Are There No Bloodline Clans in This World?

"Assassinate the Mizukage?"

Kakashi and Obito exchanged glances, both somewhat tempted.

Between the two of them, it seemed the Masked Man obeyed Zabuza without question.

And Zabuza's ideals happened to align with theirs in some ways.

Then...

There were still some things they needed to confirm.

"The Mizukage you mentioned... is the highest ruler of Hidden Mist Village, right?"

Kakashi asked.

"Our Mizukage is selected and confirmed by the higher-ups and the Daimyos. In the Five Great Nations, the Kage are basically the highest rulers of their villages."

Kakashi nodded.

"Is the Kage the strongest person in the village?"

That was important. If so, and someone with Zabuza's strength could still escape after attempting an assassination, then this world was truly pathetically weak!

Though it already seemed far inferior to the Empire, they only had three people at present!

"No... the Kage is merely the highest ruler. They aren't necessarily the strongest..."

Both of them understood. Much like provincial governors, they might not possess the greatest strength, but their political skills were certainly formidable.

But...

Why would the Mizukage do something so self-destructive to his own village?

Obito calmly analyzed the situation from the side. "Since he's the supreme ruler and leader of a village, there's no benefit to him if the village grows weak. Do you think... he might be under someone's control? Or... has he been replaced?"

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"Or perhaps he was a tyrant from the very beginning?"

Zabuza shook his head.

"No... before the Mizukage took office, he was quite responsible. He still... No one should have been able to control or replace him. I don't know why... he became like this. And the higher-ups did nothing to stop him, letting him slaughter innocents..."

Zabuza gritted his teeth. In the end, he still did not reveal that the Mizukage was the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki.

"He betrayed the Will of Water. He betrayed all our hopes..."

Obito, too, felt righteous indignation upon hearing this. He was also a Kekkei Genkai wielder. If he had been born in the Land of Water...

Putting himself in that position, he was instantly filled with hostility toward this so-called Mizukage.

"Could it be that your Mizukage has something wrong with his brain? And the higher-ups all have brain damage too? Otherwise, how could they be stupid enough to cripple a village's future talent and fighting force?"

Obito could not help but complain.

"No matter where you are, Kekkei Genkai and Tailed Beasts are the foundation upon which a village or nation stands. Yet he went to such lengths to slaughter Kekkei Genkai wielders and established such harsh promotion rules—all in a Shinobi World torn apart by war and without unification!"

"Does your Mizukage think his village is too strong and wants to make things harder for himself? He drives away outstanding shinobi like you, then calls on everyone to oppose Kekkei Genkai. Isn't that just courting death and digging his own grave?"

As Obito cursed, Kakashi's expression changed.

Oh no! Why did this no longer sound like he was criticizing Hidden Mist Village? It sounded a little like he was criticizing Konoha Village!

Zabuza showed no reaction; he had long since gone numb. Kakashi, however, felt as sick as if he had swallowed a lump of shit covered in flies.

The village was too strong, so it wanted to make things harder for itself?

Driving away outstanding shinobi?

Going to great lengths to slaughter Kekkei Genkai wielders?

This kind of maneuver... felt awfully familiar!

The first face that flashed through Kakashi's mind was his father's.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.

His father had been an outstanding shinobi driven to death by the people of the village!

And the Uchiha Clan, whom everyone in Konoha Village condemned...

The village's outstanding shinobi had now dwindled to less than one in ten, while Konoha's strongest Kekkei Genkai clan had been exterminated.

And as for the remaining Kekkei Genkai, such as the Byakugan, the village... no, the Third Hokage, had even sent the Byakugan away at all costs for the sake of peace...

The once strongest Konoha in the Shinobi World now seemed to be... setting like the sun!

The kindly face of the Third Hokage, always wearing the expression of a harmless old man, surfaced in his mind.

There was no way the Third Hokage did not know about all this! He had tacitly approved it all!

Kakashi fell completely into deep thought. Obito's words had jolted him awake from his numbness.

When had Konoha begun to decline? It seemed to have started when the Third Hokage took office...

Fortunately, what Zabuza had confirmed also made Kakashi breathe a sigh of relief.

Konoha was not the only wealthy village that loved slaughtering its own talented clansmen with Kekkei Genkai. Hidden Mist Village did the same!

That was fine. If everyone cut off one of their own arms, then comparatively speaking, the balance could still be maintained...

In Obito and Kakashi's hearts, this shinobi world was already nothing but ruins. Yet neither of them had expected those ruins could continue collapsing.

By comparison, they thought of the Emperor.

Within the Empire, the Emperor had, from the very beginning, vigorously supported shinobi clans with Kekkei Genkai. He had also established all sorts of policies encouraging Kekkei Genkai clans to have more children, and even to create new Kekkei Genkai through unions with other Kekkei Genkai clans.

When he unified the shinobi world, the Kekkei Genkai clans had contributed greatly.

Back then, many people—and even now, plenty still cursed the Emperor. They said he had created special privileges merely to curry favor with and protect those Kekkei Genkai clans, all to preserve his own rule.

But after what had happened to Zabuza and Haku today, the contrast made the two of them realize it: they had been wrong. They had all been wrong!

Did those Kage protect the Kekkei Genkai clans like the Emperor did?

They would never be as confident in themselves as the Emperor was. They would only fear, only suspect, and then, amid that fear and suspicion, turn their blades on their own people!

Obito fell silent for a moment before looking at Kakashi.

"After I go back, I've decided to hold a meeting with the clan. Then I'll bring a few of them here to pioneer the land."

"Damn it, didn't the Emperor just research a few Sharingan? They've been gossiping about it nonstop. I'm bringing them here so they can see that the Sharingan they cherish and the Kekkei Genkai they're so proud of are worth nothing in other shinobi worlds—hell, they might even be a death sentence. They get to live well and enjoy all the benefits the Emperor gives them, yet they're still not satisfied. I want them to see it properly!"

Obito's face had flushed red. For the first time, he felt the Emperor's personal charisma with such overwhelming intensity.

Kakashi patted Obito on the shoulder, his eyes full of approval.

Not bad! Obito, you brat, you've finally grown up!

Still, Kakashi did not fully trust their words. He turned his gaze toward Kakashi.

"Kakashi, is what they said true?"

Kakashi was still recalling the horrific scene of the Uchiha clan massacre. Only after Kakashi called out to him did he snap back to his senses.

Kakashi thought of how the legends of the Bloody Mist had long ceased to be secrets in the Hidden Leaf Village. Their closed-door policy had also lasted for a very long time; practically everyone knew about it.

He nodded.

"He wasn't lying. The Bloody Mist was no longer a secret during the Third Shinobi World War..."

"As for the Land of Water's closed-door policy, it had begun even before the Third Shinobi World War..."

There was not the slightest ripple in Kakashi's voice, as though the Third Shinobi World War had nothing to do with him.

Kakashi nodded. In that case, Zabuza and Haku had been telling the truth.

That left only one question...

"His mother also possessed a Kekkei Genkai. Why did she die?"