Fifth Mizukage Cultivation Plan

Although Suikazan Fuguki did not stay in Kirigakure, he was not missing-nin like Juzo Biwa. He had an appointment letter issued by the village and was a regular, serving ninja.

Therefore, finding traces of the Suikazan Fuguki was very simple and went smoothly.

Yichen wrote down the current situation in the village as intelligence and secretly sent a copy to the Suikazan Fuguki.

The intelligence report stated, "The Fourth Mizukage is facing widespread betrayal and opposition. The Yuki Clan and Elder Genshi are about to launch a coup to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage."

Suikazan Fuguki?

"There isn't a suitable candidate for the Fifth Mizukage in the village right now. The strongest ninja will most likely take the position."

Suikazan Fuguki's heart stirred.

"Of course, the Mizukage cannot be a lone commander; he must have his own supporters. Yuki Koru is powerful and has the support of many Bloodline Ninja Clan, making her a very likely candidate for the position."

"Although Elder Genshi Shi has many supporters, he lacks a fifth-generation candidate who can subdue the others. If Lord Suigetsukage can cooperate with Genji, then the probability of him successfully taking over is extremely high."

These are a few lines from an anonymous intelligence report that Yichen wrote to the Suikazan Fuguki.

Suikazan Fuguki wasn't some clueless idiot; his two years away from Kirigakure were partly due to his desire to avoid getting involved in the mess.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were demoralized by a Konoha Genin, causing him to fall from the peak where everyone feared and envied him to the abyss where everyone ridiculed him.

Knowing he was unpopular and unlikely to succeed in this chaotic situation, Suikazan Fuguki chose to stay away from Kirigakure.

But Yichen's letter reignited his ambition.

Who could resist the allure of the Shadow's Name?

At first, Suikazan Fuguki was able to calmly consider who had given him this information and what their purpose was.

But later, all he could think about were the mocking expressions on the faces of the villagers and his former subordinates.

"The Mizukage!" Suikazan Fuguki sighed, stood up, and looked towards the direction of Kirigakure.

After agonizing all night, Suikazan Fuguki still chose to return to the village.

At the same time, Yuki Koru also received news of the collaboration between Genji and Suikazan Fuguki.

However, this time the intelligence wasn't given anonymously by Yichen, but rather transmitted by Yichen under the name of a subordinate of Suikazan Fuguki, which can be considered a pledge of allegiance.

The species name of this intelligence is Kisame Hoshigaki.

According to the intelligence, Yichen, posing as Kisame Hoshigaki, made only one request: the Samehada, and added that he would betray them at a crucial moment.

Upon seeing the intelligence, Yuki Koru and the others' first reaction was disbelief. Why would Suikazan Fuguki suddenly cooperate with Genji?

However, upon closer analysis of the exchange of benefits involved, everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

In the current power distribution of Kirigakure, it is almost a consensus that Karatachi Yagura's rule will be overthrown sooner or later, and even the ninjas who have been coerced by Karatachi Yagura think so.

After Karatachi Yagura stepped down, the most likely candidates to take over were the Bloodline Ninja represented by Yuki Koru and the Minor Ninja Clans represented by Genji.

However, Genji's side lacked a top-tier expert who could barely gain the approval of everyone like Yuki Koru. Therefore, in everyone's mind, the final victor would most likely be Yuki Koru.

Genji might be able to secure some benefits for the Minor Ninja Clans through Yuki Koru. But that's about it.

Based on this, the Genji side has always acted as a semi-bystander, as if waiting for a better price. It is Yuki Koru's side that has been actively opposing Karatachi Yagura.

But what if Genji had a powerful figure capable of competing for the position of Mizukage? Would Genji and his group still be content to remain mere spectators?

In fact, the reason why Genji reacted so quickly to Yichen's warning was partly due to this consideration. If Yichen, who was alone, possessed strength no less than that of a top-tier Elite Jonin like Yuki Koru, then the two could cooperate.

However, Genji did not expect that Yichen would refuse outright and even kill the confidant he had sent to make overtures.

Genji had suspected Yichen's identity from the beginning, but then came the news that Yichen was a member of the Hozuki Clan, which temporarily dispelled Genji's suspicions.

This was something that Yuki Koru and the others hadn't considered before. But now that they had, the cooperation between Genji and Suikazan Fuguki could not be achieved.

"In that case," said Yuki Koru, "Let's send someone to intercept and kill Suikazan Fuguki."

Terumi Chizuru said, "Genji will definitely try to stop us."

"Neither of us will leave. We'll stay here to hold off the Genji, and send a small number of elites to intercept him. Isn't that Kisame Hoshigaki planning to betray us? With our people drawing attention ahead, his sneak attack should be much easier," said Yuki Koru.

Hozuki Hotaru said, "Chakra's ability to absorb Samehada is too overpowered. We can't send Ninjutsu Ninja to intercept Suikazan Fuguki; we have to use Taijutsu. It's a pity that the Kaguya Clan has no one left."

Terumi Chizuru said, "Send out some Sword Technique Ninja, send out all the candidates we've trained to compete for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

Yuki Koru nodded and said, "Okay, tell them to kill Suikazan Fuguki first. As for Kisame Hoshigaki, we'll see how it goes. If he's willing to surrender, we can spare his life."

A few days later, Yichen received intelligence from Feng: the Suikazan Fuguki was ambushed and killed dozens of kilometers away from the village. The identity of the murderer is still under investigation.

Yichen wasn't surprised by the death of the Suikazan Fuguki. He asked Feng, "Investigation? Who's investigating?"

Feng paused for a moment, thought for a second, and then said awkwardly, "It seems that no one is conducting an open investigation. All sides have sent ninjas to investigate, but it's all being done in secret. Even the Mizukage seems to have sent ninjas."

"Take your squad and come along. We'll investigate too. We'll investigate openly. Since we've taken on the task of maintaining order in the village, this is our responsibility."

"We must investigate without involving the other ninjas in the village."

"Yes," Feng quickly replied.

Then a rumor began to circulate in Kirigakure that Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, had been ambushed on his way back to the village.

To buy time for his companions to escape, Lord Suigetsukage stayed behind to cover their retreat, while his Suikazan Fuguki had entrusted to protect Samehada, were still being pursued by the enemy.

Lord Qing, the Third Mizukage's direct Anbu, rallied everyone to support Suikazan Fuguki's subordinates and protect Samehada.

As a result, a large number of ninjas left Kirigakure and went to the place where Suikazan Fuguki died to search for clues.

That evening, Yichen also left Kirigakure, but instead of going to the scene of the incident like the others, he went alone to a cave far away from the incident site.

"Lord Qing, Kisame Hoshigaki is on that mountain not far ahead. He's injured." The speaker was a former Anbu from Iwagakure.

"Have you met him? What did you think?" Yichen asked.

The Anbu replied, "Yes, but we didn't have much contact with him; we just followed him from a distance, waiting for Lord Qing to arrive."

"However, this Kisame Hoshigaki is very powerful. He has already discovered us. He tried to escape and also tried to fight back. If it weren't for his severe injuries, if it weren't for our superior numbers, our well-equipped forces, and our knowledge of Samehada, we wouldn't have been able to stop him or track him down."

Yichen nodded. A genius with Chakra reserves no less than that of Tailed Beast, Kage Level aptitude, and the aid of the "Gel-Skin" skill, was indeed beyond the reach of these Anbu.

Yichen said, "Alright, you guys go back now. Be careful. I've mobilized a lot of ninjas from Kirigakure, and they're all looking for clues about Kisame Hoshigaki. Don't let them find out."

"Yes." The Anbu immediately left.

Yichen then used the Light-Weight Rock Technique to fly towards the mountain where Kisame Hoshigaki was hiding.

In Yichen's Mind's Eye, the injured Kisame Hoshigaki was like a guiding light.

Sensing someone approaching, Kisame Hoshigaki gripped Samehada in a defensive stance.

Yichen landed in front of Kisame Hoshigaki, but instead of looking at him, he turned his gaze to a tree in another direction.

Upon seeing this, Kisame Hoshigaki froze. He then decisively threw Samehada in his hand towards the tree, turning himself into a puddle of water.

Meanwhile, the tree that Yichen was looking at transformed into the shape of Kisame Hoshigaki in a puff of smoke.

"Ahem!" Kisame Hoshigaki coughed twice, looked at Yichen, and asked, "Who are you?"

Yichen removed his mask, revealing his true face, and said, "Do you recognize me?"

Kisame Hoshigaki didn't recognize Yichen, but Yichen's identity was easy to guess; a single Light-Weight Rock Technique was enough to roughly determine his identity. Looking at Yichen's age, Kisame Hoshigaki understood.

"Fourth Tsuchikage, Yichen! So it was you who arranged our ambush by the village ninjas. The Fox of Stone truly lives up to its name." Kisame Hoshigaki said this with a somewhat dejected tone.

Faced with the ninjas Suikazan Fuguki, he was surprised but not flustered. Indeed, after ambushing and killing his superior, Suikazan Fuguki, he retaliated by killing the assassins. Despite being severely injured, Kisame Hoshigaki paid no attention to those people.

Although the several Anbu Squad he encountered later were troublesome, and he was probably no match for them in his heavy injuries, he still didn't take them seriously. He was confident that even if he died in battle, he could drag at least half of them down with him.

However, facing the person before him, Kisame Hoshigaki felt utterly powerless. This was a truly top-tier ninja in the Ninja World, not only in terms of strength and status, but also in terms of his style of doing things Kisame Hoshigaki feeling powerless.

The entire Ninja World knows that the Fox of Stone is not a ninja who cares about the so-called Tsuchikage status.

Yichen remained silent, waiting for Kisame Hoshigaki's choice: to fight to the death or to give up.

Kisame Hoshigaki gripped Samehada's hand, tightening and loosening his grip repeatedly. Finally, he sighed deeply and said, "Lord Tsuchikage, is this a plan for the future?"

Yichen laughed and said, "Kisame Hoshigaki, you're not bad, not bad at all! Compared to the genius ninjas of Konoha, you only lack a bit of fame."

Yichen tossed Kisame Hoshigaki a Ninja Tool Bag and said, "Take care of your wounds first, eat something, and we'll talk later."

Kisame Hoshigaki took the Ninja Tool Bag that Yichen threw to him, somewhat puzzled, but still opened it.