Peace never lasts forever, nor can war keep peace at bay indefinitely. This endless cycle is a truth that no one can escape.
When figures like Haseo vanished from the night sky of the Land of Fire and instantly reappeared within the shadows of Kiri, it meant the "large-scale" offensive had begun.
As soon as they arrived at their exact spot in Kiri, Haseo instinctively drew his blade and slashed forward. In the next instant, the blade was already pressed against someone's throat...
In an enemy village, no amount of caution could be excessive.
"Haseo-sama, it's me."
The man raised both hands, signaling he meant no harm, and his voice caused Haseo to slowly lower his weapon.
Thanks to the flickering lights embedded in the walls, the person's face soon became visible... At first, it was completely unfamiliar; then his features subtly shifted, ultimately transforming into a face somewhat familiar to Haseo.
"Uchiha Kushan, so you're actually supposed to look like this?"
In the next moment, Haseo's words made Uchiha Kushan briefly consider whether he should have gone on strike or even defected earlier. He wasn't some dramatic drama queen, but come on — on high-risk missions, wouldn't you at least remember your own face?
"Alright, joking aside." Haseo sheathed his weapon and took in the room — a cramped, earthen chamber with sparse furnishings. Nothing special. Then he turned his gaze toward the small fifty-centimeter square window on the wall, looking outside.
Outside, despite the countless lanterns lighting up row after row of tightly-packed buildings, the space still felt confined beneath the heavy darkness mixed with thick, lingering fog... This was Kiri.
Tsunade also walked up beside Haseo. As she looked out at the uniquely styled cylindrical buildings of various heights, she murmured, "This truly is Kiri."
Well, duh. If they couldn't even land in the right place, the mission was doomed anyway.
What made this narrow room unbearably crowded was the sudden appearance of Katsuyu in its center. However, once the giant slug emptied its "passengers" and disappeared, things immediately improved.
The six-man Special Action Team, plus Uchiha Kushan—who had already been undercover in Kiri for quite some time—were now all assembled together.
Although time was pressing and the environment perilous, Haseo still showed consideration by allowing those transported by Katsuyu a brief moment to catch their breath and recover from motion sickness.
An entrance this aggressive is bound to create chakra waves. The village's barrier will definitely react, so we can safely say the enemy's already on the move.
But it'll definitely take them some time to track us down here.
But all of that was trivial anyway—we'd be exposing ourselves sooner or later. Since we went all the way to the core of the Land of Water, we better put on a flashy show to let them know we're here.
Ninjas with summoning abilities definitely need to play their part at this moment. When you're inside the enemy's internal organs, you're the one who can cause the most destruction in the shortest amount of time," said Haseo.
Summonings aren't terrifying on their own. Not all Summoning Jutsu are born the same—just look at the Sannin. Each of them possesses massive summoned beasts, ones so huge and intimidating they could scare people to death just by appearance.
With such a small-scale infiltration, having so few operatives is definitely a weakness. Therefore, whether it's about destroying scenery or inflicting damage upon people, everything relies upon those summoned beasts. Otherwise, how could just a few individuals hope to overturn Mist Village entirely? After all, none among us here knows Shinra Tensei.
Yet, if we're strictly comparing destructive capability through Summoning Jutsu, the combined force of the Sannin isn't far behind Pain's... Though there are many Toads, there are even more Snakes.
Once Haseo had clearly assigned the tasks, he arranged a meeting time and location, and slipped each person a slug before officially announcing the start of this covert sabotage operation.
After making these arrangements, Haseo himself nodded toward Uchiha Kushan. Then the two of them leapt down from the tall building one after another, diving into the night which stretched out like an endless abyss.
Just as Haseo landed and ran forward only a few steps, suddenly an unusual screech shot straight into his ears, instantly halting him in place.
Haseo turned around. A colossal gray snake was now coiling tightly around the round tower, wrapping it layer after layer. Then, as its muscles contracted, the dozens-of-meters-high structure collapsed instantaneously amid creaking, cracking sounds.
This mission called for going wild—and some folks just have that instinct in their bones.
"Lord Haseo?"
Seeing Haseo suddenly stop, Uchiha Kushan immediately reminded him. Right now, every second counted—hesitating or dragging one's feet would render his intelligence useless.
"It's nothing. Keep moving."
Haseo immediately responded, continuing to follow Uchiha Kushan as they wove through Kirigakure.
He thought quietly to himself. Some people thoroughly understood the demands of this mission... Just as expected, Orochimaru was made of sugar, spice, and everything not quite nice.
...
Regardless of what happened behind them, Uchiha Kushan had stayed within Kirigakure for quite a long period already, meaning the information he possessed at this point should certainly be accurate.
With others drawing Kirigakure's attention, both Haseo and the other man skillfully avoided patrols of Mist ninjas along the way as they headed straight for their target destination.
Ten minutes later, the two came to a halt.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes, Lord Haseo."
They had stopped slightly off-center within the village, now standing directly in front of a Mist ninja.
Climbing over the low courtyard wall, their target was right inside this compound.
The man appeared to be around forty years old, with nothing particularly remarkable about his appearance. At the moment, he was looking up toward one direction where a massive summoning serpent was causing destruction.
In the thick of night's mist, the Hidden Mist village had completely fallen into chaos.
Just as Haseo said, even the most tightly organized group could be fragile on the inside, and under sudden unexpected attacks, that vulnerability would immediately surface and magnify beyond control.
"An invasion from Konoha?"
The man had been observing the spreading turmoil in the distance, but it wasn't until nearly two minutes after Haseo and his companion arrived that he finally turned his head, shifting his gaze onto Haseo.
Then he noticed the forehead protector on Haseo's head... wearing such a symbol meant taking responsibility for the so-called "terrorist attack."
Earlier, Haseo had also politely refrained from attacking first.
This Mist ninja seemed unusually calm; his demeanor almost gave off more presence than the Third Mizukage Haseo had met before.
Either this guy was genuinely composed, or he was just an excellent actor.
Haseo slightly turned his head toward Uchiha Kushan, who silently nodded in response—confirming they were at the right place, facing the right man.
"The Hidden Mist has existed for many years, yet never before has it suffered such intrusion. Especially not by Konoha."
Then, the man spoke again toward the two of them.
But these words sounded overly pretentious. Haseo couldn't help but chuckle softly, then shot back sarcastically, "If Konoha had invaded here before, would this broken little village still exist today?"
"When the cats are away, even the grasshoppers start hopping." So what, were you feeling left out because the Senju didn't even bother acknowledging you during the Warring States era? With a short memory but forgetting fast—has the Ninja World gradually erased the Senju clan from its mind? Has it already forgotten Hashirama Senju?
Haseo's reply caused the other man to shoot over a sharp, killing glare.
It was considered a serious insult to humiliate someone while they were showing off like that.
The enemy narrowed his eyes...
Yeah, eye contact confirmed it—definitely someone who must be strangled alive.
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