Meanwhile, according to the original plan, while Rashōmon and the two autonomous mechanisms were creating chaos on Kirigakure's front, Hii Kōri was supposed to infiltrate the various ninja clan compounds alone to collect kekkei genkai samples. Instead, he had temporarily changed his itinerary and arrived at a new destination.
A small warehouse on the very edge of Kirigakure.
Or rather, the location of a very interesting person.
Karatachi Yagura.
A man with a baby face so harmless it seemed almost childish, not worthy of trust.
His stature was also unremarkable even somewhat thin. It would be hard to tell who was older between him and Uchiha Hikari. His short grass-green hair and purple eyes were particularly conspicuous.
He wore a simple, dark-colored ninja outfit, overlaid with Kirigakure's common sleeveless vest. On his back was carried a rod-like weapon with a hooked front end, adorned with green flowers.
Far from his almost childish appearance and bearing, Yagura was already a parent and a veteran jōnin who had been active in the ninja world for a long time. He was also the sharpest blade in the current Third Mizukage's arsenal.
The number of Kirigakure reformists who opposed the "Bloody Mist" policy and had died by his hands exceeded a hundred, and the number of collateral casualties was countless.
Compared to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, who also didn't care much about their comrades but mostly fought external battles, Yagura who ruthlessly slaughtered his own colleagues in the village under the cover of the "Bloody Mist" policy was far more feared and hated.
Even the Third Mizukage himself sometimes couldn't figure out what his seemingly obedient assistant was thinking.
It was often suspected that this baby-faced man, who showed no change in expression while killing, still appearing calm, was often simply using the Third Mizukage's orders to eliminate dissenters or merely satisfy his own bloodlust.
But in fact, Yagura currently regarded by most as Kirigakure's "deadly blade" would later become the legendary figure who single-handedly ended the Bloody Mist policy, inheriting the position of Fourth Mizukage and the Three-Tails jinchūriki. At least, that was the case in the original timeline.
And now, Yagura still the trusted "hidden blade" of the Third Mizukage, who should have been outside the village on his master's orders, hunting down and purging the remaining "reformist" dissidents opposing the Bloody Mist policy had instead quietly returned to Kirigakure amid this outbreak of chaos.
Even in the face of the village's current turmoil, Yagura did not eagerly rush to the battlefields where Rashōmon or the autonomous mechanisms were running amok.
He simply stood silently on the warehouse roof, his expressionless face gazing into the distance at the occasional bursts of firelight, lightning, and the faint sounds of explosions and screams. Complex emotions flickered in his eyes.
Thick mist flowed silently at his feet.
Suddenly, Yagura sensed a chakra signature markedly different from that of the local Kirigakure people, approaching him at an unhurried pace.
That behavior—unconcealed in intent yet not resembling an ambush—left him somewhat perplexed.
He reached up and placed his hand on the coral club behind his back, his muscles instantly adjusted to optimal combat readiness, though he did not make any further rash moves.
"Karatachi Yagura... correct?"
A voice as calm as if it weren't even a question came from behind him. Yagura's pupils slightly contracted. The coral club behind him had already whipped out with a sharp, piercing sound, like a living venomous snake thrusting backward at an impossible angle.
Then, pivoting on his left foot, he spun his body violently. With his free left hand, he made a one-handed hand seal and threw a blade-like water blade.
Hii Kōri merely shifted his body slightly, and the water blade though launched later but arriving first grazed past his waist, not even dampening his clothes.
His other hand suddenly shot forward, lightly and effortlessly pressing against the coral club aimed at his head, lifting it upward to deflect the thrust's trajectory, then firmly gripping this unusual weapon.
"Crimson of Agony?"
The moment Yagura's distinctive purple eyes reflected Hii Kōri's figure, his pupils contracted again.
He murmured the epithet that had quietly spread among the upper echelons of the major hidden villages after the Second Shinobi World War. His voice betrayed little emotion.
Even though Yagura's work primarily focused on internal purges, meaning he had fewer opportunities for outside missions than other jōnin, he still kept up with external intelligence.
Yagura tried to pull back the coral club but found it seemed welded into the other's grip—utterly immovable.
"Hmm... I don't much like that nickname. Even calling me 'the Great Insomniac' would be better than that."
Hii Kōri's eyes narrowed slightly, his tone growing noticeably colder. He applied a little force with
his hand, lifting Yagura along with the club, then flung both club and man away together.
He truly hated that epithet that bastard Orochimaru had given him. It sounded like domestic discord.
But since it had already spread this far, what could he do?
"Anyway. My name is Hii Kōri. I'd be much happier if you just called me by my name."
Yagura steadied himself in midair, using the momentum to retreat and create distance, landing on the edge of the warehouse roof and holding the coral club horizontally before him. Chakra surged throughout his body, his aura suddenly became dangerous.
"From Sunagakure. Are you the one who attacked the village?"
He didn't intend to oblige Hii Kōri so easily, but he also refrained from continuing to use that epithet.
Putting aside the various rumors about his abilities, Yagura could already tell from how Hii Kōri had countered his attacks that the man's skill with weapons was exceptionally high, and his strength was also formidable.
These two points alone made him a very troublesome opponent.
"Don't pin everything on me. Couldn't it be that something you folks were suppressing in your village just suddenly exploded?"
Hii Kōri curled his lip in boredom, then shook his head. "Instead of that, are you interested in doing some business with me?"
"What business is there to discuss with a rogue who attacked my village?"
Yagura's voice was cold. Before the words had even faded, his figure had already vanished from its spot.
Using the thick mist of Kirigakure to execute the Mist Body Flicker and close in, Yagura swung the coral club now wrapped in surging water flow again at Hii Kōri's head.
The Crystal Mayflies "dwelling" on the hem of Hii Kōri's clothing awakened. Hundreds upon hundreds of crystal wings took flight gracefully, forming a barrier before Hii Kōri.
An extremely thin shield stopped the coral club with a faint hum.
The club crashed heavily against the force field shield, producing a dull impact. The water flowing around the club instantly dispersed. Yagura felt as if his attack had struck a great mountain; the recoil numbed his arm slightly, and his offensive momentum stalled.
"Hmm. Even if I could resolve the curse that has been accumulating in your Land of Water for who knows how many years, you wouldn't care about that, would you?"
Just as Yagura was about to change tactics, the moment he heard the word "curse," his movements involuntarily paused.
And the next instant, a fist wrapped in blue-black cursed flame struck the coral club.
Yagura felt an unbearable force transmitted through the club, forcing him to flip backward, landing several meters away. The suspicion in his eyes grew even deeper.
A veteran ninja would not be swayed by a simple remark from an opponent.
But the power Hii Kōri had just displayed in that fist was impossible to ignore.
Even without being able to see the cursed flame, Yagura could assert that it was not the power of chakra, but something darker, deeper—a power that seemed to condense countless negative emotions.
A more condensed power of curse, almost capable of becoming tangible.
"You?!"
Yagura's expression showed its first noticeable change. He looked at Hii Kōri in disbelief, his voice filled with shock as he demanded, "You can actually control that thing?!"
The current Third Mizukage had attended the First Five Kage Summit as the First Mizukage Byakuren's assistant, replacing Gengetsu Hōzuki, who had been severely injured in his duel with "Mu" and had not yet recovered.
It could be said that after the Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hōzuki died in the First Shinobi World War, the Third's rise to power was the popular choice.
As his assistant, Yagura had willingly devoted all his strength to supporting this veteran.
Naturally, he was also well aware of the research into that curse, initiated under the Third's direction.
Unfortunately, to this day, they could only use human "containers" to hold those lingering curses.
But that was like a cup of water on a cartload of firewood—utterly inadequate.
As time passed, the once fairly wise Third Mizukage's methods became increasingly extreme. Now, Kirigakure where clan relations had never been particularly harmonious had fully transformed into the "Village of the Bloody Mist."
And all Yagura could do was use the pretext of "eliminating" reformists to hide those who had fled.
This time, leaving the village had been for the same purpose.
In fact, just moments ago, Yagura's dissatisfaction with Kirigakure's current state had nearly crystallized into tangible killing intent. He had considered using this chaos to assassinate the already-decayed Third Mizukage and end the meaningless Bloody Mist policy.
If Hii Kōri hadn't interrupted him, after another few minutes of hesitation, he might have actually been driven by that curse to take action.
And now, a ninja from another village had casually demonstrated the possibility of controlling this power?
"Mm. What do you think..."
Hii Kōri flexed his wrist, releasing his cursed energy without concealment. "Throughout the entire ninja world, you probably won't find anyone more specialized in this field than me."
"So? What do you say? Want to hear my terms?"
Yagura fell silent.
Earlier, when Hii Kōri had said things like "couldn't it be that something you were suppressing just exploded," he could still dismiss it. But now, it was clear this man knew about that laboratory.
In that case, he was definitely connected to the attack the village was currently suffering.
But the power Hii Kōri had displayed—Yagura could not ignore it no matter what.
"Resolving the Land of Water's curse"... that temptation was simply too great. So great that even suspecting Hii Kōri was likely bluffing, Yagura—who yearned to change Kirigakure's current state—could not refuse.
"What do you want to discuss?"
Yagura tried his best to suppress the turmoil in his heart, speaking in a deliberately cold tone. But his fingers, gripping the coral club until his knuckles were nearly white, betrayed that his emotions were far from calm.
"Simple. I will resolve the Land of Water's curse. In return, Kirigakure will help me with some things afterwards..."
"That's impossible."
Before Hii Kōri could finish stating his terms, Yagura cut him off.
"Not to mention whether I have the authority to agree to such a request on behalf of the entire village Kirigakure will never become a tool in the hands of a Sunagakure ninja!"
Thinking it over carefully, Hii Kōri's very presence in the Land of Water was highly suspicious. Such a large-scale operation meant he must have some agenda here.
If he truly had a way to deal with the curse, even if Yagura refused his terms, he would probably still need to resolve the Land of Water's curse.
Emerging from the restlessness of his killing intent and the fervor of newfound hope, his mind gradually calming, Yagura came to this realization—and immediately recognized that Hii Kōri's proposition was essentially a bluff.
"Hmm. That's certainly true."
Hii Kōri reached out to play with the Crystal Mayflies fluttering beside him, showing no embarrassment at being exposed.
"To ensure my guild can develop smoothly in the Land of Water, resolving the curse here is indeed something I must do regardless. You're very perceptive in that regard, Karatachi. However... you've misjudged one other thing."
"Whether Kirigakure exists or not isn't very important to me either."
Before Yagura could process what "my guild" meant in his words, the Crystal Mayflies at Hii Kōri's fingertip instantly gathered in midair, assembling into a massive cannon. They released a flash of cursed energy toward a distant mountain peak.
In an instant, the top of that steep cliff vanished without a trace in the crudely constructed cursed energy cannon—as if invisible divine punishment had descended from above.
"Any facilities I build in the Land of Water afterward will indeed require ninjas as guards. But even if I have to transfer them from elsewhere, it's merely somewhat troublesome."
This was a lie. Even for the Red Hot Sand Guild's scale, transferring that many ninjas to the Land of Water would inevitably arouse suspicion from other nations.
If possible, directly hiring Kirigakure would be more suitable.
After all, with their hometown blown up like this, Kirigakure would certainly work diligently to earn money. And to ensure they didn't, without any restraint, simply rob and plunder, a leader who knew where to draw the line was also necessary.
The Third Mizukage, thoroughly marinated in curses, certainly wouldn't do. But replacing him with someone else might not keep things under control either. Hii Kōri had even considered simply wiping the slate clean and lining up the uncontrollable madmen for execution.
Yagura's appearance was extremely timely.
"I came here simply because I sensed your presence and made a spontaneous decision."
Manipulating the Crystal Mayfly cannon to point at the center of Kirigakure, Hii Kōri's expression remained unchanged.
Yet his voice, to Yagura's ears, was so heavy that it almost completely drowned out the distant clamor of battle, leaving only that calm, overwhelming presence.
The Incineration Cannon from the Mechanical Bird streaked across the thinning mist, casting brilliant light across the sky. Hii Kōri's figure, silhouetted against that blazing light, was submerged in shadow.
"I think you, who have done your utmost to help those reformists escape, won't refuse me, will you?"
Yagura gripped his coral club—which had accompanied him through countless assassinations and betrayals—tightly, staring fixedly at Hii Kōri's figure.
He felt an intense suffocation.
"...I accept your... I accept your terms."
"Hmm. Then smile a little. You've been blessed with such a cute baby face. It doesn't suit that expression."
The enormous cannon disassembled back into Crystal Mayflies, returning to the hem of Hii Kōri's clothing.
He lightly patted Yagura's
shoulder, consoling him in a steady tone.
"And since you've accepted my deal, I won't let you suffer a loss, Lord Fourth~"
***
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