Yagura had shoved Uzumaki Naruto into the Uzumaki clan compound to live for the time being.
Right now, Naruto truly lived up to his reputation as dead last. The Nine-Tails inside him was completely uncooperative, and he was weak—plain and simple. On top of that, Naruto's heart still beat loyally for Konoha.
His mind was filled with thoughts of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Iruka. But since he carried the Uzumaki name, there was at least some blood relation with the clan. So until the adults from Konoha showed up to rescue him, Naruto was—more or less—staying put peacefully within the Uzumaki household.
...
Menma gave Yagura a less-than-thrilled report about Naruto's recent situation.
"Alright," Yagura nodded. "I'll leave it to you to keep an eye on your distant cousin, little Menma."
That must've been some default setting tied to Naruto's name. Yagura noticed Menma's visible displeasure when talking about Naruto and couldn't help but smirk, throwing in a little tease.
"Can I say no?"
Menma tried to argue for a better assignment.
"You could send me to Sunagakure instead. I'd even be fine hanging out with Gaara and all his sand."
At least they both had red hair. He and Gaara looked more like actual cousins.
"Well... it's not impossible."
Yagura tapped his chin in thought.
"The two villages don't really have a strong connection right now. Maybe you could try building some rapport with Temari?"
Temari had originally married into Konoha, becoming a link between the Leaf and the Sand through her marriage to Shikamaru. But now, with Kirigakure stronger and Konoha clearly weakened, Temari—still a beautiful young woman—was back on the radar.
Yagura figured it might be worth considering. It would mean sacrificing Shikamaru, of course. He could go find that ideal woman he always dreamed of—gentle, intellectual, mature—and settle down to have a son and daughter, spending the rest of his days lying around watching clouds.
Menma's face instantly fell, like a kid being nagged to get married. His cat-like expression crumpled as he complained,
"Mizukage-sama, I'm not even of age yet. Don't you think you're jumping the gun a little?"
"Am I? Doesn't feel like it."
Yagura waved him off, signaling for Menma to leave and go do something more mundane. He had enough on his plate.
Truthfully, Yagura had no plans to meddle with Naruto any further. As long as the boy stayed obediently within Kirigakure, that was good enough.
Naruto's strength wasn't going to improve in the short term, and his unwavering loyalty to the Will of Fire wasn't something that could be erased overnight.
Besides, Menma had already placed a Flying Thunder God seal on him. No matter where Naruto tried to run, he'd just get yanked back like a fish on a hook.
...
"Any progress on the Iruka front?" Yagura asked.
An ANBU operative emerged from the shadows.
"We apologize, Mizukage-sama. We lack sufficient manpower in Konoha's core."
The ANBU reported the mission Yagura had personally arranged.
"Our deep-cover agents couldn't sway Danzo, and they were exposed in the process. Danzo has tightened surveillance on Iruka Umino and even mobilized Root. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, has also made his own moves."
"…"
If they wanted to break Naruto's emotional tie to Konoha, Iruka was the perfect pressure point.
No matter how important this teacher was to the protagonist, the fact remained—he was just an average, mediocre Chūnin.
Yagura lowered his head slightly, twirling a strand of hair between his fingers. After a moment's thought, he sighed.
"Forget it. Pull that thread. It's not worth it anymore."
It was a gamble that didn't pay off. Not every move would succeed. Danzo wasn't just dark—he wasn't stupid. He had to understand how critical Iruka was to Naruto's psychological stability.
If Konoha were to kill Iruka, it would be handing Kirigakure a massive gift.
Even if they didn't kill him, if Iruka ended up dead anyway, it would still sever Naruto's emotional connection to the village.
Kirigakure had already tamed plenty of notable defectors from various villages, and the bloody lessons of the past were everywhere. Danzo wasn't likely to repeat those same mistakes.
"Yes, sir."
The ANBU continued his report, moving on to underground activity that hadn't made international headlines.
"Mizukage-sama. Two days ago, at noon, former Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was seen entering Kumogakure."
Over the years, Kirigakure had penetrated Konoha's intelligence network so deeply, it was like stripping off their bikini—nothing was hidden.
Danzo and Hiruzen might have thought their secret-keeping was airtight, but under Kirigakure's surveillance, it was full of holes.
Yagura wasn't surprised. "He went to see the Raikage, then."
Those two knew how to play.
Back then, Hiruzen worked in the light, and Danzo hid in the shadows.
Now, after the internal reshuffling of Konoha's political structure, Danzo had taken the official position of Hokage. Meanwhile, hidden behind Danzo's spotlight, Hiruzen had taken on the role of the shadow—doing all the things that needed to be hidden, like reaching out to the Raikage.
Yagura adjusted his black-rimmed glasses.
Then he ordered ANBU to summon Mei Terumi and Ao for a small strategy meeting.
...
He flipped through a mountain of paperwork and pulled out a recent notice from Konoha about changes to the venue for the upcoming Chūnin Exams.
With a light flick of his fingers, Yagura tapped the paper and spoke to Mei and Ao.
"Heh. Just a while ago, they announced the next Chūnin Exams will be held in Kumogakure. Tch tch... Looks like they're gearing up for something big."
Yagura could already guess what was behind it—ever since he had snatched the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki off the board (he pushed up his glasses again), Konoha had to be preparing something major.
Danzo had even sent Root to assassinate the Hokage's personal ANBU.
Clearly, Danzo's ambitions didn't stop at winning Konoha's power struggle.
This radical hardliner… probably had malicious intentions toward Kirigakure too.
It wasn't until Yagura received intel that Kumogakure was cooperating with Danzo's movements that he fully grasped the man's plan.
To Danzo, Naruto—the supposed war asset, the Jinchūriki—was strategically useless. Nothing but a chicken rib: too insignificant to keep, too much trouble to throw away.
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, now under the control of Kirigakure, had become a game-changer.
That monster—once just a weapon of war—had shifted the balance of power.
It was a high-stakes gamble. The assumption was that Kirigakure wouldn't be able to harness the Nine-Tails' power in the short term.
But in recent years, the village had been rising rapidly, turning into the sole dominant power among many strong contenders. It was enough to make both Konoha and Kumogakure feel threatened.
The loss of the Nine-Tails had pushed the Raikage past his limit. He could no longer stand by and watch. In the end, Kumogakure and their long-time rival, Konoha, chose to set aside their differences—at least temporarily—to bring Kirigakure down.
...
Terumī Mei, the Mizukage's right-hand woman, along with Ao, one of the elders-in-waiting, voiced their opinions. Their judgment was in line with Yagura's.
"It's fine. We can still participate in the Chūnin Exams as planned," Mei said confidently.
Yagura welcomed the confrontation with Danzo and the Raikage with a calm smile and unwavering confidence.
His right hand propped up his chin as he tilted his head to the side and adjusted his glasses. The smile playing on his lips was relaxed, almost playful.
"Mei, get in touch with Gaara and Yahiko for me. Let's have tea together," he said, spreading his left hand open, fingers loosely splayed.
With a grin, he added,
"So Konoha gets to call on its allies, and we don't? Our friendship—with Sunagakure and Amegakure—is far more reliable than that fragile bond between Konoha and Kumogakure. We've got both Isobu and Shukaku on our side."
...
In a past life, one superpower had relied on its reputation while making all sorts of questionable moves in a certain region. That same arrogance ended up backfiring, dragging its name and influence through the mud.
There were cautionary tales to learn from. And just as importantly, there were examples worth emulating.
Yagura understood this well.
To be a true global leader, cooperation and mutual benefit had to come first.
Ever since Kirigakure took the lead in uniting Sunagakure and Amegakure, the Land of Water had never held back in offering support—resources, assistance, influence—to these two resource-starved nations.
And the effect of that support was clear to see. The transformation in both Sunagakure and Amegakure didn't go unnoticed.
Even the ever-cautious Ōnoki of Iwagakure, watching from his increasingly surrounded stronghold, couldn't help but feel tempted.
"Yes," Mei replied crisply.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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