January 16, Konoha Year 50, 7:00 AM.
Without the need for an alarm, Hyūga Yu opened his eyes right on time. His gaze met a room designed in a profoundly mysterious yūgen style—a pitch-black wooden ceiling, curved grey stone walls, and arched glass windows set into the stone.
Through the glass, he could see the Mizukage Building several kilometers away. Half the ninja village was shrouded in the orange-tinted "blood mist" of the early morning sun. The cylindrical houses were built along the mountains and water, nestled in the sunken valley in rows that created a dense, undulating landscape.
The village was filled with a hazy, rugged, quiet, and solitary beauty.
Yu climbed out of bed and checked the bandages wrapped around his body. Activating his Byakugan, he observed the healing progress of the wounds on his chest and throughout his body. Unfortunately, Yu—who had only just recovered at the Root secret base in the Land of Bears—found himself heavily injured once again after executing a single night's mission in the Hidden Mist.
Most of these were lingering injuries from using Yin Healing Wound Destruction. While the technique allowed the user to negate most damage in a short time without hindering movement, it wasn't an S-rank technique like Tsunade's Creation Rebirth and couldn't heal everything. Secondly, there were the blade wounds left by the Third Mizukage, including the one that had nearly pierced Yu's heart.
These sword wounds were somewhat troublesome. The Third Mizukage's blade carried his Blood Release chakra, which obstructed the healing speed of Yu's wounds. The exact principle remained unclear; he only knew that conventional Medical Ninjutsu, including the Mystical Palm Technique, had limited effectiveness.
Even for Yu, who had completed the fusion of "Eighteen Hands" of Hashirama cells and possessed top-tier Medical Ninjutsu, it would take at least a week to fully heal these injuries.
Fortunately, after a night of emergency treatment, his daily movements wouldn't be too affected.
Yu got out of bed and changed into black civilian clothes. After a simple wash in the room's en-suite bathroom, he pushed the door open with a creak.
Outside, Yamato was standing guard, his head drooping as he nodded off.
Startled by the sound, Yamato jerked awake and turned to see Yu emerging from the room. "Thank you for your hard work," Yu said politely.
His tone carried a faint touch of detachment. Strangely, Yamato didn't find it uncomfortable, even though they were comrades who had just survived a complex, perilous night and fought side-by-side in a life-or-death mission. It felt as if someone with a face like Yu's was simply born to speak that way.
At that moment, Yamato stared intently at Yu's chest. Yu felt a bit uneasy under the gaze and tilted his head with slight confusion. "What is it?"
"Ten'nin, your injuries... how are they?"
When they had reached the safe house the previous night and turned on the lights, the other three members of the team realized just how badly Yu was hurt. There was hardly a patch of unmarred skin on him; he had been slashed into a virtual "bloody man."
Especially since... it was all to save him. Yamato felt a lingering sense of guilt. However, Lord Danzō had always taught him that emotions were useless and must be discarded. Consequently, he was currently torn between concern and the fear of appearing too eager. He wanted to know the situation but was too embarrassed to speak. Finally, with his young face flushed red, he managed to stammer out that sentence.
This kid is just as socially awkward as Hyūga Tetsu, Yu thought.
Finding it somewhat amusing, Yu maintained a calm and concise outward expression as he replied, "I'm fine."
"Then... then should we go see... see a doctor?"
Yu's gaze became strange. He felt a sense of déjà vu, like a repairman being asked "What do you do for a living?" while he was in the middle of fixing an air conditioner. He felt a sudden urge to palm his forehead.
Little brother, this is the Hidden Mist!
We're currently undocumented, and we just took down one of this village's high-ranking elders. What on earth made you think of that?
Yamato also immediately realized his words were more than a little strange. He waved his hands frantically. "I mean, the village should still have intelligence officers in the Hidden Mist. We could commission them to buy some medicinal ointments."
"The village's spies...?" Yu pinched his chin, then shook his head. He didn't respond to the suggestion and instead walked straight down the hallway.
Yamato hurried to keep up, adding, "Didn't Lord Ryōma give you command over Root's forces within the Hidden Mist? We could start there..."
The logic was sound. What was the first thing a spy should do after being dropped into the heart of an enemy power? The standard answer: find the organization and establish a secure communication channel.
However, in the current Hidden Mist, that was a standard wrong answer.
Last night, the Root personnel lurking in the Mist had been slaughtered like chicks by the Third Mizukage. Tensions were at their peak. The few Konoha spies remaining in the village were currently trying to bury their heads in the sand like ostriches; there was no way they would pro-actively contact them.
Furthermore, Yu was a stranger in a strange land. Two months ago, he was a nobody. If he suddenly dropped in to take over the largest intelligence apparatus of a foreign military organization, who would actually listen to him?
"Ten'nin, you don't plan on contacting the Root intelligence officers?"
Yamato looked up at the profile of Yu's face. Seeing that Yu had no intention of entertaining his suggestion, he lowered his head gloomily. After a moment, he asked again, "Then what are we doing today?"
Yu's answer was short and to the point: "Going shopping."
"Huh?"
This completely threw Yamato for a loop.
By then, the two had walked out of the building. Before they had even taken a few steps, Yu noticed that the nearby walls—and indeed the entire block—were plastered with bounty posters.
The poster depicted a black-haired man wearing a "blank" full-face mask. Below it, the text read:
This individual has committed a heinous crime. Last night, he assassinated Village Elder Kaguya Washirō and was discovered and heavily wounded by Lord Mizukage.
Residents of the village must watch for anyone covered in blood. A reward of 100,000 Ryō will be given to anyone providing clues to this criminal's whereabouts!
— Mizukage's Office.
The man had no name, and the portrait was essentially a drawing of nothingness, yet the bounty posters had covered every street and alley overnight. The efficiency was remarkable, saturated with a sort of post-modern, twisted administrative style.
Having plenty of experience as a corporate drudge in his past life, Yu couldn't help but smile knowingly. His impulsive decision to wear a mask last night seemed to have paid off significantly.
Yamato couldn't understand what Yu was smiling at, but seeing the street full of bounty posters clearly made him nervous. His expression stiffened, his back straightened, and his voice dropped three octaves. "Ten'nin, are you really going... shopping... with wanted posters all over the street?"
"You... you aren't joking, are you?"
Yu shook his head at his subordinate and corrected him. "Not just me. Us."
"Look, they're here too—"
Yu looked up to signal. Yamato immediately saw two figures carrying large bags of supplies walking quickly toward them from down the street.
It was Terai and Shin.
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