Uchiha Patriarch !

"Shikotsumyaku?"

Karatachi Yagura, who had just walked out of Master Genji's house, stood on the steps, his head throbbing after hearing the latest intelligence from the Anbu. "Damn it! Can't things stay quiet for a while?" Trouble after trouble—at this rate, he probably wouldn't survive the year.

Though muttering curses without a clear target, his feet turned back in the direction of Genji's house, heading back inside.

He found Genji kneeling at the desk, hunched over while grinding ink, preparing to practice calligraphy. Yagura repeated the information he had received and humbly sought Genji's advice. "Master Genji, what do you think we should do about this?"

"The orphan of the Kaguya Clan?"

Upon hearing this intelligence, Genji's mind wandered for a moment. His thoughts drifted back to the time when the Hidden Mist Village was founded—when the leaders of the Byakuren Clan, Genji himself, the Terumi Clan, the Hozuki Clan, the Yuki Clan, and the Kaguya Clan all worked together to establish the village.

But after the village was formed, just like Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju competing for the title of First Hokage, those once united companions split apart, each vying for the seat of the First Mizukage. Genji naturally supported Byakuren, but the leader of the Kaguya Clan wouldn't give up, rallying the Yuki Clan and several others to attack Byakuren. The result was, of course, Byakuren's decisive victory.

Being bested by Uchiha Madara didn't mean Byakuren was weak. On the contrary, surviving an encounter with Madara in that era was proof of his undeniable strength. The Kaguya Clan leader couldn't defeat Byakuren, and, being a stubborn battle maniac, chose to withdraw his entire clan from the Hidden Mist Village after his defeat.

"I didn't expect... that maniac hasn't died out completely."

Genji sighed softly.

He set down the ink block in his hand, his ink-stained fingers gently rubbing together. His eyes half-closed, he contemplated for two or three minutes. Just as Yagura was about to lose patience and speak up, Genji finally broke the silence. "Mizukage-sama, it's best not to get involved in this matter."

"…"

Yagura held back his immediate response, but his furrowed brow betrayed his unrest.

What did he mean, not get involved?

That's the Shikotsumyaku, a precious kekkei genkai! How could they ignore it?

If they could bring that boy to the village, it could mean a new bloodline for the Hidden Mist.

"Mizukage-sama, the Kaguya Clan was destroyed by us. Even if we could bring that child back, how could we ensure that he wouldn't turn against the village in the future?" Genji could see Yagura's reluctance.

Of course, he also hoped the Kaguya Clan could truly integrate into the Hidden Mist.

But things rarely go as planned. From Byakuren's time until now, through four Mizukage generations, not only did the Kaguya Clan fail to join the Hidden Mist, but the rift between them grew wider, until they could no longer coexist. The Mist ninjas wiped out the Kaguya Clan entirely. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of Kimimaro, they would've assumed the Kaguya Clan was extinct.

"The Kaguya Clan was never truly Mist ninjas. Mizukage-sama, what excuse could we possibly use to make the Leaf Village hand over the last Kaguya?"

Yagura's face tightened. His displeasure was obvious.

"Mizukage-sama, I understand your desire to recover what the village has lost, but at times like this, we must be more cautious. Desperate hunger makes people reckless. The village is like a sick patient right now, unable to digest anything too tough or spicy—bite into iron, and we'll lose a few teeth."

"Even setting aside the excuse we'd need to get the child from the Leaf ninjas... Mizukage-sama, didn't you say the ninja who brought back the Kaguya child was injured?"

"It seems so."

Yagura frowned.

"If I'm not mistaken, wasn't that Leaf ninja Uchiha Shisui?"

"Yes, it was Uchiha Shisui."

Yagura nodded.

"Shisui of the Body Flicker! I've heard of him for a long time," Genji sighed. "On the battlefield, even Ao avoided him. Shisui of the Body Flicker is probably second only to the Uchiha Clan leader in strength."

"What kind of opponent could have injured someone of his caliber? Who in the Land of Water could have done that?"

"If I'm not mistaken, that Kaguya child is probably more trouble than he's worth."

Yagura opened his mouth to speak, feeling that Genji's speculation was a bit far-fetched. Basing the assumption solely on Shisui being injured seemed like too much conjecture. But in the end, he said nothing in opposition.

Because he saw the troubled, helpless expression on Genji's face.

It dawned on him: Genji wasn't unwilling to keep the Shikotsumyaku in the village. It was simply that the Mist Village no longer had the strength or leverage to negotiate with the Leaf. If the Leaf refused to hand over the Shikotsumyaku, the Mist asking for it would only bring humiliation!

As for the Leaf generously handing over the Kaguya's heir...

Dream on!

Aside from the Land of Water, where the public had a complex disdain for kekkei genkai, other countries and villages had never stopped collecting them. The Cloud's obsession with the Hyuga's Byakugan was just one example. Spies sent to other villages didn't just gather intelligence—they also aimed to steal kekkei genkai.

The Magnet Release kekkei genkai in the Cloud Village was stolen from the Sand Village using a 'honey trap.'

"I was impulsive, Genji."

Yagura sighed wearily.

"This feeling of being humble and submissive... it's really unpleasant!"

"All for the sake of the village," Genji's wrinkled, elderly face showed an unshakable determination. As long as it was for the village, bowing and scraping before Leaf ninjas didn't matter. The village's interests came first.

"Yes... all for the village."

Yagura repeated softly. His heart was filled with a bitter mix of emotions that were hard to describe. "This chair is really hard to sit in!"

Genji said nothing more.

There was no need to. The seat of the Mizukage had never been easy, especially in these stormy times for the Hidden Mist.