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Hozuki Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage of the original timeline.
During his tenure, not only did he emulate the Second Hokage Tobirama by establishing the Hidden Mist Shinobi Academy and the ANBU, but he also enacted secret laws to protect the Hidden Mist Village, stipulating that Mist ninjas must safeguard their own intelligence—not just from enemies, but even from their comrades.
This led to the Mist ninjas becoming excessively mysterious, to the point where even the younger generations of the Hidden Mist Village didn't fully understand the strength of their Mizukage.
Moreover, he placed great emphasis on the inheritance of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, which famously began during his era.
He designated the seven inheritors of the swords as direct subordinates of the Mizukage, nurturing a new generation of ninjas to become members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, effectively solidifying the village's development.
Kamihane curled his lips, "Who's familiar with you?"
With a slight clench of his fist, Gengetsu's body shattered as if torn apart by a vehicle, leaving only his head intact while the rest of his body turned into a bubbling mass of water. His flesh and blood liquefied into a transparent, eerie substance.
"Damn it, what kind of ability is this, kid?" Gengetsu snarled, trying to mask the fear in his eyes.
Kamihane watched him leisurely, "The Hozuki clan, even if your head is blown off, you can recover. I wonder if you'd still be able to recover if you were reduced to a molecular state?"
"I've never actually tried…" Gengetsu cut himself off, then exclaimed, "Wait! Who are you? Why do you know so much about me?"
"Do you think you're in any position to ask questions?" Kamihane tilted his chin slightly, and the water mass beside Gengetsu immediately expanded and exploded with a pop, dispersing into a mist that moistened the air.
"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down!" Gengetsu was terrified, his gaze fixed on another swelling water mass, sweat pouring down his face, "Big brother, just ask whatever you want, I'll tell you everything!"
He forced himself to put on a groveling expression, his eyes never leaving the water mass.
'Damn it, that's my lower body… It'll take a long time to fully recover…'
"State your identity, purpose, and why you tried to assassinate the daimyo," Kamihane's expression turned cold, recalling the authoritative tone of Madara, unknowingly exuding a more imposing aura.
Hozuki Gengetsu twitched his lips, frustrated, "I, Hozuki Gengetsu, direct disciple of the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water, came here to seize the 'Three Iron Legacies' from the Land of Iron. The assassination attempt was one of the necessary means to achieve this goal."
'How humiliating… Damn brat, once I break free, I'll definitely kill you…'
Kamihane nodded slightly at Mayonaka, then continued, "Why do you want the 'Three Iron Legacies'? What's the Land of Water plotting?"
"I…"
"Speak!" Kamihane flicked his finger, and another water mass exploded into fragments right before Gengetsu's eyes.
"Stop, stop! I'll talk, okay?"
Gengetsu's voice trembled, "The Hidden Mist Village needs swordsmiths, desperately! But the best swordsmiths in the entire shinobi world are all concentrated here!"
"I… I had an idea. If we could combine ninjutsu with samurai swordsmithing techniques to create unique ninja swords, our village would surely become stronger…"
"Also, this plan was entirely my own idea, and all actions were my own doing. It has nothing to do with the Hidden Mist Village, not even my teacher knows about it…"
Kamihane nodded thoughtfully, "To achieve this plan, what kind of schemes have you carried out?"
"I…" Gengetsu sighed helplessly, "I've had this idea for a long time, but the 'Three Iron Legacies' are tightly united and even formed a guild. The only way to break them apart was from the inside…"
"So, many years ago, I sent my most trusted confidant, disguised as a citizen of the Land of Iron, to infiltrate the guild. The goal was to sow discord among them one day… Until yesterday, when I stopped receiving messages from him…"
"Yeah, I killed him," Kamihane said indifferently.
"So it was you…"
At this moment, Tanba Mayonaka suddenly spoke up, his voice filled with indignation, "You said you carried out all this behind the Mizukage's back, but how did you mobilize Mist ninjas? On the day of the incident, many powerful ninjas attacked us and the shogunate army!"
"Tch~" Gengetsu scoffed dismissively.
Kamihane said coldly, "Answer his question."
Gengetsu quickly replied, "Oh, that? Those were just rogue ninjas and mercenaries organized by assassin groups. As long as you're willing to pay, they'll do anything. I guarantee you, apart from me and my confidant, no one from the Hidden Mist Village was involved in the entire plan!"
'Damn it, damn it, I'll kill you, I'll kill you…'
He stared fixly at Kamihane's fingers, thoroughly intimidated.
"Lord Daimyo, do you understand everything now?"
The daimyo sat stiffly on his chair, his face frozen in shock throughout the entire explanation. Now, whether he believed it or not, he had no choice but to accept the truth…
"So that's how it is. I never imagined that our Land of Iron, a neutral nation, would have so many spies lurking in the shadows!"
The daimyo was visibly furious, but amidst his anger, there was also a touch of gratitude for finding such capable allies. With tears in his eyes, he exclaimed:
"How fortunate we are to have Mayonaka, whose wisdom is unparalleled! How magnificent is Kamihane, whose divine might shakes the heavens! The two of you have turned the tide, saving us from disaster and sparing the Land of Iron from humiliation…"
"Lord Kamihane, please execute this scoundrel at once!" The daimyo pointed at Gengetsu, his voice shrill with urgency.
Kamihane smiled faintly and, with Gengetsu in tow, vanished on the spot.
He moved so quickly that Gengetsu only felt a blur of wind and the surrounding scenery rapidly shifting. Before he knew it, Kamihane had brought him outside the city walls.
"Mustache man, I don't dislike you. Get lost and go back."
Kamihane chuckled as he released his grip, the invisible restraints dissipating. Instantly, Gengetsu merged with the nearby water masses, his body reforming into a complete, albeit drenched, human figure.
"Mustache man?" Gengetsu's face turned ashen as he immediately distanced himself from Kamihane, leaping several hundred meters away in a few bounds.
He could feel that as he moved further away from the boy, that bizarre restraining force weakened significantly!
"Brat, I underestimated you earlier. The humiliation I suffered, I'll return it to you now!"
He formed hand seals and slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!!!"
When the white smoke cleared, he stood high atop a giant clam, its shell pristine white, with two fleshy tentacles peeking out from the shell's opening.
"Genjutsu: Mirage Pavilion!"
"Sizzle—Sizzle—"
The tentacles wriggled, and massive amounts of dense fog erupted from the breathing holes, engulfing the surrounding kilometer in an instant—including Kamihane, who stood there with a peculiar expression.
'Scared stiff, aren't you, kid? I'm a genjutsu ninja! In this mirage, everything you see is an illusion!'
The fog quickly dissipated, and Gengetsu and his giant clam appeared to still be standing in the same spot. In reality, however, this was just a genjutsu-created illusion. His real body was sneaking around cautiously.
Instead of approaching Kamihane directly, he moved in a roundabout way, hiding behind a large boulder.
'That kid can control water. I don't know what strange jutsu it is, but I can't recklessly get close. So… how about a large-scale bubble attack?'
The ground beneath him suddenly became wet, and countless bubbles of varying sizes began to emerge, floating toward Kamihane.
"Water Bullet Jutsu: Explode!" He snapped his fingers.
A deafening explosion erupted, but when he peeked out, Kamihane was still standing there unharmed, tilting his head as he examined the genjutsu clone.
Gengetsu broke into a cold sweat, 'What the hell? He's immune to bubble attacks too? No choice then, I'll have to finish you off with my Jokey Boy!'
Jokey Boy—this was his self-developed infinite explosion jutsu, which used oil and water from his body to create a child-shaped clone. The clone was incredibly agile, with an exterior of oil and an interior of water, making it highly susceptible to heat and cold. Once it moved, the oil on its surface would rapidly heat up, causing the water inside to evaporate. The clone's size would grow larger and larger until it triggered a massive steam explosion!
After the explosion, the steam would rise and cool, turning into hail to shrink the clone's size. The clone would then reform, ready for the next explosion—an endless cycle.
In the original timeline, it was this unique technique that allowed him to perish alongside the user of Dust Release!
Hiding behind the boulder, Gengetsu raised his hands to form seals, slowly gathering chakra. Steam began to rise around him, gradually forming the smiling face of a clown.
"What are you doing?"
The sudden voice startled Gengetsu, his nearly formed oil-and-water clone losing control and disintegrating.
"W-what? You…" Gengetsu trembled as he pressed his back against the boulder, shakily looking up.
There, crouched on top of the boulder, Kamihane gazed down at him with the demeanor of a cat toying with a mouse, utterly at ease.
It was unclear when he had appeared, or perhaps he had been there all along.
Gengetsu instinctively tried to flee, but unfortunately, that damned restraint descended once again. An overwhelming force pressed down on him, lifting him into the air as his stomach swelled into a water balloon.
"No… that's impossible…" He spoke in disbelief, "You were supposed to be fooled by my Mirage Pavilion! How could you have found my real body?"
"I… I'm not just a Water Release ninja, I'm also a master of genjutsu!"
"That's exactly why!" Kamihane said, pointing to his eyes. "You're completely countered by me!"
A flash of red light, and he revealed his three-tomoe Sharingan, the black patterns swirling against the crimson backdrop. Gengetsu couldn't help but stare in awe.
"Uchiha…?" He was utterly dumbfounded.
Kamihane narrowed his eyes, "Mustache man, I said I don't dislike you, but that doesn't mean I won't kill you."
A chilling killing intent flashed by, and Gengetsu's expression immediately turned grave.
"This time, I'll let you off. But there won't be a next time. Have some self-awareness, fool."
He casually released his grip, and Gengetsu immediately fell to the ground, landing in a sorry state.
"If you dare target the guild again, I'll personally come to the Hidden Mist Village and kill you right in front of the Mizukage."
"Th-that doesn't make sense…" Gengetsu panted heavily, "Why are you protecting the Land of Iron? Aren't you… from the Leaf Village?"
With a splat, Gengetsu's head instantly exploded, scattering droplets of water like rain.
"Do not mention that name in front of me."
Kamihane's tone was icy, "I'm no saint. Like you, I'm just a robber taking advantage of the situation, a bastard who's forcibly extracting benefits from the Land of Iron. The only difference is that my methods are far more elegant than yours."
He turned away, no longer paying attention to Gengetsu's fate. "Get lost. I won't interfere with the Ichikawa family's affairs anymore, and you'd better not set foot in the Land of Iron again."
With that, he activated the Body Flicker Technique and vanished on the spot, leaving Hozuki Gengetsu sitting dumbly on the ground.
Water gathered at Gengetsu's neck, slowly reforming into a face devoid of eyebrows, his expression still shaken.
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