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Mastermind of the Akatsuki 340
🕑 Added 2025-02-28 07:00:03 +0000 UTCChapter 340: Kisame and Obito
Hearing Genji's orders, Mei Terumi and Ao exchanged glances, seeing shock and disbelief in each other’s eyes.
As ninjas who were protected under Genji’s wing, they understood exactly what his words meant.
Genji chose to abandon the Fourth Mizukage completely.
Years ago, it was Genji who had personally helped Yagura Karatachi rise to power.
If not for the fact that Yagura's actions had disappointed him to the extreme, Genji would never have issued such an order or personally involved himself in the coup against Kirigakure’s leadership.
But for them, this was good news.
They had long been dissatisfied with the Fourth Mizukage’s rule, believing that Yagura was utterly unfit for the position.
Unlike those who dared to raise their blades against the Mizukage outright, however, they had always hesitated, staying under Genji’s protection and waiting for the right opportunity.
After all, as long as Genji did not oppose the Mizukage, any of their efforts would be in vain.
Now that he had spoken, everything had changed.
After revealing his decision, Genji felt weary. Waving a hand, he signaled for Mei and Ao to leave. They were elite jōnin he had nurtured for Kirigakure, and now it was time for them to take the lead.
Upon leaving the elder’s residence, Mei and Ao first glanced behind them, then found a secluded spot to discuss what had just transpired.
Mei turned to the older Ao and asked, "Ao, should we contact Zabuza and Jūzō Biwa immediately? If we reach out too soon, the ANBU might take notice. But if we don’t, it’ll be difficult for them to pose a real threat to the village."
Ao thought for a moment before replying, "Genji-sama’s instructions were clear. We can’t contact them openly, but we can send someone to reach out discreetly. As for how to handle things from here… that depends on you, Mei.
Do you want to become a high-ranking figure in Kirigakure? Or do you want to be the next Mizukage?"
Mei fell silent. With her ambitious nature, she certainly wanted to become Mizukage—to prove herself and to protect their fractured village.
But if she wanted to secure enough merit to claim the title, she would have to take a stand against the Fourth Mizukage herself.
Could she truly defeat Yagura? Had he really been placed under Genjutsu control? With Zabuza and Jūzō Biwa leading the charge, was it worth taking such a risk?
Mei hesitated, unable to give an immediate answer.
Seeing this, Ao sighed inwardly. Mei still lacked decisiveness. If she was to be lifted to the position of Mizukage, he would have to help her take that step.
But he had no right to criticize her. After all, even he had lacked the courage to act sooner.
With his Byakugan, Ao should have noticed that something was wrong with the Fourth Mizukage long ago. Yet he didn’t dare to step into the Mizukage’s office, instead seeking shelter under Genji’s guidance.
Now, the time for hesitation was over.
---
Later that night.
Sensing that something was amiss, Zabuza returned to their hideout earlier than usual.
Inside, Jūzō Biwa was casually eating fruit, as if he had been waiting for him all along. Hearing footsteps behind him, Jūzō flashed an innocent smile at Zabuza.
Zabuza fixed his gaze on Jūzō, trying to discern what felt wrong about him. Something seemed off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Feeling uneasy under Zabuza’s scrutiny, Jūzō turned to him and asked, "How did things go tonight? Did you manage to recruit more people, or was it as difficult as before?"
Zabuza shook his head and replied,
"Something is definitely wrong. The number of ninjas willing to join our coup has increased several times over. In just half the night, over a dozen have agreed. I suspect the letter you sent to Genji is working. We must have his support."
Jūzō smirked and said, "No need to guess. Genji-sama definitely supports us. He must have secretly informed those neutral ninjas—otherwise, there’s no way so many people would suddenly join you."
Zabuza frowned and asked, "If Genji-sama is backing us, why hasn’t he sent someone to contact us directly? We could confront the Fourth Mizukage in public and test whether he’s really under Genjutsu. If the mastermind is nearby, they wouldn’t dare reveal themselves."
Jūzō shook his head. "Genji-sama won’t do that. This is about the Mizukage’s dignity. Yagura may be under control, but the Fourth Mizukage must be given a respectable conclusion. If word got out that Yagura had been manipulated by Genjutsu for years, Kirigakure would become a laughingstock."
Jūzō paused slightly before continuing. "That’s why we can never be recognized as legitimate rebels. We have to attack as rogue ninjas. It’s the only way to preserve both the Mizukage’s and the village’s reputation."
Zabuza’s expression darkened.
"So even with Genji’s support, we’ll still be treated as traitors? If we fail, we’ll just be remembered as outlaws?"
Jūzō nodded, watching Zabuza carefully.
"The moment I set foot back in the Land of Water, I was already prepared for this. You should be too, Zabuza-senpai."
To Jūzō, this was his final duty to Kirigakure.
If he could help the village escape the Blood Mist era, he would sever all ties with it and dedicate himself fully to Akatsuki. And if he failed—then at least he would have died trying, fulfilling his duty as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
As for Kirigakure’s future… that was not his concern.
Zabuza pulled out a kunai, pointing it at Jūzō’s face.
"I was ready to die the last time I tried to assassinate the Mizukage. I’ll show you that I’m more fit than you to be one of the Seven Swordsmen—more fit to wield the Executioner’s Blade!"
Jūzō raised an eyebrow and sighed. "You want the Executioner’s Blade?"
Pausing, he then smirked. "For the courage you’ve shown in raising your blade against the Mizukage, whether you succeed or fail, I’ll give you the Executioner’s Blade myself."
---
Meanwhile…
At the Mizukage’s office, Obito Uchiha sat in the Mizukage’s chair, reviewing official documents.
Beside him stood a small figure—the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.
Ever since using his Mangekyō Sharingan to control Yagura, Obito had frequently appeared in the Mizukage’s office, taking his place.
Partly to ensure that the Genjutsu held strong, preventing Yagura from breaking free. If Yagura ever escaped his control, things would become very troublesome. Back then, Obito had taken him down in an instant using his Kamui—a first-strike kill. But if Yagura regained his senses now, it wouldn’t be so easy.
On the other hand, it was also to enjoy the taste of power and relax his tense demeanor. Over the years, he had been active in the shinobi world under the identity of the masked Uchiha Madara, often forgetting his own dreams and even who he truly was.
Adding to that, that bastard Byakuya was always sabotaging his plans, stealing his achievements, making him grit his teeth in hatred—yet there was nothing he could do about it.
The reason was simple: he didn’t have the power to counterbalance Byakuya.
Byakuya was closer to Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan. Byakuya also knew about the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. Byakuya even had the means to counter his Kamui.
His only remaining advantage over Byakuya was his Uchiha bloodline.
If Byakuya had also been an Uchiha, perhaps even Uchiha Madara wouldn’t have chosen him back then. He might have chosen Byakuya instead—after all, in every aspect, Byakuya was the superior replacement.
With all these factors combined, the only place where he could truly let loose was in Kirigakure.
Sitting in the Mizukage’s seat, Obito casually flipped through intelligence scrolls, selecting one at random to review and approve.
The first matter concerned the policy of purging bloodline clans.
Many jōnin of Kirigakure believed that the bloodline clans had already been thoroughly weakened and no longer posed a threat to the village’s order. While bloodline shinobi had the potential to go out of control, they were still an important combat force for the village.
It was time to rescind the order for the Great Purge and allow the village to return to normal.
Obito would never agree to such a request. He still remembered what the bloodline clans did to the Uchiha during the Third Shinobi World War—let alone the fact that Kirigakure was responsible for Rin’s death.
For that reason alone, he could never forgive Kirigakure.
Kirigakure had to remain weak at all times for him to feel satisfied.
But weren’t these jōnin under Genji’s protection getting a bit too arrogant? If not for Genji’s overwhelming influence, he would have dealt with him long ago.
The second piece of news came from Kirigakure’s Anbu—they had failed in their pursuit of the Six-Tails Jinchūriki, Utakata.
For Obito, this failure was entirely expected—after all, he was the one who had secretly sabotaged the mission. It was better for Kirigakure’s Jinchūriki to remain outside the village than within it.
If a Jinchūriki disappeared inside the village, it would immediately draw the attention of all the Kirigakure shinobi. However, if one vanished outside, the reaction would be much smaller.
This was all part of his careful planning. He was the one who had contributed the most to the Eye of the Moon Plan.
The third piece of news concerned Konoha and Iwagakure. After half a year of war, both sides were reaching their limits and seemed likely to negotiate peace soon.
Upon seeing this, Obito’s expression darkened.
Not because Konoha and Iwagakure were ending the war too soon, but because this battlefield had been orchestrated by Byakuya. The timing of Iwagakure’s attack on the Land of Fire was too close to the Uchiha Massacre—it had to be connected to Byakuya.
The thought that Byakuya was handling the Eye of the Moon Plan better than him left Obito feeling uneasy.
Why was it that every time he surpassed one genius, another would appear in front of him—as if it were some kind of curse?
And Byakuya’s contributions to the Eye of the Moon Plan didn’t stop there.
Obito had also heard that Sunagakure had recently appointed a new Kazekage, and the one who took the seat was none other than the Red Sand Scorpion—one of Byakuya’s subordinates.
On top of that, Byakuya had already collected the Two-Tails and Seven-Tails and had influence over many smaller nations.
At times, Obito even wondered—was Byakuya’s goal of gathering the nine Tailed Beasts and creating a Tailed Beast weapon to dominate the shinobi world just a lie?
After all, even without the Ten-Tails, Byakuya already controlled nearly a quarter of the shinobi world.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. But in the end, no matter how much Byakuya contributed to the Eye of the Moon Plan, the one who would claim the final victory wouldn’t be Byakuya—it would be him.
So what if Byakuya had control over the Tailed Beasts and the Rinnegan?
The secret to controlling the Ten-Tails was known only to himself and Uchiha Madara. Once he seized control of the Ten-Tails, everything Byakuya had done would ultimately benefit him.
Knock, knock, knock…
At the sound of knocking, Obito furrowed his brows.
He motioned for the Fourth Mizukage to hide behind the cabinet, then used the Transformation Jutsu to take on the Mizukage’s appearance before calling out, “What is it?”
“It’s me, Mizukage-sama.”
Recognizing the familiar voice, Obito opened the door and saw the towering, shark-like shinobi standing before him. Slowly, he asked, “What is it, Kisame?”
The shark-faced man before him was Kisame Hoshigaki.
He was Obito’s most important subordinate in Kirigakure—the only one in the village who knew his true identity. Obito had invested no less effort in Kisame than he had in Itachi Uchiha.
Even when Kisame was still under the command of Fuguki Suikazan, Obito had already taken an interest in him.
After witnessing Kisame kill his superior, subordinates, and even the person he admired in order to complete a mission, Obito was certain that Kisame would be one of his most useful subordinates.
When Obito revealed his identity to Kisame, he gained his unwavering loyalty.
For Kisame, loyalty was a simple matter.
He didn’t care who he served—he simply needed someone to follow. Whether it was the Fourth Mizukage or the enigmatic masked man, it made no difference to him.
In this world full of lies and betrayal, all he needed to do was carry out his missions with diligence.
After a moment of contemplation, Kisame said to Obito, “Mizukage-sama, the people around Genji have been moving about frequently. I suspect they’re plotting something against you.”
