Kirigakure – a forest somewhere near the village
A snake slithered up from the soil and opened its mouth. From within, a hand emerged, covered in a thick layer of slimy mucus. Kiyosuke climbed out, visibly shuddering with disgust.
No matter how many times he used this technique, it never stopped feeling revolting.
"So gross... how the hell does sensei even stand this?"
Maybe only someone like Orochimaru—a complete pervert—could get used to moving like this.
The large snake vanished, and Kiyosuke made his way to a nearby stream to wash the muck off his body.
After crawling onto the bank, he looked into the distance where the misty silhouette of Kirigakure lay shrouded in fog. He sighed.
"What kind of mission is this anyway? Infiltrating Kirigakure... this kind of thing is insanely dangerous. If I get caught, I could spend the rest of my life rotting in a dark little cell."
Worse yet, he might end up dissected for research.
Getting spotted by Kirigakure's ANBU would be extremely bad news.
The village's ANBU were modeled after the system created by the Second Hokage—but the Mist's version was far more brutal than Konoha's.
ANBU were already tasked with doing the dirty work—assassinations, intelligence gathering, black ops—but Kirigakure's methods were even more ruthless. The entire village had a notorious reputation for cruelty, and its ANBU were the worst of the lot.
If they didn't hesitate to cut down their own, they certainly wouldn't go easy on a foreign shinobi like him.
"There's a barrier surrounding Kirigakure. Escaping from anywhere but the main gate is impossible. That makes things tricky… so the only way in is through the front door?"
Every hidden village had a barrier, though the strength varied. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Kirigakure's barrier was undoubtedly formidable.
Since the village's founding, layer after layer had been added to the defenses. Breaking through would be no easy feat.
Just like Konoha, Kirigakure had a single entrance: the main gate.
"Waltzing through the front gate, huh? I guess that does suit my style."
Transforming himself into a hunched, elderly man with a cane, Kiyosuke slowly shuffled toward Kirigakure's gate.
There was a reason they called it the Hidden Mist. A faint, ever-present fog blanketed the area, never truly lifting. The sky above was always cloudy, as if it might rain at any moment.
A river encircled the village, with only a single bridge connecting it to the outside world. Thick mist clung to the bridge as the disguised Kiyosuke stepped onto it.
Two Kirigakure chūnin stood guard at the gate. It was wartime, so manpower was stretched thin. Still, these two were more than capable fighters—chūnin who could hold their own against jōnin if necessary.
But still… if you didn't have the strength of those two Konoha gatekeepers in the future, you really had no business guarding anything.
"Hey, old man! Kirigakure isn't accepting outsiders right now. Wherever you came from, go back!" one of them barked impatiently, a shark-toothed chūnin waving him off.
"I-I've come to visit my granddaughter. She's a ninja in Kirigakure. Kind sirs, please… show some mercy and let this old man through."
Kiyosuke trembled like a gust of wind could knock him over.
The other guard, a brown-haired shinobi, sneered. "Your granddaughter's already dead! Now get lost!"
"D-Dead?!" Kiyosuke recoiled in shock, his cloudy old eyes widening in disbelief. "N-No, that can't be! She was a kekkei genkai user! There's no way someone like her would die so easily!"
The moment he mentioned kekkei genkai, the two guards' expressions changed. Normal old men didn't throw around terms like that.
The shark-toothed one narrowed his eyes. "What was her name?"
"Mei Terumi."
The two guards fell silent.
A beat later, their expressions twisted in rage.
"You bastard!" the shark-toothed one snarled, grabbing Kiyosuke by the collar. "You trying to mess with me?! Mei Terumi is the heiress of the Terumi clan! There's no way someone like you is related to her! Who the hell are you—?!"
Suddenly, a snake slithered out from inside his uniform and retreated back into Kiyosuke's sleeve.
Kiyosuke smiled lazily, eyes half-lidded.
"Wow… the gatekeepers here are this weak? You guys really don't value your lives, huh."
"What's going on?!" the brown-haired ninja yelled, realizing his partner had stopped moving. He immediately drew a kunai and lunged at Kiyosuke.
But instead of hitting Kiyosuke—he stabbed his own comrade.
"Oh dear, missed."
With a flick of his wrist, several venomous snakes shot out, their fangs sinking into the brown-haired ninja. The poison coursed through his veins almost instantly, and he collapsed on the spot.
"Alright then. Next up... Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A second Kiyosuke appeared beside him.
"I'll leave this to you."
"You got it."
The real Kiyosuke nodded, changed his appearance again, and rushed through the gate.
Meanwhile, the shadow clone ignited in flames.
BOOM—!
A thunderous explosion rocked Kirigakure. In the next moment, everyone turned instinctively toward the source—the village gate.
...
Inside the Mizukage's Tower, the Third Mizukage, a long-haired, sharp-featured man with perpetually half-closed eyes, frowned.
"What's going on out there? Go investigate."
"Yes, sir."
Moments later, a figure appeared beside him, reporting swiftly:
"Mizukage-sama, the main gate was attacked. We believe the assailant may be from Konoha."
"What?!"
The Third Mizukage's face twisted in fury.
"Those bastards from Konoha think they can just do whatever they want now? Where's the intruder?"
"We've already sent a pursuit team. Also, several squads had just returned through the gate—including two kekkei genkai users from the Yuki clan and one from the Kaguya clan."
The Third Mizukage groaned inwardly. The village's major clans were growing more and more disinterested in the war. They only cared about their own bloodlines and never considered the wellbeing of Kirigakure itself.
And now, with an incident like this, they'd be even harder to control.
"Provide full medical support to the injured. Also—have ANBU track down the attacker. I don't care how, but do not let a Konoha ninja slip into the village."
"Yes, sir."
The ANBU disappeared.
The Mizukage sighed heavily. "Troubled times…"
Cough. Cough. Cough.
He suddenly doubled over, hacking into his hand. When he pulled it away, it was stained red with blood.
His body was failing him.
"Sensei... looks like I'm almost at my limit. I'll be joining you soon."
He took out a vial of secret medicine and drank it, suppressing the symptoms for now. His body was like a dying candle—burning just a little longer.
Those damned shinobi clans. They were the ones who started this war, and now they wanted to end it on their own terms? As if it were that simple.
He had to leave behind some hope for the village.
"Orochimaru…"
The Legendary Sannin weren't ones to be trifled with.
"But at least… at least Kirigakure still has some promising young ninja."
Feeling a little more stable, the Third Mizukage stood up and headed out to assess the damage himself.
...
At the gates of Kirigakure
The massive front gate lay in ruins, completely blown apart by Kiyosuke's clone. A group of Kirigakure shinobi were already scrambling to rescue the wounded trapped beneath the rubble.
"H-Help me…!"
One ninja, not too badly hurt, had his lower body pinned under some stones. Blood seeped from his injuries as he reached out to the rescue team.
"Get him out, now!"
They pulled him free and rushed him onto a stretcher, heading straight for Kirigakure's hospital.
"Get a sensory-type ninja! We need someone who can detect signs of life!"
"On it!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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