Seeing the cooking smoke rise again, the twilight illuminating the earth...
However, it wasn't cooking smoke. The Hidden Mist Village, true to its name, was always shrouded in such mist, sometimes thin, sometimes thick.
Approaching dusk, as the sky gradually lost its light, under the surveillance and escort of Mei Terumi's squad, the Konoha envoy and renowned ninja, Kamishiro Hagoromo, finally arrived at the Hidden Mist Village.
"Another heavily fortified village, huh..."
This was Hagoromo's first impression of the Hidden Mist. The capacity for war was undoubtedly the greatest mission and function of a ninja or a ninja village, and this naturally reflected in how the village was built.
Although every village was different, they all basically placed heavy emphasis on defense. Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, it seemed Konoha was the only one that established its village on a vast, easily accessible plain with no natural defensive barriers to rely on.
A long time ago, Konoha indeed had such confidence. After all, the village housed several cheat-code-level powerhouses who could solo an entire village.
The Hidden Mist was built amidst rugged, jagged mountains, laid out in a ring shape along the foothills. The architectural style mostly consisted of upright, cylindrical structures. These buildings were built high and low depending on the terrain. The key areas were surrounded by stone walls, and the entrance and exit of the village was a massive culvert.
Relying on walls to stop enemies from infiltrating was impossible. The key lay in the protective barriers established layer by layer using the walls as baselines—various types of barriers were standard equipment for every ninja village, whether it was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages or a minor one.
Speaking of which, Hagoromo definitely belonged to the type of ninja with extraordinary roaming capabilities. He had only been messing around in the Great Ninja War for a few years, yet out of the Five Great Ninja Villages, aside from the Hidden Cloud, he had already strolled through all the others.
As for the Hidden Cloud, although he hadn't physically been there, he had left an indelible impression on them in the Land of Lightning... If the various ninja villages could exchange intel on the White Yaksha, they would realize that rather than calling him the White Yaksha, it would be more fitting to call him a shit-stirrer. Why was it that no matter where a major event happened, this Konoha ninja was always there?
Because Hagoromo had come to the Hidden Mist secretly, he didn't choose to enter through the main front entrance, but rather through another hidden access point.
There, Mei Terumi opened the barrier, and the group of five entered the Hidden Mist.
"We have arrived at the Hidden Mist. You can hand over the Hokage's handwritten letter now."
After entering the Hidden Mist, Mei Terumi's group naturally wouldn't let an enemy national like Hagoromo wander around freely. They brought him directly to the front of a certain building.
At her demand, Hagoromo blinked. Did she think he was stupid, or was she stupid herself? If he was just going to hand over the Hokage's letter like that, he could have just given it to them when they first met. Would he have risked danger to travel all the way to the enemy's lair?
"My mission is to meet the Mizukage, and then deliver the Hokage's letter."
Hagoromo reiterated his mission parameters. No matter what, he had to at least see the Mizukage first. Did she really think she could just take this from his hands?
What rank of official was Mei Terumi? If she wasn't the village head, she had no authority to handle the Hokage's handwritten letter, which even bore the seal of the Fire Daimyo.
Because of a special seal, Hagoromo didn't even know what was written in the letter. Theoretically, it was entirely possible that the letter explicitly said the Hidden Mist could feel free to kill the White Yaksha.
However, Hagoromo was quite confident on this point. He wouldn't end up like Pakura.
Mei Terumi clicked her tongue audibly. Hagoromo's response didn't exceed her expectations.
Hagoromo turned a deaf ear to her reaction. What effect could a scoff have? Let alone clicking her tongue, even if she spat on the ground, he would ignore it because her demand was unreasonable.
"Then please rest here for the time being, Konoha Envoy. I will report this matter to the Third immediately. We will decide when the meeting takes place."
The decision seemed a bit overbearing, but since Hagoromo had entered the Hidden Mist, in the eyes of Mei Terumi and the others, he was already meat on the chopping block. There was clearly no need to forcibly snatch the letter.
Hagoromo had no qualms about their arrangement. He walked directly into the building, seemingly unconcerned about any ambushes inside, his steps looking thoroughly at ease.
In reality, he felt secure in the knowledge that he had backing. No matter what the Hidden Mist intended to do to him, no matter their attitude toward him as an envoy, whether he was to live or die, they would still have to give him the chance to meet the Mizukage.
As the Konoha envoy, his movements would naturally be restricted. Setting aside the fact that the arrival of a Konoha envoy was highly classified, if Hagoromo could move freely within the Hidden Mist, the things he could record would be far more professional than any career spy.
For instance, given a few days, he could probably map out the general layout of the Hidden Mist's barriers. Given a few more days, he might even be able to design a jutsu formula to collapse such barriers on a large scale.
But those were matters of finesse. If it came to violently breaking the barrier, he could do that right now.
...
Three consecutive days passed peacefully. During this time, Hagoromo stayed in a specific room, waiting quietly.
Mangetsu Hozuki and Kisame Hoshigaki stood guard at the door, while a Byakugan monitored him from further away—clearly, due to Hagoromo's initial actions, they didn't want the Byakugan anywhere he could see or reach it.
Hagoromo had anticipated all of this. He wasn't pretending to be calm; he was genuinely calm.
Until the third day, when he finally got the chance to meet the Mizukage.
A person capable of becoming a Kage absolutely wouldn't lack the courage to meet an envoy from another ninja village in their own home turf. Afraid of assassination? With Hidden Mist personnel all around, what was there to fear? If anything, Hagoromo was the one worried they might smash a cup as a signal to ambush him.
Led by Mangetsu and Kisame, Hagoromo arrived at a place in the Hidden Mist akin to a Great Hall of the People, where he saw the highly mysterious Third Mizukage of rumors.
In this rather spacious indoor area, there were five people in front of Hagoromo. The Mizukage sat directly in front and slightly forward, while the other four stood in pairs slightly behind him on either side.
All five were positioned very high up, allowing them to look down at Hagoromo from above.
The one in the center is the Mizukage? The other four are high-ranking officials like advisors? Still... trying to create this kind of pressure right from the start?
Hagoromo didn't care about such things; he wouldn't be intimidated by their posturing.
In his perception, the ninjas in this room weren't limited to just the Mizukage, the four advisors, and the two escorts. There were also guards hidden in the shadows, but the numbers were within an acceptable range and nothing too exaggerated.
Was Mei Terumi not here? In reality, she was here too, just hidden from plain sight.
Should I try assassinating the Mizukage? The thought vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Unfortunately, given the current situation that required peace talks, not only could Konoha not assassinate the Mizukage, but they also had to keep him alive as much as possible. Otherwise, if the Hidden Mist fell into chaos, who would be there to make the decision for peace talks?
Moreover, was the person in front of him really the Mizukage?
Did they really think the White Yaksha couldn't see through his lost soul, couldn't guess the color of his pupils?
Hagoromo's sensory abilities were sometimes quite clumsy, but in certain situations, they could play a role beyond expectations.
And right now, under his perception, certain conditions had absolutely nowhere to hide.
------------------------------------------
Stones are appreciated if you can spare any.
Vol 1 of this fanfic is already completed on patreon.
P(a)treon.com/GoatMama