Kirigakure's Reaction

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Meito finally returned to Kirigakure from the Sea Country.

When they saw that only Meito was there, travel-worn and filled with grief and indignation, stepping into the Mizukage's Office, Elder Genji and the others who helped Genji handle village affairs, Mei Terumi, Aoi, Gonbei, immediately realized that something was wrong.

"Meito, why are you the only one who came back?!"

Where Zabuza?! Where are the others?!

The young Mei Terumi was the most eager and was the first to ask a question.

Upon hearing this, Meito thought of the fates of Lord Zabuza and his other comrades from Kirigakure, and became even more sorrowful.

"Meito! What's the situation with the Sea Country...?"

Seeing that Meito was lost in grief, the wise and experienced Genji immediately called out to bring him back to his senses.

Elder Genshi! We... we!

Three hundred elite soldiers, along with Zabuza Jonin—Zabuza-sama, Chōjūrō, and Ringo Ameyuri —were all Jonin.

The Kubikiribōchō and the Hiramekarei have also fallen into the hands of the Merchant Ninja Village.

Regaining his Meito from the grief, Mingtou took a deep breath. Though he tried to calm himself, he still couldn't accept it and choked out.

"What?!

How is this possible! Zabuza may be cold-blooded and bloodthirsty, but his strength is undeniable.

Add to that Chōjūrō and the village's three hundred elites, and all that's left is a small Merchant Ninja Village and some cowards it took in who betrayed the village?!

How could they possibly be stronger than us elites who have honed our skills through countless battles in a fair fight!?

Did the Merchant Ninja Village set an ambush? Or did they pull some kind of trick? They definitely didn't fight us fairly!

Mei Terumi, Midori, Gonbei, and the others suddenly widened their eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

Yesterday, they also received a message from Zabuza saying that they were preparing to fight against the Merchant Ninja Village. Among the 300 people in the Merchant Ninja Village, about 100 were ninjas who had escaped from the village during the "Bloody Mist Village" period.

When they learned of this news, the group discussed with Elder Genshi that now that Kirigakure had abolished the "Bloody Mist Village," they could send a message to Zabuza show some mercy to those people and persuade them to return to the village after defeating the Merchant Ninja Village.

Unexpectedly, after a day, not only did they fail to persuade the defectors who had joined Merchant Ninja Village to return, but the village itself collapsed, and all the ninjas they sent out were wiped out.

"A conspiracy? No, not at all."

Meito dismissed Mei Terumi and the others' guesses almost without hesitation.

"Before the war started, the Merchant Ninja Village asked us to leave one person behind as a messenger."

Although Lord Zabuza think we would lose, he still made me stay behind as the messenger.

After the battle officially began, I and a ninja from Merchant Ninja Village watched from a distance. Although we were far away, we couldn't see the specific details of the battle.

But I can confirm that the other side did not lay an ambush or use any tricks; they directly defeated us head-on.

The Shang ninja seem to excel at close combat and low-powered, fast Ninjutsu; I haven't seen them use any high-powered Ninjutsu.

In addition, apart from a few people who excelled in Fire Release, most of them used a Eight Gates variety of other escape techniques.

I estimate that many members of the Merchant Ninja Village's forces were previously rogue or missing-nin.

Acquiring and analyzing intelligence is a fundamental skill that every ninja must master. The day and night that Meito spent rushing back to Kirigakure from the Sea Country was enough for him to sort out all the situations. The intelligence he is reporting to the Mizukage now is the final intelligence he has obtained.

"Hehe, good, that's wonderful, Lord Daimyo is truly capable."

A small ninja village that had only been established for a few years;

A group of rogue ninja and missing-nin;

A group of cowards and traitors who escaped from the village;

These three piles of nonsensical garbage have somehow been transformed by our Lord Daimyo into a group of elites who are on par with our mighty Kirigakure.

Haha! I can't even imagine how much that famous brand cost.

But every time he allocates funds to our Kirigakure, he's so stingy, always on guard, and makes things difficult for us.

What does he take Kirigakure for?!

Standing to the side, Genji laughed in fury after hearing the intelligence analysis provided by the Meito.

He knew that Kirigakure had always treated the daimyo with utmost respect and had never dared to be negligent.

In the last twenty years or so, the village has been plunged into endless internal strife due to the implementation of the "Bloody Mist Village" policy by both Mizukage, which has led to a slight estrangement from the Daimyo.

But surely the daimyo wouldn't abandon Kirigakure just because of this.

However, that wasn't the end of it. Immediately following, Bi, a trusted confidant of Genji and the current commander of the Anbu Captain, revealed another troublesome matter with a grave expression:

"Genji, in fact, it's not just the Sea Country that suffered heavy losses."

Recently, many of our informants and mission teams throughout the Land of Water have been arrested or even executed for clashing with the armies of the daimyo.

I suspect that the Daimyo has already decided to abandon Kirigakure and is preparing to support Merchant Ninja Village to replace us."

He had served under Elder Genji and was also Qing's partner on the battlefield. As Qing became the Mizukage's bodyguard, Bi, with his strong connections and abilities, naturally rose to a higher position.

Now, as a confidante of Genji, Bi serves as the head of the Anbu, assisting Elder Genji with various village affairs alongside Mei Terumi and Gonbei.

"How... how could this happen!?"

Meito was even more incredulous.

Upon Mei Terumi slammed her hand on the table beside her, furious, and said:

"Hmph! The Daimyo is determined to wipe them all out!"

If we don't find a way to retaliate, it might not be long before Kirigakure is wiped out of the Ninja World!

Elder Genshi, let's gather our army and crush that Merchant Ninja Village!

I believe that without the Merchant Ninja Village, the Daimyo will have no choice but to return and rely on our Kirigakure."

"Yes! We'll wipe out the Merchant Ninja Village first."

After they won on Demon Island, they even asked me to bring a message back.

They said that the Merchant Ninja Village welcomes our Kirigakure to challenge them again at any time.

Hmph! They're utterly arrogant and blatantly humiliating and angering our Kirigakure!

We must lead our men to wipe them out. Once we destroy the Merchant Ninja Village, even if the Daimyo wants to abandon us, he won't be able to.

Otherwise, in the next Ninja World War, he would only be able to wait for those brutes from Kumogakure to breach the city gates and hand over the Land of Land of Water's territory to the Land of Lightning.

Another Gonbei confidant of Genji, also agreed with Mei Terumi's words.

He was the head of the Pursuit Unit, another elite unit in Kirigakure. His usual job was killing people, so he naturally preferred to solve problems with force.

For Zabuza, Chōjūrō, and other comrades who sacrificed themselves on Demon Island, he only wished to immediately pay with his own life to avenge them.

However, Elder Genji did not agree with the three. He rubbed his temples and said earnestly:

"Gathering a large army is no problem, and sending troops is definitely necessary, but we cannot act rashly out of anger."

The village's internal strife has just ended. If we send out all our forces, what if the person controlling the Fourth Mizukage returns and does something in secret?!

Therefore, our most important task right now is to gather intelligence and find out who is controlling the Fourth Mizukage and whether they have left.

We need to find out exactly how many people are in Merchant Ninja Village and what their specific strength is.

Perhaps we can start with the former village comrades who have already joined the Merchant Ninja Village.

Furthermore, I will personally go to the capital these next two days to seek an audience with the daimyo, to see if I can have a proper talk with him and try to gain his support, or at least make him remain neutral.

Otherwise, even if we destroy the Merchant Ninja Village, the Daimyo will just support some Mountain Ninja Village or Sea Ninja Village to cause us trouble in the future.

Therefore, the daimyo's attitude is the most important factor in this matter.

Until the daimyo makes a new statement, the three of you should restrain your impulse to send troops and properly handle the village affairs.

What the village needs most right now is not revenge, war, or fame, but a chance to catch its breath...

Due to the information asymmetry, the people of Kirigakure naturally assumed that Feng's series of actions against Kirigakure were all arranged by the Daimyo of the Land of Water.

But they never considered that if the Mizukage of Kirigakure could be controlled, why couldn't the Daimyo be controlled as well?

Perhaps he had considered it, but since the Mizukage was controlled by Genjutsu, it was discovered by ' Byakugan ' Ao, and now Ao is serving as a bodyguard for the Daimyo, yet he hasn't given any feedback.

So, while there might have been some initial suspicion, seeing that Qing was alright and hadn't said anything, they naturally dismissed it.

And this is precisely why, upon seeing Qing, Feng insisted on using the Kotoamatsukami technique to control and retain him.

"Elder..." After hearing Elder Genji's explanation, Mei Terumi realized that she had acted impulsively and shyly gave him a little coquettishness.

"Hehe, don't worry, Mei Terumi, I'll find a way to persuade the daimyo!" Genji looked at her with affection, a rare smile appearing on his face.

He had personally watched over and protected this child as he grew up. Now that he himself was getting old, the child had finally grown up. His strength, talent, and personality were all outstanding, and it wouldn't be long before he could take over from him and continue to protect Kirigakure.