The Fourth Mizukage is dead!

This is no small matter. With Yagura on his deathbed, the leaders in Konoha were already watching the situation in Kirigakure closely. They feared that if Yagura died, it could trigger a new wave of turmoil in Kirigakure, which might affect the hard-won alliance between Konoha and the Mist Village, potentially destabilizing the fragile peace that has only just been established.

After all, Kirigakure is notoriously unstable. Among the leaders of the Five Great Villages, the Mizukage has undoubtedly faced the most assassination attempts!

Therefore, when news of Yagura's death reached them, the Fifth Hokage immediately dispatched ANBU to meet with Sōgen. As an advisor to the Hokage and the head of the Police Department, Sōgen is a major figure in the village, one who cannot be excluded from such important matters. Additionally, he was instrumental in forging the alliance with Kirigakure, having personally visited the Mist Village, making him Konoha's expert on the situation in the Land of Water.

"There's no need to worry," Sōgen asserted confidently. "Kirigakure won't descend into chaos. As long as the old master, Genji, is still around, even if there is turmoil, it'll be a controlled one. Besides, the previous instability in Kirigakure was largely fueled by that masked man claiming to be Uchiha Madara. Now that he's no longer stirring things up, there's no reason to worry about Kirigakure losing stability."

Sōgen's firm words brought a brief silence to the room.

After a few seconds, Torifu Akimichi finally spoke up, "Since you say so, Sōgen-kun, I don't foresee any major issues. However, as allies, should we send someone to pay respects in Kirigakure or do something to acknowledge the Fourth Mizukage's passing?"

"This is unprecedented," said Hiashi Hyūga, a newly appointed elder advisor.

After the positions of advisors Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were vacated, the village elders struggled to agree on replacements. Eventually, near the New Year, they reluctantly settled on two new advisors: Hiashi, representing the main branch of the Hyūga Clan, and Moku Kōto, who represents the interests of Konoha's smaller clans.

"There's no precedent for this," Hiashi continued. "Moreover, the information came through ANBU intel, not official notice from Kirigakure itself. In truth, the Mist Village might prefer to handle this matter privately. If they formally notify us, we can respond accordingly, but there's no need for grand gestures."

"I think Elder Hiashi's approach is sensible," Sōgen agreed, feeling no need to involve himself with Kirigakure's affairs right now. He was already busy managing Konoha's own concerns.

"Fine by me," the other elder, Moku Kōto, replied casually, not seeing this as a particularly pressing matter.

With that, the Hokage's advisor and the two elder advisors agreed on how to handle the Fourth Mizukage's death. Torifu Akimichi, the acting Hokage, thought for a moment before deciding to proceed with Hiashi's suggestion. He himself held no strong feelings on the matter; his primary concern was whether the changes in the Mist Village would affect Konoha. But given the current weakened state of Kirigakure, he doubted they had the strength to disrupt the alliance or instigate trouble.

"Moving on from the Fourth Mizukage's passing," Torifu said, "there's another issue. Do you all recall the incident at the envoy pavilion back in late February?"

"The envoy pavilion? Are you referring to the Cult of Jashin?" asked Moku Kōto.

The envoy pavilion incident involved the Daimyō's capital and a previously unheard-of cult, the Jashinists. However, since then, the Daimyō's office has distanced itself from the affair.

"No, the Jashinists are still under investigation, but their activities are mainly centered around smaller countries like the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Fields, and the Land of Frost," replied Shikaku Nara, who continued after Torifu's nod, "The real issue lies with the Daimyō's office itself."

"The Daimyō's office?" Hiashi looked startled. "What could possibly go wrong there?"

Moku Kōto wore a similar expression, staring at Shikaku, waiting for a reasonable explanation.

Sōgen was equally surprised. He'd expected news on the whereabouts of Hidan, not an issue with the Daimyō.

"There is yet to be official confirmation," Shikaku began, "but several reports have come in suggesting that some members of the Daimyō's twelve guardian ninja are promoting a theory that the Hokage is an unnecessary institution, claiming that Konoha should be directly governed by the Daimyō…"

"What utter nonsense!" Moku Kōto exploded, enraged. "Do these people even understand the significance of the Hokage system? Without the First Hokage establishing the 'one nation, one village' system, there would be no Fire Country as it is today!"

Nara Shikaku, despite having his speech interrupted, wasn't angry and only gave a helpless smile. "Elder Kime, I'm not the one saying this; I'm simply relaying some rumors circulating among the Guardian Ninja Twelve. Blowing up at me won't change things. Based on the intel we've gathered, it appears that some members of the Twelve are attempting to plan actions against Konoha."

"You brought up the incident at the envoy building. Does that mean this is connected to the former Deputy Envoy to Konoha, Houma? If I remember correctly, Houma is indeed one of the Guardian Twelve. Could he really be the mastermind behind all of this?"

As Sōgen spoke, certain long-forgotten memories came flooding back to him.

Houma, the Guardian Ninja Twelve, Sarutobi Asuma… A cascade of names began to sketch out the outline of events in his mind. Yet the current course of the shinobi world had been so distorted by his actions that, even if the same event were to unfold, it might not happen as it did originally.

In the original timeline,

the Guardian Ninja Twelve was torn apart by severe infighting,

and after a great battle, nearly all of them were wiped out.

In this hazy future of the shinobi world, Sōgen couldn't be sure where things would lead.

"You guessed right, Sōgen. According to our intel, Houma is almost certainly the mastermind behind this plot against the village. I received this information a week ago, and I've been struggling ever since to figure out how to handle it. I just couldn't come up with a good solution, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to ask for everyone's opinions."

Akimichi Torifu looked troubled.

It was a genuinely tricky situation. The Guardian Ninja Twelve was the most famous unit among the many guards of the Fire Daimyo. Composed of twelve elite jonin-level shinobi, the group had a fair amount of deterrent power. For Konoha, though, that force wasn't overly significant. A mere twelve jonin, after all—both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans could field dozens of jonin without much difficulty.

The primary issue wasn't that the Guardian Twelve would be particularly hard to confront,

but that they served as the Daimyo's personal guards. Attacking them would mean directly affronting the Daimyo, which was more serious than even the death of Heikyu Saikei. The envoy building incident had ultimately been resolved without further issues because of its connections to the Jashin cult. However, taking action against the Guardian Twelve might not be so fortunate.

"Attack... not so simple!"

Kime Kungdao was furious, but his reason kept his anger in check. The issues that plagued Akimichi Torifu applied to him as well. Directly attacking the Guardian Twelve would be a direct insult to the Daimyo of the Fire Country. If the Daimyo felt he couldn't even control his own guard force... who knows what the outcome would be?

"This… this is definitely a tough situation."

Hyuga Masayuki furrowed his brow, looking conflicted.

Regardless of the Daimyo's mild stance three months ago following the envoy incident, he was still the nominal leader of the Fire Country, so they couldn't ignore him entirely. At least on the surface, they had to show him respect.

"How about… we first give the Daimyo a heads-up? Maybe he'll take care of this Houma himself," suggested Hyuga Masayuki.

"I tried that five days ago."

Akimichi Torifu sighed. "I contacted the Daimyo, and he promptly replied, promising to investigate the Guardian Twelve thoroughly… but so far, we haven't seen any results. I'm worried that if we let this drag on, something unexpected might happen."

At that, Hyuga Masayuki felt stumped.

Even someone as clever as Nara Shikaku had no solution. Honestly, it seemed unlikely that anyone else would be able to come up with one anytime soon.

"If we can't think of anything for now, why not wait and see?"

Sōgen spoke up at this point, "No matter what schemes the Guardian Twelve may have, we'll do what we can. And if they dare come to Konoha and stir up trouble, we'll simply meet them head-on. Lord Hokage, rest assured! With me in the village, no one can act recklessly in Konoha."

Akimichi Torifu gave a helpless smile.

Such confidence.

At this point, continuing the meeting would be unproductive, so they concluded it. As everyone left the office, only Akimichi Torifu and Nara Shikaku remained behind.

"Shikaku, regarding the Daimyo's residence, keep an eye on things…"

Akimichi Torifu started to stand, speaking mid-sentence, but suddenly felt a bit dizzy. His vision blurred, and he rubbed his temples, blinking hard. Gradually, his vision returned to normal, while Nara Shikaku looked on with concern from across the desk.

"I'm fine; I just got a bit light-headed from sitting too long… In any case, Shikaku, do what you can to monitor the Daimyo's side of things." With a sigh, Akimichi Torifu realized he wasn't getting any younger; his health wasn't what it used to be.

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