Kitahara Kaede, Terumi i, and their accompanying Kirigakure shinobi were on their way back to the village.
The mission hadn't been particularly difficult—an A-rank request that they had wrapped up in a day and a half.
The other shinobi walked a few paces ahead of them. As they walked, Terumi i flipped through the mission report in her hand, casually picking out a few details from the recent battle to question.
Walking half a step to her left, Kitahara Kaede broke down each point, highlighting several areas where her execution had fallen short. Over the past few years, these post-mission debriefs had beco a habit for them.
Terumi i's voice was slightly deeper than it had been in her youth, and her cadence had shifted; she spoke decisively now, without any lingering trails at the end of her sentences. Her reddish-brown hair fell to her waist, and her bangs still veiled her right eye.
She had grown much taller and more slender, her shoulders relaxed and her stride confident. There was now a cold, elegant sharpness to her features. Dressed in the off-the-shoulder Kirigakure standard shinobi gear with a tool pouch strapped to her lower back, her pace was almost perfectly synchronized with Kaede's.
Kitahara Kaede was no longer the twelve-year-old boy he once was, either.
His shoulders and back had broadened, and his black hair now reached behind his ears. Any lingering traces of boyhood had vanished from his features, replaced by clean, sharp lines. His Kirigakure forehead protector wasn't tied across his brow, but loosely fastened to the side of his left shoulder. Standing there, he looked as though he had retracted all his sharp edges, hiding his lethal intent deep within his bones.
Terumi i pressed him on how to make the necessary adjustnts.
"Go back and practice."
Terumi i huffed. He said those sa three words every single ti; she felt as if calluses had ford on her ears from hearing them. She glanced at him sideways and changed the subject.
"Seriously, when are you going to take the exam for Jonin?"
Kitahara Kaede didn't answer.
"You're clearly so much stronger than I am, yet you're still clinging to a Chunin rank. Don't you feel like you're getting a raw deal?"
"There's no need."
Terumi i stared at him for a couple of seconds. She knew he was dodging the question, and she knew that pushing further was useless. She looked away and fell silent.
As the three of them approached the village gates, Kitahara Kaede's pace slowed slightly.
There were more ANBU mbers at the entrance than usual. Their cold eyes scanned everyone entering the village, their bodies poised and ready to strike at a mont's notice. Even the gate guards, who were usually lazy and leaned against the walls, had been replaced by a new batch of shinobi. Their expressions were tense as they ticulously verified the identification of every person entering.
Terumi i noticed it too. The two exchanged a glance but said nothing.
The verification process took three tis longer than usual. Kitahara Kaede's identity was confird twice; he cooperated fully, his face remaining an expressionless mask.
Inside, however, his mind was racing.
ANBU wouldn't appear at the gates for no reason. A standard mission accident wouldn't warrant this level of security. There was only one scenario that would cause the ANBU to tighten the entrances so comprehensively.
Sothing major had happened in the village's core district.
Once they cleared the checkpoint, Terumi i lowered her voice. "We were only gone for a few days. What happened?"
Kitahara Kaede scanned the main road leading into the village. Shinobi were rushing about with urgency, and ANBU mbers frequently blurred across the rooftops. Several public notice boards had been temporarily blocked off, with two administrative shinobi in grey robes busy replacing the announcents.
"This doesn't look like a simple accident."
Terumi i's brow furrowed.
"With security this tight at the gates, they're either afraid soone is trying to sneak in, or they're afraid soone is trying to get out," Kitahara Kaede said, stopping there.
Just as Terumi i was about to press for more, a voice called out from behind them.
"Terumi i."
The two turned around. Midori stood at the intersection, his expression tighter than usual. He glanced at Kitahara Kaede without avoidance and spoke directly.
"Lord Genji wants to see you."
Terumi i instinctively looked at Kitahara Kaede. He gave a small, subtle nod.
"Go on."
Terumi i looked back at Midori and followed him away. Kitahara Kaede stood in place, watching her disappear into a side alley, before turning toward the mission center.
There was no queue at the mission center counter. The shinobi on duty was currently pinning new notices to the board. Kitahara Kaede scanned them.
All requested missions involving the waterways, inner ports, and border crossings had been frozen today. Even the mariti patrol missions already in the field had been recalled.
He then looked at the blank space next to the cancellation list. Three mission numbers had been crossed out and replaced with the words "ANBU Takeover."
Sealing the waterways, locking the ports, freezing border missions.
This level of mobilization was clearly designed to trap soone. Kitahara Kaede pieced the fragnts together in his head and turned to leave the mission center.
***
In the high-level conference room of Kirigakure.
The light from the center of the round table illuminated over twenty faces. Yagura's seat was empty.
Genji sat in the primary seat, his eyes slightly closed, gripping his snake-head cane. Gonbe stood behind him. Ao sat to the side; the sealing formula over his Byakugan eye remained motionless as he calmly scanned everyone in the room.
Fuguki Suikazan sat opposite them, Sahada standing upright behind his chair, the ends of its bandages trailing on the floor.
The situation had already been briefed.
Zabuza Momochi, along with several subordinates, had launched an assassination attempt on the Fourth Mizukage. Although the operation failed and Yagura remained unhard, Zabuza and his n had broken through the blockade and defected from the village.
The arguing began almost imdiately.
"He struck from the core district!" one official shouted, slamming the table as he stood up. "Several ANBU defense lines were practically nonexistent. Did soone clear the path for him?"
"What exactly are you implying?" another official asked, his expression darkening.
"You know exactly what I an!"
The shouting instantly drowned out the hum of the overhead lights. So demanded a full investigation into the ANBU, so advocated for expanding the scope of arrests, and others suggested using this opportunity to purge all factions that opposed Yagura.
Fuguki Suikazan remained silent until the accusations were turned toward him.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsn have seen mbers fall or defect in droves lately. Fuguki, do you and your kind even count as the village's blades anymore?"
Fuguki looked up. His orange-red hair draped over his shoulders, and his expression beneath the green war paint was frigid.
"Blades break because the hand holding them is unsteady."
The room fell silent for two seconds. The color drained from several faces. Everyone present knew exactly who that comnt was referring to.
Ao didn't look at Fuguki; he simply made a ntal note of the officials who had been the most eager to argue.
Genji kept his eyes closed. His fingers slowly rubbed the top of the snake-head cane, as if he were listening, or perhaps waiting.
As the dispute escalated, the snake-head cane tapped the floor.
The sound wasn't loud, but the entire conference room fell silent instantly.
Genji opened his eyes.
"Enough," he said, his voice flat. "The Mizukage was targeted for assassination; that is the most serious matter facing this village. The issues within the ANBU will be investigated, but not by trading accusations right now."
No one dared to speak.
"Zabuza Momochi is to be placed on the highest level of the wanted list. Organize a pursuit imdiately. The ANBU reform plan is to be on my desk within three days."
Before dismissing the eting, Genji called out one na.
"Ao, stay behind."
As the group stood up, Fuguki Suikazan and Ao locked eyes for a brief mont. Neither spoke. Fuguki hoisted Sahada onto his shoulder and walked out of the room, his expression colder than when he had entered.
He was thinking about one thing.
During the last few offline rendezvous, Yagura's responses to the secret codes had always been a half-beat slow.
Fuguki had noticed.
***
After the room was cleared, Genji led Ao back to his office. The two sat for a while, chatting sporadically. Genji leaned back in his chair, slowly twirling the cane between his fingers, occasionally asking about the reactions of certain people during the eting.
Ao's answers were brief.
After a while, Midori knocked and led Terumi i into the room. On the way here, Midori had already inford her about Zabuza's assassination attempt on the Mizukage and his defection from the village.
Terumi i saw that Ao was also present. She bowed to Genji first, then gave Ao a brief nod.
Genji skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"Ao, Midori, Terumi i. You three will form a pursuit team. Your target is Zabuza Momochi. The scope of this mission is strictly limited to the borders of the Land of Water. The mont you leave the Land of Water, the mission is terminated, and you are to return to the village imdiately."
Terumi i didn't respond right away.
Zabuza was from the ANBU. Normally, the pursuit of a Missing-nin would be handled by the ANBU; it should have had nothing to do with her.
Yet, Genji had specifically nad her.
She glanced at Genji's expression, but he was entirely unreadable.
"Yes, sir."
After the three of them left the office, Ao spoke as they walked down the corridor.
"I assu Midori has already told you what happened on the way here."
Terumi i nodded.
Ao continued, "It wasn't just people that Zabuza took with him. The intelligence networks he managed and the ANBU contact points—if those leak to the outside world, the consequences will be far more severe than a simple desertion."
Midori added, "Lord Genji limited the range to the Land of Water for a reason. Once you cross the border, it's no longer a pursuit; it's giving other nations a pretext for war."
Terumi i remained silent for a mont. By placing her in this squad, Genji was signaling that, in his eyes, she was now capable of participating in matters of this importance to the village.
"I understand."
***
In a dark alley within the village.
Kitahara Kaede leaned against a wall, his gaze fixed on the direction of Genji's office building. He had already pieced together the general outline of the situation.
The Mizukage was assassinated, a Missing-nin had fled, and the entire village was under lockdown.
The number of people in the entire Hidden Mist Village capable of striking in the core district and escaping alive could be counted on one hand.
The Seven Ninja Swordsn.
Zabuza Momochi.
Kitahara Kaede withdrew his gaze and turned to walk deeper into the shadows of the alley.
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