Chapter 14: A Troublesome Era
Yuto's calm voice echoed through the forest. Only four words, yet they carried unmatched dominance and confidence.
"Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi, pays respects to the First Mizukage, Lord Yuto!"
Mei immediately dropped to one knee, her tone trembling with irrepressible excitement and reverence.
"Captain of the Mist Anbu, Ao, pays respects to the First Mizukage, Lord Yuto!"
Ao likewise knelt, half-bowing. As an assassin captain and shinobi, he could no longer conceal the heat in his gaze nor the fervor on his face.
Hearing their voices, Yuto lowered his head, expressionless, and studied those before him.
Mei Terumi. Ao. Orochimaru. The Sound Four.
Familiar and yet unfamiliar faces. So… he truly had been sealed for decades?
Hn? Edo Tensei Hashirama?
Yuto's eyes paused on Hashirama. He quickly pieced together what must have happened. His brow twitched upward—so in a way, Tobirama had done him a great favor.
"So it's already the Fifth Mizukage? I thought I'd awaken during the Second or at least the Third's era. Things have only gotten worse."
His tone was flat, but it carried genuine displeasure.
It wasn't intimidation he sought, but a statement of truth.
Yuto's main task was to unify the shinobi world. But such a feat demanded more than overwhelming strength. It required timing, circumstance, and people's hearts.
In the shinobi world, there were two moments when unification might have been possible.
The first: the Warring States era. But anyone who tried to unify the world then would inevitably clash with Madara and Hashirama. Against those two monsters, even overwhelming power might crumble—one sudden surge, and you'd be crushed.
The second: after the story's events began. On the surface, this era lacked overwhelming figures, but it was the most stable and prosperous time. All the villages were building strength. Attempting unification would mean facing the combined resistance of every hidden village.
And worse—the rise of new monsters like Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, the ever-present chance of Hashirama and Madara's return, and the endless schemes of Black Zetsu.
To Yuto, this was the most troublesome age of all.
He wasn't yet sure exactly which point in the timeline he'd landed.
But with Mei Terumi as Fifth Mizukage, and the Sound Four standing obediently behind Orochimaru, the picture became clear.
The true windows for unifying the shinobi world had been during the Second and Third Shinobi Wars—the only periods when Konoha's dominance could be broken. Outside of that, every other time belonged to Konoha.
This was why Yuto's words brimmed with dissatisfaction.
He had lived through an age where life was as cheap as grass. His mindset had long since hardened.
Even seeing these faces—people who, in his previous life, were beloved characters, with Mei even once his favorite female figure—his heart stirred not at all.
Now, meeting them not as drawings on a page but as flesh-and-blood beings, Yuto felt nothing.
It was as though he were merely facing something ordinary.
No wonder—strength, status, and mindset were no longer comparable. The so-called familiarity he felt was nothing more than nostalgia from a previous life.
If anyone else had said Kirigakure was becoming weaker, Mei Terumi and Ao would have lashed out without hesitation.
But before the First Mizukage, Lord Yuto, both their faces flushed with shame. Their heads lowered even further.
Compared to the era of Lord Yuto, Kirigakure's present strength could indeed be called pitiful.
Among the Five Great Villages, the Mist and the Sand now stood nearly equal—both vying for the bottom two ranks.
Yet unlike Sunagakure, which was poor save for sand, Kirigakure had mountains and seas, abundant resources. For such a village to still fall into the lowest tier—its weakness was plain to see.
Seeing their ashamed expressions, Yuto's mouth twitched. It seemed he had struck a nerve.
"Stand up. As Mizukage, you may feel shame for your village's state, but you need not kneel to anyone."
Yuto's tone carried an unyielding authority as he looked at Mei.
Her cheeks flushed red as she scrambled upright, standing straight like a scolded girl.
Ao, still kneeling at the side, nearly chuckled. It was his first time seeing Mei look so flustered, almost girlish.
As Mei stood, Yuto studied the Fifth Mizukage more closely. Tall and elegant, only half a head shorter than himself, and far more beautiful than her depiction in the anime of his previous life.
Noticing her nervousness, Yuto suddenly smiled.
"You've had a hard time."
Without waiting for her reaction, he glanced toward Ao, still kneeling, and gestured for him to rise.
Then, with a single step, Yuto's figure vanished. In the next instant, he was already standing before Orochimaru.
So fast!
No chakra fluctuation—was this pure taijutsu?
Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply. For Yuto to appear without warning right before him was utterly terrifying.
Yuto smiled, his expression disarmingly charming as he looked at the Snake Sannin.
"What is your name?"
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