Almost every analytical article on Kirigakure's history had, without exception, overlooked two extremely important figures.
Hozuki Mangetsu and Suigetsu, the two brothers.
The Fifth Mizukage assassination plan did not involve only Kirigakure's Demon, Zabuza Momochi. He had a group of formidable helpers behind him as his staunch supporters, all Kirigakure elites who shared the same wish. There was one person for whom I had no conclusive evidence, but this speculation was not baseless. He was Kirigakure's genius ninja, Hozuki Mangetsu.
We know that Hozuki Suigetsu, Mangetsu's younger brother, had truly been without a master ever since Sasuke rescued him at the beginning of Shippuden. I do not know what he experienced before Orochimaru imprisoned him, but he had likely never held an official post among Kirigakure's ninja. He had never even worn the forehead protector symbolizing a qualified Kirigakure ninja, nor was there any direct evidence that he had been a rogue ninja of Kirigakure.
The Hozuki Clan was a prominent family in Kirigakure, reaching its height under the Second Mizukage. However, it was highly likely to have gradually declined during the Third Mizukage's era, because the Third Mizukage's policies stood in complete opposition to the Second Mizukage's humorous, kind, yet powerful character. It was even possible that the Third Mizukage had forcibly taken the position when the Second Mizukage died in the line of duty. The Third Mizukage initially promoted the cruel policies of the Village of the Bloody Mist. There must have been opposition, both among the upper ranks and the common people. And for the Third Mizukage to implement and maintain such an inhumane tyrannical policy for decades, it must have been inseparable from his brutal methods of rule. As for what happened to those who opposed him, such as the Hozuki Clan, we all knew.
Let