The Banquet Begins, Summoning the Hidden Mist's Remaining Leaders

The ruined Mizukage Building was unnaturally quiet.

It was not until half an hour later that a jumble of footsteps sounded outside. The meeting destined to change the history of the Land of Water had officially begun.

Seven or eight middle-aged and elderly shinobi dressed in various clan uniforms filed into the temporarily cleared meeting room. They represented the few great noble clans still remaining in the Land of Water.

Walking at the front was the Hozuki Clan's Great Elder, as well as Hozuki Mangetsu's father.

His face was thick with flesh, his eye sockets sunken deep. His gloomy gaze slowly swept across the room.

Following behind him were the Minazuki Clan's representative and several radical higher-ups who controlled the village's financial power.

Each of them was accompanied by two fully armed clan elites. With more than a dozen people crowding in at once, the already cramped meeting room had no room left to stand.

The moment they entered, everyone's eyes fell upon the black-haired young man seated at the head of the table, then shifted toward the woman standing slightly behind him.

The instant they recognized the woman's attire, several sharp intakes of breath rang out through the meeting room.

Several clan leaders widened their eyes, their brows shooting upward.

That woman was Terumi Mei, the leader of the faction with real power whom they had placed great hopes on and intended to elevate to the position of Fifth Mizukage.

Yet at this moment, she had removed her shinobi attire and replaced it with a fitted black uniform that accentuated her voluptuous curves.

After bending her knees and waist, she held a purple clay teapot in both hands and poured tea for Ye, who sat in the main seat, in an almost servile manner.

The Hozuki elder let out a cold snort through his nose. His drooping eyelids could not conceal the contempt on his face.

When he turned to look at the Minazuki representative beside him, it was clear that the other man shared the same thoughts.

In their eyes, Terumi Mei had put on this outfit for no other reason than to sell her looks and curry favor with the new master who had just seized power.

This once-arrogant woman was willing to abandon even the last shred of dignity just to rise higher.

As for the young man seated at the head of the table, since he was so infatuated with women, he was probably nothing more than a hollow figure who could be manipulated at will.

Without paying Ye any attention, the Hozuki elder strode forward, pulled out the battered wooden chair at the front, and sat down heavily.

His two broad palms slammed down on the table as he raised his chin and launched into an attack.

"We don't care what methods you used to turn Yagura into that state."

Staring at the main seat, the Hozuki elder wore every bit of the arrogance cultivated by his years in a high position.

"But this is the Land of Water. This is Kirigakure!"

Leaning half his body forward, he braced both hands against the edge of the table.

"According to village rules, the new Mizukage must be jointly elected by all the major shinobi clans. You know that rule, don't you?"

As he spoke, the Hozuki elder raised a finger and tapped the tabletop before Ye several times.

"You're an outsider who appeared out of nowhere. What gives you the right to sit in that seat?"

Without even lifting his eyelids, Ye remained seated calmly at the head of the table.

That disregard made the Hozuki elder's expression grow even darker. When he spoke again, there was not the slightest trace of courtesy in his voice.

"Hand over control of the Mizukage Building immediately. Do you understand?"

After glancing around at the clan representatives, the Hozuki elder saw that everyone was watching him, and his back straightened even further.

"Otherwise, the Hozuki Clan will join forces with the Daimyo's Estate right now and cut off every last bit of the village's military funding!"

The Hozuki elder bared a mouthful of yellowed teeth.

"No money, no food. Let's see how you people last three days!"

The other higher-ups quickly joined in, and before long, disorderly clamor filled the entire meeting room.

The Daimyo's Estate's funding channels were in their hands, so naturally, these people did not take this sudden dictator seriously.

Ye lifted the hot tea Terumi Mei had just poured. Emerald tea leaves bobbed up and down in the boiling water.

After gently blowing aside the leaves floating on the surface, he still did not spare the Hozuki elder a single glance.

At that moment, a brief chime rang in his mind. The familiar mechanical prompt followed, and a blue system panel unfolded before him.

"Detected that the Hidden Mist Village's higher-ups are attempting to use old power structures to undermine the host. Make a choice immediately and establish absolute rule!"

"Option One: Remain cordial, promise benefits, and attempt to divide the major shinobi clans from within. Reward: ten thousand ryo."

"Option Two: Use genjutsu to secretly control several elders leading the disturbance and smoothly take over power. Reward: C-rank genjutsu, Fox Heart Technique trial card."

"Option Three: Refuse negotiations and use infinite chakra to condense massive spiritual pressure, suppressing everyone present. Establish an iron-blooded hegemony where those who submit prosper and those who resist perish. Use absolute violence to crush their sense of superiority. Reward: premium intelligence [Chakra Ore Detection Map, Land of Water full-region edition]."

Ye's formerly calm gaze changed slightly.

To him, the first two options were nothing but a waste of time.

When dealing with people who had long entrenched themselves in the Land of Water to plunder benefits, negotiation itself was an insult to strength.

More importantly, the Chakra Ore Detection Map rewarded by the third option was precisely the energy blueprint he needed most to build a fully automated mechanical arms factory in the Land of Water.

Only by controlling those mineral veins could he completely free himself from dependence on the Daimyo's Estate's funding and truly achieve self-sufficiency.

"I choose option three."

Without the slightest hesitation, Ye gave his answer in his mind.

In reality, Ye moved the teacup away from his lips, lowered his wrist slightly, and placed the white porcelain cup back on the table.

The instant the bottom of the cup touched the tabletop, a clear ring passed through the meeting room, and the surrounding clamor paused for a moment.

The next instant, the nearly inexhaustible chakra of Ye's Sage Body surged forth from within him.

There were no hand seals, nor did he use any ninjutsu.

Highly condensed blue chakra formed tangible spiritual pressure and rapidly spread outward with Ye at its center.

In only one-thousandth of a second, the invisible pressure filled the entire meeting room, making it difficult for everyone present to even draw breath.

The chandelier on the ceiling began to sway violently, plaster peeled from the walls in sheets, and the entire Mizukage Building emitted piercing cracking sounds beneath the immense pressure.

"Wh... what..."

The Hozuki elder managed to force out only two words before the rest caught in his throat.

His shoulders and back suddenly sank, followed by a series of fine cracking sounds from his spine as that force forcibly pressed his entire body toward the ground.

In an instant, the defense he had been so proud of became useless. Forget standing up—he could not even move a single finger.

His knees, carrying the weight of his entire body, smashed into the wooden floor. With a thud, the planks immediately caved in.

Yet the force pressing down on his shoulders continued to rise.

Amid a succession of dull impacts, the seven or eight higher-ups and more than a dozen guards were all forced to their knees beneath the crushing pressure.

Not a single person could remain standing, and not one could raise their head.

With their knees on the ground and hands braced against the floor, everyone could only maintain that humiliating posture.

The wooden floor could not bear the force, and their knees smashed one deep crater after another into it.

Splintered wood pierced through their clothes and into their flesh, crimson blood rapidly spreading along the gaps between the planks.

Every breath took all their strength, leaving only broken, ragged gasps in the room.

The Hozuki elder desperately tried to lift his head, but his neck bones were already creaking. Blood seeped out from between his tightly clenched teeth.

No matter how hard he tried, his gaze could not rise even half an inch. It could only remain fixed on Ye's spotless black boots.

Cold sweat continuously rolled down from his temples, quickly soaking his collar. The arrogance that had once covered his face had long vanished without a trace.

Just how vast was this chakra?

Even the pressure unleashed when the Three-Tails had rampaged back then could not compare to this moment.

The only person in the entire meeting room still able to stand was Terumi Mei.

Ye had deliberately restrained the spiritual pressure around her, yet the chakra fluctuations so close at hand still made her legs go weak.

Her hands gripped the edge of the teapot tightly, her nails scratching several white marks across its purple clay surface.

Those elders who usually bossed her around and acted so high and mighty were now all kneeling on the floor, unable even to lift their heads.

Terumi Mei's heart pounded violently, and her breathing completely lost its rhythm.

The power possessed by the man before her needed no schemes or tricks to support it.

After rising from his chair, Ye's tall figure cast a shadow amid the constantly swaying lamplight.

Stepping over the wood chips scattered across the floor, he walked one step at a time until he stood before the Hozuki elder kneeling on the ground.

Ye lowered his eyes and looked down upon these former rulers who had once controlled the lifeblood of Kirigakure.

"I called you here not to discuss things with you."

As his words fell, cold sweat from the Hozuki elder's forehead slid into his eyes, but he could not even raise a hand to wipe it away.

After sweeping his gaze across their bleeding knees, Ye finally looked at the Hozuki elder.

"Now, who agrees? Who objects?"