Chapter 200: White and Red
Land of Water, Kaguya Clan Compound
Though it was not far from the Hidden Mist Village, the Kaguya clan had taken root here since their migration during the Warring States Period.
But in the decades since, the area had not improved. In fact, it had gotten worse. The surrounding villages, unable to bear the Kaguya's recklessness and bloodlust, had long since moved away. And the people of the Mist would not come here. The relationship between the Kaguya and the village had always been a tense one.
And so, it had gradually become what it was now: a poor and isolated place.
Tsuki slowly wiped the bone blade in her hand and threw the blood-soaked cloth on the clan head's face.
She did not want the filthy blood on her blade to return to her body.
This man, who did not even fear the Mizukage, had screamed like a child when he died. She had killed him by twisting the bone blade in his mouth, again and again.
Many people had come to the clan head's house tonight. Most of the adult men of the Kaguya clan were here. And with their unrestrained nature, almost all of them were drunk. The "groom" had been one of the more restrained ones, to have been able to walk to the bedroom on his own. At the banquet outside, there were more people lying on the floor than standing.
The few who could have fought back were too drunk to be a match for her. The occasional scream had not attracted any attention. A drunken brawl was the most normal of after-parties for the Kaguya.
Soon, she came to her final stop, in front of her father.
She looked at the man, who was clutching a bottle of wine, drool running down his chin, with a look of disgust, as if he were a filthy stain.
"What an ugly man," she murmured. "Both in body and in soul. No, the entire Kaguya clan is an ugly clan."
Under the moonlight, she plunged the bone blade into her father's eye, letting him die in his sleep. It was the greatest mercy she could show him.
The spurting blood seemed to stain the moon red.
Just as her father had killed her mother, all those years ago.
There was no one left alive in the clan head's residence.
"Let's go and see the others," she said. "Let's free them from their ugliness and their stupidity."
The next morning, Yagura and Elder Genshō came, hoping to persuade the Kaguya clan head.
Elder Genshō was a living fossil of the Hidden Mist. He had watched the village grow from nothing, had advised the First, Second, and Third Mizukage, and now, he held a status and authority almost equal to that of the Mizukage himself.
But he was not a man who clung to power. He was truly dedicated to the village. The successive Mizukage had never doubted him. He was a pillar of the village.
He had come all this way from the Hidden Mist this morning to use his prestige to try and persuade the Kaguya to let her go, so that the village could properly train the prodigy, Tsuki.
But when he, supporting the panting old man, arrived outside the Kaguya compound, he found that it was shrouded in black smoke. Many of the buildings had signs of a struggle, and it was eerily quiet.
Yagura's face changed.
He had someone protect the elder and then personally led a team to investigate. The compound was in a state of chaos, and there was not a single person in sight.
He went directly to the clan head's house and was stunned by the sight of the bodies.
"What... what happened?"
"Search immediately!" he ordered. "See if there are any survivors!"
A short while later, the ANBU had counted nearly fifty bodies in the compound.
And the total population of the Kaguya clan was less than a hundred.
A thousand possibilities flashed through his mind, and each one seemed more ridiculous than the last. Finally, someone found a survivor in a cellar under a ruin, a little Kaguya girl.
She was brought to him, her face a wooden mask, seemingly unconcerned by the devastation around her.
"What happened last night?" he asked.
"Tsuki-neechan got married," the little girl said in a flat voice. "And then she killed the clan head's family. And then she tried to kill the others. She didn't kill many before she was discovered."
"And the others?" he asked urgently. "Where is Tsuki?"
"Tsuki-neechan ran away," she said, her expression unchanged. "The others went after her."
"Dammit!"
"Bring men with me! We're going after them! I want to see her, dead or alive!"
A ninja in a monkey mask was slowly walking through an underground space.
The mask hid the change in his eyes, but he was carefully observing everything around him.
But he had not gone far before another ninja in an animal mask stopped him. "What is it?" he asked, his voice cold.
"Delivering a document."
Minato held up the document in his hand, his tone casual, but he was surprised to see that the other man was also in an ANBU uniform. He had never seen him before.
"Give it to me," the man said. "You can go."
He reached for the document.
"I haven't even verified your identity," he said, pulling it back. "How can I give it to you? Give me your ninja registration number."
The man was taken aback for a moment, then sneered. "A rookie? So ignorant of the rules. Well then, take your document and go. Either give it to me, or go and get someone else to deliver it. These are the rules of the Foundation."
Seeing his serious expression, his attitude softened.
"Don't be so unreasonable," he said. "It's my first time here. My senpai had to leave the village on a mission, so he asked me to come. But my orders are to deliver the document to the Foundation. I don't even know who is in the Foundation. How can I report back? You know the ANBU's rules. If anything goes wrong with a document, I'll be in big trouble."
"This is the Foundation," the man said, seeing his change in attitude. "As for identity verification, you do not have the authority to verify the identity of a Foundation ninja. If you still don't believe me, go back and ask your superior."
"The Foundation is so mysterious? I'm from the first squad. We're all comrades in the ANBU. The Foundation seems to be more powerful."
"It's better not to ask about the Foundation."
In the end, he did not hand over the document. This way, he could use it as an excuse to go back and report to his superior and get more information about the Foundation. And the next time, it would likely be him who was sent.
He had been searching for so long, and he had finally made contact with the Foundation. The name was not wrong. He had never imagined that the so-called "Foundation" was rooted in the very ground beneath Konoha.
The deeply buried root of the Leaf.
But he had taken the opportunity to chat with the guard. Though the man had a standoffish air, he had still, with his own charm, managed to get a few words out of him, saying that he would go back and ask his superior, and that if it was as he had said, he would come back and apologize.
As he turned to leave, the smile under his mask quickly disappeared. He had finally made contact. Though it had taken him much longer than he had expected.
This mysterious place that even the Hokage was so wary of, so rarely mentioned.
He had not forgotten the reason he had joined the ANBU. He would find Kushina, one day.