Naruto: I'm Not a Pokémon

Chapter 283 Shadow's Death

After returning to the Mizukage's office, Jianchuan Tachibana and Qing followed the Third Mizukage all the way, acting like a guard.

The Third Mizukage first gave an order to the Anbu, and Kurisan Kushimaru personally led people to thoroughly investigate Karotachi Yagura's subordinates.

Anyone who was deeply involved in this rebellion will be arrested and executed, while ordinary ninjas who were unaware will be ignored.

After giving the order, the Third Mizukage prepared to continue dealing with other incidents after Kurikaze Kushimaru and his men left.

It seemed as if the rebellion that almost overthrew the Hidden Mist Village was just a trivial matter and was passed over lightly.

However, the Third Mizukage seemed to notice that Jianchuan Tachibana on the side was a little confused about his order, so he asked directly in return.

“I can’t figure out why I’m dealing with it so polarized?”

Jianchuan Ju scratched his head subconsciously and answered honestly.

"Yes, a little bit. Some of those who were deeply involved may have been forced into it. It seems too severe to execute them all. And most of those who were unaware of it also made mistakes. It seems too lenient to not punish them at all."

The Third Mizukage just smiled when he heard this, but he didn't show any impatience at all. He started to explain to Jianchuanju.

"The ten that Yagura brought with him must be his most loyal and most powerful men. The rest are either not strong enough or are in key positions and cannot leave easily. The former can be killed, and the latter cannot be kept alive."

"Similarly, Yagura's actions are also helping me to screen and judge. Since those participants who are not aware of this matter have been kept in the dark, I will simply treat them equally and ignore their mistakes."

"Now is the time to use people. Only by treating them with care can they feel guilty and grateful."

Afterwards, the Third Mizukage took this opportunity to tell Jianchuan Ju a few things to pay attention to when employing people.

Jianchuan Ju was nodding and listening attentively throughout the lecture, while Qing, who was standing beside him, followed and listened with a sense of envy and satisfaction.

Next, the Third Mizukage dealt with the backlog of work during this period with great efficiency, and Jianchuan Tachibana accompanied him throughout the process.

This old man is like a ruthless office machine. He handles problems efficiently and keeps everything in order.

At the same time, although the Third Mizukage did not seem to care much about his remaining life, he was very eager to pass on some of his experience to Jianchuan Ju. From time to time, he would stop to ask Jianchuan Ju questions and give explanations.

It was not until he saw a scroll of important information that the Third Mizukage stopped his work and suddenly spoke.

"The Third Raikage is dead."

The first words he spoke were earth-shattering.

Jianchuan Ju and Qing both looked at each other in shock. The Third Mizukage himself was holding the information with a very serious expression.

"On the day you raided the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Cloud Village's AB team received the news and left the front line."

The Third Mizukage paused slightly when he said this.

In fact, we all know without thinking that the so-called AB combination must have received the news because of Uchiha Madara behind the scenes.

However, the Third Mizukage didn't want to dwell on this matter any longer and continued to speak.

"After the AB team left the front line, the Iwagakure Village suddenly turned against them on the battlefield and attacked the Kumogakure Village, causing the Kumogakure Village to be completely defeated. The Third Raikage Ai was eventually besieged by the Iwagakure Village while trying to cover the retreat of the troops, and died at the hands of Ōnoki."

Jianchuan Ju were both dumbfounded after hearing this, and Qing blurted out the answer directly.

"Aren't Iwagakure and Kumogakure allies? What are they after?"

The Third Mizukage did not answer, but just looked at Qing with some disgust.

Then he turned to look at Jianchuan Ju, with a look of expectation and examination in his eyes. Jianchuan Ju scratched his head and thought for a while, then answered with some uncertainty.

"The alliance of Iwagakure and Kumogakure has been fighting Konoha for a long time but has not been able to take it down. Ohnoki believes that if he continues to take advantage of Konoha, his own losses may be too great. So he chose to take advantage of Kumogakure's weakness and launch a surprise attack on his allies, preparing to reap enough benefits from Kumogakure?"

Upon hearing this, the Third Mizukage nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes, I know Ohnoki. That brat is the best at judging the situation. When he thought Konoha was in decline, he immediately chose to form an alliance with Kumogakure and drove the Sand Village and us, who he thought were no longer important, out of the battlefield in order to gain greater gains from victory."

"And now, when he finds that Konoha's resilience is far stronger than he imagined, and that it will be difficult for Iwagakure and Kumogakure to defeat Konoha in a short period of time, and even if they win in the end, it may be a pyrrhic victory, he will choose to stop the loss in time and launch a surprise attack on his allies in the hope of earning enough benefits from the Land of Lightning."

Jianchuan Ju and others nodded thoughtfully.

To put it nicely, it's called assessing the situation; to put it bluntly, it's called being a fence-sitter.

However, unlike the small country like Kusagakure, where fence-sitting is done to ensure survival, every decision is a matter of life and death.

The Iwagakure Village is a large fence-sitter, whose slightest movement can influence the situation in the ninja world, but it itself remains standing and is always reaping the benefits.

Even Jianchuan Ju suspected that before the Iwagakure Village launched a sneak attack on Kumogakure, it might have reached some kind of agreement with Konoha and obtained certain benefits in advance.

The Third Mizukage gave the two a moment to think and then continued to ask.

"Then what do you think the betrayal of the Iwagakure Village and the death of the Third Raikage will have on us?"

Jianchuan Ju looked at each other and said in unison.

"Konoha's peace talks!" x2

"That's right." The Third Mizukage gave an immediate affirmative answer.

Before, Konoha was able to accept all kinds of outrageous conditions from the Hidden Mist Village, although this was because of the deterrence of the Hidden Mist Village's air force stationed on Whirlpool Island.

However, it was more because of the continuous large-scale battles between the Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Konoha, which led to Konoha not wanting to let the Mist Village, which had half-withdrawn from this Ninja War, return and expose Konoha to attacks from both sides.

The current feud between Iwagakure and Kumogakure will not allow Konoha to immediately escape from the quagmire of the northern battlefield of the Land of Fire.

But the change in the priority of hatred between the two villages was enough to allow Konoha to breathe a sigh of relief.

Konoha, which can spare enough energy, will definitely want to regain more say at the negotiating table.

"It all came down to the timing of the attack on Kumogakure."

Jianchuan Ju didn't know that Uchiha Madara had chosen to die, and he kept a note of him in his heart.

If the original plan of the Third Mizukage was followed, the attack on Kumogakure would definitely be used as a bargaining chip, and would only be carried out after sufficient benefits were obtained and the negotiations were over.

This skill ensures that the peace talks go smoothly and does not delay the Hidden Mist Village's revenge on Hidden Cloud Village, but now everything is in chaos.

But it's no use thinking about things that have already happened.

The Third Mizukage waved his hand to call over an Anbu and gave instructions.

"Send a message to Konoha and ask them to send someone to the Hidden Mist Village within ten days for the final peace talks."

Alas, my dog made me cry today.

The dog, which I had raised for 6 or 7 months since it was a puppy, actually bared its teeth and got aggressive towards me.

Uncomfortable

Chapter 284 Leave the rest to me

The Anbu immediately took the order and retreated.

However, Jianchuan Ju and Qing on the side sighed slightly at the same time.

The previous peace talks were actually held on the front line on Whirlpool Island.

But this time, the Third Mizukage asked Konoha to come to the Hidden Mist Village for peace talks, and asked for it to be done within ten days.

It was obvious that he wanted to show up in front of the people of Konoha while he was still alive and maintain this deterrent effect.

After all, Yagura Karuta, an important fighting force of the Hidden Mist Village, has been declared a traitor, and the village may not be able to withstand the blow of losing another Kage-level fighting force now.

Even though the Third Mizukage is bound to die now, he at least cannot disappear in public, otherwise the subsequent peace talks will be even more impossible.

In the next few days, Jianchuan Tachibana and Qing always followed the Third Mizukage.

Watching this old man handle various things in a clear and orderly manner.

This also changed Jianchuan Ju's previous prejudice that the Third Mizukage was just a mascot and the real work was done by the Yuanshi elders.

During this period, Qing was appointed as the squad leader of the Jonin squad, and he remained the front-line commander, and his position as squad leader of the perception squad was also still a part-time job.

Chun Yu resumed his position as Minister of the Air Force Department and deputy commander of the front line.

Even Hoshigaki Kisame has been appointed as the deputy director of the Anbu. The current Anbu director, Kurikawa Kushimaru, has been weakened due to a broken arm, so it is possible that he will be able to become the director of the Anbu in a few years.

On the contrary, Jianchuan Ju, who played the biggest role this time, did not receive any new appointment from beginning to end.

Even within the Ministry of Space, there was no mention of promoting him to the position of deputy minister. Instead, the reckless man Kaguya Rosso was appointed as the deputy minister of the Ministry of Space.

However, regarding this matter, apart from Kaguya Rosso and Biwa Juuzou who complained a little, no one else, including Jianchuan Tachibana himself, expressed any opinion.

Jianchuan Ju, who gradually came into contact with various events in the Hidden Mist Village, also learned about the strange situation in the Hidden Mist Village.

The three top families in the Hidden Mist Village are the Snow Clan, the Kaguya Clan, and the Hozuki Clan. Each of them has its own industries.

The Snow Clan mainly engages in the drug trade, the Kizuki Clan controls 50% of the marine fish catch in the Hidden Mist Village, and even the seemingly reckless Kaguya Clan owns several island mines.

The remaining shops and land in the village are basically controlled by other large and small ninja families or Water Country nobles.

On the contrary, the Hidden Mist Village itself not only has no pillar industries, but as a not-so-prosperous city, even its tax revenue is pitifully low.

The commission that ninjas take from accepting missions is the majority source of income for the Hidden Mist Village.

The remaining funding gap is basically funded by the Daimyo of the Land of Water. In addition, the Daimyo of the Land of Water also controls a considerable share of the tasks, which means that the Hidden Mist Village needs to be constrained by the Daimyo in many matters.

This is also the reason why the Third Mizukage attached so much importance to the Whirlpool Island.

All the Daimyo of the Land of Water needed was a port close to the Land of Fire for trade, and he promised that if the Hidden Mist Village stationed a garrison on the Whirlpool Island, the taxes from this new city would belong to the Hidden Mist Village.

It is foreseeable that the trade in this city will be very prosperous, and the tax revenue will even exceed that of the Hidden Mist Village itself.

But now all the issues come back to the peace talks.

The Hidden Mist Village is unable to do so now. It is unable to build a city on Whirlpool Island despite the pressure from Konoha. After all, the geographical location of Whirlpool Island is too close to the Land of Fire.

However, after the Third Mizukage invited Konoha to negotiate, Konoha temporarily suspended the negotiation process with the ridiculous excuse that the war was now in a stalemate.

This continued until the tenth day after Jianchuan Ju and others returned to the village.

The Third Mizukage reluctantly put down the documents in his hand and dismissed everyone, including the Anbu guards, leaving only Jianchuan Tachibana and Qing.

At this moment, both Jianchuan and Tachibana felt the heavy atmosphere. They all stood obediently in front of their desks, waiting for the Third Mizukage to speak without saying a word.

The Third Mizukage first glanced at Qing who was lowering his head, and then turned his gaze to Jianchuan Tachibana, with a hint of gentleness in his eyes.

"Ju, have you made up your mind?"

This question came without any preface or context, but the three people present knew what the Third Mizukage was asking.

Once in the front-line camp, the Third Mizukage asked Jianchuan Jujube if he wanted to become a Jinchūriki. At that time, he was actually asking Jianchuan Jujube if he had ever considered becoming a Mizukage.

However, Jianchuan Ju declined the offer on the grounds that he was too young.

Today, Jianchuan Ju's strength no longer needs the addition of the tailed beasts, and he is already the strongest in the Hidden Mist Village. The Third Mizukage once again raised this question. In other words, what the Third Mizukage has done in the past ten days has been waiting for Jianchuan Ju's answer.

Want to become the Fourth Mizukage?

In fact, from Jianchuan Ju's perspective, there are ten thousand reasons to refuse the position of Mizukage.

In fact, it has not even been a year since the Third Mizukage asked the question, and Jianchuan Tachibana is still very young, not even thirteen years old.

Jianchuan Ju himself was a person who was afraid of trouble. Even if he was unwilling to become the Mizukage, even with the assistance of the elder Yuanshi, he still had to deal with countless official duties.

And with Jianchuan Tachibana's current reputation in the Hidden Mist Village, he can achieve the same status as Jiraiya in Konoha without the position of Mizukage, and he can be even freer.

From the perspective of improving strength, it is difficult to trigger new achievements now. Ninja missions will be the largest source of gold coins for Jianchuanju besides daily tasks, but becoming a Mizukage means that he can no longer do missions.

In short, Jianchuan Tachibana could come up with all kinds of reasons to refuse the position of Mizukage.

But when he saw the expectant look in the eyes of this dying old man, this old man who always appeared serious and cold-blooded, but had no wife, no family, no children, and had dedicated his entire life to the Hidden Mist Village.

Jianchuan Ju's heart trembled involuntarily, then he looked at the Third Mizukage with a firm gaze and nodded heavily.

"I've made up my mind! Lord Sandaime!"

Hearing what Jianchuan Ju said, the Third Mizukage's mouth corners suddenly curled up, and then he laughed heartily, and the laughter became louder and louder.

His heartfelt laughter was interrupted by a series of coughing fits.

Jianchuan Ju and Qing hurriedly wanted to go forward to check, but were stopped by the Third Mizukage who waved his hand.

The Third Mizukage did not look at Jianchuan Tachibana and the others. Instead, he muttered to himself, as if he was explaining to Jianchuan Tachibana and the others, or as if he was talking to himself.

"In fact, I never thought of depriving Yagura of his inheritance rights. I let Aoki become Jinchūriki just to increase the village's combat power. If Tachibana doesn't want to be the fourth generation, then he can be the fifth generation. The village's Kage has always respected strength. It's ridiculous that Yagura actually thinks he can't defeat Aoki after he becomes Jinchūriki."

"Back then, whether it was the first generation, that bastard Huanyue, or me, we all relied on our own strength to seize the position of Mizukage. Why does he think I will break this tradition?"

"If you haven't figured it out, I originally wanted to let Ao rely on the power of the tailed beast to become the fourth generation after Konoha agrees to the peace talks. Without that brat, it would be enough for you to be a Kage. Then you would have enough time to think and grow. But now, time is running out."

The Third Mizukage suddenly sat up straight, his eyes wide open, veins bulging in his arms, and he slammed the table hard.

"Hit! You must hurt Konoha!"