Chapter 178 Breaking the Backbone of Kirigakure
The news that two Mizukage had appeared in the Land of Water quickly spread throughout the ninja world.
The Daimyo of the Land of Water didn't react much to this. After all, the Land of Water's overly favorable geographical conditions and the status of a major power guaranteed by its two tailed beasts meant they were unlikely to face external threats. Under such conditions, the Land of Water became a notorious cradle of incompetent rulers and treacherous ministers.
Since the Daimyo who founded Kirigakure, the Land of Water had produced several generations of incompetent rulers.
Otherwise, any monarch with even a modicum of sense would probably not allow their armed forces to engage in such a corrupt and exploitative policy as the Blood Mist Village. Therefore, the process of assuming the position of Mizukage differed slightly from that of other major powers. While other major powers' ninja villages held internal elections before submitting them to the Daimyo for review, Kirigakure simply had the chosen Mizukage sign and stamp the documents directly.
But coincidentally, both Takagi Seiman and Terumi Mei, upon assuming the position of Mizukage, immediately sent official documents to the Daimyo of the Land of Water.
The current Daimyo of the Land of Water, having indulged in women for years and whose mind had been clouded by potent drugs, was too lazy to bother with the documents he received from both sides, simply handing them over to his ministers.
This highlighted Mei Terumi's lack of experience.
After learning about the moral standards of the Land of Water's civil officials from intelligence reports, Uchiha Touko instructed Takagi Seiman to bribe them before returning to the village.
Having received the bribes, the ministers naturally signed Takagi Seiman's documents, effectively solidifying his legitimacy. At this moment, the new Kirigakure, founded by Mei Terumi and her group, was officially declared a rebel army.
Enraged, Mei Terumi, after Zabuza and Kisame had recovered somewhat, launched another attack on Kirigakure.
However, these wounded soldiers, fresh from their defeat, paled in comparison to the ninjas of Konoha. Even with Mei Terumi, Zabuza (still recovering), and Kisame Hoshigaki, they couldn't gain any advantage against Fugaku Uchiha. Despite Fugaku's
long inactivity and the fact that his Mangekyou Sharingan was non-combat type, his Mangekyou foundation was undeniable; he wasn't weak even among Kage-level fighters. Only Mei Terumi's Lava Release ninjutsu could break through the Susanoo's defenses.
Ironically, perhaps because they'd been using Touko Uchiha as their hypothetical enemy for too long, they'd forgotten how traditional Uchiha fought. Mei Terumi made the basic mistake of making eye contact with Fugaku. If Zabuza and Kisame
hadn't desperately tried to save her from the genjutsu, the new Kirigakure of their resistance would likely have chosen the Sixth Mizukage on the spot.
After this battle, the resistance forces posed no immediate threat, barely managing to hold onto their territory. With the arrival of supplies from Konoha and merchants from the Land of Fire led by Gato, Kirigakure gradually began rebuilding.
However, even so, the situation within Kirigakure itself didn't improve much.
Although in the past two or three months, with Konoha's aid and investment, the villagers had resumed production, and their living standards had greatly improved compared to the Blood Mist era, the frequent presence of Konoha ninjas roaming the village was a source of great annoyance for everyone in Kirigakure, both civilians and ninjas.
Unlike the Konoha garrison led by Inuzuka Gaki and Aburame Shiki, the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Springs had no prior conflicts with Konoha. Konoha's ninjas, after being stationed there, maintained excellent relations with their citizens, and both nobles and commoners praised the high quality of the Konoha ninjas.
However, the situation was different in Kirigakure. Less than ten years had passed since the last major conflict between the two sides, and such a short time was far from enough to erase the hatred between them.
In less than three months, the Konoha garrison and the local Kirigakure villagers clashed several times.
One of the most representative incidents occurred when a small squad of Konoha garrison soldiers, on their day off, went out drinking and encountered some Kirigakure villagers who verbally abused them.
The squad leader was also hot-tempered. As one of the earliest civilian ninjas to join the guard unit, he hadn't suffered such humiliation in a long time since Uchiha Touko became the Fifth Hokage. Even the unruly villagers of Konoha wouldn't dare speak to him like that, yet these people they were supposed to protect dared to boss around Konoha ninjas?
Already under the influence of alcohol, he wasn't as calm as usual, and the insults from the Kirigakure villagers were particularly offensive. In a fit of rage, he led his squad in a brutal beating of the Kirigakure villagers.
Subsequently, with the arrival of Kirigakure ninjas from the surrounding area and Konoha ninjas from the base, the conflict escalated further.
If Uchiha Fugaku and Takagi Seiwan hadn't arrived in time, a full-blown brawl would likely have broken out within the village.
When Fugaku Uchiha arrived at the scene, his face was extremely grim. In his view, these Konoha ninjas represented the face of Konoha when they went out, and attacking civilians over a few words was a complete violation of ninja code. If word got out, it would be a huge blow to the image of Konoha ninjas.
Therefore, Fugaku Uchiha intended to deal with these people seriously.
However, to his surprise, Takagi Seiman took the initiative and launched an attack, but his targets were the civilians who had spoken rudely to the Konoha ninjas and the few Kirigakure ninjas who had first stepped forward in the conflict.
"What are you doing? How dare you speak so disrespectfully to our respected guests?" Takagi Seiwan angrily rebuked. "Don't forget, it was we, your esteemed guests, who helped us drive away the Kirigakure rebels and helped us rebuild the village! Do you want to go back to the days when the blood mist shrouded everything? Guards, take them away! These people must be severely punished!"
Soon, several trusted ANBU members whom Takagi Seiwan had cultivated after taking office stepped forward and took away the civilians and ninjas involved in the conflict, imprisoning them in the ANBU's dungeon.
"Hehe, Lord Fugaku, they've only just emerged from the harsh policies of the Blood Mist and aren't very familiar with the rules. Please forgive their ignorance, Your Excellency and the ninjas of your country." After dealing with these people, Takagi Seiman immediately adopted a fawning smile and spoke to Uchiha Fugaku.
In the past three months, although Takagi Seiman, now seated on the Mizukage throne, had been secretly cursed as a traitor by the civilians and ninjas of Kirigakure, he had also genuinely experienced the benefits of being Mizukage. For one thing, in these three months alone, he had accumulated wealth he never dared to dream of before. And after Fugaku repelled the attack of Mei Terumi and her two companions, Uchiha Fugaku's position in Takagi Seiman's heart was no different from that of his own father. As long as the Heavenly Soldiers of Konoha remained, and Uchiha Fugaku remained, his position as Mizukage was as secure as a mountain.
And now these unruly commoners dared to disrespect his own father? They had to be dealt with seriously! What if Konoha and Fugaku Uchiha were displeased by these troublemakers and withdrew their troops? Would he still be alive?
As for the discontent within Kirigakure? Did they really think he was the Mizukage for nothing? In the past three months, he had already dealt with the two elite Jonin from Kirigakure who were competing with him for the Mizukage position. To be honest, none of the people who became elite Jonin under Karatachi Sanekura's rule had clean hands. Takagi Seiman had ready-made reasons to punish those two—harming fellow village ninjas.
After eliminating his competitors, Takagi Seiman quickly won over a group of loyal followers with benefits. He might not have the ability to deal with Mei Terumi and her group, but he was more than capable of dealing with internal strife.
Hearing about the outcome and seeing their Mizukage so obsequiously before the Konoha garrison commander, some Kirigakure ninjas were grinding their teeth in anger, but they could only vent their anger for so long.
Fugaku Uchiha was also baffled by Takagi Seiman's actions. After returning with his men, he first detained the entire squad and then sent a message to Uchiha Toko, asking how to handle the situation. Most
people wouldn't bother Uchiha Toko in such a situation; even if Toko offered advice, it would make the person seeking help seem incompetent.
But Fugaku didn't have this concern. Since Toko took over as clan leader, he had deeply realized his own incompetence in certain areas. Coupled with his eldest son's misguided path, Fugaku essentially gave up. After Toko took over, he appointed Fugaku as the leader of the Jonin team, but in this position, he simply followed Toko's orders and did his assigned duties.
This time, Fugaku wouldn't have wanted to take on the position of commander of the Water and Fire Army if it weren't for the fact that no one else in Konoha had the ability and qualifications to hold the post. Spending his days with his son in Konoha was far more comfortable than coming to Kirigakure, a place where he rarely saw the sun.
Therefore, Fugaku consulted Uchiha Tokō without any reservations about such an important matter. Uchiha Tokō
's reply was simple: just eight words, "Simple punishment, let nature take its course."
If such a thing had happened with the troops stationed in the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Rice Fields, Uchiha Tokō's opinion would have been to deal with it seriously. The ninjas of those two countries were weak, and the ninjas stationed there, besides guarding against the Land of Lightning, were primarily there as a showcase for Konoha to demonstrate its great power status. Such an incident would severely damage Konoha's image in the eyes of its allies and would be used against them by the Land of Lightning.
But Kirigakure was different. Although Obito Uchiha had ravaged Kirigakure to a state of disarray, a weakened camel is still bigger than a horse, and Kirigakure's legacy remained. Given time, in a decade or so, Kirigakure's strength could easily recover. Therefore, to truly transform Kirigakure into Konoha's aquaculture farm, there was only one thing to do: break their backbone.
This was why he was willing to risk criticism to personally push Takagi Seiwan to the throne. To
be honest, after three months, even Tokio Uchiha couldn't help but marvel at how high the quality of Konoha's ninjas had been under the influence of the Will of Fire.
Besides allowing his own ninjas to run rampant in Kirigakure, Tokio Uchiha also had some White Zetsu disguise themselves as civilians and spread rumors within Kirigakure that the air in Konoha smelled sweet. Furthermore, when merchants from the Land of Fire like Gato invested in Kirigakure, they subtly instilled certain ideas into the hearts of the Kirigakure people.
While these things might take a long time to show results, the effectiveness is undeniable; Uchiha Touko had already witnessed the terrifying power of such strategies in his previous life.
Just as Uchiha Touko's international aquaculture business was flourishing, Kumogakure approached the new Kirigakure established by Mei Terumi and the resistance forces.
"Miss Mei Terumi, the conditions offered by Kumogakure are already very generous. Compared to the contract Takagi Seiman signed with Konoha, our conditions aren't unreasonable, are they?" The Fourth Raikage sat imposingly at his desk, speaking to Mei Terumi through a screen.
"Rakakage, could you please allow us some more time to consider?" Mei Terumi said somewhat hesitantly.
"Of course, no problem," the Fourth Raikage said calmly. "However, is the Mizukage sure that Kirigakure has that much time? Konoha is currently focused on supporting the Land of Waterfall, which is why it can't spare the resources. Once the war in the Land of Waterfall ends and Konoha is free to act, can you withstand Konoha's army?"
Mei Terumi fell silent upon hearing this. The Fourth Raikage was telling the truth. After Konoha's garrison helped Takagi Seiman repel their attack, they didn't expand their gains, presumably because Konoha still needed to support the Land of Waterfall and didn't want a full-scale war. But Mei Terumi also understood that if the situation in the Land of Waterfall changed and Konoha was able to fully support Takagi Seiman, then with their current strength, they would absolutely not be able to withstand Konoha's onslaught.
And at that time, their Land of Water would truly become a vassal of the Land of Fire, with no future to speak of.
Now, while the conditions offered by Kumogakure for aid are excessive, and even if they ultimately win, the debt they will need to repay will be astronomical, potentially forcing Kirigakure to rely on Kumogakure for survival for many years to come, paying off
the debt slowly is better than national subjugation. At least Kumogakure's conditions offer room for future negotiation.
Mei Terumi thought to herself, sighed, and finally nodded, saying, "We agree to cooperate, but the specific details still need further discussion."
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(End of Chapter)