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"You don't actually think such a small child can control the entire Kirigakure, do you!"
As Hatake Kuroshi opened the door, several men dressed in white, looking like they were attending their own funeral, stood at the entrance protesting indignantly.
Although their mouths were running, upon seeing Hatake Kuroshi open the door, their eyes still flickered away slightly.
Mangetsu Hozuki, unafraid, peeked out from behind Hatake Kuroshi.
The moment these men saw Mangetsu Hozuki, anger flared up. This kid, not even half Hatake Kuroshi's height, how could he become Mizukage?
The Kaguya clan was very straightforward, warlike, and troublesome.
Even though Hatake Kuroshi was the hero who saved Kirigakure this time, if these people had opinions and wanted to cause trouble, they still would.
Otherwise, how could the Kaguya clan have such a terrible reputation in Kirigakure?
Genji had specifically taken advantage of this point, deliberately going easy during the massacre to spare a few.
Although these individuals were hard to tame, they were still considered combat assets. In the current weakened state, Genji had to consider recruiting these people as much as possible; perhaps they could serve as his forces later.
"You really are working hard for this matter~"
Hatake Kuroshi glanced sideways with a half-smile at Genji behind him. The old man propped himself up with a hand, pretending to watch them calmly.
The faces of the men at the door practically screamed 'What the hell?'.
These single-celled organisms couldn't quite figure out why Hatake Kuroshi was targeting Genji again, and quickly shouted.
"It has nothing to do with Lord Genji! We are speaking out for the sake of the village!"
"If you want to go out and announce the new Mizukage today, you should at least let the new Mizukage spar with us!"
A mocking smile appeared simultaneously on their faces.
Firstly, Hatake Kuroshi would surely not bring such a child out to fight them.
Secondly, even if they did fight, they would definitely strike to kill this little one.
With the candidate gone, the matter would surely be postponed.
As long as they could obstruct Hatake Kuroshi's decision, they still had Genji backing them.
At worst, this could directly change the selection result; at best, it would delay the Mizukage's succession.
Either way, they couldn't lose.
Just as they were spouting nonsense, Hatake Kuroshi had already reached out his hand. Visible pale blue energy abruptly covered their bodies.
The temperature around Hatake Kuroshi instantly dropped slightly.
"What are you doing!?"
Genji slammed the table and stood up, shouting at Hatake Kuroshi's back.
He was genuinely panicked now. They had anticipated various outcomes, but never thought Hatake Kuroshi would disregard everything and attack directly.
Chirping away, more annoying than cicadas incessantly buzzing in summer.
Weak, yet warlike, and still daring to jump out now claiming to protest for the village.
And now he actually has to stand here worrying about the opinions of these weaklings.
Hatake Kuroshi's expression rarely darkened, but it did now. He tilted his head slightly, looking down condescendingly.
"—Who are you threatening?"
"Does anyone actually care what you think?"
"Showing such obvious malice towards a student right in front of his teacher... you really are quite audacious."
Hatake Kuroshi was completely fed up with listening to these guys ramble. With a slight wave of his hand, he sent them flying.
The moment Hatake Kuroshi attacked, white bones suddenly emerged from their bodies.
But before they could take a step forward, they were instantly sent flying, crashing straight towards the outer wall of the Mizukage Tower.
"BANG!!!"
After a loud bang, the wall was instantly impacted, leaving several large, human-shaped holes.
Some onlookers outside were startled by the suddenly flying figures. Several bone-sphere-like bodies lay on the ground, the bones on them shattered and broken.
The excessive impact force had completely distorted their features, making their original appearances unrecognizable.
Judging by the force capable of shattering their bones upon impact, these individuals were clearly dead beyond doubt.
Blood continuously flowed out from under the corpses, the crimson liquid pooling on the ground.
"Didn't these people have opinions about the new Mizukage?"
"Looks like they were beaten out."
"Didn't they also challenge the Fourth Mizukage when he took office before, only to be beaten out too?"
The crowd gathered at the entrance clearly wasn't surprised by the Kaguya clan's actions. These people had a long history of trouble; nothing outrageous they did would be too surprising.
The Kaguya clan was just warlike, always wanting to challenge strong people. It wasn't strange for them to die now.
Hatake Kuroshi's cold voice drifted out from inside the Mizukage Tower.....
"I don't like attacking my own people, but if anyone has opinions about the new Mizukage..."
"Or rather—if anyone thinks about assassinating the new Mizukage, or makes any deliberate small moves, their fate will be the same as theirs."
"Before you act, I advise you to think clearly."
Genji's face turned ashen with anger the moment Hatake Kuroshi attacked. He slumped back into his chair.
This Hatake Kuroshi fellow always managed to find a third option in a two-choice situation.
They couldn't gain any advantage at all, losing both the lady and the soldiers (idiom: suffering a double loss).
"Don't just sit there. This is the new Mizukage selected through the Elder council meeting."
"You two need to show your faces outside too."
After shouting from the doorway, Hatake Kuroshi turned slightly, looking at Ao and Genji sitting inside.
This wasn't genuinely acknowledging them as Elders and inviting them out.
It was a visible command for them to go out and support Mangetsu Hozuki.
The subtle sense of arrogance that usually lingered around Hatake Kuroshi completely erupted over this matter.
Hatake Kuroshi rarely spoke with such an overtly condescending attitude, simply because he usually felt it unnecessary.
But this kind of political maneuvering, making sneaky moves right under his nose, genuinely annoyed him.
To suppress these guys, some hard tactics were necessary to show them.
If they wanted to raise objections, they had to be able to beat him first.
Hatake Kuroshi walked out with Mangetsu Hozuki. Shisui put on the sunglasses from the table and eagerly darted out after Hatake Kuroshi.
He had observed something quite interesting.
This was the first time he had seen Hatake Kuroshi truly show what could be called a serious expression.
"You're being way too protective as a teacher."
"Looks like you were about to kill Genji and the others."
Shisui sidled up next to Hatake Kuroshi and couldn't help muttering.
"Oh? I did indeed have that thought."
Hatake Kuroshi still wore a cold expression, causing Shisui to pause, unsure how to respond.
In an instant, Hatake Kuroshi tilted his head, revealing a grinning expression.
"Just kidding. Killing everyone is useless."
"Ah, speaking of which, there's a kid in the Kaguya clan I'm quite interested in. Go find him."
Hatake Kuroshi left Mangetsu Hozuki near the Mizukage Tower; Genji and Ao would definitely have to come down and give some speech later.
That previous display should be enough to make these people understand.
They likely wouldn't cause trouble during the Mizukage appointment now. Hatake Kuroshi couldn't be bothered wasting more time there.
Appointing a Mizukage brings out several waves of people; even leeks don't grow back this frequently.
"Is that kid very strong?"
Shisui had also come to understand now. Although the Kaguya clan caused Hatake Kuroshi quite a bit of trouble, the fact that he could still calmly consider taking in a child now... likely meant that child had enough strength to catch his eye.
"Oh, well, more or less."
"After all, he's also a human weapon who was locked up."
Hatake Kuroshi rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking towards the devastated Kaguya clan grounds not far away.
In the middle of the Kaguya grounds, there were still two deep pits, looking like they were drilled by drills.
From afar, they resembled two dark, empty eyes.
"You're looking for that Kimimaro?"
Hearing this description, Shisui immediately reacted.
During that chaotic battle, almost all Kaguya clansmen started shouting for Kimimaro when at a disadvantage.
Sounded like a verbal tool.
However, from beginning to end, Shisui hadn't really noticed where that person was.
"Yeah. He's about the right age to enroll in school too~"
"Literacy is also important. Being an illiterate human weapon, one might inevitably become an idiot like those Kaguya clansmen."
Hatake Kuroshi pointed his finger and laughed heartily.
Shisui, overwhelmed with too many points to retort, was choked speechless and shook his head helplessly.
"No, but he's still the clan's weapon..."
"Not for long. I've already had Mangetsu sort out some missions that look like one-way trips whenever he has time."
"Send them away directly~"
Hatake Kuroshi answered decisively; how could he not be prepared for this?
He even had Mangetsu Hozuki deal with this issue first upon accepting the Mizukage mantle.
Coincidentally, sending these reckless fellows out could make the new Mizukage's name more prominent... and also resolve unnecessary internal disputes.
Genji has always been fixated on the Kaguya clan members. Let's completely dash this guy's hopes.
"Your actions are really decisive. Having him issue orders right away."
It was known that whether Mizukage or Hokage, such matters were never decided by one person alone.
There were always Elders and high-level officials assisting in discussing issues. Sometimes, even though they were the village Kage, they still couldn't have the final say on everything.
But Hatake Kuroshi's approach directly dealt with the concept of Elders.
It felt like Genji was instantly demoted from Elder to assistant or secretary status.
The entire Mizukage position instantly became a complete dictatorship.
Or perhaps, joint rule by Mangetsu Hozuki and Hatake Kuroshi; anyway, this teacher-student pair could basically be considered one entity.
"Having too many high-level people with equal power... although it means more heads thinking about problems."
"But I don't like having too many people influence me when I make decisions. That's too annoying."
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