The mist in the Land of Water was thicker than imagined, a grayish-white haze like un-dissolvable ink, enveloping the entire Hidden Mist Village. Even the sunlight struggled to penetrate it, leaving a year-round lingering chill.
Uchiha Xia Yin's figure flashed through the mist, silent and ghost-like—using the haze as cover, he compressed his Chakra to the extreme. His footsteps were as light as a fallen leaf, not even causing a blade of grass to sway upon landing.
Under the shadows of the trees not far away, Uchiha Qi and Uchiha Genki had already been waiting for a long time.
The two were dressed in dark combat gear, their faces smeared with anti-fog grease paint. Their Three-Tomoe Sharingan flickered with a faint red light in the mist as they warily scanned their surroundings.
Seeing Xia Yin's figure, they immediately suppressed their presence, knelt on one knee in salute, and spoke in hushed voices that were nearly swallowed by the mist: "Lord Xia Yin!"
Xia Yin nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two as he gestured for them to rise. "What is the situation nearby?" His voice was low and concise, carrying a chill that seemed to pierce through the mist.
"Reporting to my Lord, the patrols on the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village are loose, but the internal control is extremely strict, especially in the areas of the Kekkei Genkai Clans. There are Hidden Sentries every hundred feet."
Qi reported quickly, pointing his finger toward the depths of the Hidden Mist Village. "The Kaguya Clan's compound is in a mountain hollow to the north of the Village, wrapped in three layers of barriers. We have already figured out the Hidden Sentry rotation schedule; there will be a gap in half an hour."
Xia Yin nodded and cast his gaze toward the interior of the Hidden Mist Village.
Through the layers of mist, the outlines of sparse houses could be seen. Occasionally, pedestrians walked by, most with somber expressions and hurried steps.
What caused his gaze to turn cold was the attitude of the commoners toward the members of the Kekkei Genkai Clans—
A boy wearing Hozuki Clan robes, no more than ten years old, with abrasions from training still on his forehead, was hurrying along with his head down when he was slammed into by two approaching commoners.
The boy stumbled and fell to the ground, his Ninja tool pouch spilling open as Kunai and scrolls rolled across the floor.
"You monster brat! Don't you have eyes when you walk?" one of the commoners spat, his tone filled with undisguised malice. He deliberately ground his foot over a Kunai the boy had dropped. "Think you're special just because you have a bloodline? Sooner or later, the Village will clean you out!"
The other commoner chimed in, his eyes full of disdain. "Exactly! If the Lord Mizukage didn't still need you lot as cannon fodder, we would have kicked you outcasts out long ago!"
The boy clenched his fists, a humiliated red light flashing in his eyes, but he didn't dare talk back. He could only silently pick up his Ninja tools and walk away quickly with his head down, his silhouette looking exceptionally lonely in the mist.
Similar scenes were visible everywhere at the alley entrances near the Village—a woman from the Minazuki Clan had prices deliberately raised by vendors and was verbally insulted while buying vegetables;
An elderly person from an unknown Kekkei Genkai Clan was pelted with stones by children calling them "monster" and "outcast";
They hunched their shoulders and lowered their heads, like a pack of rats that couldn't stand the light, living cautiously in their own Village.
Seeing this scene, a cold, mocking smirk slowly curled on Xia Yin's lips. The smile was very faint but carried a bone-chilling contempt, the cold light in his eyes even icier than the surrounding mist.
"Heh, unruly mobs are just unruly mobs," he sneered softly, his voice full of undisguised ruthlessness. "The prejudice and malice in their bones can never be changed."
He thought of those commoners in Konoha Village, and the fear and rejection they couldn't hide in their eyes whenever they looked at the Uchiha—even though the Uchiha Clan guarded the peace of Konoha year-round, they were always treated as "dangerous elements," swept up in rumors and secretly marginalized.
How similar were these commoners of the Hidden Mist to those in Konoha?
They were all a bunch of cowards blinded by ignorance and prejudice, only capable of bullying the weak.
"Once I'm done with things here, I must properly 'educate' that mob in Konoha Village." Xia Yin's fingertips pressed slightly, his nails digging into his palm. His tone was calm yet carried an unquestionable deterrent force. "I'll let them know what should be revered and what boundaries must not be crossed."
Qi and Genki stood to the side, not daring to interject.
They could feel the hostility radiating from Xia Yin's body—it was an extreme loathing for such baseless prejudice, as well as an absolute confidence in controlling everything in the future.
Having spoken, Xia Yin did not linger. His figure suddenly blurred, like a shadow merging into the mist, as he instantly surged forward several yards.
His Body Flicker Technique, combined with the Hidden Mist environment, achieved an almost invisible effect. Only a faint flicker of Chakra fluctuation vanished in an instant, too fast for anyone to capture.
"Follow me." The cold command was transmitted through the mist. Qi and Genki immediately responded and followed close behind.
The three figures darted through the haze, avoiding patrolling Ninjas and bypassing alert Hidden Sentries, rapidly approaching the Kaguya Clan Compound in the north of the Village.
The mist grew thicker, and the chill in the air became even more bone-piercing. Faintly, the fluctuations of a Chakra barrier could be felt ahead.
Xia Yin's eyes became sharp, like a hunter poised to strike, dead-locked onto the target's direction.
Kimimaro—he was determined to get him. And as for the prejudice and sins of this Hidden Mist Village, he would settle those accounts as well—but not now.
For now, the most important thing was to infiltrate the Kaguya compound and take that exceptionally gifted boy away from this quagmire.
As for the rest, after he controlled everything, he would naturally 'educate' these ignorant mobs slowly, making them pay the price they deserved for their prejudice.
The three figures gradually disappeared into the depths of the Hidden Mist Village, leaving only the layers of haze still shrouding this Village full of prejudice and slaughter, as if foretelling an approaching storm.
The haze grew even heavier, wrapping the Kaguya Clan Compound tightly.
This compound built against the mountain exuded a deathly silence. Black stone walls loomed in the mist, and the silhouettes of Anbu Ninjas were faintly visible atop the walls—they were dressed in dark combat gear, wearing the featureless masks unique to the Hidden Mist. Their presence was suppressed like solid rock; based on Chakra perception alone, they actually blended in with the surrounding mountain stones.
Xia Yin hid behind the bushes in the mountain hollow, his Mangekyo Sharingan quietly activating. The pale purple glow pierced through the mist, instantly locking onto the positions of three Anbu.
"They are more cautious than expected," Xia Yin murmured softly. There was no hint of gravity in his tone; instead, it carried a bit of playfulness.
These Anbu were considered elites in the Hidden Mist, but in his eyes, they were merely "decorations" obstructing him from taking his prize.
He turned and gave a look to Qi and Genki. The three instantly reached a silent understanding, their figures like three black shadows darting out of the bushes simultaneously, pouncing silently toward their respective targets.
The Anbu on the far west had just noticed a slight movement and was about to raise his hand to signal an alarm when his vision suddenly blurred.
A crimson Mangekyo Dōjutsu was branded onto his retina like a red-hot iron. The violent mental shock caused him to freeze instantly, his pupils dilating to the extreme, unable to even let out a muffled groan..
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808