Dazzling golden light bloomed in Zenkichi's hands as a concentrated beam of light shot out, piercing the wall of Ringo Kiru's home from over 800 meters away.
Ringo Kiru was just about to take the porcelain bottle from White Zetsu's hand when a brilliant golden flash blinded him.
In the next instant, the White Zetsu before him was struck in the head by that golden beam and killed on the spot.
Then, an even brighter radiance illuminated the room—like a miniature sun had suddenly appeared. The golden particles condensed into the form of Zenkichi. Standing over the fallen White Zetsu, he calmly bent down and picked up the porcelain bottle.
"A sedative that knocks you out for a whole day? That's quite something," he muttered.
"Elder Kiru, care to explain yourself?"
Zenkichi pocketed the bottle, speaking in an offhand tone.
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
"And more importantly, why did you kill my guest?"
Ringo Kiru steadied himself, replying in a composed voice, "Even if you're the Mizukage's favored successor, you can't just kill someone in my home without reason."
Gaining a bit of courage, Ringo Kiru raised his voice.
"How outrageous!"
Zenkichi chuckled. "Save your indignation, Elder Kiru. It's not me you need to convince."
He gestured, and several ANBU shinobi in masks emerged, surrounding Ringo Kiru.
"Take him in. The interrogation unit can question him thoroughly."
"You can't do this!" Ringo Kiru shouted, panic rising in his voice. "I'm a high-ranking official in Kirigakure! You have no authority to arrest me like this!"
"I demand to see the Mizukage! I've bled for this village—"
He trailed off as Zenkichi stepped closer. Though he did not resist, fear had clearly overtaken him.
Zenkichi sighed, cleaning his ear with a pinky. "So much whining. You guys better get this over with."
Ringo Kiru was arrested and brought in for questioning.
Upon hearing the news, the Third Mizukage rushed to the site, personally overseeing the interrogation. It went smoothly—too smoothly.
A curse seal was found on Ringo Kiru's body, and once exposed, he had nothing left to deny.
Unfortunately, the seal was exceptionally complex—beyond Kirigakure's ability to remove. The Third Mizukage's expression turned grim.
"I never imagined our village's upper echelon could be infiltrated like this…"
He examined the notes. "This seal is similar to Danzo's Tongue Curse—perhaps even more potent. It restricts memory access and suppresses any attempt to speak."
"We need to conduct a full sweep of the village."
"There's no need to dig into memories, but we must ensure no one else carries a similar curse mark."
"Anyone under this kind of control is a puppet. If there are more like Ringo Kiru among us, Kirigakure could be in grave danger."
Zenkichi nodded. "You're right. Let's proceed."
He already suspected Madara had pawns in Kirigakure, but the extent was still unclear. If someone like Ringo Kiru was compromised, who else had slipped under the radar?
Zenkichi figured if Madara were behind it, he'd likely plant both visible and hidden agents—one in the open, one in the shadows.
The Third Mizukage made the announcement, and the village was thrown into chaos.
"Ever since the Ringo Kiru incident, the whole village has been on edge," Zenkichi muttered, lounging in the Mizukage's office, legs crossed and skimming through a newspaper.
"I knew this would happen once I exposed him. Panic was inevitable."
"But we needed a justification to inspect the entire village, especially the major clans. Without concrete evidence, they'd never agree to such scrutiny."
"And as for the panic? It's manageable."
He waved the paper in the air.
"We're not at war. The village has enough resources to handle internal problems."
The Third Mizukage looked up from his paperwork and asked, "By the way, why don't you start learning Mizukage duties? Get familiar."
He glanced at Zenkichi, whose carefree attitude gave him a headache.
"No way," Zenkichi said flatly. "A Mizukage buried in paperwork all day? Sounds miserable. When I take over, I'm assigning an entire team just for that."
The Mizukage blinked. "Huh… you know, that's not a bad idea."
He smiled bitterly. "If only I'd realized that sooner. I could've started building a team years ago."
Just then, an ANBU shinobi appeared.
"Mizukage-sama, we've run into resistance from the Kaguya clan."
The Third Mizukage furrowed his brow. The Kaguya were infamous for being uncooperative—and dangerous.
"The Kaguya clan again?"
Zenkichi folded the newspaper and stood.
"Knew they'd be trouble. Want me to handle it?"
"I've been wanting to take my disciples out for some experience anyway."
The Third Mizukage considered it. "They're still Kirigakure shinobi. Don't go overboard."
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