Reborn in the Mist [Naruto SI]

[Tim_Saian]

There was a lot different about this mission and not just that it wasn't so much a mission as it was Kiri shinobi being sent to war but Zabuza didn't discriminate, they'd be paid either way regardless, even though the pay was cut as it was a loyalty mission and not a contract one.

But besides that the mission was different than all other A-rank he'd had the chance of being a part of. One major difference was the size of the team. A simple four-man team for an A-rank mission was not the norm. All the A-ranks Zabuza had gone on had at least six Chuunin along with a pair of Jounin, at the very least. Zabuza obviously counted as Chuunin tier so he filled that spot for those teams with less expense to their pockets and the mission reward.

But this team was made up only himself, Mangetsu who was recently promoted to Chuunin via some nepotism no doubt, a Chuunin from the Funato clan and of course, the only Jounin among them, Juzo.

Another difference was in the mission brief scroll, it had far more information about the mission than Zabuza was used to getting. Usually, he got his mission scroll later than everyone else because who would trust a low caste demon with the entirety of the mission objectives? But now he saw it all as though he were Jounin or Chuunin himself and because of it, he had time to prepare.

As a loyalty mission the mission brief scroll acted as a voucher to any shinobi art store, assigning each member of the team a certain number of points to use and purchase equipment or even food at a slashed price or even for free. Zabuza had only gotten to take advantage of the generous system on a few B-ranks that were led by shinobi in mid caste who trusted him enough to share.

As it turned out, the points for an A-rank mission were bountiful enough for Zabuza to rearrange his entire combat wardrobe with far better gear. No longer did he have to sharpen rusted five-year-old shuriken, no longer did he have to use kunai sparingly, no longer did he have to make armour of thick, Fuuinjutsu toughened bandages.

Even though what he got was paltry in comparison to what his teammates had on naturally, Zabuza was ecstatic to begin the mission. And under impatient Juzo, they wasted no time scouting out the patch of land the coastal fort occupied, the wharf and tavern in the small village settlement that hasn't been burned down on suspicion of hosting Bloodline users.

A third thing that was different about this A-rank was that it didn't feel like one. Perhaps it was simply Mangetsu's child pride flaring up but when time came to recon within the fort itself, all three of them were eager to volunteer for the chance. In the end it went to Mangetsu of course, his [Hydrification] technique made it so that he was the practical choice to slip past the Samurai guarded moat and escape out through their well.

On a classic A-rank no one was ever so eager to volunteer their hide for a run behind enemy lines. Zabuza thought this might be because, once again, this was a loyalty mission, they were serving the will of the Mizukage and failing this meant failing him. None present wanted to return and confess a failure to their Kage, least of all Zabuza now that the man had taken a direct interest in him.

I suppose Mangetsu is the same, it is his Master. And there was the fourth difference; Zabuza prepared in whole to dismiss all subtle aggressions thrown at him during the mission but very little came his way. Juzo had few words for him except orders and the one-time praise of him being a ripe candidate for the swordsmen of the mist and the Chuunin from the Funato clan seemed to know his place amongst the team.

Mangetsu was ice cold and going over Juzo's strategy for taking down the fort was not as grating or demeaning as Zabuza originally expected. Mangetsu seemed to respect that he lost to him and even though he glared cold daggers at Zabuza when he wasn't looking, there was nothing as deep as animosity between them.

A pity rival, heh, fool thinks he can catch up.

"Fodder! Round up!"

At the sound of Juzo's barking voice, Zabuza snapped up from his tree branch amongst the half-burnt forest no one goes into. They'd chosen the forest as their mission base for its proximity to the coastal fort but also the aversion of locals since many believed Bloodline wielders had been run off into it.

But there was no such thing, only the crisp corpses of the Barons victims laid at the border of the burnt half of the forest, though some had thrown themselves further in, burning as they ran for their lives haplessly.

Zabuza and the team made camp where the stench of human wouldn't reach them but it was still prevalent, not that anyone complained. One last thing that was different from this mission was the fact that unlike many other A-ranks that took place within the Land of Water, they weren't provided a boat transport or perhaps they had been and Juzo simply expected them to live up to his standard.

And so, starting all the way north of Kirigakure where towns and cities bloomed under the Daimyo's watch, the team ran up north towards Yureisen, crossing the large body of water splitting the mainland from the now warring islands. Zabuza believed himself strong but an entire day and night of water walking, no, running across the sea trying to match a Jounin's pace taught him he still had a long way to go.

In the end the Funato Chuunin had to be carried by Juzo in the last lap while Mangetsu and Zabuza binged on one too many chakra enhancement pills. Afterwards Juzo gave them little rest and they five days scouting, planning, reviewing and updating their scout plans even though it was perfect as is a day ago.

As Zabuza hopped down the tree and met up with Mangetsu, Juzo and the Funato Chuunin, he shared a knowing glance with his pity rival as their captain set an owl free into the night. The owl was approval no doubt, the war had begun.

Juzo turned to the assembled team, glancing over them once, "Get your things, break camp. We move now."

"Now?" The Funato whelp yelped, no doubt beginning to enjoy the slow pace of the mission and expecting to take his time cosying up to Juzo of all people.

"Would you rather yesterday?" Juzo sneered, "Mizukage-sama expects immediacy, let's go over the plan while you break camp."

Zabuza subdued a grin from breaking out as he went about helping Mangetsu rip a tents forks from the earth. There was only one part of the plan he cared about, the part where he's left with an entire platoon of Samurai and expected to hold them off until Juzo finishes up with their Named Samurai lord.

---

100th chapter yay! Daimyo War arc begins, look forward to less Yagura and more war front characters. That's all for today folks, see you soon.
If you wish to support myself and the library, as well as read ahead click here

 

[Tim_Saian]

The Ronin is a poor variation of a Samurai, after this, Zabuza could never look at them the same. Objectively, he always knew what made a Ronin dangerous was their past as a Samurai and yet he'd brought many down to their knees and lobbed their heads off for the bounty— a share of which he barely got.

However, facing a true Samurai was a different thing entirely. For one, they just loved their armour. Looking back now all those Ronin were terribly depressed and kept their sword preciously strapped by their side, very few ever managed to become Ronin and keep the armour. For Samurai it was an all day, every day uniform.

A costal fort this large had space aplenty for the many Samurai working to ensure none of the Daimyo's ships came close without being met and boarded at sea with striking immediacy. In their mission strategy the costal fort split in two sides, one watching the sea at the east and the other watching the west.

Zabuza stalked around the spacious square hosting Samurai and their keepers on the east side. There was a central kitchen for the entire base that sprawled onto each side of the fort with tables, chairs, barrels of sake and jugs of water for those breaking fast or celebrating their inevitable victory against the Daimyo.

Over the days they'd scouted and watched them, Zabuza got his head full of the enemies skewed believes. It had been years the war raged, with the first months being a slog of ally gathering and the Daimyo threatening and buying loyalty of their old barons. It progressed slowly until the 'corrupt' peace seekers were beheaded and the war renewed with certain fury, one that would not be satiated by diplomacy or courtesy but with violence and bloodshed alone.

And they thought they've won. Zabuza mused as he sauntered away from one long bench to another, presenting seated Samurai with a wash hand basin and placing their food from the tray he balanced. The fools didn't even look up at him as he gifted them their deaths, but that was alright, they weren't expecting servants to be wielding death, shinobi hadn't entered the war yet after all and thus they had nothing to fear.

Zabuza pulled away, retreating back into the kitchen as his meagre [Transformation] jutsu hid his grin and snickering under the veil and visage of some young girl he'd seen in the village nearby. He had little time setting the stage for the thinning of the Samurai with Mangetsu likely to cause havoc on the eastern side and Juzo soon to assault the Named Samurai in charge of the fort.

Chaos would soon ensue. But poisoning their breakfast was the least he could do to even the playing field, a few would die within the hour as their stomachs burst open within them and another dozen would be too crippled by the agony to raise even a toothpick in defence.

Zabuza smiled, tossed the tray into a sink and slithered out the kitchen without another person seeing his disguised person. The eastern square Juzo had placed him in charge of had its own gate; seemingly used to cart in goods bought from the populace or brought from sea with the kitchen in such short proximity. It was also large enough to contain a manned stable with near a dozen horses grazing on feed at the moment.

Losing the disguise Zabuza walked over to the gate, ignoring the singular gateman that witnessed a young lady approach only to disappear in a haze, replaced by a dreaded shinobi. Words failed to leave his throat even as Zabuza locked the gate from the inside, he uttered a single syllable and earned a gut full of iron.

Zabuza yanked his kunai free only to bury it in the voiceless man three dozen times over before letting his body drop; that was as easy as it'd get from now as the gateman was the only one without Samurai armour.

To their credit, it only took Zabuza unsheathing his wakizashi and standing expectantly with the gateman bleeding out at his feet for a minute before the entire square had eyes on him. He grinned at the attention, they murmured, not believing their eyes and as one Samurai stood to bark outrage the seeds Zabuza had sown erupted in another.

The poor Samurai coughed blood like he was a fountain, his stomach emptied itself with violent force as his brothers startled away from him only to choke on their own bloody saliva. Soon three out of every five were wailing the eruptions of their stomachs.

"Shinobi…! Kirigakure shinobi!" A single well Samurai screamed over the orchestra of agony Zabuza had unleashed. It was almost unfair to see so many crumple without testing their prowess with the blade but Zabuza had a mission to do.

"Come then! Come and kill this vile shinobi!" Zabuza taunted the few left standing, only seven Samurai had not tasted a spoon of the poison he fed their camp and one of them was fleeing to raise alarm.

He let him go with a kunai flicked into the back on his knee. That pesky Samurai armour got in the way but the injury had been dealt. His comrades roared forward, their katanas unsheathed with the rage and Zabuza welcomed them.

He parried the first and ducked under a follow up slash to jut his shorter blade through the under of the Samurai's jaw. Another shrieked in a combination of fear and anger at his brother's visceral death, his blade bore down on Zabuza along with four more of his brothers positioned to flank and skewer him.

But their blades met nothing but empty air as Zabuza leaped farther and faster than anyone of them could see. He flipped mid-air, cushioning his descent with the expectant and baffled face of a Samurai's face. He snatched his landing platform by his hair and flipped him over, armour and all.

Slammed onto the ground and disarmed the Samurai only had a chance to yelp before Zabuza's wakizashi dipped into the back of his exposed skull. Zabuza darted away as a katana brushed viciously against his hastily raised kunai; not only were the Samurai, well, Samurai, they were fully grown men to Zabuza's fourteen years, the strength gap between them was immeasurable, at least until you consider he's a shinobi.

Unleashing a flurry of senbon and the rushing Samurai, Zabuza kept fair distance between them as he watched one and then two of the five remaining Samurai ignite their katana's with chakra.

There was an idle hum of thick chakra cloaking their blades, sharpening the edge and enhancing the sheer stabbing power of the already dangerous weapon to an extreme.

"You're dead, shinobi!" The two chakra ready Samurai lead the charge, their weapons held away as they dashed forward to strike. Unfortunately for them, Zabuza had fought several Ronin who never failed to use the same kata and attack patterns these Samurai now rushed at him with.

Chakra felt at his fingertips as he backed away, the ethereal energy quickly converted into droplets of water he flung the eyes of his charging foes. Once shut, Zabuza lurched underneath the decapitating slash of the second Samurai and delved into the blinded Samurai's guard with his wakizashi impaling through the man's jaw.

"Raaa! Die you fiend!" The second pivoted and came down on Zabuza with a flurry of slashes and thrusts he didn't dare parry with his bare wakizashi. A chakra enhanced blade grinding away his dear short sword's steel is the last thing he wanted. "Join me brothers!"

The Samurai yelled for his fear stricken comrades to wake up and fight, but Zabuza's grin and hungry glare kept them at bay, hesitant. One already fought to pry the gate open and another simply stood in watchful terror.

Zabuza's fingers flipped through hand seals and the raging Samurai halted his charge— the first smart thing any of them had done— and promptly turned his back to Zabuza as he fled from the wrath of a shinobi's jutsu.

Except, there wasn't so much as a splash of water, rather blood sprayed from the man's headless neck as Zabuza set his head free with the rapid application of the [Body Flicker] jutsu.

Zabuza turned his gaze, two Samurai remained and one was deathly terrified of him and the other was already looking to flee. He licked his lips and got ready to execute them when a flood of water rushed through the kitchen corridor, soared over the inner wall and lapped at their feet. The water was bloodstained and carried more than a couple corpses in it.

He snorted. Hozuki and their fancy Ninjutsu. Mangetsu was on the other side dispatching enemies as well. Zabuza flicked a senbon at the frozen Samurai, thanks to his stillness he managed to get it through the few crevasses in their armour and a moment later the man fell face first into the water.

All that was left was the coward and Zabuza would be free to go over and show Mangetsu how a true shinobi got rid of his enemies.

---

Hiya

 

[Tim_Saian]

"I didn't ask for you!" Mangetsu yelled, blood crazed, soaked in the effects of his own jutsu with kunai fiercely gripped in both hands. He marched over and snatch the man Zabuza had just run through with his wakizashi. The unfortunate thing gurgled as Mangetsu slashed his throat open just for good measure and to claim the kill. "Stand back!"

"I don't take orders from you, boy." Zabuza leered, side stepping a flailing spearman's thrust. He stepped forward and cut his stomach open, the bull leather armour tore away like paper. "You should be grateful I'm here, looks like you're having a hard time dispatching these fodder and you had the lesser task." He mocked the wet haired Chuunin mercilessly.

He knew it would stab deeper because it was true. Chuunin or no, Lord Fourth's prodigy apprentice or no, Hozuki scion or no, the boy was still just a boy at the end of the day and Juzo knew better than to toss him to the veritable wolves that were Zabuza's eastern half of the base.

Zabuza had applied himself to his task faster and better than the Hozuki prodigy currently was. While he sneaked in through sludge pipes or a well or whatever, and was faced with a yard brimming with the Named Samurai's tenders, militia and a handful of Samurai as well. Zabuza on the other hand walked right through the eastern gate, fed over three dozen fools poison aplenty and killed the remaining.

He was sure he'd crippled the forts fighting force single-handedly and without so much as a single flashy Ninjutsu cast. Just his will and his steel.

Mangetsu openly glared at him with gritted teeth, "If you weren't blind you'd notice there are more mili-"

Zabuza lurched out, zigzagging through the thirty or so militia men still arming themselves to face Mangetsu. His wakizashi tore tendons, sliced open throats and his kunai buried in skulls, open backs and disfigured faces as he danced in-between what was little more than a peasant army.

Satiated by the abject terror in their eyes, Zabuza stopped his spree right in front of another spearman. His silent, heavy breathing and bloody grin brought the man to wet himself. Zabuza walked the trembling man to the wall, smiling even as he fashioned the spear against him. Zabuza pushed it aside with one finger and slowly sunk his kunai in the man's gut. The spear clattered to the ground and the man gave a breathless yelp as he gripped Zabuza's arm haplessly.

"You make excuses for failing the easiest tasks, these weak fools are asking to die, if you can't see that I wonder how much more you'll disappoint Lord Fourth." Zabuza mused out loud, basking in how the remnants of the militia stood paralyzed, not daring to move and yet wishing to all the same.

"You don't know me, you're just a demon and-"

"And that's why you lost to me, a demon is what this village wants, it is hell after all." As the spearman blood ran warm over Zabuza's murderous hand, he smirked at Mangetsu over his shoulder, finding the boy ignoring those militias who have woken from their stupor and fled. "Even now you fail the task. Have you wondered why I'm here, on this mission and specifically with you and a legendary swordsman? You don't think it's a coincidence do you?"

Mangetsu narrowed his eyes, "Nothings ever a coincidence in my life. I know why you're here. Competition isn't it? Matriarch Megumi wants you to challenge me to more, I'm not worried, you are twice of me and still less."

Zabuza's smile fell to a scowl, "You think you're better just because of some stupid clan technique? Ninjutsu? Ha, your privilege makes you complacent and that's why I'm here. Mummy Megumi wants me to challenge you, ha! No, Lord Fourth himself asked for me, he sent you to retrieve me. And we're here for a mission only Juzo and I are needed to accomplish, you lot are just extras."

Mangetsu only shifted his weight as he folded his arms and smirked, "Hit a cord did I? Low caste scum."

Zabuza's blood boiled. He reaffirmed his grip on the wakizashi as he roared forward, "I'll show you scum!"

Mangetsu braced himself, double wielding kunai and setting his stance to receive. But before Zabuza can lift his weapon the fort's tower explodes with chakra, shattering the multiple windows on each level down the tower and defenestrating a familiar looking shinobi.

The body soared, crashed and rolled off three roofs before spilling off and landing between Mangetsu and Zabuza bleeding from a cut through the centre. The orange haired youth was the Funato Chuunin that'd accompanied Juzo up to face the Named Samurai, though from the way he scrunched his face in soundless agony, rasping for help closing the wound or even just a painkilling pill, Zabuza knew the Named Samurai was a tad more than a Chuunin could chew.

He and Mangetsu exchanged vile glares in sync, turned to the busted, trembling tower that suffered Juzo's murderous presence and then back to glaring at each other. Zabuza knew what the boy was thinking because it was the exact thought crossing his mind— go up there and take the Funato Chuunin's place helping Juzo end the only true foe in this costal fort.

The tower shuddered as Kubikiribocho sliced an unnatural opening, cutting down three broken windows before tearing horizontally and sending the bisected half falling over into the base below. As the ground shook and thundered Juzo's maniacal laugh bellowed through the tower's now open top.

Zabuza met Mangetsu's stare and again shared the same thought— It's better not to get in the way.

 

[Tim_Saian]

"It's been a while since we last discussed." Kinoto said with his softest smile, not that the Mizukage appreciated his effort. The young man went on sipping tea behind a sea of documents and stern looking folders, barely acknowledging Kinoto seated at the couch and table.

A long moment of silence passed with Kinoto shifting in his seat preparing to repeat the sentence and start the regular meetings of small talk going when the Mizukage looked up, seemingly burned his lip as he hissed, "Ah, huh, yes, has it?"

He quickly answered before he lost the Kage's attention, "Yes, it's been nearly two months since we sat like this, how is Lord Jiraiya's Tale of the Gutsy Ninja so far now?"

When the Lord of Root sent him to do his bidding in Kirigakure, Kinoto had imagined a different mission than what he's come to experience. Of course, there were the high, exciting developments, like his little ongoing friendship with the Lady Megumi, a powerful clan Matriarch in the Land of Water and Kirigakure.

But when it came to his true target, the Fourth Mizukage, everything was dull and unexciting. He should have been right at home here, in this environment the Mizukage curated for their meetings, after all, the Root held no need for emotion or stimulation beyond the scope of their mission.

However, Kinoto was of an older generation, his training was not so entrenched that he's abandoned the little pleasure of the unexpected or the amusement of novelty. The Mizukage provided neither.

For an hour or two they would talk about Konoha, the Fourth Hokage, the Third Hokage, the Copy Ninja and few others the Mizukage would have easily heard of or even come across in battle. Sometimes he would indulge Kinoto's questions about Kirigakure, food and culture, but he would only get as far as mundane information that could easily be scrapped off a single conversation with a peasant before the Mizukage would bring the conversation back to Konoha or how the plants from Lady Kushina's seeds were growing or how far he's read in any one of Lord Jiraiya's books.

It infuriated him but the most interesting, useful and surprising thing they'd learned about the man was that he was the Jinchuriki of the Three Tailed Beast. Though at the time they'd learned this the man had long since cut down on how often they spoke until a month had passed with Kinoto agonizing to know how much power and control the Mizukage had over the beast.

The fact that the Tailed Beast hadn't spawned from its seal that fateful night its chakra painted the night sky red and that he sat here without a seeming care or wound meant that the Mizukage had some control over the beast or some way to stave off its breaking the seal that imprisons it.

When Kinoto reported this he was aptly informed of the existence of one S-rank shinobi, Harusame and ordered to learn more. He was a mysterious man that appeared scarcely outside his Fuuinjutsu academy and obeyed only the Mizukage and his council, at least, according to the Lady Megumi.

He didn't need to reveal why he wanted to know about the man or what his next questions would be; she rejected them all and asked for something as outrageous as a second Byakugan with emphasis on them being a complete set.

Kinoto's training helped subdue the laughter that would have exploded out of him upon hearing her demands for learning what type of seal held the Three Tails within the Mizukage but he supposed she must have felt the same when he dared to even ask.

"Well, my apologies for that, Kinoto-san, I had no idea you enjoyed my company so." The Mizukage flashed him a wide, ignorant grin before his face bled of emotion as he turned an eye to the document in hand,

Kinoto had long given up on trying to determine what sort of personality the man had, if anything, he seemed to be constantly split between two or perhaps even three personas whenever they spoke. He was the stoic, focussed general, the bright and optimistic leader, and then the bloodthirsty Jinchuriki with ambitions beyond Kinoto's scope of knowing.

He is a danger. Such an unpredictable man wielding power as he does was bound to make enemies easily and by the looks of his desk and the activity in the tower, it was obvious this Mizukage had already made a fair bit of enemies.

"It's unfortunate then that tonight will be your last in Kiri."

His sudden words and poor wording had Kinoto's heart leap into his throat and his chakra spike defensively. He settled himself and caught the Mizukage smirking down at him, "Why is that?"

"Must there be a reason? All good things come to an end and well, you've had a good time in Kirigakure, yes?"

A cloistered time. Kinoto inwardly grumbled but knew Konoha would be little different, he was not a shinobi anyone would like to see on a loose leash. He gave an eye smile and nodded, "Quite so, yes, I suppose the time to return home has come after all. It would be best if Kirigakure could address its war without Konoha shinobi loitering about."

The Mizukage didn't miss his directness but he simply smiled, leaned back and retrieved a scroll from a cupboard. It was silk with a gloss that told of power and authority, its handles were golden and a blue ribbon was pinned with the Mizukage's signature stamp. That was a scroll for his betters.

"I have something for Minato, take this to him and he alone, do you understand me?" The Mizukage asked, holding the scroll up as he spoke and watched Kinoto approach.

"Of course, Hokage-sama will receive it the moment I arrive." Kinoto said and quickly moved to collect the scroll, yet the Mizukage held on to it.

"I know who you serve, Root-nin, more than the Lady Megumi." The Mizukage suddenly seeing through him so thoroughly left Kinoto startled, though he'd sooner bite his tongue than visibly confirm it. The Mizukage narrowed his eyes at him and commanded again, "For Minato, first and foremost, I will know if it's been opened before."

Finally, the Kage let Kinoto have the scroll. Having been so exposed and veritably banished from Kirigakure, Kinoto found a well of fearless courage rise within him and a question lingered on his tongue. "What is it?"

Yagura looked up from the documents he'd immediately turned back to and said with an amused scoff, "Let's just say I'm eager to tour."

 

[Tim_Saian]

There were a lot of developments in the village but very little required my personal attention all the time. As Mizukage my place was behind the desk and at worse underneath a war camp tent, only in the direst times would I be asked to grace the field of battle and I was content to take advantage of the time and space that left me.

Something about war, no matter how insignificant the opponent, made me eager to get stronger and end it in one fell swoop. I recognized it's what lead to my prodigious debut in the Third Shinobi War but here, in the Daimyo's civil squabbles the stand isn't mine to usurp, at least not yet.

I doubted there'd be a need for anyone beyond the Swordsmen, Jounin-Chuunin squads and my dedicated ANBU waiting to pull the trigger on Baron Watanabe and Tetsuya's kidnapping. Once there was an opportunity to nab those two all the violence would become redundant, for now though the violence raged on without me to even witness it.

In an effort to fulfil the 'get stronger' furnace of energy within me, I used my self-given day off from the office to delve into the carton of Fuuinjutsu texts and scrolls Harusame had delivered the very same day I requested them. He was excited to watch my growth and left a note pointing out what topics I should start with and where I should expect a challenge.

After three hours of shutting myself in the Mizukage library within the Tower I let out a groan, stretched my stiff muscles and smacked my lips as the bore of ancient Fuuinjutsu masters and the dust of scroll surely as old as them began to run me hungry.

As per Harusame's suggestions I started out at the very beginning; theoretical study. Well, actually, the true beginning was chakra control and understanding as with all facets of jutsu, but I wasn't going to waste my time reviewing academy work I'd already become second nature with.

The theoretical study included learning the thousand and more kanji and symbols used to practice even the barest Fuuinjutsu. Understanding the meaning and principals behind them was crucial even before getting to practicing the right draw strokes for each.

I felt like overwhelming work because it looked so dense and I was a bit discouraged to continue after the hour mark passed; I was the Mizukage, there was a ton of other things I could be overseeing personally right now. But that was just an excuse, looking for a reason to procrastinate what I immediately found out was a patterned language.

Sure, there were some symbols that stumped me and had nothing to do with the first pattern I identified but like with most languages there were symbols, words and such that held special status. It was no different here; a recurring symbol was that of 'bind', which seems obvious considering the subject, but then because of the subject that symbol only means to bind a small living thing no larger than a rat if I understood what I was reading.

Using other 'bind' kanji in place of that would cause the seal to fail woefully. There were set paradigms to the language of seals and as I quickly got bored and hungry, I read ahead to find out these paradigms can only be customized or recreated by a fluent master.

Before the past three hours I would've continued to claim I learned how to craft paper bombs during the war but now I see I merely memorized one specific pattern of paper bombs. There were a multitude of seals for paper bombs and even the single one I knew, at the moment, I couldn't identify all the properties and functions of the kanji willing it to explode.

However, it inspired me to continue working. I'd feel especially good once I understood what I was blindly scribbling onto seal paper. And even better once I could understand the little scribbles that poked out on the Tower, though that might take a while longer than my most pressing goals for picking up Fuuinjutsu.

I couldn't sense either Yin or Yang chakra from the little classwork I skipped to but that was to be expected, I'd barely managed to seal the pencil and eraser for a minute before the seal broke open and I had to pick apart some unholy combination of lead and eraser dust from the grinded sawdust of the pencil.

It was a little funny because I'd done everything to detail instruction but apparently that was the point of the very first bit of classwork the scroll on sealing objects gave— failure and its consequences. It helped keep me cautious going forward but I couldn't help thinking about how much damage an intentionally botched seal could cause.

I was some ways away from intentionally breaking my seals though, right now I merely focussed on memorizing a handful of kanji and symbols that I'd be using to practice until I felt confident enough to move onto areas I was truly interested in— Binding and Barrier Seals.

Much like my favouritism with the [Water Release: Water Prison] I was intrigued by the possibility of rendering my enemies immobile before they've even had a chance to raise a kunai. Once I got bored with my start at the basic storage seals I flipped over to learning about binding seals.

As I still restricted myself to the theoretical with a few classworks, it didn't take more than two hours for the symbols and kanji I'd memorized from storage seals to become redundant. But that was okay, I felt like I'd made a lot of progress already even if this was what Harusame considered novice level in his Academy.

When it came to binding seals there was a lot of debate and discourse over the ethics of imprisoning living binds to certain extents. Back then it was some cause of commotion to even bind a prisoner to his cell with Fuuinjutsu, many called it demonic, cruel and unnecessary. Now it's merely standard protocol.

Still, there were some points of contention that were inherited today, chakra binding seals being one of those, after all, it was one thing to bind a man but to bind his chakra was to steal a part of him, wasn't it?

I felt a little icky reading these parts as I freshly recall my standing orders for the Kaguya clan. The Bloodline seals were more or less chakra seals when I thought about it. It barred their chakra from moving and growing a particular way, essentially robbing them of what should be a natural part of their existence.

Unfortunately for both myself and the Kaguya, Kirigakure wasn't ready to have even a single one of them running around unleashed. Reina Yuki was working as a friendly face for them and I supported her efforts as Mizukage as much as I could, not that it did much. The memories of the Kaguya attack were still fresh in the populace, the property damage even was yet to be completely undone.

I let out a deep breath and pulled my thoughts away from them. In time they and the Yuki would be an inseparable part of Kirigakure and its denizens would have difficulty picturing the village without them. It was all a matter of time.

"Yagura-sama."

Junichi's voice startled me even though I'd sensed him come in about twenty minutes ago. I looked over my shoulder to him and he smiled sheepishly with a scroll in hand, "Owl-san asked to deliver this to you, sorry, I should have waited."

I shut my eyes and rubbed my temples as I grasped the scroll. I knew Junichi had done little but prepare himself to utter those very words during the twenty minutes he lingered so I didn't disparage him, I only wished he were a bit braver and thus, more efficient; I could have gotten the scroll twenty minutes ago.

Unravelling and reading it brought me a satisfied smile to my lips. Juzo's team was spearheading the war effort it and I looked forward to getting more reports like it from Kisame and Fuguki before the ships with our liberation forces arrived on the islands.

My stomach let a low growl and I decided, "Let's go get lunch, Junichi, my treat."

"Really? We can visit the open grill place that just opened, I hear they're really good."

"Are they now? Well, why not, I love me some grilled meat."

 

[Tim_Saian]

The crashing waters failed to drown out Kisame's impatient thoughts but he bore through the slog of inactivity well, better than Samehada at least. His weapon, partner, extension and proof of his strength trembled for an opportunity to feast and he resonated well with the sentiment. Kisame had come all the way back to Kurokami-jima with haste because he knew that the island had more subjects for his skill than anywhere else.

He'd barely had the chance to give Samehada a taste of the many roaming armies because he wasn't in charge of the mission back then, that cautious, slow Yuki was. She wasn't here to drag on his coattrails now but he was still burdened with the fat, protocol ass-stuffed Jounin and Chuunin that made up his team.

Kisame sat by the edge of the waterfall, his teeth gnashing as he and another Jounin waited for the pair of Chuunin to return from what should be the final scouting trip. The Yuki's owl, Denka, had delivered the Mizukage's signoff for their liberating operation to begin. And so even though they'd done scouts nearly every day since yesterday his fellow Jounin decided to err on the side of caution.

What's with everyone these days? So spooked. Kisame understood to some extent his fellows were tired of war, the Third Shinobi war had just ended but a year now. Many were healing and many more were mourning.

Kisame had no one to mourn but Kirigakure's definitive lack of a victory against any one of the other hidden villages. But there would be victory today, he would assure it.

Finally, amongst the growing forest that followed the river split from the waterfall, Kisame saw the Chuunin sprinting back. They covered the distance up the waterfall in quick bursts and landed by his side, "Well? Is it the same as yesterday or has something changed drastically?"

The Chuunin shared a look before the fairer kunoichi spoke, "Nothing drastic, but there is a second chakra presence a significant one, enough to be another Named Samurai."

Kisame scoffed, "Then we continue."

"Wait, there are three watch towers and all of them are active now, they aren't taking shifts anymore. I think words got out."

"Already?" The Jounin, an orange haired man from the Funato clan, "It couldn't be so quick, we just got Mizukage-sama's approval." The man looked over at Kisame for some input as mission lead, a position he endlessly reminded Kisame he held any time he was found lacking.

Again Kisame scoffed, "Whether there's a leak or not, whether they see us coming or not, their fate was sealed from the moment they failed to quietly kill the Daimyo and steal the throne. We move in, now."

"What about Lord Yakubi-!" The Jounin yelled out but Kisame had already thrown himself down the waterfall.

He plummeted with a massive splash but did not resurface. With Samehada and the current helping him, he swam along through the river and all the way downstream until the first port legs came into his water view.

Rising from the water onto it startled the fisherman and child sitting with the bucket of catches. The child's eyes became saucers while his fisherman father narrowed at Kisame, he quickly began muttering some sort of apology for existing but Kisame was already away.

The first thing ahead was his target; a large guard post that took up several metres with a gate, station and stable both out and within the Kurokami-jima's largest city settlement. Filing in and out one by one was a horde of civilians, merchants, children and entourages of wealthy citizens come for a stay.

There weren't any other entrances but the position was watched from all cardinal points via sky scaling towers and binoculars, if the gates were attacked for any reason those towers would empty themselves of Samurai and militia in hastened response.

And that was exactly Kisame's intention when he cleaved the outside guard post in two. Samehada fuelled with his chakra demolished the building with ease and soon the nervous onlookers, travellers, merchants and returning city dwellers dispersed with their screams sounding even greater alarm than his destructive swing.

His Jounin subordinate had made emphasis on the Mizukage's intent on making this a short war, further stating that short meant minimal destruction. Kisame, of course, understood the sentiment, but Kurokami-jima wasn't going to be the only war front and right now, it was in the hands of the enemy.

Their reaction was swift, not as swift as to pre-empt or even encourage Kisame with a pouring of numbers but swift nonetheless. Twenty-four spearmen flooded out of the streets to surround him even before the broken guard post was fully behind him.

Kisame swung Samehada unto his shoulder as he shifted his relaxed weight and flicked his headband, "You all, are you sure you want to die?" He was boiling to lurch at them but it was courteous to give a weak opponent chance to surrender, Kisame could be that patient.

"You will regret this, shinobi!" one that seemed to be their captain charged with a roar that carried through his thoroughly frightened troupe.

Kisame swung liberally, scarcely feeling the weight of men as Samehada tore and smashed their bodies away, draining their entirety of chakra in a single touch. They died from sudden chakra exhaustion as much as trauma from gutted stomachs, punctured lungs and ripped limbs.

The advantage of their towers quickly proved itself as their forces replenished almost as quickly as Kisame mowed them down with cackling precision. Twenty, forty, sixty corpses laid dead, soaking Kisame and staining the street in blood. Samehada rumbled for more.

Kisame lurched forward and swung through a clutch that had begun to flee, he dashed back to the foes still roaring fear, terror and rage as they charged to certain death. Kisame danced through the city as bells rung, alarm singing through the air alongside a salvo of flaming arrows that descended on his head.

He dashed, stepped and batted the paltry things away but widened his eyes as dozens of the fallen and dodged arrows ignited, the distinctive red lining of paper bombs wrapped around the stem brought some heartbeat to the dull battle up till now.

Engulfed by the explosion, Kisame sauntered out of the smoke screen, part of his tactical gear was blown apart enough for the skin underneath to be glimpsed. He'd lost an entire sleeve to the explosion but it simply made it easier for Samehada's tail to snake up his arm, fuelling him with the chakra of his slaughtered foes.

He grinned up at the roofs and leapt to bring the ingenious archers the same doom but an armoured man, a Samurai met him mid-air. He delivered a timely kick to Kisame's shoulders, refreshingly powerful enough to thunder a spike of pain in the offended part as he crashed back to the blood burnt crater he walked out of.

The Samurai landed on a rooftop, glaring down at Kisame as he drew his blade, "So Kirigakure has seen fit to join, hmph, no matter, the war is almost done, another month and your Kage will be bowing to the true Daimyo, Tetsuya-sama!"

Kisame got up but even as he did yet another Samurai landed beside the first, he grinned up at both, "You two are you Named?"

They regarded him with disgust, their colours and clan flags intricately designed along their armour and inscribed on the very blades they wielded. The one that kicked Kisame said, "I am Kato of the Water Dragon style."

"I am Shino, the Firebreather."

Kisame rounded his shoulders, little pain remained from Kato's kick to his chest but hopefully he'd give Kisame a fair challenge before dying, "I don't know either one of you so you must be weak. You have only one chance to surrender, this is it."

Kato and Shino shared a look before leaping down to approach Kisame with their blades drawn and their stances set, "You will know us well, shinobi." Kato said causing Samehada to tremble in anticipation as Kato's chakra visibly seeped into his blade.

"Oh, I'll enjoy this."

---

Good binge I hope. See you next Friday folks!
If you wish to support myself and the library, as well as read ahead click here

 

[Tim_Saian]

Midoriwara was a hot island. It's semi-active volcano sent plumes of smoke and steam into the atmosphere every passing hour and only calmed down after the inevitable heavy rainfalls. It was those rains that let Team Fuguki assault its western coastal fort without a single effort of the defenders making a difference.

That was a week ago, today the fort was theirs to defend. The main invasion force had arrived and helped complete repairs on the damage the fort had taken during Team Fuguki's siege of it. They came ashore with enough shinobi to hold one fort and prepare an attack on the other primary targets within the island.

The war had only just begun and they had the upper hand. There wasn't one person amongst them that feared failure…except for Rina. Unlike the others who were assigned to further the greater war effort, to demolish enemy structures, lay traps for the Samurai army bound to come and face them head on in battle, Rina had a different mission.

Before they left the Mizukage handed her a second B-rank mission scroll and instructed her to begin only after Fuguki had given the clear. Her mission was unfortunately not as simple or straightforward as 'defeat the enemy', no, she was charged with securing the entire reason for Kirigakure joining the war now; Kekkei Genkai.

She would have three Genin and a Chuunin medic under her charge for this mission and it would be the first she ever commanded. Rina had no opinions of her own on Bloodline wielders, she'd heard her grandmother curse and despise them, and her father seethe at the supposed dangers they presented, but she'd never so much as experienced a Bloodline wielder and for a long time she thought that might be a good thing.

If there's such a danger that her father the Mizukage was concerned, then she and everyone she loved was better off never encountering them. However, she stood now as captain of a mission that her father's successor believed would change and strengthen Kirigakure forever and it would be all thanks to her finding the Kekkei Genkai clans of Midoriwara and ensuring their protection.

Despite the division in her heart, Rina felt good about this mission. Sure, as far as she knew it was the only one in this war that even had a chance to fail if the poor signs she's observed have anything to say do with it. But it was her chance to be useful to the Mizukage, for the longest time he hadn't spared a minute to train or instruct her in anything and hadn't so much as relied on her company as he used to.

Rina didn't want to marry the man as her grandmother intended nor did she want to spy on him like she plotted, but the fact that he was so disinterested in her that even her grandmother's schemes couldn't bring him to look her any longer than it takes to finish a cup of tea hurt in a way she couldn't begin to comprehend or address.

But everything seems possible again with this mission, he would look at her with the same trust, reliability and expectation she saw in the gaze he fixed the likes of Mangetsu and even the low caste Zabuza. She would bring him exactly what he's asked and more, she would have him recognize that while she might not be a prodigy or a blood lusted demon, she was a reliable kunoichi.

She looked up from her map and took the left turn at the crossroads. Her Genin followed with packs of food, water and medicine for when they found the Kekkei Genkai clan the baron of Midoriwara had driven into hiding.

The island was well maintained and had sections of lush vegetation cramped between roads. The island was bursting with a variety of flowers and even fruit bearing trees like she'd never seen back home, some of the fruits she recognized and others were as strange as the rocky cliffs that were punctured by geyser pockets.

The volcano wasn't the only source of heat on the island, the geyser pockets forced many communities away from ideal ground to perch and build in awkward positions, like the hillside hamlet town she was leading her Genin to. The last village they'd come across was almost a day's walk away and they were shinobi at war, haste was their business.

She shook her head. It was easy to see how rifts and division from sheer distance could feed apathy for what the Baron of Midoriwara had done to the Bloodline wielders but she couldn't help but wonder if there truly was no alternative.

Perhaps this is the way now, Yagura-sama's way.

After a couple more hours of cutting through brilliant stretches of flowers and lush vegetation, abandoned farmlands and burnt ones, and a little shinobi manoeuvres across and atop the side of the hill, Rina's team found the village.

It was tucked just on the edge of a cliff that had suffered some tremors in the past decade as below the lowest built cliff house was a bunch of rock crushed and shattered houses. They were mixed in and time had done well to fade away the signs that a rockslide or earthquake had occurred, loosened the non-existent foundation the houses were built on and crushed them under the weight of a shedding mountain.

Still, despite past tragedies the hamlet town continued to live, build and grow there. Rina was in no place to question their wilful ignorance and so as the guards cowered in the presence of so many shinobi she put it all aside for her mission.

"Is there a village head we can talk to about the Nettou clan?" Rina asked, putting on a soothing smile for the guard's sake.

He blushed and nodded, "What is your business…if I may ask?" he said as though if Rina said no he'd simply nod along and lead the way regardless.

She gestured at herself, her fellow Chuunin who was more or less a Genin themselves and the three actual Genin that had complained all through about how disappointed they were that they weren't accosted by enemy Samurai on the way.

"We're here to offer refuge, Kirigakure is." The guard tried not to look relieved as he shared a look with his partner and waved them in, "It's true then? You sheltered them?"

Rina could recognize panic well and it was plenty in his eyes, she nodded and kept up her silent smile as he kept his lips sealed. The town was quite sparse of people and though it was just a little town almost all the stores were shut with dust coating their doors.

"Where is everyone?" One of her Genin asked sourly kicking a rock, "I'm hungry, I thought they'd be a ramen bar or something at least."

It was a fair question and one her fellow Chuunin graciously answered, "It's wartime, many of the civilians living here have either been conscripted or bought into fighting the war. Isn't that so?"

The guard shuddered as he felt our attentions on him, "Yes, but we have no grudge against shinobi, we just try to live."

It was another reminder that the war had begun long before Kirigakure even had a say about it as it does now. Rina looked around, finding only a few adults on the streets working their trades with no customers, desiccated children and animals. The contrast between the island and its inhabitants was clear.

As the guard brought them up the steps of the largest building in the town, a relatively small home where Rina was coming from— she decided with a firm certainty that her mission wasn't just about finding the Nettou, but helping the islands recover.

"Don't worry, Kirigakure is here now, everything will be better before you know it."

---

Hiya!

 

[Tim_Saian]

Rina pinched her Genin still, she understood that children, boys especially were bundles of energy but he was slowly driving her nuts, "Sit still and shut up." She hissed in their ears, pointedly glaring at the main culprit of the three as their team sat in wait of the village head.

They waited in a medium sized room with only cushioned tatami mats for furniture, a fire pit and several baskets of coal, cloth and some other inconsequential items littered in the room.

The space smelled like old people which had Rina prepare to be met by a council of oldies as besides the mats her team sat on there was an arrange set around the rectangular fire pit and at the opposite end was a couch with many pillows.

Only a few minutes had passed before three maids filed out with a tray of fruits, bread but not much else to host the shinobi. Rina mouthed words of thanks and helped herself to a pear shaped fruit. It was one of the many variety growing throughout the island and tasted like a sour apple with the tender flesh of an orange.

"Is this all? I wanted some beef ramen damn it." The overactive boy said and if Rina hadn't just taken a bite she'd have chewed him right out again.

Fortunately, his own Genin mate helped in that regard, "Enough, Sakai, this isn't some D-rank mission."

Sakai snorted as he chewed, juice poured out the sides of his mouth as he spoke, "Yeah but it sure feels like. Not even a single bandit or vagabond to put in their place!" He slashed and head-butted invisible enemies.

Rina's team was made up of three Genin, Sakai being the only boy of the three and currently the only annoyance. The girls, Akari and Haruka, hopeful twin specialists in Genjutsu from the Karatachi clan were much tolerable. They shared some of Sakai's disappointments at not being an active part of the war but accepted the fact with more sensibility that the boy.

Her fellow Chuunin, the Funato Medic-nin growled at Sakai, "Another word from you and I'll put you in your place."

Sakai stiffened and sat upright. Rina smiled and mouthed a thanks to her fellow Chuunin who nodded curtly before his eyes narrowed at the elderly man entering with an entourage of four other middle aged villagers.

Rina stood and her team stood with her, the old man had some fat to him, more so than any one child she'd seen in the streets of his village but Rina squashed the budding presumption that the man was starving his denizens before it could become a worm in her thoughts.

He sat and Rina bowed her head ever so slightly in respect of his age and place as their host. The old man and his entourage found their places, he sat on the single couch while they took the mats at his feet.

Coughing, the man groaned as he greeted, "I welcome you…Kirigakure shinobi, my village has…little to offer but we are not stingy, help yourself to fruit."

Rina and her team kept standing under the curious inspection of the old man and his council. Rina stepped forward and cut to the chase, "Thank you for your hospitality, I am Rina Hozuki, a Chuunin of Kirigakure and we do not mean to impose our presence on your village any longer than necessary."

The village head coughed in response, his council continued staring in mild awe and obvious fright. The youngest of them who sat the furthest from the village head fixed her with a suspecting gaze.

She was used to these reactions. As Chuunin she'd done enough missions within the Land of Water and without to be acclimated to the awe civilians felt in the presence of shinobi. Sometimes her being a woman helped disarm them but that wouldn't work on this audience, perhaps if she were as butter cheeked as her Genin but then that could lead to being underestimated which was another hazard of its own.

"We've come in search of a clan, the Nettou clan, wielders of the Boil Release." It was unlikely they'd understand the terminology but any chance was a good one. "The settlements before yours pointed us your way, said there's a chance the Nettou might have found shelter here or within your territory?"

Murmurs spread through the council, they whispered and passed their thoughts through strained facial expressions and gestures that Rina didn't grasp entirely at first.

Finding something no one wanted anything to do with the entire island as part of the search area was a feat shinobi are capable of given time but Rina was short on that commodity. Yagura intended on concluding the war within a month and Kirigakure's entire shinobi body was pressed to that time line, dragging it out any further would be a stain on their worth.

Around two weeks had passed now and if Rina didn't want to spend months searching with her team of stubborn Genin or face the criticizing gaze of her grandmother, enlisting the help of the locals was the best strategy she could employ.

The murmurs hushed as the village head heaved and strained through blood wet coughs, Rina winced as did his council. He waved away the maids that inevitably came rushing before turning to Rina with narrowed eyes, "My village…we know of the Nettou, the clan you speak of." He sneered out the words, flashing bloodstained teeth.

After passing through more or less, similar minded villages, Rina expected this, "That's why we are here, the Nettou will no longer be your problem to suffer."

He snorted into a cough, "They are not the only things we suffer nor can the suffering they've inflicted be forgotten."

Rina pursed her lips, "I understand that, which is why we are here. You have suffered a long war and we will see that it ends."

The old man shook his head, "Before that, what can Kirigakure's shinobi do for me and my village?"

Again, Rina was least surprised. It was a rather civilian attitude to look upon any and every shinobi and see a standard of wealth. Of course, being a shinobi paid well, especially if you were good at it and many shinobi were classed among the richer in society even if they had multiple dependents.

A shinobi asking a civilian for help was an opportunity for massive gains along with tremendous risk, but Rina doubted this village nor it's sickled village head had much left to risk. It was the same with every visited settlement after all and her team hadn't left any without gifting or trading to the villages benefit.

Rina fixed him with a cold look, an imitation of what she'd observed from Mangetsu and Yagura but even without flared chakra her presence and changed demeanour was enough to put all on edge, "Plenty…if your information proves true and useful, starting now for a general direction to look my subordinate can ease that cough of yours, what do you say?"

 

[Tim_Saian]

"Let me do that for you, Yagura-sama." Reina Yuki said only after snatching the sweeping brush from my grasp. I thanked her and allowed myself to relax as she swept up the remainder from my explosive attempts at creating my own multifunctional seal.

Rice, gunpowder, and tofu had exploded out of my failure, well, it wasn't technically all a failure because I managed to trigger the explosive effect of the seal when it's faced with tampering. I intended for it to explode with some effect but the presence of gunpowder in the seal was meant to magnify that explosion to radical steps.

Of course, my mansion's dojo wouldn't be the place to suffer such magnitudes and I was simply at the early stages of this brazen idea of mine so the explosion that would trigger would be small and easily diffused if needed. Still, it exploded but only to eject the contents of the storage part of the seal while the explosive part sizzled and burned in rather anticlimactically.

Nevertheless, it had made a mess of the dojo and while Reina was here reporting her progress no one else could be, not even the maid that helped keep my practice area and test animals clean and fed.

I glanced at the menagerie of animals I'd acquired for [Bind Seals] and the occasional daring at higher forms of Chakra Sealing. Monkeys, a ton of snakes, rats, hawks and I had a leopard locked up somewhere on the grounds. It was more than plausible to seal living creatures in other living creatures and Jinchuriki like myself were simply the epitome of that Fuuinjutsu practice.

Still, the art was a tough one to master as sealing a living thing meant splitting their being into what I've learned well to be Yin and Yang, their spirit and their physical. Success would mean tapping into Yin chakra and becoming familiar with the energy Isobu insists I'll require to advance training with his chakra.

Reina threw the rubbish away and kept the brush aside before submitting herself in a right up posture. She didn't look like she brought good news but I had quickly learned to stop expecting that as Mizukage.

"Sir?" she said, asking for permission to begin her report.

I set the animal squeaking and wing flapping to background noise and my fidgeting ideas for multifunctional seals to a halt as I nodded, "Tell me."

"The Kaguya have begun opening up, little by little. I've sent ten couples away to start living by themselves, they are very…attached to each other so I call that a success. The growing physical distance between living families is helping the community develop instead of simply managing. They're gradually testing the bounds of their freedom but have only explored around thirty percent of the compound space given to them, still, the space is quickly being filled up with activity and the independent adults have even begun strolling into the Yuki side of the Estate.

"Helpful as the Karatachi have been, they aren't especially friendly with either Kaguya or Yuki, they're curt, to the point wearing a façade even the children can see through. But, their help is appreciated." Reina said with some heat at the edge of her words.

I couldn't blame her and I couldn't blame my clan members either. They'd got roped into helping the Kaguya and Yuki grow into themselves because Uncle and I asked them to. But like Uncle had confessed to me, I haven't been especially tender and dear to my own clan, not to say I was hostile but I was just as unapproachable to them as I was to every other clan.

It was reasonable they wouldn't be jumping at their feet to cater to a Bloodline wielding clan, two that are under immense scrutiny by the general populace for criminal incidents during my reign. In an odd way I believe my clan was nicer to the Kaguya than the Yuki.

I inhaled and asked, "What about the Yuki?"

Reina shifted her weight, "They're in the same position but…they've had enough of it. They aren't like the Kaguya who are overwhelmed by the smallest luxuries, the Yuki, they're accused and they have too much pride to be gilded prisoners." Her eyes danced past mine as she said this, testing the bounds of her free speech. I said nothing and let her continue.

"Right now the Karatachi handle every facet of both clans, from feeding, housing, even tending to the Estate to ensure everything is working. They aren't ignorant of the ANBU still watching them either but much like the Kaguya they are grateful for Yagura-sama's mercies and don't want to squander it."

I raised a brow at her, "Squander it?"

Reina straightened even further as she urged a request, "They've always earned their keep, most are shinobi but even the civilians are too prideful to simply…exist. They want to work for themselves and are even open to socializing with the Kaguya, mostly those that were previously merchant class but they don't want to be caged birds kept under…pardon my tongue, Yagura-sama."

She fell to a knee and bowed her head but I wasn't the least bit concerned and usually, neither would she. The Yuki clan had suffered a paralyzing blow to their prestige and one that only grew steeper with Lord Funato's assassin wearing the face of Shizu Yuki, the courage clan's very plausible martyr.

With a bored tone I asked, "What kind of jobs do they want?"

"Just simple ones, things that could help them feel useful if not to Kirigakure then to this slice of it." Reina had come prepared and as she stood she produced a scroll from her pouch and handed it over. I unfurled it and quickly understood the table of numbers and affiliations to be a population census for everyone living within my Estate, specifically the clans themselves.

With it I discovered there were more adult Yuki which made sense given the initial population was formed from the arrest of every single name on the list Hidaki and Shizu Yuki had written in compliance. The immediate families of those named Yuki were then brought along to live with them here, wives, children, siblings or dependents that lived together.

It was the fairest situation so as not to split the Yuki clan in two but also not to undermine the effect of their separation. Like cutting out a tumorous growth.

The Kaguya on the other hand were mostly old people well past the age of learning anything useful to Kirigakure or even themselves, retirement age basically. The youth and children they had were saddled with the responsibility of tending to their ailing family which was a wasted resource frankly but one of the table's columns included a few mentions of what jobs the Yuki had in mind to work.

Cleaning, gardening, communal cooking sounded like a pleasant idea to bring the two clans to mingle and some wanted to set up shops as they still had limited access to the funds they had before their lives changed.

I set the scroll down and held my chin in thought, "Hm, jobs…might not be a bad idea at all. It would help both clans grow comfortable around each other and set the mood for the others yet to come, yes…cooperation and perhaps eventually a giant clan of Kekkei Genkai with offspring wielding unpredictable power."

Reina had a scrunched up and moderately disgusted look when I turned to her and said, "Draw up a plan for it, I want the two clans to break out of their shells, the children to grow up with each other. Make it feasible and likely to accommodate more clans."

The Yuki ANBU Commander wiped the look on her face with a bare trace as she nodded and rolled up the scroll, "Of course, you will have a report on your desk soon."

I nodded in thanks and though I hadn't dismissed, the intention was there yet she lingered, "Speak." I said, free thought was of absolute importance to me when it came to my shinobi, I wouldn't tolerate mutiny of course but discourse with subordinates of her rank and level was worth every word.

She exhaled, not hesitating once given permission, "Yagura-sama, do you intend to force the Yuki to copulate with the Kaguya in hopes of producing a stronger Kekkei Genkai?"

 

[Tim_Saian]

"Huh? I don't care who the Kaguya or Yuki have sex with." I said, not caring enough to be use a polite synonym, "Why did you make that face? What are you thinking?"

I could already tell by her demeanour and vibe that she wasn't in support of me breeding the prime genetic Kekkei Genkai with her clan as a basis but frankly, that couldn't be helped and it wasn't like I was certain it would result in such, I was hopeful though.

"I…speaking freely I don't like the idea of breeding the Yuki clan into another until our Bloodlines merge to produce something stronger. Not only would that put the Yuki clan at even more of a disadvantage it might eliminate what few of us still have the active bloodline. And as one of them I…I don't believe I'd enjoy having to copulate with someone just to fulfil a desire for stronger bloodlines even though it might eliminate mine and its history."

She had hesitated at the start but by the end her eyes were firm and challenging, she spoke the words and found that they made sense, resonated with her and perhaps even the other bloodline wielders I'd be making these decisions for.

I inhaled as I walked past her with a carrot to feed my bunny I said, "That is a valid point, Reina Yuki, but it's unfortunate you don't see that it is also the entire point of the Estate." Before she could think up a retort I asked, "What have you uncovered about the Kaguya and Swordsmen HQ attacks?"

I'd placed her in charge of investigating both attacks. The Kaguya matter may have died down but with the knowledge of how their clan truly operated before coming to Kirigakure and the story the Matriarch told about their mirror clan and defenders being lured by a shinobi. It was clear things there were far from settled, the culprit was still at large.

Reina about turns to face me at the animal cages, their chirps and coos for the carrots in my hands couldn't overshadow her loud, purposely projected voice, "None within the Sensor Division noted anything unusual the night of the Swordsmen attack. I personally questioned each and every one of the Mist Guard and all said nothing new or unusual slipped in through their managed territories."

The Mist Guard were the vaunted shinobi responsible for maintaining the cover of mist over Kirigakure. They were very well the reason behind the villages name and many were of the Funato clan. There was no reason any one of them would fail to report a breach even if it meant they'd face the music of their failure. The Mist Guard were honour bound to protect and shield Kirigakure from every outsider at every second of every day, I trusted their word.

Reina continued, "Any trace of a shinobi luring the Kaguya from Kurokami-jima all the way here is long gone unfortunately but given the Swordsmen attack I suspect both incidents are closely related."

I hummed in thought as I stepped away from the animals and studied Reina's terse features. She'd failed me yet again but I wasn't surprised, I was concerned but not surprised as I already knew the powers behind these incidents were beyond her knowing and would be well beyond mine if it weren't for Jason's memories.

"What do you think about Shizu Yuki? She was the one Lord Funato saw, the assassin." I asked, folding my arms at her.

Reina went cold and stoic, freezing up without giving a sliver of facial ticks to examine her emotions as she answered in ANBU mode, "It's impossible. Even though her corpse has been stolen from the grave Shizu Yuki is most definitely dead. This assassin merely used her face to further implicate the Yuki clan in dire circumstances."

I raised a brow at that and shifted my weight, "So you think the assassin meant to get caught? For their face to be seen and for us to know that it is Shizu Yuki?"

The Elite Jounin didn't give an inch, "Yes, these series of incidents have been nudging Kirigakure towards a certain direction and you said it yourself, Mizukage-sama, someone is trying to manipulate us."

I wasn't satisfied with the regurgitate of an answer so I pressed, "What if the assassin truly is Shizu Yuki? What if she found some way to avoid true death and elude us all, she had ample time to prepare I say. It would also answer how neither the Mist Guard nor the Sensor Division noticed an intruder, because there never was one."

Now I could see her jaw clench as she gritted her teeth, "With all due respect, Mizukage-sama, I killed Shizu Yuki myself, I delivered her body to her family a poor civilian husband and two children who now live within this Estate as pariahs. Shizu Yuki is dead because I didn't hesitate to carry out your orders, sir."

She was breathing slightly heavier than before, staunching a scream behind her throat and satisfying herself with boring an imaginary hole through my head. Rather than acquiesce I shrugged and pressed on, "Then explain this situation, Reina. How is it possible that someone not only infiltrated our village but did so without a single one of our defences going off until they'd made an attempt on a councillor's life. Particularly Lord Funato, the councillor most outspoken against the Yuki incident and even the Kaguya."

Reina bite her lip as she struggled to keep calm in the face of my sudden dress down, she made to speak but I kept laying it on thick, "And he saw her face, Shizu Yuki and at the same time her body disappeared from where it was buried in the main Yuki compound. I don't think it's out of the question to think someone in the Yuki, perhaps her husband learned a thing or two about Ninjutsu from her or even an undiscovered member of her courage clan. If not them then who, Reina? Who?"

Sick of it Reina blurt out in a raised, fury filled voice, "I don't know! I will find out but it was not the Yuki, we are innocent. I don't know how the assassin got in or even how they escaped, maybe this is someone that's capable of breaching our defences with ease or someone who is immune to our techniques, someone with a jutsu that lets them come and go unseen and undetected, someone that-!"

"Someone that's capable of escaping Ao's Byakugan even with him on tail." I said, finally helping her put two and two, "Someone that's capable of bypassing all securities, someone capable of killing the Sandaime."

Her mouth hung open and all brewing rage dispersed in a flash as she caught on to what I was implying, "You mean…"

I smiled, "Yes, someone that could be watching us, even now."

Reina's eyes darted around frantically looking for an unseen enemy, her senses on edge and chakra spiked as she drew closer to me as deeply ingrained ANBU instincts told her to protect her Kage.

I patted her shoulder as my smile grew, "This is the kind of threat we face, Reina, this is exactly why Kirigakure needs to cultivate strength through Bloodlines. Don't worry, the unseen won't go undetected for long."

---

Not to mansplain but I just want to emphasis that Jagura can get the results he's looking for without actively forcing the clans to...yknow, get down and dirty.