But those words sparked Muren Uchiha's curiosity.
"You mean, if you had a bunch of ninja with Kekkei Genkai, you could turn them into puppets?"
"Could you even control that many?"
"If I'm not mistaken, a puppeteer has a limit. You've only got ten fingers."
"So how many puppets can you really handle?"
Being a puppeteer was a niche path for a ninja. They lacked any offensive power of their own, relying entirely on their puppets. Their entire strength came from the quality of their puppets. The stronger the puppet, the stronger the puppeteer—provided their control techniques could keep up. Otherwise, it was pointless.
What struck Muren Uchiha about Kabuto was his talent. In such a short time, he could already craft puppets by hand—and not just ordinary ones, but human puppets that retained their original abilities. His gift was undeniable.
Of course, this also came from his sensei being the genius puppeteer Sasori of the Red Sand. But that didn't change the fact that Kabuto's innate ability was remarkable. Even if his teacher had been Madara Uchiha, it wouldn't have made a difference without talent of his own.
"Hmph, don't let appearances fool you."
"The true height of puppeteering is beyond your imagination."
"My teacher transformed his own body into a puppet vessel, replacing his form with pure energy. That completely shattered the limits of what a puppeteer can do."
"In that state, there's no restriction on how many puppets you can control."
"As long as the puppets are strong enough, I'm confident I can become the strongest!"
Muren Uchiha was stunned. So puppeteers could take it that far? Not just modifying puppets—but modifying themselves? Savage. Both master and disciple were ruthless.
"Heh, not a bad idea."
"If you can truly reach that level, we could hunt down ninja with Kekkei Genkai to expand your puppet army."
"But there's still a problem—controlling puppets means you can't stray too far from them, right?"
"That's still a flaw."
Another voice broke in. Nagato and Black Zetsu had appeared silently behind them.
Black Zetsu laid out the issue, pointing out the weakness in Kabuto's plan. But Kabuto ignored him, eyes gleaming with sharp light.
"No, that's not the true limit of a puppeteer..."
"I've found a different path. Puppets will never be bound to the puppeteer!"
"A true puppet can still fight, even far away from its master!"
His declaration left the three of them exchanging confused looks. Still, they let him continue on his own path.
"What is it? Something came up?"
"Yes. Nagato and I agreed—we're going to seal the Three-Tails inside the Fourth Mizukage."
"Huh? Is that really necessary?"
Muren Uchiha was baffled. What was going on? Why suddenly target the Three-Tails? Wasn't that giant turtle living just fine in the ocean?
"Word just came in: there's been a coup in Amegakure. Hanzō of the Salamander is dead. Takigakure has now allied with Amegakure."
"At the same time, Konoha has also entered into an alliance with them."
Nagato's face was dark as he spoke.
It was obvious. The alliance between Takigakure, Amegakure, and Konoha had to be the work of Yahiko, Konan, and Kazuyama Gekkō.
The thought of his enemies allying with his friends filled Nagato with such rage he wanted to destroy Konoha on the spot.
"This is troubling news."
"Hmph. Kazuyama Gekkō has always had close ties with Takigakure."
"Kakuzu mentioned it before—when he tried to assassinate him, Takigakure treated him with ridiculous hospitality."
"And now, a Konoha ninja secretly pulling together such a massive alliance..."
For some reason, Muren Uchiha couldn't shake the feeling that Kazuyama Gekkō's actions all pointed to something bigger. But if it was aimed at them specifically, wasn't that a little too coincidental?
"The Land of Water is our base."
"We're still in the shadows right now. We can't be too flashy."
"If something happens, Kirigakure's strength alone may not be enough against direct threats."
"Like right now—Kumo seems to have gone mad. They've stationed a large force along the borders of the Land of Water, and many Kirigakure ninja on missions have already been killed."
Black Zetsu's voice carried doubt. Kumo had never been the one to initiate attacks on Kirigakure before. What was behind this sudden aggression?
"Those muscle-brained Kumo ninja? Are they insane?"
"The war just ended, and they dare stir things up?"
Muren Uchiha's eyes widened in disbelief. Kumo had taken the heaviest losses in the Third Great Ninja War, and now they were causing trouble again?
"Not sure, but we can't let our guard down. Kumo is much stronger than Kirigakure."
"And that entire village is filled with fighters. If war breaks out, we'll need the Fourth Mizukage and the power of a Tailed Beast."
After discussion, they decided the Fourth Mizukage would become a Jinchūriki. The Three-Tails might not be the strongest, but in the right terrain it could still be formidable.
Besides, on their own turf, having both the Mizukage and a Tailed Beast was more than enough.
...
Several days later, at Hokage Rock in Konoha.
The four Hokage faces, carved into the stone cliffs, seemed to carry an unusual majesty under the sunlight.
Below, atop the high platform of the Hokage building, Kazuyama Gekkō, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze were locked in heated debate.
"Sensei, Kazuyama, stop it, both of you."
"I can't agree to this. If it were any other country, maybe. But you know the situation in Kirigakure."
"It's completely closed off. If anything happens, I might not even be able to reach you in time."
Not long ago, Jiraiya had come to his disciple, saying he planned to head for Kirigakure. His reason was to track the Akatsuki's movements.
Before Minato could refuse, Kazuyama Gekkō had stormed in, smashing through the window. Ignoring Jiraiya entirely, she declared straight to Minato: "I'm going to Kirigakure."
That left Minato with two problems at once. He didn't even bother staying in the office—he dragged both of them up to the rooftop.
Once Minato made his stance clear, Kazuyama Gekkō immediately turned her ire on Jiraiya.
"Hey, Jiraiya-senpai, why are you competing with me?"
"If you hadn't spoken up first about going to the Mist, do you think Minato would've refused me?"
"Honestly, wouldn't it be better for you to just focus on gathering material for your writing?"
Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He didn't get it. He really didn't.
What the hell was this? How did the blame fall on him?