Chapter 331: The Mist Village
Hagura hemmed and hawed, and in the end, couldn't come up with a clear explanation.
It seemed to be just some shady business of the Mist.
That ninja named Tomoaki, his identity might be a little special. To dare to impersonate a ninja welcoming the Konoha envoys, and to be able to get an official document, and in the end, Hagura still had to clean up his mess.
Could he be the illegitimate son of the previous Mizukage?
Haruno Sakura complained secretly in her heart.
The real Mist representative sent by the Mizukage was obviously much better at dealing with people than that fake Tomoaki just now. Sakura had just seen him when he was furious, and to be honest, his aura was quite terrifying, but after calming down, this Hagura was witty and chatted with Haruno Sakura cheerfully.
She didn't know how the Village of the Bloody Mist could cultivate a ninja with such a smooth and tactful personality.
They chatted and laughed along the way. Because they had reached land, they could use the ninja-foot technique, and their speed of travel was greatly increased. Not long after nightfall, Team Haruno Sakura followed Hagura to the Mist Village.
If it were Konoha at this moment, it would probably be brightly lit and bustling with people.
But the Mist Village in the night was quiet and deep.
A few dim street lamps flickered on the street.
The street under the starlight was like a calm and peaceful river, winding into the depths of the Mist Village.
Hagura led the four of them left and right, walking through the quiet streets and alleys, and came to a large house with a wall. That was the residence temporarily arranged by the Mist Village for their distinguished guests.
He rustled out a key, opened the door, passed through the quiet courtyard, and brought them into the house.
"During your stay in the Mist Village, you will live here. All the furniture and daily necessities have been prepared for you," Hagura said with a warm smile and a nod.
"Unless there is something important, please try not to leave this courtyard," he reminded them when he left.
Seeing Haruno Sakura nod, Hagura closed the door and left.
After seeing Hagura off, Team Haruno Sakura also settled down to sleep.
The three students had traveled all day and had encountered those things at noon. They were already exhausted mentally and physically. As soon as they lay down, they fell fast asleep. Haruno Sakura kept watch beside them while thinking about today's events.
She had talked with Hagura all the way, introducing the situation of the Land of Fire and Konoha Village, and the Land of Water and the Mist Village to each other. Coincidentally, the Fifth Hokage and the Fifth Mizukage, the only two female "Kages" in the ninja world, had come to power at about the same time. After the death of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, the current Mizukage, Mei Terumī, had quickly taken office.
Regarding the "Village of the Bloody Mist" period that Sakura was curious about, Hagura was secretive and avoided talking about it, only saying it was the fault of the previous Mizukage. Now that the Fifth Mizukage had come to power, the Mist had set things right and completely abandoned those bloody and inhumane policies that had been implemented for more than a decade. However, as for what specific steps to take next, there were still many voices within the Mist, including high-level officials. Many ninja who had experienced the Village of the Bloody Mist period, or even grown up during that period, opposed Mei Terumī's opening-up policy, so there was quite a bit of chaos in the Mist.
Haruno Sakura understood this quite well.
To completely deny the policies of a past period, even if everyone agreed that it was wrong, would still bring confusion to people.
Mei Terumī was also junior in qualifications. She had become the Mizukage only because her strength was strong enough, and she did not yet have enough prestige to suppress the dissenting voices below.
Another question Sakura was curious about was how the Fourth Mizukage had died. Hagura also kept his mouth shut and was very secretive about it. However, from the few words he revealed, the girl had a bold guess, that he was killed by the Fifth Mizukage...
Perhaps Mei Terumī had come to power based on this merit.
It was just that, although everyone was wary of her strength, they were not very optimistic about whether she, a woman, could be a good Kage of the village. Some people even outwardly obeyed but secretly disobeyed her orders, even to the point of brazenness.
Needless to say, the few ninja Sakura had met in the afternoon were among these people.
Thinking of this, Sakura also felt a chill. If they had really been taken away by them, failing the mission would be secondary, and it was hard to say what dirty things they would encounter next—this would depend on how much they dared to resist the Mizukage's opening-up policy.
If they still had some reverence, they would probably take Team Haruno Sakura back, treat them well for a few days, and then tell them that the Mizukage had changed her mind and didn't want to see them, and send Team Haruno Sakura back to Konoha. The establishment of diplomatic relations would naturally have no follow-up and be ruined. If they were bolder, they might dare to kill Team Haruno Sakura and directly provoke a war between the two villages!
From the way those people acted, they probably only wanted to do the former.
It seemed that Mei Terumī's strength was still very deterrent in the Mist Village. If they went too far, they were also worried that the Fifth Mizukage would be furious and directly wipe them all out, just like wiping out the follower families of the previous Mizukage with a wave of her hand...
Of course, in the end, they didn't achieve a single goal, misjudging Haruno Sakura's strength—it had to be said that Sakura's appearance was indeed deceptive, especially when she suppressed her chakra fluctuations. If one really treated her as an ordinary girl, they could only suffer in silence.
Was there a deeper meaning behind today's events?
Haruno Sakura couldn't be bothered to pay attention to these dirty things.
Where there is humanity, there is politics. Politics can be very complicated, but in the world of ninja, it can also be very pure, so pure that as long as there is enough power, even unreasonable policies like the Village of the Bloody Mist can be implemented.
Haruno Sakura herself was a strong person, and many rules were gradually beginning to not apply to her; just like the previous events, in her opinion, it was just a farce. The only problem was that the actors didn't know it themselves, and were presenting a blinding performance with their clumsy acting skills.
She didn't sleep all night. When her three subordinates woke up in the morning, she took a nap and caught up on some sleep. (Note)
The Mist Village probably understood the hardship of her leading the team, so Hagura didn't come to disturb them until the sun was high in the sky. Sakura slept for more than two hours, exactly two sleep cycles. When she woke up, the fatigue of keeping watch had completely dissipated, and she energetically led the three children out with Hagura.
She couldn't see clearly when she came last night, but in the daytime, Haruno Sakura finally saw the true face of the Mist Village.
The streets were somewhat dilapidated and bleak. The low and sparse buildings along the road didn't look like a big ninja village, not even comparable to the rural towns in the Land of Fire. There were not many pedestrians on the road in the early morning, and most of them were ordinary people with sickly complexions. Occasionally, one or two Mist ninja passed by in a hurry, their eyes cold.
This is the Mist Village?
Haruno Sakura was a little surprised. Even without mentioning its depression, the number of ninja was too small.
Hagura understood the expression on her face and explained with a smile that this was the peripheral village of the Mist Village, and the core area was further inside.
They walked a few more streets deeper, and the buildings on both sides gradually increased, gaining some popularity, but still far less than Konoha. Walking further ahead, they actually came to a huge waterfall, a full one or two hundred meters wide, the sound of crashing water deafening. A bridge spanned the waterfall, leading into the unknown place behind the water curtain.
The Mist Village was in the valley behind the waterfall!
"Welcome to the Mist Village!" Hagura said with a smile.
He led the way in front, lifting the high-impact water curtain with one hand as if lifting a curtain, and passing through the waterfall.
Haruno Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly.
This waterfall curtain was extremely thick, with a huge volume of water. Falling from a high place, the water flow was turbulent, and the washing force was immense. The power of hitting the body was no less than being directly hit by a high-level Water Style ninjutsu! Even if an ordinary ninja could pass through, they would have to prepare and charge through with force. To imagine doing it as effortlessly as Hagura, walking through as if opening a door curtain, without getting a single thread wet on his body, was probably no easy task!
What a Water Style, what a Hagura!
Hagura stood inside the water curtain, smiling at the four members of Team Haruno Sakura. Through the waterfall, Haruno Sakura could also understand his expression.
He wants to see the skills of the Konoha ninja.
Haruno Sakura smiled slightly and turned back to her three students. "Let's go."
Konohamaru and the others were also a little dazed looking at this huge and spectacular waterfall. Hagura passing through the waterfall so easily surprised them even more: What exquisite Water Style!
Hearing Sakura speak, the three of them subconsciously followed closely. They were still thinking about how to pass through the waterfall, but when they saw Sakura walking over, they didn't see her make any moves. She just walked over with light steps, and the heavy water curtain automatically opened to both sides as if subjects welcoming their monarch.
The water curtain opened wider and wider like a white curtain, until not a single drop of water fell on the entire bridge, which was constantly washed by the waterfall, before stopping!
Compared to Haruno Sakura's move, Hagura's method just now was the contrast between the faint light of a firefly and the silver brilliance of the bright moon. No matter how exquisite his method was, it seemed petty.
Hagura's eyes widened slightly.
In all his years in the Mist, this was the first time he had seen someone walk across this bridge like this!
"Don't just stand there, follow me." A clear and gentle female voice came from the other side of the bridge. Konohamaru and the others woke up as if from a dream and hurried over.
Hagura's face remained unchanged, his smile even brighter. He led the four through a small passage after the bridge, and the view suddenly opened up.
Haruno Sakura followed Hagura out from halfway up the mountain. Below was a valley. The plateau and rugged peaks behind the valley protected the left and right like a screen. Ridges and peaks rose one after another, surrounded by clouds and mist, a magnificent sight.
At the foot of the mountain was a large plain, where a prosperous village was located. This was the real Mist Village, its core area!
The popularity here was much more vigorous than the peripheral villages. There were obviously more pedestrians on the street, and Mist ninja shuttled non-stop on the roofs like Konoha ninja. Looking from a distance, it looked like a smaller version of Konoha.
However, walking into the village, one could see the difference between the Mist Village and Konoha.
Dilapidated and abandoned courtyards could be seen from time to time along the street, gloomy and devoid of people. Sometimes these courtyards could stretch into a piece, forming a large area of desolation. If compared to Konoha, it had a somewhat similar bleakness to the Uchiha clan land where the massacre had taken place. On the walls along the street, if one looked closely, one could occasionally see dark mottling, which was old bloodstains; some spots still carried a hint of crimson, implying that they had been splashed on in recent years...
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