The three villages dividing the Uchiha was merely a minor interlude against the backdrop of the Uchiha rebellion.
Just like when the Uzumaki clan was wiped out years ago: most survivors fled to Konoha, but some ended up in other villages.
Like the Hidden Grass Village.
Rasa hadn't yet decided how to maximize the utility of these few Uchiha.
There was no rush; he could take his time.
Right now, Rasa had a far more pressing matter.
Repelling the Hidden Mist.
Inciting internal strife in Konoha only prevented Konoha from attacking the Sand, pulling the village back from the brink of destruction. However, the Sand's situation was still far from good.
As long as the Mist didn't retreat, the Sand wouldn't have a single day of peace.
"Breaking the situation from the outside is hard, but I can work from the inside."
Rasa looked at the [One-Day Ninja Trial Card (Mist Chunin Edition)].
"Using this trial card, I can infiltrate the Hidden Mist perfectly and gather intelligence."
"It's far more convenient than any spy or undercover agent."
Soon, Rasa decided on the character he would create.
"Name: Gengetsu Hozuki."
"Gender: Male."
"Age: 16."
Rasa's reasoning was that the Hozuki clan was a fairly prominent clan within the Mist. The Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki (Rasa used the same name, likely intentionally or coincidentally), was from this clan. There was also currently a Hozuki member in the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
And in the future, there would be the prodigy Mangetsu Hozuki.
A Chunin's strength wasn't enough to access core secrets or enter the inner circle.
So he would make up for it with status.
As Rasa inputted the settings, a corresponding character image appeared on the card.
After arranging everything for the next day.
Rasa returned home and spent some intimate time with Karura.
Then, he went to the third-floor study.
He closed the doors and windows.
"Use!"
[Use Successful!]
The next instant, Rasa felt his body vanish. His consciousness was extracted, moving at incredible speed, quickly leaving the Hidden Sand Village.
But this time, he didn't travel too far.
"Is this... the border of the Land of Wind?"
"The encampment of the Mist army?"
Rasa was delighted.
Compared to the Mist Village itself, Rasa much preferred his created character to spawn here.
A massive number of Mist ninja were stationed here.
Rasa made a rough estimate—at least six thousand.
This number might not seem like much compared to the Fourth Great Ninja War, where the Allied Shinobi Forces totaled over 80,000.
But considering the war had been dragging on for a long time and every major village had suffered heavy losses, this deployment showed just how serious the Mist was about this war with the Sand.
If not an all-out effort, they had at least committed the majority of their main force.
"I've arrived!"
Rasa opened his eyes.
What met his gaze was a simple, worn-out tent. There were few ninja tools, and the clothes he was wearing were tattered.
He walked out of the tent.
This was clearly the fringe area of the Mist army camp.
The surrounding ninja were all low-ranking, ragtag types.
Rasa was stunned.
Is this really the Hozuki clan?
He was a dignified ninja of the Hozuki clan! Even if he was just a Chunin, he bore the Hozuki name.
This was a major clan of the Hidden Mist.
Comparable to the Uchiha or Hyuga in Konoha.
They didn't have a Kekkei Genkai per se, but their Hydrification Technique was on par with one.
"What's going on?"
"A Hozuki ninja is not only this destitute but also marginalized to this extent?"
A gaze fixed on Rasa.
"Gengetsu Hozuki, what are you doing? If you don't rest now, how will you perform on the front lines tomorrow? Or are you deliberately trying to be in poor condition so you have an excuse to skip the battle?"
Rasa ducked back into the tent.
The situation was completely different from what he had anticipated.
"Something's wrong."
"The situation in the Mist is off."
"According to Sand intelligence, nothing happened to the Hozuki clan. They should still be a major family in the Mist. So why would an ordinary ninja dare to treat a Hozuki member with such attitude?"
"The Hozuki clan must have run into some kind of trouble."
Rasa's eyes flickered.
"And this... might be a breakthrough point for the Sand."
Voices outside continued.
"That Gengetsu Hozuki gives me nothing but trouble. Does he still think it's the old days?"
"If the higher-ups hadn't forced him into my squad, I wouldn't want a teammate like that."
"Ideally, he dies on the front lines tomorrow."
Someone beside him whispered a warning.
"Captain, keep it down. If Juzo Hozuki hears about this, he might cause trouble for you."
The captain scoffed.
"Trouble? Juzo Hozuki doesn't care about these things. If he cared, the Hozuki clan wouldn't have fallen to this state."
"His heart only holds his sword. Aside from the sword, he cares about nothing."
"Besides, Gengetsu Hozuki is the problem here. I'm just doing what a captain should do."
The squad member laughed awkwardly and fell silent.
But he could tell his captain was deliberately targeting Gengetsu Hozuki.
Perhaps bullying someone with the surname Hozuki gave him a sense of accomplishment.
After all, in the Mist, the name Hozuki used to be high and mighty.
Inside the tent, Rasa analyzed the situation.
"Most likely, the Hozuki clan has declined. I don't know the reason, but judging by the attitude of other ninja, the decline might be quite severe."
"Juzo Hozuki... that must be the current wielder of the Hiramekarei, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"This person should be the highest-ranking Hozuki member in the Mist right now. But according to that guy, Juzo doesn't care about clan affairs, only his sword."
This reminded Rasa of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's disastrous defeat against Might Duy.
"Only cares about the sword, but doesn't seem all that strong."
Rasa peered through the tent flap, looking outside.
"With Gengetsu Hozuki's current status, I probably won't be able to gather any other useful intelligence. Since that's the case... before this identity disappears, I'll eliminate as many enemies for the Sand as possible."
"Starting with this captain."
"I used your Hozuki surname, so killing this guy can count as a small repayment to your clan."
Just then.
A figure approached rapidly.
"Squad 13, listen up! Assemble immediately! We have an important mission!"