Kapitel 127: Chapter 127: Great Detective Third Mizukage!
With an unmatched momentum, Skeleton Emperor crushed towards Pain.
In Third Mizukage's view, both Pain and Obito posed significant threats to Hidden Mist Village.
One is a hybrid of Senju and Uchiha lineage. The other, while Third Mizukage couldn't discern the identity, displayed extremely formidable strength. Moreover, Uchiha Obito possessed the power of intangibility.
Therefore, Third Mizukage targeted Pain immediately.
With full force.
Before even approaching, Nagato sensed the extraordinary power through Pain.
Nagato controlled Pain to raise his hand.
A mass of chakra condensed into a shield-like form, blocking the front.
However, facing the current state of Skeleton Emperor was like fragile paper.
It was instantly shattered into pieces.
Crack!
Skeleton Emperor's axe blade pierced through the chakra shield and landed on Pain's palm.
That arm was effortlessly split apart.
Skeleton Emperor continued forward.
Nagato's expression changed.
Besides Pain's hand being slashed, Nagato also sensed another force.
Pain's arm continued to wither and decay, spreading upwards.
"What kind of ability is this?" Nagato's face showed a hint of fear involuntarily.
Finally, Uchiha Obito arrived behind Pain. At the same time, Konan also came to support.
Obito raised his hand, placing one on Pain's shoulder and the other on Konan's.
An invisible vortex appeared. The second Pain approached voluntarily.
The next moment, the four figures were all drawn into it.
Thud!
Skeleton Emperor hit the ground.
Third Mizukage's expression fluctuated.
"This bizarre ability... Is it a space-type?"
"Other than Minato Namikaze, there appears to be another Ninja proficient in space Ninjutsu and he's a hybrid of Senju and Uchiha. What kind of conspiracy is hidden within Konoha?"
"If only I could kill them... Unfortunately... I'm running out of time." Third Mizukage glanced back.
The translucent figure of Obito became increasingly faint.
Next moment, Third Mizukage swung Skeleton Emperor vigorously towards Forging Island.
At the moment Skeleton Emperor soared, Third Mizukage's ethereal form turned into a streak of light, merging into Skeleton Emperor.
Thud!
Ao's expression changed.
"There's something!"
He quickly used the Byakugan to look over. "Skeleton Emperor?"
Soma emerged. "Ao-senpai, what's going on?"
"Skeleton Emperor flew over out of nowhere, but Mizukage-sama isn't here. It's likely something has happened."
"Where is it?"
"That way."
Ao led the way.
Soon, they arrived at the landing spot of Skeleton Emperor.
A faint voice sounded. "Is it Ao and Soma?"
Immediately after, the ethereal form of Third Mizukage appeared, much fainter and weaker than before.
"Mizukage-sama?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Mizukage-sama, what happened?"
Third Mizukage fell silent for a moment.
"It's a long story, Soma. Take Skeleton Emperor to a safe place for now."
"Ao, head to the Mizukage's Building. Notify the ANBU ninjas. Tell them to follow my orders for the entire village to be on high alert."
Soma and Ao exchanged glances.
Ao nodded. "Understood, Mizukage-sama."
He quickly turned and left.
Meanwhile, Soma guided Skeleton Emperor into his forging room.
Soma was somewhat surprised by Third Mizukage's condition.
He had been fine just moments ago.
But now, Third Mizukage seemed like a restless spirit attached to Skeleton Emperor.
"Mizukage-sama, what exactly happened?" he asked.
"It's Konoha's attackers," Third Mizukage said. "Four assailants from Konoha came. They manipulated an ANBU ninja, brought me to the village outskirts, and set up an ambush nearby. All four of them are incredibly strong."
"One is a hybrid of Senju and Uchiha, proficient in Wood Release, possesses Sharingan, and is skilled in Space Ninjutsu."
"One is a Ninja capable of absorbing Ninjutsu and Chakra."
"Another is a Ninja who can wield powerful impact and attraction forces."
"The last is a female ninja who uses Explosive Tags as her method."
"Soma, thank you for the Skeleton Emperor that you crafted."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to communicate with you here now. I'd be nothing but cold, shattered corpse fragments."
"Konoha hides too deep. They possess such formidable power, yet they've never displayed it on the battlefield."
"No one knows if they have even greater strength."
Soma was intrigued.
From Third Mizukage's descriptions, Soma could likely guess who these individuals were.
Uchiha Obito.
Nagato (with two Pain Puppets, it's highly probable Nagato is nearby too).
Konan.
From Third Mizukage's perspective, it's easy to believe that these four are indeed Konoha's ninjas.
After all, Sharingan and Wood Release both belong to Konoha.
And this time, clearly, Obito brought Nagato and Konan to seek revenge for Rin.
Soma didn't know the exact time of Third Mizukage's death in the original storyline.
He was unclear about the details of his death.
All he knew was that after Third Mizukage's death, Yagura succeeded as Mizukage and became a Jinchuriki, but was later controlled by Obito and turned into a puppet.
Soma had previously guessed that Third Mizukage's death might be related to Obito.
But he didn't expect Obito to come to Hidden Mist Village for revenge at this time.
And he brought two helpers. He also deliberately controlled the ANBU with Genjutsu.
For Third Mizukage, this was an absolute must-kill situation.
Obito, Nagato, Konan. Their abilities were all too strong and too unique.
"I guessed that Obito might seek revenge on Hidden Mist Village. But I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
"Even if I had warned earlier, it wouldn't have changed anything."
Soma remembered the last time about the Jinchuriki issue and how he had tried to indirectly warn Third Mizukage.
However, Third Mizukage interrupted that topic and instead instructed Soma to focus his energy on forging; the village affairs didn't require Soma's excessive attention.
To Soma, Third Mizukage held him in high regard. But regarding village affairs, Third Mizukage seemed reluctant to involve Soma too much.
"In this case, in the original storyline, Third Mizukage was probably indeed killed in revenge by Obito."
"He killed Third Mizukage to avenge Rin. And then he controlled the Fourth Mizukage Yagura."
Third Mizukage continued, "But after my death, I gained improved my control over Skeleton Emperor and used it to severely wound one of them."
"They should have temporarily retreated by now."
Soma furrowed his brows slightly.
The compatibility between Third Mizukage and Skeleton Emperor was merely "Good."
And barely reaching that level of "Good."
Coupled with Skeleton Emperor's uniqueness.
Therefore, Third Mizukage's progress in controlling Skeleton Emperor was relatively slow.
Listening to Third Mizukage say this, Soma couldn't help but form a guess.
"Could it be that Zanpakuto, which belongs to Shinigami, the Hollow's tools, are easier to control for Ninja after death?"
"It's very likely."
"After all, Ninjas who have died are closer to Shinigami and Hollows."
Soma continued listening to Third Mizukage.
"But that blow also nearly exhausted my spiritual power."
"After being killed, I thought my soul would dissipate, but unexpectedly I was attracted by Skeleton Emperor, as if parasitizing it."
"I feel that my spiritual power is slowly recovering."
"But very slowly. I estimate it will take a long time before I can recover to the state I was in before death."
"Soma, do all Zanpakuto have this ability?"
Soma shook his head.
Skeleton Emperor is a genuine Zanpakuto with such abilities, which seems reasonable.
Kiriichimonji, Blue Rose Sword, Soma found them impossible to have this ability.
"Mizukage-sama, perhaps it's because of Skeleton Emperor's special materials that it has such abilities."
"Is that so?" Third Mizukage suddenly felt relieved.
"It's good then, Skeleton Emperor accepts me."
Clearly, surpassing Second Mizukage was within reach; with just a few more years, Third Mizukage would have been certain.
Under these circumstances, a sudden inexplicable attack caused his death, leaving Third Mizukage extremely frustrated.
However, his soul could attach itself to Skeleton Emperor.
He could still watch over the ninja world, watch over Hidden Mist Village.
This made Third Mizukage feel a little better.
"By the way, I remembered something."
"Earlier, someone came to our Hidden Mist Village and used a Genjutsu on me. The plan for Konoha with the Three-Tails Nohara Rin, was influenced by that person's Genjutsu, making me formulate the plan."
"I kept saying, 'How could I have arranged things like that?'"
"Konoha not only possesses secret jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan but also has members of the Uzumaki Clan. The plan with Three-Tails Nohara Rin and the release in Konoha is no different from directly giving Konoha a Jinchuriki."
"Not only does it fail to kill enemies, it also turns into aiding the enemy."
"Without surprise, that person should also be an Uchiha."
"A ninja from Konoha."
"That plan most likely intends for our Hidden Mist Village to deliver the Three-Tails."
"Unfortunately, that Nohara Rin and Kakashi were too foolish, actually choosing to commit suicide."
"But that helped our Hidden Mist Village."
"Among the four who came this time, that hybrid of Senju and Uchiha also attempted to control me with Genjutsu, but failed, perhaps due to Skeleton Emperor."
"However, they certainly won't let it go at that. It's very likely they will come again. We must think ahead and prepare countermeasures."
Third Mizukage deduced, filled with extreme caution.
In Third Mizukage's view, dealing a heavy blow to them was a good move.
However, while the opponent only suffered severe injuries, Third Mizukage ended up dead. Moreover, when Third Mizukage placed Obito and others in the camp of Konoha, this false "Konoha camp" was indeed quite formidable.
The situation deduced by Third Mizukage and the real situation known to Soma from the original storyline cannot be said to be identical, but rather completely unrelated. Soma couldn't help but mutter inwardly, "Are you detective Kogoro Mouri or what?"
However, based on the known information, Third Mizukage's deductions were surprisingly reasonable. Obito was a rogue ninja of Konoha. Nagato and Konan were members of the Akatsuki organization. Third Mizukage mistook them all for Konoha ninja because Obito had the Sharingan and Wood Release.
Having one of these traits, Third Mizukage might not have been so certain. But possessing both, Third Mizukage believed there was only one possibility—that they were Konoha ninja.
The planner behind the Three-Tails incident was actually Uchiha Madara.
Third Mizukage also pinned it on Konoha. Madara's Sharingan Genjutsu and Konoha's ability to restrain the Tailed Beasts made Third Mizukage believe that this was Konoha's plan, with no other possibility.
Before long, Ao returned. "Mizukage-sama." Ao looked at Skeleton Emperor, feeling somewhat flustered. Hidden Mist Village, which had been thriving and showing signs of improvement, suddenly experienced such an event. What kind of impact would this have on Hidden Mist Village? Could Hidden Mist Village withstand it?
Ao had no answers in his mind.
"Ao, how's the situation?"
"Mizukage-sama, ANBU Ninja haven't detected anything unusual temporarily. The place where you were ambushed earlier is now empty, with just traces of battle remaining," Ao reported. "I've ordered ANBU Ninja to be on high alert as per your command."
Third Mizukage nodded. "The situation is very serious. If we fail to respond appropriately and promptly, it could mean a disaster for our Hidden Mist Village."
Third Mizukage looked towards Ao.
"Ao, I need you to make another trip for me."
"Mizukage-sama, what do you need me to do?"
"Go find Genji and have him secretly come to Forging Island."
"Yes."
Genji, one of the elders of Hidden Mist Village. He held substantial authority, second only to the Mizukage within the village. He could be likened to Danzo of Konoha or Chiyo of Hidden Sand Village. However, Genji's strength was not particularly formidable. He was older than Third Mizukage and had extensive experience.
One notable aspect of Genji that left a deep impression on Soma was that Terumi Mei was nurtured as a ninja under his faction. While the Bloody Mist Policy screened young ninjas throughout much of Hidden Mist Village, Genji's faction seemed to employ different methods for selection.
After Ao left, the forging room fell into silence. Third Mizukage appeared weary and weak. Without disturbing him, Soma glanced at the translucent panel in front of him.
[Reputation: 1352]
In an instant, several hundred points of reputation were added. Soma was certain that this increase was due to Third Mizukage using Skeleton Emperor.
"Just Obito, Nagato, Konan, these three individuals wouldn't bring in this much reputation."
"It's very likely that some White Zetsu also got wind of Skeleton Emperor's information."
White Zetsu were also organisms, human in form. Under the influence of the Divine Tree's power, their bodies underwent changes and they lost their previous memories.
Obito had high trust in White Zetsu and rarely concealed information from them. There could even be several hidden in Kamui's Dimension.
Moreover, creatures like White Zetsu were adept at concealment. There might be one lurking in any pile of soil or rotten wood.
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