The two Shadow Clones Haseo left on the "front-line battlefield" served as a safeguard to prevent Konoha's main force from being directly crushed. Although there was a vast disparity in military strength between the two sides, within Kirigakure, perhaps only the Fourth Mizukage could possibly stand against Haseo.
Therefore, after Haseo recklessly launched his attack without regard for anything, the Fourth Mizukage definitely couldn't stay patiently within Kiri's lines directing the battle—he had no choice but to chase after Haseo at full speed, returning to defend Kirigakure as quickly as possible.
Powerful physical tremors and destruction, along with intense chakra shockwaves—these sudden changes were enough to summon the Mizukage back.
Not just the Mizukage; considering Haseo's destructive power, the majority of Kiri's high-level fighters had to return to defend the village, while those remaining who would continue fighting Konoha… Well, with their hometown under attack, they'd surely be too distracted and uneasy to focus.
Haseo's so-called "diversion" somehow turned into what it claimed to be—a real distraction. The plan he had declared so boldly eventually came true one day, as if guided by a strange twist of fate.
During such a crisis, even the Fourth Mizukage returned to Kiri much faster than Haseo had expected. After the Six-Tails Jinchuriki had been suppressed, before Haseo even took one step forward, a figure had already darted ahead, inserting itself between them and separating the two.
Just like rumors suggested, the Fourth Mizukage indeed looked outwardly like a child.
The Fourth Mizukage's chest rose and fell violently—it was obvious he had rushed back to the village at the expense of his physical stamina, without any concern about damaging his body. Though his speed was incredibly fast—as otherwise Haseo wouldn't have been surprised by his appearance—nonetheless... the Mizukage arrived just a little too late.
No, more accurately, he was several steps too late.
"I guess I don't really have much destiny tied to the Three-Tails. I came to Kirigakure twice in total, yet both times what I saw was the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki instead. As for the Three-Tails… it seems like it never showed up."
When the Fourth Mizukage appeared before him, Haseo politely retracted the half-step he had already taken forward. At this moment, he simply stood still in place—not taking advantage of the Mizukage's unstable breathing rhythm to launch an early attack, nor persisting further in trying to eliminate the Jinchuriki.
Right now, the current Fourth Mizukage was not the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki and would never become one afterward—if he even had a future at all... Actually, thanks to Haseo, the time point when the Third Mizukage died, and the circumstances leading to Yagura becoming the Fourth Mizukage, had been dramatically accelerated.
As for whether the original Fourth Mizukage became the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki before or after becoming the Mizukage—this sequence of events hadn't been firmly established. But at least, when he did become a Jinchuriki, it was not until after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War, following Rin Nohara's death.
But events like that would absolutely "never" happen again.
The Fourth Mizukage didn't respond to Haseo's words. First, he cast a side glance using his peripheral vision at the Six-Tails Jinchuriki protected behind him, immediately noticing the dense network of Cursed Seals covering the Jinchuriki's body—an indication that the Jinchuriki was currently undergoing severe restraint.
Fortunately, at this moment, the Jinchuriki hadn't suffered any critical danger.
The situation had gone to hell, but at least the Jinchuriki was saved before it got any worse.
Then, the Fourth Mizukage swept his gaze across the surroundings once more, and now the miserable state of Kirigakure became fully apparent to him.
How could a single ninja possess such destructive power? And how could such devastation keep happening again and again?
If Haseo were to make a comparison himself, he would often find himself measured against the so-called "cheaters"—those capable of obliterating an entire ninja village like Konoha in a single second. Unless countered by a combination like "Katsuyu + Tsunade," they could even kill every living soul in a village outright. Compared to that, what Haseo was doing—his simple yet low-key approach—could be considered what exactly?
This was just plain embarrassing.
Yet from the typical perspective of ordinary ninja, Haseo's actions and the damage caused were utterly sufficient to place him squarely within the ranks of those so-called "cheaters."
Besides, Kiri wasn't Konoha; there was definitely a gap between them.
Regarding military strength among the Five Great Ninja Villages, currently, they could practically be split into two tiers: Konoha, Kumo, and Iwagakure belonged to the first tier, while Sunagakure and Kirigakure fell into the second—a tier that might as well be called the bottom tier.
Several years ago, Kirigakure had already suffered one round of weakening at the hands of Haseo, and this event wasn't all that distant in time. Even now, there was no way Kirigakure could have completely recovered from its previous wounds; the losses in personnel and combat effectiveness couldn't possibly heal quickly within a short period.
For a major ninja village, losing population meant the most fatal kind of loss.
Now, Kirigakure had endured another blow just like the last one.
Haseo didn't know exactly how many casualties his attack had caused—he neither knew nor cared about precise numbers. That was something for the Mizukage to dwell over; Haseo certainly wasn't the Mizukage.
He was here simply to end this war as fast as possible, so there should be no problem with using harsh methods—it was all for peace, after all.
"Do you understand what exactly you've done?"
After assessing the situation around him, the Fourth's mood aside, he finally fixed his eyes upon Haseo.
Faced with this full-of-hatred accusation, however, Haseo remained indifferent. Their positions were entirely different; their moral standpoints of good and evil, right and wrong, could never align.
"If you were writing a legendary story from Kirigakure's viewpoint, then undoubtedly I would play the role of the villain—one who coldly and mercilessly destroyed your village without caring for your losses or injuries, so emotionless it seemed as though I had lost all humanity.
Therefore, within such a narrative, you, the Mizukage, would naturally become the protagonist, and this scene right here could unquestionably be described as 'the hero's entrance.'
Despite your village having been ruined, if you could stop me from proceeding further and ultimately eliminate this villain, then this moment would represent the turning point of the story.
A turning point *should* happen—no...it *has to* happen right here and now. You need to make it happen, or else the story itself will collapse."
Far from being bothered by this accusation, Haseo was actually encouraging the Fourth at this very moment.
"But there's one thing you conveniently forgot to remember... The one who started this war wasn't Leaf, but Mist. What I'm doing now is just returning the favor — hard.
You can't possibly justify launching a war and then objecting when I strike back — that's not just unfair, it's absurd.
Anyone who starts a war should be prepared for whatever consequences follow. So your anger now makes no sense — because I know exactly what I'm doing. The one who still doesn't understand what he's doing... that's you, Mizukage."
So between Mizukage and Haseo — who was being reasonable, and who was just talking nonsense? It didn't matter at all. Verbal confrontations produced no winners or losers, nor did they bring any change.
The Fourth swung the strangely-shaped weapon on his back. Next, he'd settle this with something a little more hands-on.
At this point, Haseo had no words left — except perhaps to say, "Come at me." Yet as he braced himself for battle, the scene before him suddenly changed completely.
The ruined Hidden Mist transformed into a desolate swamp, and at the same time, Haseo felt himself sinking — faster and faster — into an inescapable swamp.
"Oh, [genjutsu]?"
Without a doubt, this was an illusionary technique.
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