"I see the dock."
Konan stood at the bow, gazing into the distance, practically bouncing with excitement.
Through a thin layer of mist before her eyes, she could already make out the faint outline of the dock.
"Finally arriving, huh?"
Yahiko lightly touched his forehead, his tone revealing slight exasperation.
Maybe he just hated being at sea—the long voyage had definitely made him grumpy.
"The journey has definitely taken quite some time."
Nagato casually counted the days off on his fingers, completely unfazed.
After departing from the Land of Hot Water and passing straight through the Land of Waves—which had long been devoid of Mist ninja—on their way to the Land of Water, the trip had seemed unusually long.
"Won't us landing so openly and confidently seem a bit arrogant?"
Nonou, ever the careful operative, looked worried, her brows slightly furrowed.
She didn't know what arrangements the Hidden Mist might have made or whether they might pose any threat.
"Heh ~ Don't sweat it."
"The current Mist Village poses no threat to us whatsoever."
Kakuzu scoffed. It wasn't that he underestimated the Hidden Mist—it simply hadn't earned his respect.
"Even if the sky falls, I'll catch it."
Seeing Nonou open her mouth but say nothing, Nagato smiled gently and patted her shoulder.
Ever since the battle along the border, the Hidden Mist had lost all real fighting strength.
There was certainly no way they could threaten Akatsuki ninja now—nothing but a last-ditch effort.
"Mm~"
Nonou softly replied and said no more. Silence fell among the group again.
As time passed, the dock became increasingly clear in their vision.
When the ship finally docked, the Akatsuki forces began disembarking, only to find the entire dock eerily silent.
Not even a single soldier from the Land of Water, let alone any Mist ninjas.
"Now this is interesting."
"There are huge chakra surges coming from the north."
Standing by the shore, Nagato spoke up, puzzled.
He couldn't figure out why the Hidden Mist, despite assembling their forces, had chosen not to attack during their landing.
"They're scared."
"Afraid to face us."
Yahiko hit the nail on the head—the Mist ninja had simply refused to show up.
The leader commanding this mission hadn't even decided how best to handle the approaching Akatsuki force.
Although Elder Genji's mobilization had achieved its intended effect, there was practically no morale left.
He was leading just a few surviving Jonin alongside many children and elderly villagers. The entire force didn't even have a single Kage-level ninja.
With such strength, how could they possibly confront an Akatsuki force capable of defeating the Mizukage's army?
He knew there was no way to win—stalling them was pure fantasy.
"Should we go pay them a visit?"
Her eyes lit up with excitement. Konan felt particularly confident right now.
"They were going to have to face each other sooner or later."
Yahiko gave his answer after a moment's thought.
They might as well go instead of waiting.
"Hmm?"
Noticing Nagato frowning slightly, Nonou asked cautiously,
"I just remembered our teacher's instructions."
"Given how weak the Hidden Mist is now, I don't think we should even bother with a direct fight."
Nagato may not have been a saint at heart, but he clearly remembered what Kawaki had said.
"That didn't mean we'd start fighting the moment we got there."
"Let's first see how the Mist ninja react before making any decisions."
Of course, Yahiko hadn't forgotten either, but reality rarely worked that way.
Even if they didn't want war, if the weak refused to surrender, bloodshed was inevitable.
"I'll go check things out first."
Kakuzu was a man of action—he didn't waste a second.
As soon as he finished speaking, he leapt away and disappeared from sight within moments.
"He really is in a hurry."
Yahiko watched Kakuzu leave alone but didn't seem worried at all.
"Let's hope those Mist ninja know their limits."
Nagato silently hoped the Mist ninja knew their limits—it was the wisest course.
Normally, Kakuzu wouldn't kill ninja without value unless he was provoked.
"Ha! Have they all landed already?"
"Lord Akatsuki Shadow, the entire army has already landed."
Someone immediately responded when Yahiko casually asked.
"Good."
"We should move out too."
At Yahiko's command, the large troop marched northward.
The main force naturally wasn't as fast as Kakuzu. When they approached the Mist ninja camp, they encountered Kakuzu returning.
"Back so soon?"
Yahiko noticed that Kakuzu's expression looked somewhat odd, unsure exactly what he had seen.
"Yeah."
"There are many old and young ones in the Mist camp. Looks like they're truly at their wit's end."
Kakuzu felt even charging in alone, he could carve a path through them seven times over.
Was it even worth fighting a Mist so clearly weakened?
"Old and young?"
Nonou couldn't believe it—the children were a ninja village's future.
Unless things had gotten extremely dire, these kinds of ninja wouldn't be sent to the front lines.
"Yeah."
"From as old as sixty or seventy down to as young as six or seven."
Kakuzu nodded helplessly; this was what he had personally witnessed and couldn't be wrong.
"That Elder Genji must've gone mad."
Nagato remembered the old man with a cane he'd seen while imprisoned in Kirigakure, unsure what to say.
They hadn't surrendered even after reaching this point?
"It's not necessarily that he refuses to surrender."
"Don't forget, the Land of Water belongs to its Daimyō."
Yahiko well understood that not every country was like the Rain Country, where the ninja village made the decisions.
"You've got a point."
Nagato nodded, suddenly thinking about his own wandering childhood.
If they kept attacking, would those Mist ninja children suffer worse than he had?
"So what do we do next?"
"Do we still fight?"
At this moment, there was no excitement left on Konan's face.
They all exchanged glances, none of them willing to answer.
Just as everyone stood uncertainly, the Mist ninja moved first.
Noticing Kakazu alone was one thing—but the whole army? That was another matter entirely.
If they still failed to notice so many people approaching, then all the Mist Jonin might as well become decorations.
*Pounding!* *Pounding!* *Pounding!*
The Explosive Tags exploded—the attack had begun.
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It was like a terrified little puppy lashing out in self-defense—they chose to strike first.
They had no clue what Yahiko and the others were thinking; otherwise, they wouldn't have acted this recklessly.
But the world offers no remedy for regret. Once the battle began, every trace of mercy would vanish entirely.
The Akatsuki ninja, forced into battle, drew their blades and clashed with the Mist shinobi.
The Mist ninja still suffered a devastating defeat despite Yahiko and his companions never lifting a finger.
Watching the elderly and weak massacre each other on the battlefield, Yahiko and the others found themselves overwhelmed by complex emotions.
The battle had begun quickly—and ended even faster.
Realizing they were outmatched, the Mist squad leader quickly issued a retreat order.
Under Yahiko's restraint, the Akatsuki did not pursue total annihilation and gave up chasing the retreating enemies.
After the Mist ninja evacuated, the battlefield was left littered with corpses—including the elderly and frail people Kakuzu had mentioned.
In war, a disparity in strength is a crime in itself.
"I'm heading into Kirigakure to speak with Elder Genji."
Nagato gazed at the blood-soaked ground, speaking with unwavering certainty.
... ...
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