Zabuza's words fell, and only his own heavy breathing and the unwillingness to let go of his resentment were left in the air.
Naruto did not express any opinions on his experience, neither sympathy nor judgment. He just changed to a more comfortable standing position, leaned on a rusty Iron Pillar, and asked a question that surprised both Zabuza and Bai.
"When was the last time he appeared in a 'gentle' appearance? In other words, when was the last time you saw that Yagura who 'wanted to change the village'?"
This question is too specific. It doesn't seem like caring about a secret from the past. It's more like a cold autopsy, carefully asking about the last activities of the deceased, trying to piece together the real cause of death from the clues.
Zabuza was stunned, forced to sink into the memory that he didn't want to touch. He frowned and searched hard in the quagmire of memory.
"Probably... it was after a Jonin meeting. He vetoed Genji's proposal to lower the age for the graduation exam again. That night, he also came to me privately and said Kirigakure could not go on like this. Children should see sunshine, not blood." Zabuza's voice was a little dry, "That was... the last time I saw light in his eyes."
"What happens after that?" Naruto asked, "After his transformation, are there any obvious changes in his fighting style and chakra application mode?"
"Change?" Zabuza sneered, and the laughter was full of self-deprecation, "It's not just a change, it's like a new person! Although the previous Yagura had a ruthless fighting style, he was precise and efficient, and was good at using Water Release to control He created all kinds of ingenious traps and killing situations. But later... he only relied on the power of Three-Tails, without any rules. Fighting was no longer for victory, but purely for destruction and destruction. Like a crazy beast, he just wanted to tear everything in front of him to pieces."
Naruto listened quietly without interrupting.
In his mind, Schola Progenium's textbook cases were turned over page by page. Those Astra Militarum commanders whose minds were corrupted by the whispers of Warp Daemon, and those wild Psyker who were given power by Chaos Gods but eventually became slaves of desire. Their symptoms were so similar to the Yagura described by Zabuza.
A person's will can be twisted, his spirit can be corrupted, and his soul can even be captured by another, more powerful being.
"Spiritual Pollution, or some kind of extremely clever mind control type Genjutsu." Naruto made an internal assessment. Fourth Mizukage Yagura, this former reformer, is probably no longer himself. He is just a puppet on strings, a manipulated disaster.
"Yagura is so strong, who can control him?" Zabuza's voice trembled, obviously unwilling to accept this speculation.
Naruto glanced at him. "That is the person who is stronger than Yagura."
"So, our target is not Yagura." Naruto concluded, turning his gaze to the depths of Kirigakure, as if he could penetrate layers of thick fog. "Attacking a puppet will only alert the people behind it. Our current target should be Genji who upholds the 'Bloody Mist Village' rules and hides behind the scenes to watch everything happen."
"Genji?" Zabuza frowned, "That old guy is very afraid of death. He has the most elite ANBU guarding him all year round. If you want to touch him, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky."
"We don't need to touch him." Naruto said with a cold expression on his lips, "We just need to make him feel that we want to touch him."
A plan to "knock on mountains and shake tigers" quickly took shape in his mind.
"Zabuza, I want you to use your underground network immediately to spread a message." Naruto looked at Zabuza, "Just say that the defecting revolutionaries have received strong foreign aid from Iwagakure, with abundant funds and well-equipped equipment. The first goal is to assassinate Genji and completely end Blood Mist Era."
He turned to Bai again. "Find a few secret stronghold locations where Genji may be hiding, and leak these locations as well. Make sure there is a mixture of truth and falsehood, so that he cannot judge."
Zabuza instantly understood Naruto's intention. "Do you want to... force him to transfer the power of protecting Artisan Clan back to protect himself and create a defensive vacuum for us?"
"Yes." Naruto nodded, "But rumors alone are not enough. We need a real 'fireworks' to prove that we have this strength. A 'fireworks' that can scare Genji out of fear."
He looked around at the crowd and continued, "To show our determination, we must attack Kirigakure, the bloodiest place that best represents 'Blood Mist Policy'. Zabuza, Bai, is there such a place in the village?"
Zabuza and Bai looked at each other and said a name almost in unison.
"South Water Fort."
There was a hint of trembling in Bai's tone. "That is a secret prison, built under the sea. It is specially used to imprison and torture those ninjas who possess Kekkei Genkai, and even... conduct in vivo experiments on them. All Kekkei Genkai ers who are regarded as 'alien' and 'unstable factors' by Kirigakure's senior officials will eventually disappear there."
"Very good." A glimmer of light flashed in Naruto's eyes.
This is simply an arsenal tailor-made for him. The hatred accumulated in the hearts of those oppressed and tortured Kekkei Genkai will be the best fuel. As long as you give them weapons and a target for revenge, they will become the sharpest knife and pierce Kirigakure's heart without hesitation.
"South Water Fort's defense is very strong." Zabuza reminded, "Warden Fujiki is Genji's die-hard loyalist. He is a sadist and is extremely skilled in Water Release's secret skills. He is very difficult to deal with."
"These are not problems." Naruto interrupted him, "The first step of the plan is to convince Genji that we have the ability to threaten him."
His eyes finally fell on Neji.
"Neji."
"Here." Neji took a step forward.
Naruto handed him a map scroll. "Let's find a small place to test the water first. This is a secret gold mine used by the Genji faction as a source of funds. It is heavily guarded. Your mission is to send them the first 'warning'."
Neji took the scroll and didn't ask a single word, just nodded heavily.
Late at night, it rained heavily.
Big raindrops hit the sea crazily, stirring up countless white waves. The strong wind roared like the roar of ghosts and gods.
On the top of a cliff five kilometers away from the coastline, Neji lay motionless on the slippery rocks. The rainwater flowed down his cloak and formed a puddle under him.
The Long-Range Laser Rifle in his hand was wrapped in a tarpaulin, with only the black muzzle and scope exposed.
Byakugan has long been turned on, and his clear vision penetrates the heavy rain curtain. In his world, the gold mine five kilometers away is as clear as looking at the lines on the palm of his hand. The layout of the mining area, the patrol routes of the guards, and the flow of chakra, everything is invisible.
He could clearly see that on each of the three most heavily guarded secret sentry towers in the mining area, there was a Kirigakure Ninja watching the surroundings with vigilance. They thought they were well hidden, but they didn't know that their heads had appeared in Neji's sight.
Neji reported to Naruto, who was dozens of kilometers away, through a strange-looking headset.
"Cicada Shell calls Commissar. The field of vision is clear and all targets have been locked. I am in position. Requesting firing instructions."
The calm voice of Naruto came from the headset.
"According to plan. Clear the sentries and then light the fireworks."
"Received."
Neji took a deep breath and placed the crosshair firmly between the eyebrows of Kirigakure Ninja on the far left sentry tower.
His finger gently pulled the trigger.
An energy beam that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye cut through the rainy night.
Five kilometers away, the vigilant expression on Kirigakure Ninja's face instantly solidified, and a small black hole appeared in the middle of his eyebrows. He didn't even have time to let out a scream, and fell backwards quietly, and the breath of life disappeared instantly.
Neji didn't pause at all, the muzzle adjusted slightly, and locked the second target.
The trigger was pulled again.
The second sentry fell.
The third sentry fell.
The whole process went smoothly and incredibly fast. The three living lives disappeared with the sound of rain.
After killing the most troublesome sentinel, inside the mining area, several figures led by Bai, who were almost integrated with the darkness, were quietly attaching Explosive Tag sheets to the load-bearing structure of the mine.
Their goal was to blow up one side of the mining area and forcefully cut off operations in the mining area.
Naruto has calculated that when blasting from here, the falling rocks will destroy the dormitories of the supervisors and stationed ninjas, but will hardly damage the nests of the poor workers.
After waiting for all of this to be done, Neji adjusted the angle of the gun and aimed deep into the mine, at the core node of the Explosive Tag array they had arranged.
His Byakugan could clearly see that the chakra there had been connected into pieces, like a giant web waiting to be ignited.
"It's dawn."
Neji whispered to himself and pulled the trigger for the third time.
This time, it's no longer silent.
"Boom--!!!"
A dazzling Kakkō suddenly burst out from the depths of the mine, instantly breaking through the blockade of the rain curtain and dyeing half of the night sky a strange orange-red color!
Immediately afterwards, a deafening explosion came belatedly, like rolling thunder, the earth shook violently, and the gravel on the cliff fell rustlingly.
The huge gold mining area was completely torn apart in the series of explosions, and fell into a sea of fire and chaos. Countless screams and shouts were drowned in the roar of the flames and the collapse of the mine, and seemed so insignificant.