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Seeing Ōgaki Yū speak up, Igawa nodded repeatedly.
Although he had always wished for that wretched old man to meet an untimely end—the sooner, the better—at this moment, the two of them stood on the "same side," and he fully supported Ōgaki Yū without hesitation.
Midorima Asachi obtaining a selection qualification?
What a joke!
Since when was a medical ninja worthy of such an honor?!
Moreover, just hypothetically speaking, if he really did get in and somehow managed to become one of the Seven Swordsmen, how could Igawa ever take revenge?
Yagura gave a slight nod. "You raise a valid point. Such situations do exist. But can you definitively identify who the freeloader is?"
"Others might not be able to, but he definitely is!" Igawa pointed at Midorima's name on the list. "In previous missions, the ANBU never included medical ninjas in their teams. Yet, he's somehow completed two S-rank missions. Mizukage-sama, don't you find that too much of a coincidence? I suspect someone abused their authority to forcibly insert him into those missions just to let him ride the coattails of those S-rank successes."
Igawa shot a glare at Hōzuki Mangetsu.
From start to finish, it had all been Hōzuki Mangetsu's doing.
He was certain of it.
So what if he had accidentally injured that bastard's younger brother?
He had already apologized—what more did they want from him?
This was infuriating!
"Deputy Chief Igawa, don't you think your bias against Midorima Asachi is a bit excessive?" Yagura asked.
"Not at all, Mizukage-sama. Think about it—he hasn't even been a graduate of the ninja academy for a full year. Before that, he suffered a severe injury that delayed his graduation. What does that tell you? It means his talent is mediocre at best. If you claim he didn't just hitch a ride on those two S-rank missions, who would believe it?" Igawa snorted coldly. "And I've heard that the Land of Snow incident involved Konoha as well. Who's to say he wasn't colluding with them?"
"I see…" Yagura shifted slightly in his seat. "You're right. This matter does need to be clarified properly. As for the role Midorima Asachi played in those missions, no one would know better than his teammates. The fact that their opponents haven't raised any objections is proof enough of his contributions. Additionally…"
Yagura pulled out a letter from his robe. "This is a missive from the ruler of the Land of Snow, detailing the events that transpired. According to his account, Midorima was far from being a mere bystander—he played a decisive role, one that was arguably on par with Hatake Kakashi's. Would the ruler of a nation lie for the sake of a medical ninja who hasn't even been active for a full year?"
Igawa's eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the letter in Yagura's hand.
Why hadn't Zabuza mentioned this to him?
That bastard… had deliberately kept it from him.
"As for the alleged collaboration with Konoha, there's something else that puzzles me. Since you're all veterans, perhaps one of you can enlighten me—why did the Three-Tails appear during our battle with Konoha? And why was it sealed inside a Konoha ninja? Deputy Chief Igawa? Or perhaps Chief Ōgaki Yū? Oh, and Ao, since you were involved in that battle, maybe you can explain it to me."
The air in the room instantly turned frigid.
Everyone present had either participated in that battle against Konoha or had their lives irrevocably altered by its outcome.
For many in Kirigakure, it had been a nightmare. Take, for example, the three surviving members of the Seven Swordsmen—seven against one, and yet four of them had been slaughtered. How disgraceful!
Or consider the entire squad that had been wiped out in an instant, their deaths gruesome, yet the cause remained unknown.
The Third Mizukage had made many questionable decisions, including the graduation exam system. But none of his mistakes compared to the blunder of that battle against Konoha.
The fallen ninjas had been the elite of the elite, all of them young—the very foundation that would have ensured Kirigakure's dominance for the next two decades.
Originally, Kirigakure could have taken advantage of the other villages' exhaustion after their mutual conflicts to expand its own influence. Instead, they were now forced to recuperate and rebuild from scratch.
"Members of the Seven Swordsmen, ANBU—you were directly involved in that battle. Are you truly unaware of what happened?" Yagura pressed.
Fuguki shook his head. "If we had known the reason, perhaps we could have avoided that battle altogether."
"Exactly! Only the Third Mizukage knew the truth," Igawa hastily agreed, his palms slick with sweat.
Since stepping down, the Third Mizukage had vanished without a trace, and no one had been able to locate him.
Yagura was well aware that every time the investigation led back to the Third Mizukage, it hit a dead end—a fact that frustrated him to no end.
"In that case… Ah, right. Are there any other issues with the list?" Yagura asked.
The assembled individuals shook their heads in unison, even Ao standing behind Yagura involuntarily joining in.
"Then it's settled!"
As soon as Yagura's words left his mouth, Igawa realized with a start that Midorima's qualification had just been glossed over.
Frustration gnawed at him as his gaze fell on the documents Yagura had distributed.
In addition to the list of selected participants, the papers also detailed the tournament's rules and regulations.
The rules were straightforward:
100 participants would face off in one-on-one matches. After two rounds, only 25 would remain, with the slowest fighter from those two rounds being eliminated.
The remaining 24 would then compete in another two rounds, leaving only six.
These six would redraw lots, and the winners would earn the title of Seven Swordsmen.
In other words, winning five consecutive matches would secure a position among the Seven Swordsmen. There was no denying that this tournament offered an exceptionally high reward for the effort.
There were also additional guidelines, but one particular line caught Igawa's attention:
"By agreeing to participate in the selection, all contestants acknowledge that the matches may be fought to the death…"
Unrestricted lethality?
Did that mean… he could arrange for Midorima to be killed in the arena?
He had been racking his brain for ways to eliminate Midorima, but ever since Mangetsu had caught on, his options had dwindled. Now, he could act openly and without restraint.
Instantly, a plan began to take shape in Igawa's mind.
With the list finalized, the matchups would be announced soon, right?
He needed to strategize carefully.
…
When Ao posted the list of selected participants on the village square's bulletin board, the Seven Swordsmen selection instantly became the hottest topic in Kirigakure.
After all, since the battle against Konoha, the vacancies in the Seven Swordsmen had remained unfilled—until six months ago, when Mangetsu earned a spot due to his extraordinary mastery of the swords.
Now, with three positions suddenly up for grabs, every selected ninja was eager to prove themselves.
"The conditions for participation are very lenient this time—just be under 25 years old and have completed two S-rank missions."
"Zabuza, Mei Terumī, Kisame, Ringo Ameyuri… These guys are undeniably strong. I bet the new members will come from this group!"
"What about the others?"
"The others are just there for the experience. You don't actually think any of them stand a chance, do you? Seriously?"
"Still, the matches are bound to be spectacular. The tournament starts in a month… probably to give them time to prepare the arena. This is perfect—such high-level battles will definitely draw crowds from all over the Land of Water!"
"This is a business opportunity! With a month to go, we should start setting up stalls and stocking up on supplies…"
Meanwhile, in the Kirigakure Medical Division…
A medical ninja rushed in, breathless, and the first thing he said to Shimomura Shūsaku was, "It's happened."
Shimomura looked puzzled. "What's happened?"
The medical ninja took a moment to catch his breath. "Midorima Asachi has been given a spot in the Seven Swordsmen selection."
"Really?" Shimomura's face lit up with joy before he glanced around and asked, "Where is Midorima?"
"You said we shouldn't disturb him, remember?"
"Ah, right. Well, I hope he performs well. Even if he doesn't become one of the Seven Swordsmen, at least he'll prove that medical ninjas can hold their own on the front lines." Shimomura smiled faintly, reassured that his initial judgment had been correct—Midorima was no ordinary ninja.