The Keen Third Mizukage

Nothing happened along the way; the journey was remarkably peaceful.

Because they were traveling downstream on the return trip, Seiji and his group made it back to Kirigakure smoothly in two-thirds of the time it had taken them to get there.

After entering the village, Seiji and the others quickly returned to the Anbu Main Base to report in. Once they had handed over the mission, Seiji immediately ordered everyone else to disperse and return to their respective posts. He himself followed Ken alone to the Mizukage Tower.

Inside the Mizukage Office, a middle-aged man with long black hair, ornaments in his hair, and a Mizukage's Divine Robe sat upright behind his desk, rapidly working through document after document. He was none other than Third Mizukage Hyou.

But upon closer inspection, one would be surprised to find that Third Mizukage Hyou was handling official business with his eyes closed. The faint Chakra fluctuations filling the office and the pile of completed documents beside him showed that he was not unable to see, but was instead using some kind of sensory ability.

There were rumors that Third Mizukage Hyou had once been defeated and humiliated by an Uchiha visual-type genjutsu during the Warring States Period. Since then, he had kept his eyes closed, relying solely on sensory perception in place of sight.

There were also rumors that Third Mizukage Hyou was cultivating an immensely powerful forbidden technique, and that only when he opened his eyes would his full strength erupt.

"Mizukage!" Ken walked to the entrance of the Mizukage Office, adjusted his clothes, and respectfully knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Third Mizukage's voice came from within the office. Though he was already over fifty this year, his voice was not aged in the slightest; instead, it was filled with resolve.

"Mizukage!" Seiji followed Ken into the office and likewise bowed respectfully to Third Mizukage behind the desk.

"Hehe, little Seiji. It seems the mission went smoothly!" Though Seiji wore a mask, Third Mizukage still recognized him.

Third Mizukage wore a kindly smile. Although he and Seiji's grandfather, Elder Genji, differed somewhat in their political views, he paid particular attention to the village's outstanding younger generation. Otherwise, he would not have entrusted such a secret mission, one that concerned the village's future direction, to Seiji.

"Yes! ...The battle between Hanzō of the Salamander and the Third Hokage was extremely fierce... The Hokage used a combined ninjutsu of all five natures... In the end, Hanzō won by half a move and departed calmly. The Third Hokage called Hanzō a demigod." Seiji calmly recounted everything he had witnessed to Third Mizukage, but he did not unnecessarily add his own opinion of the battle. He believed that Third Mizukage, with his extensive experience and his firsthand memories of the Warring States Period, had his own judgment.

"A demigod? Hehe!" Third Mizukage Hyou gave a derisive laugh.

"It seems Hanzō was injured as well, and not lightly. Otherwise, given his temperament, he would not have easily let go of such a chance to kill the severely wounded Hiruzen Sarutobi." Worthy of being someone who had fought his way through the flames of war, Third Mizukage Hyou's assessment hit the mark.

"It seems the next Great Shinobi War isn't far off! Hiruzen Sarutobi made a terrible move. Elevating Hanzō to such a lofty position will only make him more arrogant. Eager to lead Amegakure and the Land of Rain toward greater strength, he will inevitably launch a war abroad. Both the Kazekage and the Hokage were defeated by his hand, so his first choices will surely be either Sunagakure of the Land of Wind or Konoha of the Land of Fire. If Hanzō becomes even more arrogant, he may well declare war on both at once." Hyou sighed, then began his analysis.

From the Mizukage's position, removed from the situation itself, and with Hanzō's temperament taken into account, the shrewd and calculating Third Mizukage Hyou could easily guess Hanzō's next move.

Third Mizukage Hyou's judgment was extremely accurate. Before long, a new Great Shinobi War indeed broke out when Hanzō took the initiative to launch surprise attacks on the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.

"Mizukage, the letter was successfully delivered to Blue B of Kumogakure. He led the team that came to observe the battle, and he promised to take the letter back to the village and deliver it to the Third Raikage." Seiji continued reporting on the mission.

"Him? Then there won't be any problem. We can begin making preparations now." Hyou nodded in understanding, then looked toward Ken at the side.

"Ken, the Anbu needs to get moving first. Send several more squads to the Land of Whirlpools to gather intelligence. We must be prepared for war to break out at any time. Kirigakure cannot remain untouched by a war that sweeps across the shinobi world, and for the village's future development, we cannot afford to sit this one out!" Hyou instructed Ken.

"Little Seiji, go as well. Give Elder Genji my regards!" Hyou then said to Seiji.

"Yes, Mizukage!" Seiji and Ken accepted the orders, then turned and left the Mizukage Office together.

Once the two left the Mizukage Tower, they exchanged brief farewells and parted ways. Ken hurried back to the Anbu Main Base to mobilize personnel and arrange for the squads to head out and gather intelligence, completing the mission assigned by Third Mizukage. Seiji, meanwhile, returned home. He wanted to discuss some of his thoughts regarding the Land of Whirlpools with his grandfather, Elder Genji.

In the capital of the Land of Fire, at an Underground Exchange outpost, the person in charge of intelligence around the Land of Fire was giving a briefing.

"We have recently received instructions from the higher-ups. They require us to devote all our efforts to gathering intelligence on the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Rain! Same rules as always: the higher-ups will judge the value of the intelligence everyone provides and reward you according to its worth. That's all! Dismissed!"

Land of Frost, Mountain Graveyard, Madara Uchiha's underground base.

"Lord Madara!" A lively voice rang out. It belonged to the spiral-faced White Zetsu named Tobi. "Huh? No response. Lord Madara isn't dead, is he?!"

"Ehehe! Let me take a look!" Tobi cautiously approached the sleeping Madara Uchiha.

Before he could finish speaking, the spiral-faced White Zetsu Tobi was blasted away by a sudden eruption of Chakra, and Madara Uchiha awakened from his slumber.

"Speak!" A low, aged voice echoed throughout the underground base.

"Lord Madara, Hanzō of the Salamander, leader of Amegakure, fought Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. It ultimately ended in a draw, and after the battle, Hanzō of the Salamander received the title of demigod." White Zetsu's true body appeared and told Madara about the battle between Hanzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"A demigod? Is he worthy of bearing the title of god? Hah. Hashirama, your successors are truly pathetic." Madara Uchiha commented disdainfully.

As Madara Uchiha, the Shinobi World Asura who stood alongside Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, and who had yet to endure being brutally beaten by Night Guy's Eight Gates or by Naruto and Sasuke's outrageous power-ups during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, everyone other than Hashirama Senju was trash in his eyes.

He would not acknowledge any shinobi other than Hashirama, not even Hanzō, who merely called himself a demigod.

"As Hokage, he couldn't even defeat someone from a minor shinobi village, and in the end, he actually had to praise the other man! What a disgrace to the Hokage title!" Madara Uchiha was extremely dissatisfied. Known as the Shinobi World Asura, he had fought countless battles, and from White Zetsu's description, he instantly saw through the truth: Hiruzen Sarutobi had been at a disadvantage rather than having fought to a draw.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had been his best friend and greatest rival, while Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, had killed his younger brother Izuna Uchiha. Yet even Madara had to admit that Tobirama's talent was exceptional.

Then there was this Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose ferocious string of blunders looked, in Madara Uchiha's eyes, so absurd that absurdity itself had opened the door for absurdity—absurd all the way home.