Upoering the Land of Water once again, Masashi could clearly feel that the atmosphere in this try had ged.

  The stance of opposition was visible. But it wasn't oppositioween ninjas…

  It wasn't even the usual tensioween vilges. No, this was something far more dangerous—it positioween ordinary people and ninjas!

  Among the Five Great Nations, it was well-known that the daimyō of the Land of Wind had a strained retionship with Suna, to the point where the Land of Wind would sometimes delegate missions to Konoha instead of Suna.

  However, it had to be said that this wasn't a state of ht opposition. At most, the daimyō of the Land of Wihe Suna ninjas were somewhat iive, but the meism of cooperatioween the daimyō's gover and the ninja vilge still funed well.

  In the Land of Water, however, this geion's daimyō seemed to have experienced some kind of political turmoil, perhaps like a struggle for succession among princes, and as a result, he was severely g in security.

  Meanwhile, Kiri, which had implemehe Bloody Mist policy, seemed to have maxed out its ability to instill fear. sequently, the retionship between the daimyō's gover and Kiri was extremely tense.

  The daimyō was worried that the Kiri ninjas might lose trol and attack him as well. He had even dreamed, more than once, of the Kiri ninjas swinging his severed head like a toy on a swing.

  The daimyō's attitude naturally influehe entire system of the Land of Water, which ultimately led to a strained retionship between ordinary citizens and ninjas.

  The Mizukage being assassihough unsuccessful—had ighe fmes of this tension.

  At its core, it all stemmed from the Bloody Mist policies implemented by the Third Mizukage.

  Distrust had begun to turn into ht hostility.

  In truth, this wasirely Obito's fault; the Land of Water already had its own i problems.

  "Masashi-nii," Shisui, everything along the way, grew increasingly puzzled. "I 't help but feel that whether we rehe alliance or not no longer matters."

  "We still o re," Masashi replied. "The Land of Water is a try of ninjas; this nation needs its ninja forces. It's just that Kiri has been abnormal for far too long."

  Despite the opposition, all the turmoil still tered around Kiri.

  In the inal timelihe extin of many ninja s rimarily carried out through the military might of Kiri's forces.

  However, a chaotic Kiri did not align with Konoha's needs. No one wanted a den of lunatics lurking behind them.

  Led by Kiri's ANBU, Masashi and Shisui went deeper into the try. Along the way, civilians would avoid them as soon as they saw them.

  In front of the ANBU, Masashi hadn't used the Flying Thunder God even ohis was just the beginning, and he didn't want the marks he had set up to be discovered by the Kiri ninjas.

  If they found out, Obito would also find out.

  Masashi still wao give him a "surprise."

  Thinking back to when he had sidered Kiri as a fallback option in his pns, he couldn't help but feel relieved that he hadn't gohrough with it.

  The divide between the Land of Water's ninjas and its nation was so deep that, given the Uchiha 's temperament, few would have been able to tolerate it.

  This disfort only disappeared after they ehe Mist Valley.

  Onside, it felt as though they had stepped into another world, pletely isoted from everything outside the valley.

  Suddenly, he thought that this might be one of the reasons why the Kiri ninjas didn't care about the opinions of their citizens.

  Living in su isoted pce, they were already exhausted dealing with the Bloody Mist policies. How could they spare the effort to care whether the people outside liked them or not?

  Finally, he saw Kiri.

  The most terrifying p the ninja world appeared, at first go be peaceful.

  But within his sense, the area was filled with tless cold and sinister chakra signatures.

  There were a few that were retively less oppressive, but they were rare.

  Suddenly, the Kiri ANBU stopped.

  A rge group of people had appeared ahead.

  Masashi took one look. Oh, plenty of old acquaintances.

  However, instead of stepping forward to greet them immediately, both he and Shisui tacitly preteo take a sudden i in the surrounding pnts and flowers.

  "Gentlemen, the emissaries from Konoha are here to visit the Mizukage. Please make way," the ANBU leader said.

  His words were polite, but the as of the ANBU were not as harmonious as his tone suggested.

  They were clearly on guard.

  From the crowd, a man in his forties stepped forward. His gaze passed over the ANBU and nded on Masashi and Shisui standing behind them.

  The ANBU couldn't dis anything from his expression.

  The only thing they could clude was that this guy probably hadn't washed his face that m.

  "Handling such a minor matter as weling guests should be left to us old folks. Don't you all have more important tasks at hand?" the man said. "It's better not to lose focus."

  Hearing this, the ANBU were cursing him internally. Wasn't this whole situation your fault to begin with?

  Attempting to assassihe Mizukage—with Zabuza, of all people?

  Zabuza had been decred a fugitive after being accused of an attempted assassination of the Mizukage. He was currently at rge.

  That statement wasirely accurate.

  In truth, among those who tried to assassihe Mizukage that night, Zabuza was the only one who successfully escaped.

  The others had died at the se.

  Those whose identities could be traced were all civilian ninjas who shared the same belief—to end the Bloody Mist aore the vilge to its flory.

  The Mizukage's fa, though ruthless, did not harbor malice toward these people. They had no choice but to stop them but still respected their resolve.

  However, they deeply despised the mastermind who had exploited these people.

  Assassinating the Mizukage and publicly exposing the flict was a foolish move that only provided opportunities for outsiders.

  The greatest suspect was her than the Hōzuki !

  Even the ninja s opposed the Bloody Mist, but for entirely different reasons.

  Now the Mizukage had begun rallying civilian ninjas against the established ninja s, and if this tinued, civil war was iable.

  The Yuki had already taken the fall. Someone had used Ice Release that night, and the Mizukage had immediately led the ANBU to the Yuki 's territory, sughtering all of their ninja members. The remaining non-ninja members were then exiled from Kiri.

  "This isn't good, Kagemune-sama," the ANBU leader said, suppressing his anger. "Kiri has its own ws, and you are overstepping your bounds!"

  "The vilge's ws were built by us," the man said calmly. "You o remember not to bite the hands that fed you."

  The atmosphere grew teo the point of almost breaking.

  To the ANBU, every sed felt like ay.

  The other side wasn't just testing them—they were genuinely here to intercept the Konoha emissaries.

  "Eh? Oh, it's you?"

  Suddenly, Masashi's voice broke the tension.

  He stepped forward from behind the ANBU, as if he had just noticed the people there, his face showing apparent surprise.

  "It's been a long time!"

  Shisui turned his head slightly, struggling to hold back a ugh. He could swear that Masashi absolutely did not know who this person was.

  Because for most of the missions Masashi had pleted, Shisui had bee. Anyone alive, Shisui would have known.

  If Masashi didn't know him, then this persoainly wasn't a survivor.

  "Indeed, it has been a long time," the man smiled, pying along perfectly. "You are as humorous as ever."

  Masashi smiled bad patted the ANBU leader on the shoulder.

  "You've worked hard. I'll catch up with this old friend of mine, and then I'll go see the Mizukage myself."

  "Ah, I see. My ht," the ANBU leader's demeanor ged pletely. "I'll report to the Mizukage now. I'll take my leave."

  With that, he waved his hand and quickly departed with the other ANBU.

  Their hasty departure eased the temosphere among the ninja s to some extent.

  But it was only eased, not eliminated.

  Because standing before them now were two young Konoha ninjas who had killed a signifit number of Kiri ninjas during the war between Konoha and Kiri.

  To put it bluntly, most of the people in the Kiri now held grudges against these two individuals.

  The White Ghost had not only killed the most but had bee a nightmare for the ninja s. The stories of his exploits during the war still hauheir dreams—stories of entire squads vanishing into the mist, only their headbands left behind as cruel markers.

  If the Vilge of the Bloody Mist hadn't already broken the spirit of the current Kiri ninjas, they would have been seeking revehe moment these two set foot in the Land of Water.

  This sort of thing was exactly what Kiri ninjas would do. Getting hot-headed was a on trait among them; ohey were fired up, not even the Mizukage himself could hold them back.

  Unless he was ready to make examples of them.

  The Kiri s especially valued family revehe vilge couldn't trol these people, and sometimes even the s themselves couldn't rein them in.

  The Yuki had been doomed because a few young hotheads from their acted recklessly.

  Kagemune wasly a good person, but he had never enced the young Yuki members to assassihe Fourth Mizukage.

  That kind of move would leave too much evidence. Having mao bee an elder of the Hōzuki at over forty years old, he wasn't that foolish.

  What he hadn't anticipated was the loss of trol over the pawn, Zabuza.

  That loss of trol had brought the flict between the ninja s and the Mizukage's offito the open, and now there was n back.

  Kagemune carefully observed Masashi and Shisui before him.

  Kagemune carefully observed Masashi and Shisui before him, ultimately settling his gaze on Masashi.

  This was mostly because Shisui's serious demeanor made him disined to engage in versation.

  He bent slightly at the waist and offered a bow to both of them.

  "Such ce—admirable!"

  Seeing this, Masashi and Shisui returhe gesture.

  "I've heard much about the White Ghost, and today I finally see him in person." he smiled faintly. "Have you really seen through me?"

  "Let's not say the quiet part out loud," Masashi replied with a nod. "I'm here to discuss business, not to stir up your internal flicts."

  Among the Kiri ninjas, some younger faces seemed eager to move. Oepped forward. "You dare e here after—"

  Notig this, Masashi smiled and cut in, "Looking for revenge? How about following the old traditions?"

  "Masashi, there's o provoke them," Kagemune said. "Young people always think we are stubborn and want to break all the rules. Their as should be uood."

  "You're not even fifty yet, but you talk like you've got one foot in the grave," Masashi shook his head. "We're all ninja s—fighting and killing are normal. I've always horadition."

  "Being too aggressive doesn't suit a cooperative attitude."

  "'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' Is that so hard to uand?" Masashi's smile faded. "I'm kind of young, too. It's easy to provoke me."

  "I don't know where this Rome is," Kagemune replied with a slight smile, "but I uand your point about following local s. Still, being too aggressive doesn't suit a cooperative attitude."

  Masashi's words seemed to remind Kagemune of something. He turned back to the crowd, his expression hardening. "Let me be clear—anyone who ruins this will face the 's punishment."

  The restless movements in the crowd quieted down.

  Satisfied, Kagemuurned back.

  "Please, this way."

  With that, the ninja s parted to form a path, their eyes locked on Masashi and Shisui.

  Kagemuood at the entrance of this "road," smiling.

  "Since we're all friends here, I won't stand on ceremony," Masashi said calmly as he stepped forward. Shisui gave the crowd a cool gnce, shook his head slightly, and followed.

  Kagemune's smile widened as he led the two into Kiri.

  The walls of Kiri were no smaller than those of Konoha's, and due to the terrain, their main gate even appeared more imposing.

  But it carried a far more sinister air.

  Uhe lively gates of Konoha, which were always open and bustling with merts and travelers, the Kiri gates felt like the perfect set for a horror film.

  Add a spooky soundtrack, and it would feel authentic.

  Kiri ninjas were everywhere, but to the untrained eye, it seemed deserted.

  Walking through the fortress-like vilge, Masashi felt no signs of ordinary life.

  "The Kiri ninjas really have it rough," he sighed.

  Shisui g him, wanting to ent but holding back. Finally, he muttered, "Masashi-nii, you drink tea bae, too."

  "I feel like you're insinuating something, but you have no evidence," Masashi shot him a look. "You're young—why's your mind so dirty? You've picked up bad habits."

  That's your fault! Shisui felt wronged but kept quiet, maintaining his professional image as Konoha's envoy.

  "Oh? You enjoy the tea ceremony?" Kagemune looked at him in surprise. "It's rare to find young people ied in such things. Since we share this i, let's not be strangers. We should get closer."

  Shisui had been too cheeky earlier, making the atmosphere awkward. Masashi just hoped he wouldn't mess up in the Mizukage's office.

  Behind them, the ninja s dispersed as they ehe vilge, but not before memorizing every detail of the two Konoha ninjas' appearances.

  In their eyes, Shisui lived up to his reputation: cold, serious, and reserved.

  But the White Ghost was aory—far harder to describe. He seemed even more hot-headed than the Kiri ninjas themselves.

  Kagemuhe twh the vilge, eventually passing the t Mizukage Building.

  It resembled a massive water barrel and dwarfed all other structures in Kiri. Its design urely militaristic, devoid of any signs of civilian life.

  "We're here," Kagemune said as they stopped in front of a building along a gravel path.

  The building had a hint of civilian charm and was clearly a guesthouse.

  "This guesthouse is reserved for esteemed visitors. It's fully equipped with everything you'll need," Kagemune said. "Feel free to rest here. Should you need anything, there are people avaible to assist you."

  His tone suddenly turned suggestive. "Of course, remember that business is important. Take care of yourselves."

  "???"

  Why did that sound so familiar? Shisui was fused.

  "Thank you," Masashi ighe uone in Kagemune's voice. Fttery wouldn't sway him iiations; he just wanted a proper rest. "But aren't we meeting the Mizukage today?"

  "There's no rush," Kagemune smiled. "He ime to prepare. The information you gave to Masu is very important, but only a few people know about it."

  "Reliable as ever!" Masashi gave him a thumbs-up. "That's fihen. We're tired anyway—time food meal and sleep."

  "Rest is important," Kagemune nodded. "By the way, there's a gathering tonight. We'd like to invite you two— we t on your presence?"

  "Of course!"

  "Then I'm relieved. Enjoy your rest, gentlemen." After saying this, Kagemu.