After confirming the identity of the enemy, Haseo Squad didn't rush into action. Instead, they quietly retreated to a safe distance before being noticed.
"The Second Mizukage actually came out in person... For what? Maybe he's just here to enjoy the view of the ocean, like me?" Haseo muttered. Although his strength had grown considerably, figures like the Second Mizukage were clearly beyond his reach.
First-generation Kages and second-generation Kages usually possessed outrageously formidable power.
"I don't think so," Chichio said beside him. "The Land of Water is surrounded by ocean on all sides. Even if the Second Mizukage truly loved the sea, with his age, he should've gotten tired of it long ago."
Haseo glanced at her, thinking how she lacked any sense of humor—didn't she realize he was obviously joking?
At that moment, though, no one had the mood to listen to his jokes. With the Second Mizukage lurking around, no one was in the mood for jokes anyway.
"Could it be… we misidentified him? Keep in mind the Great Ninja War has already entered its final phase. The Land of Water especially hasn't seen major battles lately. Is there really a need for the Mizukage himself to lead a mission now?" Renjiro voiced his doubts.
Nagisa Nara shook his head. How could he mistake someone so distinctively dressed—the spiked yellow hair styled like it had just been blown back, those two neat little black mustaches, and the striped long coat with a standing collar? There was absolutely no chance of error.
"Unless they used Transformation Jutsu, that must have been the real Second Mizukage himself… In such deep waters, I can't imagine why Mist ninjas would impersonate the Mizukage on this trip."
Nagisa's assessment was correct. According to theory, that figure should indeed have been the genuine Second Mizukage.
The intensity of the situation finally brought Haseo back to his senses. Suddenly, he recalled something—an announcement ending the Great Ninja War wouldn't seem exaggerated even if every village suddenly called for peace tomorrow. Yet, the Second Mizukage and Second Tsuchikage, who should theoretically have perished together during the war, were both very much alive and energetic…
Didn't this mean there was a possibility the Mizukage had come out here simply to die?
Unfamiliar with the situation at the Eastern Front, Haseo couldn't confirm his suspicions or voice them directly. Nevertheless, once that idea surfaced in his mind, it refused to let go.
From a global perspective, the current timing gave the Second Mizukage no necessity to lead missions personally. But then again, there was always the problem of this Mizukage possibly having an unstable mind—he was known as an unpredictable, eccentric figure, alternating between ruthless aggression and chilling indifference.
Moreover, even before the Hidden Village system had been established during those chaotic years, the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage had been sworn enemies; it had been precisely him who previously turned the Second Tsuchikage into a mummy.
It was probably due to the rivalry between the leaders of Mist and Rock that the hostilities between the Land of Water and the Land of Earth erupted during the First Great Ninja War. Otherwise, these two nations separated by half a globe would have had no reason to pick fights with each other.
So if the Second Mizukage were to act now for the sake of the Tsuchikage, motivated by similar reasons and old grudges, it wouldn't be surprising at all.
A ninja who attained the Kage position through rationality would remain rational, while one who reached it through fanaticism would remain fanatical.
In any case, the Second Mizukage's move was a major development that no one could afford to ignore.
Haseo remained silent for a moment before speaking up, "Chichio, send out a message. Say we've discovered the trail of the Second Mizukage. The movements of the Mizukage's squad are unclear, but they seem to have clear intentions. So we'll start following them."
In the end, he decided to follow behind the Second Mizukage's group to see exactly what he intended to do. After all, they had discovered the enemy's location first, gaining an advantage in intelligence, while the Mizukage had no idea they were being watched.
The enemy was in the open, while they remained in the shadows—this was an advantage that shouldn't go unused.
Of course, Haseo had no intention of engaging the Mizukage in battle. But simply watching from a distance wasn't against any law, right?
The ocean's big enough. You go your way, I'll go mine—or rather, stay right behind you—no need to clash at all.
"Listen carefully, everyone must avoid making assumptions and absolutely must not act recklessly. The Second Mizukage and his squad are extremely powerful. This mission is purely reconnaissance—not combat.
We're only going to tail the Second Mizukage. Above all else, we prioritize our own safety. If there's even a possibility of exposure, our priority will be immediate withdrawal. Got it?" Haseo asked, eyeing each of them carefully, as if half-expecting someone to lose their head.
The three—and by extension, the fourth—exchanged glances and instinctively nodded simultaneously—not so much a response to Haseo's words, but more like silently expressing the same thought… Yeah, it felt just like old times.
Even the reminder from Haseo sounded eerily familiar. Yet such warnings were completely unnecessary.
As long as Haseo himself didn't plan on pulling something reckless, the rest of them, perfectly sane individuals, certainly wouldn't volunteer to pick a fight with the Mizukage. Not even under a dare. They'd never dare provoke the Mizukage at all.
Yet among the four people present, Haseo himself was the only one reckless enough to actually pull off such a stunt.
The Second Mizukage was an extremely important figure. Therefore, the Konoha squad couldn't possibly ignore his movements. Hence, everyone agreed with Haseo's arrangements—even though some risk existed, conducting surveillance was clearly the most reasonable and correct decision.
Still, despite this agreement, they silently reached another understanding among themselves: should Haseo suddenly lose his mind again, this time they absolutely had to stop him.
Next, Chichio encoded the message in code before handing it to Haseo for confirmation. Once he gave a nod indicating no problems, she tied the message onto the leg of a falcon, then opened the cage and released it into the sky.
The falcon flapped its wings and soared straight into the heavens. Soon, it would deliver this message back to Konoha's observation center stationed along the Eastern Front of the Land of Fire. Given the priority level and importance of this information, it would undoubtedly be immediately reported upward step by step until finally reaching the hands of the Third Hokage.
At this moment, Haseo's squad was trailing far behind the Second Mizukage's group like a lecherous peeping tom, moving cautiously and furtively.
It just so happened that they stumbled upon the Mizukage's squad.
The security level and secrecy of the Second Mizukage's squad were unquestionably extremely high. Their route was completely beyond Konoha's patrol zone. But who could have known? One Konoha ninja couldn't resist the urge for a seaside view and kept wandering farther—farther than he should have—until he'd drifted beyond Konoha's usual patrol zone.
Even more strangely, there was another ninja in this squad who loved playing with message-in-a-bottle games.
And just like that, this fateful encounter took place.
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