Yuki Yoru

"Yoru, this is a top-secret mission personally issued by Mizukage-sama. You'll lead the team carrying it out."

Inside the underground ANBU base in Kirigakure, in the Land of Water, an ANBU member walked in. He wore an ANBU mask and had long, spiky, fluffy yellow hair.

He spoke.

Then he pulled a pitch-black scroll from his robe and tossed it over.

The surface of these specially made mission scrolls was engraved with sealing symbols. Without the correct method of opening one, it would destroy itself the moment it was opened, preventing its secrets from being exposed.

The boy named Yoru caught the scroll and opened it using the ANBU's special method. Beneath his mask, his brows immediately furrowed.

[Order ANBU Squad Captain Yuki Yoru to infiltrate the Konoha encampment, sow chaos, destroy food supplies and weapons, and draw the attention of Konoha's main forces. He is to provide full support to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in carrying out their assassination plan. Signed: Third Mizukage. Mission rank: Top Secret.]

The mission was extremely dangerous. It could even be called a suicide mission with no chance of survival.

Yoru was supposed to infiltrate the enemy's main camp and sow chaos. Even if he succeeded, the enraged Konoha Ninja would surely tear every invading enemy to pieces!

"Understood."

Yoru put away the scroll and nodded calmly, showing not the slightest emotion at the difficulty of the mission.

"Your jutsu is well suited to this mission, which is why the Third Mizukage chose you to lead the team."

The ANBU with fluffy, spiky yellow hair spoke calmly. "I have faith in you, too. Once this war is over, you should be able to take over my position without a hitch."

"Your Ninja Blade wouldn't suit me, Lord Kushimaru Kuriarare."

That was right.

The masked man before him, whose neck was wrapped in bandages and whose hair stood up in a wild shock, was none other than one of Kirigakure's current Seven Ninja Blades: the wielder of the long sword, Nuibari—Kushimaru Kuriarare!

He was also Yoru's superior, the ANBU Vice Captain.

Quite a few members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist held positions in the ANBU. For example, Suikazan Fuguki, wielder of the great sword Samehada, was also an ANBU Vice Captain. He oversaw the Intelligence Unit, while Kushimaru Kuriarare was in charge of the Assassination Unit.

"You brat. You're only taking over my position. I'm not handing Nuibari over to anyone!"

Kushimaru Kuriarare's mouth twitched beneath his mask, and his gaze lingered briefly on the long sword at the boy's waist. "That one of yours, though... Is it the legendary demon blade said to be yours alone, your bonded blade?"

"Just an ordinary weapon."

Yoru replied calmly, drawing the Asauchi from his waist. "Does Lord Kushimaru Kuriarare wish to test his skill against mine?"

"You're not much like the Yuki Clan at all, brat. You're more like those Kaguya."

Kushimaru Kuriarare pursed his lips. Anyone who fought the brat would have to be an idiot.

The boy hadn't awakened the Yuki Clan's bloodline yet, but he had mastered an extremely strange secret technique. Almost everyone who had fought him never wanted to face him a second time.

"Yagura and the others aren't making much progress on the front lines, so this assassination mission must succeed. Failure is not an option."

"Our assassination mission begins in three days. That means you need to move ahead of time. Set out at once, reach the front lines, and sow chaos."

With that, Kushimaru Kuriarare said no more. He used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared, leaving Yoru alone in the slightly dim, damp room.

As he looked at the mission scroll in his hands, Yoru's expression beneath the white mask grew complicated.

"What's meant to come will come."

This was Yoru's fourteenth year since arriving in this world, and the forty-ninth year of Konoha.

The Third Shinobi World War, sparked by the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, was now nearing its end.

Although Sunagakure in the Land of Wind had lost the Third Kazekage right from the start, under the leadership of the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage Rasa, it had still managed to repel Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning.

But the village lacked high-level fighters. After suffering a crushing defeat at Konoha's hands at Mount Kikyo, its economy collapsed and its forces were severely depleted. By now, its fighting spirit was gone, and it no longer had the strength to continue the war.

Meanwhile...

As the instigator of this war, Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning had met with setbacks at every turn during its early stages. It had lost the Third Raikage, and its high-level fighters—the prospective Fourth Raikage, Ai, and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B—had also failed to gain an advantage against the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze. They had missed their chance to turn the tide and could now only retreat to the border.

The Third Shinobi World War, which had engulfed the entire Ninja World, had now dwindled to a fight between Konoha and Iwagakure.

Early in the war, Iwagakure had used its numerical advantage to surround and kill the Third Raikage of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, achieving a notable victory.

But in the battles that followed, when it joined forces with Sunagakure against Konoha in the Land of Fire, it suffered one setback after another.

At the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Konoha even cut off its supply lines in the rear, dealing it a heavy blow.

Although Iwagakure could still maintain what looked like a stalemate with Konoha on the front lines, anyone with a clear eye could tell it wouldn't last much longer. Peace talks between the two great villages were all but certain; it was only a matter of time.

There was no doubt that years of war had inflicted terrible losses on the four great villages and the four great nations. This war was a meat grinder, claiming the lives of everyone it touched.

There were no winners in this war.

No—there was one winner, but it hadn't entered the stage yet!

That was Kirigakure, which had stayed out of the fighting all along!

While the other villages fought fiercely, Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Nations, had preserved its strength and stayed on the sidelines, quietly waiting for the right moment to enter the fray and reap the benefits.

And now...

Sunagakure had barely a tenth of its forces left.

Kumogakure's morale was low, and it had retreated to the border.

Iwagakure's supply lines had been cut, leaving it with little strength to carry on.

Konoha was about to see the light of victory, but after a string of major battles, its manpower and resources were badly depleted, and its entire army was exhausted.

This was the perfect moment for Kirigakure to take the stage and claim the fruits of victory!

After months of tug-of-war along the long border between the Land of Fire and Konoha, the Third Mizukage finally made the call. He sent the army to the front lines, preparing to launch a large-scale invasion. At the same time, he sent the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to carry out a decapitation strike.

If they could kill Jiraiya—the top fighter and commander who had just withdrawn from the battlefield in the Land of Earth and was expected to take command on the coming "battlefield in the Land of Water"—Konoha's forces on the front lines would inevitably fall into chaos. The Mist Ninja army could then advance unimpeded and rampage through the heart of the Land of Fire!

That was the plan devised by the Third Mizukage and Kirigakure's upper ranks.

It was a good plan, but as for the outcome, well, it was bound to fail.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist attempting to assassinate Jiraiya was one of the biggest events of the entire Third Great Ninja War, and yet the original story never mentioned it at all—not even a record of the two sides clashing.

Clearly, the decapitation strike was bound to fail. In fact, it probably never even took place.

"Wait, it never took place..."

Yoru paused.

It was impossible that it hadn't taken place. The Mizukage's orders had already been issued. Even if the mission meant sending them to their deaths, they would still have to go. Besides, from top to bottom, Kirigakure was brimming with confidence in this war and certain it would win.

And then there was the fate of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in the original story...

"Could it be that, while trying to assassinate Jiraiya this time, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist entered the Land of Fire together, never found Jiraiya, ran into Might Guy's squad instead, and got completely crushed by Might Duy?"

Yoru's mouth twitched.

If that was really what happened, then all he could say was that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and Kirigakure had absolutely terrible luck.

They'd entered the fray brimming with confidence, ready to reap the rewards of the war. But before they could do anything, they'd already lost their top fighters. How were they supposed to carry on?

New book—please follow and support! I'm deeply grateful to all the big shots!