The Information Cocoon.
It refers to a phenomenon where people become so obsessed with their own narrow interests that they trap themselves within a "cocoon," much like a silkworm. This limits their understanding of the world, leading to total ignorance of anything outside their chosen bubble.
To brush off the "commander" who had been dropped on them from above, the Root intelligence department embedded within the Hidden Mist chose this exact strategy. They provided an answer that seemed exhaustive but was actually one-sided, false, or even entirely contradictory—a mountain of fluff meant to stall Hyuga Yu.
Since you like commanding so much, since you're so eager for merit, here is a pile of "vital" intelligence. Go keep yourself busy!
However, the intelligence department hadn't revealed a single shred of the most critical, core information—the kind that could influence the direction of the Mist or ignite the simmering conflict between the Third Mizukage and the Council of Elders.
They simply didn't trust the fourteen-year-old Hyuga Yu.
It was no wonder Terai was so furious. This treatment was a far cry from the level of intelligence he had access to while working under Aburame Ryōma.
"Hyuga Yu, what are you actually thinking? What are we supposed to do next? And... can we... can we really complete a mission like this?"
Terai's voice was agitated at first, but as he spoke, his tone slowed, becoming hesitant until he could barely finish his sentence.
He understood the reality of their situation. On their first day in the Hidden Mist, their group had nearly been slaughtered like chicks by the Third Mizukage. With that kind of power gap, it was hard to earn anyone's trust. What made him feel even more miserable and lost was the sheer disparity in strength; he had no idea how they could possibly move forward to complete the mission.
For a Root ninja who viewed mission completion as their sole purpose for existing, this was a soul-crushing blow.
Three teenagers who, until recently, had been mere Genin, plus a Chunin like Shin—all tasked with the mission of subverting the entire Hidden Mist. The absurdity of it all was putting him under immense pressure.
Hyuga Yu glanced at the dark circles under Terai's eyes and shook his head. He didn't say much, nor did he answer the specific questions. Instead, he silently pushed a plate of sashimi toward him.
For Yu, the priority right now was not to voice substantial opinions or make major decisions. He needed to be like a sponge, absorbing information and gaining a profound understanding of the internal situation within the Mist.
That said, the intelligence Terai had brought back wasn't useless.
It would accelerate the process.
It would push Hyuga Yu rapidly into the next phase: breaking the cocoon and seizing control of the situation!
After encouraging Terai to turn his grief and indignation into an appetite, the four of them ate until they were stuffed at a local seafood restaurant. Yu then pulled out Terai's wallet to pay the hefty bill.
Once his cyan chakra had advanced to the second stage, Yu noticed a strange side effect—his appetite had exploded.
By his estimation, he was already eating as much as the future Hyuga Hinata.
Yu couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing, but he knew he desperately needed a laboratory to study the changes in his body and develop new jutsu.
After the meal, Yu continued to lead the three-man team on what appeared to be a purposeless stroll. In reality, it was anything but. Using the intelligence they had gathered, Yu wandered from the central commercial district of the Hidden Mist all the way to the harbor. Along the way, he used his Byakugan to verify every detail within the scrolls.
No one was better suited for espionage than a Hyuga with the Byakugan.
While others needed to infiltrate or go deep behind enemy lines to gather intel, Hyuga Yu only needed to stand about ten kilometers away from a building. With a single sweep of his vision, he could locate the important documents marked with red headers and see everything clearly.
During this process, he noticed several oddities within the current state of the Mist.
First, he hadn't seen a single member of the Yuki Clan in the village, nor were they mentioned in the Konoha intelligence reports.
The Yuki Clan—the clan of the First Mizukage, Byakuren—possessed the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai. According to Yu's understanding, they should have been one of the four great noble clans of the Mist with massive influence. But after arriving, he realized that while the clan still existed, its numbers had dwindled to almost nothing.
Second, aside from the obvious conflict between the Mizukage's Office and the Council of Elders (who were forced to cooperate despite their mutual loathing), the various departments of the Mist seemed to be sharply divided into two camps, constantly rubbing against and opposing each other.
One faction consisted of the older generation who held the core positions: the captains of the Hidden Mist Anbu, the decision-makers in the Secretarial Department, the heads of the Torture and Interrogation Force, and most members of the Jonin Council.
Among these veterans, most seemed to look toward the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist for leadership—men like Fuguki Suikazan, who led the Hunter-nin; Jinpachi Munashi, who led a branch of the Anbu; and others like Jinin Akebino and Raiga Kurosuki within the Jonin ranks.
The other faction consisted of the younger generation, who made up the "vast majority" of the ninja population. These people were the backbone of the village, responsible for the actual execution of tasks assigned by the various departments.
Most of them had been deployed to the front lines in the Land of Fire. Those who remained had realized their precarious situation and were engaged in a covert struggle against the older faction, practicing passive resistance and feigning compliance.
This had reached a point where the implementation of many policies in the Mist looked like a joke—such as the arrest warrant out for Hyuga Yu.
As Aburame Ryōma had said, the internal contradictions within the Hidden Mist had reached an irreconcilable level. All they lacked was a catalyst.
As evening approached, Yu ended his day of scouting. He had spent the afternoon at the harbor, memorizing the locations of every department, secret base, and vital facility on the main island.
Back at their lodgings, Yu didn't rest. He asked Shin for a large sheet of drawing paper and began mapping out everything he had seen—the web of relationships between the various departments of the Mist. Then, he took the intel Terai had provided and began modifying or supplementing the grid.
Soon, a massive network of connections took shape.
Yu first looked at the name at the very top: Genji. Then, his gaze slowly moved down to the four clan networks below: Yuki, Terumī, Hōzuki, and Kaguya. He systematically drew an "X" over the Hōzuki, Kaguya, and Yuki clans. Finally, his eyes settled on the Terumī clan.
Comparing this to his knowledge of the future of the shinobi world, Yu began to piece together this "Hidden Mist Collapse" event—a crisis occurring in the shadows of history, unrecorded in the original canon.
First, it was important to understand one thing: in the original history, Might Duy killing half of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen only meant the loss of four Jonin—at most, four elite Jonin. For a village as massive as the Hidden Mist, that was a flesh wound at best. Their military potential remained intact; it hadn't been neutralized.
So, if Konoha hadn't really done much besides sending a few Root "mosquitoes" to harass them, how did a powerhouse like the Hidden Mist collapse?
How did they fall so far that they eventually had to resort to a desperate, "all-or-nothing" gamble using a Jinchuriki bomb to try and turn the tide of the war?
What role did Root play in this process?
And more importantly, what benefits could Yu reap from this disaster?
Hyuga Yu took a deep breath. His gaze swept over the four great clans, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and the various departments of the Mist. Finally, his eyes moved slowly upward, past the position of the Third Mizukage. He raised his brush, drew an arrow pointing further up, and wrote a single name:
Uchiha Madara.
Based on the current timeline and the events of the Third Shinobi World War, the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was currently exploding in the Land of Grass on the other side of the world.
Which meant Uchiha Madara was currently in the Land of Grass.
And it was precisely because Uchiha Madara was there that the Hidden Mist was beginning its chain-reaction collapse!
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