Akatsuki

"You... you know who used genjutsu to control me?!"

A glimmer of hope surfaced in the depths of Karatachi Yagura's eyes, but in an instant, he thought of something else.

The next moment, that light extinguished, replaced by a dead silence!

"But even if I... even if I know who the other party is, he can still use genjutsu to control me with ease."

This was the source of Karatachi Yagura's deepest despair.

Facing that man, he possessed absolutely no ability to resist.

The other party's genjutsu could make him sink into oblivion in an instant!

"You yourself may indeed lack such ability, but I will help you!"

Hyuga Kagami placed his palm on Karatachi Yagura's shoulder. "Possessing the Byakugan, I can help you see through all genjutsu, and the other party will have only one path—death!"

He waved his right hand!

In an instant, wisps of water appeared in the air, condensing into the figure of a man wearing a black robe with red clouds and a spiral mask!

"It's him! It's him!"

Karatachi Yagura grew agitated, his eyes turning blood-red!

It was as if he were looking at his mortal enemy!

It was precisely because of this Masked Man that his life had fallen into such a state!

If not for him, he would still be the beloved Mizukage of the Mist Village today!

"I want to kill him!"

Hyuga Kagami's words had given him hope, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Only by killing him can the humiliation the Mist Village has suffered all these years be washed away!"

"But why would you help me?"

Karatachi Yagura looked at Hyuga Kagami, his expression tinged with a hint of wariness. "You have no reason to help me!"

Of course, it's because I need the support of your Mist Village!

After triggering the Fourth Shinobi World War, his enemies would be as numerous as the hairs on an ox; with the support of the Mist Village, his position would be as solid as a rock!

"Three years ago, this same Masked Man ambushed Konoha and unleashed the Nine-Tails!"

Hyuga Kagami's voice was calm, but there was a restrained power in his eyes!

It was anger and resentment!

"And because of him, my parents died miserably at the hands of the Nine-Tails. This is a blood feud!"

This part was not a lie.

The original body's parents had indeed died at the hands of the Nine-Tails.

Karatachi Yagura trembled all over, and the look he gave Hyuga Kagami was filled with newfound approval!

This was... shared suffering!

Hyuga Kagami spoke slowly, his expression carrying a hint of resolve and determination. "If Konoha finds out I am cooperating with you, the Mizukage, I will inevitably face punishment! I will be branded a spy for the Mist Village!"

"But as long as I can kill the Masked Man, I can bear all the consequences!"

Karatachi Yagura was moved!

For the sake of a blood feud over his parents, he was willing to be branded a spy just to kill the Masked Man?

Was this not exactly the same as himself?

Even if it meant death!

He had to clear his name and take down the Masked Man!

The two of them were brothers in misfortune, united by revenge!

"Hyuga Kagami! From this day forward, you are my brother, Karatachi Yagura's brother!"

Karatachi Yagura's purple eyes were firm. "If one day there is no place for you in Konoha, the Mist Village will be your solid backing! As long as I am alive, anyone who wants to touch you must first step over my corpse! Brother! My good brother!"

Hyuga Kagami was stunned.

???

He was a transmigrator; he had no real feelings for the original body's parents, so he was naturally just acting.

He hadn't expected Karatachi Yagura... to view them as brothers in misfortune who understood each other's pain?

He nodded with a face full of sincerity.

The bond between men needed no words!

"Yagura, I have been tracking the 'Masked Man' for many years, and the intelligence I have gathered indicates that he is the leader of the Akatsuki!"

"This is an organization composed of Kage-level powerhouses!"

Hyuga Kagami spoke slowly. "And the goal of the Akatsuki is to collect the Tailed Beasts, eventually trigger the Fourth Shinobi World War, and finally unify the world!"

He did not tell the whole truth.

There was no need to explain things in such detail to Karatachi Yagura.

"Unify the world?!"

"And they're all Kage-level powerhouses!"

Karatachi Yagura was shaken, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. "What immense ambition. If they collect all nine Tailed Beasts, they would indeed possess the strength to unify the world!"

The power of the Tailed Beasts was cataclysmic!

It was simply not something ordinary ninja could resist.

"Hmph!"

Hyuga Kagami let out a cold snort. "They want to incite the Fourth Shinobi World War from the shadows to collect the Tailed Beasts, but why can't we assemble the strength of Konoha, the Mist Village, and even the other hidden villages to turn our blades against the Akatsuki first?!"

"For a single organization to try and oppose the entire shinobi world is nothing but a pipe dream!"

This was his plan.

To assemble the power of the entire shinobi world!

The amount of chakra required to step into the Six Paths level was terrifyingly vast!

Only by gathering the strength of every ninja in the world could one step into the realm of 'gods'!

And the first step right before him... was to bring Karatachi Yagura under his control.

"Yes... Kagami, you're right!"

Karatachi Yagura trembled all over; this idea was incredibly ambitious!

Assemble the power of the entire shinobi world to annihilate the Akatsuki?

Why did it feel like they were the villains?

But the anticipation of such revenge made Karatachi Yagura's eyes shine with fervor!

"Let's do it!"

Karatachi Yagura said excitedly, "Kagami, our goal... is to incite the Fourth Shinobi World War and gather the entire shinobi world to wipe out the Akatsuki!"

Absolute revenge!

It brought the greatest joy to a person!

"Then I wish us success in our plan. Yagura, it's getting late; you should get some sleep."

Hyuga Kagami's lips curled upward as he used a genjutsu to hypnotize him.

Karatachi Yagura did not resist.

He fell into a deep sleep, a faint, expectant smile lingering on his lips.

In the Mist Village, inside a magnificent, antique-style building.

Over a dozen middle-aged men were gathered in a reception hall!

The atmosphere was heavy!

Oppressive!

And sitting at the very head was Elder Gen!

"Elder Gen, we absolutely cannot hand over the Ninja Swords!"

One clan leader spoke up, his eyes filled with fury!

"The Ninja Swords are the pride of the Mist Village, renowned throughout the shinobi world. If the Mist Village loses them, it... it is a humiliation!"

Hearing this, the others chimed in one after another!

Bang!

Elder Gen tapped the table lightly, his clouded eyes slowly sweeping over the crowd. "But tell me... who among you can defeat Hyuga Kagami?"

"With the Mizukage currently in a state of decadence, and even Hoshigaki Kisame, a powerhouse at the quasi-Kage level, no match for him, who among you... intends to speak to him?"

His voice was calm.

Yet it instantly silenced the room!

Not a sound could be heard!

Indeed, they possessed no strength to oppose Hyuga Kagami, whose god-like demeanor had trampled the entire Mist Village!

Elder Gen said indifferently, "Giving him Samehada is nothing; when the Mist Village is strong again, that will naturally be the time for Samehada to return!"

It wasn't as if the Ninja Swords hadn't been lost before.

Hadn't they all returned in the end?

His voice paused, his clouded eyes turning cold as he continued, "But as for an alliance with Konoha, there is no possibility of that! My Mist Village... is not a toy to be toyed with!"

The expressions of the crowd turned cold!

Their eyes grew menacing!

This was the true Mist Village, the very Land of Blood Mist that repaid every grudge in kind!

By noon the following day.

As expected, Elder Gen hosted a banquet.

He invited Hyuga Kagami and his two companions, yet Elder Gen's expression remained distant and icy, showing not the slightest intention of forming an alliance.