Escape From Konoha

"Minato Namikaze is dead."

The next day, in a hotel in a town in the Land of Water, Shiraishi spoke in a nonchalant tone about the news just sent from Konoha.

The specific battle losses have not yet been calculated, so Shiraishi doesn't know how many ninjas Konoha sacrificed in order to suppress the Kyuubi.

Of course, the battle losses of the other ninjas were not considered by Shiraishi.

The point is that Namikaze Minato is dead. In Shiraishi's opinion, among the thousands of Konoha ninjas, none of the Namikaze Minato brought him as much pressure.

When Shiraishi told this news, Liuli was slightly startled. She knew that Shiraishi used Nagato to attack Konoha, but she didn't expect that the other party would make such a big noise.

The death of the Hokage is not a trivial matter that can be brushed off.

Konoha is probably in chaos now.

"It seems that the power of the Samsara Eye cannot be underestimated."

Shiraishi knew that Ruri must have misunderstood something, and said: "It's not what you think, Ruri. Although the cause of Namikaze Minato's death is still uncertain, there is a high probability that he was not killed in the battle."

"Yeah?"

Liuli was not very interested in this.

The cause of Minato's death was a trivial matter that didn't matter to her.

Firstly, although they were both Konoha ninjas in the past, they never had much contact with each other. Secondly, now that she was on the hostile side of Konoha, she was surprised by Minato's death, but her heart felt calm.

It was just an enemy who had nothing to do with him who died.

There are also regrets, that is, I have never been able to have a fair one-on-one battle with a powerful ninja like Minato.

This opportunity didn't exist before, and it would be even less possible after Minato died.

"But in this case, this guy will die in your hands both times."

Thinking of this, Liuli laughed with interest.

When he left Konoha five years ago, he used Kushina as bait and designed to kill Minato once.

Coupled with this death, this was the second time Shiraishi had taken action against Namikaze Minato.

"Hey, don't blame me for this. It wasn't me who killed Namikaze Minato this time."

Shiraishi wanted to clear up the relationship and prove that this kind of thing had nothing to do with him.

"But you provided the information, right? Do you dare to say that you can completely stay out of it?"

"I just provided information. How to use that information is beyond my control."

At this point, Shiraishi was still denying that he was the one who killed Minato for the second time.

After all, Shiraishi himself cannot predict the consequences of giving information to others.

He didn't have much confidence in whether Nagato could use the Nine-Tails Riot to get rid of Namikaze Minato from the beginning.

It can only be said that Nagato did this very beautifully, and Shiraishi was not dissatisfied at all.

As far as the results are concerned, even if a ninja in Konoha does not die, as long as Minato, the yellow flash, is sacrificed, then the plan will not be considered a failure and can be said to be a complete victory.

"Even so, the power of Konoha still cannot be underestimated. Although the strength of the Third Hokage has declined, it still retains some of the style of its peak period. The two advisors of the same generation, the root leader Shimura Danzo, are also first-class ninjas. Besides, there are powerful factions like the Sannin in Konoha."

Ruri crossed her arms on her chest and poured cold water on Shiraishi, telling him not to let down his guard against Konoha just because Namikaze Minato was dead.

In the ninja world, there are many people who capsize in the gutter because of their carelessness.

"Of course I understand this kind of thing. Compared with the older generation of the Third Hokage and others, the existence of the Sannin should naturally be paid more attention to. However, I know the strength of Teacher Tsunade very well. In addition to medical ninjutsu, her strength It's not enough to pose a big threat to us. The remaining two Sannin are the key."

Shiraishi's tone became more solemn.

"Jiraiya and Orochimaru?"

"That's right. Jiraiya aside, Orochimaru is an all-round genius ninja. There are no shortcomings in the three schools of Ninja Gentai. He is the giant psychic beast of Ryūchi Cave, and he has strong scientific research capabilities and commanding abilities. , coupled with his cautious personality... Even if Kakashi comes into contact with him, he has not gotten any useful information so far."

It can be said that he is a ninja without any weaknesses.

No matter how strong a ninja is, he can always find some shortcomings to address.

However, Orochimaru, one of the three ninjas, does not have this flaw and can fight any type of ninja in any environment without being at a big disadvantage.

It's like an unkillable poisonous snake that delivers a fatal blow at a critical moment.

"Maybe after Namikaze Minato dies, he will immediately become the fifth Hokage."

Liuli nodded, Orochimaru was indeed a difficult ninja.

"Yes, as expected, Orochimaru is the Fifth Hokage. In the election of the Fifth Hokage, no one in Konoha is Orochimaru's opponent... But killing a Fourth Hokage is already the limit. I want to Targeting Orochimaru, who is under the protection of Konoha, is extremely difficult. The most important thing is that we still have too little information about Orochimaru, and we have not had much contact with him in the past."

Shiraishi sighed.

I feel that Konoha is really full of talents. The third Hokage abdicated, the fourth Hokage died, and the fifth Hokage immediately found a suitable candidate.

After a series of twists and turns, he was able to come up with such a foundation, which can only be described as terrifying.

"Of course, there is another guy worth noting. The Konoha ninja who learned the Eight Gate Dungeon and was called Matt Dai. Remember, his son was your former student in Konoha."

After Shiraishi's reminder, Liuli remembered the existence of such a person.

On the night of his defection, Matt Dai's taijutsu really impressed people, and he was a taijutsu ninja worth paying attention to.

"This happened before. If you didn't tell me, I almost forgot about this guy."

"Ayane said that after he opens the Seven Gates, his physical skills will become extremely difficult, so be careful when encountering them. After all, after a few years, he must be stronger than before."

"The legendary door of death? If I have the chance, I would like to see it with my own eyes."

According to legend, a ninja who activates the Eight Gate Armor Formation will gain unrivaled power in a short period of time. It is not known whether this is true or not.

"There will be such opportunities in the future. If the Kingdom of Ghosts wants to develop, it must touch the cake of the vested interests. And Konoha is the largest vested interest in the shinobi village in the era of one country and one village. Sooner or later, it will touch them. Up."

Liuli nodded and agreed with Shiraishi's words.

"It's almost time, let's go. The news of the Fourth Hokage's death will not spread so quickly. The most important thing now is to solve the Blood Mist Sect within Kirigakure and make Yagura the Fourth Mizukage."

After Shiraishi said this, he walked out of the hotel, and Liuli followed him out, heading towards Kirigakure Village.

◎

The vast sea is covered with a gauze-like mist, which is not a bad view, but for those who are new to this country, the view will indeed be affected a little.

Kirigakure Village is located in such a coastal area.

Relying on the sea on one side and the mountains on the other, the entire village was shrouded in pale white mist. From a distance, you can only see the huge outline of the village, the tall water tower building, and the dam that intercepts the water.

Compared to being called a village, the area of ​​Kirigakure Village looks more like a bustling metropolis.

There are tens of thousands of well-trained ninjas living here, plus countless civilians, providing the village with a large number of new ninjas every year. Even if it encounters a large-scale war, with the size of Kirigakure Village, it can quickly Recover.

The same is true for the ninja villages of other major countries.

There is always no shortage of chuunin, who represents the backbone of the force, and jounin, who represents the elite force.

It is precisely because the Ninja Villages of the five major countries are too powerful, and their military strength has increased year by year, that there is an insurmountable gap between them and the Ninja Villages of small countries.

What's more, the leader of the Great Country Ninja Village is a powerful ninja named "Five Shadows".

Each of them can influence the outcome of a war.

However, compared to the other four major country ninja villages, Kirigakure Village is isolated overseas and rarely communicates with mainland countries. It only fought against the Iwagakure Village of the Earth Country during the first ninja war. At other times, We have always focused on developing overseas.

Therefore, what happened in this ninja village? It is difficult for the great ninja village living on the mainland to obtain information about the Kirigakure village.

But today is an unusual day for Kirigakure Village.

The election of the Fourth Mizukage will be held today.

It has been nearly thirty years since the third Mizukage ruled Kirigakure. Now that he is old, and his series of unlucky tricks have caused chaos within Kirigakure, many tragedies have arisen, and the village has been devastated. Many ninjas here were dissatisfied.

It was only because of his orthodox status, coupled with his hard work and hard work over the years, that he did not let everyone explode.

But if it continues to be delayed, it will only make Kirigakure internally more chaotic.

In order to quell the dissatisfaction in everyone's hearts, the election of the Fourth Mizukage is imminent.

Under the secret promotion of a mysterious undercurrent, the election of the fourth generation Mizukage has nothing to do with the will of the third generation Mizukage himself.

The election meeting of the Fourth Mizukage was held in the large conference room of the Mizukage Building, and the official start time was nine o'clock in the morning.

It is already 8:50, and the meeting will officially start in ten minutes.

But at this moment, everyone attending the meeting has basically arrived.

There were the Third Mizukage, Mizukage's secretary Gotachibana Yagura, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen including the Watermelon Mountain Puffer Demon and the Tongcao Yaoji, as well as the other senior officials, a total of more than 20 people.

"It seems that Juuzang guy hasn't arrived yet? What's wrong?"

A high-ranking jounin pointed to an empty seat and had doubts about it.

Loquat Juzo is the holder of the contemporary Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the decapitating sword. He is also one of the few elite Jonin in Kirigakure Village. In addition to the natural influence of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, there are also many in the village. followers. Although that force is not powerful, it cannot be completely ignored.

"Juzang chose to abstain from voting. He is currently stationed at the border and does not intend to participate in this Mizukage election meeting."

The wielder of the Great Sword, Samehada, Suikoyama Fugu Oni ​​answered the other party’s question.

"Really? I didn't expect that out of the seven famous ninja swordsmen in our village, you two are the only ones left."

He looked at the pufferfish ghost in Watermelon Mountain and the wild bait man in Tongcao with a rather emotional tone.

"Don't worry, as long as I become the fourth generation Mizukage, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen will soon be complete."

The puffer fish grinned, determined to win the position of the Fourth Mizukage.

After waiting for so many years, he was waiting for this moment.

"But Kurihara Kushimaru and Murashi Jinpachi were killed by Konoha's rebel ninja Hinata Ayane. The long sword, stitches and explosive swords are missing. It is not an easy task to get them back."

"Yes, that Hyuga Ayane, it is said that even Kumogakure's Fourth Raikage is no match for her."

The Ninja Swords held by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen each have special abilities. Now two of them have been lost at once. They have not been found for several years. Everyone knows that the chance of getting them back from the rebel Ninja is slim. .

If the other ninja villages get two ninja swords, they can get them back peacefully through normal diplomatic means.

But if it fell into the hands of a defecting ninja, it would not be that simple to get it back.

The most important thing is that they can't control the whereabouts of the other party, and they can't find anyone to negotiate with them if they want to.

The puffer fish snorted coldly, but did not say such a big thing as being able to kill Konoha's S-class rebellious ninja casually.

Being able to defeat the Raikage, one of the Five Kages, shows the opponent's strength. It is estimated that only when all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in their heyday took action would they have the possibility of victory.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are not on the same level as the fame and strength of the 'Five Shadows'.

As long as I master Kirigakure, I can send a large number of ninjas to hunt down the opponent. I don't believe I can't get back the two missing ninja swords! The puffer fish ghost thought angrily in his heart, because he was quite unhappy because of the other high-level officials' look down upon him.

Even if it is true, as a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he cannot be underestimated.

"Since Juuzou has abstained and everyone else has arrived, let the meeting begin, Mizukage-sama."

The pufferfish ghost said.

The third Mizukage's old face wrinkled, and he sighed secretly, this moment has finally arrived.

After all, he felt guilty for not leading Kirigakure to develop well due to his teacher's second-generation Mizukage Kito Genzuki's dying instructions.

From now on, Kirigakure should be left to young people with more ideas.

"Elder Yuanshi, what do you think?"

The Third Mizukage looked at the old man sitting beside him, who had been silent.

Older than his own face.

The other party's name is Yuanshi, and he is higher than his teacher, the second generation Mizukage Kiden Gengetsu. He is a person of the same generation as the first generation Gokage. When he was young, he was also a famous ninja in Kirigakure Village. He worked for Kirigakure. He has dedicated his life to the construction and development of Hidden Village.

"Let's get started. In this era, it should be led by young people, and Konoha does the same."

Genshi is a ninja who has experienced various periods in Kirigakure Village.

In the past, the second-generation Mizukage Kiden Genzuki followed Konoha and established the ANBU and ninja schools of Kirigakure Village, which made Kirigakure Village's military strength grow by leaps and bounds.

Even Konoha made the choice to let young people guide Konoha in this era, and Genshi naturally agreed to the election meeting of the Fourth Mizukage.

At least this way, it can inject fresh vitality into Kirigakure Village.

After all, the Third Mizukage is old and unable to deal with many things as he wishes, and lacks the decisiveness of his youth.

This caused a rift within Kirigakure, and the third Mizukage could not escape the blame.

"Then, let the election meeting of the Fourth Mizukage officially begin."

After receiving the consent of the elder Mizukage, the Third Mizukage nodded. Even the most far-sighted elder Mizukage in the village believed that the election of the Fourth Mizukage was inevitable. He, the Mizukage, had indeed reached the age to abdicate in favor of others. .

It is said to be an election meeting, but in fact, prerequisite preparations have been made before the meeting.

The Mizukage election system in Kirigakure Village is divided into three steps. The first is a public opinion poll, the second is a Jonin survey, and the third is a high-level survey.

Among them, imitating Konoha in opinion polls is the most preferred choice.

Followed by the votes of Jonin and senior officials, which also accounted for a certain proportion.

“So, what are the results of the polls?”

a senior executive asked.

The senior executive in charge of this stood up from his seat and said: "Among all the candidates participating in the selection of the Fourth Mizukage, the Watermelon Mountain Fugu Ghost Jounin received the most votes. Not only that, the Jounin side also had similar results, completely leading the way. to other candidates.”

"A victory without any suspense? It looks like it was done deliberately."

A senior executive who was dissatisfied with the Xiguashan Pufferfish Ghost's behavior snorted coldly and seemed to have doubts about the result.

The Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Ghost remained calm and did not get angry because of this. He could just deal with the objections afterwards. There was no need to make a fuss here now.

Especially since he is still the person involved, making a big fuss at this time will only deepen others' doubts about his ability.

"However, this is indeed the result of voting according to formal procedures."

The senior person in charge of statistics said again.

"What if you, as the middleman, are bribed and collude with someone?"

The previous senior executive smiled coldly.

"What did you say? Are you questioning my position?"

The senior executive responsible for counting the votes glared over.

"Who knows what's going on inside? Compared to the Watermelon Mountain Blowfish Demon, I prefer Gouju Jounin to be the Mizukage. His strength is only stronger than the Watermelon Mountain Blowfish Demon, and he has been working hard to assist the third generation, accumulating He has quite a lot of experience. After becoming the Mizukage, he was able to immediately recover the village from the shadow of the past."

"I'm sorry. Among the candidates, the number of votes received by Gojujounin was only ranked fourth. It's a very subtle term. Even if he has strength and experience, if he is not popular, the public will If you don't like it, you can only stop here. The will of the people is the most correct notary."

The senior executive in charge of statistics glanced at Yagura, who was sitting to the right of the Third Mizukage with an expressionless face, as if he didn't care.

"How can it be?"

"There is no need to question the public's gaze. They can see clearly who has greater ability at a glance."

The centrist tally official responded this way.

"Can people who are deliberately blinded really see clearly from such a distance? What did the inspection team say?"

The senior executive who supported Yagura still refused to give up. He believed that the appointment of the Watermelon Mountain Blowfish Demon as the Fourth Mizukage would only lead Kirigakure Village to hell.

The senior executive responsible for checking the voting mechanism picked up the manuscript, hesitated and said: "There is no mistake. After investigation, the majority of the people prefer the Watermelon Mountain Fugu Ghost Jounin."

As for what's fishy here, no one knows.

Public opinion polls are the most important part of the Mizukage election, but they can also be said to be the most useless.

As long as someone deliberately guides them, they can control the public opinion below and change the public's tone.

Rather than seriously thinking about who to support, they are more like people watching and joining in the fun, and what they see may just be an illusion created by others.

Because of the asymmetry in information and intelligence, they were seriously misled.

But no matter what, the result has been determined.

"Damn! This kind of thing is problematic no matter how you look at it. I demand a new vote! There must be something wrong with this!"

The senior people who support Yagura still can't believe that the Watermelon Mountain Fugu Ghost has so many supporters.

"It's really ugly to yell. Whether you believe it or not, this is the fact. Just because you don't believe it, you can't deny this fact. Lord Mizukage, Elder Genshi, the result is already obvious. Shinobi Watermelon Mountain has won With such strong support, even without the final high-level vote, I believe you two will be able to see the final results."

The senior executive looked at the Third Mizukage and the Elder Yuanshi.

Master Yuan just frowned and did not speak.

The Third Mizukage sighed. To him, it didn't matter who became the Fourth Mizukage. As long as Kirigakure's power could be restored as soon as possible, it didn't matter whether he was from the Blood Mist Sect or the Reform Sect.

The Xiguashan Pufferfish Ghost had no emotion on his face, but he was also happy in his heart.

There is no doubt that the Fourth Mizukage belongs to him.

"Also, I have another question."

The senior person responsible for counting the votes suddenly said again.

"what is the problem?"

The Third Mizukage asked.

"This question needs to be answered by Gouju Jōnin."

"Yakura?"

The third Mizukage turned to the right and looked at Yagura with a surprised look on his face.

Did Yagura do something?

Yagura replied in a calm voice: "Excuse me."

"According to the intelligence I suddenly received this morning, the garrison troops on the southern border began to abandon border defense and returned to the village in a menacing manner. It is said that they were ordered to do so by someone."

The meaning was very clear. He meant that the Kirigakure garrison on the southern border was mobilized by Yagura.

"What!? The Gojujounin actually——"

The meeting room immediately exploded, and everyone stared at Yagura with shocked eyes.

Border garrison troops must not be transferred back without authorization.

Even if Mizukage gives the order, it must be decided by a high-level meeting, otherwise the high-level group will have the right to hold Mizukage accountable.

Because once there is a problem with the garrison, foreign ninja forces may directly invade the Kingdom of Water and bring disaster to Kirigakure Village.

"Yes, I gave the order to the southern garrison troops to return to the village without authorization."

Yagura admitted frankly.

This made the senior executive who asked Yagura the question choked up. He hadn't provided further evidence, so why did Yagura admit it so simply?

This kind of crime is enough to put Yagura into a situation of eternal damnation!

The senior officials who supported Yagura were also dumbfounded. He did not expect Yagura to be so bold. He directly bypassed the high-level meeting and dispatched the southern garrison troops back to the village under the guise of Mizukage's order.

"Yakura, are you crazy? If the south is invaded by foreign enemies at this time, what should we do?"

Now everyone has no time to talk about the election issue of the Fourth Mizukage, because the position of the Fourth Mizukage has been determined. The most important thing now is to let the southern garrison troops who returned to the village return to the border as soon as possible to avoid letting the southern part of the Water Kingdom There were mistakes in military defense.

The Watermelon Mountain Puffer Ghost was overjoyed. He did not expect Yagura to be so crazy at first and directly overstep his authority and dispatch the garrison troops back.

It seems that the opponent has exhausted his skills and knows that he is no match for the vote, so he takes an action that is tantamount to a lunatic in the eyes of everyone - a coup!

The other senior officials also realized this and stared at Yagura with evil eyes, ready to take him down at any time.

But taking advantage of Yagura's strength, he did not take action immediately, but looked at the Third Mizukage.

Among all the people here, only the third generation Mizukage could restrain Yagura.

The Third Mizukage looked at Yagura with complicated eyes. He did not expect that Yagura, who had been following him and silently performing his duties, would be such a crazy person.

"Yakura, don't you have anything to say?"

"Being a king or losing a bandit is just to get the position of the Fourth Mizukage. Isn't this a natural outcome, Third Generation-sama?"

Yagura stood up from his seat, his childish face like a doll was emotionless, but his purple eyes showed amazing determination.

"It's too late to stop now, don't make the same mistake again and again! Even if you don't become the Fourth Mizukage, you are still an outstanding Jonin in the village!"

The third Mizukage also stood up, not wanting to meet Yagura in battle, because that would cause Kirigakure to lose a powerful ninja.

There are now only three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen left. If we lose another powerful faction like Yagura, Kirigakure will have no external deterrent effect for a long time in the future.

This was something the Third Mizukage didn't want to see.

"I'm sorry, I have to betray your trust, Third Generation-sama."

Yagura shook his head. Now that the matter is over, there is no other possibility except a coup.

Moreover, he has been planning for today's game for more than five years, and there is no way he can give up halfway here.

"Let's do it."

After Yagura said this, the door of the conference room suddenly exploded, flashing with intense lightning.

A figure jumped out like lightning, with the soles of his feet touching the ceiling, long brown hair hanging down, and the whole person hanging there upside down.

"Yakura, you are really annoying me. I am already impatient waiting outside! I have endured it for several years, and now I can finally do something big!"

"Lin, Ringo Yuri!?"

When everyone saw the true face of the female ninja who had no idea of ​​etiquette and rushed into the conference room to cause trouble, their eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost.

Didn't she die because of a serious illness?

How is this going?

Why are you still colluding with Yagura?

The Watermelon Mountain Puffer Ghost also widened his eyes, looking at Lin Yuri in disbelief, and suddenly had an unpleasant premonition in his heart.

Facing the panicked expression of this man, Yuri Lin was just accumulating thunder and lightning with his two swords, and showed a kind and kind smile to everyone.

"Thunder Release: Raimon!"

boom!

Thick smoke and explosions immediately swept through the conference room, causing a large area of ​​the Mizukage Building outside to collapse.

The sky was covered with dark clouds and thunder was flashing. The lightning kept striking down the Mizukage Building, trying to turn the entire building into dust.

Yagura was the first to escape from the explosion, jumped outside, and stared helplessly at Yuri Lin who was making a fuss there.

He even dared to bomb the Mizukage Building, an important symbol of the village. He was very brave.

However, thinking about the grievances the other party has suffered in the past few years, it is inevitable that he should return to the village to relieve his stress, which is completely understandable.

"Forget it, just destroy it. Anyway, I think the current Mizukage Building is too old. We can just rebuild a good-looking building afterwards."