In the dense sea fog, not far from the Konoha patrol, two Mist squads advanced silently.
Among them were two unique figures: Mei Terumī and a young man with sickly pale skin, stark white hair, and two red dots on his forehead.
"Cough... cough!"
Kaguya Masaru covered his mouth. A dark red stain seeped between his pale fingers. He possessed the striking features typical of the Kaguya Clan, but his eyes were sunken and his breathing erratic. His body was failing him.
"Masaru, are you alright?" Mei asked, her delicate brows furrowing. Even in the Bloody Mist, she cared for her squadmates.
Masaru wiped the blood away, flashing a fanatical, almost pathological smile.
"It's nothing, Mei. Just the small price exacted by my Shikotsumyaku (Macabre Bone Pulse). The Kekkei Illness."
He looked into the fog, his eyes burning with a desperate hunger.
"I just want to witness the splendor of this world before my life burns out entirely. I heard you encountered a Konoha boy named Kiyohara. A boy who killed Ao. To leave such an impression on you... he must be a magnificent opponent, right?"
Masaru was a battle maniac. He didn't care about politics or the war; he only wanted to unleash a brilliant, bloody radiance before his inevitable death.
Mei sighed softly. She knew the Kaguya Clan's reputation.
"He's not what you think, Masaru. Be careful."
"Enemies ahead. No Byakugan detected," the Mist Sensor Ninja hissed, dropping to a crouch.
"Perfect," Masaru's smile widened. "Cast the Hiding in Mist Technique."
Two Mist ninja stepped forward, weaving signs.
Whoosh!
They exhaled a thick, chakra-infused vapor. The natural sea fog instantly became a dense, heavy soup, dropping visibility to zero.
"Damn it, this move again!"
Shiranui Genma gripped his senbon, his face pale. The last time they fought in this mist, it was a bloodbath.
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. The Sharingan could read chakra, but it couldn't see through solid physical barriers or dense, chakra-laced fog like the Byakugan could. They were effectively blind.
Just as dread settled over the Konoha squad, Kiyohara stepped forward.
"Let me handle this," Kiyohara said. His back looked slight against the wall of white vapor, yet exceptionally resolute.
"Kiyohara!" Rin cried out, worried he was going to sacrifice himself.
Kiyohara didn't look back. He raised his voice, ensuring it carried into the fog.
"Do not fear! My Ninja Way is to always move forward and face my enemies head-on!"
In the mental space, the Radical Spirit burst into laughter.
'You hypocrite! You brought THAT?!'
Deep in the fog, Kaguya Masaru heard the declaration. Using his clan's acute perception of killing intent, he pinpointed Kiyohara's location.
"Magnificent!" Masaru whispered to Mei, his blood boiling. "So many cowards in this world, yet he advances alone. He intends to challenge us in honorable single combat! He is worthy of my final dance!"
Mei's frown deepened.
'Honor? That guy? No...' "Masaru, wait! He's up to something—"
Kiyohara didn't draw his sword. He didn't weave a majestic, S-Rank jutsu.
Instead, he reached into his pouches and pulled out several dusty, unassuming gray bags.
With a fierce swing of his arm, he hurled the bags into the air, scattering a massive cloud of grayish-white powder directly into the wall of wet fog.
Ram. Snake. Tiger.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Kiyohara exhaled a violent, wide-ranging gale.
The wind caught the powder, transforming it into a roaring gray dragon that crashed directly into the Mist's formation.
The powder mixed violently with the micro-droplets of water in the Hiding in Mist jutsu.
> Science Note: Quicklime Reaction
> Quicklime (Calcium Oxide) reacts violently with water to form Calcium Hydroxide. This is a highly exothermic reaction that releases intense heat and creates a strong, corrosive alkali base. Inhaling it in a high-humidity environment will literally cook and dissolve the respiratory tract, while blinding the eyes.
>
"Argh! My eyes!"
"Bastard! It burns! What is this?!"
"Don't use Water Release! It makes it hotter! It's lime!"
Screams of absolute agony echoed from the mist. The fearsome Bloody Mist assassins dropped their weapons, clawing at their burning eyes and coughing up blood as the alkali scorched their lungs.
The fanatical smile on Kaguya Masaru's face shattered, replaced by pure, unadulterated shock.
'Where is the honor?!' Masaru thought, horrified. 'Where is the genius swordsman? He threw dirt in our eyes?!'
Mei had managed to cast a Water Wall to block the brunt of the powder, but the heat radiating from the reaction made her sweat. She clenched her fists, grinding her teeth.
'That bastard!' Back on the Konoha side, the squad stared in stunned silence.
Kurenai blinked her ruby eyes. "Th-this move again..."
She remembered the Iwa ninja. If Minato was the Yellow Flash, Kiyohara was absolutely going to be branded the Lime Ninja.
Kakashi sweat-dropped, but his pragmatic brain immediately saw the tactical advantage. Unorthodox or not, the enemy vanguard was crippled.
"Now is our chance! Attack!" Kakashi ordered.
Genma grinned around his senbon, looking at Kiyohara's back with a mix of awe and disgust. "This kid... he's a damn menace."
Rin just sighed in relief. 'Whatever keeps him safe,' she rationalized blindly.
Kiyohara stood at the edge of the screaming, sizzling fog.
His eyes were perfectly calm.
'A ninja is an assassin,' he thought. 'Orthodox duels are for samurai and idiots. Survival is the only metric of success.'
He slowly drew his Chakra Conduction Tachi.
Then, reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a pair of airtight goggles and a thick rebreather mask, strapping them securely over his face to protect against the residual lime dust.
Fully geared up, Kiyohara stepped into the fog.
It was time to make some money.
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