How to Survive as an Uchiha

In the Mizukage Building, Yagura was in his office reviewing documents. The soft rustle of papers filled the otherwise silent room as his eyes scanned each page.

Everything appeared normal.

Standing silently beside him, as the head of ANBU, was Obito.

This role was convenient for maintaining his genjutsu-induced deep hypnosis on the Fourth Mizukage at all times.

The benefits of wearing a mask every day were becoming clearer to Obito.

Not showing his face meant he could impersonate anyone without the need for ninjutsu.

Now his proficiency with genjutsu had become second nature, almost imperceptible, like water soaking into the earth.

The knowledge imparted by Madara and Black Zetsu was being absorbed and digested at an incredible speed.

If he met Masashi again now, he felt certain that the other wouldn't stand a chance against his current genjutsu mastery.

Unless Masashi, like him, had some god-tier mentor like Madara giving him special training.

This time, he would definitely turn things around beautifully.

Obito didn't exactly know what Masashi was planning, but he was certain that Masashi wouldn't abandon the Uchiha clan's matters. He would definitely come to Kiri to cause trouble after knowing what he was up to.

Killing Masashi? Honestly, he hadn't even thought about that.

Putting personal grudges aside, their relationship was a strange mix of enemies-not-enemies and friends-not-friends. Killing each other hadn't become necessary.

To be honest, he had just wanted to punch Masashi for a long time.

Suddenly, an ANBU appeared silently in the Mizukage's office.

"Mizukage-sama, the White Ghost attended the Hōzuki clan's banquet last night."

"Understood," Yagura said. "Don't expose yourselves, stay on standby."

The ANBU vanished, and the office returned to silence.

"What do you think, Tobi?" Yagura asked Obito.

In his memory, Tobi was his most loyal subordinate.

The Bloody Mist policy was something Yagura was forced to continue due to the village's circumstances—even intensify.

"The great clans led by the Hōzuki clan still refuse to repent. They intend to resist to the end. For the future of the village, they must be eliminated," Obito replied.

"I know they're a tumor." Yagura sighed.

It wasn't difficult to wipe out the major clans represented by the Hōzuki clan, but that also meant Kiri would lose many elites and secret techniques.

And such a loss would be irreplaceable.

This would cement Kiri as the weakest among the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

Of course, there were benefits. Without those great clans, commoner ninjas would have upward mobility and the village wouldn't need to rely on the Bloody Mist policy to maintain its fighting power at the lower levels.

Before becoming Mizukage, he hadn't fully understood it. Only after stepping into this role did he realize why the Third Mizukage had implemented the Bloody Mist policy and what abolishing it would truly mean.

"I need to think more about this… I must carefully consider this matter…" Yagura didn't want to act against people from his own village, but he knew time was running out. He decided to give them one more chance.

Obito watched the scene with satisfaction. Who could say this is genjutsu? Even Shisui isn't as effective as this.

This was the power he now wielded!

Masashi, just you wait! The current me is nothing like before!

Knock, knock.

A knocking sound echoed through the office, breaking the moment.

"Come in," Yagura said.

The door opened, and a man walked in.

"It's Ao, huh? You've been working hard lately. Sit down and talk." Yagura gestured to the sofa in his office.

"Thank you for your concern, Mizukage-sama. Actually, the elder…" Ao hesitated as he looked at Yagura.

The sudden rumors spreading in the village had deeply concerned him, which was why he had come.

But using the Byakugan to check the Mizukage would be an extreme act of disrespect, akin to drawing a sword on him. He hesitated to go that far.

Once he did it, there would be no turning back.

"I know." Yagura interrupted Ao's words. "So, I also want to have a proper talk with you… Tobi, step out. Don't let anyone disturb us."

"Yes, Mizukage-sama." Obito displayed the loyalty expected of a subordinate at that moment.

Without a word, he disappeared.

Yagura stood up, making Ao slightly nervous.

Back when he became Mizukage under everyone's hopeful gaze, his exceptional leadership and shared political ideals were one reason, but the decisive factor was his strength.

He had defeated every foe in Kiri.

Yagura was the third shinobi, after Hashirama and Madara, to perfectly control a tailed aeast.

Perfect jinchūriki and perfect control of tailed beast power were slightly different concepts.

The former referred to a state of perfect coexistence with the tailed aeast, where the beast not only didn't hinder the jinchūriki's abilities but actively assisted them. This wasn't a relationship of container and sealed being—it was a bond of true comrades.

The latter meant that regardless of whether the tailed beast was willing, its power could be used however the user desired. It was a master-pet relationship.

Yagura possessed both, making him the strongest jinchūriki of his era.

It was rumored that the deceased Eight-Tails jinchūriki from Kumo also had this ability, but it was only a rumor.

After all, that jinchūriki had already been killed by the White Ghost. Who knew when the Eight-Tails would revive?

"Ao." Yagura sat on the sofa opposite, meeting his gaze. That look was one Ao knew very well.

Once, that look had convinced him Kiri had hope.

"Mizukage-sama, you truly haven't changed!"

"There's no one else here. Just call me Yagura, like before, Ao." Yagura smiled bitterly. "You've probably cursed me a thousand times in your mind, haven't you?"

"Fourth… no, Yagura, what happened? After you became Mizukage, what did you see? There are rumors spreading that you're being controlled by a genjutsu!"

"Genjutsu, huh…" Yagura laughed bitterly. "Even rumors like that are spreading? Maybe I really am under genjutsu. After all, I can't believe I've done these things myself."

"Don't joke around, Yagura!"

Finding that his former comrade was still the same person, he didn't believe the rumors and realized how malicious they were.

"If you keep pushing like this, there will be rebellion!"

"The rebellion will be led by the great clans, with the Hōzuki at the forefront, Ao," Yagura said, shaking his head. "Let me show you something."

He walked to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a stack of documents.

"Take a look at this."

Ao immediately noticed the "Top Secret" stamp on the cover.

"Yagura, my position doesn't really suit this..." Ao hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, he had initially planned to use his Byakugan when he came here.

He wasn't wrong though. While he was a trusted confidant of the elders, his official rank was merely that of a standard jonin, with no other titles or authority.

According to laws personally enacted by the Second Mizukage that were still in effect, he wasn't allowed to view such documents.

"At this point, why does that even matter?" Yagura shoved the documents into Ao's hands. "In a little while, these documents won't matter anymore."

Ao stopped resisting, sat back down on the sofa, and began reading carefully. The more he read, the grimmer his expression became.

"This is... too outrageous..."

The stack of documents contained nothing but the dark secrets of the major ninja clans in Kiri. Words that could start a war within their own walls.

It wasn't uncommon for ninjas to have skeletons in their closets, but what these documents revealed showed that the major clans in Kiri had completely lost all sense of restraint or reverence.

They treated the village like their personal farm, hoarding resources, monopolizing opportunities for advancement, and exploiting commoner ninjas to an extreme degree.

This all traced back to the era of the Second Mizukage.

That Mizukage, who loved war, had stirred up plenty of conflict during his tenure, and the clan ninjas had taken advantage of the chaos to accumulate immense credit and influence.

However, while the Second Mizukage himself hailed from a major clan, he never cared about status when selecting talent. He embodied the principle of "I have plenty of jutsu, let's see if you have the skill to earn them."

While clan ninjas certainly benefited, this was also the era when commoner ninjas began to rise in number and prominence.

By the time of the Third Mizukage, however, things changed. The Third's rise to power was rushed, and he lacked the strength and prestige of his predecessor.

As a result, he had to rely on the major clans, which rapidly grew in power and privatized key village institutions. This destroyed the core principle of relative fairness that underpinned Kiri's ninja system.

Faced with this reality, commoner ninjas in the village began to give up.

After all, no matter how hard they worked, they wouldn't get a single extra coin.

So why bother?

The Third Mizukage couldn't reform the clans, so he decided to pressure them by changing the commoner ninjas instead. This led to the infamous Bloody Mist policy.

Over time, this policy deeply harmed the interests of the clans. By the time of the Third Great Ninja War, the number of commoner ninjas had fallen to less than half of what it was during the Second Mizukage's era. Without enough commoner ninjas, casualty rates for clan ninjas skyrocketed during the war.

It didn't matter how many resources they controlled if there were no people left to fight.

At the same time, the resentment of commoner ninjas toward the clans only grew stronger. The divide deepened, and during the war, commoner ninjas had even begun hesitating to help comrades in danger if they were from the clans.

On the other hand, clan ninjas, used to their privileged treatment, looked down on everyone outside their clans—commoner ninjas included—considering them crude, ignorant, and greedy inferiors by nature.

From both perspectives, the other side was irredeemable.

They lived in the same village, yet viewed each other as sworn enemies.

The Bloody Mist policy had failed to produce the result the Third Mizukage wanted. But it couldn't be stopped either.

If it were ended, the quality of commoner ninjas would plummet immediately.

Thus, after the devastating loss in the Third Great Ninja War, he knew that the situation he had created would ultimately spell his downfall.

So, he resigned.

He certainly didn't want to become the first Mizukage to trigger a civil war while still in office. That would be far worse than being purged.

Ao gripped the documents tightly, shocked by the unspeakable actions of the clan ninjas.

The records detailed, how the clan ninjas had used their family privileges to seize resources, exploit commoner ninjas, and suppress the lower ranks without the slightest restraint or morality.

"Hikari was assigned to the guesthouse?" Ao was stunned when he saw this line.

"Just one example of many," Yagura said softly, watching his reaction. "Keep reading."

The guesthouse was originally meant for hosting foreign dignitaries and symbolized Kiri's dignity. Over time, however, it had turned into a private club for the major clans and had become a place of debauchery.

Ao knew that much, but he had no idea that many of the women there were the relatives of "criminals."

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding those so-called criminals, how could they involve innocent family members? These were people from their own village!

And now, even members of the recently wiped-out Yuki clan had been sent there.

"This is madness..." Unable to read any further, Ao closed the file. His hand trembled slightly. "It's complete madness..."

"Not reading anymore?" Yagura asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

"No..." Ao handed the documents back to Yagura. "Do the elders know about this?"

"Maybe they do, maybe they don't." Yagura tossed the documents onto the desk. "These people have been very discreet. These files were gathered starting from the Third Mizukage's era, and this is all we've managed to collect."

"All we've managed to collect..." Ao felt a fire burning in his heart.

If that fire were released, he wasn't sure what he might do. But he knew what would happen if the villagers and commoner ninjas saw this and unleashed their rage.

At that point, no one would care about major clans or minor clans. No one would care whether every clan was guilty or not.

If you were from a clan, you would have to die.

The bloodshed would sweep through Kiri and soon engulf the entire Land of Water.

"Ao, what do you think would happen if I abolished the Bloody Mist policy right now?"

The answer was so obvious it didn't need to be spoken. Seeing Ao remain silent, Yagura smiled faintly.

"You came to see me for a reason, didn't you?"

"...The rumors," Ao said after a pause. "The elders asked me to tell you that it's the Hōzuki clan behind them."

"I know. And then?"

"And then..."

And then I was going to surprise you with my Byakugan—how could he say that now?

Ao felt bitter.

Not only was Yagura completely unsurprised, but even if he were, Ao could no longer justify using his Byakugan.

After all, Yagura himself wasn't the problem!

Even if he had been under genjutsu control, his actions so far clearly showed that whoever was controlling him was someone within Kiri who had had enough of the clans and wanted to destroy them to rebuild the village.

At this rate, either the commoner ninjas would disappear completely, or the clan ninjas would all die out.

Knock knock.

The office door was knocked again.

Yagura frowned.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry, Mizukage-sama. Konoha's envoys are here—they've been waiting downstairs for a long time."

"Is it the White Ghost or Teleporter?"

"Both of them, Mizukage-sama."

"I see. I'll come right away. Take them to the council chamber."

After issuing his instructions, Yagura looked at Ao.

"Ao, do you want to come with me?"

"Yagura, I..."

"Never mind. Stay here for now. Don't leave until I'm back. We'll talk more then."

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111/150 reached for bonus chapter.