In truth, Ōtsutsuki Hamura knew that something was already wrong with him.
He also knew that acting with such ruthlessness was abnormal and did not match his true intentions.
But he simply could not control it.
The most serious problem was that while Hamura was actually taking action, he could not even realize that anything was wrong.
Only afterward, when reviewing his own behavior, could he notice the abnormalities.
Fortunately, he was still capable of recognizing the problem during those reviews.
Otherwise, Ōtsutsuki Hamura would have completely lost control by now.
After bringing the entire Kaguya clan under control, Hamura began trying to extend that control over Kirigakure.
But after carefully gathering information, he discovered that the situation was extremely serious.
The Fourth Mizukage had gone insane.
He had actually stirred up an anti-clan movement within Kirigakure and continuously pushed that movement toward greater extremes.
Now, there were even voices openly opposing kekkei genkai.
It was completely absurd.
In other shinobi villages, the appearance of a single kekkei genkai shinobi would excite the entire village.
Yet Kirigakure was actively trying to eliminate them.
Even Konoha's Third Hokage had only targeted the Uchiha.
And even then, he had not dared to openly say or do so.
He could only use Shimura Danzō to act secretly.
Yet Kirigakure was now openly declaring—
"Kekkei genkai shinobi are the root of disorder."
"Only by completely eliminating kekkei genkai can Kirigakure become a truly unified whole."
"Only then can we pursue the position of strongest shinobi village in the world."
"Heh."
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
Ōtsutsuki Hamura sneered.
"The Fourth Mizukage definitely wasn't like this from the beginning."
"Otherwise, he could never have become Mizukage."
"Does anyone know when he started changing?"
An elderly shinobi answered,
"Probably the year before last."
"After we fought a major war against Konoha and Kirigakure suffered two consecutive crushing defeats with extremely heavy losses, his style changed."
Another elderly shinobi added,
"It was definitely after the second defeat."
"Our losses were even greater during the first one, but the Fourth Mizukage didn't react much."
"But during the second defeat, the forces he personally relied on were the ones destroyed."
"After he returned, the Fourth Mizukage became a completely different person."
"That's right."
"Before then, he had actually stopped the Bloody Mist policy."
"He was trying to ease the conflict between civilian shinobi and the ninja clans."
"He was even willing to give us more benefits in exchange for authority over wartime command."
"But now…"
"This new Bloody Mist he created is even bloodier than the old one."
Ōtsutsuki Hamura sneered.
"So it's still the same old struggle over power."
"But something about this doesn't fit."
"A power struggle shouldn't be pushed this far."
"He's leaving absolutely no room for compromise."
"It's as if he's determined to fight the ninja clans until one side is completely destroyed."
"I'm starting to suspect…"
"There may be something wrong with the Fourth Mizukage."
"Perhaps he's like the Kaguya clan—once he becomes impulsive, he can no longer control himself?"
The elderly shinobi exchanged glances.
"That can't be right, can it?"
"We've never heard that the Fourth Mizukage possesses any kekkei genkai."
"How could he suddenly become like us?"
Hamura shook his head.
"It doesn't have to be a kekkei genkai that causes mental instability."
"For example, he could have suffered brain damage."
"Or something could have gone wrong while training a ninjutsu."
"There are plenty of possibilities."
"In any case, we need to investigate."
"Otherwise, if the Fourth Mizukage continues driving the situation in this direction, the Kaguya clan will be forced into a very passive position."
"Clan Head, whatever you say, we'll do."
"If we want to form an alliance, who should we approach?"
"We don't know."
"I…"
Ōtsutsuki Hamura silently sighed.
The bloodline of the Kaguya clan really was a headache.
His killings several days earlier had caused considerable resentment.
But once Hamura took the clan head position and demonstrated his intelligence and wisdom—
The Kaguya clan immediately approved of him.
How rare!
The Kaguya clan had finally produced a clan head who had a brain and could fight!
That tiny bit of earlier resentment vanished completely.
The Kaguya wholeheartedly began supporting their new clan head.
Ōtsutsuki Hamura felt gratified.
And then immediately helpless.
The minds of these descendants were far too straightforward.
They never turned corners.
Aside from fighting, they barely thought about anything.
They had never even seriously considered forming alliances with others.
Now Hamura himself had no idea whom they should approach.
It was exhausting.
But reality was reality.
His seed had been planted among these descendants.
Ōtsutsuki Hamura could only accept it.
He helplessly asked,
"Who are the leaders of the other ninja clans?"
One Kaguya shinobi answered,
"Clan Head, the Yuki clan was destroyed by the Fourth Mizukage."
"As for who currently leads the Hōzuki clan…"
Several people looked at one another.
Then answered together,
"We don't know."
Hamura nearly choked.
"I…"
"Then who is the leader of the civilian faction?"
"You should at least know that, right?"
"This one we know!"
"Genji!" everyone answered at once.
Ōtsutsuki Hamura helplessly shook his head.
"Then today, we'll go meet Genji."
"We'll discuss what should be done."
He did not mention going to the Hōzuki clan afterward.
The Kaguya clan's lack of intelligence was actually useful as a kind of standard.
If none of them knew who currently held authority within the Hōzuki clan, that meant the clan truly lacked a strong leader and therefore lacked the ability to respond decisively to sudden events.
Going there would be pointless.
By contrast—
The leader of the civilian shinobi faction could be named instantly.
That proved Genji's prestige was unquestionable.
As long as Hamura persuaded him, they could immediately form an alliance and begin taking action.
That was the kind of ally worth seeking.
As for persuading him—
Ōtsutsuki Hamura did not consider that a problem.
He had great confidence in his eloquence.
During the early days when Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo established Ninshū, before Asura and Indra were born, Hamura had been the primary person assisting his elder brother.
During that period, he had spoken with countless people.
He had convinced countless others to accept the power of chakra, join Ninshū, and become followers of the Sage of Six Paths.
Through that process, Ōtsutsuki Hamura had grown from an indecisive little follower into a qualified leader.
He gained descendants and a clan of his own.
He managed them extremely successfully.
Only afterward had he taken the main branch to the moon to guard their mother's seal.
Now—
Faced with nothing more than one old man from Kirigakure—
He did not believe he could possibly fail to persuade him.
So Hamura set out with complete confidence.
…
Black Zetsu was extremely busy.
He needed to monitor the entire shinobi world.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Amegakure.
The bounty stations.
The capitals of the major nations.
The amount of intelligence he received every day was practically endless.
Only now did Black Zetsu finally remember something.
The White Zetsu stationed around the Uchiha clan had not sent back any information.
In fact, there had been no information from Konoha at all.
A full month had already passed.
At last, Black Zetsu realized something was wrong.
He personally traveled to Konoha to investigate.
And discovered that Konoha's barrier had been upgraded.
The old vulnerabilities were gone.
Even the structure of the barrier itself had changed dramatically.
Large senjutsu structures had been integrated into it.
Black Zetsu actually could not infiltrate.
That meant the Uchiha clan had escaped his surveillance.
This was a massive problem.
And then there was Nagato.
He had suddenly recovered his health and exposed both himself and the Rinnegan far earlier than expected.
That greatly increased the number of future variables.
Black Zetsu knew the plan had already begun slipping from his control.
He had to report everything to Uchiha Madara immediately and let him decide what to do next.
As the owner of the Rinnegan—
The absolute core of Black Zetsu's plan to save his mother—
And the final outer shell in the entire layered scheme—
Uchiha Madara had to possess sufficient information and decision-making authority.
Only then could he demonstrate enough initiative.
Black Zetsu's essence and level of existence were extremely high.
But the amount of power he could actually use was limited.
If he personally entered the board, it could only be at the very final moment of the plan.
Once that final reserve of power was exhausted—
All hope of rescuing his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, would disappear.
Before then—
Black Zetsu could only manipulate the shinobi world through his pieces and guide events toward the future he wanted.
After listening to Black Zetsu's report, Uchiha Madara immediately flew into a rage.
He kicked Black Zetsu far away.
"How did you only discover this now?!"
"You've disappointed me far too much, Black Zetsu!"
"Nagato's Rinnegan and the younger generation of the Uchiha clan are two critical points in my plan!"
"And you waited until both of them developed problems before reporting to me?"
"Have I been far too lenient with you?"
Black Zetsu did not dare argue.
He repeatedly apologized.
"I'm sorry, Madara-sama."
"It's entirely my fault."
"I was simply too worried about your physical condition, so I…"
"Enough."
"Let me think."
Uchiha Madara closed his eyes.
He thought for a long time.
Finally, he made a decision.
"Black Zetsu."
"Nagato recovering his health is a major variable."
"The situation involving the Uchiha clan and Konoha is also a serious problem."
"But with my current body, I can't do anything personally."
"We can't wait any longer."
"My successor will be Uchiha Obito."
"Where is he now?"
Black Zetsu lowered his head.
"Madara-sama."
"Uchiha Obito is currently in the Land of Rivers, fighting Sunagakure shinobi."
Madara nodded.
"Good."
"Begin preparations immediately."
"Activate the plan and bring him before me."
Black Zetsu immediately accepted the order.
"Yes, Madara-sama."
"I'll leave at once."
Madara continued,
"Be quick!"
"Don't let him return to Konoha and escape your control."
"That would create endless unnecessary trouble."
"I understand, Madara-sama."
Madara added one more instruction.
"While you're carrying out the plan involving Obito, send a White Zetsu to activate the Fourth Mizukage's second layer of suggestion."
"At this point, our control over Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage is barely sufficient."
"Have him immediately launch a war against Konoha."
"I'll use that war to make Obito witness the deepest possible despair."
"And awaken his Mangekyō."
Black Zetsu hesitated.
He cautiously asked,
"Madara-sama, isn't that too rushed?"
"We don't even have Obito in our hands yet."
"If the Fourth Mizukage starts the war now and I fail on my side, there won't be any room left to recover the plan."
A vicious light appeared in Uchiha Madara's eyes.
"Because you concealed the changes involving Nagato, I no longer have the luxury of moving slowly."
"I need to send my successor to Nagato as soon as possible."
"He must join Nagato's organization."
"Influence him."
"And make Nagato the key to my resurrection."
"If we wait too long and Amegakure develops rapidly, getting close to Nagato will become far more difficult."
"Black Zetsu."
"If you fail with Obito as well…"
"I'll punish you severely."
Black Zetsu was not truly afraid of Madara's threat.
But he still pretended to be terrified.
After bowing with an expression of extreme fear and respect, he left.
In truth, he was not completely confident.
Because Uchiha Obito's current squad captain was Minato Namikaze—
An exceptionally powerful young jōnin who was extremely difficult to deal with.
The death of the Third Hokage had severely affected Jiraiya's position.
As a result, Jiraiya was effectively confined to Konoha.
Orochimaru naturally had no intention of harming him.
But neither would he allow Jiraiya to leave Konoha as freely as the Third Hokage had.
And he certainly would not permit Jiraiya to act against Konoha's interests.
Even Jiraiya's desire to travel to the Land of Rain and meet Nagato was rejected.
According to Orochimaru—
Nagato was far too strong.
Jiraiya definitely could not defeat him.
And if Jiraiya couldn't defeat him, then there was no guarantee he could persuade him either.
So there was no point going there just to die.
Naturally, Jiraiya disagreed.
He had never been someone who followed rules obediently, even as a child.
He considered sneaking away when no one was watching.
But Orochimaru left him with only one sentence.
Without the Hokage's authorization—
If Jiraiya left Konoha without permission, it would automatically count as defection.
From that moment onward, he would officially become a Konoha missing-nin.
That left Jiraiya completely helpless.
Although he had replaced the Konoha forehead protector on his head with one bearing the kanji for "oil," he still regarded himself as a Konoha shinobi.
He had never considered becoming a missing-nin.
So he could only suppress the impulse and obediently remain in Konoha.
Whether it was traveling to the Land of Rain to meet Nagato—
Or going to Myōboku Mountain to ask the Great Toad Sage what he was thinking—
Both had to be temporarily abandoned.
As the saying went—
When one person attains the Dao, even the chickens and dogs around him rise to heaven.
Once Orochimaru became the Fourth Hokage, everyone around him rose in status.
Konoha's various departments underwent large-scale personnel changes.
Likewise—
When one person fell, the entire family suffered.
Jiraiya's confinement represented a decline in his political standing.
Very quickly, that decline affected his disciple as well.
Minato Namikaze was removed from the core ANBU structure and sent to the frontline as an ordinary squad captain.
But fate was strange.
The random trash squad assigned to him happened to contain—
Uchiha Obito.
And Rin.
Their previous captain, Shinichi, had died in an earlier battle shortly after being promoted to chūnin.
So Minato Namikaze was assigned to replace him.
But Minato truly deserved to be called a genius.
While serving in ANBU, he had possessed no opportunity to display his brilliance.
Once he entered the frontline battlefield—
His astonishing combat record immediately erupted.
Even while dragging around two burdens, he could easily deal with two full jōnin squads.
During his very first battle, he annihilated two jōnin squads without suffering even a scratch.
In the battles that followed—
One famous Sunagakure jōnin after another fell to him.
Each became another part of Minato's dazzling battle record.
He was like gold after the dust had been wiped away.
On the battlefield of the Land of Rivers, he shone with such brilliance that no one could ignore him.
Fourth Hokage Orochimaru noticed him as well.
He immediately decided to end Minato Namikaze's exile.
Orochimaru even considered rearranging Minato's squad composition so that his combat strength could be fully unleashed.
But after considering the matter from several angles—
He abandoned the idea.
Minato Namikaze's combat style revolved entirely around speed.
The fastest movement speed.
The fastest attack speed.
The fastest ninjutsu activation speed.
And the fastest Body Flicker Technique.
He was so fast that no one could react to him.
Almost every Sunagakure jōnin who died at his hands had been attacked from behind.
Either their throats were cut by kunai—
Or their kidneys were stabbed through with a short blade.
Even in Konoha, which was filled with elite shinobi, this style of fighting was completely unique.
There simply wasn't anyone capable of properly coordinating with him tactically.
If Orochimaru forcibly assigned three jōnin to his team, they might actually restrict Minato's movements and prevent him from fighting freely.
Perhaps that would be even worse than his current situation of dragging around two burdens.
So the matter was dropped.
Instead—
Minato's treatment and status rapidly improved.
He became one of the central combat forces on the Land of Rivers battlefield.
Minato Namikaze's brilliance shone like gold in Konoha's eyes.
But to Sunagakure—
It was as glaring as blood.
Minato had only been in the Land of Rivers for one short month.
Yet he had already killed thirty-two Sunagakure jōnin.
On average—
More than one per day.
His performance quickly awakened painful memories among the Suna shinobi.
The terror of the "Konoha White Fang" from the previous war seemed to have returned.
Sunagakure's shinobi became increasingly uneasy.
Naturally, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, noticed as well.
There was no way he could ignore it.
Konoha possessed more than three hundred officially recognized jōnin.
But that number was partly the result of political allocation.
In reality, Konoha had many more shinobi with jōnin-level combat ability.
Even if dozens died, replacements could be found at any time.
Sunagakure did not possess that luxury.
Their total number of jōnin barely exceeded three hundred.
And now—
A single person had killed one-tenth of them in only one month.
The Fourth Kazekage felt so much pain over those losses that his head nearly exploded.
He immediately convened a meeting.
His first words were—
"We cannot continue like this."
"We must change our tactics."
"Otherwise, our entire shinobi army is going to fall into chaos."
Chiyo nodded.
"Yes."
"The losses are too severe."
"Jōnin aren't merely our strongest combatants."
"They're also the commanders of our lower-ranking shinobi."
"If we continue losing them at this rate, our forces will lose their command structure."
Pakura spoke.
"Then launch a full-scale offensive."
"Under the pressure of the entire army, we can finally make use of our numerical advantage."
Rasa immediately agreed.
"I agree."
"We launch a full-scale offensive."
"Occupy the Land of Rivers."
"Then invade the Land of Fire."
"We'll completely crush Konoha's prestige."
"And use our victory to attract Kumogakure and Kirigakure into the war."
Chiyo nodded as well.
"The Fourth is right."
"Compared to the envoys we sent out…"
"Victory itself is far more persuasive."
Seeing everyone agree with her proposal for an offensive, Pakura was extremely pleased.
She looked around the meeting room.
Then suddenly asked,
"Chiyo-senpai."
"Why hasn't Ebizō-senpai returned yet?"
Chiyo shook her head.
"He still hasn't returned."
Even the Fourth Kazekage couldn't help asking,
"Could something have happened to Senior Ebizō?"
"That shouldn't be possible."
"He only went to deal with a group of human traffickers."
"They may have been somewhat capable, but there's no way they could threaten a Kage-level puppet master like him."
Chiyo guessed,
"Perhaps those traffickers are simply too cunning."
"Ebizō may have been unable to catch them immediately, which delayed him."
"Nothing should have happened."
The Fourth Kazekage thought for a moment.
Then nodded.
"Senior Chiyo is right."
"After all, he's still inside the Land of Wind."
"There really shouldn't be any danger."
Then he stood up.
He issued his order.
"Since Senior Ebizō is occupied, we won't wait for him."
"I've decided."
"Tomorrow, we launch a full-scale offensive."
"And crush the Konoha shinobi."
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