Mizukage? Who the Hell Does He Think He Is?

"Yue—"

His first experience traveling through space was anything but pleasant. The intense sensation of acceleration abruptly gave way to stillness, bringing on a bout of severe dizziness and nausea.

Even though the system had directly granted Namikaze Yoru mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique, giving him a solid foundation in spatial perception, the ability's effects varied from person to person. Clearly, he still needed time to adapt.

More importantly, Namikaze Yoru realized there was a crucial problem: he didn't possess Minato's innate nervous system strength or his extraordinary reflexes.

In a high-intensity battle where he used the Flying Thunder God repeatedly, he might not be able to react in time.

Even so, the Flying Thunder God Technique had become one of Namikaze Yoru's powerful trump cards. After all, even Uchiha Izuna, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, had once been caught off guard by it.

He tried it several more times. With his powerful Uzumaki Constitution to support him, the nauseating feeling of weightlessness quickly faded, and he was adapting to the spatial jumps at a rapid pace.

He carefully hid a kunai bearing a Flying Thunder God Mark up in the rafters.

Namikaze Yoru couldn't help joking to himself, "Does this count as setting up a fast-travel point for myself?"

The next day.

It was still barely dawn when Namikaze Yoru woke up, as usual, his body clock now set.

He put on his training uniform and headed toward the Konoha Training Ground. On the way, he wondered why Might Duy hadn't come by his house that morning.

As soon as he entered the Training Ground, he heard that familiar "Youthful Roar."

"Youth! Unleash your limits! Fifth Gate—Gate of Limit, open!"

Might Duy's aura suddenly changed, and thick green chakra surged around his body.

He charged forward at astonishing speed. With such a powerful boost, the target in his path shattered from the force of his punch before his fist even touched it.

Might Duy then deactivated the familiar Eight Inner Gates Formation. He braced his hands on his knees and gasped for breath, clearly exhausted.

Though he'd been prepared for it, Namikaze Yoru was still deeply shaken by the sight.

Unlike the dazzling spectacle of ninjutsu, this was pure Taijutsu, unleashing such incredible power. No wonder it was the strongest Taijutsu in the Shinobi World—the greatest cheat available to someone from an ordinary background.

If his body hadn't been completely unable to keep up with Might Duy's training before, Namikaze Yoru would've wanted to come and get himself a "cheat" sooner.

"Duy, what was that?"

Seeing Namikaze Yoru arrive, Might Duy raised a hand with some effort, gave him a thumbs-up, and grinned. "That was a test of the results of my training. The Eight Inner Gates Formation. What do you think?"

"That was incredible. You can do all that with Taijutsu alone?"

"Train with me! I'll teach you!" Might Duy's voice suddenly turned serious. "If I don't make it back from a mission someday... at least this technique will have someone to pass it on to."

During their conversation, Namikaze Yoru learned that Might Duy had been assigned to a mission.

He wasn't married, and the first person he thought of was Namikaze Yoru, who respected him. So he'd demonstrated the Eight Inner Gates here, hoping to pass the technique on to him.

Though Namikaze Yoru's original reason for approaching Might Duy hadn't been entirely pure, after spending all this time together, he'd come to respect him from the bottom of his heart.

Even when others mocked him, Might Duy had stayed true to his ninja way. He was a true ninja.

After some persuasion, Namikaze Yoru accepted the Eight Gates training scroll. Might Duy had exhausted himself by opening the Eight Gates earlier, so he skipped their usual training that day and focused on teaching Namikaze Yoru the basics instead.

The Land of Water, Kirigakure.

"What? Those lunatics from the Kaguya Clan went to Konoha to assassinate Senju Nawaki?" The Third Mizukage glanced at the report in disbelief. Even his eyes, usually half-closed, widened slightly.

But then he thought about it. It was entirely possible that the warmongering lunatics of the Kaguya Clan had done it. What's more, the letter from Konoha included irrefutable evidence of the Kaguya bloodline limit.

The Third Mizukage set the letter, written in scathing terms, down on the desk and felt a headache coming on. They'd only just emerged from the war that had destroyed the Land of Whirlpools. Even if they'd gained a lot, the loss of their ninja was undeniable.

The Whirlpool Ninja had fought to the death, using Seal Techniques that took countless Mist Village elites down with them.

And Kirigakure's policies resembled those of Sand Village. Both relied on elite forces, making the loss of even one ninja a heavy price to pay.

The difference was that Sand Village had adopted its elite strategy because it lacked funding, while Kirigakure did so because its bloodline clans were constantly at odds.

The Third Mizukage beckoned an attendant and ordered the letter delivered to the Kaguya Clan Compound, demanding that they explain themselves.

The Kaguya Clan Compound.

Kaguya Naoto, the clan head, stared at the letter in disbelief.

Someone from the clan had crossed the sea and gone all the way into the Land of Fire to assassinate the Senju Clan's young heir?

Though it seemed absurd, Kaguya Kimihito still called the clan members together for a meeting.

When he brought up the matter at the meeting, the Kaguya Clan members who'd come in droves fell strangely quiet for a moment. They looked around at one another in confusion.

Then a chorus of cheers broke out. Some even lamented that such a grand operation had failed.

Kaguya Naoto repeatedly called for silence, stressing that Konoha had already brought pressure to bear through the Mizukage and that the matter had to be thoroughly investigated.

His words set the clan members off again.

"The Mizukage? Who the hell does he think he is?"

"I've put up with him long enough! Does he really think our Kaguya Clan is afraid of him?"

"Is he Konoha's dog? Why's he taking Konoha's side and demanding answers from us?"

Seeing his clan members so worked up, Kaguya Naoto feared they'd get even more carried away. At this rate, they might soon grab their Bone Spikes and storm the Mizukage Building to start a fight.

"Quiet!"

Kaguya Naoto unleashed a powerful aura. The Kaguya Clan revered strength, and their worship of the strong was buried deep in their bones. Everyone immediately turned toward their clan head.

"I want to know: who's been away from the compound recently?"

Normally, the Kaguya Clan members rarely went anywhere except to fight, so this kind of questioning should have been effective—if the clan members had cooperated.

"It was me! I've been away these past few days. I went to the Land of Fire."

"Don't make things up, kid. I saw you training at the compound yesterday. It was actually me who went."

"Actually, it was..."

The Kaguya Clan members all talked over one another, each trying to take the blame and protect the nonexistent "hero."

There was even an old Kaguya Clan member who could barely walk without a cane, yet insisted on stepping forward.

Kaguya Naoto was one of the few in the clan who still had a level head. Looking at the scene before him, he knew they were in serious trouble.

Sure enough, in the middle of the heated argument, one of the more hotheaded clan members began to turn things around. "The Mizukage wants an explanation. Why make things difficult for our own clan?"

After saying this, he grew a Bone Spike from his palm and plunged it into his chest. The Kaguya Clan members around him had no time to react. He died on the spot.

The Kaguya Clan Compound fell silent in an instant. The Kaguya Clan already had plenty of grievances against the Mizukage, and now they all glared hatefully in the direction of the Mizukage Building.