In the Land of Water—Hidden Mist Village.
Deep within the mountainous terrain, this secluded ninja village is perpetually wrapped in thick fog.
At this moment, inside the Mizukage's building.
The hollow-eyed Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, sat calmly on a leather chair, listening to reports from two Anbu ninja.
"Reporting to the Fourth, Anbu Teams Seven, Ten, Twelve, and Thirteen are setting up an ambush at the harbor. We're preparing to take down the rogue ninja Zabuza!"
"This time, we'll definitely eliminate this rogue ninja!"
"I understand. You've done well."
Yagura gave a slight nod, his expression unchanged.
He seemed utterly indifferent to Zabuza...
"You may leave now."
"Understood, my lord." The Anbu Commander quickly took his leave, clearly eager to be gone.
After the commander exited,
Yagura slowly turned his empty gaze toward the other Anbu ninja, still kneeling halfway before him.
"Kisame Hoshigaki."
"I'm here, Fourth Mizukage!" Kisame replied respectfully, head bowed.
His current expression was hidden.
"I have an important mission for you."
"Please give your orders."
"Find an opportunity... and kill your superior!"
"My superior? Lord Fuguki Suikazan? May I ask why?"
"This man has colluded with the enemy, secretly leaking classified village information to foreign nations! For the sake of the village, I need you to eliminate him!"
Kisame was momentarily shocked inwardly but still asked calmly.
"Why me?"
"Fuguki Suikazan is extremely cautious and formidable. A direct attack would only lead to unnecessary casualties."
"But he trusts you completely, his own subordinate."
"If you set a trap and seal his chakra, success will be effortless."
"Once you complete this mission, you will replace him. You shall become my direct subordinate and continue serving the village."
Yagura explained coldly,
As if reciting memorized lines.
Kisame paused silently for a moment before quietly replying:
"It seems I have absolutely no reason to refuse!"
Though Kisame sensed something slightly off about the mission,
Since it came directly from the Fourth Mizukage himself, he had no choice but to accept.
Because no one knew better than himself just how powerful his superior, Fuguki Suikazan truly was.
If the Mizukage had already decided to kill him and Kisame refused,
Then the Mizukage would simply send more people instead.
And given Suikazan's strength, even more Hidden Mist ninjas might die.
So, aside from himself, no one else could resolve this situation with minimal loss.
After all, he had long since become a monster stained with comrades' blood.
Another bloodied hand wouldn't make much difference...
Pfft… What a crooked world!
Kisame sighed inwardly.
Then, after taking his leave,
He prepared to depart and begin planning how to carry out this mission.
...
However, just as Kisame stepped halfway out of the room,
Outside the window, in the distance—
At the main gate of Kirigakure.
A loud provocation saturated with thick chakra suddenly rang out.
It startled the entire village awake.
"Hey? Moshi moshi?"
"Anybody home? I've come to destroy your village!"
"Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage! Come out and face me already!"
Such arrogant taunts sent a sudden jolt through Kisame.
He quickly volunteered:
"Could someone actually be attacking at the village gate?"
"Mizukage-sama, let me go check first!"
After saying this, Kisame leapt through the window and rapidly bounded toward the village entrance.
Shortly after Kisame had jumped away,
Inside the room, the Fourth Mizukage Yagura still sat in the chair with an empty expression.
Except behind the chair's shadow,
a figure wearing a spiral-patterned mask gradually emerged from darkness.
Muttering softly:
"This voice..."
"It's Shimoku Uchiha!"
"How the hell did that brat end up here?"
"Damn it! He dares provoke all of Kiri again!"
"But good. Let's use this chance to see whether we can manipulate Kiri's forces to eliminate this big variable once and for all."
With a sinister grin, Big Bro Tu faded into the darkness once more.
Under his control, the Fourth Mizukage Yagura sitting on the chair suddenly stood up.
And began heading toward the village entrance.
...
Meanwhile, at Kirigakure's village entrance.
Shimoku's party of six was soon surrounded by numerous arriving Kiri ninjas.
There were clearly very few male ninjas among them.
At a glance, dozens of white female ninja thighs came into view, excitingly seductive.
Looks like Kirigakure definitely has more women than men!
It's time to tip the scales...
However, none of these ninjas, however, possessed exceptional power compared to others in the world.
Moreover, Zabuza Momochi, a famous Kiri ninja, was standing guard upfront.
Therefore, the gathered Kiri ninjas refrained from launching a reckless attack.
"Young Master," Gin muttered nervously, wiping the sweat from his palms, "aren't we being a bit too ostentatious?"
This was the first time in his life he'd stood before one of the Five Great Hidden Villages—Kirigakure—and so brazenly provoked them.
Saying he wasn't nervous would be a lie.
He could only hope the Young Master would truly unleash tremendous power later and tear through the entire Kirigakure!
...
Soon, an Anbu captain arrived.
Fuguki Suikazan:
His fat body carried an orange afro, three pairs of green stripes tattooed across his face. Samehada strapped to his back made him look ridiculous.
Yet this guy belonged to the original Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist—the first wielder of the great sword Samehada.
Indeed, he was currently one of Kiri's high-ranking influential figures.
He had long operated in covert operations, deeply scheming and cautious, even earning special attention from certain individuals like Big Bro Tu.
After all, this man had narrowly survived an encounter with Might Guy when he had activated the Eight Gates.
His strength had clearly entered the Kage-level realm!
Upon arrival,
His first glance immediately recognized Zabuza Momochi.
And he immediately bellowed:
"Zabuza! You rogue ninja—how dare you return?!"
"What happened to those Anbu ninjas we sent to kill you?"
Zabuza calmly replied, "All of them... killed by me."
A murmur of astonishment rippled through the crowd.
After all, quite a few Anbu had been sent after Zabuza—nearly one fifth of the village's entire Anbu force.
All of them… killed by Zabuza?
Where did he get such strength?
Then what exactly does this mean as he blocks the village entrance now?
"You bastard! This is suicide!"
Fuguki Suikazan howled furiously, grinding his teeth, looking like he wanted to tear Zabuza apart with his bare hands.
However, he did not unsheathe his massive sword, Samehada.
Instead, he secretly sent Zabuza a meaningful glance—one only the other would understand.
And Zabuza quickly responded with an equally loaded look of his own.
Back and forth they went. Anyone who didn't know better might've thought they were sending each other secret signals!
...
Just as the air grew unbearably thick—with the tension brimming like an oncoming storm—a series of high-ranking figures from Kiri began arriving one after another.
"Is that… Elder Genji?!!"
"Elder Genji is here too?!!"
A commotion stirred through the crowd.
Meanwhile, far away, an aged figure leaning on a snake-shaped wooden cane was slowly approaching, escorted by two attendants—none other than Elder Genji, the revered advisor of Kiri, who held equal power and status to the Mizukage and oversaw most civilian affairs in the village, with his opinion always sought before any major decision affecting the village was made.
Beside the revered Elder Genji walked two individuals.
One was his trusted aide: Gonbee.
The other was a young yet commanding presence—the village's celebrated rising talent: Terumi Mei.
As the future Fifth approached—her distinctive long, crimped reddish-brown hair flowing, her gem-like emerald eyes shimmering, her mature figure swaying gracefully—Shimoku couldn't help but let his eyes light up.
Who doesn't appreciate a beautiful kunoichi?
Heck, admiring beauty's got style of its own, doesn't it?
Of course, Shimoku also knew why he was really there.
There was no way mere physical charm could distract him from his mission.
Absolutely impossible!
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