Silence.
Deathly silence.
Sora did not speak, only looking calmly at Fuguki, lost in thought.
That utterly calm gaze was like a mountain pressing down on Fuguki's heart, making it hard for him to breathe, sweating profusely.
He knew the Fourth Mizukage before him was completely different from the previous weak Mizukage.
This one's combat power was terrifying, directly reaching the level of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. If he wanted to kill him, it probably wouldn't be much different from squashing a mosquito.
"Fuguki, I believe you have feelings for this village, so don't disappoint me, understand?"
Sora's gaze was steady, his tone subtle.
"Yes, Mizukage-sama!"
Fuguki did not dare to look up and meet Sora's gaze, because he felt an immensely huge and terrifying pressure locked onto him, a very dangerous feeling.
"Good."
Sora chuckled lightly: "Fuguki, I know you won't disappoint me. Now that Danzo is also dead, you should put away those little thoughts and focus on working for Kirigakure."
"M-M-Mizukage-sama..."
When the name Danzo came from Sora's mouth, Fuguki felt his scalp go numb, and a shocking chill rose from his tailbone and quickly spread throughout his body.
"Later, the Intelligence Division will be merged into the Anbu. At that time, you must cooperate with Meigetsu's work. I don't want to see anything happen that affects unity."
Sora issued the command in a light tone.
"Shimura Danzo..."
Beside him, Kurumi stared coldly at Fuguki's back, her right hand already resting on the hilt of the sword at her waist. Should he make even the slightest unusual move, what awaited Fuguki would be a thunderous attack.
"U-Understood!"
Fuguki was so frightened his heart nearly stopped. He had previously worried whether Sora had learned about his secret dealings with Konoha from Danzo.
Now it seemed everything was, as expected, within his control.
"This subordinate will definitely devote himself wholeheartedly to Mizukage-sama, go through fire and water, and not hesitate to die!"
Fuguki was an old hand, so without hesitation, he began kowtowing frantically, not daring to stop even when the floor cracked and his forehead was covered in blood.
In the intelligence world, there was no such thing as 'emerging unstained from the filth'. Anyone like that would have been played to death long ago.
Having sat in the position of Intelligence Division's leader for over ten years, Fuguki naturally couldn't guarantee his hands were completely clean.
If Sora really pursued this, he feared he wouldn't have enough lives to pay for it!
At this moment, Fuguki's hysterical fear was partly real and partly feigned. In truth, he was indeed terrified of Sora to the bone, but in the workplace, appropriate performance also made it easier to win a positive attitude from the immediate superior.
"Go to work!"
"Remember, don't disappoint me, and don't disappoint this village."
Sora waved his hand, directly dismissing him.
"Yes, Mizukage-sama, I will definitely not disappoint you!"
Only then did Fuguki stop kowtowing, but his heart still thumped wildly, his fierce and ugly face wearing a panicked expression.
Soon, Fuguki, who could be considered to have stepped onto the threshold of the Kage-level, tremblingly walked out of the Mizukage's office.
This time, most of the power in his hands had been stripped away by Sora, but he had ultimately preserved his life. With mixed feelings of joy and worry, Fuguki didn't know what expression to make.
…
In the following time, Sora handled the work related to the Mizukage transition. It was tedious, but not complicated.
Internally, it mainly involved disbanding, reorganizing, and reinstating people from the Elder and Clan Factions, reducing their influence to achieve the effect of complete centralization of power for the Mizukage.
This would have been very difficult for the Third Mizukage to do, but in Sora's hands, it became quite simple, accomplished effortlessly.
Because his strength was excessively powerful, enough to suppress all opposing voices.
Even powerful figures like Genji and the heads of the great Ninja Clans in Kirigakure had to bow their heads and behave obediently and reverently before Sora.
Externally,
It involved planning the war strategy against Konoha and Kumogakure. For Sora, this was also not a difficult matter, for the same reason: he was powerful enough.
Ninja wars, simply put, were about the strong dominating everything. When a powerhouse of Hashirama or Madara's level appeared in the world, many things would naturally become simple.
'Then…'
'It's time to visit Konoha soon. The Shinigami Plan has already started, I can't delay too much. Before the Otsutsuki arrive, I must forge this world into a solid block.'
Sora contemplated with a steady gaze.
Kirigakure was now stable, so next, he would turn his attention to Konoha, or more precisely, to the Uchiha Clan.
…
Konoha Village.
Hokage Building.
Minato and Jiraiya, returning with grim expressions, entered the Hokage's office and soon saw the equally stern-faced Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura.
"Well?"
Hiruzen asked gravely.
"It's empty."
"No body in the coffin."
"Judging by the residual Chakra Traces, Uchiha Madara disappeared after the Second Hokage's death."
Jiraiya explained slowly, his tone growing more serious as he spoke.
"Disappeared?"
"Really no body?"
"Could what the Fourth Mizukage said be true?"
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura all had drastic changes in expression.
"What about the Uchiha Clan?"
Minato asked with a very grave expression.
"The Uchiha Clan's Ninjas have all returned to the village. The head, Uchiha Fugaku has mostly recovered, but he remains tight-lipped about what exactly happened in that battle. He wants to cover up the truth."
Homura said solemnly.
"Could it be…"
"That the Uchiha Clan has already joined forces with Uchiha Madara?"
After a moment of thought, Minato offered a rather alarming speculation.
"Joined forces?"
The atmosphere froze.
The Konoha's higher-ups present lost control of their expressions, their eyes wide with shock.
'If the Uchiha Clan really teamed up with Uchiha Madara, what exactly did they want?'
'Konoha?'
'Or the world!??'
At this moment,
Whether it was Hiruzen, Koharu, or Homura, they were all certain of one thing: no matter what the Uchiha Clan and Madara were plotting, the three of them were destined to be unable to coexist with them.
Shock.
Horror.
Fear.
Probably because the name Uchiha Madara carried too much impact, it even caused Hiruzen, the 'Strongest Hokage in History', to become inexplicably irritable.
"Konoha…"
"Is about to face a major crisis!"
Hiruzen gritted his teeth, a feeling of intense unease rising in his heart.