They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 75: With a great name forever in one's heart, where in the world can one not find a way?

"Congratulations, Daimyo! Congratulations, Daimyo! You are a man of high moral character and prestige, and you win people over with your virtue. Not only have you gained a valiant general, but now there will be no more animosity between the Daimyo's residence and Kirigakure! With the Daimyo's son in charge, won't Kirigakure follow the Daimyo's lead from now on?"

If we're talking about who reacted the fastest at the scene, it would have to be Kusaka Masato, who already knew about it.

Immediately, Masato Kusaka broke the silence in the hall, rising first to kneel and congratulate Keita Mizu.

Despite the groundwork laid by Hozuki Shingetsu, which made it nearly 99% likely that the daimyo would agree, he was still afraid that the daimyo might have a brain fart and refuse, so he listed as many reasons as possible to prevent the daimyo from acting foolishly.

The other ministers were jolted awake by Kusaka Masato's words, and recalling Hozuki Shingetsu's almost miraculous flattery earlier, they all suddenly became aware of the situation and knelt down behind Kusaka Masato to congratulate Mizuki Keita.

"well!"

Originally in shock, Mizuki Keita was also awakened by the many congratulatory voices. In particular, Kusaka Masato's words reminded him that just by virtue of his personal prestige, he could make the high-ranking officials of Kirigakure bow down. How inspiring this must be when it got out.

If Hozuki Shingetsu had the chance to become the Fourth Mizukage, wouldn't the fact that he, Sui Keita, could adopt the Mizukage as his godson make the other daimyo so envious they'd shed tears of envy?

Looking at Hozuki Shingetsu's hopeful eyes and hesitant tone in the audience, and considering the movies he had made and his future plans, and most importantly, his age of twelve, he almost immediately believed Hozuki Shingetsu's words—yes! What bad intentions could a twelve-year-old child have?

He must have truly believed from the bottom of his heart that I was a benevolent ruler and a loving father!

With this thought in mind, Mizuki Keita laughed and stood up, ready to accept Hozuki Shingetsu as his adopted son.

"I've heard that Hozuki Gengetsu is arrogant and disrespectful, presumptuously becoming the Mizukage without permission. Such a disrespectful person would record my father's glorious image in his notebook? Are you perhaps deceiving the emperor?"

But at that moment, a sharp voice rang out, shattering the harmonious scene between the emperor and his minister.

The one who spoke was Shui Jingtai's youngest son, Shui Du Fu, the rightful heir to the Land of Water.

Shui Du Fu, only twelve years old this year, has been spoiled since childhood, which has naturally fostered an arrogant and narrow-minded personality. Now, seeing so many ministers who used to fawn over him turning their attention to a ninja his own age, and his own father even preparing to adopt this lowly person as his godson, how could he not feel jealous?

Besides, this ninja is nothing more than a dog they keep. What kind of person is he to be worthy of being on the same level as him?

However, although Shui Dufu was arrogant and unruly, he was not a fool. He knew that he could not rashly stop his father at this moment when his father was extremely excited.

After all, he knew all too well how much his father valued his reputation, and if he displeased Shui Jing too much, he would be in trouble. So, he had a sudden inspiration and, recalling the previous discussions, decided to use the loophole in Hozuki Shingetsu's previous words to achieve his goal.

Once the accusation of deceiving the emperor is confirmed, Shui Jingtai, who values ​​his reputation above all else, will undoubtedly be furious. Even if he doesn't dwell on the fact that this brat contributed to the film, everything else will certainly come to an end.

With this thought in mind, Shui Dufu looked at Gui Deng Xin Yue triumphantly, imagining his trembling figure out of fear.

At this moment, the others were also awakened by Shui Du Fu's words and remembered the loophole in Hozuki Shingetsu's words.

Yes!

As the origin of the Daimyo's hostility towards Kirigakure, everyone is familiar with Hozuki Gengetsu. Would he really write good things about the Daimyo in his notebook?

It looks like someone is swearing!

Seeing the suspicious look in Sui Keita's eyes, Hozuki Shingetsu smiled inwardly. This was exactly the question he had been waiting for! How could he not know such an obvious flaw?

"Sigh... I thought so too at first, but after reading through Lord Huan Yue's notes, I finally understood why."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked hesitant, as if he didn't want to speak but had to for the sake of his ancestors' reputation. However, Yagura Karatachi and Yukinagi, who knew his true nature, knew from his appearance that he was about to lie again.

"May I ask everyone present, what does the position of Mizukage truly mean to you? What are the specific responsibilities of this position?"

When Hozuki Shingetsu opened his mouth, he did not explain the specific reason. Instead, he started by asking questions of everyone present. The first person he asked was Mizuto Tomio, who had stood up earlier to question him.

"...Does the position of Mizukage mean that he is the strongest person in Kirigakure? As for his duties...protecting the Land of Water?" Mizuto Tomio thought for a moment and then answered.

Although he wanted to say that the Mizukage was nothing more than their dog, only needing to carry out the Daimyo's orders, he knew that such words were fine to say in private, but could not be said in such a formal setting.

After all, everyone has a sense of shame.

However, he valued his reputation, while some others did not.

"Indeed, the prince's words are very apt; these can indeed be used to describe the Water Shadow... However, in my opinion, these words are not comprehensive."

Ignoring Mizuki's annoyed expression, Hozuki Shingetsu continued to use him as a stepping stone: "In my opinion, the Mizukage may not be the strongest person in Kirigakure, but he is definitely the most loyal person in Kirigakure to the Daimyo; the Mizukage's duty is not to protect the Land of Water, but to protect the Daimyo, with the highest standard being to complete the Daimyo's mission."

"Therefore, the Mizukage is not the Mizukage of Kirigakure, nor the Mizukage of the Land of Water, but the Mizukage of the Daimyo!"

"Only the most loyal among us are qualified to become the Mizukage of a daimyo!"

Faced with these almost obsequious words, the ministers present cried out: "Master, please stop your supernatural powers! We can't learn them, we really can't learn them!"

Young Shui Dufu was stunned and speechless, unable to understand why this guy, who was the same age as him, could say such shameless things so easily and freely.

"So, Hozuki Gengetsu's unauthorized usurpation of power is an act of loyalty to the daimyo?" However, Mizuto Tomio still held onto a core question, pointing directly to the loophole in Hozuki Shingetsu's words.

"That's because Lord Gengetsu believes he's more loyal to the Daimyo than Ren! He can't accept someone less pure than himself becoming the Mizukage!"

"That's the daimyo he was utterly loyal to, the one he was willing to sacrifice his life for! How can Lord Gengetsu allow someone less loyal than him to take his place in protecting the daimyo?"

6.

The ministers present were filled with awe. To witness such a brilliant display of distorting the truth and calling a deer a horse in their lifetime was something they could say they had no regrets.

"As the saying goes, 'With a daimyo always in one's heart, where in the world can't one find a way?' If he were truly loyal to the daimyo, how could he have failed in the competition for the Mizukage position? His failure can only prove one thing: the purity of his loyalty is not as high as Lord Gengetsu's!"

On the other side, Hozuki Shingetsu continued firing without stopping.

All the ministers looked at Hozuki Shingetsu with panicked expressions, hoping that he would quickly stop using his supernatural powers. This was not something that could be said!

If they can't complete the tasks assigned by the daimyo in the future, and someone says, "Are you not loyal enough to the daimyo? Otherwise, how come you can't even complete this kind of mission?", how are they supposed to explain themselves?

Something's not right, something's very wrong.

Meanwhile, Shui Du Fu was dizzy from Hozuki Shingetsu's series of small combos. He knew there was something wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"But Hozuki Gengetsu ultimately usurped power!"

So, with no other choice, he could only cling to his core problem and use it as a defensive base to launch continuous attacks on Hozuki Shingetsu.

But he soon realized that it was all in vain.

"So he died!"

Hozuki Shingetsu said without blushing or panting, "His loyalty to the daimyo and the pain of going against the daimyo's will filled him with unbearable shame, so he died on the battlefield of the Land of Earth, with the mindset of serving the daimyo to the death."

"This is the embodiment of our Hozuki clan's loyalty to the Daimyo!"

Hozuki Gengetsu: Fine, fine, so you're bullying the dead like this?

(End of this chapter)