The Third Mizukage was certainly not replaced by White Zetsu. In fact, he was under the control of Madara's genjutsu, and not just any ordinary genjutsu either. That was why, no matter how he was investigated, he appeared completely innocent.
Unless someone could detect that he was under genjutsu and break it.
But Madara wasn't some useless fool like Obito. The genjutsu he cast could only be broken by someone like Shin. In the entire shinobi world, there were barely a handful capable of breaking it.
Moreover, the ninja from earlier wasn't arranged by those village elders, it was clearly someone the Third Mizukage had arranged himself.
The entire incident was a self-directed performance by him. And to be fair, it was quite a successful one.
As for the result of that battle, the one who obtained Hiramekarei was Riyuki.
Not only was he a member of the first generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he was also the father of Mangetsu from the second generation, and had another son named Suigetsu.
Third match: The winner was Kurosuki Raiga, who claimed Kiba.
Fourth match: The winner was Kuriarare Kushimaru, who claimed Nuibari.
Fifth match: The winner was Munashi Jinpachi, who claimed Shibuki.
Sixth match: The winner was Ringo Ameyuri, who claimed Kabutowari.
And from the first match, the winner Tsukishima obtained Kubikiribōchō.
With that, six of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been selected.
Only Samehada remained to be retrieved by the village before the Seven Swordsmen would be fully assembled.
These six individuals were promptly summoned by the Mizukage, who offered them personal encouragement.
During the process, Shin made a point of chatting with each of them under various pretexts, shaking hands with every single one, expressing his hopes for future cooperation and dedication to the village. This sudden change in demeanor left the others rather confused.
What they didn't know was that during those brief physical contacts, a trace of his imperceptible chakra had already infiltrated their bodies. Soon, he would be able to extract their memories, he only needed time to review them.
After all, these five individuals held high positions in Kiri and certainly knew secrets others didn't.
Walking down the street with his head held high and Kubikiribōchō slung across his back, he had just left the Mizukage's office.
Because the sword was so eye-catching, he became the center of attention wherever he went. Many villagers even greeted him warmly.
With some things already falling into place, Shin planned to dig into the dreams of the other five Swordsmen that night to extract any potentially useful intelligence.
While contemplating his next steps, two figures appeared not far ahead of him.
One was a stunningly beautiful woman whose elegance and looks made her the center of attention wherever she went, universally regarded as the most beautiful woman in Kiri.
The other figure had the refined, delicate look of a pampered noble youth, handsome enough, and none other than the current heir of the Terumi clan: Seiichi. However, he did not appear to be in a good mood.
"Yumi, what's with you today?" Seiichi frowned, clearly displeased.
In truth, he had already guessed what was wrong with her.
At the selection tournament for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he had been sitting quite close to her. The moment she started acting strange was right after Tsukishima shook her hand and whispered something to her.
Yumi didn't reply to Seiichi, because she herself didn't understand what was happening.
Tsukishima had been pursuing her for two years. She had rejected him countless times, never once leading him on, always making her stance very clear. And yet, he persisted, as if he couldn't understand human language.
After all, they had completed many missions together over the years. Even if she looked down on his overly timid personality, his constant care and attentiveness toward her over the past two years had been genuine.
Although she was very displeased with how clingy and persistent he was, and even wanted to reject his care because of it, she couldn't bring herself to treat him like she would others and just beat him up.
After all, it was she who shamelessly recruited him into her own squad in the first place. And when it came to her own people, Yumi had always been deeply protective.
If his personality had stayed the same, she would never have given him the slightest chance. Because she absolutely hated cowardly men. She believed a man should have courage and carry himself with boldness.
You could see that clearly from the way she treated Suiten.
In fact, she didn't even have some deep personal grudge against Suiten. She just couldn't stand how he always prioritized his own safety and disregarded the interests of the village, which she found completely unacceptable. That was why she constantly lashed out at him.
But he wasn't easy to bully either. Coming from a prestigious clan himself, he never bought into her nonsense. And he was extremely annoyed by her constant preaching, how everything should be for the village, how a real man should act. In his eyes, she was just a big hypocrite.
Over time, the two became bitter enemies, deeply disgusted with each other.
When she first heard that Tsukishima had given Juzō a brutal beating, her initial reaction was disbelief. But once she confirmed the intel, instead of being disappointed, she was genuinely thrilled.
She had told him more than once that Juzō's twisted personality was his own doing. Even if it was for Juzō's sake, he had to stop indulging him.
But he, as always, didn't seem to get it, which continued to disappoint her.
Yesterday, however, he had shown a completely different side of himself. That moment allowed her to see that he had changed, that he now had a kind of commanding presence she'd never seen before. Even though exposing Juzō's dark inner thoughts would certainly cause him pain, wasn't it also a chance for rebirth?
If Juzō ended up spiraling into self-destruction, resentment, and hatred, then that would simply prove he was beyond saving.
What Yumi never expected was that just as she was beginning to change her opinion of Tsukishima, he immediately began to distance himself from her.
At first, she thought he was just temporarily upset and would soon return to normal. But today, he seemed like a completely different person.
Not only did he participate in the Seven Ninja Swordsmen selection without telling anyone, he also overwhelmed the entire competition single-handedly, his incredible combat intellect, swift reactions, and immense strength leaving countless people stunned.
She was among those deeply shaken.
From the very start of the match, when Tsukishima used an almost commanding tone to tell her to announce the start of the battle, she felt a jolt in her heart.
And throughout the battle, his series of extreme, last-second maneuvers stirred her emotions completely. She watched the entire match with her heart in her throat, silently praying for him more than once.
Sometimes, a shift in mindset happened in just a single moment.