At Senju Haruto's command, the Root operatives surged forward in a coordinated charge against Kirigakure.
This was no spontaneous assault—Haruto had carefully arranged the tactics well in advance. He hadn't simply transplanted Sharingan into these shinobi and left it at that. Over the past few years, Haruto had drilled them extensively in unit tactics and, more importantly, honed their skill in genjutsu.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that every Root shinobi implanted with a Sharingan had become a first-rate illusionist. Any enemy lacking in willpower—or simply unskilled in resisting illusions—would be instantly dragged into a nightmare of genjutsu. Those who chose to resist and fight to the bitter end? Haruto would see to it that they were granted a death worthy of a warrior.
That was his strategy: cultivate enough lethal combat units, then unleash them in an overwhelming wave.
Meanwhile, inside the Mizukage's Tower in Kirigakure, Terumī Mei was immersed, as usual, in the endless tide of village administration. But suddenly, a chill of foreboding swept over her.
The next instant, she sensed it—a surge of chakra so massive, so oppressive, that she bolted upright from her seat.
"This chakra…" Mei's face hardened. Not only was it immense, but there was a dark, sinister edge to it—something disturbingly akin to a Tailed Beast.
But the Tailed Beasts aren't roaming free anymore. Each one is sealed within a host, a Jinchūriki, serving as the ultimate weapon of the hidden villages.
Kirigakure, isolated deep in the mountains and surrounded on all sides by sea, was no place one could stumble into by accident. Which meant only one thing: this was no coincidence—it was an invasion.
"Could it be… Zabuza?"
Her brow furrowed. The name brought a grim figure to mind: Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist. Once, he had tried and failed to lead a coup in Kirigakure, and since then had become a notorious rogue ninja.
An elimination squad had been dispatched after him, but he had survived. And as long as Zabuza lived, he remained a threat—always plotting, always lurking, ready to return with enough strength to launch another uprising.
"This time… did he come to steal a Tailed Beast?" Mei slammed her palm on the desk. Her voice turned steely as she summoned her guards and gave the order: gather every jōnin immediately. No matter what, Zabuza could not be allowed to escape again. This time, she would make an example of him.
And beyond that, there was something else. Ever since the death of the Fourth Mizukage, Kirigakure had been without a Tailed Beast. Geography kept them safe from immediate threats by the other nations, yes—but without a Tailed Beast, their overall strength had undeniably waned.
"If Zabuza truly has brought a Tailed Beast with him, then under no circumstances can we allow him to leave alive!"
Her words rang through the chamber like iron striking stone. To guarantee success, Mei decided she would go herself. She called upon Chōjūrō to assist her, gathered several of Kirigakure's elite jōnin, and set out toward the direction where she had sensed that monstrous chakra.
But what awaited her was beyond anything she could have imagined.
From the shadows emerged a legion of shinobi, all in identical uniforms, all bearing Sharingan.
The sheer sight of it made Mei's stomach drop.
"Their headbands… Konoha shinobi?" Chōjūrō narrowed his eyes, confirming what he saw.
The invaders were not concealing their identity. Each wore the Leaf's forehead protector openly, almost proudly. And every one of them fought with overwhelming power, surging through Kirigakure's defenses like a tide, unleashing jutsu with deadly precision and cutting down all opposition.
Within moments, the Mist shinobi were being driven back.
Of course, though the Hidden Leaf had merged politically with the Land of Fire, the other four great nations refused to acknowledge this unification. To Mei and Chōjūrō, they were not "shinobi of the Fire Nation"—they were simply Konoha's shinobi.
"Their numbers…" Mei's gaze swept the battlefield. Even with her trained eyes, she couldn't see the end of their formation. This was not a raid. This was an army.
"But why would Konoha shinobi be here?" Chōjūrō's voice was taut, his fists clenched. Fear gnawed at him. For all his strength, and despite carrying the twin Hiramekarei blades—the last of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist—he felt painfully unworthy. How could he possibly protect the Mizukage against such a force?
"It must be the Tailed Beast…" Mei steadied her breathing, forcing calm upon herself as her mind raced to analyze the situation. And in that clarity, she realized something chilling:
The thick natural barrier of mist that normally enveloped Kirigakure—the wall of fog that had shielded them for generations—was gone. Vanished. The night sky overhead was brighter, clearer than she had ever seen.
"Mizukage-sama, we should fall back…!" Chōjūrō's voice wavered. His loyalty was absolute, but so too was his lack of self-confidence. Protecting Mei was all that mattered to him now, and retreat seemed the only hope.
But Mei Terumī was not a woman who would run. The Leaf had stormed their gates with overwhelming force, and possibly with a Tailed Beast in tow. To retreat now was unthinkable.
"Suiton: Suijin Chū!"
With a sharp breath, Mei gathered chakra in her throat and unleashed one of her most formidable Water Release techniques.
A massive sphere of water, blazing like a falling star, hurtled downward.
Several Root shinobi leapt to intercept, combining their power in a barrage of Fire Release, hoping to vaporize the oncoming water mass mid-air.
But the difference in power was absolute.
The flames vanished in an instant, smothered by the crashing torrent. The waterball struck the earth like a meteor, bursting apart in a deluge. The ground ruptured as a flood surged outward, swallowing the Root operatives in its path.
"To unleash such a devastating Water Release here, where no natural water exists… As expected of the Fifth Mizukage, Terumī Mei."
The voice was deep, gravelly.
From above, a figure descended, feet cushioned by chakra as he landed upon the water Mei had just created. His hand reached back, drawing the massive Decapitating Blade. His eyes locked onto Mei's with a chilling intensity.
Momochi Zabuza.
"It's been a long time," he rumbled, as though no one else existed but the two of them.
Mei's gaze narrowed, her sharp eyes scanning him from head to toe. Surprise flickered across her features, but only for a moment—it made sense.
"That the Demon of the Mist himself, born of our village, would ally with Konoha's shinobi…" She let out a cold laugh, mocking his foolishness.
"Another coup attempt?"
Zabuza shook his head slowly. "My goals are no longer so trivial."
With that, he leveled the Decapitating Blade at her heart.
This time, though he had returned to Kirigakure to help Senju Haruto seize the Land of Water, Zabuza had his own personal reckoning in mind.
He wanted to settle things with Terumī Mei.
"Trivial?" Mei's eyes hardened further. She could not comprehend the man standing before her anymore.