Chapter 117:

Fuyōna stood with Mei as he held the Kazekage's head in his hand, concentrating as he searched the depths of her mind to the best of his ability.

"There is no doubt about it... She's under a powerful genjutsu..." He said as he opened his eyes.

Mei was shocked and turned to look at Pakura before looking back to Fuyōna.

"Another Kage placed under genjutsu?" She asked knowing that whoever was behind this, they were powerful and serious about causing a war.

"That could explain why she was so intent on fighting a war..." Mei said.

"It would explain a lot of things," Fuyōna said as he raised his other hand, forming a hand sign before he spoke.

"Release!" He said, using his chakra to break the genjutsu, freeing Pakura from the illusion she had been living in.

Pakura's body suddenly went stiff, letting out a small yelp before she dropped to the ground having fallen unconscious.

"Fuyōna, what does this mean?" Mei asked, having a bad feeling.

"It means that someone else is controlling this war from the shadows," Fuyōna said, having a serious look on his face.

"And I think I know who." He then said, getting a gulp from Mei.

Meanwhile, back in the hidden rain village.

Obito stood high at the top of pains tower, looking out over the hidden rain village from above.

It was raining as it always did in this land, giving him peace as he reflected on his plan.

"So you are back." He said, sensing that Pain and Konan had returned.

"I take it your mission was unsuccessful?" He said, watching as Pain walked into the room with only two of his six paths.

"Yes... It appears you were right about this one. He is indeed a powerful adversary." Pain said.

"Yes, indeed he will pose a problem to our plans," Obito said, stepping down from his viewpoint.

"And how goes the war, has our puppet Kage caused any damage overall?" He asked seeming amused.

"The war has pushed in the Mist and Leaf's favour," Konan said.

Zetsu suddenly appeared from the floor next to Obito, seeing the three of them standing there.

"The battle is over... The Kazekage has been defeated and her forces surrendered." Zetsu said, updating them on the situation.

"And what of the Stone forces?" Obito asked.

"The Tsuchikage has chosen to retreat for now, but still believes in fighting against the Mist and Leaf." Zetsu said.

"Good... Things are slowly progressing in our favour." Obito said, smiling from behind his mask.

"Very soon, we will be able to put our plan into full effect," Obito said menacingly, getting a small nod for Pain.

"So be it... But before that, we will need to build the organization and recruit new members." Pain said.

Obito also nodded.

"Yes, and I have just the candidates."

Three weeks had now passed since the battle between the Sand, Stone, Leaf and Mist. Huge concerns had been raised over the information that Pakura had been under a powerful genjutsu, resulting in her declaring war in the first place.

Of course, this was S-class information, and only the top officials and leaders of the Mist and Leaf knew about it.

Pakura had been taken captive by Fuyōna as a war criminal, holding the Kazekage hostage in an attempt to get the Sand to stand down for now. It wasn't pretty, but it had been effective so far, preventing another full-scale battle from breaking out.

No word had come from the Stone so far, leaving both the Hokage and Fuyōna in the dark on what Ōnoki's intentions were. However, as things stood so far, the Mist and Leaf together would be able to stand against the Stone, proving too much for them alone.

Pakura had, had no knowledge of who or when she had been placed under genjutsu, in fact, she couldn't remember much of anything and was shocked to find out what had happened up until now.

The last thing she remembered was the day she was supposed to meet Fuyōna in the secret meeting they had arranged, however, he memory went foggy after that, meaning she had been under genjutsu even at their summit.

Only Fuyōna and the Hokage had been the ones to question her, with the Hokage insisting on Fugaku and Inoichi Yamanaka to investigate inside of her mind, looking deep to see if they could find any information on who had placed her under the genjutsu.

Fuyōna of course had his suspicions but had chosen to remain silent about them for now, feeling it was not yet the right time to talk about the subject, and name drop Madara or Obito, feeling like it would cause trouble between the Uchiha and Leaf even more.

The main goal of holding the Kazekage was to help reveal who had caused her to start a war, and what motive they had in doing so. It was also to try and get the Kazekage on their side, hoping she would understand the need for peace between nations.

Even though she had been imprisoned and her chakra sealed, Pakura had been more than willing to cooperate, having learned of the horrors she had forced her people and nation to commit in this war so far.

"Do you think this will really deter the Sand from launching another attack?" Fuyōna asked, looking towards Hiruzen.

The Hokage sighed as he exhaled a large plume of smoke.

"I don't know... All we can do for now is trust in our ability to hold the peace, no matter how fragile it may be." He said, hoping for the best.

Fuyōna nodded, knowing there had been no word from the Stone, and the Sand had backed down after having lost so many troops and their elders in the fight against him.

"What about the hidden Cloud, any news from the Raikage?" Fuyōna also asked.

"No... It would seem the Cloud have chosen to remain out of the fighting... For now anyway." The Hokage said, still seeming a little worried about their position.

"Very well. I will return to the Mist for now, but if anything comes up, make sure to contact me." Fuyōna said, bidding farewell to the Hokage.

Hiruzen nodded, also bidding farewell to Fuyōna, watching as he was about to step into his ice mirror.

"Just one last thing, lord Mizukage." Hiruzen said, getting his attention.

"I would just like to thank you for all of your efforts in this war... I feel as if I am somewhat letting you down by not taking part in the fighting." He said, taking Fuyōna by surprise.

"Please, Lord Hokage. You don't need to apologise, I am more than happy to do my part for peace." He said, giving the Hokage a smile.

"I just want you to know, if it comes to more fighting, I too am prepared to do my part for peace, no matter what the cost." He said with a serious expression.

Fuyōna smiled looking into the Hokages eyes with a serious look.

"I don't doubt it." He said before he stepped into his ice mirror, vanishing from the Hokage's office.

Things back in the Mist had been a mix of sadness and celebration, as the village mourned their dead, but also celebrated victory under Fuyōna's rule, who had been praised as a hero for his efforts in the battles thus far.

However, it had been a long recovery for those who had been injured in the battle, with the hospitals in the village filling up and leaving no space for the everyday needs of the villagers, causing a backlog of people who needed medical care and attention.

Kaga had also survived his battle with Pakura, having his life saved by Mei and Ganryu, who had been able to get him to the medics in time. Still, his road to recovery would be a long one as his wounds would take time to heal before he would be back on his feet.

Fuyōna had done his best to keep the village running, with the extra strain that the war had placed upon it, and every villager, causing them to work like crazy to produce weapons and provisions in case of an invasion. He had even taken the time to visit as many families of the fallen as he could to offer his thanks for their sacrifice, something that had been greatly welcomed by the village.

All Fuyōna could do now was try and keep everyone as happy as he could, feeding them rays of hope one day at a time, doing as much within his power to keep things running smoothly for everyone.

"Sir we have another report from the scouts in the land of wind," Ao said, bringing a scroll in to Fuyōna's office.

Ao had also been a big help in the war effort, providing a huge aid with his sensory abilities during the fighting with the Stone.

"Thank you, Ao," Fuyōna said, taking the scroll from him.

Fuyōna read the report before putting it down on the table.

"Seems like the elders from the Sand are playing ball with us for now," Ao said.

Fuyōna nodded.

"It's understandable, after all, they already lost one Kazekage, and this time they don't have the military capability to afford to lose another by acting rash," Fuyōna said.

Ao agreed, already knowing they were extremely weak after losing such a large amount of troops and their Kage after the last battle.

"Speaking frankly though sir, I don't think we will ever see peace with the Sand, not after all the damage you have done to them." Ao said, making a point Fuyōna already knew.

"No..." He said, feeling a tad guilty for it.

"What about our spies in the north?" Fuyōna suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"The reports say that the Stone still remains strong in the hidden Grass, holding the small nation captive from the looks of it," Ao said.

"Also the Leaf seems to be keeping a close eye on them, knowing that the Tsuchikage could launch another attack at any moment," Ao added.

Fuyōna nodded as he interlocked his fingers, placing his feet on his desk so he could get comfy.

"I guess the only thing we can do now is to wait." He said, running ideas and plans through his mind as to what the best course of action would be.

Meanwhile...

Haku, Kimimaro and Koyuki, along with the other genin of the mist village had all been tasked with finding the lost swords of the seven ninja swordsmen.

After their promotion to chunin, Fuyōna had given them this top-level mission, knowing he couldn't spar any other men to the task. And although he had told them to locate and retrieve the swords, he had also told them to stay away from two of the three of them that were missing, meaning there was only really one they had to find.

The report said that the person they were looking for went by the name of Raiga, also showing them a picture of their target and his last known whereabouts. It also stated that he had been a rogue ninja, apparently sneaking back into the village after the fourth Mizukage had been killed to steal the Kiba blades, which he used to possess before leaving the village.

So far the group had travelled deep into the land of fire, heading towards the west, which was the last known location of their target. Although the Mizukage had given them the mission as a group of nine. Each of them felt it was best if they split into their three original squads, seeing how each of them had one chunin. Hattori, Kimimaro, Haku and Rokuro had all been promoted to the rank of chunin, after their display in the chunin exams, giving them command and responsibility for each of their own squads.

The group had all travelled to the land of fire together, deciding to split up from there, each taking a different route so that they could cover more ground, and try to pick up any information they could along the way.

Currently Kimimaro, Haku and Koyuki found themselves in one of the many towns that were scattered through the land of fire, enjoying some food at one of the many inns of choice they had there.

"So far we have had no luck in finding out anything about this guy!" Koyuki shouted in frustration, taking a bite of her food to try and calm down.

"Its like he's a ghost!" She yelled, biting down on her food.

Haku smiled as he slowly picked at some chicken, using more manners than Koyuki.

"Don't worry too much Koyuki, these things take time." He said, seeming cheerful as always.

Kimimaro remained quiet, going over the information they had again in his head.

"The report said he was sighted south of this town three days ago. For all we know, he could be on the other side of the land of fire by now." Kimimaro said, putting a bit of a damper on the group.

Koyuki frowned, taking another bite of her food.

"He had better not have!" She said between mouthfuls, keeping the angry expression on her face and causing Haku to laugh.

"When we find him, I'm gonna kick his ass even if he does give us the swords back!" Koyuki shouted, drawing attention to the group.

"It's a shame none of us specializes in tracking," Kimimaro said, sipping his tea, doing his best to ignore her behaviour.

Haku agreed before continuing to eat his food, knowing that no good would come of worrying. After all, this was meant to be a lengthy mission, with no one expecting quick results.

Currently, Hattori, Miyako and Yuri found themselves south of the town around two miles that Haku and the others were in, having pushed forwards, and taking another route in an attempt to cover more ground.

"The report said this is where the target was last sighted," Hattori said, looking over the area from his vantage point.

Yuri nodded as she did the same, seeing a small mountain range with caves dotted around the area.

"What you think? You reckon he could be hiding in one of the caves?" Miyako said, bearing her teeth as she thought about taking him down.

"Possibly..." Hattori said, trying to look for any sign that someone was staying in the area.

"Still, we should tread softly, just in case someone is there, we wouldn't want to give our position away to the target," Hattori said.

"The target is an ex-member of the seven ninja swordsmen... I don't think we will be getting the drop on him so easily," Miyako said, standing to her full height.

"We should go in guns blazing, take him by surprise with an all-out attack!" She said, grabbing her bicep as she did.

Yuri sighed, not needing to say a word for the others to know exactly what she was thinking.

Hattori took another look through his spyglass, trying to make sure he hadn't missed anything, making sure to check every inch of the place, choosing to ignore her as usual.

"Hey, what's that?" Hattori suddenly said as he spotted something, getting the other's attention.

"Looking for something, brats!" A voice from behind them suddenly shouted, shocking all three of them having been taken off guard.

"Look out!" Hattori yelled, doing his best to avoid the surprise attack coming from the enemy as he jumped back into the air.

Yuir and Miyako both jumped out of the way, also doing their best to avoid the surprise attack that had come from the cloaked figure.

Suddenly another cloaked figure appeared from the shadows, trying to take Hattori out as he was still falling through the air.

Hattori caught the assault at the last second, quickly activating his steel release to turn his arms into cold hard steel, breaking the attack's kunai with his hands as the sparks flew across his face.

"I don't think so," Hattori said, knowing it was time to get serious.

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Ok going to end it there! I hope you enjoyed it, remember to check out my P.atreon page for more! Chapter 205 is live!