Chapter 054: Clash with the Mist Shinobi

To uncover the truth, Mei Terumi resolved to conduct a thorough investigation. She dispatched a team of ninja to the small southeastern city of the Land of Hot Springs, instructing them to gather more intelligence.

During their inquiry, Mei and her subordinates discovered that the academic exchange hosted by Hailian Town was nothing but a façade. It served only to disguise the massive movement of personnel and supplies—a deliberately staged event. The identity of this so-called Komichi Nobushige was no doubt far from ordinary.

“What exactly is the Land of Fire planning? Are they preparing for war?” Mei mused, her fair chin resting thoughtfully on her hand.

A few years prior, the Hidden Mist Village had adopted a policy of strict isolation. Its bloody methods had earned it the infamous moniker, “Village of the Bloody Mist.” While the majority of its inhabitants cared little for the outside world, many wise individuals kept a constant watch beyond the village’s borders, determined to safeguard both the village and the Land of Water. Mei was among them. She paid close attention to the maneuvers of every nation on the shinobi continent—especially the other four great nations and their respective hidden villages.

The Land of Fire drew her particular scrutiny. It lacked a secure seaport and had no naval shield of its own. Moreover, as the victor of all three Shinobi World Wars, its appetite for expansion was formidable. Even if the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—recently recalled to lead the village—yearned for a peaceful transition through precarious times, this did not mean the feudal lord of the Land of Fire would cooperate. On the contrary, the lord might well act independently.

Mei understood these feudal lords all too well. In theory, all the land belonged to them, but their military might depended on the extraordinary power of ninja. Nothing would please these lords more than to cast off the ninja’s yoke and act upon their own whims. And the most likely targets for such mischief were either the weakened, passive Land of Hot Springs or the utterly insignificant Land of Waves, which lacked even a single ninja.

Both nations were ripe for the feudal lord to act unilaterally, without relying on ninja might.

“It seems they’ve chosen their target and are ready to stir up trouble in the Land of Hot Springs. Whatever their plans may be, we cannot allow them to do as they please.”

With these suspicions, Mei began to devise her own strategy. She decided to lead a team of elite ninja herself, infiltrating the shadows to investigate the so-called great scholar Komichi Nobushige and determine what schemes the Land of Fire was truly plotting.

Yet a new complication arose: the Land of Fire had sent out numerous identical teams, each with the same configuration of overt and covert guards. Lacking precise intelligence, Mei’s group could not determine which team contained the real scholar. They chose to take a risk. Disguised as ordinary travelers, they ventured close to each palanquin bearing Komichi Nobushige, gathering information at perilously close range.

“Lady Mei, we have a serious problem.”

After the squad regrouped, one of the Mist ninja reported in a whisper, “The team I observed—its leader, that white-haired ninja, is the infamous cold-blooded one known as the Second Coming of the White Fang of the Leaf.”

“Kakashi Hatake?” Mei’s head throbbed. “Hadn’t he already left the Leaf’s Anbu? Wasn’t he supposed to be taking on students, none of whom he could tolerate? Why is he here?”

After thinking it over, Mei made her decision.

Now, in the dead of night, Mei and her Mist ninja chose to launch a surprise attack on Kakashi’s squad as a test.

“The Phantom Mist Bottle is ready,” one ninja announced, holding up a small flask no larger than a palm for Mei and the others to see. “And I’ve brought the scroll containing the Phantom Mist Technique’s seal as well.”

“Let’s begin,” Mei commanded.

Night fell, and the Mist ninja crept forward. They skillfully used the terrain to shroud the area in mist. Then, employing the Hidden Mist Technique, they vanished into the thick fog, merging seamlessly with the darkness.

“Open the Phantom Mist Bottle! Unseal the technique!” Mei ordered.

At the same time, her hands formed seals, readying her own jutsu.

“Boil Release: Mist Monster Technique!”

The Phantom Mist Bottle contained a hallucinogenic poison smoke, while Mei’s jutsu could alter the properties of mist in the area. Combined, the mist for several hundred meters around was soon laced with toxic, mind-altering fumes.

At the same moment, the scroll’s technique was unleashed, sending powerful mental waves rippling through the fog. This genjutsu was simple yet elegant, causing anyone who encountered the fog to become disoriented and dizzy.

With both effects stacked, most people collapsed where they stood.

Yet as Mei sensed what was happening within the mist, alarm rose in her heart. According to their calculations, even an elite jonin like Kakashi should have lost half his fighting strength. The lesser ninja and civilians should have already been felled, writhing in nightmares.

But why were there still four active presences within the mist?

“The plan has changed!” Mei announced. “Kakashi is still combat-ready, and his subordinates are unharmed. Adjust the strategy—I’ll take on Kakashi, while you deal with the others, then come assist me.”

“Yes!” came the crisp reply, and the Mist ninja vanished.

However—

“Where do you think you’re going? Shuriken: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!”

A youthful voice rang out, followed by a strange bang—and suddenly the battlefield was filled with a storm of shadowy projectiles. Though the jutsu was named for shuriken, what flew forth were exquisitely crafted crossbow bolts, raining down like a flood. As they flew, they collided with one another, tracing bizarre arcs through the air to strike at the Mist ninja.

“Damn!” the Mist ninja hastily formed seals. “Water Release: Water Formation Wall!”

A wall of water surged up, just barely halting the barrage.

“It would be rude not to reciprocate. Watch this!” Mei formed seals, opened her mouth, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“Boil Release: Skillful Mist Technique!”

A corrosive, toxic mist instantly engulfed the area, leaving every tree in its path eaten clean to the bone. Mei saw with her own eyes as a figure, hiding in the forest, was forced out by her advanced jutsu.

Yet just as the poisonous mist was about to envelop the young ninja, his figure vanished—completely, without a trace, as if he had never existed at all.

That was no Body Flicker Technique!

Mei was deeply alarmed. There was no flicker technique she could not perceive, and even space-time jutsu could not escape her notice. This was an entirely unknown technique!

“What are you looking at?”

Suddenly, Mei heard a voice—and a powerful sense of danger erupted from beneath her feet. She leaped away in haste, only to see a pair of hands burst from the earth.

That was the Decapitation from Below Technique! When had this happened?

Mei could scarcely believe it—someone had managed to elude her senses and burrow right beneath her!