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"Stay alert, everyone. Don't let your guard down."
An Anbu captain from Kirigakure was the first to jump from the boat onto the shore, followed by other members of his squad.
"Captain... he's also a ninja from Kirigakure. Is it really necessary to treat him like this?" a female Anbu ninja glanced back at the person being carried on the shoulders of another Anbu member, a hint of concern in her voice.
"Watch your words. Kirigakure isn't far, and besides, the Third Mizukage is following us." The captain lowered his voice, turning to glare at the woman. "If you want to die, I won't stop you, but don't drag the rest of us down with you."
The female ninja clenched her fist, then thinking of their mission, she gave a serious nod.
As the Anbu member carrying the unconscious man passed by her, she couldn't help but steal a glance at him.
She had been in the Anbu for nearly a year now, and this mission was the hardest yet.
If not for the presence of the Third Mizukage, they probably wouldn't have been able to capture this person.
Although over this past year, her hands had been stained with much blood—some of it even from fellow villagers—she felt powerless to change it.
This was the "Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist."
The Third Mizukage, hunched over, passed by her as if she were invisible, as if the person being carried wasn't a human being, but a lump of gold.
After years of attrition, the number of fishing boats able to go to sea had been halved, and surrounding small villages, caught up in purging those with Kekkei Genkai, had fallen into internal strife.
The tragedies she'd heard of almost always involved these people—families having their doors locked from the outside while they slept soundly at night, followed by a great fire leaving nothing but charred remains; or using a man's wife and daughter as hostages to force him to take his own life, only to then violate the wife and daughter afterwards.
There were also orphans, tied with dog leashes in sewers by their own villages and left to fend for themselves.
"Kekkei Genkai" had become a forbidden term in Kirigakure.
The Fourth Mizukage, finding this still insufficient, issued an even more despicable order: denunciation.
Perhaps his original intention was to bring as many Kekkei Genkai users under control as possible. But it also created a serious problem: false accusations.
People who didn't possess Kekkei Genkai were killed because of false reports.
The weak were slaughtered, while those who truly wielded Kekkei Genkai chose to rebel.
The rift between the two sides grew wider and wider, to the point of being irreparable.
Thus, Kirigakure was no longer Kirigakure; it had become the true "Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist," where every breath of air and swirl of fog carried the scent of blood.
However, with both the Third and Fourth Mizukage present, Kirigakure had the power to eliminate those who refused to submit to this "discipline."
Some who couldn't stand this state of affairs wanted to resist, including powerful ninja like Zabuza, but in the end, they could only flee in haste.
Against this backdrop, it seemed there were hardly any promising young ninja left in Kirigakure.
No, perhaps there was one.
Mei Terumī...
But her influence was extremely limited, because even she couldn't control her own fate.
Lost in these thoughts, the female ninja unconsciously followed the others back into Kirigakure.
The village was eerily quiet. The villagers rarely smiled; when they did, it was forced. Upon seeing the Anbu ninja approaching, they immediately retreated into their homes.
When she first became an Anbu, seeing the villagers react this way made her feel ashamed. But now, her nerves had grown numb.
Upon returning to the village, the Third Mizukage vanished within moments.
This was consistent with his character.
After all, since his return, aside from the rare moments of reliability, he was mostly unreliable.
The female Anbu ninja thought this assessment might be somewhat inappropriate, but upon reflection, she found no flaw in it.
The group of five brought the unconscious ninja to the Anbu headquarters. Before they even had a chance to remove their masks, a middle-aged man practically *charged* into the room.
"Where is he?" The man's eyes swept quickly across the room, finally settling on the unconscious ninja. He let out a slight sigh of relief. "You've done well. Lock him in the prison. No one must know."
"Yes, sir!"
Every Anbu member responded with a sharp, clear voice.
Igawa Bu!
Compared to a few years ago, his physique had become more "ample." Not only did he have a double chin, but he was also broader and more solid, with no sign of sagging skin.
He seemed even younger.
The female ninja didn't have a good impression of Igawa Bu. She even believed he bore significant responsibility for Kirigakure's current state.
Two Anbu members took the unconscious ninja and left the room. Igawa followed them out, but at the door, he suddenly turned back to look at the three remaining inside. "Did you encounter any unexpected incidents on this trip? Any suspicious individuals?"
"No," the three replied in unison.
"Good... Remember, this mission is not to be leaked to anyone."
"Yes, sir!" The three nodded again.
Once Igawa was gone, one of the men raised a middle finger towards the empty corridor, then angrily slammed his mask onto the table. "Really, who does he think he is? Just because he's the department head, he can order us around like that. He's contributed nothing to the Anbu!"
The captain remained silent, instead turning to look at the female ninja who had removed her mask. "Are you heading home, Ruri?"
"Home?" Ruri smiled bitterly. "What home is left..."
"I heard about your brother... I'm sorry. To label him as a Kekkei Genkai user without evidence... Even though it was clarified later, it was already too late." The captain's voice was filled with regret.
"It's all in the past now." Ruri forced a smile onto her face.
After Midorima left Kirigakure, the village had undergone earth-shattering changes.
"It's all in the past now." She often used this phrase to comfort herself.
Then she witnessed the deaths of her brother and mother, witnessed the "cataclysmic change" in Kirigakure.
Perhaps the only one who could change Kirigakure was Mei Terumī. That was also the reason she persevered.
After all, even Mei Terumī needed people to cooperate with her.
"Mmm. Try to forget about today's events, okay?" the captain consoled.
"Captain, why is the village capturing him?" Akimoto Ruri asked, puzzled.
"It's the Mizukage's order. But we can probably guess. After all, the 'Six-Tails' originally belonged to Kirigakure. This is just reclaiming what's ours. Jinchūriki... what freedom do they really have?" The captain sighed.
Akimoto Ruri nodded. Since Yagura's sudden change in attitude, she wouldn't be surprised by any decision he made. But...
Was this really Yagura's decision? Why didn't the Mizukage summon them upon their return, but instead sent Igawa Bu?
Suddenly, she remembered that bounty poster—the one accusing someone of "colluding with foreign village ninja." The name on it was Igawa Bu.