While Senju Mori was harshly training in Shikkotsu Forest, the released Yuki Shingen endured many hardships and finally returned to the homeland he had yearned for.
However, the moment he stepped onto the Land of Water's shores, Shingen immediately sensed something was off.
Many new defensive structures had been built along the coast, and there were noticeably more watchtowers.
But the shinobi stationed there no longer displayed their former sharpness; instead, their faces showed a kind of heavy numbness. Even the patrol teams walked with sluggish, lifeless steps.
When he arrived—exhausted and overwhelmed with mixed emotions—at the familiar gates of Kirigakure, his heart instantly sank, and a chill rushed up from his core.
The guards at the entrance were two completely unfamiliar faces. Their gazes were cold and wary, lacking the usual camaraderie between fellow villagers.
"Stop! Name, unit, mission number!"
One guard barked sharply, hand already on his weapons pouch.
Suppressing his unease, Shingen followed protocol and reported his name, unit, and mission number, briefly explaining how he had been captured and later escaped.
"Yuki Shingen, reconnaissance unit directly under the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu. Mission number: 'Frost-Seven.' Captured by Uzushio during the previous operation, now escaped and returning."
However, suspicion deepened in the guards' eyes.
"Captured by the Uzumaki… and you return this 'intact'?"
The other guard's expression grew openly hostile as he coldly scrutinized Shingen.
"According to the new directives from the Third Mizukage, any shinobi who returns after going missing must be immediately taken in for ANBU isolation and interrogation!"
"We must ensure you've not betrayed the village, been controlled by the enemy, or brought any hidden threats!"
Submitting to village investigation was originally reasonable—but remembering Senju Mori's words and seeing the guards' hard hostility, Shingen dared not simply surrender.
As he spoke, his hand drifted to the weapons pouch on his waist, gripping a kunai tightly.
"I am a jōnin of the Yuki clan! My loyalty to the village is unquestionable!"
He tried to argue, but the guards remained unmoved, shifting into combat stances.
Just as the standoff grew tense, hurried footsteps echoed.
Several shinobi wearing robes marked with the Yuki clan's ice-crystal emblem arrived—along with a squad of ANBU dressed in gray uniforms and animal masks.
"Shingen is a shinobi of the Yuki clan. His loyalty is guaranteed by us!"
The leading Yuki-clan jōnin stepped forward, shielding Shingen behind him, voice firm.
"Guarantee?"
The ANBU captain let out a cold, humorless laugh. His voice, distorted by the mask, carried a chilling undertone.
"Until we confirm he has not leaked village secrets, nor been subjected to genjutsu or sealing techniques, no one has the right to guarantee anything! This man will be taken by ANBU for interrogation!"
In an instant, chakra flared violently from both sides. Killing intent clashed with freezing air pressure, the atmosphere at the village gates tightening to the point of suffocation.
Two forces collided with full intensity—tension so sharp it felt like a battle could erupt at any moment.
Just then, a grey-haired elder of the Yuki clan finally arrived. Though his tone was cold, he spoke with a thin veneer of politeness toward the ANBU captain:
"Shingen is a child of the Yuki clan. Even if mistakes were made, we have our own clan laws to handle them. How he is judged and disciplined is an internal matter of our clan, not something the ANBU need concern themselves with."
The ANBU captain let out a short, cold laugh and slid the blade he had just drawn back into its sheath.
"Elder Yukiro, you overthink. We are merely following procedure. Ensuring the village's safety and eliminating any potential threat—this is the duty the Mizukage has entrusted to us."
In the end, under the unyielding pressure of the Yuki clan members, the ANBU captain gave a disgruntled snort and retreated with his subordinates.
But before leaving, the gaze he cast at Yuki Shingen through the mask's eyeholes was filled with an even heavier, undisguised hostility—like looking at a potential traitor.
Surrounded and escorted by his clansmen into the village, Shingen felt as though he had stepped into an unfamiliar world.
The streets were sparsely populated. The few shinobi he passed wore blank faces and walked hurriedly, exchanging no words with one another.
The entire village felt as silent and lifeless as a giant tomb.
He passed by a familiar izakaya—now completely empty.
The owner stood behind the counter, mechanically wiping a cup, his eyes nervously sweeping across the window as though expecting danger at any moment.
The training grounds, once filled with children's laughter and the shouts of sparring shinobi, now held only a handful of figures training in cold, grim silence.
It was entirely different from the atmosphere under the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu—who, though firm externally, maintained a vibrant energy within the village.
Now everything was replaced by suffocating coldness and pressure.
…
That night, deep within the Yuki clan's compound, inside a soundproofed chamber sealed with barriers, the mood of the clan meeting was even colder and heavier than the winter outside.
"That bastard 'Kiyoshi' is acting with utter impunity!"
"He's systematically purging every last one of Lord Gengetsu's former retainers, replacing them across the village with his own loyalists! He's trying to push us out entirely."
A grey-haired elder spoke in a hoarse voice, his expression filled with exhaustion and resentment.
"Our clan's positions in Intelligence, the ANBU, and the Guard Division—several key posts—have all been reassigned under various pretexts. Replaced with his own people. He's constantly probing how far he can push us."
"What kind of village is this now? It's practically a prison built to watch and contain us!"
A younger clan member couldn't hold back, slamming the table in anger, his clenched fist trembling.
"The Kaguya clan makes things even more troublesome."
Another elder, more composed but with tightly furrowed brows, continued.
"Those battle-obsessed lunatics can no longer tolerate the situation. They've already made several threats. They're secretly linking together, planning a coup—intending to overthrow 'Kiyoshi' by force."
"The Hōzuki clan is also deeply dissatisfied, but they seem to be weighing pros and cons. They haven't clearly expressed support for such a reckless, mutually destructive action."
"A coup?"
The head of the Yuki clan—a woman whose presence was as calm and cold as ice—slightly knitted her elegant brows.
"This era is no longer one where brute force and personal might can overturn a coordinated, structured organization. That's nothing but suicide."
"To act blindly when allies and enemies are unclear… that will drag us all into the abyss."
Meanwhile, Yuki Shingen's hand unconsciously reached toward his chest, touching the cold, solid kunai hidden there.
The words of the Third Hokage, Senju Mori, once again echoed in his ears.