The sky gradually darkened.
In the Kaguya compound, doors began to creak open one by one.
Men and women dressed in white ceremonial robes—the members of the main family—stepped out into the streets.
Some greeted each other with polite nods, others shouted insults, already challenging one another to a duel after the clan meeting was over.
All of them were headed in the same direction: the Kaguya family shrine.
The crowd grew larger as people streamed in, until nearly three hundred main family members had gathered beneath the open ceiling of the shrine hall.
The air buzzed with loud chatter and arguments.
A rough cough broke through the noise. A man of about fifty entered slowly.
The noise stopped at once.
Then came murmurs:
"Elder, what's this big meeting about?"
"Elder, when's the clan leader coming?"
"Elder, you're still alive?"
The man called Elder was the oldest of the Kaguya main family—just past fifty.
In another clan, that might not be much of an age. But in a clan of warriors like the Kaguya, to reach fifty and still be breathing was rare indeed.
Thanks, perhaps, to the Mist Village's lockdown, he had been spared from dying on the battlefield.
Footsteps echoed through the shrine.
Kaguya Retsugawa emerged from within.
The crowd quieted immediately.
The Elder stepped forward. "Clan Leader, you called for every member of the family to come. What has happened?"
Retsugawa didn't bother with ceremony. "Something big has happened—but it's good news."
At that, the crowd erupted again.
"What kind of good news?"
"Did the Mist Village fall?"
"Has another ninja war begun?"
Retsugawa clapped his hands, drawing all eyes back to him. "Takizo will explain."
Takizo stepped out from behind him, a faint smile on his face.
"Uncles, brothers!" he shouted. "Yesterday I discovered something that could change everything for us! The Hozuki clan is planning a rebellion—and they've invited us to join them in hunting down the Hidden Mist!"
For a moment, silence. Then the shrine exploded with noise.
The Elder asked directly, "And what did you tell them?"
Retsugawa glared at him. "Are you senile? Of course I agreed."
Takizo raised his hand and declared, "The Hozuki clan has promised that if we succeed, they'll recognize our right to establish our own independent village!"
The crowd jeered.
"Why do we need their permission to be independent?"
"Why not let the Hozuki build their village and we just take the Mist Village for ourselves?"
"Who cares? We'll just kill them all when it's done!"
"Yeah, that's the spirit!"
Takizo ignored the rising chaos and continued, "We agreed to move out tomorrow night—"
He was interrupted before he could finish.
"Why tomorrow? Why not tonight?" someone shouted.
The Elder fell to his knees before Retsugawa, tears streaming down his face. "I'm fifty years old and still breathing. Now, finally, I have a chance to die in battle. I can't wait another day!"
Retsugawa stepped forward. "The Hozuki requested that we wait until tomorrow night."
He looked around at the restless, eager crowd. "But tell me, why should the Kaguya take orders from the Hozuki? That clan only built the Mist Village because of us, and now they think they can give us commands?"
He paused, then raised his voice. "Go home and prepare for battle. Once ready, return to the shrine. We march tonight!"
The roar of excitement shook the air.
No one hesitated; they leapt over walls and vanished into the darkness, scattering in every direction within moments.
Takizo frowned. "But that wasn't the agreement—"
Retsugawa's face twisted into a cruel grin. "The Mist Village, the Hozuki… who do they think they are?
Just because one of their ancestors became Mizukage, they think they can look down on the Kaguya? This time, they'll learn what true power looks like."
Typical Kaguya, Takizo thought bitterly. A clan known throughout the Mist for its madness and arrogance.
He could only sigh. "I still think this is reckless. Let me go ahead and meet the Hozuki first."
Retsugawa waved him off impatiently. "Coward! Go if you must. Weaklings like you don't deserve the thrill of battle."
You'll regret it, Takizo thought, biting back his anger as he turned and left.
...
Zabuza burst through the door of Hozuki Mangetsu's house. Mangetsu, in the middle of dinner, looked up in shock.
"What happened?" Mangetsu asked, setting down his chopsticks.
Zabuza's expression was grave. "Something's wrong. There's a large gathering of ninja outside the village, but I haven't received a single report about it."
Mangetsu's eyes narrowed. "You mean, the village mobilized troops—but deliberately hid it from the Hozuki clan and your unit."
He looked up, voice firm. "We've been exposed."
Zabuza nodded grimly. "That's what I thought. We need to act now."
Mangetsu picked up his twin swords, the Hiramekarei. "I'll rally our people immediately. What about your men?"
"They're waiting outside," Zabuza replied.
.....
Outside the Hidden Mist Village.
"Ao, are all the units assembled?" asked a man wearing an eyepatch.
Ao turned to him. "Thirty-one jonin. Four hundred seventeen chunin. One thousand two hundred genin—all present."
"Good." Ao looked around the ranks. "Then I'll state our mission clearly."
"The Kaguya clan has conspired with Konoha and is preparing a rebellion!" he declared loudly. "Our objective is to annihilate the Kaguya!"
A heavy silence followed.
Ao nodded, satisfied. These were, after all, shinobi raised in the Bloody Mist—they knew how to obey without question.
"This operation requires total extermination of the Kaguya main family," Ao continued.
"You all know how to identify them, but I'll remind you once more: those with a gray mark at the center of their forehead are main family members. Those without it—and who do not resist—may be spared."
"Is that clear?"
No one answered.
"Move out!" Ao barked.
In an instant, hundreds of shinobi vanished into motion—some sprinting along the ground, others leaping through the trees like phantoms.
A young chunin whispered to his teammate, "Lord Ao said we can spare branch members who surrender… but what about main family members who don't resist?"
The teammate's voice was cold. "Don't even think about it. There won't be any main family members who surrender. Many of us will die tonight."
...
"You must've made Takizo angry," Shitaro said, staring at Suigetsu through the bars.
Suigetsu's dead-fish eyes half-opened. "For the last time, I'm not locked up. I'm guarding Kimimaro. Takizo asked me to."
Kizuki knelt beside the food box, unpacking the meal. "Then you must be a very skilled ninja, Suigetsu."
Suigetsu straightened proudly. "Of course. I'm a prodigy of the Hozuki clan!"
Shitaro wrinkled his nose as Suigetsu devoured his food. "A prodigy, huh? You eat like you've never seen food before!"
Suigetsu mumbled through a full mouth, "I've been stuck here half a day thanks to your Takizo, and you're still stingy about sharing your rice."
Suddenly, he froze mid-bite.
"Someone's coming."
His hand slipped into his robe, fingers closing around the scroll of his sword. His eyes locked on the shadow moving down the corridor.
__________
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