Obito Uchiha's ocular powers were exceptional. Not only could he easily control a ninja of the Fourth Mizukage's caliber with genjutsu, but in the original storyline, he could even control the Fourth Mizukage who had become a perfect Jinchuriki... Logically, when a perfect Jinchuriki was caught in a genjutsu, the Tailed Beast within them would help dispel the illusion. However, Obito's method was likely to cast genjutsu on both the Jinchuriki and the Tailed Beast simultaneously.
But no matter how strong Obito's ocular powers were, he was only using ordinary genjutsu, not a Sharingan-specific genjutsu. Therefore, once someone realized that the Fourth Mizukage was under a genjutsu, it was possible to dispel Obito's genjutsu using conventional methods.
Habara's approach was akin to winding up and delivering several powerful slaps to the dazed Fourth Mizukage's face. After the slaps, judging by the Mizukage's reaction, well... it seemed quite effective.
Seeing the Fourth Mizukage's expression change from a blank, vacant stare to a slightly bewildered, pained look, Habara knew he had done another good deed. He just didn't know if the other party would appreciate it.
Habara released the Fourth Mizukage, then quickly took a few steps back, saying, "Mizukage-sama, I apologize. Because of the impact of my chakra, you've temporarily lost your ability to move. But the good news is that we've freed you from the genjutsu... Do you remember when and how you were caught in the genjutsu?"
The Fourth Mizukage half-knelt on the water's surface. He looked at Habara, then said, "A Konoha ninja I saw at the Five Kage Summit, why are you in... the Land of Water?"
Habara glanced at Kakashi and Tenzo on the other side, giving them a look. "There's no need for thanks. Once you return to Kirigakure, you'll probably understand what you've been through. We'll take our leave now."
"Thanks?"
The Fourth Mizukage looked down at the blood staining the front half of his clothes. Although Habara had indeed helped him and, in a sense, saved Kirigakure from disaster, the numbness, pain, and other discomforts in his body at this moment made the Mizukage feel no need to thank the Konoha ninjas. On the contrary, he felt like he had been attacked by them.
And after seeing the Mizukage break free from the genjutsu and regain his senses, before Habara's trio could leave, Fuguki Suikazan took two steps back, then without a word, turned and fled... No matter what state the Mizukage had been in just now, the fact that Fuguki Suikazan had attacked the Mizukage wouldn't change. So he made his escape first.
"Kirigakure ninjas will be arriving here soon. I hope that before then, you won't be controlled by anyone else's genjutsu again." Leaving this final sentence behind, Habara's trio also quickly withdrew.
There had just been a strong chakra reaction here. The Kirigakure ninjas coming to meet the Three-Tails should have been able to sense it, and under normal circumstances, they would definitely come here to investigate.
As for whether the Mizukage could drive "Madara Uchiha" out of Kirigakure after this, honestly, there was no reason why Kirigakure couldn't do such a thing. Otherwise, they shouldn't call themselves one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. With an unsuspecting target, it might not have been difficult for Obito Uchiha to control the Mizukage with genjutsu. But once the Mizukage was prepared, it wouldn't be so easy to control a great shinobi village.
Theoretically, Obito Uchiha had shot himself in the foot. Not only had he failed to eliminate Habara and the others, but he had also lost Kirigakure as a place of refuge.
In any case, a short while later, Kisame Hoshigaki and Mangetsu Hozuki arrived at the scene. They then saw the injured Fourth Mizukage and protected him.
Meanwhile, among the Konoha trio rapidly leaving the Land of Water, Kakashi and Tenzo were still completely baffled.
"Habara, what exactly is going on?" Kakashi quickened his pace a few steps, then asked, coming alongside Habara.
Habara said casually, "As you suspect, under normal circumstances, it's absolutely impossible for the Mizukage to personally deal with us. Even if, for some reason, the Mizukage disregarded the recently stabilized situation in the ninja world and wanted to eliminate us few Konoha ninjas, there was no need for him to do it himself... After all, Kakashi has a reputation for assassinating the Fourth Kazekage; no other Kage should logically appear before you."
For some reason, Kakashi felt like he was being mocked again.
"So, I thought it was highly likely that the Fourth Mizukage was being controlled by someone's genjutsu. And after a little test, that turned out to be the case. I just did a good deed and rescued the Mizukage from the genjutsu," Habara added.
"What kind of person could control a powerhouse of the Mizukage's caliber with genjutsu?" Kakashi first nodded, then found it a bit unbelievable.
"Who knows? Perhaps it's related to the internal situation in Kirigakure. You know, Kirigakure is not peaceful internally right now, with various conflicts erupting frequently. Comparatively, Konoha also has the Uchiha problem. It's like every family has its own skeletons in the closet... Didn't you see that even the Kirigakure ninja he brought with him, Fuguki Suikazan, wanted to deliver a fatal blow to the Mizukage in the end?" Habara didn't mention Obito's name, instead making this reasonable speculation.
The Bloody Mist Village, the clan purges, the Jonin rebellions—after the Third Shinobi World War, Kirigakure was even more chaotic than Konoha. So, Habara's guess that someone within Kirigakure was using some method to control the Mizukage was indeed quite reasonable.
"Kirigakure's internal affairs are none of our concern. I just hope that the situation in Kirigakure won't lead to conflict with Konoha," Kakashi said.
Habara shook his head. "It won't. There's no realistic basis for that."
The Shinobi World War had just ended. Which village had the ability to start another war right now? All the great shinobi villages were licking their wounds. Conflict with neighboring countries? Kirigakure had neither the material foundation nor the ideological foundation for that.
Besides, although the Mizukage might feel like Habara had attacked him at this moment, he would soon understand that Habara had saved him. Whether he would express gratitude was hard to say, but as long as the Mizukage was thinking straight, he wouldn't use this as a reason to create any further conflict with Konoha. ...... Meanwhile, before the Mizukage and the Three-Tails welcoming party returned to Kirigakure, White Zetsu had already brought the battle results to Obito, who was hiding deep within Kirigakure.
"Obito, you failed. That ninja saw through your plan. He wasn't killed by the Mizukage and even released the Mizukage from your genjutsu... It seems now is indeed not the time to challenge the great shinobi villages. We must act more cautiously."
"Failed? So quickly?" Obito had some understanding of the strength Habara had shown during the Nine-Tails incident. And precisely because he had some understanding, he didn't think Habara had the ability to quickly defeat the Mizukage.
"Your genjutsu limited the Fourth Mizukage's combat effectiveness, and that Konoha ninja was hiding a high-level forbidden jutsu..."
"Forbidden jutsu?"
"Yes, Konoha's Yamata no Jutsu."
"Yamata no Jutsu, I see... It seems that in the future, we indeed need to avoid conflict with the great shinobi villages. Before the plan begins, we must remain hidden in the shadows."
Obito Uchiha slowly stood up. "It's time for us to go to Amegakure and meet our allies."
Although he hadn't had enough fun with Kirigakure as his toy, there was no point in continuing to play with it... Well, now that he had been exposed, what else could he do? Stay in Kirigakure and wait for death?