Time rewinds to the moment when history began to change.
Within the crowd.
An old man leaning on a cane slowly walked out. Under the awe-filled gazes of everyone, he arrived beside the Third Mizukage's corpse.
"The Third Mizukage..."
"Is dead."
The old man spoke with a grave tone. It was none other than Kirigakure's Great Elder, Genji, who had lived through all three Great Ninja Wars.
"Fourth Mizukage..."
"Just as the Third entrusted before his death, the village's future is now in your hands."
Genji, who had always been at odds with the Third Mizukage, displayed a completely different attitude when facing Sora.
Many of Kirigakure's high-ranking Jonin had worried that Sora's succession would face fierce opposition from Genji's faction.
But now, it seemed reality differed greatly from their assumptions.
"I will."
Sora said lightly.
Exchanging a glance with Genji, Sora could see the firm steadiness in the other's eyes. It seemed there wasn't much sorrow over the Third Mizukage's death, but rather a sense of relief.
'Had he noticed something long ago?'
Suddenly, a sense of understanding dawned on Sora, 'So the conflicts between Genji's faction and the Third Mizukage's faction over the years weren't without reason.'
'Genji had likely long detected the Third Mizukage's abnormality, though even someone as experienced as Genji probably never guessed that Kirigakure's Mizukage could be controlled by Uchiha Madara's Genjutsu, reduced to a puppet to be played with.'
As the two conversed, the scene fell into complete silence.
All the Ninjas looked at Sora with expressions of immense shock, awe, and fanaticism.
At this moment, even the Third Mizukage's death seemed to have become irrelevant.
Because the level of combat power Sora had displayed left these Kirigakure's Ninjas feeling utterly astonished, crazed, stupefied, and even fearful.
To single-handedly suppress and kill a Tailed Beast so easily... was this not the power of that level?
That transcendent level named after Hashirama and Madara, which transcended the so-called Five Kage, truly capable of ignoring any numerical disadvantage and suppressing the entire Ninja World alone.
Such powerful individuals were often crowned with the title of [God] by the world, true powerhouses sufficient to leave their names in history.
"Good!"
"Excellent!"
Yagura couldn't help but clap and exclaim. He looked at Sora with an excited and thrilled expression, feeling more and more that Kirigakure's future was becoming brighter and more brilliant, wonderfully indescribable.
The Anbu Commander?
The Expeditionary Force Commander?
Places like those were too small, simply couldn't contain a great god like Sora.
The only place in the entire village suitable for Sora, the only place that could be suitable, was the position of Mizukage.
Now,
In Yagura's view, history had reached a new starting point, and the future was destined to be a glorious and brilliant path.
Everything ahead awaited Sora's arrival and conquest.
"Take care of the Third's body!"
Yagura stepped forward and gave the order to the nearby Anbu's members.
Hearing this.
Those Anbu's members all looked at Sora in unison. Seeing that Sora showed no sign of objection, they then stepped forward, covered the Third Mizukage's body with a white cloth, quickly carried it away, and disappeared into the crowd.
After all, he was Kirigakure's Mizukage. Even if he was the tyrant who single-handedly opened the era of the Bloody Mist, seeing the Third Mizukage die inevitably made many Ninjas feel somewhat uncomfortable.
In the end, the Mizukage was dead...
This was destined to be a rather complex feeling.
As for the Third Mizukage's body, it would naturally receive the most proper safekeeping.
This was Kirigakure's highest-ranking figure. Leaving aside his value as a Ninja, just the confidential intelligence in his brain held extremely high value and absolutely must not fall into others' hands.
Moreover, the Third Mizukage's Water Release Ninjutsu could be considered to have a level capable of standing on its own.
A Kage-level Ninja's body was also a treasure trove. If nothing unexpected happened, given the Third Mizukage's 'contributions' to the village, his body would likely not enter the Hall of the Loyal.
There was an eighty percent chance it would be divided, minced, cataloged by Kirigakure's research department, turned into the most basic experimental research material to atone for his sins in life.
Sora remained silent throughout, offering no comment, no stance, and taking no responsibility regarding the subsequent handling of the Third Mizukage.
Because his status was special… he was the de facto Fourth Mizukage, and coupled with the fact that the Third was guilty, no matter how Sora handled it, it would inevitably attract criticism.
Handle it too leniently, and he would be possessing the benevolence of a woman, lacking the courage and decisiveness for reform.
Handle it too harshly, and he would be ungrateful for past ties, a leader without humanity, which would inspire fear and awe but would also inevitably lose him much popular support.
Therefore, Sora had not the slightest interest in such a laborious and thankless task. Yagura, standing beside him, recognized this and proactively stepped forward to take over the aftermath work.
Everyone knew that Yagura was the General Commander of Kirigakure's Combat Division, wielding real power, and also a staunch supporter of Sora. His status was sufficient, and his relationship close enough. Having Yagura handle the aftermath was the optimal choice now.
"Heroes comes from the younger generation."
Genji was also present, overseeing the scene. His aged gaze occasionally fell on Sora, and he greatly appreciated this young Mizukage's calm and composed demeanor and his ability to balance tension and relaxation.
In battle, he was as sharp and decisive as a gale.
In peace, he was as substantial and steady as a mountain.
To hold such a high position at a young age, and even achieve such unbelievable victories in the war against Konoha... Sora's ability and resolve satisfied Genji immensely. He felt he could retreat to the background without any worries, entrusting Kirigakure's future entirely to Sora's hands.
Originally,
The power held by Genji had many conflicts with the Third Mizukage's. During the Third Mizukage's tenure, the two had clashed numerous times.
The relationship between them was roughly equivalent to a slightly weaker Hiruzen and a slightly stronger Danzo… a case of diametrical opposition locking horns for a long time.
But after Sora's ascension, Genji had a completely different feeling. He saw an exuberant momentum in this young Mizukage, making him instinctively feel that the young Mizukage before him would be a very trustworthy leader.
…
Meanwhile,
In the corner of the Ninja World,
In a familiar, deep darkness.
"Madara-sama..."
"Even the Six-Tails was killed. Should we still try to find a way to assassinate that Kirigakure's Yuki Sora?"
From the grey-brown ground, a white, humanoid creature resembling a venus flytrap emerged. It was White Zetsu.
After receiving intelligence from the outside White Zetsu clone, it had come before the mastermind, Madara, at the fastest speed.
"The Six-Tails is dead too? To think that even the Six-Tails, summoned with a blood sacrifice, plus the Third Mizukage, couldn't kill that young man..."
Madara, usually cold and unfeeling, finally had a noticeable fluctuation in his gaze. He was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "There's no need to continue. To insist on doing something knowing it's impossible is an irrational act. The plan has progressed to this point, and all arrangements are quite proper now. Even if we lose this round to that young man, it doesn't matter."
"As long as the final victory belongs to me."
Since Hashirama's passing, all Ninjas in the Ninja World had seemed as weak as ants in Madara's eyes, utterly not worth mentioning.
The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, the Third Raikage, A, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen...
The so-called wars among the Five Kage were, in Madara's eyes, as laughable as children playing house.
However,
When the name 'Yuki Sora' gradually entered Madara's field of vision, he slowly discovered that when facing this unknown young man, he had to be more cautious, exert more effort, and treat him more seriously...
And in the process of gradually paying more attention, Madara belatedly realized that he was not effortlessly defeating his opponent in this game of chess as anticipated.
Instead, as the number of encounters increased, the number of times Madara lost also grew.
Now, even after sacrificing two quite important pieces, the Six-Tails and the Third Mizukage, he had still fallen short and been defeated by Sora.
"The younger generation is to be feared..."
It was only by today that Madara finally regarded Kirigakure's young Fourth Mizukage as a true opponent. And all of this had ultimately come too late.
"Yuki Sora, if compared to my peak, his level is merely 'entering the hall' at best. But even I and Hashirama didn't possess such strength at sixteen."
Madara let out a light sigh, his tone somewhat complex. "This young man's limits far exceed my expectations. He might also know some secrets about me, and could truly impact the plan."
"Impact the plan?"
The White Zetsu nearby, upon hearing this, said with great concern, "Then, Madara-sama, if it will affect the plan, shouldn't we really find a way to eliminate the threat of Yuki Sora? If even you feel uneasy, can Obito and Nagato in the future really deal with such a guy!?"
"It's not that I don't want to, but that I cannot."
Madara released a bitter laugh, rarely showing some desolation. "I am long past the Uchiha Madara of my peak. Now, I can only rely on the Gedo Statue's Chakra to sustain my life. If I leave the Gedo Statue's range, I will probably die soon due to the erosion of time."
"My time is running out..."
After a moment of silence, Madara spoke again, his voice cold and low. "Fortunately, this Yuki Sora cannot possibly know about the Eye of the Moon Plan's existence. And both the Three-Tails and Six-Tails have died by his hand. In fact, Kirigakure no longer has any Tailed Beast now."
"As long as Obito and Nagato in the future can grow up, with the power of those two, and by avoiding direct confrontation with this Yuki Sora, it should still be sufficient to collect all the tailed beasts and complete the Eye of the Moon Plan."
Hearing this, White Zetsu's strange face showed a rather shocked expression. It too found it hard to imagine that in such a short time, this seemingly omnipotent Madara-sama would find himself in such a restricted and awkward posture when facing a young Kirigakure's Ninja. It was truly unbelievable!!!
…
Of course.
The death of the Third Mizukage and the rampage and suppression of the Six-Tails, these major consecutive events in Kirigakure, simply couldn't be concealed.
Even with intentional control, the news still spread quickly.
Simultaneously,
To mitigate the impact of these major events to some extent, Kirigakure's external publicity department also issued an official announcement.
"An Elite Jonin of Konoha, Uchiha So-and-so, infiltrated Kirigakure in an attempt to steal intelligence. After being discovered by Kirigakure's Anbu, he ruthlessly and insanely used his Sharingan to control the Six-Tails, causing it to rampage and savagely massacre civilians within Kirigakure, resulting in certain casualties."
"Kirigakure's Expeditionary Force's Supreme Commander Yuki Sora and the Third Mizukage led Kirigakure's Ninjas to engage the enemy. Ultimately, while suppressing and killing the Tailed Beast, the Third Mizukage also died from exhaustion due to severe injuries. Kirigakure issues a strong condemnation against Konoha and the Uchiha Clan and will carry out wartime retaliation against Konoha as response."
In short,
The announcement pinned a massive blame on the Uchiha and Konoha. After all, the Sharingan in the Six-Tails' eyes was clearly visible, making this explanation seem quite reasonable.
Once Kirigakure's official announcement was released, it instantly stirred up a violent wave of 'anti-Konoha' and 'anti-Uchiha' sentiment throughout the Land of Water.
The act of detonating a Tailed Beast inside another village was simply too heinous.
Even the cruel Village of the Bloody Mist probably couldn't have done something so devoid of all conscience.
Yet Konoha, which always preached justice, had single-handedly created such an extremely cruel tragedy, truly making people feel contemptuous and extremely angry.
Afterwards,
A second official Kirigakure announcement soon appeared.
Its content was also simple: roughly that after the Third Mizukage's sacrifice, Kirigakure was left leaderless and needed a powerful leader to continue guiding the village forward. So who was this leader?
He was right there before them… naturally, it was Yuki Sora, who had been the foremost contributor in the war. Thus, from this day forward, the name of Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage was...
Yuki Sora!!!
This announcement once released, instantly triggered a massive reaction among Kirigakure's civilian population and Ninja ranks.
Just like the results of the Jonin Team and Anbu vote, Sora's appointment as Mizukage was passed unanimously, with no one opposing.
Kirigakure's entire populace also expressed great support for this decision. Many of Sora's fanatical worshippers spontaneously rushed into the streets to celebrate.
Others stood silently in places where they could see the Mizukage Building, respectfully bowing to the Fourth Mizukage-sama.
In short, Sora's position as Mizukage was perfectly natural and well-deserved.