"This matter shouldn't concern us. Mizuki, let the Mist Nin handle it. We'll help only if absolutely necessary..."
Kakashi replied, shaking his head.
"Did you notice something?"
"The Mist Nin coming this far to greet us is just too enthusiastic. That Jōnin Ao said he was here to welcome us, but in my opinion, this meeting was probably nothing more than a coincidence."
"A coincidence?" Mizuki thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. Our reputation isn't big enough to require them traveling thousands of miles to meet us in the middle of the vast ocean. Finding us would be extremely difficult. To call it 'looking for a needle in a haystack' might be an exaggeration, but finding specific people and ships on this endless sea is indeed very challenging."
Just as he finished speaking, not far from the ship's railing, a huge dark shadow slowly surfaced. Then, several figures shot out from underwater, suddenly appearing and divided into two opposing groups. One side was the Mist leader Ao and his three subordinates. The other group consisted of three masked individuals wearing strange animal masks. Their forehead protectors bore the Mist symbol, but with clear scratch marks across them. They landed securely on the massive beast protruding halfway from the water's surface.
"Rogue Ninjas?" The situation was obvious enough. This confrontation was most likely an internal affair of Kiri. Konoha's team had simply been accidentally caught up in someone else's trouble.
"As expected, Ao wasn't telling the truth. Meeting us was purely coincidental, and he just happened to profit from it," Kakashi was convinced of his reasoning.
Mizuki said, "So what? Are you planning to expose them? What benefit would that bring us? When everyone involved wants to save face, we can just pretend we don't know anything."
Kakashi nodded in agreement.
"Now it seems the problems within Kiri are far from resolved. The Fifth Mizukage still has plenty on her plate."
"Are those few masked guys Anbu? And their summoned beast—was that gigantic fish-like monster a mutated humpback whale?"
"Possibly, but that's not important..." Kakashi took out a small notebook, constantly jotting things down. After finishing his notes, he put it back into his pocket.
"Their motives are puzzling. A passenger ship heading toward the Land of Water—in terms of ninjutsu interests, is there really so much valuable cargo aboard? Most items are simply goods, useless to ninja."
"Mizuki, sometimes conflict isn't always about gaining something," Kakashi admitted, because reading between the lines wasn't really his thing. "We can ignore the attackers' identities, but we can guess at their actions. With the new Mizukage recently assuming office, there will inevitably be some disgruntled individuals and opportunists fishing in troubled waters during this turbulent period. These attacks might be indiscriminate strikes aimed at international convoys and people traveling between the Land of Water and other nations."
"Indiscriminate?" Kakashi frowned slightly upon hearing this. "What advantages does this provide for those who oppose the new Mizukage?"
"Advantages?
[△ Net www.Ai Qu xs.]
Mizuki smiled. "No reward needed. I just want the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi to face serious challenges in governance. Completely cutting off these exchange channels will place the Land of Water, which already suffers from resource scarcity, in dire straits. If she couldn't maintain order and authority, whether Mei could remain as Mizukage would be very doubtful."
"I see," Kakashi said thoughtfully. Kakashi quickly grasped what Mizuki meant. Organized ambushes like these posed the greatest challenge for new leaders. The team led by Ao, a jonin from Kiri, was likely a regular patrol unit on the waterway route who had coincidentally encountered Konoha ninjas during their mission.
As Mizuki and Kakashi Hatake spoke, a battle not far offshore was coming to an end.
"In this kind of environment, Mist ninjas definitely have the advantage."
"Yeah."
The terrain advantage was too obvious. Although Mizuki and Kakashi certainly possessed the ability to wipe out the group below if they went all out, that didn't mean their opponents were weak—rather, they had simply been overwhelmed by superior force. In a fair fight, things wouldn't look so good for Kakashi and Mizuki.
As the battle seemed about to end, Kakashi exhaled deeply and turned to Mizuki with a question: "From yesterday's fight combined with today's, what are your thoughts?"
Mizuki pondered briefly, carefully choosing his words before responding: "There's something problematic about Mist's fighting style. To put it another way, their philosophy is significantly different."
"Explain specifically!" Kakashi showed interest in Mizuki's insights. "I've fought against Mist ninjas many times myself. In the Land of Waves, there was Zabuza Momochi from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. While I do have my own impressions, I've never really known how to articulate them properly."
The genin were equally interested in this combat discussion and gathered closer to listen to Mizuki's 'profound insights.'
Mizuki cleared his throat before elaborating: "The differences in Mist's fighting styles mainly manifest in their combat purposes. After seeing enough examples, this distinction becomes quite apparent. On the continent, experts specialized in stealth and assassination techniques are actually quite rare, yet numerous within Mist Village. This probably results from geographical isolation and Mist's unique ninja selection policies. To summarize it simply—Mist ninjas possess a very ancient style."
"An ancient style," Kakashi murmured thoughtfully, seemingly beginning to grasp something.
"Precisely, an ancient style," Mizuki explained. "You probably haven't considered the origins of ninja—it's something most overlook. Chakra wasn't always present; ninja history predates chakra itself. Before chakra appeared, aside from lacking direct combat power, early shinobi closely resembled modern Mist ninjas in characteristics—specializing in stealth and assassination, employing any means necessary to accomplish missions."
"'Any means necessary?' That concept made the lower-ranked ninja, who took pride in their shinobi identity, visibly uncomfortable.
"Ninja, from their inception, were never a profession of honor or light. Initially, we were merely tools used by powerful lords to carry out covert and dishonorable tasks, facing contempt and exclusion from other martial professions until *chakra* emerged and dramatically changed everything."
"
Kakashi interjected, "So what you're saying is, the Mist ninja largely still cling to these centuries of tradition. In an age where ninjas across the continent have evolved and adapted, the Mist shinobi haven't truly let go of their outdated ways?"
"Exactly," Mizuki confirmed. "You can tell from Kiri's history and battle techniques."
"I see," Kakashi said thoughtfully. "No wonder I've always felt the Mist ninjas tend to be highly unorthodox, relying on brutally pragmatic and self-serving tactics in battle. Their philosophy clearly diverges from the dominant ideology of the ninja world."
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