Under the ink-black night, a giant ink bird soared into the sky, bypassing the heavy defensive lines set by the Mist Village across the sea from high above.
The flight path took them from the Land of Bears to the Land of Waves, and then over the Land of Whirlpools. They crossed over islands scattered like stars in the ocean until they reached a territory near the main island of the Land of Water.
Ryokushō.
At the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War, a conflict between the Hidden Stone and the Hidden Mist had erupted here. Because of that campaign, the Hidden Mist had been forced into a two-year stalemate. It wasn't until the end of Konoha Year 49 that they managed to reorganize their offensive against the Hidden Leaf.
Currently, due to the demands of overseas combat, the Hidden Mist had deployed the majority of its military strength. Defensive forces for the village itself were necessarily retracted to the main island. This small islet, situated just outside the main island, was currently guarded only by a few scattered sentries. Their primary focus was observing the main supply routes at sea to prevent any Hidden Sand ninja from sneaking in for a raid.
Shin's Super Beast Scroll ink bird easily avoided the few hidden sentries, flapping its wings to land on the leeward side of a mountain ridge.
Two masked figures were already waiting there.
One wore a bird-head mask with red patterns—it was the young Root member Hyuga Yu had encountered previously at the Kusunami Coast. He had later learned from Danzō that the boy's name was Terai.
The other was a boy with short brown hair, wearing a bear mask and a face-guard style headband. He was quite short, standing half a head lower than Hyuga Yu.
Seeing the latter, Hyuga Yu couldn't help but blink in surprise. He recognized the boy as a young Yamato, though at this time, he should be known by the codename "Kinoe."
The two of them were also taken aback when they saw Hyuga Yu land and realized he wasn't wearing a mask.
"You're Tennin?"
Kinoe looked up at Hyuga Yu's youthful face. He deliberately lowered his voice, frowning as he spoke. "You don't look much older than me... Why would Lord Danzō appoint you as the captain?"
Hearing Kinoe's words, Yu understood the situation almost instantly. Shimura Danzō had given him the codename "Tennin" and placed him in this squad to execute the still-vague "Mist Collapse Plan." Furthermore, it appeared Yu was actually the captain of this team.
However, he had been sent here without knowing anything, not even his specific objectives...
Yu turned to Terai and asked, "Don't you have anything to say?"
"What?" Terai seemed puzzled, but he quickly caught Yu's meaning. He pointed to Shin, who was standing behind Yu. "We were all brought here by this guy. This mission involves the highest level of security measures. Aside from Lord Ryōma and Lord Danzō, no one knows the details."
"Every member of the mission only learns their specific objectives, intelligence, and even the location of the operation once they arrive on-site."
As he spoke, Terai looked at Shin, who was taller than the rest of them. "It's about time you revealed something, isn't it, Shin?"
Shin shook his head, pulled out a slip of paper, and scribbled quickly:
I don't know either. I was only responsible for delivering you here.
Seeing this, the group looked at one another in silence.
Finally, it was Hyuga Yu who took action. He activated his Byakugan, scanning the surrounding area. He soon noticed something unusual near the assembly point. He walked over to a patch of rubble not far away and moved a large stone.
Underneath the stone was a cluster of black Kikaichū beetles. Once the stone was removed, the beetles scattered, revealing a tiny green scroll hidden beneath.
This was left by Aburame Ryōma.
As early as two months ago, when the Hidden Mist launched its first large-scale attack on the Kusunami Coast, Aburame Ryōma had already infiltrated the Hidden Mist Village. The battle plan against the Mist had been set in motion since then.
Yu unfurled the scroll and quickly absorbed the information regarding the mission.
This was an S-Rank mission.
The objective: Infiltrate the Hidden Mist Village and assassinate a member of the Mist Elder Council named Kaguya Washirō. Afterward, the team was to forge the scene to frame the Elder Genbu.
The political system of the Hidden Mist differed from that of the Hidden Leaf. Most of the time, the position of Mizukage was merely a symbolic one held by the strongest ninja in the Land of Water. The most important matters in the village required consultation with the Mist Elder Council.
While the Mizukage held the title, the Council—led by elders from the four major bloodline clans (Terumī, Hōzuki, Yuki, and Kaguya)—along with the heads of various smaller clans like the Tsuchigumo, Hoshigaki, Kurosuki, and Karatachi, decided the village's affairs.
It had always been this way, but things changed slightly after the Third Mizukage took office. The Third Mizukage had formed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist as his direct subordinates, established the Mist Hunter-nin special forces, and restructured the complex Anbu. He had forcibly carved out a massive chunk of power from the Elder Council. To seize even more authority, he enforced the "Bloody Mist" policy, ruling the village through high-pressure tactics while continuously suppressing the various clans of the Hidden Mist.
In a sense, it was quite similar to the Hidden Leaf's internal maneuvers.
Under this backdrop, the Mizukage and the Council co-governed the village. Even the decision to join the Third Shinobi World War and attack the Hidden Leaf had been a joint resolution between the Third Mizukage and the Council.
However, as the war progressed—with the Mist having conquered numerous island nations, the Land of Bears on the continent, and even pushing into the heart of the Land of Fire—opinions within the Council regarding the continuation of the war were no longer unified.
The majority of the elders, led by Genbu, believed that they should stop sending troops. They argued for a timely halt to the offensive to negotiate peace with the Leaf, secure the gains already made, and ally with the Leaf to jointly oppose the Hidden Cloud (who always watched them like hawks), the Hidden Stone (their long-time rivals), and the Hidden Sand (who frequently came to scavenge).
That's right—the Hidden Sand.
Although the Sand and the Mist appeared completely unrelated on a flat map—one in the west and one in the east—the map may be flat, but the shinobi world is round.
The distance between the Sand and the Mist wasn't as far as it looked. Localized wars had broken out between the two sides around Konoha Year 47. During that time, Rasa—who wasn't yet the Kazekage—had even teamed up with the Mist to eliminate his political rival, Pakura.
Faced with a four-front war, the Hidden Leaf was already struggling to survive. At this stage, destroying the Leaf offered no benefit to the Mist. Moreover, the results achieved so far had far exceeded the Council's expectations. Recently, the desire for a ceasefire had become quite prevalent within the village.
However, there were dissenting voices within the Council.
Kaguya Washirō was one such person. He was a highly prestigious elder within the Kaguya Clan and a former clan head. His political stance aligned with the Third Mizukage; both believed the war must be fought to the end and that destroying the Hidden Leaf was the only correct choice.
The goal of Hyuga Yu's squad was to eliminate Kaguya Washirō and frame the Elder Council. This would ignite the conflict between the Third Mizukage and Genbu, throwing the Mist's rear into chaos and creating the perfect opportunity for the subsequent "Mist Collapse Plan."
However, after reading this, Yu lowered the scroll and looked at his teammates.
Yamato... well, he's still 'Kinoe' right now. I'm the captain, so I'll just think of him as Yamato. He's a Genin, nine years old. He has Wood Style, but in a real fight, he couldn't even beat the current Kakashi. He's barely at a Chunin level of utility.
Terai... his chakra and presence seem decent, but... this kid already sold me out once.
Shin... the user of the Super Beast Scroll in this generation of Root. A support character... unless he can draw Goku.
And the opponent? A former head of the Kaguya Clan, a current Elder, and a figure who was at least a quasi-Kage level combatant—Kaguya Washirō. Furthermore, they had to kill him right under the noses of the Third Mizukage, Elder Genbu, and a whole host of other Kage-level powerhouses.
Hyuga Yu suddenly felt an immense mountain of pressure.
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