Chapter 463: The Impact of Victory

Land of Water, Hidden Mist Village.

Mizukage Building, conference room.

The five high-ranking officials of the Hidden Mist in the spacious conference room all had gloomy expressions.

They were as furious as the Konoha higher-ups were elated.

Originally, they had gone with the idea of taking advantage of Konoha’s troubles to plunder and gain some benefits, but instead of gaining advantages, they suffered significant losses.

Not only did the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist lose five members, but even the precious specially crafted swords couldn’t be recovered; all five swords were captured by Konoha.

For the Hidden Mist, those swords were actually more important than their wielders. People could be replaced, but how could they select new swordsmen without the swords?

What made the Mist higher-ups even more speechless was that losing five of the Seven Swordsmen wasn’t even the biggest loss. Their Village had even lost a Three-Tails Jinchuriki, with the Three-Tails itself dying. Until the Three-Tails revived, the Hidden Mist only had one Six-Tails Jinchuriki left.

Moreover, well-known Mist Village powerhouses like Haku and Hozuki Mangetsu had also died on the battlefield, becoming stepping stones for Mugetsu’s rise to fame.

Compared to these losses, the casualties among the Hidden Mist Ninja Force weren’t that severe. Yagura Karatachi’s actions had effectively preserved the fighting strength of the Mist Ninja forces.

“First, let’s discuss how to deal with Yagura Karatachi,” the Third Mizukage said coldly, looking as if he had already decided to punish Yagura severely.

The other Mist higher-ups exchanged subtle glances, momentarily unable to guess the Third Mizukage’s intentions.

Everyone knew Yagura Karatachi was the Third Mizukage’s favored candidate for the next Mizukage. They couldn’t immediately tell if the Third Mizukage was disappointed and prepared to abandon him, or if he spoke first because he didn’t want Yagura to bear too heavy a punishment.

“Yagura has betrayed the Village’s trust, repeatedly making erroneous judgments in major decisions, causing our Hidden Mist to suffer heavy losses. If he isn’t punished, what will the Village’s Ninjas think?” the Third Mizukage continued, seeing that no one else spoke.

Hearing this, the Mist higher-ups understood: the Third Mizukage still didn’t want to give up on Yagura Karatachi. A formal-looking symbolic punishment would suffice.

“Although we lost the war, Yagura was still a dutiful commander. He successfully prevented the Hidden Mist Ninja Force from being crippled, preserving our strength well and keeping us from being too passive going forward,” the Elder Gengetsu said after some thought.

He didn’t want to create a rift with the Third Mizukage over the position of the Fourth Mizukage. The Hidden Mist Village was already in a bad state; any internal strife could truly push it toward decline.

Moreover, Gengetsu didn’t have any better candidates. Among Yagura Karatachi’s generation, Yagura was the strongest and also excellent in other aspects, already the most suitable person to become Mizukage.

“The war defeat can’t be blamed entirely on Yagura. Originally, our Hidden Mist had a clear advantage. It was after Haku led the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and was defeated by Hayate Mugetsu that the situation turned from favorable to disadvantageous. Haku bears significant responsibility for the war loss,” the Hidden Mist Anbu Leader chimed in.

Compared to Yagura Karatachi, who was still alive and could potentially become Mizukage, Haku, a deceased famous Mist Ninja, was clearly more suitable for taking the blame.

After all, he was already dead; bearing a bad reputation wouldn’t affect him.

“Suikazan Fuguki and the others also failed in their duties,” a Mist Advisor added, dragging the deceased members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen into sharing the blame.

With a few words from them, Yagura Karatachi became the MVP of the losing side. The entire war failure was attributed to the incompetence of Haku and Suikazan Fuguki’s group.

All the higher-ups skillfully avoided mentioning Hozuki Mangetsu. It wasn’t because of his good performance or reluctance to blame him, but because the Hozuki Clan currently held considerable influence within the Hidden Mist, and their feelings had to be considered.

The Third Mizukage nodded, agreeing with the higher-ups’ assessment. Yagura Karatachi had both faults and merits, and the main errors didn’t lie with him.

Ultimately, the punishment Yagura Karatachi received was the removal of all his current positions and assignment to the Anbu to contribute to the Hidden Mist and atone for his mistakes.

“We must recover the five swords captured by Konoha; they are our Hidden Mist’s precious assets,” a Mist Advisor then brought up the five lost swords.

Among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the two strongest swords were Samehada and Hiramekarei. Now, both had been captured by Konoha. How could the Mist Advisor be willing to accept that?

“Recovering the swords is a must, but how to do it is a problem,” the Hidden Mist Anbu Leader said.

“Given the current situation, we either send our Ninja forces into the Land of Fire again to fight Konoha and defeat them,

or negotiate with Konoha to retrieve the swords by signing a peace treaty.”

The Hidden Mist was the one who initiated the war against Konoha. Konoha wouldn’t possibly return five precious swords to the Hidden Mist for no reason.

Currently, Konoha was fighting on multiple fronts. If the Hidden Mist was willing to negotiate peace, even if the Mist made some demands, as long as they weren’t excessive, Konoha would likely agree.

“Going to war again in the short term is probably not advisable. Konoha’s morale is currently high, while ours is low. This shift in momentum is very unfavorable for our Hidden Mist,” Elder Gengetsu spoke up.

He firmly opposed starting another war immediately; it would be a thankless task.

“We cannot sign a peace treaty,” the Third Mizukage rejected the idea of signing a treaty.

“The swords must be recovered, but definitely not in such a humiliating way.”

If they really negotiated peace, the entire incident would become: the Hidden Mist declared war on Konoha, lost, then actively sought peace and begged Konoha for the swords. That would be far too shameful. The Third Mizukage didn’t want such a clownish event to happen during his tenure.

The Hidden Mist Anbu Leader had nothing more to say. If this wasn’t acceptable and that wasn’t either, then what exactly should they do?

“Next, don’t make any unnecessary moves. We’ll wait and see how things develop,” the Third Mizukage stated his thoughts after consideration.

He believed that given Konoha’s current situation, even if they had the upper hand, they couldn’t possibly invade the Land of Water. This meant the Hidden Mist Village could simply sit back and watch the tigers fight, quietly waiting for an opportunity.

When Konoha showed signs of decline, they could re-emerge and launch an attack. Winning then would bring both fame and fortune, and they could seize the swords back.

As for Konoha defeating all its enemies and achieving victory, the Third Mizukage didn’t consider that outcome.

After the meeting ended, Elder Gengetsu sighed softly and left the Mizukage Building.

This war had made him realize the Hidden Mist’s weakness.

Although they had two Jinchuriki, neither the Three-Tails Jinchuriki nor the Six-Tails Jinchuriki were perfect Jinchuriki, unable to achieve full Tailed Beast transformation while conscious.

The new generation of Mist Ninjas were far inferior in strength to Konoha’s. Konoha had the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze, who could fight the Cloud’s new AB Combo to a standstill, and Hayate Mugetsu, who could kill a Jinchuriki. Their Hidden Mist had no Ninja from the new generation who could make such a name for themselves in the Ninja World.

It wasn’t just one generation; even Yagura Karatachi’s generation of Ninjas were outmatched by Konoha’s.

Apart from Yagura Karatachi, who could compare to one of the Sannin, figures like Haku and Hozuki Mangetsu couldn’t match the Sannin.

Haku and his group were even utterly defeated by Konoha’s new generation Ninjas. Both Haku and Hozuki Mangetsu died at Mugetsu’s hands.

“Elder Gengetsu, do you have time now? I’ve recently encountered some trouble in my Water Release training,” Mei Terumī said, her eyes lighting up upon seeing Gengetsu.

“What’s the problem? Tell me about it,” Elder Gengetsu asked with a kind smile upon seeing it was Mei Terumī.

Mei Terumī was a talented Ninja he had discovered during the joint Chunin Exams period. Gengetsu had high hopes for her future, believing she could become a leading figure in the Hidden Mist’s new generation.

Mei Terumī quickly explained the problem she had encountered.

After a moment’s thought, Elder Gengetsu provided an answer. Although he didn’t train much anymore due to his age, he had been a renowned Water Release master in the Hidden Mist in his day.

“Thank you so much,” Mei Terumī bowed in gratitude.

“You must train hard. Those opponents you once met in Konoha have already made quite a name for themselves on the battlefield,” Elder Gengetsu said with a chuckle to motivate her.

Among Konoha’s four most famous young geniuses, three had participated in the same joint Chunin Exams as Mei Terumī. Among them, Obito had even lost to Mei Terumī once during the second round of matches.

“Opponents I once met in Konoha?” Mei Terumī showed a thoughtful expression.

Of course, the Hidden Mist wouldn’t spread news of its great defeat within the Village. Apart from Mugetsu, whose fame had spread throughout the Ninja World, Mei Terumī wasn’t very clear about the deeds of Obito and the others.

“Lightning Fang Kakashi Hatake, Konoha’s Green Beast of Prey Might Guy—they were all Ninjas who took the Chunin Exams with you,” Elder Gengetsu briefly recounted the battlefield exploits of Kakashi and the others.

Mei Terumī’s eyes widened, her mouth unconsciously agape, her face full of shock.

Mei Terumī was well aware of Might Guy’s strength, after all, she hadn’t forgotten the scene of Might Guy beating up Kisame’s squad.

However, she truly hadn’t expected Might Guy and the others to have become so terrifyingly powerful, actually repelling the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist head-on.

As a Hidden Mist Ninja, Mei Terumī understood all too well the prestige and power represented by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were a special unit directly under the Mizukage. Each member was meticulously selected from among the Jonin, and each was equipped with a powerful Ninja sword.

She truly couldn’t imagine what Kakashi and the others had experienced during this period to achieve such terrifying combat power. That was the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, after all.

During the Chunin Exams, Kakashi and the others had been fighting Kisame’s squad on equal footing.

Mei Terumī felt a bit ashamed in her heart. She had occasionally felt proud of her current strength, while her former rivals had already reached another level entirely.

“I need to train even harder,” Mei Terumī resolved to cultivate and grow stronger with even greater effort, to catch up to Kakashi and the others… Due to the significant results and Konoha’s deliberate efforts to boost morale through propaganda, the news of Konoha’s great victory over the Hidden Mist and Mugetsu slaying a Jinchuriki quickly spread throughout the Ninja World.

Land of Earth, Iwagakure, Tsuchikage’s office.

“The Hidden Mist actually lost a Jinchuriki. The threat level of Konoha needs to be raised further,” Ōnoki thought with some surprise as he looked at the latest information in his hands.

In his initial plan, he had expected the Hidden Mist to grind down Konoha’s strength on the East Bank Battlefield for at least two years.

“Raging Sun Hayate Mugetsu…” Ōnoki sorted through all the information in his mind, feeling that this Ninja named Hayate Mugetsu would be very difficult to deal with.

Based on the available information, Hayate Mugetsu not only possessed a very strong Flying Thunder God Technique but also mastered powerful Fire Release, and his Ice Release level was not low either.

“We need to accelerate our actions in the Land of Rain,” Ōnoki became even more determined in his idea of continuing to create more enemies for Konoha.

Konoha’s strength was too great; they absolutely had to find more enemies for Konoha.

Hayate Mugetsu was strong in Fire Release, right? Then let Ninja Master Sōsuke compete with Hayate Mugetsu, to see if Hayate Mugetsu’s Fire Release could surpass Ninja Master Sōsuke, who bore the title of having the strongest Fire Release.

Konoha had its four young geniuses; the Shinobi Sect had the mysterious and troublesome Nagato. The more Ōnoki thought about it, the more he felt pitting the Shinobi Sect against Konoha was an excellent idea.

Hidden Cloud Village, Raikage’s office.

“How did the Hidden Mist get pushed back so quickly? They’re truly useless,” the Third Raikage looked at the intelligence report in his hand, somewhat speechless.

In reality, the Hidden Cloud hadn’t been going all out against Konoha. A considerable portion of the Hidden Cloud’s forces were focused on attacking the Hidden Sand.

The Third Raikage’s plan was to take advantage of the Hidden Sand’s weakness to conquer them first, then, in one concerted effort, defeat Konoha, and finally deal with Iwagakure, thereby becoming the undisputed strongest Ninja Village in the Ninja World.

As for the Hidden Mist, the Hidden Cloud didn’t have many thoughts. Since the Land of Water was an island nation, fighting them would be troublesome. Moreover, defeating three of the Five Great Ninja Villages would already prove their own strength.

“Just as well, it also shows the Hidden Mist Village is not worth worrying about,” the Third Raikage saw things very clearly.

Although the Hidden Mist couldn’t consume Konoha’s strength as the Hidden Cloud had estimated, the weakness the Hidden Mist revealed during the war also meant one less opponent on the Hidden Cloud’s path to supremacy.

“Once we become familiar with the Eight-Tails’ power, neither Raging Sun Hayate Mugetsu nor the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze will be a match for our Hidden Cloud’s AB Combo,” the Third Raikage had strong confidence in the Hidden Cloud’s new AB Combo.

After Buru-bi’s death, Killer Bee, the new member of the AB Combo, became the new Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

In terms of becoming a Jinchuriki, Killer Bee displayed excellent talent. The Third Raikage saw in Killer Bee the potential for an even stronger future than Buru-bi.

His son, the Fourth Raikage Ay, wasn’t far inferior to him. Coupled with the stronger Bee, the new AB Combo had the potential to become the strongest iteration of the AB Combo.

Hidden Sand Village, Kazekage’s office.

“To achieve such results while fighting on three fronts… Konoha is too dangerous!” After reading the intelligence, Rasa frowned deeply, feeling a strong sense of crisis.

The Land of Fire’s location was excellent, almost at the center, separated from other major nations by only one or two small countries or a sea.

If Konoha wanted to attack the Hidden Sand, they wouldn’t need to go through the convoluted routes like the Hidden Cloud. Konoha could simply pass through the Land of Rivers to directly enter the heartland of the Land of Wind.

Although Konoha, fighting on three fronts, had no reason to open another front against the Hidden Sand, the fact that the current Konoha wouldn’t didn’t mean a future Konoha wouldn’t. Rasa deeply understood the principle of being prepared for danger in times of peace.

For the Hidden Sand Village, the best scenario was for Konoha to be soundly beaten by Iwagakure and the others, weakening its strength to become weaker than the Hidden Sand. Such a Konoha would be a good neighbor.

“If Konoha continues this momentum, the Hidden Sand must take action,” Rasa thought to himself.

When the time came, Rasa would rather negotiate peace with the Hidden Cloud to go to war with Konoha. After all, the Hidden Sand was much farther from the Hidden Cloud than from Konoha.

Not only the major Ninja Villages actively collecting information, but even Minato Namikaze, who was serving as commander on the Land of Hot Springs battlefield, heard a bit of news about Mugetsu.

Minato Namikaze felt somewhat emotional. When he first met Mugetsu, Mugetsu was just a Chunin teacher. Now, over two years later, Mugetsu had actually become the renowned Raging Sun Mugetsu, famous throughout the Ninja World.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina had taught Mugetsu Sealing Techniques together, hoping to give him more self-preservation ability in these chaotic times. He never imagined Mugetsu would rise to fame in the Ninja World so quickly.

Mugetsu’s rise was too rapid. Before Minato became the Yellow Flash, he was also a renowned and powerful Jonin of Konoha. Yet Mugetsu went from Chunin to Jonin, and now to earning the title of Raging Sun, all in just over two years.

“Mugetsu has been on the battlefield for so long. I wonder if Kushina has been causing trouble for the Anbu,” thinking of Kushina, who was still in Konoha undergoing special training, Minato showed a bitter smile.

Mugetsu’s cooking had a magical charm. Once you tasted it, it was unforgettable. In the past, Kushina had argued with Minato, demanding to eat Mugetsu’s food, threatening to tie up the monitoring Anbu and sneak out to find something to eat otherwise.

Minato could actually understand Kushina. After all, if he had the chance to eat Mugetsu’s cooking, he would also choose to get a taste. However, Minato was more patient; if he felt it would trouble Mugetsu too much, he would choose to endure.

“But Mugetsu should be almost back to Konoha by now,” Minato thought to himself.

High-intensity combat would exhaust a person both physically and mentally. Mugetsu had achieved great merits one after another. Under normal circumstances, he would return to Konoha to rest for a short period before being assigned another war mission.

Repelling the Hidden Mist had solved Konoha’s urgent crisis. Konoha wasn’t as critically short on combat power now.

Thinking of this, Minato wrote a letter to send back to Konoha.

He hadn’t communicated with Mugetsu for quite a while. When he was on the battlefield, Mugetsu was in Konoha. Later, during a period when he returned to Konoha, Mugetsu was on the East Bank Battlefield. When Minato returned to the battlefield, he went to a different one… As Minato had roughly anticipated, after the Hidden Mist retreated, Orochimaru and Mugetsu, along with the others, returned to Konoha, leaving only a batch of Ninjas to guard the border, in case the Hidden Mist launched another surprise attack.

To celebrate this great victory, Konoha specially held an event for the East Bank Ninja forces.

At the event, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally recounted the various achievements of the East Bank Battlefield, expressed condolences to the Ninja forces there, and simultaneously had the names of the Ninjas who sacrificed their lives on the East Bank Battlefield engraved on the Memorial Stone.

Of course, what couldn’t be missing at the end was the commendation for the Ninja forces.

Settling war mission commissions, then promoting Ninjas who met the conditions for advancement. Obito was one of the Chunin promoted to Jonin.

When Obito held the new Ninja registration card in his hands, he nearly teared up. It hadn’t been easy.

He could finally shed the identity of being the only Chunin among Mugetsu’s disciples. Uchiha Obito could finally stand up in terms of Ninja rank; Kakashi could no longer use his Jonin status to pressure him.

After becoming a Jonin, Kakashi could never outrank him again, because Jonin was the highest Ninja rank.

Along with Obito’s successful promotion, a reward notification popped up on Mugetsu’s panel.

PS: This chapter is also 5k words, but whether there will be another one later is uncertain. If I can write it, I’ll post it.

This chapter is also 5k words.