Some rejoice, while others grieve.
When the news reached Kirigakure that Ao had been captured alive by Konoha's Gale Squad, the entire village instantly erupted into chaos.
Voices of condemnation toward Ao flooded the air.
If Kirigakure truly traded for his return through certain backdoor deals, perhaps he wouldn't end up taking his own life like the White Fang did in the original timeline — but there was an even greater chance he'd be assassinated in secret by some hot-headed Kirigakure loyalist.
Such things might sound shocking in other villages, but in the Bloody Mist? That was just another Tuesday.
Inside the Mizukage's office.
The Third Mizukage, sat back in his chair. After listening to a subordinate's report, he waved his hand, signaling for them to leave. Narrowing his eyes, he fell into deep thought.
After a long silence, he sighed and muttered to himself,
"Maybe we should just withdraw."
Leaning back, basking in the warm sunlight streaming through the window, he silently grumbled to himself.
War was such a pain. Those damned Kaguya Clan lunatics were always stirring up trouble, shouting about starting a war. But now that one's actually happening, they're nowhere to be found on the frontlines.
Especially that loudmouth Kaguya Shinosuke — he bragged about being the strongest Kaguya in history, yet he barely stepped onto the battlefield before getting killed by Mitsuki.
The Third Mizukage snorted.
None of those Bloodline Limit clans were ever useful anyway.
If not for his steady leadership — developing the village quietly while the other Great Nations were busy fighting the Second Shinobi World War — Kirigakure's stockpile of war resources would've run dry long ago, burned away by those maniacs.
He rubbed his temples.
Now even the Byakugan was gone.
And to think—he'd spent a fortune buying black-market rumors to hype Ao up as the Byakugan Killer all to suppress the arrogance of the kekkei genkai clans.
Yet that fool got captured so quickly, letting Konoha take back the Byakugan.
And the one who made that happen — Konoha's Gale, Shimizu Mitsuki — was simply too dangerous.
Ever since that man appeared, the entire balance of the war had gone off the rails.
What had once been a promising campaign for Kirigakure had devolved into something like a cat-and-mouse game.
And in this game, Mitsuki was the cat.
His unpredictable raids along the Fire Country's coastline left the Mist shinobi constantly on edge.
Even their elite infiltration teams could no longer execute missions efficiently—each operation now felt like stumbling blindly through the dark, never knowing when Mitsuki would strike.
The Third Mizukage knew this couldn't continue. If it did, Kirigakure would soon follow Sunagakure's path to ruin .He had to find a way to eliminate Mitsuki.
But who could he send?
The Mist still had plenty of high-level shinobi, but in Mizukage's eyes, not a single one could confidently take Mitsuki down .Should he recall the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to carry out an assassination?
Konoha–Kirigakure Frontline Camp.
The very man occupying Mizukage's thoughts — Mitsuki — was now standing at the camp gate, seeing Heiji off.
Heiji was returning to the village to attend his sister's succession ceremony, escorted by several Hyūga members personally dispatched by Hizashi. Their true mission, however, was to ensure the Byakugan in Heiji's possession made it back to Konoha safely.
Since the Byakugan would henceforth be safeguarded by Heiji himself, he would no longer take on field missions—essentially gaining the privileges of a main branch member despite his branch family status.
Heiji looked at Mitsuki with eyes full of light—intense, sincere, and impossible to ignore. He had never been good with words, so all he could do was take a deep breath and force out the few words that truly came from his heart.
"Thank you, Mitsuki."
Simple words—but full of weight.
"Keep your spirits up. Don't embarrass yourself!" Mitsuki clapped him on the shoulder encouragingly.
Heiji chuckled awkwardly. In his mind, Mitsuki always came out with these strange, unexpected lines.
After seeing him off, Mitsuki turned back toward camp.
But after a few steps, he suddenly spoke to the empty air.
"Since you're already here, why didn't you come out to see him off?"
From the shadow of a wooden hut, Ruri stepped out, her tone cool and detached.
"It's not like I won't see him again. I'm not used to saying goodbye."
Mitsuki smirked. He knew exactly what that meant—something along the lines of 'It's enough that I came. Whether you noticed or not doesn't matter'.
He was far too familiar with Ruri's tsundere tendencies. If she ever spoke her feelings openly, that would've been the real surprise.
Then, suddenly, something seemed to catch Mitsuki's attention. He circled around Ruri, eyeing her closely, his gaze full of scrutiny.
Ruri blinked, confused by his strange behavior.
Finally, Mitsuki spoke with a teasing tone,
"I noticed something a while ago… Ruri, you seem different from how you were during the New Year."
Ruri froze.
"Seriously? His sensory perception's gotten that sharp? He even noticed that?"
But she wasn't too worried about having her secret found out. The new ability she was cultivating wasn't complete yet—she'd planned to keep it hidden until she perfected it, then surprise Mitsuki with a duel and finally beat that smug idiot at his own game.
But since she'd been found out already, might as well admit it openly. She wasn't the type to keep up a pretense once exposed.
"Since you already know, then I—"
"You've definitely gotten fatter."
Her words died on her tongue.
Mitsuki's face lit up with pure mischief, his tone triumphant.He hadn't forgotten that day she'd shamelessly devoured twelve bowls of ramen after he offered to treat her.
He remembered it perfectly.
Ruri simply shook her head, her eyes distant and slightly dazed.Was she really a genius of the Uchiha Clan if she still couldn't outmatch this childish idiot?
"Hey, why're you quiet? What were you gonna say just now?" Mitsuki prodded curiously.
Ruri leaned in close, her crimson eyes glinting with mischief.
"I was saying… you still haven't grown as tall as me."
"What?!"
Mitsuki had only meant to tease her, but ended up getting stabbed right in the pride instead.
He quickly started mumbling things like,
"Girls just develop faster than boys,"
"I'm only twelve, not even in my growth spurt yet"
"Obito and Kakashi are the same way," and other excuses that made absolutely no sense.
Soon, laughter filled the entrance of the camp—warm, lively, and bright as the sunlight above.