"You're going out on a mission again, Rei?"
"Yeah. A simple little mission. I should be back in a few days."
In the simply decorated living room, Rei Kaguya was organizing his backup ninja tool pouch, clearly looking like he was about to travel far.
His older sister, Kazumi Kaguya, who was five years older than him, hugged the child who had been born less than six months ago and said unhappily, "Huh? A simple little mission? Rei, haven't you already become one of Lord Third's direct Anbu? Why do you still have to carry out that kind of mission anyone could complete? Shouldn't Lord Third assign you more difficult missions to help you quickly build prestige and get promoted to jonin?"
You really are too right.
The mission the Third Mizukage assigned me this time is only slightly easier than the one given to those unlucky Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who went seven-on-one and still got counter-killed…
Rei Kaguya rolled his eyes and answered without turning his head.
"That's something the important people above need to think about. I only need to finish the mission handed to me without making mistakes."
"Hmph. If you miss such a good chance to build your reputation during the Shinobi World War, do you know how much longer it will take you to gain the qualifications to become a jonin? After wasting that much time, when will you be able to take another step forward?"
Kazumi Kaguya could not help stomping her foot.
The movement was so large that it even woke the sleeping infant in her arms.
"Rei, the clan's expectations for you definitely do not stop at being an ordinary jonin. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes, yes, everyone knows the elders want me to become one of the next Seven Ninja Swordsmen…"
"If you know that, then work harder, Rei!"
Kazumi Kaguya smacked her younger brother on the shoulder in irritation.
"If you can become one of the next Seven Ninja Swordsmen, then you'll be able to influence Lord Mizukage's thoughts to a certain degree. After ten or so years, when Lord Third has to step down because his strength can no longer support his position, you might even have a chance to run for the position of Fourth Mizukage. If that happens, why would we need to worry about lacking war commissions in the future?"
"Sigh."
Rei Kaguya let out a long sigh.
The scope was small.
Truly too small.
One Shinobi World War, one position among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and you people are already satisfied?
You even want to wait another ten years or so until the Third Mizukage grows old before you dare think about the position of Fourth Mizukage?
If I told you that I planned to use the opportunity of the Third Shinobi World War to drag the Third Mizukage down and sit in the Fourth Mizukage's seat myself, wouldn't you all get so excited you fainted on the spot?
This was already a hopeless level of lacking ambition.
"I'm leaving. Sister Kazumi, remember to eat properly. Don't starve Kimimaro so badly that he cries all day. He sounds pretty pitiful."
The moment his voice fell, Kazumi Kaguya only blinked once before Rei Kaguya vanished from her sight.
In the spacious living room, only Kazumi Kaguya, whose face had turned red with anger, and the small infant who had just woken up in her arms remained.
"Isn't it just that your talent is a little better? Is there any need to use a Body Flicker so fast I can barely see it just to provoke me before leaving!?"
"Wu ya, ya…"
Little Kimimaro Kaguya tilted his head in confusion and reached out with his tiny hand to grab the clothes at his mother's chest.
"Kimimaro, why are you hungry again? Please spare Mommy. There really isn't a single drop left…"
…
One day later.
Inside the Land of Fire.
Four ghostlike shadows swept through the forest beneath the moonlight.
They were clearly moving at extremely high speed, yet the falling leaves behind and beneath them were strangely few, as if they were nothing more than a normal, harmless breeze that happened to blow through at just the right time.
"I've found the marks left by the others, Lord Rei… It looks like everyone's infiltration went quite smoothly."
A slender masked figure stopped lightly on an ancient towering tree, reached out to gently touch the contact mark engraved in an inconspicuous spot on the branch, then turned back to report to Rei Kaguya and the other companion behind her.
"Hah, this really is an infiltration so easy it doesn't feel like an infiltration. Did all of Konoha's shinobi die on the battlefield? They actually dare face our direction with such a completely unguarded posture. Damn it, they're really looking down on us…"
A tall man with a huge blade tied to his back stopped on another tree.
His tone mixed displeasure with bloodthirst as he turned toward Rei Kaguya, who had landed on the same tree.
"Lord Rei, why don't we just kill our way into Konoha's main village? Since they've so warmly opened their gates, if we don't accept their invitation, thrust straight into their vital point, and leave them with a lesson they'll never forget, wouldn't that be rather lacking in charm?"
"Oh? Then I'll leave Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to you, Yoshida. Although taking on the Third Hokage and several Hokage advisors at the same time might be just a tiny bit difficult for me, for the sake of paving your road to jonin, I suppose I could reluctantly give it a try."
Rei Kaguya turned his face sideways.
Even with his mask covering his face, the cold and sharp gaze he directed at his subordinate was enough to be felt clearly.
In a calm tone, he began assigning the other man combat duties for an assault on Konoha's main village.
"My deepest apologies. I got too arrogant, Lord Rei."
Rei Kaguya's words instantly cooled Yoshida Makoto's excited and conceited mind.
After realizing how ridiculous his own idea was, he straightened his body and bowed deeply toward Rei Kaguya with great respect, indicating that he would not make such foolish remarks without using his brain again.
Seeing this, Rei Kaguya did not continue dwelling on the topic.
Instead, he had Mikazuki Eri, who was responsible for sensory reconnaissance within the squad, follow the marks left by the other Kirigakure Anbu and continue leading this Anbu squad directly under the Third Mizukage forward.
Before long, the Anbu squad led by Rei Kaguya linked up with one of the jonin squads carrying the sealed vessel containing the Three-Tails, Isobu.
After exchanging intelligence with the Kirigakure jonin as the Anbu squad leader, Rei Kaguya discovered a problem that he was not sure should be considered a problem.
Among the Anbu and jonin participating in this secret mission, not a single one was a named character.
That itself was not strange.
In the original history, the battle that caused Obito Uchiha, a future mastermind of the shinobi world, to fall into darkness had not left behind much information about the Kirigakure shinobi involved.
What made Rei Kaguya feel uneasy was the two jonin leading the squads.
Ringo Mirai and Matsuda Takuya.
As a direct Anbu squad leader under the Third Mizukage, Rei Kaguya could use the convenience of his work to openly collect information on the high-level combat strength Kirigakure displayed on the surface.
And according to the information he had gathered, the strength of the two jonin carrying out this mission with him was honestly somewhat… delicate.
It was not that Ringo Mirai and Matsuda Takuya were unworthy of the jonin rank.
However, judging by their mission records, neither of them was particularly outstanding.
They had no obvious shortcomings, but they also had no outstanding strengths.
They were probably around the same level as Konoha's Kurenai Yuhi.
And if one considered that Kurenai Yuhi also had a fairly impressive and rare genjutsu specialty, then what these two veteran Kirigakure jonin could offer was probably only the experience brought by the word "veteran."
Rei Kaguya even felt that even if the two of them fought together and had the advantage of a surprise attack, it would be hard to say they had absolute confidence in taking down Kakashi Hatake.
If he did not intervene in their battle, then with the strength Kakashi Hatake had shown during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, killing both of them in a two-on-one was honestly not that difficult for him.
And once the two Kirigakure jonin who were nominally higher in status than him died on the battlefield, then as a direct Anbu squad leader under the Third Mizukage, he would have no choice but to take over the command authority that originally belonged to them and continue carrying out this mission personally assigned by the Third Mizukage.
Naturally, the responsibility for the mission's failure, which should originally have fallen on them, would then land on Rei Kaguya's head.
"Interesting. Have I been targeted by Madara Uchiha, who plans to kill two birds with one stone while scheming against Obito Uchiha? Or… did the short-sighted, ambitionless worms among my clan elders maneuver behind the scenes and have the Third Mizukage give me an opportunity to 'become famous in one battle'?"
Rei Kaguya felt both possibilities existed.
But regardless of which side the person who arranged for him to enter this mission belonged to, they probably did not want to see him slack off, put in no real effort, and retreat unharmed.
Tch.
Now he had to put in a bit more effort.
At the very least, he had to make those two Kirigakure jonin who were higher in status on the surface live long enough to bear responsibility for the mission's failure.
He also had to preserve a few witnesses who could prove that point.
Otherwise, if responsibility for the mission's failure fell on him, it would be no good for his future plans.
Rei Kaguya raised his head and looked at the figures speeding through the forest ahead.
In silence, he made his decision.