"…This Mizukage was fake, right?"
"So weak?"
"But the system wouldn't be wrong… is Sage Mode just that broken?"
A light rain began falling from the sky.
Mist gathered in the air, as if mourning the Third Mizukage's death.
Kazuki shook his head and looked at the corpse at his feet.
Then he lifted it onto his shoulder.
Bringing back the body of a Kage—
That was enormous military merit.
And with the Third Mizukage dead, Kirigakure would fall into chaos. Internal conflict would erupt. Civil strife would follow.
That alone would reduce pressure on Konoha for years.
Kazuki clasped his hands and formed seals.
The broken bridge, half-submerged in the sea, suddenly trembled.
Massive roots and vines erupted from the wreckage, lifting the collapsed steel structure.
With precise Wood Release control, Kazuki reconnected it to the mainland.
The terrain was altered permanently—
But the bridge stood again.
It wasn't difficult.
Just chakra-intensive.
Fortunately, chakra was the one thing he wasn't lacking.
Between his own reserves and the Yin Seal—
Plus the thousands of White Zetsu he had absorbed—
He still had more than half remaining.
What concerned him more was Mikoto, Class Seven, and Terumi.
When he summoned the three Wood Golems earlier, his chakra pool had dipped briefly.
To protect the others, Mikoto's clone likely dispelled automatically.
He hoped they'd retreated safely.
Suddenly—
A golden flash streaked across the sky.
Minato Namikaze.
He had rushed at full speed.
From far away, he had already heard the earth-shaking tremors and the thunderous clashes.
When he saw the massive Thousand-Hand Wood Golems in the distance—
He froze.
Was that Kazuki's summon?
Or an enemy?
Minato had been born after the First Hokage's death.
He had never seen true Wood Release at its peak.
The scale alone was beyond imagination.
As he approached—
The battlefield came into view.
What had once been flat terrain was now a basin.
Gigantic roots were severed and scattered everywhere.
No bodies.
Just silence.
And rain.
Minato swallowed.
The air felt heavy.
From within the mist—
A figure emerged.
Minato instantly drew a Flying Thunder God kunai.
"Kazuki?"
The mist parted.
Kazuki stepped forward.
"Minato?"
Minato rushed over.
"Kazuki, are you alright? I heard you were in danger—"
He froze mid-sentence.
His eyes locked onto the corpse over Kazuki's shoulder.
A Mizukage cloak.
Long black hair.
Blood covering the face.
The spine visibly broken.
Minato's voice faltered.
"Kazuki… that's…"
Kazuki dropped the body onto the ground.
"Third Mizukage."
"You came at the right time. Help me carry him."
Minato stood stunned.
"Y-You killed the Third Mizukage?"
Kazuki shrugged.
"Who else?"
"Let's head back."
On the return journey, Minato remained quiet.
Kazuki had killed a Kage.
When Minato was still a chūnin, Kazuki had been a jōnin.
When Minato became a jōnin, Kazuki had already become something else entirely.
Now, during Minato's first S-Rank missions—
Kazuki had killed the Third Mizukage.
The gap felt unreal.
Kazuki spoke casually.
"The Third Mizukage felt weak. I stomped him once and that was it."
Minato's eyelid twitched.
After a moment, he spoke carefully.
"Our intelligence reports show that the Third Mizukage has appeared less and less in public over the past year."
"We suspected either a serious illness… or something hidden."
"Hidden?"
"Or illness?"
Kazuki thought of Black Zetsu.
And the one behind him.
"Probably both."
Minato nodded.
"The Blood Mist policy escalated suddenly. We believed it was meant to eliminate internal dissidents."
"But the pace was too aggressive."
"Almost desperate."
He looked at Kazuki again.
"No matter the reason… you've accomplished something monumental."
"The Land of Water will be in chaos after this."
"Kirigakure's power structure will fracture."
"And your name—Kazuki—"
He paused slightly.
"…will shake the entire shinobi world."
The rain continued to fall quietly as they carried a dead Kage back toward the Land of Fire.
History had shifted again.
And this time—
The world would feel it.