"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
The Mist ninja with shark-like teeth puffed up his chest, then spat out a massive torrent of water, flooding the area and engulfing all of Shisui's illusionary clones.
Seeing this, Mitsuki quickly formed a seal with one hand, controlling the Rasenshuriken — which had been spinning noisily beside him — and sent it flying toward the Mist ninja. As it neared its target, it detonated with a thunderous roar.
A massive storm of blue wind blades swallowed the shark-toothed Mist ninja whole.
However, the man maintained his hydrification, blending into the water created by his own jutsu. Incredibly, this allowed him to narrowly escape the Rasenshuriken's devastating explosion.
Meanwhile, Ao attempted to take advantage of the chaos to break free from Shisui's illusionary clones.
The illusions had been scattered by his comrade's water attack, but Shisui himself had used Body Flicker to avoid the indiscriminate blast just in time.
As for Ao's teammate — the shark-toothed ninja — he fought desperately to buy time, protecting Ao and the Byakugan embedded in his body at all costs.
In Ao's dream, he was shedding tears of gratitude while running back to Kirigakure, welcomed as a hero by the Third Mizukage and the Chief Elder Genji, rewarded handsomely for his valiant service.
Wait, why was he being rewarded for failing the mission? He didn't care — it was a pleasant dream. After all, hadn't he dedicated his life to Kirigakure? Didn't he deserve to enjoy himself a little?
Back in reality, Mitsuki and his team stood on the calm surface of the water.
Ao was standing still, his eyes glazed over, a faint smile on his face. Mitsuki tilted his head curiously.
"Shisui, what kind of genjutsu did you hit him with? He looks way too happy."
Shisui rubbed the back of his neck.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. The technique's called Drunken Dream. It traps the target in an endless pleasant illusion they can't wake up from."
It was a difficult Uchiha clan genjutsu — said to have been created long ago by an ancestor who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Mitsuki nodded in understanding.
"So this guy must be one of those serious types with a secretly goofy side… No wonder he's grinning like an idiot."
Shisui's focus, however, was on something else.
"Mitsuki, that Hōzuki clan ninja — he's trying to escape."
And he was right. After launching the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave, the shark-toothed Mist ninja had liquefied his body and was swimming away at full speed.
"No way am I fighting those three monsters head-on!" he thought desperately. "If I'm lucky, maybe they'll take Ao and leave me alone."
After all, finding a Hōzuki who had merged with an entire body of water wasn't exactly easy.
Unfortunately for him, Mitsuki wasn't "most people."
"Don't worry" Mitsuki said calmly, raising one finger. "He's not getting away."
Shisui didn't quite understand, but since his superior sounded confident, he said nothing.
Mitsuki gathered lightning chakra at his fingertip, forming a spindle-shaped sphere — the Finger-Gun Rasengan, enhanced with lightning.
The Hōzuki clan's hydrification could nullify most physical attacks — even something as destructive as the Rasenshuriken.
But every jutsu has its weakness.
And for them, it was lightning. Even the weakest lightning release technique could paralyze a Hōzuki mid-water state, forcing them out of liquefaction.
Mitsuki narrowed one eye, aimed, and fired — all in one seamless motion.
Underwater, the shark-toothed ninja suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. A surge of electricity spread through his body, locking up his muscles. He lost control of his jutsu and reverted to his solid form.
"How… how did he find me?!"
He had thought himself invisible — merged with the very water his chakra had created. Even the Byakugan shouldn't have found him so quickly.
He was right — normally, it wouldn't have.But Mitsuki wasn't normal.
Within the perception of his Six Eyes, the man's chakra was as visible as if he were standing naked in the open.
A second bullet finished the job.
With both enemies down, the team quickly secured the battlefield.
To avoid any further complications, Mitsuki turned to Shisui.
"Give me Ao."
Without hesitation, Shisui complied.
Mitsuki crouched beside the unconscious Ao — still trapped in his dream — and, without the slightest emotion, removed the Byakugan from Ao's eye socket. He placed it into a nutrient-filled container he'd prepared earlier.
Whether it was a testament to Shisui's genjutsu or Ao's sheer mental fortitude, the man didn't even wake — though his body twitched in pain.
Ruri tilted her head.
"We're not killing him?"
Mitsuki gave her a look.
"You're a little too extreme, Ruri."
Ruri rolled her eyes.
"Says the guy who's killed more people than our entire graduating class combined."
Shisui interjected calmly, "Ao holds a high position in Kirigakure. If we interrogate him under genjutsu, we can extract plenty of intel."
Mitsuki sealed the container and tossed it lightly to Heiji Hyūga.
Heiji caught it nervously. "You're… giving this to me?"
"Of course," Mitsuki said matter-of-factly. "It belonged to your brother, didn't it? With this Byakugan, you'll have leverage to negotiate with the Hyūga Main House — maybe even ensure your sister inherits your branch's line."
"But… the mission—"
"No 'buts'" Mitsuki interrupted with a wave of his hand. "This mission was issued by me. The objective was to capture Ao alive. Everything else is irrelevant. Actually…" He smiled faintly. "As the one who issued the mission, I should probably reward my subordinates, shouldn't I?"
Heiji looked panicked. "No, that's not necessary! You've already done so much for us—"
But Ruri smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? And what kind of reward does the great Advisor-sama have in mind?"
"Hm, let me think…" Mitsuki crouched beside the remaining water and began washing the blood from his fingers, actually considering it.
Shisui, seeing the scene, offered an explanation to Ruri. "Normally, wartime missions are only logged in the record. Rewards are distributed later, once the war's over. It's rare for bonuses to be given on the spot."
"I see," Mitsuki said, nodding thoughtfully. "In that case, given the difficulty of retrieving a Byakugan — and its strategic value — I'll just mark this as an S-Rank mission for each of you when we return."
Ruri blinked in surprise. "S-Rank, huh? Heh… not bad."
Shisui just smiled quietly.
Heiji, on the other hand, could barely believe what he'd just heard.
And Mitsuki? He simply smiled faintly, eyes half-lidded. The wind was calm now — not nearly as loud as it had been that day.