A change this massive in Kirigakure—one that shook the village with such thunderous force—could never be hidden.
By the next morning, the Third Mizukage's resignation letter and a confidential report of Kirigakure's upheaval were delivered together to the Land of Water's daimyo.
Along with them came a petition—
urging the appointment of Kirigakure jonin Kaguya Ren as Fourth Mizukage.
For a nation whose economy was tightly bound to Kirigakure's hired work and wartime activity, the daimyo could not ignore such an event.
So by the afternoon of that same day, the daimyo's procession arrived in Kirigakure.
With him came Kirigakure's other pillar of authority—Elder Genji.
Together, they met the Third Mizukage and the "other main character" named in the report: Kaguya Ren.
"…And that is the matter in full," the Third Mizukage finished, his throat dry. He lifted strong tea to his lips and drank.
After hearing him, the daimyo and Genji exchanged a look.
Both wore the same expression—
disbelief, tangled with the reluctant acceptance that reality didn't care what they wanted to believe.
"Something this absurd… happening right under our eyes…"
"Even with you explaining it personally, Third, it's still hard to accept as true," Genji murmured.
The Third Mizukage gave a bitter smile, staring down at hands now marked with age spots and fine wrinkles.
"I don't want to believe it either. It tramples my pride and Kirigakure's face into the mud."
He exhaled.
"But since it happened, we have no choice but to face the consequences."
The daimyo hesitated, then turned his gaze toward Ren—who was calmly reading through confidential documents previously reserved only for the Mizukage.
He asked carefully, voice uneasy.
"But… to entrust the village and the Land of Water's future to someone this young… isn't that—too extreme?"
He hurried to add, flustered.
"I-I'm not saying a young Mizukage is bad. It's just… I worry young people may lack experience and act impulsively in situations where there could be room to negotiate…"
"Impulsive?" The Third Mizukage glanced at Ren, his expression complicated. "In my personal opinion… Ren can indeed be impulsive at times."
He paused.
"But his strength is enough to support his impulsiveness and caprice in most situations."
"That's true," Genji agreed, nodding slowly. "Based on Ren's battlefield performance, his power surpasses every previous Mizukage in every respect."
His old eyes narrowed with approving weight.
"And he's still young. He has time to grow and learn."
Genji's tone turned firm.
"Besides, by the creed passed down from Byakuren-sama, once Ren becomes the village's new strongest, he should replace the Third and become Mizukage."
"Don't talk like I'm some brat who got a little strong and forgot the sky exists," Ren said, tapping the documents into order.
He lifted his eyes to the two elder men who could provide his seat with legitimacy.
"Put the Mizukage topic aside for now. There are ceremonies and procedures either way."
Ren's voice sharpened.
"The most urgent issue is ending the war with Konoha."
"Ending the war?" The daimyo frowned, fingers pressing together in conflicted thought.
Then he looked at Ren with careful seriousness.
"May I ask you something, Kaguya Ren?"
"Go ahead, Daimyo-sama," Ren replied, nodding politely.
Ren's measured politeness only made the question feel heavier when it finally came.
"Your strength… can you defeat the strongest of Konoha?"
Ren considered for a moment, eyes steady.
"If we don't count the possibility of them forcing a desperate Edo Tensei play… I'd say nine-to-one."
He spoke as if stating a simple fact.
"If it's me alone against all of Konoha's top fighters, I'm the nine. They're the one."
The daimyo's eyes widened, shocked beyond what he could hide.
"Then why would we end the war?" he demanded, confusion spilling into urgency. "If you kill Konoha's higher-ups, wouldn't we crush their will quickly? Wouldn't the Land of Fire become ours?"
"That," Ren said, laying a scroll open and pointing to the numbers on it, "is because of the mess left behind after the Third was controlled by genjutsu."
He spoke clearly.
"Before the war began, Kirigakure had 3,964 shinobi with registered numbers. Fifteen years ago, that number was 3,157."
The daimyo blinked.
Ren continued.
"Kirigakure did not participate in the Second Shinobi World War. Which means in more than a decade without major war, we produced less than one thousand new shinobi."
Ren's finger slid down the scroll.
"After accounting for deaths on missions and those who retired due to injury, age, or personal reasons, the number of active shinobi we could mobilize before the war was at most around two thousand."
"T-Two thousand?" The daimyo stared. "Only… that many?"
"Now it's probably around thirteen to fourteen hundred," Ren said, flipping to another scroll, voice lowering.
"Our medical-nin total only fifty. Two are jonin, nine are chuunin, and the rest are barely trained genin. With the village still needing guards, only about thirty medical-nin can even go to the front."
Ren's eyes narrowed.
"Thirty."
He tapped the number.
"On a battlefield that large, how many do you think thirty can save?"
The Third Mizukage lowered his head.
Genji turned his gaze away with a slow, weary shake.
Even the daimyo—who had just suggested pressing the war—couldn't speak against such numbers.
"Our national strength…" the daimyo whispered, face pale. "Has it declined to this extent…?"
"Exactly," Ren replied, almost flippant.
"In this situation, even if I could blow Konoha off the map by myself, we still don't have enough loyal Kirigakure shinobi to take over Konoha's foundation."
Ren's voice stayed calm, but the implications were vicious.
"If we insist on holding both the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, we'd have to expand recruitment without limit—dragging every child with talent into training, regardless of origin."
Ren's eyes narrowed.
"How many spies from other villages would slip in? How many vengeful Konoha remnants would infiltrate? How badly would the land under our rule be ruined by them and by missing-nin?"
He didn't need to say more.
The daimyo nodded stiffly.
"And if we crush Konoha but don't take the Land of Fire," Ren continued, "then we hand a gift to Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure—letting them feed on Konoha's collapse and grow stronger."
Ren brought his hands together once.
"So we must negotiate with Konoha. Stop this war—because it won't yield more profit for either side now—and shift all focus to rebuilding and reforming our country."
His tone turned brutally practical.
"Reform the academy. Reform Kirigakure's industries."
Then his eyes sharpened into command.
"And clans like Hozuki, Terumi, Kaguya, Yuki—bloodlines and secret techniques—go and have children. Right now."
Ren's expression didn't change.
"If we don't have enough shinobi loyal to Kirigakure, what—am I supposed to rule the entire shinobi world by myself?"
"Um… Ren," the Third Mizukage said hesitantly, eyes widening a little as a thought occurred to him. "Didn't you bring back an Uchiha genius? You don't plan to keep his bloodline?"
"I'll absolutely keep the Uchiha bloodline and study it," Ren said, deadpan.
Then his gaze slid sideways, unimpressed.
"But Shisui is nine. Even if I drugged him, do you think he's physically capable of anything?"
"…R-Right," the Third coughed awkwardly.
At that moment, an ANBU responsible for security pushed the door open and reported quickly.
"Third-sama, Ren-sama—good news! Jonin Ao's squad captured a Hyuga shinobi on the battlefield and successfully brought him back to the village alive!"
A Hyuga.
Captured alive.
Brought back.
Ren and the Third Mizukage looked at each other—
Then asked in perfect unison:
"What gender!? How old!?"
"Huh?!" The ANBU froze, startled. "M-Male… looks under twenty. Is… is that important information?"
"Very important," Ren said lightly, tapping the documents on the desk.
His smile was bright.
"Extremely important."
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