Mist is the defining feature of the Hidden Mist Village; even with the sun high in the sky, a thin veil of mist still clings to every corner of the Village. Deep beneath the Village, however, it is perpetually shrouded in a dense, swirling fog. Anyone who hasn't lived here for years would surely lose their way and find it impossible to leave for the rest of their lives.
Boom!
The massive frame collapsed with a resounding thud, the chains embedded in its body letting out a metallic clatter.
A Jonin of his generation and one of the survivors of the first Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Suikazan Fuguki's life came to an end here.
Kisame Hoshigaki watched his former superior fall, his face expressionless as he casually tossed aside the long sword that had claimed the man's life. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he began to unbind the Great Sword, Samehada, from Suikazan Fuguki's body—a weapon the man hadn't even had the chance to unsheathe.
This was a sneak attack. Kisame Hoshigaki had exploited the unwavering trust Suikazan Fuguki had placed in him for his years of diligent service. He had lured him here, set a trap, and murdered his superior.
Kisame Hoshigaki silently strapped Samehada to his back. Only after completing these actions with fluid precision did he pause to look down at the lifeless corpse at his feet, an uncontrollable sense of aimlessness washing over him.
Where should he go from here...? In that instant, Kisame recalled a past mission during the last Great Ninja War. There was a girl from the Cipher Division whom he had personally executed because he couldn't allow their intel to fall into enemy hands.
What were her final words?
"Your life... must have been very hard."
He kicked Suikazan Fuguki's corpse, flipping it over so it faced upward. Was it out of hatred? Or a desire to grant him some dignity? Kisame didn't know. He knew nothing right now; he only wanted to take Samehada and find a quiet place to be alone.
Just as he turned to leave, a voice rang out, bringing him to a halt.
"You've worked hard, Kisame."
The voice was familiar. In a heartbeat, Kisame realized who it was! He spun around as if facing a mortal enemy, his right hand gripping the hilt of the newly acquired Samehada.
In the darkness, a short figure emerged from the thick mist.
"I figured he would let his guard down around a subordinate like you."
The owner of the voice stopped advancing. It seemed he intended to defuse the tension of this encounter, signaling that he was here to talk.
"This man was colluding with foreign enemies. From this day forward, you are the master of the Great Sword Samehada. And you are also my subordinate."
Hearing this, Kisame Hoshigaki let out a seemingly honest smile and removed his hand from the sword's hilt.
"Until the day I, too, am eliminated by you? Lord Fourth Mizukage."
The man stepped out of the shadows. Green hair, purple eyes, and a stitch-like scar under his left eye—this was indeed the appearance of the current Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.
Yagura showed no sign of irritation at Kisame's mocking remark. His face remained expressionless as he continued to speak in a mechanical tone.
"I know your character, which is why I trust you. Only someone like you—who has carried out countless sordid missions for the nation and the Village, and who has betrayed so many times to complete those missions—can truly understand that this world is nothing more than a sham."
This world is nothing more than a sham.
Kisame Hoshigaki's normally indifferent heart wavered slightly at those words.
"I understood that from the moment I first started killing my own comrades. As a Kirigakure Ninja, yet forced to kill my fellow Kirigakure shinobi... what kind of person does that make me? Am I friend or foe? What is my purpose? Where do I stand? Where am I going? Where can I find peace? The only thing I can truly feel is my own falsehood."
Exactly. Kisame Hoshigaki looked at his hands, both responding to Yagura's words and questioning himself. What exactly did his existence in this world amount to?
Aimlessness enveloped Kisame's heart. He could no longer find an anchor for his life in this world.
"Then let me release you from the pain of this falsehood."
Just then, another man's voice, deep and somber, drifted out from behind Yagura.
"I will build a place where you belong."
In an instant, Kisame's honed survival instincts pulled him from his daze. He dropped back into a combat stance and demanded sharply to know who the speaker was.
"We shall start with this nation. You have spent your life fighting to kill your comrades, but from now on, fight as my comrade."
Ignoring the hostility, the man hidden behind Yagura extended an invitation to Kisame Hoshigaki, which only served to make Kisame more guarded.
"You seem to trust me quite a bit, yet I don't even know who you are."
As he spoke, Kisame saw an eye—a special eye, crimson with three tomoe.
And then, he understood.
"I see. So the person I've always taken for the Fourth Mizukage was actually you. To think you've been using the Sharingan to control the Fourth this whole time."
Suikazan Fuguki's recent behavior and Mei Terumī's earlier rebellion... everything finally seemed to have an answer.
"This world truly is a sham. However, to possess the visual prowess to control the Fourth, the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails... who on earth are you?"
Kisame had clashed with the Uchiha clan during the Third Great Ninja War. In his experience, the Sharingan was indeed powerful, but he didn't believe for a second that it could directly control a perfect Jinchuriki with genjutsu.
Yet the evidence was right before his eyes. This meant the person with the Sharingan was no ordinary individual; he couldn't be some nameless nobody.
"Uchiha Madara."
Kisame's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking. This answer was completely unexpected, yet given the circumstances, it felt undeniably real.
But was it even possible?
"That man died a long time ago. I cannot take your word for it. Please, show your true self!"
Having been through so much and concluding that the world was a sham, Kisame didn't want to simply believe the man's claims at face value.
"Very well. Whether you believe me or not is your choice."
With that, the man claiming to be Uchiha Madara stepped out from the shadows.
He was a man with bandages wrapped around his chest and all his limbs except for his left hand. And then... "As I thought, it's a lie."
Half of that face was heavily scarred. The Sharingan in his eyes flickered with an ominous red light, and the aura he projected was one of unwavering and fierce resolve.
However... that was not the face of Uchiha Madara. (P.S. He probably wasn't wearing a mask here; otherwise, Kishimoto wouldn't have had Kisame recall this moment before committing suicide.)
After all, he was the Ninja World's Asura who had once stood as an equal to the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama. That face was depicted directly in history textbooks.
But Kisame smiled.
"So, what is your plan? And what role do you need me to play?"
And so, Kisame heard the full details of the Infinite Tsukuyomi—a plan to use a massive genjutsu to trap every living being in the world within a beautiful dream for the rest of their lives.
"That is my goal, the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan. That will be the only true world, free of all falsehoods."
Madness!
That was Kisame Hoshigaki's first thought.
But immediately after, his heart couldn't help but stir!
If this Infinite Tsukuyomi is real, wouldn't I be able to understand who the real me is in that world of illusion?
My stance, my purpose, whether I'm a good person or a bad one, where I should go, and where I can find peace... wouldn't I be able to find all those answers within the Infinite Tsukuyomi?!
I want to see it for myself.
"Fine. I'm in on this plan. Tell me, what should I do?"
Obito nodded inwardly with satisfaction. He hadn't been lying; Kisame Hoshigaki could be considered the person he trusted most right now, far more than Nagato or Konan.
After all, setting aside their ideologies and his own behind-the-scenes actions, Nagato was ultimately the real Madara's pawn.
"You are still too weak. Take Samehada to this location, and I will personally increase your strength."
As he spoke, Obito used the Sharingan's genjutsu to transmit the location to Kisame Hoshigaki before continuing: "I will announce to the world that you have defected after attacking the Daimyo of the Land of Water. Once your strength has reached a certain level, I want you to join an organization called Akatsuki. After that, just follow their lead."
With everything settled, Kisame Hoshigaki set off on the path toward realizing the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan, the Great Sword Samehada strapped to his back.
"Everything is going smoothly. What do you plan to do about Mei Terumī and her group?"
A figure with a head split between black and white, encased in a pitcher-plant-like growth, suddenly emerged from the wall and spoke.
"Nothing. I've pretty much finished everything I needed to do in the Hidden Mist Village."
During the Third Great Ninja War, the Hidden Mist had sealed the Three-Tails inside Rin Nohara in an attempt to use the Tailed Beast's power to strike at Konoha. However, Rin, having realized the plot, committed suicide by throwing herself onto Kakashi Hatake's hand, causing the plan to fail.
After Obito took over Madara's plan, he naturally inherited control over the Hidden Mist from behind the scenes. Over the past decade or so, he had ground this once-powerful Ninja Village down to its current state.
"Are you planning to let the Hidden Mist go? I was certain you intended to wipe this Village out entirely."
In the beginning, Obito had indeed been driven by that hatred, wanting to erase the Village from history!
But as time went on and he eliminated those from the Hidden Mist who had been involved, Obito's hatred gradually faded.
Ultimately, he was going to bring the entire world into the world of illusion anyway, so there was no need to slaughter the remaining people of the Hidden Mist. They, too, were victims of this illusory Ninja World.
Glancing briefly at Zetsu, Obito continued calmly:
"The Hidden Mist Village's foundation has been essentially hollowed out by us. It no longer has any value."
Of the three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who survived the last war, two have defected, and one died here today. Combined with the long-standing policy of hunting down Bloodline Limit Clans, it will take at least forty or fifty years for the Hidden Mist to even begin to recover.
In short, the Hidden Mist Village is now the weakest of the Five Great Ninja Villages in more than just name; it's at the point where it's only one step away from being ousted from the group.
And that step consists of Mei Terumī and her group, along with the few remaining successors of the second generation of Ninja Swordsmen.
"Lately, Mei Terumī and her people have been whittling down the Kaguya Clan, but they haven't launched a final assault yet,"
Zetsu said pointedly.
"Then let them have their wish. Since we're leaving anyway, we might as well have a spectacular farewell party. Right, Hohzuki Mangetsu...?"
No sooner had he spoken than the entire underground space began to shake and tremble!