The extravagance of the Hozuki Clan and the Suiton Clan was well known throughout Mist.
Of course, these two prestigious ninja clans had produced the First and Second Mizukage. Since the Warring States period, they had been illustrious aristocratic houses renowned for their wealth and power. In addition, they were among the founding members of Mist itself, so a little luxury was entirely normal.
However, human hearts are never satisfied. Inequality—not scarcity—has always been a truth in every age and realm. This became even more evident as the flood of goods from the Ninja Clan Capital Corporations drove traditional artisans in Mist and the Land of Water into bankruptcy one after another. As a result, the excessive opulence of these two elite clans became increasingly conspicuous.
Therefore, under the leadership of the Third Mizukage, other ninja clans who had been left out of the profits of civilian trade, aristocratic courtiers whose interests were harmed, rank-and-file ninja who resented the waste of the elites, and the Mist Elders who aimed to restore order united at an unprecedented speed.
And their grievances began to turn against the unsuspecting Hozuki and Suiton Clans.
What followed naturally was a blood-soaked blade.
"Everyone must remember! This operation targets only the heretical ninja of these two clans! Ordinary members of these two clans are not within our attack range!"
Late at night, secretly gathered Mist ninja tied red cloth bands around their right arms as identification marks. Before the action began, Jonin from the Elder faction continued reminding them of key points.
Although the Mist ninjas kept nodding in agreement, none of them truly paid attention; it fell on deaf ears completely. Their minds were consumed by the urge to kill and the thrill of looting.
For these savage Mist ninjas, nothing was more satisfying than watching once-proud noble clan members kneel before them, begging pitifully.
Even better would be cruelly sentencing them to death after they begged, torturing them slowly until their final breath. Those screams were the greatest thrill imaginable!
Of course, those repeatedly preaching in vain already understood that their moral teachings would ultimately be useless. Still, they continued mindlessly repeating the instructions from the Mist Elders like broken records.
As for whether the campaign could truly follow the Elders' principle of punishing only the guilty, that was a completely different matter.
After all, public resentment against the two powerful clans ran deep throughout Mist. Moreover, during the pursuit of the Hozuki and Suiton criminals, unexpected resistance caused casualties—thus leading to unintentional escalation during combat, which could easily be justified.
Even if some within the Elder faction strongly disapproved, a few scapegoats could be selected, sacrificed as examples to appease everyone, while the stolen treasures would be quietly divided among themselves.
So, for every Mist Jonin, this was a can't-miss opportunity!
"Didn't that Hozuki guy show up at the clan's territory recently?"
In a dimly lit chamber, Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist, asked Fuguki Suikazan, "If that brat had been home, wielding our blades might've become somewhat problematic."
"You talking about Mangetsu Hozuki?"
Fuguki Suikazan casually snacked, muttering without looking up, "Just a runt who barely reaches my waist! Even if he has some talent, so what? Besides, the blade is in your hands now. If even you couldn't prevent such a little brat from snatching it away through a summoning scroll, maybe you should just give up on the sword already. Saves us the embarrassment when we're working together!"
"That's not what I meant at all!"
Raiga immediately bared his teeth and roared furiously at Fuguki.
"I know you didn't mean that, but honestly, your meaning seems extremely uninteresting to me!"
Fuguki snorted coldly, standing up and removing Samehada—the great shark-skin sword—from his back, twisting his neck as he spoke, "As one of the Seven Swords, forget about some insignificant brat—we're unstoppable even if The Third showed up!"
"If you don't even have the courage to draw your sword, you'd better hand over your Lightning Blade sooner rather than later!"
Jinin Akebino, who wielded the blunt sword Kabutowari, also sneered mockingly, "From what I've heard, that young girl from the Rinjin household demonstrates excellent aptitude in Lightning Release. Your sword would definitely shine much brighter in her hands!"
"You—"
Raiga, who originally asked only out of casual curiosity, became furious beyond tolerance, instantly preparing to draw his Thunder Sword in anger.
The other swordsmen didn't try to stop him or mediate—they simply folded their arms, watching eagerly with amused grins.
"Silence!"
Fuguki roared loudly, bringing the standoff between them to an immediate halt.
"In two minutes, we start moving. Just direct your rage toward those decadent, luxurious powerful clans instead!"
"Also, regardless of whatever those old fools on the Elder Council say, let me make this perfectly clear—"
Heaving Samehada onto his shoulder, Fuguki grinned widely, showing his sharp teeth, "Let's feast on the joy of bloodshed. Make those wealthy families who threaten our village interests cry helplessly beneath our feet!"
"For the crimson mist!"
The six swordsmen immediately put aside their personal grievances, unanimously whispering in low voices.
The moon hung high and the night lay dark—a perfect time for blood and betrayal.
The Suiton Clan Head had just wrapped up daily negotiations with the Hozuki Clan Head, and both were happily preparing to part ways and return home.
Yet just as they stepped across the threshold, suddenly both sensed an unusual shift in the atmosphere!
Their accompanying guard ninja, trained and disciplined, quickly reacted too—immediately clustering around the two clan heads or scattering outward to widen their perimeter vigilance.
"This is..."
The Hozuki Clan Head slightly flared his nostrils. Within the ever-present haze encircling the Hidden Mist Village, he sharply detected a subtly different scent—a minute abnormality triggering his alertness.
The Suiton Clan Head raised his hand into the air, forcefully extracting unusual odors within the mist by utilizing his inherited Ice Release bloodline limit. Then he condensed them into a small ice bead resting in his palm.
Opening his palm, under the moonlight, a rice-grain-sized red ice bead was emitting an eerie and bloodthirsty glow.
"It's the scent of blood!"
The expressions of the two clan heads instantly changed drastically.
"Not good!"
Clan Head Hozuki's heart tightened. He shot straight up like a rocket, attempting to spot the source of the bloody aura—the location of the Hozuki Clan's stronghold!
"Whoosh!"
Accompanied by a sharp whistling through the air, a rotating weapon swooped down in an arc, aiming for a waist-level slash at the airborne Hozuki Clan Head!
Caught completely off guard, the Hozuki Clan Head was sliced in two without resistance!
"Thud!"
The long-handled weapon buried itself deep into a tree trunk. A black-haired man with short hair and a prominent cross-shaped scar across the right side of his face landed steadily atop the blade's handle—Biwa Juzo. He coldly stared at the two clan heads and their guarding ninja who were now on high alert.
"Cleaver Sword!"
"It's you! Biwa Juzo!"
Suiton Clan Head was visibly shaken.
"Hmph!"
Standing atop the blade handle, Biwa Juzo's face was full of mockery. He ignored Suiton Clan Head completely and instead ruthlessly sneered at the two lifeless-looking halves of the Hozuki Clan Head: "Don't pretend to be dead! Could it really be that the current head of the prestigious Hozuki Clan relies only on such lowly tricks?"
"So it seems you're not acting alone."
The two severed halves of the Hozuki Clan Head lying on the ground suddenly shifted slightly and then began merging back together.
Hozuki Clan Head calmly rose back to his feet, raising his gaze to ask the superiorly positioned Biwa Juzo: "Is this the village's collective decision?"
As descendants of Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki, the Hozuki Clan possessed a Water Release Secret Jutsu nearly reaching the level of Kekkei Genkai—making them basically immune to ordinary physical attacks.
"Collective..."
Suiton Clan Head frowned deeply, his already unsettled heart rising further into his throat.
"There's no need for you to know so much."
Raiga Kurosuki stepped slowly out from the shadows, his Lightning Sword Raiga crackling with cold electricity as he locked his eyes onto Hozuki Clan Head.
The expression on Hozuki Clan Head's face darkened once more.
Thanks to the Hozuki Clan's Water Release Secret Jutsu, they were indeed nearly impervious to normal physical attacks. However, no jutsu was perfect without flaws. The greatest weakness of the Hozuki's technique lay in lightning-style chakra.
The numbing effects of lightning chakra could prevent members of the Hozuki Clan using the Water Release Secret Jutsu from fully liquefying, leaving them vulnerable during this semi-liquid state, where even ordinary physical attacks could truly cut them in half!
Furthermore, Biwa Juzo's Cleaver Sword was one of the famous Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist known for its indestructibility and immense cutting power.
Therefore, the appearance of these two swordsmen indicated clearly that whoever had planned this attack had done so meticulously.
"It looks like we can't just let this go."
Suiton Clan Head also saw the situation clearly. Immediately ridding himself of distracting thoughts, he quickly signaled to his guarding ninja via hand gestures while simultaneously forming a hand seal with one hand, preparing to activate his Ice Release Secret Jutsu.
"This is absurd!"
Biwa Juzo grinned widely, his eyes filled with mockery. "You greedy flying squirrels should've known this day would come before filling your nests with stolen gains!"
"So," he sneered, "respected Clan Heads, why don't you just kneel and save us all some trouble? At least this way the battle could end quickly, letting your clansmen survive."
Raiga Kurosuki slowly raised his Lightning Sword Kiba, pointing it toward the two aristocratic clan leaders.
Immediately after, waves of chakra surged outward as figures emerged from hiding places, surrounding both clan heads and their protective ninja.
Suiton Clan Head swept his gaze briefly across them. There were about a hundred—more than triple their number!
Judging by their appearance and clothing, most were either personal followers of elders or came from commoner ninja backgrounds. Hardly any of them were from true ninja clans.
"So that brat from the Hyuga clan was indeed correct."
The Suiton Clan Head chuckled coldly. "Hidden Leaf Village really is a death trap for bloodline clans! That kid wasn't exaggerating at all!"
"Therefore…please go to hell!"
Biwa Juzo snarled contemptuously, launching the first attack.
[Lightning Sword Technique: Rai Gate!]
Instantly, Raiga Kurosuki plunged his twin swords into the ground, channeling natural lightning through the conductive blades, triggering widespread lightning strikes raining down over the battlefield.
[Ice Release: Mile-Long Icicle Barrage!]
The Suiton Clan Head roared, immediately activating his ultimate secret technique without regard for chakra depletion!
Frost spread rapidly in all directions. Except for areas occupied by their own clansmen, everything else began freezing at an incredible speed!
Even among the attacking Mist ninja accompanying the ambush, nearly half were caught off guard and instantly transformed into ice statues!
"This…"
Biwa Juzo halted abruptly, using his chakra to forcefully resist the encroaching icy energy.
However, those ordinary Mist ninja weren't so fortunate.
Even if they'd mastered powerful taijutsu or wielded deadly ninjutsu techniques, under such wide-area indiscriminate Kekkei Genkai attacks, they were practically helpless like commoners.
Even worse, as the freezing intensified, all liquid within the frozen Mist ninjas' bodies expanded due to thermal contraction, further shattered by relentless penetration of the ice release energy, causing their corpses to split apart internally.
Externally, they maintained the same expressions from the moment the ice struck, except now their joints displayed clearly visible, bone-deep cracks beneath the icy surface.
One strike—half the enemy gone in an instant!
This alone showed why the Kekkei Genkai bloodline clans ruled the Ninja World!
Yet, activating such a secret technique came at a heavy cost.
The previously dignified Suiton Clan Head became so weak after casting the technique that he nearly collapsed, barely being supported upright by his protective ninja.
Next, Hozuki Clan Head began executing his clan's special secret technique.
[Water Release: Water Cannon Technique!]
The Hozuki Clan Head formed a hand sign resembling a pistol and pointed it at both ends, firing liquid bullets from his fingertips toward the panicked remaining Mist ninjas.
At the same time, his body spun rapidly in place, unleashing a dense barrage of attacks with sheer force from just his two hands!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
Due to the lingering ice chakra in the air, the water bullets fired by the Hozuki Clan Head instantly solidified into ice projectiles upon release—more potent and piercing than before—and scattered upon impact. In an instant, nearly half of the remaining Mist ninjas were taken down!
"Not bad for a powerful clan leader! I used to think your kind were all soft and useless. Guess I really underestimated you back then!"
Biwa Juzo and Raiga Kurosuki had no intention of engaging directly. Instead, they immediately retreated to avoid his momentum.
As for the deaths of the fellow Mist ninjas who accompanied them into battle, not even a single coin's worth of value was placed on their lives!
From a swordsman's perspective, death is just death—it's merely one's fate. Nothing particularly surprising or shocking about it.
And that wasn't even all they had planned.
"Come out already!"
With a thundering shout from Raiga Kurosuki, the concealment barriers dissolved instantly, and countless noticeable chakra waves locked onto the members of the Ice Release Mountains' ninja clan.
The Hozuki Clan Head quickly sensed the area and estimated:
"Roughly 560 individuals."
Although the two clan leaders had wiped out nearly eighty Mist ninjas earlier with their secret jutsu, those techniques had taken a heavy toll. Facing an army of more than five hundred now approaching, the pressure was simply overwhelming.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Suddenly, three extremely powerful explosions erupted from within the Hidden Mist Village.
Everyone's expressions changed simultaneously!
Their clan's territory was under attack!
And such explosions were enough proof that the conflict had already escalated to its fiercest stage.
But Biwa Juzo and Raiga Kurosuki sensed something wrong.
"Why are the explosions coming from Kaguya Clan territory?!"
"Who'd be crazy enough to mess with those psycho freaks?!"
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