It began at sunrise.
The sky above Kirigakure was painted in gray and bruised purple, but the city itself was darker. Tension coiled through the streets like smoke, and in the stillness before the first alarm, revolution took its first breath.
Mei led the main assault. Kozan led the shadow strike.
Ao controlled communications. Chōjūrō anchored the forward line.
And far above it all, the mist watched.
---
Kozan moved through the underground tunnels, flanked by two Hunter-nin. His path led directly beneath the Mizukage Tower—the seat of Yagura's rule. Mei had timed the assault to create distraction. Kozan's job was not to fight Yagura's army.
It was to get to Yagura himself.
They bypassed six checkpoints in silence. Kozan used a chakra-dampening seal to freeze surveillance threads. Genjutsu masked their presence from the few guards they didn't neutralize.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
---
Above, the first bombs went off.
The gatehouse exploded in blue fire as Mei's forces breached the main wall. Rebels, Hunter-nin, and clan loyalists poured in from hidden tunnels and alleys. The ANBU retaliated immediately, but the surprise was too complete.
The Mist was at war.
And the people did not run.
They stood on balconies. On rooftops. In silence.
Watching.
Waiting.
---
Kozan reached the inner chamber—Yagura's personal meditation floor.
It was empty.
He stepped inside cautiously.
A sound behind him.
A flicker of light.
And there stood Yagura, Third Mizukage, jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, eyes glowing with chakra and madness.
"I've been expecting you," Yagura said.
Kozan didn't flinch. "Then you know how this ends."
Yagura smiled—cold and wide.
"You think you're the first rebel to stand here?"
"No," Kozan said.
"But I'll be the last."
---
Outside, the fighting reached the central square.
Chōjūrō led a charge through the fire, blade drawn, cutting through armored units with precision Mei had helped him shape.
Ao relayed coded signals between squads, rerouting pressure away from bottlenecks.
Mei herself unleashed lava jutsu across the eastern defense line, her chakra brilliant and merciless.
And still, the mist did not lift.
Not yet.
---
Inside the tower, the floor shook with the force of Yagura's chakra.
But Kozan stood firm.
This was not a battle for dominance.
It was an execution.
---