Inside the Hidden Mist Village at night, a thick mist permeated everything.
The high towers, the dams, and the distant, undulating peaks looked like crouching behemoths. Everything seemed draped in a layer of gauze, blurred and indistinct.
At this moment, on a street corner inside Kirigakure, under the flickering lights, ninjas who had reunited in a foreign land stared at each other. Aburame Ryōma looked at the team of kids before him and let the corner of his mouth curl up almost imperceptibly. Finally, passing over the still-dazed Terai and the other two, he looked at their leader, Hyūga Yu, who was wearing an enigmatic smile. Ryōma's eye twitched slightly.
This kid had clearly seen through his "little trick."
Taking advantage of the fact that the others weren't paying attention, Ryōma shot Yu a warning glare from behind his sunglasses. Then, with a heavy cough, he regained his cold expression and spoke in a detached tone:
"Well done. To be able to escape that trap—it seems I didn't misjudge you all."
"What is the status of Kaguya Shiro?"
Yu spoke up. "He's been dealt with. No loose ends were left behind."
Upon hearing this, Aburame Ryōma first nodded, then frowned slightly. "We were still outmaneuvered by that old fox."
"Outmaneuvered?" Beside them, Terai looked at Aburame Ryōma in confusion. "Lord Ryōma, what exactly happened?"
Ryōma said in a deep voice, "Inside the Hidden Mist right now, the conflict between the Third Mizukage and the Elder Council has reached its peak. It could be ignited at any moment by the slightest spark."
"Kaguya Shiro represents the interests of the Kaguya Clan. That old man was the one who least wanted to see a ceasefire between the Mist and the Leaf. Therefore, he used the intelligence advantage the Mist gained on the front lines to leak info to Konoha, luring the Anbu into sending people to assassinate him."
"That old fox wanted to use his own assassination by Root as leverage to make a move during the high-level meetings. He intended to suppress the Elder Council's ceasefire plan by accusing Genji of conspiring with Konoha and betraying the Mist's interests, thereby pushing for the war to continue."
Yu looked up at this point and asked, "Does Genji, the Mist Elder, really intend to stop the war?"
"Unclear."
Aburame Ryōma shook his head. "That old man's attitude has always been ambiguous. However, the Mist's Jonin Commander, Yagura Karatachi—this man is quite active in his pursuit of a ceasefire."
Yu narrowed his eyes and began to think.
On the surface, the internal conflict in the Mist appeared to be between the Third Mizukage and the Elder Council. In reality, it was a conflict between the new generation of ninja, who could no longer stomach the Mist's high-pressure politics, and the old-era ninja led by the Third Mizukage. Thus, there was currently a third party: the new generation of ninja represented by Yagura Karatachi.
Furthermore, Yu knew that even deeper in the shadows, there was another person secretly manipulating the future of the Hidden Mist. That man's name was Madara Uchiha.
At that moment, Terai couldn't help but ask, "So, now that we've killed Kaguya Shiro and he didn't get any dirt on Genji, what will happen?"
Beside him, the still somewhat bewildered Yamato followed up with a guess: "Will the Mist internal factions believe that Genji sent someone to assassinate Shiro? Just like the mission briefing we received stated?"
Aburame Ryōma shook his head, his expression becoming solemn. He spoke:
"No."
"What Kaguya Shiro used was an overt scheme. If he had lived and successfully captured Root ninja, he could have used that to push for the continuation of the war."
"But if he dies at the hands of Root or assassins sent by other forces, then the first high-level Mist official to arrive at the scene can dress up his death however they want."
Yu took a deep breath, feeling a bit helpless.
Even though he had successfully assassinated Kaguya Shiro and left no evidence, this blame... would inevitably be pinned on Root, and thus on Danzō Shimura's head.
One could only say he truly lived up to his title as the Scapegoat King of the ninja world!
Yu looked up and asked in a low voice, "So, what are we supposed to do next?"
A look of resolution appeared on Ryōma's face as he spoke:
"Next, I will announce your appointment."
"Ten'nin."
"Sir," Yu responded, using his codename.
"From this moment forward, you are in full charge of 'Operation: Collapse of the Mist'!"
"Yes... Wait, what did you say?" Yu froze, his eyes widening suddenly. What did he mean, he was in full charge of the Collapse of the Mist?
I don't even know what your plan actually is!
Shouldn't you be the one carrying this burden?
"Since the fuse has already been lit!" Ryōma adjusted his sunglasses, his face half-submerged in the darkness as he gave a chilling smile. "Next, I will mobilize all of Konoha's strength within the Hidden Mist Village to make this fire burn even brighter!"
Yu looked at him, his heart skipping a beat. "What are you planning to do?"
Ryōma smiled slightly. "The Third Mizukage wants to frame Root for conspiring with Genji. We might as well make that a reality."
"Ten'nin, you find a way to actually 'conspire' with Genji, incite the internal conflicts of the Mist, and trigger a coup d'état within the village."
"Wait." Yu interrupted him, frowning. "Why am I the one doing this?"
"Because this is your path."
Ryōma gave Yu a cold look and pulled a scroll from his robes, tossing it to him.
Yu caught the scroll and unrolled it. He found it was actually a transfer order signed personally by Danzō Shimura.
The content read: Deploy Hyūga Natsu, Hyūga Tetsu, Might Duy, Team 10, Shōseki... and even ninjas whose only connection to Hyūga Yu is having greeted him in passing, to the secondary front lines of the eastern conflict against the Mist.
Aburame Ryōma spoke calmly:
"Either the Mist collapses, or... we let the Mist continue pushing their battle lines forward and let all of these people die on the battlefield."
"You have no choice."
"As for me..."
Speaking to this point, a cold glint flashed in Ryōma's eyes. He lifted his head slightly and looked toward the west. "I will be responsible for buying you time!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a brilliant flash of fire suddenly rose from the side of the Kaguya clan compound. —BOOM!!!
The thunderous roar of a massive number of explosive tags woke the entire Hidden Mist Village from its slumber.
Yu's expression changed slightly. He immediately switched his Byakugan to a bird's-eye view and scanned the area. He saw dozens of Root ninja, wearing Mist forehead protectors, leaping out in large numbers from the warehouses where the Kaguya clan stored supplies. Taking advantage of the night, they charged toward the Hōzuki clan compound on the other side.
Immediately afterward, from the spot where Aburame Ryōma stood, a vast swarm of Kikaichū erupted from the ground like a tidal wave, surging toward the sky!
In the sky, a man with blood-red wings on his back, squinting with an indifferent expression, suddenly snapped his eyes open. He revealed a pair of blood-red pupils, scanning the direction where Yu and the others were located.
"Go!"
Aburame Ryōma barked the order at Yu and the others. "The letter contains the mobilization tokens for the intelligence personnel inside the Hidden Mist."
"From now on,"
"Ten'nin,"
"You are the Supreme Commander of Operation: Collapse of the Mist!"
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