"You seem quite energetic. Although you look like a child, your recovery is pretty good," Nagasawa smiled, observing Yagura struggling against his chains.
"Child? I’m not a child; I’m an adult!" Yagura instantly retorted loudly, his frustration apparent.
His height and appearance were his eternal pain points. As the Fourth Mizukage, he should exude authority, but he had yet to grow an inch since he was twelve, remaining at 1.43 ters, even shorter than his peers. To make matters worse, his perpetually youthful face made him look like a child.
His small stature and baby face often made people mistake him for a child, much to his dismay. He even overheard a female ninja expressing envy over his smooth skin, which only fueled his anger. Such comnts only undermined his dignity as a Mizukage.
"Alright, alright, you’re an adult," Nagasawa replied dismissively as if he didn’t want to argue with a child.
"You...!" Yagura felt even more enraged, his purple pupils seemingly burning with anger.
If this were in Kirigakure, he would have drawn his weapon to teach this bold person a lesson.
"You’re a Konoha ninja. Does Konoha intend to go to war with Kirigakure?" Yagura quickly regained his composure despite his anger, noticing Nagasawa’s Konoha forehead protector.
"So what if it does? Do you think Kirigakure can defeat Konoha?" Nagasawa countered.
"Even the Fourth Mizukage is captured here. What can Kirigakure possibly do?"
"The other great nations won’t sit by and watch Konoha grow stronger," Yagura stated calmly.
Nagasawa then rembered that Yagura had been under control for a long ti and wasn’t aware of the current situation in the shinobi world.
The other great nations won’t sit idly by? With Nagasawa present, they could stand or even lie down to watch if they didn’t want to watch.
However, Nagasawa didn’t mind teasing the baby-faced Mizukage.
"We have a legitimate reason. The Fourth Mizukage attacked our Konoha delegation, which is a declaration of war. We’re simply defending ourselves," Nagasawa said nonchalantly.
"I was controlled at the ti!"
Yagura didn’t want the masked man’s sche to succeed, nor did he believe that the current chaotic Kirigakure could go to war with Konoha, so he directly revealed that he had been controlled.
"Konoha should be aware of this. Your people fought against him."
"So what if you were controlled? The fact is, you attacked our delegation," Nagasawa replied casually, seemingly determined to attack Kirigakure.
Yagura’s face darkened. He realized Nagasawa intended to use this reason to attack Kirigakure, regardless of the truth.
"You shouldn’t do this. There’s a powerful force hidden in the shadows of the shinobi world. They could control , the Fourth Mizukage. They could also control the Raikage or the Hokage. We shouldn’t fight each other but instead face these hidden threats together."
Yagura made a final attempt to reason.
"Don’t worry. Konoha isn’t like Kirigakure. We have enough strength to ensure they won’t return," Nagasawa laughed indifferently.
"You’ll regret this!" Yagura gave up struggling and lay back on the iron bed, feeling hopeless.
He could foresee the Water Country engulfed in war, Kirigakure struggling to resist, and ultimately suffering heavy losses.
Seeing Yagura’s lifeless eyes, lying on the bed as if he’d given up on life, Nagasawa thought, ’He looks like soone after a certain event, except he’s not sticking out his tongue.’
With this thought, Nagasawa silently took a cara from his scroll and snapped a few photos of Yagura.
Learning from past experiences, he now carried a cara to capture monts of joy. He figured if he turned these photos into a photo album, it might sell well in the Water Country, titled "Yagura’s Misery."
The dignified Fourth Mizukage was defeated in battle, brought to an underground room, and left at the rcy of others...
Nagasawa quickly stopped his thoughts, feeling he was opening the door to a new world that he wasn’t ant to peek into.
"Actually, I was just kidding. I’m too lazy to travel all the way to the Water Country to fight you," Nagasawa said, finally getting to the point.
"I’m just planning to kidnap you and extort Kirigakure for a hefty sum," Nagasawa casually stated.
Yagura’s baby face twitched. Kidnapping him for ransom, yet it sounded as casual as buying bread at a convenience store.
"Calling it kidnapping sounds harsh. Think of it as a protection fee. After all, our ninja saved you from an unknown evil ninja. Otherwise, you’d still be under control."
Yagura couldn’t argue with that. Without Konoha’s intervention, he didn’t know when he would have broken free from control.
"In that case, charging a few billion ryo in protection fees isn’t unreasonable. Plus, our ninja suffered heavy losses in the fight, so a few hundred special ninja swords as compensation seems fair. The swords don’t have to be the best, just on par with the Seven Ninja Swordsn’s weapons. And considering the cost of mobilizing nurous ANBU to protect you..."
"We only have seven such swords in Kirigakure. Where would we find hundreds to give you? And where are these nurous ANBU protecting ?" Yagura interrupted, finding Nagasawa’s demands increasingly absurd.
"You wouldn’t see them from inside. There are many ANBU outside, all here to protect you from assassination attempts," Nagasawa laughed.
"Protect ? Looks more like preventing my escape," Yagura sneered. Who chains their protectee to an iron bed?
"Think what you want. Our efforts are genuine. If Kirigakure can’t compensate us adequately, the lies might beco reality," Nagasawa said calmly, clarifying his threat.
Give compensation, and the matter will be settled. Refuse, and Konoha would take it by force.
"Do whatever you want. I’m just a prisoner now," Yagura said, having resigned to his fate.
He couldn’t issue orders to Kirigakure from captivity. Whether the higher-ups would abandon him and elect a new Mizukage remained uncertain.
In simpler terms, he had given up.
"Don’t say that. You’re still the Mizukage. In a few days, you’ll attend the Five Kage Summit," Nagasawa said, cutting the chains with a kunai.
Yagura was surprised that Nagasawa would release him just like that. It took him a mont to stand up.
Without chakra, he felt vulnerable, though he could still rely on his physical strength. Or so he thought until he rembered that Isobu had refused to lend him chakra.
"What do you an by the Five Kage Summit in a few days?" Yagura asked, feeling uneasy without chakra.
"It ans exactly what it says. In three days, you’ll attend the Five Kage Summit in Konoha," Nagasawa replied.
"Three days? You’re confident the Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage will co?" Yagura asked, puzzled.
"In fact, you’re the last Kage to arrive. The others have been here for a while, attending our Chūnin Exams," Nagasawa inford him.
"They’re already here?" Yagura found it hard to believe. He had only been under control for two years, yet the shinobi world seed completely different.
"Yes, I’m taking you to et them now," Nagasawa said, leading the way.
As they walked through the underground passage, Yagura saw nurous ANBU, confirming Nagasawa’s earlier claim.
Yagura didn’t linger, fearing Nagasawa might use it as an excuse to extort more.
When they reached the surface, Yagura realized it was morning.
"Today is the final round of our Chūnin Exams. The Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage will also be there," Nagasawa said.
Yagura remained silent, following Nagasawa. His mind was still processing the surprising changes in the shinobi world.
"Who are you?" Yagura couldn’t help but ask.
He realized he didn’t recognize Nagasawa, yet the ANBU treated him respectfully, indicating a high status.
Though the Water Country rarely involved itself in mainland affairs, it usually had information on high-ranking individuals. However, Nagasawa seed unfamiliar.
"? I’m just a humble Hokage advisor," Nagasawa replied.
"Hokage advisor?" Yagura thought, trying to recall, eventually thinking of Danzo Shimura.
As Yagura pondered, they arrived at the Chūnin Exam stadium, where he saw the other Kage seated.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, Ōnoki, Rasa, Minato Namikaze..." Yagura’s purple eyes widened. They were here.
’Could they all have been captured by Konoha?’ Yagura speculated pessimistically.
"Fourth Mizukage," Ōnoki said, noticing Yagura. He was surprised to see Yagura in Konoha.
He knew about the chaos in Kirigakure, with Yagura at the center. He had expected Konoha to negotiate with Kirigakure over Yagura’s presence, not for him to arrive before the Chūnin Exam finals.
"Fourth Mizukage, you’re just in ti. Our Chūnin Exam finals are about to start," Hiruzen greeted Yagura.
Yagura, looking young, was a little younger than Hiruzen.
"Mm." Not fully understanding the situation, Yagura responded coldly and sat at the edge, with Nagasawa beside him.
"Chūnin Exam finals: Yakushi Kabuto versus Uchiha Itachi!" Kakashi announced as the contestants entered.
"Both are top-tier young geniuses. I wonder who will co out on top," Ōnoki said, stroking his now-white beard.
"It’s hard to predict. They are similar in age, and their ninjutsu and taijutsu skills are nearly equal," Minato comnted.
Kabuto was Nagasawa’s younger brother and had also studied under Hiruzen.
Itachi was Nagasawa’s disciple, the Uchiha clan leader’s son, and had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Both had received excellent education and were talented and hardworking. In previous Chūnin Exams, either could have been the top contender.
Minato felt it would co down to their performance on the day, as their raw power was evenly matched.
"I think Yakushi Kabuto will win," the Fourth Raikage said decisively, without any analysis.
"Oh, Fourth Raikage, do you have any insights?" Hiruzen asked, curious. He saw the match as evenly balanced.
The Fourth Raikage didn’t respond to Hiruzen, knowing he couldn’t admit it was because Itachi was Nagasawa’s disciple. Such a statent would earn him a beating.
Sensing the Raikage’s thoughts, Nagasawa raised an eyebrow and said, "Fourth Raikage, are you thinking sothing inappropriate?"
Seeing Nagasawa brazenly questioning the Raikage, Yagura was puzzled. Could a Hokage advisor act so arrogantly? Wouldn’t the Raikage, with his temper, retaliate?
But to Yagura’s surprise, the Raikage didn’t get angry. Instead, he nervously explained his reasoning, showing he wasn’t speaking lightly.
Yagura needed clarification. The Raikage, who should be imposing, was cowering before a re advisor. Wasn’t he supposed to be furious?
At that mont, Kurotsuchi, sitting on Ōnoki’s lap, said, "None of them are as strong as the Mizukage. He’s already a Kage at their age, while they’re still taking the Chūnin Exams."
Hearing this, Yagura’s face darkened, anger boiling inside. He felt he was being shot down even while lying low.
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