Yuki Yoru

"Yoru, this is a top-secret mission personally signed by the Mizukage. You are to lead the team to execute it."

Inside the ANBU underground base in Kirigakure, Land of Water, an ANBU operative wearing a mask and sporting long, spiky, fluffy yellow hair walked in.

As he spoke.

He pulled a pitch-black scroll from his breast pocket and tossed it over.

The surface of this specialized mission scroll was inscribed with sealing runes; if not opened using the correct method, the scroll would self-destruct the moment it was opened to prevent the leakage of secrets.

The youth named Yoru caught the scroll and opened it using the unique ANBU technique, his brows furrowing instantly beneath his mask.

[Order: ANBU Captain Yuki Yoru is to infiltrate the Konoha camp to create chaos, destroy food supplies and armaments, and draw the attention of Konoha's main force, fully assisting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in completing the assassination plan. Signed: Third Mizukage. Mission Rank: Top Secret.]

The difficulty of this mission was extremely high; it could even be considered a suicide mission with zero chance of survival.

Because what Yoru had to do was infiltrate the enemy's main base and create chaos—even if such a mission could be successfully executed, the enraged Konoha ninja would inevitably tear every intruder to shreds!

"I understand."

Yoru put away the scroll and nodded calmly, showing not the slightest emotion regarding the mission's difficulty.

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

The ANBU with the long, spiky, fluffy yellow hair spoke indifferently: "I also trust you. Once this war concludes, you should be able to successfully take over my position."

"Your ninja sword is not suitable for me, Lord Kushimaru Kuriarare."

Indeed.

The person before him, wearing a mask with bandages wrapped around his neck and sporting an afro, was none other than one of the current Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the wielder of the longsword Nuibari: Kushimaru Kuriarare!

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

Many of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist served in the ANBU; for instance, the wielder of the great sword Samehada, Suikazan Fuguki, was also an ANBU Vice-Captain, though he was in charge of the Intelligence Division, while Kushimaru Kuriarare headed the Assassination Division.

"You brat, it's just taking over a position; I wouldn't hand over Nuibari to anyone else!"

The corners of Kushimaru Kuriarare's mouth twitched beneath his mask, his gaze lingering briefly on the longsword at the youth's waist: "Though, that sword of yours... is it the legendary demon blade that belongs only to you?"

"Just an ordinary weapon."

Yoru said calmly, drawing the Asauchi from his waist: "Does Lord Kushimaru Kuriarare wish to spar with this humble one?"

"You brat really don't act like a member of the Yuki Clan at all; you're more like those guys from the Kaguya Clan."

Kushimaru Kuriarare curled his lip; anyone who sparred with this kid was an idiot.

Although this kid hadn't yet awakened the kekkei genkai of the Yuki Clan, he had mastered an extremely bizarre secret technique, and almost everyone who had crossed blades with him never wanted to fight him a second time.

"Yagura and the others are not progressing smoothly on the front lines, so this assassination operation must succeed; failure is not an option."

"Our assassination mission will begin in three days, so you must act in advance. Depart immediately, reach the front lines, and create chaos."

Having said that, Kushimaru Kuriarare stopped wasting words and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique, leaving Yoru alone in the dimly lit, damp room.

Looking at the mission scroll in his hand, the expression on Yoru's face beneath the white mask was complex.

"What is meant to come, will come."

This year was the fourteenth year since Yoru had transmigrated into this world, and it was also the forty-ninth year of the Konoha era.

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

Although Sunagakure of the Land of Wind had lost the Third Kazekage at the very beginning, under the leadership of the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, they had still managed to repel Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning.

But because the village lacked high-end combat power, coupled with the crushing defeat at Mount Kikyo at the hands of Konoha, the village's economy had collapsed and its military strength was severely depleted; they no longer had the heart or the capability to continue fighting.

On the other side.

As the instigator of this war, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning had hit walls everywhere at the start of the war. While losing the Third Raikage, their high-end combatants, the quasi-Fourth Raikage Ai and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki Killer B, had failed to gain any advantage against the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze. Having missed their window of opportunity, they could now only huddle at their borders.

The Third Shinobi World War, which had swept across the entire shinobi world, now only saw Konoha and Iwagakure still engaged in battle.

Although Iwagakure had successfully relied on their numerical advantage early in the war to surround and kill the Third Raikage of Kumogakure, achieving decent results.

However, in the subsequent joint conflict with Sunagakure against Konoha of the Land of Fire, they had been repeatedly obstructed.

At the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, they had suffered a major loss when Konoha cut off their rear supply lines.

Even if Iwagakure could still maintain a seemingly even stalemate with Konoha on the front lines, those with a discerning eye knew that such a deadlock could not last long. Peace talks between the two great villages were already a certainty; it was only a matter of time.

Undoubtedly, years of war had left the four great villages and four great nations with heavy losses. This war was like a meat grinder, harvesting everyone's lives.

In this war, there were no winners.

No, it should be said that the winner had yet to appear!

That was Kirigakure, which had not yet entered the war!

While the other villages were fighting in the heat of battle, Kirigakure, also one of the Five Great Nations, had maintained its strength, watching from the sidelines, quietly waiting for the moment to enter and reap the benefits of the struggle.

And at this moment.

Sunagakure's combat power was less than one-tenth of its peak.

Kumogakure's morale was low as they retreated to guard their borders.

Iwagakure's supply lines were severed, and they lacked the stamina to continue.

Although Konoha was on the verge of seeing the dawn of victory, the successive great wars had caused severe depletion of manpower and resources, leaving the entire army exhausted.

At this very moment, it was the perfect opportunity for Kirigakure to make its entrance and reap the fruits of victory.

After dragging things out along the long border of the Land of Fire for over half a year, the Third Mizukage finally slammed his hand on the table, ordering his main force to the front lines. While preparing to launch a large-scale invasion, he first dispatched the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to carry out a decapitation strike.

As long as they could assassinate Jiraiya—the highest combat power and commander who had just withdrawn from the Land of Earth battlefield and was transitioning to the potentially emerging "Land of Water battlefield"—the Konoha front lines would inevitably fall into chaos, allowing the Kiri army to drive straight in and wreak havoc in the heart of the Land of Fire.

This was the strategy devised by the Third Mizukage and the high-ranking officials of Kirigakure.

It was a pity that while the strategy was sound, the result was undoubtedly a failure.

An assassination attempt on Jiraiya by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would have been one of the most significant events of the entire Third Great Ninja War, yet there was not a single record of it in the original work, nor even a mention of a clash between the two parties.

Clearly, the outcome of this decapitation strike must have been a failure, or perhaps it was never even executed.

Wait, never executed...

Yoru paused.

It was impossible for it not to have been executed; the Mizukage's orders had already been issued, and even if the mission were a suicide run, they would have had to go. Not to mention that from top to bottom, Kirigakure was brimming with confidence and determined to win this war.

Connecting this to the ultimate fate of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in the original work...

Could it be that they entered the Land of Fire together to assassinate Jiraiya, but instead of encountering him, they ran into Might Guy's team first and were then completely crushed by Might Duy?

Yoru's mouth twitched.

If that were truly the case, one could only say that the luck of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Kirigakure was abysmal.

They had entered the fray full of confidence to harvest the battlefield, only to lose their top generals before they could even make a move. How were they supposed to play the game after that?

New book, seeking follows and support. I kowtow in gratitude to all you masters here.