The sun shifted its position in the sky, the light slowly sinking toward the west. Group after group of Mist Ninja passed by, but none discovered any trace of Makiya.
Finally, as another squad passed, three crisp bird chirps suddenly rang out from the forest.
Within the patrol, a certain shinobi shuddered. For a fleeting second, a look of utter terror crossed his face before he quickly suppressed it.
"Captain, I... my stomach suddenly hurts. Can I go to the bathroom?" the shinobi shouted, clutching his stomach and bending over in apparent agony.
"Honestly, we were just about to finish our shift," the squad leader said with an annoyed wave of his hand. "Go, go. Just make sure you go far away. If I catch a whiff of that stench, I'll kick you myself."
"Right away! Thank you, Captain!"
The Mist Ninja gave a forced smile and a bow before scurrying into the underbrush, his figure quickly vanishing into the dense foliage.
Once the subordinate was out of sight, the captain's annoyed expression vanished. He glanced at his confidant beside him and gave a subtle nod.
The confidant understood immediately, silently tailing the shinobi without making a sound.
"Chirp, chirp-chirp, chirp, chirp..."
A rhythmic series of bird calls echoed through the woods. This was the shinobi's response to Makiya's signal.
Makiya did not reveal himself immediately. Although the ninja following behind was well-hidden, his soul's aura was as plain as day, shining like a pearl in the dark to Makiya's senses.
His figure materialized silently behind the captain's confidant, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.
The confidant jumped, spinning around with wide eyes, only to see a pair of crimson pupils expanding in his vision. He lost consciousness instantly.
After dealing with the tail, Makiya stepped out from the trees.
"Seriously, why call me now? I almost got caught. You people..." The shinobi saw the mask on Makiya's face and began to grumble, his voice full of resentment.
He was a spy planted in the Hidden Mist by Root. After wiping out Danzo, Makiya had taken over a massive amount of Root's data, including information on spies stationed or turned in other villages.
This man was an orphan from the Konoha Orphanage, raised by Danzo and embedded in the Mist to gather classified intel, supposedly risking his life for the village.
He might have sounded like a hero of Konoha, but Danzo had never used him to shift the tide of the war. The only time he had been activated was to leak Konoha's own classified documents.
Specifically, the route map of the patrol squad Makiya had been part of back then.
In other words, this man was one of the culprits behind the ambush Makiya had suffered.
Makiya slowly removed his mask, revealing his true face. The man froze, his eyes bulging in disbelief.
He knew of Makiya—the shinobi who had risen to fame on the battlefield and whose name was recorded in the bingo books of every major village. Most Mist Ninja knew of him.
'Why did this bringer of calamity find me?' the Root spy thought, terrified. He didn't know that Makiya had been in the very squad he sold out, or he would have fled long ago.
Makiya didn't waste words. His right hand struck out like a viper, instantly seizing the spy's throat.
"Gack..." The spy's eyes protruded like a dying fish. He clawed at Makiya's arm, trying to pry away the iron-grip fingers, his mind flooded with confused questions.
As Makiya tightened his grip, the sensation of suffocation spread. The spy's hands stopped struggling, and his feet went limp, toes pointing toward the dirt.
Right until the second he died, the Root ninja never understood why the legendary Makiya Uchiha would suddenly turn his blades on him.
Makiya used the Transformation Jutsu to take the man's form, stripped off his outer coat to wear it, and then gestured to the confidant who was still trapped in a genjutsu.
The latter nodded robotically and began walking back to the patrol ahead of him.
"Well? Anything suspicious?" the captain whispered, pulling his confidant aside when he returned.
"Nothing," the confidant replied with a shake of his head. "He really just had diarrhea. It was disgusting—the color was about the same as that corn porridge we had last night."
"Shut up!" the captain snapped. "What kind of comparison is that? You're making me sick!"
Makiya walked out of the forest with a fawning smile, pretending he had just finished his business. The captain waved him off dismissively and led the squad forward once more.
After finishing their circuit, the team returned to the coast via a small path. Beneath a hidden cliff, the Mist had established a temporary harbor.
The patrol didn't linger at the docks; they boarded a large ship and headed into the cabins to rest while waiting for the other squads to return.
It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that all the patrols were accounted for. The ship weighed anchor and set sail toward a certain island.
This was a subsidiary island of the former Land of Whirlpools, now serving as the Mist's frontline base.
The island was medium-sized and packed with people. From high above, one could see the island clearly divided into several sectors, which were the residential zones for the various Kekkei Genkai clans and allied factions.
The bloodline clans of the Mist had contributed heavily to this war. Originally, the clan heads had refused, unwilling to provide men, effort, or money for the village.
However, after each clan head took a trip to the Mizukage's office, they all became strangely obedient. They gave whatever was asked, as if the Mizukage were some brilliant and divine God of Shinobi.
Though the clan members were puzzled, both the Mizukage and their own leaders had spoken, so they had no choice but to labor on the front lines.
In the camp of the Kaguya Clan, also known as the Taketori, the current clan head was working late under a lamp, reading through secret scrolls.
Suddenly, a light breeze blew by, lifting a corner of the tent flap and causing the candlelight to flicker.
At first, the clan head didn't pay it any mind, but when his peripheral vision caught something on the floor, he realized something was wrong.
There was someone behind him!
The Kaguya leader was horrified. He lunged forward as white bone spikes erupted from his palms, spinning around to stab at the intruder.
The blow landed, but the sensation was hollow, as if the figure were merely an illusion.
He had only hit an afterimage. Makiya was perched on the low table, one hand gripping the clan head's neck while the Sharingan in his eyes spun wildly.
The Kaguya leader tried to resist. Driven by his Kekkei Genkai, his spine began to writhe, and the bones in his body shifted into sharp spikes. But as soon as they broke the surface of his skin, Makiya snapped them off.
A massive amount of ocular power flooded the clan head's brain, clashing with a foreign ocular power already entrenched there. The two forces fought for dominance, leaving the clan head with a splitting headache. The world before him seemed to crack like glass, his memories blurring and clearing in turns. In his daze, he felt as though he had committed many acts of betrayal against his ancestors.
Ultimately, the power already in his mind was a stagnant pool without a source. Under the onslaught of Makiya's ocular power, it gradually dissipated.
Makiya let go, and the clan head slumped to the ground, gasping for air.
"No need to thank me. I'll take this as the treatment fee."
Makiya pulled out a syringe and aimed for the clan head's neck.
*Clink.* The needle hit bone, bending uselessly.
"..." Makiya stared.
He had forgotten. The man had been struggling desperately just now, causing bone growths to erupt everywhere. Many parts of his body were now harder than steel.
While the Kaguya leader was still disoriented, Makiya shoved him over, pulled out a fresh syringe, and jammed it into his buttock to draw a vial of blood.
"Farewell. Take your time recovering."
Makiya vanished like a gust of wind.
Similar scenes played out across the base. The heads of the Yuki Clan and the Hozuki Clan all bore traces of being controlled by genjutsu. Makiya, playing the anonymous savior, proactively released them from their trance.
There was one other notable individual among the Mist: a Jonin named Ao.
This man had struck gold by killing a member of the Hyuga head family and plucking a Byakugan from the corpse to transplant into himself.
Since that incident, the Hyuga Clan had tightened security around the head family. Now, only branch members were active on the battlefield, where the Caged Bird Seal ensured no strategic Byakugan would fall into enemy hands.
Because the Byakugan could see the flow of chakra, those under the influence of genjutsu stood out clearly. Consequently, Ao was someone Madara Uchiha monitored closely.
At this time, Ao did not look as old as he did in the later years; he was still a handsome young man. As the only person in the world outside of Konoha to possess a Byakugan, he was entrusted with great responsibility, leading a specialized scouting squad.
Recently, a new member had joined his team: the Mist's genius ninja, Mei Terumi. Possessing two Kekkei Genkai, she was the hope of the village's revival in the eyes of many.
Ao couldn't understand why the village would send the young Mei Terumi to the front lines, but an order was an order. He was determined to protect her.
As Makiya released more and more clan heads and shinobi from their control, the Mist base began to fall into chaos.
Ao, who was busy mentoring a subordinate, stood up abruptly, his brow furrowed.
Suddenly, he looked in a specific direction, his eyes wide. "Who's there? Wait... so strong. Such massive chakra!"
Mei Terumi, who had been dozing off nearby, was startled by Ao's reaction and snapped awake.
It was the first time she had seen such an expression on her captain's face. If the enemy's chakra alone could terrify him, they had to be incredibly powerful.
'It's fine. Chakra volume is only one part of strength. I have two Kekkei Genkai; they're no match for me!' Mei Terumi cheered herself on mentally. But her trembling hands and heavy breathing betrayed the young girl's inner turmoil.