Kirigakure's main village.
Walking down streets where the atmosphere had grown far more oppressive than before, Kazumi Kaguya looked at the villagers hurrying past with heavy expressions, then at the noticeably reduced number of shinobi on the surrounding rooftops.
Her expression turned somewhat displeased as she muttered softly.
"Hmph. Before, every last one of them was brimming with confidence about the war, thinking that taking down a Konoha exhausted by years of continuous fighting would be effortless… Now they finally recognize reality."
The bloodline of the Kaguya clan hid factors of bloodlust and combativeness.
Even a clanswoman like Kazumi Kaguya, who had withdrawn from active shinobi duty and stayed at home as a housewife, would not feel any resistance toward war and bloodshed.
In fact, after hearing that Kirigakure's early operations had achieved a massive advantage, those who celebrated the loudest within Kirigakure and applied most enthusiastically to head to the front line were all members of the Kaguya clan.
But unlike the other Mist shinobi, who blindly believed Kirigakure's strength had already surpassed Konoha's, most members of the Kaguya clan firmly believed that Kirigakure's huge early advantage in the war was entirely because the little monster from their own clan had been unprecedentedly active, suppressing the brilliance of Konoha's strong shinobi.
All Kirigakure shinobi were willing to acknowledge Rei Kaguya's strength.
But if someone said that Kirigakure's smooth progress in the war relied entirely on Rei Kaguya's activity alone, the other ninja clans who had also sent a large amount of combat power into the war could not sit by silently.
What, do you Kaguya clan members want to step on the heads of everyone else in the village who fought and bled, just to raise Rei Kaguya onto an altar?
Enough already.
Having Konoha shinobi serve as your stepping stones still isn't enough?
And so, naturally, the argument over who exactly was carrying Kirigakure in this war became the hottest daily topic among the major families who had remained in the village.
As Rei Kaguya's older sister, Kazumi Kaguya, who had plenty of free time, naturally took part in those arguments many times.
Relying on Rei's absurd battle record of breaking through Minato Namikaze, Orochimaru, and Danzo Shimura one after another, Kazumi won battle after battle.
At one point, she suppressed the housewives of the other Kekkei Genkai clans so badly they did not even dare breathe too loudly.
Although, later on, because of Rei Kaguya's disappearance, Kazumi had no choice but to reduce the number of times she joined those discussions and keep a lower profile.
But as Konoha's counterattack began, and Kirigakure kept retreating step by step after losing Rei Kaguya and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, her belief that "my little brother is the one carrying Kirigakure" only became even more unshakable.
"But if this continues, it won't do… I can't see any confidence in victory on everyone's faces anymore. If Rei still doesn't come back, Kirigakure might really lose this war."
After receiving the ingredients she bought from the gloomy-faced shop owner, Kazumi walked home while complaining softly in dissatisfaction.
"Honestly. Even if you wanted everyone in Kirigakure to see how important you are, disappearing for this long should be enough, right? If you don't come back soon, Kirigakure is really going to lose this war…"
Then, after she returned home, put down the heavy ingredients, and prepared to check whether her son Kimimaro was sleeping properly, a back she found somewhat familiar, yet taller and more mature than before, appeared beside Kimimaro's bed.
That person was leisurely teasing the infant on the bed, whose white hair had gradually begun to grow out.
Hearing Kazumi's footsteps suddenly stop, Rei Kaguya turned his head and waved at his older sister with a smile.
"Yo, Sister Kazumi… Seeing me come back, aren't you going to treat me to something good?"
"Rei!? Why are you here!?"
Kazumi rushed forward and threw a punch straight at Rei's chest without hesitation.
Rei restrained the danger perception that had become nearly instinctive after entering Sage Transformation, neither dodging nor blocking as he took his sister's straight punch.
Then, looking at his older sister, who was now hugging her wrist and hopping in place while screaming in pain, he pretended to be hurt.
"Boo-hoo, I'm so sad. Seeing your long-missing little brother return home, your first reaction isn't to ask whether I ran into danger or trouble, but to punch me without thinking…"
"Ngh, guh, kah… You want me to worry about the safety of a monster like you?"
Kazumi gritted her teeth and forced her dislocated wrist bone back into place.
Her almost flat chest rose and fell violently from how angry Rei's words made her.
She raised her head, looked at Rei, who was now nearly a full head taller than her, and snapped in frustration.
"That's enough, Rei Kaguya! It's not like I haven't heard about your battle record outside the village. The Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze. Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin. Danzo Shimura, who was basically half of Konoha's Anbu power. You defeated or killed them one after another. How could someone like you possibly run into trouble you can't solve? Do you think I'm stupid?"
"I was just saying it, that's all. Sister Kazumi, you're still the only relative I have a decent relationship with in the clan…" Rei muttered softly in rebuttal.
"Then go find a few girlfriends and have them circle around you every day, saying those mushy comforting words for you!" Kazumi rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Sorry, but I'm already exhausted just from taking care of Kimimaro. I don't have the energy to comfort someone like you, who clearly doesn't need concern at all."
"Isn't Kimimaro pretty well-behaved?" Rei glanced at Kimimaro, who was lying obediently on the bed, and asked in confusion. "Other than being a little greedy for food, he should be easy to take care of, right?"
"Bullshit. Ever since he started growing hair, I've had to carry him to the clan doctors for checkups every single day."
"What's wrong with Kimimaro's hair?"
Kazumi walked to the bedside in irritation and stroked Kimimaro's white hair, which was completely different from the rest of the clan's.
She sighed at Rei, who clearly did not understand.
"Obviously, it's because of this strange hair color… The Kaguya clan has existed for so many years, but we've never seen a child whose hair grows out white after birth. The clan doctors didn't find anything wrong, but I always feel uneasy."
"Has no one ever considered that this might be… uh, a sign of talent?" Rei thought for a moment, then comforted his sister like this.
"Talent? Hah?"
Kazumi reached out and grabbed Rei's long black hair, which fell to his waist.
With an unpleasant look in her eyes, she asked, "As the greatest and strongest monster in the entire history of the Kaguya clan, even you have black hair. And you're telling me white hair is a sign of talent? Is there even the slightest bit of persuasiveness or credibility in that?"
"My mistake."
Rei silently took Kimimaro's small hand and teased his quiet, well-behaved nephew to ease the awkwardness of being refuted in one blow.
"All right. The time for pointless chatter should be about over, shouldn't it, Rei?"
Kazumi grabbed Rei's arm and looked at him seriously.
"Why did you suddenly return to the village at a time like this? With your ability, there's no way you don't know that the village is about to suffer a complete defeat in the war against Konoha.
"When the village needs you most, why didn't you return to the front line immediately? Why did you sneak back to the village and come here to say all this nonsense to me, an insignificant genin who has nothing to do with the war?"
"It's precisely because this is when the village needs me most that I'm here, Sister Kazumi."
Since Kazumi had taken the initiative to bring up the heavy topic, Rei followed along.
He pulled over a chair, sat down, and spoke unhurriedly.
"The one talking to you now is a Bone Clone I created with the Dead Bone Pulse. Although it doesn't have all the strange abilities of my main body, it is more than enough to protect you and Kimimaro against enemies who may appear.
"As for my main body, it should currently be in the Third Mizukage's office, having a heartfelt conversation with him while carrying the Uchiha clan genius I captured from the battlefield."
"A genius from the Uchiha clan!? Alive!?"
Kazumi was startled at first, then suddenly understood and slapped her palm.
"That really is an important resource worth you personally leaving the battlefield and bringing back to the village."
"Yes. That is the reason I reported to the Third Mizukage and applied to temporarily return to the village from the front line." Rei nodded and accepted Kazumi's statement.
"Then the enemies you said we need to guard against are the Uchiha clan's avengers?" Kazumi held Kimimaro in her arms and asked somewhat nervously. "With their usual temperament, they really would try every possible way to retrieve a lost Sharingan…"
"Ah, not quite." Rei raised one finger and gently shook it. "The Uchiha clan head was just severely injured by me. In the short term, they should neither have the courage nor manpower to come to Kirigakure's main village and deliver their heads."
"Then isn't that the end of it?" Kazumi tilted her head in confusion. "Other than those madmen from the Uchiha clan, who would dare come to the Kaguya clan's territory to assassinate someone connected to you?"
"There are people."
Rei raised his hand and fired Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets toward the ceiling.
After a muffled groan, a shinobi dressed in Kirigakure assassination unit attire fell weakly from the roof.
With a bang, his body smashed into the ground outside the room and stirred up dust everywhere.
"The Anbu under the Third Mizukage have been watching you very closely all along, Sister Kazumi."
Hearing Rei's voice suddenly turn ice-cold, Kazumi's heart trembled.
A thought appeared in her mind.
A thought so insane that even the most radical and daring elders of the Kaguya clan would find it a little too mad.
"Rei…" Kazumi's mouth went dry. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Are you… Are you planning to launch a coup against Lord Third?"
"Why not?"
Rei pressed the tips of his ten fingers together.
Beneath his calm gaze hid a blazing fire that made the heart shudder.
"The strong rising and the weak retreating is the iron law Kirigakure believes in. Since I am already far, far stronger than that worm of a Third Mizukage, why should I allow him to continue harming all of Kirigakure?
"The elders are probably planning to build momentum after the war against Konoha ends and support me in succeeding as the Fourth Mizukage, right? Sorry, but I don't believe that by working with a group of little worms brainwashed and purified by a big worm, I can properly govern Kirigakure, which is already teetering on the passing line among the Five Great Shinobi Villages."