Konohagakure
ANBU Command Centre
Commander Yoru's Office
The office was dimly lit, quiet but heavy with presence. Stacks of sealed reports and scrolls lay neatly arranged along the far wall. Behind the dark wood desk, Commander Yoru sat in silence reading a report.
This wasn't a debrief from Ren or even a direct village report.
It came from the ANBU spy network, a small but still-functioning collection of operatives embedded deep within Kirigakure.
Despite the extraction of the Leaf's official agents, Yoru had made sure to preserve the ANBU intelligence network, the one buried in shadows that most of the village didn't even know existed. Even if most eyes had been pulled out of the Mist, a few still remained, watching quietly and reporting.
Of course, they weren't alone.
Jiraiya's information ring, which was more of a rumor mill than formal spy structure also persisted inside the Land of Water. Though reduced in size and reach, both networks had survived the chaos, clinging to the edge of a country about to tear itself apart.
Still, Yoru knew their time was limited.
Operating in a nation on the brink of civil war was always risky. But that risk wouldn't last long. Yoru was sure Ren had already taken the next step with his butterflies. It is likely that Ren had scattered them throughout the Land of Water by now. Once organized, it would form a new, agile information net, which is both fast and self-sustaining.
There was always the possibility that Ren would withhold some of that intelligence, keep certain pieces for himself. Use the information as leverage. But Yoru didn't mind.
Ren would be leading the village one day. Whether he chose to place himself above the village or behind it would be his decision to make.
For now, this mission's fallout had to be handled.
Ren and his team hadn't just been active inside the Mist, they'd stirred up half the Land of Water, even reaching dangerously close to the Water Daimyo's territory. That level of movement couldn't go unnoticed for long.
Which meant the narrative had to be controlled.
Fortunately, the Mist had yet to respond. There was no international outcry, no official protest. That silence gave Yoru room to move.
He raised his hand.
Without a sound, squads of ANBU operatives flickered into the room. Half a dozen, then another. Each masked, each standing silently in formation.
Yoru looked up at them with his usual calm detachment then he spoke.
"Spread out across the Fire Country and circulate the message that the Mist Village is entering a civil war. Use the civilian channels, the neutral outposts, and the merchant routes."
The ANBU listened without a word.
Yoru continued, "Tell them that in the confusion, the Mist began detaining shinobi from other nations who were operating on official missions inside the Water Country. Leaf shinobi were among those taken."
He tapped his desk once. "And because the Leaf will not abandon its own, we dispatched, Ren Takahashi, the Blue Menace."
He paused briefly. Then he shook his head slightly and corrected himself. "No. From now on, we call him the Azure Dragon of the Leaf Village."
The room remained still, "The Azure Dragon was sent to recover the captured shinobi. After extended resistance, he was forced to confront the Demon of the Mist, Kisame Hoshigaki. For the sake of his comrades' retreat, the Azure Dragon held back a Kage-level threat long enough to ensure the team's escape."
He allowed the words to settle. "In the end, he managed to trap Kisame, delaying pursuit and ensuring full extraction."
A few ANBU blinked beneath their masks. It was a startling report. Not just because of the outcome, but because of the implication. A child had stood against Kisame and lived.
But they were professionals. The moment passed, and each nodded once in silent understanding.
"Yes, Commander."
With a synchronized flicker, they vanished into the shadows to carry out the order.
Yoru remained seated for a moment, staring at the now-empty space before him. His fingers tapped the edge of his desk again, once, twice, then a third time.
Three more ANBU operatives appeared in front of him, kneeling.
Without looking up, Yoru issued the next command.
"Activate the secondary networks in the other three nations, Earth, Lightning, and Wind. Spread the same narrative through our diplomatic and neutral channels. Keep the message uniform."
The operatives gave a curt nod and disappeared just as quickly.
Yoru leaned back slightly and placed the scroll aside. The report was complete. The plan was in motion. The narrative was out of the Mist's hands now and now it belonged to the Leaf.
He folded his hands and stared at the far wall. Yoru's voice was barely more than a whisper as he muttered.
"You better be ready, Danzo this will be unlike anything you've ever faced."
~~~
Once the ANBU began their work it doesn't take them long to complete the work, especially not when the channels had already been established. All they had to do was feed information in the channels and their work would be accomplished.
It was a bit difficult in the foreign nations however it didn't take more than 2 days before the information reached all the leaders of the foreign nations.
~
Kumogakure
Raikage Office
In the topmost room of the tower, the Fourth Raikage sat behind a wide desk, shoulders broad, arms crossed, and expression hard. He looked more like a hardened brawler than the leader of a major shinobi village.
Three others were present. His assistant, Mabui, stood to his right, clipboard in hand. Darui, his right-hand man, leaned lazily against the far wall. And seated across from the Raikage was a senior member of the External Affairs Division, who had just finished reading a detailed scroll sent through official Fire Nation diplomatic channels.
The room was quiet for a moment.
Darui was the first to break the silence with a chuckle. "Heh. Why change his name to 'Azure Dragon' when everything he does screams menace?"
The elder gave a small nod. "It's a domestic move. Ren Takahashi is a shinobi of the Fire Nation, after all. They can't keep calling him the Blue Menace in their official reports. It damages his image within the Land of Fire."
A slammed his palm on the desk. The thick oak cracked slightly under the force.
"Enough with the commentary. What's the credibility of this report?"
The elder straightened as Mabui stepped forward, taking over smoothly. "We've cross-referenced it with information from our network inside the Mist. There's no confirmation of any formal hostages being held. Instead, what we've found is that the Leaf was extracting a number of its spies and embedded agents, and they were caught. A large-scale pursuit followed across the Land of Water."
She flipped through a few more notes before continuing. "What the Leaf did was spin the chaos in their favor. They crafted a clean narrative, and since the Mist hasn't responded publicly, it's gaining traction. That silence tells us something; their internal chaos is even worse than we thought."
A leaned back slightly, nodding. "And what about the part involving Kisame?"
Mabui gave a more serious expression. "That's the interesting part. Our agents observed Kisame surfacing at the southern shore, bruised, bloodied, and absolutely livid. He rampaged through the coastline for several minutes. And then Mangetsu Hozuki arrived and they both clashed."
Darui looked up, mildly surprised. "Two of the Mist's strongest clashing? That smells like a true civil war."
Mabui nodded, but offered no further speculation.
A stayed quiet for a long moment, then finally spoke, "Increase the Blue Menace's bounty."
Darui raised a brow. "Already?"
A continued, ignoring him. "And issue a standing order, no jonin is to engage Ren Takahashi alone. He's only to be intercepted by squads of five or more elite jonin. No exceptions."
Darui stood upright now, finally pushing off from the wall. "Boss, isn't that a bit much? Making him a flee-on-sight target already?"
The Raikage shook his head, serious. "You haven't fought him. But I saw him in Tanzaku Gai, and even back then, he could easily hold his own against a bunch of elite jonin. And that was just last year."
He paused before continuing. "Even if the Leaf exaggerated the fight with Kisame a little, and they probably did, it still doesn't change the fact that he walked away. That alone places him on the edge of S-rank."
Darui sighed. "Damn. An S-rank shinobi at age eleven. At this rate, the Leaf will gain a Kage-tier fighter before they even realize it."
A gave a slow nod. "Exactly. But now that they've set the narrative, we'll work within it. If the Mist is falling into disarray, we need to extract our people before they're caught in the crossfire."
He stood and looked at Darui. "You're going to the Mist. Lead a covert extraction and attempt to establish contact with one of the internal factions, whichever side looks like they'll survive."
Darui didn't hesitate. "Got it."
In the next moment, he vanished in a blur of lightning chakra.
The Raikage sat back down, "Mabui. Start drafting the updated bounty notice."
"Yes, Lord Raikage."
~~~
Iwagakure
Tsuchikage's Office
The stone walls of the office trembled ever so slightly under the force of the Third Tsuchikage's fury.
"That damned village! How in the Sage's name do they keep producing monsters like this?!"
Onoki floated a few inches above his chair, fists clenched, voice echoing across the room. His tiny frame shook with rage as he slammed an old scroll onto his desk, scattering ash and dust.
"Just last year during the Chunin Exams, that runt was barely scraping elite jonin level, and even that was being generous! And now he's suddenly an S-ranker? At eleven?!"
Standing calmly nearby, his son and advisor Kitsuchi rubbed the back of his neck. "Old man, calm down. You're going to throw your back out again. And honestly, the Leaf's clearly exaggerating. It's textbook narrative warfare."
He barely ducked in time as a small stone paperweight came flying at his head. It cracked against the wall behind him.
Onoki pointed a shaking finger at him. "Don't be stupid! Konoha doesn't need to exaggerate its shinobi. If anything, they hide their monsters until it's too late. The fact they're letting the world know this early means they're doing it on purpose, they want everyone to know what that kid can do. And that means only one thing, he's already too strong to keep under wraps."
Kitsuchi grew more serious. "You really believe it? That Konoha has an eleven-year-old S-rank shinobi?"
Onoki sighed and slowly lowered himself back into his chair with a wince. "Yes. As absurd as it sounds, the evidence supports it. Kisame Hoshigaki is no joke. If Ren Takahashi fought him and lived to tell the tale, even if it wasn't a victory, that says enough."
Kitsuchi frowned. "Then what do we do? Should I take Roshi with me and eliminate the kid before he becomes an even greater threat?"
Onoki shook his head immediately. "Too risky. Even if you succeed, the fallout would be devastating and I doubt success is guaranteed. No, we don't make a move yet. Not when a much greater opportunity is opening up."
Kitsuchi raised a brow. "Opportunity?"
Onoki leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing. "This whole story was broadcast through the Leaf's official diplomatic channels. But that's not Hiruzen's style. He's too old-fashioned and subtle for this kind of aggressive propaganda. Which means… this is either Danzo or Yoru acting behind the scenes."
Kitsuchi listened intently as the old Tsuchikage continued. "And between those two Danzo would never do something that would benefit the leaf."
He spoke, "This reeks of Yoru's tactics. Which tells me their internal power struggle has finally reached the tipping point. Yoru is moving without involving Hiruzen. That means he wants the old man sidelined while he and Danzo battle it out. A smart move if Hiruzen stays quiet, he avoids splitting the village's strength. But,"
Onoki let out a short, raspy chuckle. "He's underestimating Hiruzen. That man may have aged, but he's still the Professor. If he truly starts acting the entire Leaf power structure could shift overnight."
Kitsuchi nodded slowly, the situation becoming clearer. "So we wait."
"Exactly," Onoki confirmed. "We sit tight, watch their power struggle, and make our move when the time is right. Once their internal conflict explodes, and it will, the chaos will ripple outward. That's when we strike."
Kitsuchi stood up, now fully alert. "And the Mist?"
Onoki's eyes gleamed slightly. "The Leaf did well blaming the Mist it was a clean smokescreen. So we'll use it too. Mobilize a covert unit. Extract our embedded agents from the Land of Water before it becomes impossible to reach them."
"But avoid contact with any of the factions for now. Let the civil war play out a little longer. Once we know which side is more favorable, we'll decide who to back. Understood?"
Kitsuchi gave a sharp nod. "Understood."
He turned and walked out.
Left alone, Onoki floated toward the window and stared out at the towering ridgelines of Iwagakure.
Suddenly, his body tensed. His hand shot to his lower back as a familiar pain surged through him.
"MY BAAAACK!"
A moment later, the assistants outside the office heard the crash of something tipping over, followed by muffled groaning. One sighed and rushed inside with a stretcher, clearly not the first time this had happened.
~~~
4 days had passed and Ren and his team finally reached the gate of the hidden leaf village.
~~~~~
{A reaction chapter is always fun to write after a long arc as it gets me a bit relaxed.}
{Also, I listened to all of you and changed his name to Azure Dragon, he even has a vortex like move now so it makes sense.}
{Bonus- Suna's Reaction}
Suna Council Hall
Elder 1- Ren Takahashi is an S-Rank at 11.
Elder 2- Cool. Should we start planning how we can almost start a war with the leaf, our greatest ally to get our missions back?
Elder 3, 4….- Agreed
Kazekage- I agree
(Granny Chiyo enters and listens what's going on)
Granny Chiyo- YOU DAMNED IDIOTS
(Begins smacking each of their butts)
{If you want, you can support me on pat-reon}
{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else}
{280 Stones = Extra chapter}
{STONES!!!!}