Hiruzen persuaded me to die

The eerie silence that followed the completion of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was only disturbed by the shifting mist rolling over the village. With the Shinigami's power at his command, Hyūga Naraku stood unmoving. His gaze was fixed—not on the village, not even on the Mizukage—but on something far more valuable.

The Three Tails.

"The Bijū need to be redistributed," Naraku finally said, his voice calm and unflinching. "Starting with the Three Tails."

Elder Genji (known as Master Yuan to the locals) paused for a long moment, his age-worn face unreadable. "The original distribution was decided by the First Hokage," he said eventually.

Naraku didn't flinch. "Then the First Hokage was wrong."

The room froze.

Even Fourth Mizukage Yagura's expression faltered, shocked at how casually Naraku had just dismissed the founder of modern shinobi diplomacy—Senju Hashirama.

But Naraku continued, voice cold with the weight of his judgment. "Giving Bijū to the other villages didn't bring balance. It only gave them weapons."

He looked to Yagura. "You didn't keep the Three Tails to maintain peace. You turned it into a tool, sealed it into yourself, and used it as a weapon."

Elder Genji hesitated, then offered a pitiful justification. "We... we paid for the Three Tails, back then. We purchased it from the First Hokage."

Naraku let out a short, scoffing breath. "Bijū aren't merchandise. That 'payment'? Think of it as rent. The lease is up. We're taking it back."

There was no negotiation in his tone—only declaration.

Genji bowed his head slightly. Yagura said nothing; he had already heard this from Naraku in private. Resistance was not an option.

"Three Tails is still within me," Yagura said at last, his voice worn and frail. "You'll have to wait until I'm gone."

"I'll be staying in Kirigakure for a while," Naraku replied nonchalantly.

Genji narrowed his eyes. "For what purpose?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," Naraku said, already reading the suspicion in the old man's eyes. "I have no interest in taking over Kirigakure. I just want to study your bloodlines... and see how deep the rot goes."

The words stung more than a blade.

Rot. That was what Naraku saw when he looked at Mist. And he wasn't wrong. Since the days of Uchiha Madara, Kirigakure had been infiltrated. Manipulated. Used. The incident with Rin Nohara was just one of many testaments to that.

Now, even the Mizukage had been exposed as a puppet. What else had been compromised?

Yagura sighed. "Kisame betrayed us. The masked man used him too. Just like he used me. We've been infiltrated so thoroughly... I don't even know who to trust anymore."

The weight of it was immense. He was dying, and he knew it. Maybe that was for the best.

"We need to name a new Mizukage," Yagura said suddenly, turning to Genji.

The elder blinked in surprise. "So soon?"

Yagura nodded slowly. "I won't last much longer. My mind, my spirit—it's been damaged. I'm not fit to lead anymore."

Genji frowned. He knew who would come next. But before he could speak the name, his eyes flicked involuntarily to Naraku.

So did Yagura's.

Naraku blinked. "Why are you looking at me? This is your village, your decision."

The two Mist leaders exchanged awkward glances and quickly turned away, embarrassed. They didn't even realize they'd looked to him for approval until it was too late.

But it was true.

In this new world, Naraku's recognition might matter more than a hundred ballots.

Finally, Yagura spoke clearly: "I propose Terumi Mei as the Fifth Mizukage."

Genji nodded. "She's the most capable option we have."

Terumi Mei's eyes widened. "W-What?"

She had wanted this once. She had dreamed of ending the Blood Mist era, of leading a better Kirigakure. But she never imagined it would come like this—not appointed by a dying Mizukage and an old man while a foreign Hokage watched silently.

"But... I'm only eighteen," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "I'm not strong enough... not ready..."

She looked at the shattered village, then at Naraku. Her heart sank. "There's so much to fix... I'll probably collapse before I reach thirty."

Naraku said nothing, but gave her the faintest of nods.

She wasn't wrong.

Mist was in ruins.

The Bloodline Clans were nearly extinct, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen scattered or dead, and the village was riddled with spies and traitors.

Whoever took this mantle... would suffer.

And she had just been crowned queen of the ashes.