Genji: Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

October.

The Land of Water, the Kirigakure.

The Fourth Mizukage, Genji, took a sip of hot water and placed the thermos he was holding beside his desk.

In front of him were piles of folders of various colors, all containing the most critical and confidential information about Kirigakure.

At this moment, this core information was presented to him new Mizukage who had only been in office for six months, as if it were free.

Among these core documents, the reorganization of the Anbu team is of paramount importance.

Thanks to the terrible mess left by the Third Mizukage, the Anbu organization that Kirigakure had spent years building up was basically defunct. Nearly 80% of the combat Anbu died in Uzushiogakure, and those who remained were mostly civilian ninjas with little special operations ability and who handled logistical work.

Even now, six months later, the reorganization of the Kirigakure's Anbu service remains fraught with difficulties and progresses at an extremely slow pace.

After all, as the Kage's direct subordinate unit, it's not something that ordinary ninjas can join, let alone those who just coast along with connections.

This organization is the sharpest blade of the ninja village, the Kage's guard and Execution Division, and is required to fight on the front lines in dangerous situations.

This is precisely why the selection process for the Anbu is slow and complicated.

Although the Anbu always has reserve members, they will be promptly replenished in case of the sacrifice of official members, so as to restore the Anbu's combat capabilities as quickly as possible.

However, with so many members of the Anbu lost, the reserve members simply cannot fill the huge hole Anbu.

Not to mention, a number of excellent Jonin also perished in Uzushiogakure.

According to Genji's estimate, it may be difficult to fully restore the Anbu until next year.

At such times, Genji would not be able to resist sending his greetings to the Third Mizukage, whose fates were unknown, as well as to the ancestors of the Third Mizukage.

but...

Genji let out a soft breath, his dry hands stroking the armrests of the chair that he had worn smooth over the past few days. By turning the chair slightly from his position and taking a couple of steps, he could look down at the buildings below, giving him a strange, exhilarating feeling of being in control of everything.

This perspective, which encompasses everything in the village, is entirely different from that of an advisor.

I have to admit, being the Mizukage feels really good.

Thinking of this, Genji Kakuzu n't help but smile, and even the physical and mental fatigue from work was reduced considerably.

Then, he looked at the pile of confidential documents in front of him, took a deep breath, and a burning, aged yet tenacious fighting spirit seemed to be in his cloudy eyes.

Approaching sixty, it's the prime of life for adventure!

Bang!

Just as Genji was about to continue processing the confidential documents in front of him, the office door was suddenly kicked open, and a Kirigakure Ninja stumbled in, his face pale.

"Lord Mizukage!"

"Tell me what's wrong, I'm not dead yet."

Interrupted from his work, Genji frowned slightly, looking displeased at the Hidden Mist Village Intelligence Division ninja who had suddenly barged in.

"It's terrible, Mizukage! Our eastern border defense forces have been attacked by Iwagakure Ninja, suffering heavy losses. The leader is the Third Tsuchikage, and the attacking Iwagakure Ninja number over eight hundred!"

The Intelligence Division ninja rattled off the urgent intelligence he had just deciphered at the Intelligence Division, his face covered in sweat from the urgency.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How dare that Ōnoki-- "

After a moment of stunned silence, Genji immediately stood up from his chair, slamming his hand hard on the desk, producing a dull and loud sound that even caused cracks to appear on the desk made of special Chakra solid wood.

Just like Genji's astonished and bewildered expression, his first reaction after hearing the information conveyed by this Hidden Mist Village Intelligence Division ninja was that the information had been misinterpreted.

If the Iwagakure forces had launched a surprise attack on the Land of Water a decade or two ago, it might have been possible, but in today's era, it would be virtually impossible.

Thanks to the development of spies in each village, small and medium-sized units could still be concealed, but the logistical resource mobilization of a ninja force of more than 500 people was virtually impossible to hide from the Intelligence Operatives in each village.

The Iwagakure Ninja) mobilized a ninja force of over 800 men to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Water, while the Hidden Mist Village Village's (Kirigakure) Intelligence Operatives planted within Iwagakure showed no prior warning... How could such a thing possibly happen?

Are you sure the intelligence hasn't been misinterpreted?

Genji suppressed his inner unease and looked again at the Hidden Mist Village Ninja.

"Absolutely true, Mizukage! Our Intelligence Division couldn't possibly have misinterpreted something of this magnitude!"

The intelligence ninja was also sweating profusely, but nodded firmly, claiming that the Intelligence Division could not possibly be wrong about this level of intelligence.

Genji plopped back into his chair, momentarily lost in thought before his dazed expression vanished, replaced by a somber look that was a mixture of gravity and sharpness.

"Go, summon all the elders and the ninja clan chief for High-Level Meeting!"

In this situation, convening a Jonin meeting is meaningless. The most important thing is to gain the support of all elders and clan leaders and immediately take effective measures to deal with the Iwagakure attack.

If necessary, even he, the Mizukage, must go to the front lines... no, he absolutely must go to the front lines!

As the new Mizukage, he must go to the battlefield to stabilize the morale of the people in Hidden Mist Village who are currently in turmoil!

"Also, send a small team to Hidden Cloud Village and tell them we need Hidden Cloud Village support!"

After giving their instructions methodically, two figures flashed through the office and disappeared like phantoms, carrying out the urgent orders given by Genji.

◎

The Land of Water.

On the eastern border islands, once prosperous and peaceful metropolises have been engulfed in war, with explosions roaring everywhere and Kakkō and black smoke shooting into the sky.

"Dust Release: Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"

A transparent white cylindrical Barrier swept across, and a large area of buildings was reduced to ashes under its Barrier, along with the Kirigakure Ninja hadn't had time to escape.

Whether they are Chunin or Jonin, if they do not escape in time, they will be broken down into molecules invisible to the naked eye in an instant, and evaporate everywhere.

Ōnoki flew through the air, his short, wiry body exuded a terrifying aura that sent chills down one's spine.

Then, he clapped his hands together, and then made a grasping motion with his right hand towards the ground below.

"Earth Release: Earth Release: Golem Technique!"

The earth began to rumble, and a huge human-shaped rock bulged out, forming a rock giant more than ten meters tall.

The rock giant stomped the earth with a thunderous roar, clenched its enormous fist, and slammed it down hard on the Kirigakure Ninja were resisting it.

The Kirigakure Ninja retaliated with Water Release Ninjutsu, instantly engulfing the rock giant created by Ōnoki.

However, Ōnoki didn't care. After summoning the rock giant, he flew to the top of the resisting Kirigakure Ninja, spreading his arms as if he were covering something.

The Kirigakure Ninja below, witnessing this scene, immediately turned pale with fright and scattered, fearing that the white aura of destruction would once again erupt from between the opponent's palms.

If you're hit by other Ninjutsu, you might survive, but if you're hit by Dust Release, there's no need to waste Medical resources.

Just then, a buzzing sound suddenly came from the sky, approaching from afar.

The Kirigakure Ninja were puzzled, and many looked up in the direction of the sound in the sky.

Then you see a silver-gray 'steel bird' slightly larger than an adult male, blending into the dark, gloomy sky, with a long trail of light trailing behind it.

If it weren't for the noise generated by their flight, they might not have been able to spot these rapidly approaching 'steel birds'.

"Watch out, there are people up there!"

Jonin seeing this, a Hidden Mist Village Jonin immediately noticed that beneath the silver-gray 'steel birds,' ninjas dressed in Iwagakure Ninja uniforms were being attracted.

Although it was the first time the Kirigakure Ninja had seen such a manned 'steel bird,' they immediately realized that this tool, capable of soaring through the sky, was undoubtedly a special ninja tool used for carrying people into flight.