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Mastermind of the Akatsuki 335
🕑 Added 2025-02-25 07:00:02 +0000 UTCChapter 335: The Fourth Mizukage is a Puppet
Zabuza's words pierced Jūzō's heart like steel needles, making him begin to doubt whether he had betrayed himself and Kirigakure.
But even if he hadn’t joined the Akatsuki, he still didn’t have the ability to change the current situation of Kirigakure.
Since joining the Akatsuki, he had come into contact with people like Nagato and Yahiko, individuals who had dreams and were working toward them. Spending time with them, he felt fulfilled every day.
Glancing at Jūzō, Byakuya turned his attention back to Zabuza, sneering, "Joining the Akatsuki was the best decision Jūzō could have made. He’s transformed from a wandering, aimless ghost into a person striving for a better future. As for you, Zabuza, after you defected from Kirigakure, what meaningful things have you done other than playing house with these Kirigakure Anbu ninjas? Have you ever thought about how to increase your strength or how to defeat the Fourth Mizukage?"
Hearing this, Zabuza fell into deep silence, unable to respond.
During the days after his failed attempt to challenge the Mizukage, he had done nothing of consequence. Aside from picking up Haku and the kid with the Shikotsumyaku on his travels, he had simply been outsmarting the Kirigakure’s pursuit team.
He had never once thought about defeating the Fourth Mizukage. The Mizukage’s strength was so overwhelming that it had robbed him of the courage to even try. No matter how hard he worked, he knew he would never be able to defeat the Fourth Mizukage.
Seeing Zabuza sink into despair, Haku couldn’t help but speak up, "That’s not true. Zabura-sama has always wanted to return to Kirigakure. He’s been trying to change the village’s current state, but the timing just isn’t right."
"When will the timing be right? Should we wait for Kagura Karatachi to die of old age?" Byakuya said, glancing at Haku with mockery, cutting off Haku's words. Now even Haku didn’t know what to say.
Haku had never witnessed the Fourth Mizukage’s strength, but he knew how powerful Zabuza was.
An enemy that even Zabuza couldn’t deal with seemed like it could only be defeated if the opponent naturally grew old and died. No matter how hard Haku tried, it was difficult to imagine surpassing Zabura-sama.
After a long silence, Zabuza looked up at Byakuya, weary as he spoke, "I admit that I’m a useless fool who couldn’t even defeat the Mizukage, but you, Byakuya, didn’t go through all this trouble to come here just to mock my failures, did you?"
"Of course not. I didn’t come here to mock you. It’s just that you don’t show enough respect for my subordinates."
After a brief pause, Byakuya continued, "Since joining the Akatsuki, Jūzō hasn’t been carrying out assassination or bodyguard missions, but his contributions to the Land of Rain are well-recognized. He’s assisted Nagato in building roads and reservoirs, and he’s helped civilians. He’s one of the Akatsuki’s exemplary members. A ninja can find many ways to realize their value, not just by pledging allegiance to a decaying ninja village. You Kirigakure ninjas pour your hearts and souls into Kirigakure, but how does the village treat you?"
Hearing this, Zabuza turned to Byakuya and said,
"I admit you make a good point, but that’s not why you came to find me, right? I’m good only at assassination. Other jobs aren’t suited for me. Finding me for this was a mistake on your part."
Byakuya gently shook his head, "I didn’t come to find you because Amegakure lacks a good worker. I came because I want you to assassinate the Mizukage. I want to invite you to join us for a mission."
"Assassinate the Mizukage…? You want to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage, Kagura Karatachi? And you want to invite me to join? Do you really think I would accept your invitation and join you in assassinating the Mizukage?"
At this point, Zabuza laughed, then fixed his gaze on Byakuya, saying, "I can understand why Jūzō would want to assassinate the Mizukage, but why does your Akatsuki organization want to kill the Fourth Mizukage?"
As far as Zabuza was concerned, he didn’t think Byakuya had anything for a weakened village like Kirigakure.
"The blood mist policy imposed by the Fourth Mizukage has severely weakened the Kirigakure’s strength. Isn’t that exactly what you want to see? Aren’t you afraid of the repercussions if the assassination fails and it leads to the Kirigakure seeking revenge?"
At this point, Zabuza grinned.
"I know you all want to become one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, but you’re caught between the Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konohagakure. Do you really think it’s so easy to take on Kirigakure?"
Zabuza, though often impulsive and reckless, was no fool. He regularly analyzed the situation in the ninja world.
He understood that while Kirigakure was in turmoil, if the Fourth Mizukage were assassinated, the originally fragmented Kirigakure would quickly unite and resist any external enemies.
This was something the other four great ninja villages would never want to see, which was why the Kirigakure had never faced an invasion in recent years.
After listening to Zabuza’s analysis, Byakuya couldn’t help but think that this Jōnin still had some skill, being able to accurately analyze Kirigakure's predicament and why the other ninja villages weren’t intervening.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Byakuya replied, "The Akatsuki has never had the intention to replace Kirigakure. The only possibility is for the Kirigakure to become one of Akatsuki’s subordinate villages. As for why we want to target the Fourth Mizukage, there are many reasons.
The chaotic state of the Kirigakure makes it unsuitable for trade, which severely impacts Akatsuki's income. Also, the person behind the Fourth Mizukage and the Kirigakure ninja has some past issues with me, and I don’t want him to continue controlling Kirigakure."
The mention of the chaotic state of Kirigakure affecting Akatsuki’s trade, along with the personal conflict between Byakuya and the person controlling the Fourth Mizukage, left Zabuza perplexed. The first part made sense, but the second part left him confused. What did Byakuya mean by "having issues with the person behind the Fourth Mizukage"? Could the Fourth Mizukage actually be a puppet controlled by someone else?
After a moment of thought, Zabuza began to think Byakuya's words might hold some truth.
Before Zabuza graduated from the ninja academy, Kagura Karatachi had a completely different style. He had opposed the blood mist policy and had even contributed to its abolition when the mist exam was removed.
However, after Kagura Karatachi became the Fourth Mizukage, everything changed.
He not only reinstated the blood mist policy but also purged the bloodline clans within the village. Time and time again, these purges had led Kirigakure to the brink of fragmentation.
Not only did the ninja clans lose support, but even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the Anbu had left the village.
Despite all this, very few people within Kirigakure had ever doubted Kagura Karatachi’s identity as the Mizukage. One reason was that Kagura Karatachi possessed the strongest strength in the entire village, making it hard to believe that someone so powerful could be controlled by others.
Another reason was that throughout the history of the Kirigakure, every Mizukage, no matter their previous personality, would enact the blood mist policy once they became Mizukage.
Perhaps the blood mist policy was just what suited the Kirigakure, or perhaps the Mizukage feared being overthrown.
Zabuza was one of the rare few who had sensed that something was off with the Fourth Mizukage and attempted to challenge him. Unfortunately, he was defeated in a single encounter and didn’t even have the time to probe or question the Mizukage’s true nature.
After a long pause, Zabuza spoke up, "Do you have any evidence that the Fourth Mizukage is being controlled by someone else?"
