Chapter 150 - Everyone Has Their Own Plans
Regarding this mission, Mizuki felt confident.
The gap between Shimura Danzo and Tsunade, as village leaders, was starkly obvious. Danzo, accustomed to operating in the shadows, while decisive in dealing with Deidara, had no particularly impressive strategies to offer. His habit of using sheer force only served to make unnecessary enemies everywhere, dragging Konoha deeper into a quagmire of war. As for Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, their habit of endlessly delaying decisions only highlighted that they lacked the capacity to truly lead the village. They were more than adequate as advisors and assistants, but utterly lacking the qualities needed for a Hokage.
Once Tsunade returned, the situation changed dramatically. The issues between the three major ninja villages were quickly sorted, and attention turned directly to the most critical problems. Secondary matters were abandoned without hesitation — even if it involved someone like Deidara.
Seeing that Mizuki understood his role, Tsunade nodded and said,
"You already know the village's biggest problem. As long as we don't make mistakes, external enemies aren't our greatest threat. It's the internal rot that's most unbearable. This time, we must do a proper cleanup."
Within less than a month, the village had suffered several attacks — a situation utterly unacceptable for Konoha, the dominant power of the ninja world. Even outsiders found Konoha's current state unbelievable. During Orochimaru's "Konoha Crush" plan, aside from Hayate Gekkō risking his life to bring back a scrap of useful information, the intelligence department had been utterly useless.
The attacks by Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara could be overlooked. But the infiltration by Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame was like a walk in the park. If it hadn't been for Mizuki, no one in Konoha would have even known they were there. And just a few days ago, subordinates of Orochimaru had again tried to sneak into the village — they were repelled mainly because they lacked strength, not because of any proper defenses. If it hadn't been a strategic choice to track them back to Orochimaru's hideout, some might very well have escaped.
Each of these incidents pointed to one conclusion:
The village had major internal issues — not merely a lax vigilance from years of peace, but also the likely infiltration of traitors and spies who were facilitating enemy actions. This was why Konoha's responses had been so slow and clumsy. The situation with the Land of Earth was no different.
"The vulnerabilities exposed by the enemy in the Land of Earth were far too obvious. The leadership of Iwagakure couldn't pretend not to notice even if they wanted to. All this fuss over just Deidara?" Tsunade took a sip of tea and said,
"The village isn't actually that concerned about Deidara. It's not worth antagonizing another ninja village over him."
"Not concerned?" Mizuki asked, confused. "Isn't Deidara clearly an important figure?"
"We have other sources of intelligence. It's incomplete, but not entirely blank..."
"In that case, I won't pry further…" Mizuki understood — it was probably information from Uchiha Itachi or Jiraiya.
With that, some things made sense.
Originally a small issue, it became a situation where many hidden elements were exposed. Both Konoha and Iwagakure had traitors that surfaced.
"As long as you understand. In a few days, the Tsuchikage will send other people to assist. The ones Iwagakure sent earlier were just to keep an eye on Deidara..."
"And to keep an eye on us as well," Mizuki added.
Tsunade nodded,
"Naturally. As long as Deidara doesn't leak secrets they don't want us to know, it's fine. They're a bunch of annoying people…"
"I get it."
If Mizuki had to work alongside useless burdens, he'd seriously consider abandoning the mission. An A-rank task with teammates who slowed him down would test even his abilities.
"I won't deal with them then," Mizuki said lightly.
"Suit yourself. We have a few days to prepare. We'll need to create some diversions. Things are worse on Iwagakure's side. The Tsuchikage has even lowered Deidara's status for the sake of internal purges."
"So you need me to play executioner?"
Although he felt slightly uncomfortable about it, Mizuki had long since accepted that he wasn't some 'chosen one' who could talk his way into saving the world. Especially when dealing with enemies that couldn't be reconciled. If the chance arose, Mizuki wouldn't hesitate.
"Just make sure it's clean — don't leave any traces. If necessary, abandoning the mission is acceptable. Wait for further orders."
They both knew: as long as the matter wasn't exposed, it didn't matter if Konoha was behind it. If it became widely known, the Tsuchikage would be forced to retaliate for appearances' sake.
"I understand. But what about Sunagakure? Why are they involved? It's strange for them to cooperate with Iwagakure, their old enemy."
"Sunagakure's situation is complicated, but for now, they are trustworthy."
"That's good — at least we're not isolated."
Sunagakure was worse off than Konoha. They had betrayed an ally and lost the war, suffering heavy casualties. Without a Kazekage, the village was temporarily governed by Chiyo and other elders. At this point, they desperately needed to maintain alliances, not pick new fights.
"You don't need to worry about manpower either. Although the village has its hands full, we'll assign a few helpers. You can even pick up to three people yourself."
"Really? That's great!"
Mizuki was pleasantly surprised.
"For my first choice, I want Nara Shikamaru."
"Denied," Tsunade said bluntly.
"He has other critical duties — the village is relying heavily on him right now."
"That's a shame."
Mizuki sighed.
No surprise: talents like Shikamaru were too precious to spare.
"In that case, I'll pick Hyuga Neji next."
"Approved. Neji was injured during the Chunin Exams and hasn't had any new missions recently."
"For the second helper, Yamashiro Aoba."
A strong, reliable comrade Mizuki trusted. Better to choose someone he knew well over stronger but unfamiliar jonin like Genma Shiranui or Raido Namiashi.
"Yamashiro Aoba…"
Tsunade thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright. One last person?"
"Aburame Shino. I'll need his scouting abilities."
"No problem. Kurenai Yuhi is injured, and her team isn't currently assigned, so Shino is available."
"That settles it. I have no further requests. Please also provide me with intelligence on Iwagakure and Sunagakure's personnel."
"You'll get it soon. Prepare well — the mission will start in a few days."
Tsunade smiled,
"Officially, you're a jonin now, but if you fail, your jonin career might last only a few days."
Mizuki was stunned — Tsunade had actually made a joke.
He smiled and replied,
"Now that I'm finally getting a pay raise, I definitely won't mess this up."
"Let's hope so. The village can still afford a jonin salary despite the current troubles."
After the serious talk, Tsunade casually added,
"By the way, didn't Jiraiya ask you for some of your 'Omnipotent Elixir' a few days ago?"
"Yeah, I had some left, so I gave him a little."
"That idiot," Tsunade muttered to herself.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"One thing: send in Nara Shikamaru on your way out."
———
With a rare few days of peace before the mission, Mizuki didn't have much he urgently wanted to do.
Everyone was busy, like Sarutobi Asuma, who hadn't been seen for two days — reportedly dispatched to negotiate with the Fire Daimyo regarding Tsunade's installment as Hokage.
Surprisingly, Mizuki ran into a wandering Uzumaki Naruto.
"Why aren't you training, Naruto?"
"I'm looking for Kakashi-sensei. Have you seen him, Mizuki-sensei?"
"No idea. Maybe he's with Sasuke."
"Damn it! While I was away, Sakura-chan has been training with Sasuke every day!"
Naruto grumbled, clearly upset about being left out.
"And Kakashi-sensei always prioritizes Sasuke."
"Isn't training with Jiraiya-sama good enough?" Mizuki teased.
"It's not bad…"
Naruto pouted and thought for a moment.
"Actually, pervy sage taught me something great. Look!"
He summoned two shadow clones and began forming a Rasengan.
"See, Mizuki-sensei? I used this to defeat a really strong enemy! It's just as good as Sasuke's Chidori!"
"You mean this?"
Mizuki casually extended his right hand, conjuring a perfectly formed Rasengan.
"Ehh?! Mizuki-sensei, you can use it too?!"
Naruto exclaimed, "Pervy sage said only the Fourth Hokage could do it!"
"Not just me — Kakashi-sensei can use it too."
"Damn it, I've been tricked! Next time, I'm going to demand something even better from him!"
Watching Naruto storm off in a huff, Mizuki chuckled.
The Rasengan, while impressive for demonstrating extreme chakra shape control, wasn't particularly technical for someone like Mizuki.
Its power was undeniable, but it didn't suit his style — lacking elemental nature change and consuming a lot of chakra. Even with Chakra Suppression Techniques, Mizuki found it inefficient compared to his own nature-altered Fire Release jutsu.
"You sure have a lot of free time, teasing genin like that," Kakashi's voice suddenly came from behind.
"Don't mind me, Kakashi. Just having a little fun. Are the things ready?"
Kakashi handed over a stack of documents.
Mizuki quickly glanced at the first page — profiles of ninja.
He tucked it away to study properly later.
"Thanks, Kakashi. Now that I have intel on Iwagakure and Sunagakure's forces, the mission is close."
"Mizuki, I understand picking Yamashiro Aoba, but why Aburame Shino and Hyuga Neji? Isn't it risky to involve genin?"
"I wanted more reliable jonin, but even Aoba was a stretch. The others were completely off-limits. As for this mission — the main combat strength will be me."
"It's good you're confident, but are you sure they're suitable?"
Kakashi's concern was clear: both Neji and Shino were valued clan heirs.
"I've thought it through. Neji's combat power is formidable, and Shino's bugs allow him to stay far from direct danger. As long as I stand, they'll be fine."
Besides, Mizuki kept another secret to himself —
Sage Mode.
With the gradual formation of Sage Chakra, his long-cherished pursuit of "high-quality chakra" was finally within reach.
---
Read up to 20 chapter ahead of time on patreon.com/Legendryweeb
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*