After Orochimaru left, the situation of the civil conflict in the Hidden Mist gradually became clear.
Suikazan Fuguki still wasn't a match for Hozuki Mangetsu, but he had far more men on his side. With sheer numbers, he gradually gained the upper hand and dealt a heavy blow to Mangetsu while suffering only minor injuries.
Mangetsu broke away from Kisame, supporting his father, while Kisame retreated to stand behind Fuguki.
"Hozuki Mangetsu! During the last Mizukage succession, if not for some inexplicable bastard interfering, you would've never gotten the position!" Fuguki roared.
"Another name for my notebook," Akio muttered from afar.
"This time, because of your reckless decisions, the village suffered tremendous losses. You're no longer fit to be Mizukage! Since you refuse to step down on your own, I'll help you!"
Despite his severe wounds, Mangetsu didn't show a hint of fear. He smirked with disdain.
"The attack on the Land of Whirlpools was unanimously agreed upon by all of you. And now you want to dump all the responsibility on me? You're just afraid that the old undying Uzumaki will come collect the bill!"
"Another one for the notebook…"
Mangetsu brushed away his eldest son's support and continued:
"Even if I were to step down as Mizukage, I would never hand it over to a bastard like you!"
Fuguki stepped forward.
"The Mizukage position is decided by strength. Tell me, who in the Mist right now is more qualified than me?"
The wielder of the Twinsword Hiramekarei had died in the previous war, and a successor had yet to be chosen. With that, Fuguki became the only remaining member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and had grown arrogant.
As someone once said: If you want to destroy a man, first let him inflate…
Then, from an unexpected angle, an unexpected person launched an unexpected kunai, piercing the completely unprepared Fuguki.
It stabbed straight into his back. He didn't even have time to say, "So it was you…" before collapsing.
"Lord Fuguki!"
"How dare you!"
"Kisame! You bastard!"
…
From afar, Akio watched the entire scene unfold and looked genuinely surprised.
"A perfect game of double-agent infiltration. Not a single sign beforehand."
He patted Kimimaro's head. This head-patting habit was turning addictive.
Especially when the little boy showed the same blissful expression as his fat kitten used to, it felt really satisfying…
"God, why are they fighting each other?" Kimimaro asked.
"Probably… for art and dreams."
Akio had no idea, but as an all-knowing god, he had to give some answer.
Only when several dozen Mist shinobi suddenly appeared, surrounding and slaughtering all of Fuguki's subordinates except Kisame, did the situation finally become clear.
A middle-aged man, whose appearance screamed "villain" at first glance, walked out wearing a sinister grin.
"Hoshigaki Kisame, beautifully done."
Kisame hefted Samehada and stepped behind him.
"During the war, Suikazan Fuguki sold information about the village to the Land of Whirlpools. I have executed him!"
"Sold information?" Mangetsu sneered. "So you finally showed yourself. I was wondering how long you planned to hide!"
"Looks like you were prepared. Ao isn't here; did you send him to find Yagura? No need to wait. Yagura isn't coming!" The middle-aged man smiled triumphantly.
"Perfect. Villain face, villain tone, villain lines… and I've never seen him before. Another villain who's definitely going to die," Akio whispered to Kimimaro, leaving him confused.
"Yagura? Did you think I wouldn't expect you to intercept him?" Mangetsu shook his head, then shouted, "Move! The Hidden Mist can't continue in this chaotic state!"
"Melt Release, Dissolving Monster Technique!"
With a seductive female voice, a wave of molten acidic lava surged over the enemy shinobi behind the villainous man.
His face changed instantly, and he flickered away in panic. His subordinates were nearly wiped out by that single jutsu.
"Terumī Mei! Isn't your clan staying out of the Mizukage struggle? And we're both bloodline clans"
"Boil Release, Skilled Mist Technique!"
…
"Terumī Mei. Finally. And she's still just a young girl."
In the original work, Mei first appears during the Five Kage Summit as a mature woman, but in Konoha Year 53, she was only about twenty.
"But her strength is impressive…"
Under Mei's wide-range Kekkei Genkai attacks, all the small fry were quickly eliminated.
Expressionless, Kisame used Samehada to block blast after blast of Mei's molten attacks.
"My lady, we should break out."
The middle-aged man was unwilling, but he knew the battle was lost.
"Kisame, hold off Terumī Mei!"
Kisame's dead-fish eyes narrowed.
"No problem."
Gathering a few remaining subordinates, the man spat out one last threat:
"Terumī Mei, you've made an enemy of all the bloodline clans—!"
He didn't finish.
"Oh? A 'bloodline clan' with not a single shinobi who actually awakened a Kekkei Genkai?" Mei interrupted coldly.
From afar, Akio finally realized what had been bothering him.
This civil conflict was supposedly caused by the bloodline clans
Yet Mei was the only bloodline shinobi who had appeared, and she was fighting against them.
The Mist's major bloodline clans had originally been Kaguya, Yuki, and Hozuki.
But the Kaguya and Yuki had nearly been wiped out, and the Hozuki only had Mangetsu, his father, and Suigetsu left.
So the suppressed minor "bloodline clans" had jumped out…
Except none of their current members had awakened any Kekkei Genkai at all.
Shamed by Mei's mockery, the middle-aged man flushed with anger, but escaping came first. He glanced at Kisame, signaling him to cover the retreat, then turned to flee.
Kisame, however, grinned viciously, grabbed the man by the back of his collar, and hurled him straight toward Terumī Mei.
"A triple agent?!" Akio was stunned.
He never expected Kisame to have such talent.
"Oh. Actually, no."
Ignoring the shock around him, Kisame used the chaos to slip away with a Body Flicker, fleeing toward the outskirts of the village.
Caught completely off guard, the middle-aged man didn't even react before he melted in front of Mei.
"A decisive man." Mei murmured as she watched Kisame flee.
"Too bad he's so ugly. After him!"
"God, they're coming toward us," Kimimaro tugged on Akio's sleeve.
"Yes, I see. The show is almost over. It's our turn."
Watching Kisame flee straight toward them, Akio showed a strange smile.
"Come. Let's go." He grabbed Kimimaro and leapt down from the tree.
Kisame also noticed them, though he didn't recognize Akio.
"Kaguya survivors? Out of the way!"
He swung Samehada as a warning, block him, and he'd cut them down.
Akio looked pained.
"Shark-face little brother, long time no see, this is how you greet me?"
Kisame's dead-fish eyes widened, and he skidded to an emergency stop.
In that instant, he remembered the fear of being dominated by the banner.
---
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