The Ambition of "Shadow"

In the night, Namikaze Yoru's figure flitted like a ghost through the outskirts of Kirigakure.

As the mastermind behind all of this, he was hardly foolish enough to actually blow himself to cinders.

That corpse brought back to the Mizukage Building was nothing more than a carefully arranged substitute.

Days earlier, on the road to the Land of Water, he had stumbled upon a band of brigands, one of whom bore a striking resemblance to his own build.

Acting on some instinct, he hadn't taken the man's life but instead captured him alive and "pawned" him.

Originally, he'd only wanted to test what happened when a living person went unredeemed for over twenty-four hours—never imagining this offhand move would prove crucial at a critical moment.

The bandit redeemed from the system had become an empty shell; his body's physiological functions were intact, but all consciousness was gone, like a vegetable—the perfect stand-in.

Namikaze Yoru applied the Transformation Technique to that body, then meticulously staged the explosion scene.

As for the "Kaguya ninja" who used Bone Spikes, that was his own performance, merely using the Flying Thunder God to escape the moment after the blast.

In other words, last time on the Land of Rain battlefield, Namikaze Yoru had suffered from not having prepared a Flying Thunder God Jutsu seal in advance; this time, his "stroll" through the town hadn't been aimless at all.

"Shimura Danzō, you wanted to use someone else's blade to kill. Well, I wonder if you can handle this poisoned edge?" Namikaze Yoru sneered, his form melting into the darkness.

Though he had achieved his goal through this opportunity, he inwardly judged that Shimura Danzō's repeated meddling had earned him a death sentence—he had already marked his doom in his mind.

Just as Kirigakure had erupted into a massive manhunt over the "Traveling Merchant's death," bristling with tension, Namikaze Yoru had already quietly infiltrated the Kaguya Clan Compound.

Relying on the perception of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he easily evaded all guards and locked onto several isolated Kaguya clan members.

"First one."

He soundlessly approached a Kaguya ninja on patrol, his hand chopping down sharply. Before the target could react, he was knocked out and dragged into the shadows.

"Pawn."

[Ding! Kaguya Clan Ninja (Living)*1... Valuation: 100 Points]

Namikaze Yoru confirmed the pawn without hesitation.

This was a key part of his plan—not only to stoke conflict between the Kaguya and Kirigakure but also to seize the chance to fatten his pawn points and shop inventory.

While few clans could match the Kaguya head-on in battle, their perception and reconnaissance abilities were relatively weak. As long as he avoided direct confrontation, Namikaze Yoru moved through their compound like a fish in water.

Over the next few hours, he repeated the same method, abducting three more Kaguya clan members. He deliberately targeted younger ninjas of modest strength, each operation clean and leaving no trace.

Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly sensed several powerful chakra signatures returning to the compound.

Namikaze Yoru immediately concealed himself, watching as Kaguya Naoto, flanked by several clansmen, returned with a grim expression.

"Clan Leader, the Mizukage goes too far!"

A young Kaguya clansman said indignantly: "Are we really supposed to swallow this insult?"

Kaguya Naoto stopped, looking around at the gathered clan members. In the flickering torchlight, his face appeared unusually weary.

"Today, I saw the Traveling Merchant's corpse at the Mizukage Building. The fatal wounds were bone spikes from our Kaguya Kekkei Genkai piercing his heart and lungs." His voice was low and hoarse.

A wave of uproar swept through the crowd.

"This must be a frame-up! Someone staged it themselves."

"But besides our Kaguya clan, who else can use bone spikes?"

"Where's Kaguya Maru? Why isn't he here at a time like this?"

Only then did everyone notice several clansmen were missing, which only reinforced suspicions of unauthorized action.

Kaguya Naoto raised a hand to silence the clamor, pain flickering in his eyes:

"The Third Mizukage gave me an ultimatum: either find the true culprit, or the entire Kaguya clan bears the consequences."

He took a deep breath and continued: "I have already sworn to the Mizukage that I will find the killer within two days and give the village an answer."

Namikaze Yoru listened clearly from the shadows, sneering inwardly. Kaguya Naoto's words seemed meant to calm the clan, but in truth, he was likely preparing to sacrifice some of them.

Sure enough, after the others dispersed, Kaguya Naoto kept several elders behind. Namikaze Yoru silently crept closer to eavesdrop on their private discussion.

"Clan Leader, do you truly believe a clansman acted on his own?" asked an elder with white hair.

Kaguya Naoto didn't answer immediately, pondering for a moment:

"This whole affair reeks of strangeness. But the bone spike wounds on that corpse can't be faked... unless there's someone outside who can use our clan's Kekkei Genkai."

"Impossible!" another elder cut in firmly: "All ninjas who have awakened the bloodline are registered in our clan records."

"What about clansmen lost outside? After all, that matter with Konoha..." This remark gave everyone pause.

But another raised an objection: "Then what about the clansmen who disappeared today? And if there really are lost clansmen, could they move freely through our compound without hindrance?"

The group began arguing back and forth, unable to convince each other.

Kaguya Naoto, who had been listening all along, suddenly stood, his voice carrying suppressed anger:

"Several clansmen vanish into thin air, and the Traveling Merchant who could prove our innocence is killed by bone spikes. If they didn't act on their own, then someone is targeting our Kaguya clan from the shadows!"

The meeting hall fell into dead silence. Namikaze Yoru raised an eyebrow slightly in the dark—this clan leader was indeed sharp.

After a long pause, an elder who had remained silent finally spoke: "Either way, what matters now is giving the Mizukage an answer. Since it's already a dead end..."

He trailed off, simply looking at Kaguya Naoto, waiting for his decision.

Kaguya Naoto closed his eyes and nodded with difficulty. "Choose two clan members who have recently committed offenses. For the survival of the Kaguya Clan, this sacrifice is necessary."

"And those missing clan members?"

"Report them to the village for a wanted notice. Treat it as if they fled out of guilt for their crimes."

Kaguya Naoto waved his hand, his tone carrying a weariness and extreme restraint like the calm before a volcanic eruption:

"This matter, the Kaguya Clan will remember. From now on, abandon all unrealistic illusions. Never again place hope in the mercy of those above. The Kaguya must also produce a 'Kage'."

Upon hearing this, the elders present all stiffened, their eyes then blazing with fervor and longing.

Namikaze Yoru quietly withdrew, gaining a deeper understanding of this cruel Shinobi World. Before absolute interests, even blood-bound kin were nothing more than expendable pawns.

He temporarily set aside the thought of continuing to harvest within the Kaguya Clan Compound, but a bolder idea had already taken root.

Choosing not to return immediately to Konoha, he decided to employ a tactic of hiding in plain sight—lurking right at the heart of the storm, the Kaguya Clan Compound itself.