Ryusei's company advanced alongside Kiyomi's semi-division, moving in the most efficient formation to dismantle the scattered Kiri pockets.
The larger force would handle the clean-up.
Meanwhile, Ryusei broke away with only Kanae and Renjiro at his side.
At this point, Ryusei still exchanged his sealed Byakugan with his real eye for this occasion when he showed his face.
Their destination lay deeper within enemy reach, where two heavy chakra signatures had already been marked.
These weren't ordinary opponents.
They were the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, infiltrating as part of Kirigakure's sudden offensive on this front.
The three of them would link up with Kiyomi's central squad, twenty Uchiha shinobi, nearly all at jōnin level.
Together, they would confront the two beasts before they could launch their own raid.
Ryusei had sensed and tagged them days earlier, waiting for the perfect moment.
Now, just as the jinchūriki were preparing to strike, they would instead be struck first.
And Ryusei's grin said it all.
Beyond the merits and reputation, he intended to probe deeper, what gains could be taken from jinchūriki themselves?
What could he strip from them, learn from them, before finishing the job?
Regarding Kirigakure, Ryusei tried to piece together everything he remembered from his past life and what he had learned here, aligning both to find the truth.
The current Third Mizukage, he knew, was very old, well into his seventies.
He had lived even through the First Kage Summit, accompanying the First Mizukage, so it was no surprise that he would soon die and be replaced by Yagura.
At present, Mizukage wasn't very strong. Age had eroded him.
He relied almost entirely on refined water-style shape transformations, turning water into swirling streams, drills, and blades at the highest short-range potency.
But in Ryusei's estimation, he was no longer even at the level of a true Low Kage.
Kirigakure still held its real teeth elsewhere, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Ever since the first generation forged and wielded those seven blades, they had been passed down without interruption, each generation producing successors to claim them.
Those swords ensured Kiri always had a dangerous vanguard, regardless of the Mizukage's weakness.
As for bloodline clans, the picture was simpler. The Land of Water was an archipelago.
Naturally, those island families did not respect their central daimyo much, leading to endless wars among themselves.
After Hashirama's founding of Konoha rippled outward, Kiri was also established on the main island.
With the new shinobi institution pulling talented civilians and hijutsu clans like the Hoshigaki and Hōzuki into its fold, it quickly grew strong enough to begin suppressing the old bloodline mercenary clans, who still had some old pride present, still hired by feudal lords of the outer isles.
The civilians of the Land of Water eventually scapegoated those bloodline users as the source of instability, and many were nearly exterminated.
The Kaguya clan had survived, but they were weak, ignorant even of their true heritage.
Aside from Kimimaro, one genius born once in centuries with the Dead Bone Pulse, the rest were just marauders with strong physiques, remnants of Hamura's Sage Body lineage.
They couldn't even understand not to control their bones, so they were worthless to Ryusei.
Unlike Toneri's branch on the moon, which at least had its Giant Tenseigan heritage, the Kaguya had no external legacy left at all.
Other minor clans existed as well, lava release users, boil release users, but none of them were noteworthy, and were nearly gone.
Only the Yuki clan, with their Ice Release, had been a real power, and even they had been suppressed over time.
The bloodline clans weren't ever truly part of Kirigakure anymore, unlike what some fans' misconceptions about his life suggested.
So, Ryusei didn't think they would play any role against Konoha this time or that he would see them.
They were relics, still living like mercenaries of the old Warring States era, scapegoats for the Land of Water's nobles, while Kirigakure itself grew above them through generations of organized shinobi rule.
"This also explains why the village earned its infamous titles, like the 'Bloody Mist.' Decades of civil strife and the persecution of kekkei genkai clans had hardened its culture, breeding a system where only the most brutal discipline and exams could keep order."
He also thought briefly of Mei Terumi, but dismissed her. At this time, she would have only just graduated from the Academy, a complete non-factor.
And so the conclusion was clear: despite its position as a protected coastal hub, with every advantage for trade and sea economy, Water Country was still poor and fractured, just as Wind Country was.
But while Suna's weakness came from its barren land, Kiri's came from within, constant infighting and division.
Or better, it was from their countries that they were from, not from inside their own smaller villages. They were the 'second-tier' big villages.
Ryusei thought briefly about Duy and Might Guy. Both should have been here, fighting against Kirigakure on this front around this time, yet he had never once sensed them. Why?
The answer was obvious. Now that the Hokage faction understood their potential, were they idiots to leave them here bolstering Fugaku's front? Of course not.
They would have pulled them away, most likely to their favored Jiraiya-led front against Iwa.
Duy himself had probably urged to ensure that Guy and his fresh genin team were sent near him.
Ryusei now confirmed that he had inadvertently really saved Duy's life.
That is, unless he somehow still lost it against Iwa. But that was unlikely.
That front was Hiruzen's pet battlefield, stacked with Jiraiya, Kushina, Minato, and the rest of the so-called "main characters."
There, nothing disastrous was supposed to happen. Certainly not to the extent of forcing Duy into the Eighth Gate.
Ryusei then reflected that it wasn't strange Fugaku had survived this war on this front, and even had the arrogance afterward to 'self-nominate' himself for Hokage.
It could only be explained by the fact that the losses here hadn't been all that catastrophic.
The Mizukage by this point was practically a Quasi-Kage at best, an old man running on fumes.
The Seven Swordsmen had been nearly entirely wiped out in one stroke by Might Duy, a gift from heaven for Fugaku.
All Fugaku really needed to do was keep the two jinchūriki in check, something his Sharingan was well suited for.
That also explained why the previous Three-Tails host had died, leaving the beast unsealed, only for them to later stuff it into Rin as a living bomb.
But now, with Duy not present, Ryusei wondered how Fugaku planned to manage.
He would either have to lean on Ryusei himself… or else finally reveal the full extent of his Mangekyō during this war.
Soon, the three of them rendezvoused with Kiyomi's squad not far from where the two jinchūriki were moving fast through the forests.
Kiyomi raised her hand, signaling her twenty subordinates to hold position, then stepped forward alone.
It was her first time meeting Kanae and Renjiro face-to-face. The instant her onyx eyes locked with Kanae's pale ones, the air sharpened.
A silent spark leapt between them, competitive and cutting. They didn't need to speak to know the reason, jealousy, and the boy standing between them.
Ryusei smirked, breaking the tension with his usual slit-eyed calm. "We don't have time, and you should know each other already as former classmates. The jinchūriki won't wait for us."
Kanae gave a curt nod, her expression cold again. Kiyomi said nothing, but instead of returning to her own squad, she fell into step beside them, closer than necessary.
Her gaze flicked toward Kanae once, then again, as though distracted. Her mind was elsewhere, caught between thoughts she refused to voice.
From the other group, Reiji Uchiha watched all of this with a sour twist in his gut. At first, he couldn't place it, but then it clicked.
Kiyomi wasn't acting like herself. The way she'd looked at that boy, how she'd drifted closer to him instead of her Hyūga teammate, it was unmistakable.
Ryusei Nishida.
Reiji's jaw clenched as he ground his teeth together. He'd heard the rumors before, whispered half-stories about Kiyomi's odd connection to that civilian genius.
He had dismissed them as idle clan gossip. But watching from a distance now, he knew they were true.
For a heartbeat, he wanted to storm forward, confront Ryusei directly, force him to back down like any proper Uchiha would.
But the thought died as soon as it came. This wasn't the time, and worse, even he had to admit, Ryusei's reputation wasn't smoke. The boy was strong, dangerously so.
Reiji's fists tightened until his knuckles whitened. His eyes narrowed, jealousy burning through his veins like fire.
"She's mine," he told himself, jaw aching as he forced the words down. "It's already decided. No matter what she looks like now, no matter how close she stands with him, it won't change anything."
And yet, as he watched Kiyomi unconsciously shift nearer to Ryusei again, Reiji felt his certainty crack just a little.