Reincarnated As Mizuki - Volume 4

Hiruzen sat slumped in his chair, silently looking over the paperwork on his desk.

The mountain of paperwork that only seemed to grow as assistants swiftly came in, only to add to the already impressive pile and leave, only for the cycle to repeat not a couple minutes later.

Despite this though, Hiruzen was making no progress whatsoever, his eyes fixated on the single piece of paper in his hands.

Hiruzen carefully reread the paper, making sure that he had not missed so much as a single word, desperately hoping that he would see something that he had missed.

And yet, there was none.

The doc.u.ment was clear in its intention, and no amount of Hiruzen denying it would change that.

Hiruzen exhaled, tears could be seen gathering at the corner of his eyes.

All that he had been taught.

All that he had learned under those who he admired, those who came before him.

All of it ended up being reduced to nothing before his very eyes.

The ideal dream that his sensei had of a peaceful and free world?

Gone with the wind.

After all, how could one distribute weapons of mass destruction just for the sake of fairness?

Look where that got them, two World Wars later, and no progress in the least.

And now this.

If anything, things had been going backward, with Root running around assassinating organizations they deemed threatening, and the increasing number of villagers disgruntled with Konoha.

Anbu Guard: “Lord Hokage, it is time”

Hiruzen: {Would you be proud of what we have become? Hashirama-sensei?}

Thinking those words, Hiruzen thanked the Anbu as he got up and went towards what would become one of the most important assemblies of his life, the aforementioned paper clutched in his hands.

. . . . .

Hiruzen was the last person to enter the room.

Already there, was two of the Elders on the civilian council, in addition to a variety of clan heads and leaders of certain sectors of Konoha.

And last, but not least, there was Danzo.

Hiruzen: “I am glad to see that you have all made it”

Hearing his statement, the background chatter that created a sort of blanket of noise in the room vanished, leaving perfect silence in its place.

Hiruzen: “I am sure many of you are curious as to why you have called me here, with many of you having a general idea of what is going on.”

Hiruzen then slapped the paper he was holding onto the table, revealing its contents to the members, all of whom had a variety of reactions, ranging from sighs to physically holding themselves back.

Danzo: “We should have never accepted the proposal for an armistice in the last war.”

Danzo: “We had victory in our grasp Hiruzen.”

Hiruzen flashed Danzo an intense glare.

Danzo: “Our failure to demonstrate our power then has only served to create this conflict now. We must demonstrate to the other four great nations why Konoha was the first hidden village.”

Despite not agreeing with Danzo’s methods, Hiruzen relented slightly hearing his old teammate’s point of view.

After all, saying that Hiruzen’s leadership as the second war grew to a close did not contribute to the situation in which they were currently in right now would be preposterous.

Fugaku: “Lord Hokage, is the source where you got this information from trustworthy?”

Hiruzen: “Without question”

Hearing this, a resigned look appeared in Fugaku’s eyes as he sighed slightly.

Fugaku: “So it’s now happening, huh?”

Hiruzen: “Mn”

Fugaku: “No turning back now, huh? . . . War.”

Hiruzen nodded again, the look in his eyes one of incredible seriousness.

Hiruzen: “We are assembled here to call a vote, the subject: Preparation for the Third Great Shinobi War”

In the end, a unanimous vote was reached.

Konoha would remind the other great nations exactly why they were in possession of their tailed beasts.

They would be reminded once more of who the strongest village truly was.

. . . . .

Mizuki was surprised when Orochimaru approached both him and Anko to report that very evening.

In contrast to the Snake’s usually laid back and cautious behavior, his tone when he ordered them to do this was noticeable different.

It lacked it’s normal smug overconfidence as if he knew what they thought before they did.

Instead, his voice sounded colder, as if he was giving an absolute order, and he would not have anybody questioning it.

That wasn’t the only weird sign that was occurring.

Mizuki was hearing rumors circulating through the ranks that something big was happening.

Nobody knew what it was, and there were theories ranging from Iwa completing the training of it’s newest Jinchuriki, to the creation of a new Jutsu.

Regardless of what had happened, a spark was lit, and a new development had occurred.

One that would completely alter the course of history forever.

. . . . .

After finishing their missions, Anko and Mizuki both quickly grabbed dinner together before heading towards their sensei’s lab.

The two of them rapidly reached their destination before expertly triggering the unlocking mechanism and opening the door.

Later, the two chunin finished descending the stairs and entered Orochimaru’s office, only to be surprised to see Idate waiting there for them, sitting in one of three chairs that faced the desk.

Idate had changed little in the time that he had last seen Mizuki, besides his slightly longer hair and the addition of a vest on top of his normal outfit.

Mizuki and Anko quickly took the two remaining seats, looking towards their sensei across from them with a gaze of curiosity evident in their eyes.

Orochimaru: “Glad to see that you all made it.”

Orochimaru: “Needless to say, you have all probably been hearing rumors flying back and forth about what is going on.”

Orochimaru: “What we are talking about will be pertaining to those rumors, and as such, I trust that none of the contents of this conversation will leave this room.”

Upon seeing a sign of acknowledgment from his students, Orochimaru laid down a doc.u.ment he got from his sensei and proceeded to explain what happened to the chunin.

Orochimaru: “Konoha just got a report stating that Kumo and Iwa have agreed to a militaristic alliance, there only really being one possible target for said alliance.”

Mizuki: “And the other two great nations?”

Orochimaru: “Currently unknown. Kiri is still in the midst of political turmoil, and probably will not be joining the war for the foreseeable future.”

Orochimaru: “Suna is still hostile towards us after the last war, but even with their new Kazekage, they are still weakened and need recovery.”

Anko: “The battlefield been decided yet?”

Orochimaru: “As always, it will be one of several smaller nations to minimize loss of productivity for both sides.”

Orochimaru: “Most evidence right now is pointing towards the main fronts being in Ame and Kusa”

Mizuki: “Final question. Why tell us all this?”

Orochimaru: “I am telling you because you are still but a calf.”

Orochimaru: “Whilst you may have great potential, I do not want the investments that I have bet on to come back in body bags.”

Orochimaru: “You are all currently investments, I am simply here to protect my interests.”

Orochimaru: “Anything else?”