Damn it!
Ay burst out onto the shoreline, lightning arcing furiously off his body. He glared at the small ship rapidly disappearing into the distant horizon, his massive fists clenching so tightly his knuckles popped.
"This insult cannot be forgiven," Ay growled, his voice rumbling like thunder. "The Kirigakure actually dare to provoke the Cloud directly on our own borders. We must strike back with absolute force!"
Miles out at sea, standing on the deck of the stolen ship, Kiichiro finally turned his head away from the shrinking coastline. He pulled off his Anbu mask and let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief.
Being hunted by a monster of that caliber felt incredibly oppressive.
"Mishu, are you heading straight back to the Hidden Mist Village?" Kiichiro asked, tossing the mask aside.
Mishu leaned against the railing, thinking for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "The battle with the Cloud forces forced me to reveal far too many trump cards. I have absolutely no way to explain to the Mizukage where my massive Chakra reserves or my new Ninjutsu came from. Going back would only end in an interrogation cell."
Kiichiro suddenly understood. "That's true. Although relations between the Cloud and the Mist are hostile, they won't proactively share battle reports. However, Kirigakure just lost Kuriarare Kushimaru—a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—and they lost the legendary Sewing Needle. They will definitely launch a massive internal investigation. The moment they debrief you, they'll realize your strength doesn't match your file."
Mishu looked out at the vast, open ocean, his expression remarkably calm. "Honestly, leaving the village isn't a bad outcome. I'm not part of the Fourth Mizukage's direct lineage, nor do I have a powerful clan backing me. It would be nearly impossible for me to rise to the top of the Blood Mist anyway. It's better to drift around the Ninja World as a Rogue and secretly support the rest of you."
Kyosuke had the legendary Minato Namikaze as his mentor, and Chisuke was officially the One-Tails Jinchuriki. Both had incredibly bright, influential futures in their respective villages. Mishu, on the other hand, would have likely capped out as a standard Jonin, never grasping any real political power.
Kiichiro sighed heavily. "What a pity. Back when we started, I really thought the three of you could become the Hokage, Kazekage, and Mizukage. It's only been a few years, and one-third of our grand dream has already failed. It pains my heart just thinking about the lost investment."
Mishu smiled faintly. He drew a kunai and, without hesitation, carved a deep, horizontal line across the symbol on his Kirigakure forehead protector.
"Life is full of disappointments," Mishu said, tying the slashed headband around his neck. "Besides, who knows if this misfortune might turn out to be a blessing in disguise? Perhaps stepping out of the shadows of the Hidden Mist is the only way I can truly make a name for myself."
Kiichiro matched his smile. "I hope so, my friend."
Late that night, the ship reached the mainland shore. Kiichiro returned to his operations in the Land of the Moon, while Mishu began the long trek toward the Land of Fire.
Because the Land of Fire sat dead in the center of the Ninja World, it was the perfect strategic location for Mishu to operate from if he needed to quickly support the others.
Over the following days, the geopolitical situation violently deteriorated. Both the Cloud and the Mist military commands issued identical, zero-tolerance orders: Kill the enemy on sight!
The vicious border skirmishes continued for several weeks. Both sides frequently impersonated ninja from other villages to lay false trails and ambush supply lines, inadvertently dragging several smaller, neutral factions into the bloody conflict.
The political relationships between the major villages were already a powder keg; now, the fuse had been lit. Large-scale vendettas were no longer limited to the Mist and the Cloud. The paranoia spread like a virus to every border.
"Damn it all! The Cloud not only refuses to return the Sewing Needle, but they've slaughtered dozens of our border patrols!"
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, looked at the casualty reports in his hand, his youthful face twisted in absolute fury. He immediately slammed his fist on his desk.
"Assemble the fleet immediately! We set sail to go to war with the Hidden Cloud!"
Not long after, the Third Raikage received intelligence that Kirigakure was actively mobilizing their naval forces. This confirmed his decision.
"Hmph! I was originally preparing to deal with Konoha, but since Kirigakure is courting death, then let's give them war! We will crush the Mist!"
Since both villages had been quietly preparing for a conflict for years, they rapidly gathered massive ninja armies and began mobilizing toward the coastal fronts.
Because the Cloud Ninja made no attempt to hide their massive troop movements, Tsuchimitsu Toshio and Ise Matsuzakato—being extremely well-informed, high-level merchants—soon learned of the mobilization. They knew a World War was about to erupt, causing them absolute, agonizing distress.
Their distress wasn't born from the moral tragedy of a war that would cause rivers of blood to flow.
They were distressed because, thanks to the war, Kiichiro was about to make a completely astronomical amount of money using the grain currently sitting in their warehouses!
As ruthless businessmen, watching someone else make a fortune off their perceived miscalculation was far more physically painful than losing the money themselves.
Ise Matsuzakato wiped his sweaty brow, pacing his office anxiously.
"What should we do?! That brat Kiichiro will come to collect the grain any day now! Grain prices have already increased tenfold! Once the war officially breaks out, prices will skyrocket even higher!"
Tsuchimitsu Toshio fanned himself fiercely, gritting his teeth in pure envy. "Then we'll simply tear up the contract! The physical grain is still in our hands. If we refuse to give it to him, what can a kid do? At worst, we just refund his initial purchase money!"
"Don't be an idiot!" Ise roared, slamming a hand on his desk. "Did you forget the stipulations of the contract?! A breach of contract on our end requires paying one hundred times the penalty fee!"
Tsuchimitsu froze, his fan dropping from his hand. He burst out cursing.
"That damn, devious bastard! He must have had high-level military inside information! He knew this day would come, so he deliberately set an airtight legal trap for us!"
"Stop stating the obvious and start offering solutions!" Ise snapped. "We absolutely cannot let go of this unprecedented opportunity to make a fortune!"
Tsuchimitsu fell silent for a long moment. He slowly snapped his wooden fan in half, a vicious, murderous light flashing in his eyes.
"If we're going to break the contract, we might as well go all the way," Tsuchimitsu whispered coldly. "Let's just hire assassins to kill that brat! If he's dead, the contract is void."
Ise immediately agreed to the dark proposal. "I heard Kiichiro recently made connections with the ministers of the Land of Lightning. We can't risk hiring official Cloud Ninja for the hit; it could cause a political incident. It's best to hire untraceable Rogue Ninjas."
"Agreed. Let's leave immediately and contact the underground Bounty Exchange Office!"
A few nights later, on the murky, lawless border of Konoha, Mishu walked into a dimly lit, underground Bounty Exchange Office, intending to pick up a few assassination missions to earn some travel money.
Unexpectedly, while browsing the wall of active bounties, he spotted a freshly posted mission: Target: Kuriarare Kiichiro.
"Wow, this is an incredibly lucrative mission," Mishu muttered to himself, analyzing the poster. "The target is supposedly weak, and the reward is shockingly high. But the time limit is far too short—it requires completion by tomorrow night. For an ordinary ninja, there's absolutely no way to reach the Land of the Moon from here in time."
Suddenly, a massive, imposing figure stepped up behind Mishu. The man looked at the bounty slip in Mishu's hand, his deep voice rumbling with annoyance.
"What a pity."
Mishu didn't need to turn around to recognize the voice. He hadn't expected to run into a major anime antagonist the moment he arrived in the Land of Fire.
The man wore the cloak of a Rogue Ninja from Takigakure. He had piercing green eyes and a dark mask covering his lower face.
It was the immortal, money-obsessed future member of the Akatsuki: Kakuzu!
"Hmph. You're quite confident for an old man," Mishu said, leaning casually against the bounty board, offering a cold, disdainful sneer.
Mishu had developed a naturally ruthless, abrasive personality to survive the brutal environment of the Hidden Mist. Now that he was officially a Rogue Ninja, he was completely unrestrained. He showed absolutely no fear toward Kakuzu.
Kakuzu slowly looked down at Mishu, his green eyes utterly devoid of emotion. He noted the deeply slashed Kirigakure headband tied around the boy's neck, then looked back at Mishu's face.
"What a pity," Kakuzu repeated coldly.
"Oh? And what exactly is a pity?"
"It's a pity that your face isn't on the high-value bounty list," Kakuzu stated matter-of-factly. "Killing you here won't earn me a single ryo."
"Hahahaha!"
Mishu threw his head back and laughed uncontrollably, acting as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. His booming laughter attracted the wary attention of every criminal in the exchange, yet Mishu didn't care in the slightest.
He bent over, wiping a tear from his eye, and then stood up, looking Kakuzu dead in the eyes. His voice dropped to a lethally cold whisper.
"Old man, when you get this senile, you should really just retire to a nursing home. Talking big like that will get you killed."
"Hmph!"
Kakuzu snorted. Instantly, an overwhelming, suffocating wave of killing intent flooded the room. The lesser thugs and rogue ninjas nearby were terrified by the sheer pressure and quickly scrambled out of the Exchange Office.
Seeing that a devastating fight was about to break out and destroy his establishment, the manager of the Bounty Exchange rushed out from behind the counter, clasping his hands together in a desperate, humble bow.
"Please, esteemed shinobi sirs!" the manager begged, sweating profusely. "I beg you, please do not fight in here! Take it outside!"
Ten minutes later, deep within a secluded forest clearing, Mishu and Kakuzu stood opposite each other under the moonlight.
Mishu slowly drew his short sword, the steel chiming softly in the quiet night. He pointed the tip directly at the immortal.
"Rogue Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Mishu!" he announced boldly.
Kakuzu didn't even bother taking a fighting stance. "An unknown nobody."
"I won't be unknown for long!" Mishu grinned fiercely. "I'll become famous the moment I mount your head on a pike!"
Mishu charged straight ahead, his speed explosive. He swung his blade in a lethal, curving arc, aiming to bisect the older ninja in a single strike.
CLANG!
Kakuzu casually blocked the heavy short sword strike using a single kunai held in his right hand. Simultaneously, he extended his left hand.
Without warning, the flesh of Kakuzu's wrist tore open, and a writhing mass of thick, black threads shot out like venomous snakes, instantly wrapping around Mishu's torso and limbs, completely trapping him.
"You provoked me hoping to gain fame," Kakuzu stated, his voice incredibly bored. "You chose the absolute worst target."
The black threads acted like spears, violently piercing straight through Mishu's chest and vital organs.
Poof.
The fatally wounded Mishu instantly dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
"A Shadow Clone?" Kakuzu muttered, slightly surprised. "A Shadow Clone forcibly splits a ninja's Chakra perfectly in half. Using it so casually at the start of a high-level battle... you are truly a fool."