"What the hell are you panicking about?"
Yagura frowned, clearly pissed. He'd been deep in a fantasy about the Mist's glorious future under his rule when the interruption hit. His mood soured instantly, face turning cold.
Bad news? What bad news? He was perfectly fine. The village was perfectly fine. With his jinchuriki-level chakra, Water Mirror Technique, and perfect jinchuriki control, leading the Mist to greatness was only a matter of ti.
"Lord Mizukage, it's serious. One of our fishing islands was attacked. Almost everyone was wiped out. They called themselves the Taketori Navigation Group!"
Yagura's eyes widened.
"What?!"
"Another fishing port was hit too—by the Uchiha. They're calling themselves the Uchiha Navigation Group."
Uchiha Hachidai had finally caved to Taketori Den's offer. The bigger reason? He knew this might be the Uchiha clan's best shot at survival.
The ninja world had entered an era of peace. Attacking the Leaf directly was suicide—their elite forces were too strong, their top-tier shinobi too nurous. Even if it burned him up inside, Uchiha Hachidai understood the gap was massive. Once the Leaf finished cleaning house internally, they'd co for the Uchiha with everything they had.
The sea was the only real option now. The age of voyages had opened a door. The ocean was endless, navigation groups were everywhere, and neither the Mist nor the Land of Water could police it all. With the Taketori crew drawing most of the Mist's attention, the Uchiha would have room to breathe. So Hachidai accepted the deal—trading valuable intel for one joint strike against the Mist.
Yagura had barely started enjoying his victory when two gut punches landed back-to-back.
"Taketori!"
"Uchiha!"
"I'll fucking kill every last one of you!"
He shot to his feet, but his short, childlike fra killed any intimidation factor.
"Where are they now?"
"We don't know. They hit and ran. Their ships are too fast—we can't catch them. We still haven't found their base."
Yagura's expression darkened. If he couldn't find them, he couldn't hit back. Worse, the shattered Shark Skin and Exploding Blade groups would probably team up with the Taketori and Uchiha. Fuguki and Jinpachi already hated the current Mist as much as Taketori Den did. And the Uchiha and Taketori had always been tight allies.
That ant Yagura couldn't afford to lead an elite strike force to the Land of Wind to settle things with Rasa. He'd be stuck babysitting the village. All his plans would get derailed.
The next day, news exploded across the entire Land of Water.
The Uchiha Navigation Group, Taketori Navigation Group, and Ninja Sword Glory Navigation Group had ford an alliance. They declared control over the northern sea and announced they would start collecting passage taxes.
Uchiha Navigation Group – Captain: Uchiha Hachidai.
Taketori Navigation Group – Captain: Taketori Den.
Ninja Sword Glory Navigation Group – Captain: Jinpachi Munashi, Vice-Captain: Fuguki Suikazan.
"Passage tax? They've got so fucking nerve!"
The northern sea connected several countries—down to the Land of Water, up to the Land of Lightning, west to the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Iron, plus plenty of smaller nations. Those islands had always belonged to the Land of Water, managed by nobles and backed by Mist shinobi. Now three crews were claiming them outright.
Yagura's face actually relaxed a little.
"They run, I can't chase. But now they've planted flags on fixed islands. I can hit them whenever I want. These idiots are way too confident. They think allying makes them strong enough to stand against the Mist? They're rushing to grab profit and signing their own death warrants."
Not everyone saw it that way.
The mont the alliance announcent dropped, the entire Land of Water went into an uproar. People were terrified. The daimyo's face turned black as thunder.
"What the hell are Fuguki Suikazan and Jinpachi Munashi thinking?"
The official below him was shaking. He'd been the one who suggested supporting the navigation groups in the first place. Now it had blown up in their faces.
"They took our money and now they pull this shit? That's our country's interests they're stealing!"
The official tried to calm him down.
"Lord Daimyo, it's not entirely their fault. The Mist attacked them. Both their groups got crushed. This is them fighting back. They're not targeting the Land of Water—they're going after the Mist. All of this trouble started because of the Mist. If the Mist and the navigation groups could just coexist peacefully, it would actually be perfect for us."
The daimyo cooled down a notch.
"Having both the Mist and the navigation groups active would be ideal… as long as the groups actually listen to us. Since the Mist caused this ss, they can clean it up. As for the navigation groups, we'll watch and see. I've already been disappointed once. I won't give them a third chance."
He stared hard at the official.
"This isn't all on you. But Fuguki and Jinpachi are still alive, and they never ca to . They never reached out to the Land of Water at all before they seized the northern sea. That ans your communication with them was shit. Fix it next ti—or don't bother coming back."
The official went white. "Don't co back" wasn't a literal suggestion.
At the sa ti, the latest issue of the Ninja World Big Events Weekly reached the Land of Water. Jinpachi Munashi's interview, combined with the sudden formation of the three-group alliance and their bold claim on the northern sea, sparked massive discussion.
Rasa watched the points on his system panel skyrocket.
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