around the table and sat onto Soushu's lap, casually picking up some documents lying on the desk before reaching her conclusion. "It'd be more practical to calculate whether our business dealings with Mist can continue."
"I realize that too," Soushu murmured, wrapping his arms around Mahiru as she sat on his lap, murmuring softly as he buried his face against her chest.
"But we still need to maintain appearances since the Mist Ninja Clan is technically our partner—at least officially."
"That's true," Mahiru softly agreed before planting a gentle kiss atop Soushu's head, feeling slightly helpless toward his unexplained anxiety.
Mist's internal conflict had spiraled out of control.
The decisive factor that tipped the balance was the Kaguya Clan's full-scale participation. Their counterattack that very night sounded the horn for Mist ninja clans to launch their offensive, breaking through the encirclement by the Hozuki and Suiton families just before midnight, bringing long-awaited relief to those ninja still clinging to survival.
Shortly afterward, the three great noble clans successfully joined forces and sealed their alliance with a blood oath under the supervision of their respective clan heads. Then, they rallied the strength of other Mist ninja clans and launched coordinated strikes throughout Hidden Mist.
If it had simply been a seesaw battle, maybe things wouldn't have looked so grim. But at the same time as the failure of the Paradise Project, another devastating blow shook the village—the sudden assassination of Master Genzu, one of the village's revered founding elders and legendary pioneers! Worse yet, his head had completely vanished!
This shocking news immediately sent shockwaves through both the Elder Council faction and the Bloodline faction!
Regardless of their factions, Master Genzu held immense prestige among these shinobi groups—many regarded his words as more authoritative than even the Mizukage's commands.
Yet such a revered elder had been savagely murdered—a blatant act of defiance against them all!
"The enemy is among the Sannin Clan!"
The Third Mizukage declared this conclusion without explanation or evidence.
The jonin of Mist raised no objections.
"As for the Kaguya Clan's attack, there's no need to investigate further. Those fools have already entered the war. Our only course is to wipe them out completely!"
The Third Mizukage continued issuing orders.
"But—"
Some jonin expressed confusion.
"Leaving aside whether we could uncover anything, what if we really discovered something suspicious?"
The Third Mizukage retorted with a question.
Though logically weak, the argument wasn't unreasonable.
At this critical moment of Mist's survival, even if they did discover evidence implicating Mist ninja themselves in the attack on the Kaguya compound, what could actually be done?
Could they truly execute their own comrades? Although lacking in skill, those who had attacked the Kaguya compound had all perished that very night anyway!
"Let the dead be laid to rest once and for all!" The Third Mizukage continued, "Our immediate priority now is to honor Master Genzu's passing, then focus entirely on quelling the internal chaos within the village!"
"Hai!"
An Anbu ninja immediately accepted the command while the other jonin voiced no objections.
"Master Genzu was one of the founding figures of our village; we cannot just let this matter drop!" A Mist Elder pounded his cane heavily on the ground, speaking shakily yet firmly, "We must severely punish those rebellious clansmen!"
His anxiety wasn't unfounded.
The reason why the aged Elders could still maintain authority within the village was precisely because their status as veterans still carried influence over many younger generations of ninja willing to obey them. Now, the most honored among these elders—Master Genzu—had been assassinated. Regardless of who was responsible, blood must pay for blood.
Without that, the simmering unrest within Mist could never be quelled!
"Since that's the case,"
The Third Mizukage mused for a moment before speaking, "Then we shall mark all ninja clans possessing Kekkei Genkai as Rogue Ninjas. All such individuals are to be executed on sight—no exceptions, no prisoners."
"How does that sound to you all?"
The Jonin assembly was immediately startled, exchanging uneasy glances but dared not speak much.
In any Hidden Mist Village, ninja clans bearing Kekkei Genkai have always been elite forces—undoubtedly core pillars supporting the village. If they really wiped them all out, it'd basically be suicide!
Even the more radical Mist Elders who had originally pushed for retribution found the Mizukage's suggestion excessively harsh.
"Do you all still believe there is room for compromise?"
The Third Mizukage continued, "Among the various families in this village, is there even one that hasn't already turned against us?"
That actually made sense.
Though the Mist Elders and assembled Jonin felt something seemed off, they hesitated only briefly before slightly nodding in agreement.
Whether it was the three great Powerful Clans—the Hozuki, Suiton, or Kaguya—or the numerous smaller scale ninja clans, from the night the Paradise Project commenced, they had all completely positioned themselves against the village.
After all, once the Hozuki and Suiton Clans reached agreements with the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, they shared significant benefits with other clans. Compounded by the spread of warfare that night, each clan suffered significant impacts. Angered, many ninja from these clans began attacking others who supported the village. As things stood now, very few remained loyal to the village.
"Of course, we must also ensure we don't dishearten those families that support the village."
Thinking further, the Third Mizukage added a supplement: "To prevent innocent clans from being wrongly implicated, please compile a whitelist of protected clans. Those on this list shall suffer no harm whatsoever!"
In other words, any clan not on that list would face merciless slaughter.
Hearing this, all resistance among the Elders and Jonin assembly vanished entirely.
Flames and smoke reduced the once peaceful Hidden Mist Village to a battlefield in ruins.
With assistance from the Kaguya Clan, both the Hozuki and Suiton Clans managed to break through enemy lines after sustaining heavy losses, successfully evacuating most of their clan members.
This could be called a silver lining in the midst of disaster.
Yet the most unfortunate of all was the Clan Head of House Hozuki.
During his escape, he strained himself using the [Steam Imp] technique until his body fell into an extremely weakened state. Though guarded by protective Jonin, after triggering the Explosive Tag matrix at the perimeter of the clan territory, he unexpectedly took a stray Shuriken directly to the forehead and died instantly!
Such a death was undeniably an ironic joke to the Hozuki, who prided themselves on their Water Release Secret Jutsu and thought they were immune to physical attacks.
But reality has a cruel sense of humor—and everyone had to swallow it.
Thus, with no suitable Clan Head available temporarily, the Hozuki Clan quickly appointed its Chief Elder to govern in the interim, placing their hopes upon their allied Suiton Clan.
The Kaguya Clan earned widespread praise from various ninja clans for their courageous act of mobilizing all forces to provide immediate assistance that night.
However, the civil war in Mist will continue.
On the third day of the conflict, both exhausted sides barely reached a tacit ceasefire along the actual control line. Yet each was busily stockpiling military supplies, preparing to settle the score anew.
"We've got enough explosive tags, but our ninja tools are running low."
After checking the clan stocks, the Suiton Clan Head couldn't help but sigh, "Besides, restocking won't be quick—this isn't something that can be rushed."
"Our resources may be stretched thin, but those guys from the Bloodline faction aren't doing any better."
A Mist Ninja Clan leader said, "As long as we persevere, the village will surely fall into our hands!"
This belief was the driving force behind most Mist Ninja Clans' willingness to go all-in on this civil war.
Unlike Konoha, where clan influence is minimal, more than thirty percent of Mist's shinobi hail from ninja clans. These clansmen are generally stronger than regular shinobi and serve as the village's backbone force. However, during the Third Mizukage's reign, these clans faced suppression, leading to accumulated grievances within each family.
The Hozuki and Suiton differ, however.
Being the originating families of two successive Mizukages while also ranking as the largest clans in the village, they had shared considerable benefits with other families after reaching agreements with mainland ninja world factions. With various factors combining, these clans' stance naturally shifted somewhat.
Moreover, the Bloodline faction's indiscriminate attacks served as another decisive factor tipping their scales further.
"Enough hiding your strength already! Show us everything you've got!"
The Suiton Clan Head swept his gaze across the gathered clan leaders before continuing, "Only by achieving final victory can our sacrifices have meaning!"
"What about seeking help from the mainland?"
Another clan leader attempted changing the subject.
Sacrificing their people isn't entirely unacceptable per se, but asking clans to expose their deepest secrets and throw them all into the fire without backup? That calls for extra incentives!
And what about the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation backing Hozuki and Suiton? Shouldn't they be able to throw some support our way?
"Yesterday I already reported everything happening here to Commander Hizashi at Konoha's Eastern Camp,"
Suddenly interrupted the Kaguya Clan Head, "If everything went smoothly, the urgent report should now be in Commander SOUSHU's hands."
"Uh..."
Everyone turned surprised glances toward him.
They'd assumed Hozuki and Suiton, being powerful clans, maintained closer relations with the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation. Never did they expect the Kaguya Clan—often perceived as clueless—to have quietly accomplished something so significant!
"That's right, we've already informed them. However, the company follows strict procedures. Aid won't come without a formal board decision."
The Suiton Clan Head nearly lost composure but managed to maintain his posture and nodded in agreement with the Kaguya Clan Head's statement.
"Let's call back all the branch clans from the outside. Leave the provinces to the nobles for now. Once we eliminate those traitors, everything will be back in our hands!"
The Suiton Clan Head said, "This setup should let us gather over four thousand ninja troops — about equal to the Bloodline faction's strength!"
"But what if they redeploy the coastal defense forces stationed at the border?" One of the clan elders couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted.
"If we act quickly, we can swiftly defeat the forces of the Bloodline faction!"
The Suiton Clan Head didn't have a solid plan either—the power gap was obvious. But he couldn't risk demoralizing them, so he spun a hopeful vision to keep everyone motivated: "Once things settle down, everyone will be richly rewarded!"
"Indeed!"
"This is exactly what we desire!"
Whether or not they truly believed it, the Mist Ninja Clan elders all nodded in agreement one by one.
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