Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

"You rebellious bastard..."

Before he could even see who it was, he assumed it was Lian, a fence-sitter who had come to see him, and hurriedly climbed over the human wall hoping to make a name for himself. But as soon as he stepped over the wall, he was dumbfounded by the scene before him.

No, how did you win?

Why did he fall down while you were standing?

However, it was precisely at times like these that the opportunist's mind raced. His finger, without a trace, moved from in front of Hozuki Shingetsu to Ren, pointing at him and angrily cursing:

"...You are to blame for the village's terrible misfortune! Bah! I am ashamed to be associated with you!"

The audience watched the performance in silence, and an unspoken silence fell over the room.

That's too rough!

Absolutely no emotion, just pure technique!

After silently evaluating the performance of the person in front of him, Hozuki Shingetsu arrived at the center of the battlefield, looked around, and smiled at Kaguya Yoshio, who had an incredulous expression on his face. Then, he used his chakra tail to lift Ren high and began his final speech.

"What should have been a New Year's Day for family reunion turned into a nightmare due to Ren's mischief, which caused the tailed beasts to rampage, resulting in the deaths of countless villagers and the infighting among the village's elites. Decades of hard work were destroyed in an instant!"

"Having offended Heaven, there is no one left to pray for! Having committed such a heinous crime, how can Lotus still be worthy of being a reflection of water?"

"Therefore, our actions are in accordance with Heaven above and in harmony with the people below. They are truly acts of restoring order and revitalizing Wuyin!"

Under the vast darkness of the night, only the boy's clear voice echoed throughout the battlefield.

At this moment, the battlefield, which had just been stained with blood and fire, was enveloped in an indescribable silence after Hozuki Shingetsu's words fell.

Just then, perhaps to make amends for his previous mistake, or perhaps to curry favor with Hozuki Shingetsu, the future new master of Kirigakure, the opportunist gritted his teeth and stepped forward again, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Water Shadow is wicked; Heaven will punish this national traitor!"

Perhaps feeling that his words weren't enough to express his hatred for Ren and his affirmation of Hozuki Shingetsu's righteous actions, he ruthlessly ripped off his left shoulder and shouted:

"Support the left side of those who support Hozuki!"

After a moment of silence, as if a school bell had rung, the entire battlefield was filled with thunderous cheers. Realizing the situation, the ninjas excitedly exposed their left arms and repeated the words of the fence-sitter they had just spoken.

"The Water Shadow is wicked, a traitor to the nation, and will be punished by Heaven! Those who support the Ghost Lantern are left-handed!"

Furthermore, this trend has spread from this place to the rest of Kirigakure.

Meanwhile, the villagers, who had just learned that Hozuki Shingetsu had sacrificed himself to protect the village and imprison the Six-Tails, also came to the streets after hearing this voice, shouting slogans and showing their left arms!

In an instant, everyone in the village was shirtless on the left!

Chapter 90: I heard of the execution of a man, but I have not heard of any murder!

Excellent, Kirigakure needs talent like you!

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the scene before him and was quite satisfied.

The rest of you should watch carefully and learn from this!

Which leader wouldn't want a subordinate who, after the leader has laid the groundwork, can then embellish the leader's intentions with words and support them with actions?

As for being opportunistic and two-faced... is that even a thing?

It's only human nature. As long as it fulfills its proper function, Hozuki Shingetsu is very magnanimous about such trivial matters.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the fact that he is that kind of person.

So, Hozuki Shingetsu gave him a deep look and remembered the person in front of her.

"I never imagined I'd end up like this... Hozuki Shingetsu, you're truly remarkable!"

At this moment, perhaps because the noise from the people below was too loud, Lian, who was bound in mid-air, slowly woke up. After listening for a while, she understood his current situation.

"Ahem... Now that I'm in your hands, I have nothing more to say. But what do you plan to do with me now?"

Bound in mid-air by the tailed beast's chakra, Ren looked down at Hozuki Shingetsu with a mocking expression and said, "What else can you do besides imprison me for life? You can't possibly kill me in front of all these people, can you?"

"Regardless, I am your official superior, the Mizukage in the presence of all the villagers of Kirigakure, wearing the divine robes. In what capacity do you intend to judge me now?"

"Is it because of your identity as the 'Timely Rain' of Kirigakure, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the young head of the Hozuki clan, or... the Daikiko of the Land of Water?"

Not good!

Yoshio Uzumaki, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines, felt his heart sink. He sighed inwardly, thinking that Ren was indeed worthy of being the Mizukage for many years. Even in this life-or-death situation, he could still find a chance to escape.

As Ren said, no matter what he did, his current identity as the Water Shadow was his protective charm.

Although he was utterly wicked and single-handedly caused tonight's civil war, Hozuki Shingetsu and the others could not kill him with a legitimate reason.

At most, they could imprison him and restrict his movements.

Just like the Fourth Mizukage in the original work who had his genjutsu broken, at most he would be restricted in his freedom until the end of his life.

There's no other reason than this; it's the greater good, and it's the rule of the game.

Moreover, these words can only be effective in such a critical moment when everyone is watching, and when Hozuki Shingetsu has just rallied people with his righteous cause.

Otherwise, once everyone has dispersed after a while, even if Ren says those words, Hozuki Shingetsu could easily find a hundred ways to kill him and then simply dismiss it as the Mizukage's fatal injury.

But when all of this is laid bare, the game can no longer be played this way.

Since Hozuki Shingetsu wants to gather public support to give the Hozuki clan's actions a legitimate and justifiable guise, it means that he has already entered this game of power. Once you're in the game, you have to follow the rules. No one wants to play with someone who doesn't follow the rules.

In the stillness of the night, Ren's weak voice was amplified infinitely, echoing throughout the world. Everyone involuntarily looked towards Hozuki Shingetsu, trying to see how he would answer.

Hozuki Crescent Moon was silent for a moment before answering, "Water Shadow? Ha, what is Water Shadow?"

He didn't expect anyone to answer, but at that moment a voice suddenly rang out, picking up where Hozuki Shingetsu left off.

"The Water Shadow is the village chief, the village's guardian, an entity recognized by all villagers, and the embodiment of the village's collective will."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that the one who answered was the same fence-sitter from before. He was now answering Hozuki Shingetsu's question in a trembling voice.

"well said!"

Hozuki Shingetsu praised the young man for his keen eye for detail, then continued, "So, when the Mizukage loses the villagers' approval and ceases to be the embodiment of the village's collective will, is he still the Mizukage?"

"So, we're judging the Water Shadow?"

In fact, at this point, everyone present knew what Hozuki Shingetsu was planning to do. Instinctively wanting to stop Hozuki Shingetsu from speaking, they looked at their bare left arms and silently shut their mouths.

If this kind of behavior isn't considered opposing the lotus, then they don't know what exactly constitutes opposition.

"No! He's a tyrant!"

The opportunist, now fully aware of his presence, answered again.

Hozuki Shingetsu gave him an approving look and said, "That's right. Without the approval of the masses, the Mizukage is no longer the Mizukage, but just a tyrant!"

"I have heard of the execution of Yi Fu Lian, but I have never heard of the murder of Ying!"

With a powerful and resounding voice, Hozuki Shingetsu's tail twitched, slamming Ren, who was in mid-air, hard to the ground.

"Cough cough... What are you going to do?"

At this moment, Ren seemed to realize what Hozuki Shingetsu was trying to do, and she crawled on her stomach, trying to escape.

However, Hozuki Shingetsu quickly stomped him to the ground and slashed his back with a kunai.

"Since he is a tyrant condemned by all, he must be despised by all. Who dares to step forward and spit on our tyrant?"

Looking at the still-dripping kunai in Hozuki Shingetsu's left hand, even the most densely-witted person would understand what Hozuki Shingetsu meant by "disdain".

Hozuki Shingetsu stopped the former Hozuki clan ninjas who wanted to come with a look, staring intently at these former centrists.

Clearly, simply siding with the left is not enough to demonstrate their loyalty; Hozuki Shingetsu is blatantly asking them for a pledge of allegiance.

He wanted to use the lotus incident to completely bind everyone present to his cause.

As long as these people have the blood of the Third Mizukage Ren on their hands, they will resolutely damage Ren's reputation and nail him to the pillar of shame of Kirigakure.

In contrast, Hozuki Shingetsu, the future master of Kirigakure, will also be free of any "political stains".

Well, at least not on the surface.

These former centrists clearly understood this, but their ambivalent behavior over the years had made them hesitant to move forward—they could accept supporting Hozuki Shingetsu by taking a left-leaning stance, after all, it was just a small thing, and doing so in this clear situation wouldn't be a big deal.

But stabbing a kunai into the Mizukage... is that the same thing?

Once the thorn is pierced, it not only means there is no turning back, but also signifies a complete severing of ties with everything the lotus represents.

"I come!"

Just as the situation became awkward and Hozuki Shingetsu wanted to make an example of Ren, the fence-sitter reappeared, taking the kunai from Hozuki Shingetsu's hand with trembling but resolute steps, and slashed it hard across Ren's back!

Lian grunted, her eyes fixed on this despicable person she had previously disregarded.

"Lord Crescent Moon, please!"

Only then did Hozuki Shingetsu have time to seriously strike the respectful young man before him.

This person was about twenty years old, with an ordinary build and appearance, nothing special. He had the typical ninja look, the kind that you could easily miss if you threw him into a crowd.

Hozuki Shingetsu's mind raced, and he quickly recognized the name of the person in front of him: Akiba Masanobu.

The Akiba clan is not a bloodline ninja clan, but a small ninja clan that has inherited some unique ninjutsu.

In fact, this is the norm for most ninja clans in the ninja world. The vast majority of ninja clans are simply families that passed down ninjutsu from generation to generation, having obtained some ninjutsu by chance.

Akiba Masanobu, born into such a small ninja clan, was naturally unwilling to remain in this position for his entire life, which is why he thought of using his "meritorious service in joining the dragon" to achieve a leap in social class.