"I've done so much for this damn village, and they still don't respect me."
"They worship the Seven Ninja Swordsmen that much?"
"But I'm the Mizukage!"
"The Hidden Mist belongs to me!"
"If you don't like it, get the hell out!"
Yagura's mind screamed with rage.
He couldn't stomach watching the rumors spread any further through the village.
He turned on his heel and stormed back to the Mizukage Tower.
At the exact same moment Yagura received the news, so did the daimyo of the Land of Water.
The daimyo was already fed up with Yagura.
"I knew from the start that bastard Yagura had dangerous ambitions."
"The whole Seven Ninja Swordsmen disaster? Even if he didn't cause every bit of it, he's definitely neck-deep in it."
"He wiped out rivals to steal the Mizukage seat, then ran the village straight into the ground."
"If I had any other choice, I'd switch to a completely different ninja village tomorrow."
One of his officials stepped forward.
"Lord Daimyo, I have a suggestion."
The daimyo gave him a cold look.
"Speak."
"No law says a great nation can only have one ninja village. Especially when the Hidden Mist is failing so badly they can't even meet your demands anymore."
"So why not bring in someone new?"
The daimyo raised an eyebrow.
"Someone new? Who exactly?"
"The Shark Skin Navigation Group and the Exploding Blade Navigation Group."
The official leaned in.
"Thanks to that One Piece story running in the Ninja World Big Events Weekly, people are obsessed with the sea. They want treasure. They want Devil Fruits. The navigation groups are exploding in size and we can't stop it."
"We can't stop them, but we can control the strongest ones, Lord Daimyo."
"Make them official. Put them to work for the Land of Water."
"At the same time, we use them to keep the Hidden Mist in check."
"Best of both worlds."
The daimyo's eyes lit up.
It was a solid compromise. For the current Land of Water, it was actually a damn good move.
The navigation groups were already too big to crush.
The sea was too vast. The islands too many.
If the Land of Water and the Mist pushed too hard, the groups could unite.
That would be a nightmare.
With Fuguki Suikazan and Jinpachi Munashi leading them, circling the Land of Water like sharks…
Hit hard, then vanish. Wait for the big forces to leave, then strike back.
The Land of Water and Hidden Mist simply didn't have the manpower to chase ghosts forever.
"Fine. Since you came up with it, you go negotiate."
"I want a navigation group that swears absolute loyalty to me. Money, women, fame—I'll give them everything. But I demand total submission."
"Don't disappoint me."
The official bowed low.
"Yes, Lord Daimyo!"
Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi read the latest report and thought back to the Hidden Mist's recent behavior.
"It's not impossible."
"With Yagura's situation, if the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were still around, he never would've become Mizukage so easily."
"Pulling something like this to grab the seat? Yeah, that tracks."
"That position is too tempting."
"Just like Danzo. He's been eyeing the Hokage seat for decades. If I wasn't still sharp, that bastard would've taken it already."
Danzo's eyes gleamed with envy.
"Back in the day, I was just a little too careful."
"Not ruthless enough like Yagura."
"I had so many chances."
"If I'd moved first, before Hiruzen, Tobirama-sensei would've given me the seat."
"Even after he handed it to Hiruzen, if Hiruzen died, it still would've been mine."
"I cared too much about the village."
"Unlike Yagura, who only cares about himself."
"But the selfless ones always get screwed while the selfish win."
"That's my sacrifice for Konoha."
Danzo sighed, basking in his own imagined greatness.
"On ability, I'm better than Yagura."
"On strength, I'm no weaker either."
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were stronger than Yagura, but Hiruzen isn't stronger than me."
Iwagakure.
Ōnoki shook his head.
"This is exactly why I pick my own successor personally."
"If you don't, everyone thinks they've got a shot."
"Everyone fights for it."
"Fighting means internal war."
"Only clear rules keep a village from tearing itself apart."
"A village that eats itself will never grow strong."
Ōnoki's thoughts drifted back to Sunagakure.
That tournament had left a sour taste. Sunagakure followed the rules but still bent them hard—Ryo and those Mist puppets stole what should've been Iwagakure's share.
"Got to admit, Rasa's ruthless. No bottom line at all."
"He completely flipped the script when it mattered."
"Sunagakure's strength is nothing to laugh at anymore."
"A man like that… I wish he belonged to Iwagakure."
"Then I wouldn't have to worry about no successor."
Ōnoki stood by the window, staring out at the village, and let out a long sigh.
"Poor Iwagakure. Still no proper heir. When this old man is gone, who the hell takes over without destroying everything we built?"
Kumogakure.
The Fourth Raikage hadn't been in a good mood for weeks.
They'd been ready to hit Konoha and grab a Byakugan.
If the Mist could get one, why couldn't Cloud?
But before they could move, Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and the Mist all signed peace treaties.
So Cloud missed the window completely.
Then Grass Village got carved up by the three big villages working together.
By the time Cloud tried to jump in, it was already over.
The three villages split everything before Cloud could even show up.
Even if they went now, what was left worth taking?
Two missed chances. The Raikage was pissed.
"Yagura's a real piece of work."
"He threw his own village under the bus just to keep the Mizukage seat."
"If the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hadn't been wiped out, Sunagakure never would've turned things around so fast."
"The Mist would've been in way better shape right now."
Fuguki Suikazan and Jinpachi Munashi heard the rumor at almost the same time.
The second Fuguki read it, his face went dark as a thundercloud.
"I knew it!"