The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Oriole... the Oriole... the Oriole

Zabuza's eyes swept swiftly over the assembled ninja. Some faces were familiar, others strange, but they were all undoubtedly people who held real power in the village. The sneer on his face deepened.

To curry favor with the Fourth Mizukage and seize greater power in the village, they had taken the initiative to join forces and wipe out Kirigakure's bloodline clans above them. (A certain Pot Kage of Konoha gave them his personal approval!)

The Yuki, once a prominent clan and among the village's founders, had been exterminated, while only two members of the Hōzuki Clan remained.

Only the lunatics of the Kaguya Clan, who had served as the executioners, had survived because they weren't bright. But Kirigakure's strength had also suffered greatly as a result.

Toward those below them, they had ruthlessly suppressed civilian ninja's chances of advancement, even instituting a bloody elimination system at the Ninja Academy.

The mighty Land of Water was now probably only a little stronger than Sunagakure!

If the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, was the sun that had hidden the light that should have shone upon the village, then these fellows were vermin that endlessly spewed a poisonous, blood-colored mist.

As someone who had risen step by step from civilian origins to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Zabuza understood their character better than anyone.

They had probably only begun to entertain thoughts of rebellion because the Fourth was about to turn the executioner's blade on them.

"Zabuza, you're not the only one here who cares about the village!" the old men shouted angrily.

"The Mizukage has become a poisonous thorn in the village's flesh. If this goes on, Kirigakure will either bleed out or rot to death before our eyes."

"That's why we've tolerated your antics!"

"Tch, tch! How nice you make it sound!" Zabuza sneered contemptuously. Though he was dissatisfied with them, he also understood that he couldn't even get close to the Mizukage on his own. If these fellows could plant an informant in the Anbu...

Just then, the young Mei Terumi abruptly stepped forward. The kunoichi, usually full of allure, now radiated an almost uncontrollable chill. Almost everyone was taken aback by her imposing presence.

Mei's green eyes swept over everyone present. "You argue day and night, but can that save Kirigakure?"

"Then what brilliant idea do you have?" Zabuza snorted.

To his surprise, Mei ignored him completely and continued in a ringing voice.

"The root of all this lies with Lord Fourth, in his radical pursuit of the Blood Mist Policy until it became madness. But does anyone still remember what Lord Fourth used to be like?"

"Lord Fourth came from civilian origins, and his unparalleled talent and strength put him above his entire generation. Even after becoming the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki for the village's sake, he was a Perfect Jinchuriki who could suppress the Tailed Beast."

"And the reason he raised the banner of the Blood Mist Policy was to suppress the prestigious ninja clans that held too much power and promote more ninja from minor clans and civilian backgrounds."

"That was in the past!" Zabuza interrupted impatiently. "Yagura is mad now. Nothing he does is for the village. He'd sooner kill everyone!"

Mei gave Zabuza a long look. "That's why I've brought news: Lord Fourth is being controlled by someone!"

The moment the kunoichi spoke, everyone present, Zabuza included, went pale.

"What proof do you have?"

A village's Kage being controlled by someone else was something no one would believe.

"Ao!" Mei called.

The grim-faced, one-eyed middle-aged man immediately removed the patch over his right eye, revealing an eyeball flashing with an eerie white light amid bulging veins.

"The Byakugan, a Kekkei Genkai that can perceive the flow of Chakra in the human body! No one here doubts its ability, I hope?"

Once everyone had nodded in agreement, Ao spoke slowly. "Mei Terumi asked me repeatedly, so under her cover, I secretly used the Byakugan to observe Lord Mizukage..."

"But no one would believe what I saw..." Ao's face was pale, and lingering fear showed as he spoke. "The Chakra in Lord Mizukage's body was flowing abnormally. Th-that was a trace of Genjutsu!!!"

"What?"

"How could that be?"

"Lord Mizukage is a Jinchūriki. Even if someone could control him with Genjutsu, the Three-Tails..."

"Does a Genjutsu capable of controlling a Tailed Beast and a Kage at the same time exist in this world?"

Everyone began talking at once. Even Mei found it hard to believe. After all, according to the Shinobi World's understanding of Genjutsu, dangerous as it was, Kage Level experts all had maxed-out resistance to it.

Moreover, ordinary Genjutsu could be broken if someone interrupted it or with powerful Chakra. As the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura met both conditions, making it virtually impossible for him to fall under one.

The ninja plotting to overthrow the Mizukage erupted into a heated argument. As a village's greatest fighting force, their own Kage was someone the Kirigakure Ninja simply couldn't believe could be controlled.

"We can't possibly accept this! Does a Genjutsu like that really exist?"

Now even Mei couldn't calm the agitated Kirigakure Ninja.

"No, there is one!"

Tap, tap, tap!

The sudden voice was followed by footsteps, accompanied by the tapping of a cane against the ground, each strike seeming to land on everyone's heart. At once, they all turned toward the sound.

Gradually, a hunched figure emerged from the mist. The man was already well into old age, without a single hair left on his aged head, and even his teeth were sparse.

His trembling body could only take a step with the support of a wooden cane. He was an old man at the end of his years, seemingly liable to pass away at any moment.

Then everyone bowed respectfully at once. Even the usually unruly Zabuza didn't dare show the slightest disrespect.

"Lord Genji!"

"There truly is a Genjutsu in the Shinobi World..." The trembling old man paused to catch his breath before continuing, "that can control a Tailed Beast and the Mizukage at the same time."

"Lord Genji, do you mean...?"

The old man seemed to be recalling something, a trace of fear and nostalgia appearing in his eyes. "The Asura of the Ninja World-Madara Uchiha!"

"Only those eyes!!!"

The moment Genji spoke, the atmosphere froze.

"But Madara died long ago, and the Uchiha have been wiped out. Who else could..." someone asked.

"Didn't those eyes also fall into Konoha's hands? Given the way those old schemers in Konoha are..."

"Konoha!!!"

At once, all the Kirigakure Ninja began grinding their teeth.

Zabuza watched coldly as they prepared to devise a plan to rescue the Mizukage. He felt the night had lost all meaning. After all, this wasn't what he wanted!

Zabuza stayed silent until the end of the secret meeting, then turned and headed toward another group of partners.

Once the woods had fallen completely silent, a white-haired ninja who had been hiding in the river shook the water from his body and looked grimly in the direction the Kirigakure Ninja had gone.

"The Mizukage? The Uchiha? This is trouble! And I can't shake the feeling that Konoha's taking the blame for something big!"

Kakashi hesitated for only a moment before disappearing.

"What does it feel like to see an old acquaintance, Obito?"

The instant Kakashi left, a figure white from head to toe sprang up from beneath the ground, grinning as he spoke to the empty air.

Suddenly, space rippled like water, and a figure abruptly appeared.

The man wore a yellow, spiral-patterned wooden mask with a single hole over his right eye. An unreadable emotion flickered in his gaze.

The man named Obito Uchiha cursed Kakashi inwardly as a shit-stirrer he ran into everywhere, but his voice was exceptionally cold.

"He's just a good-for-nothing!"

Seeing this, White Zetsu stopped provoking his nominal superior and merely muttered, "So they actually found out?"

"That's just as well!" Obito's eye lit up red, and the three Tomoe around his pupil spun rapidly.

"I'm sick of it too. Let this sinful ninja village be buried with Rin!"

Killing intent surged skyward and spread in every direction. Obito Uchiha pulled White Zetsu close, and they abruptly vanished into thin air.

In the grass beneath where Obito Uchiha had stood, a tiny black snake rustled and flicked its tongue with a hiss.

Then the black snake's body swelled violently and burst into a mass of black iron sand, forming a giant serpent's mouth.

Lightning flashed within the serpent's mouth as Dōmeki stepped out through the glowing opening. He rubbed his chin and said,

"The mantis and the oriole have all gathered together. Things are about to get lively in Kirigakure!"