Kirigakure

Kirigakure

Late at night

Madara hid in the endless darkness, quietly gazing at Kirigakure, faintly visible in the distance.

If all went well, this mysterious village concealed in the thick fog would become one of his important bases for a long time to come...

Before arriving in the Land of Water, Madara had planned to use genjutsu to take control of Byakuren, the First Mizukage, then replace him and rule all of Kirigakure.

However, once he had set foot in this land and thoroughly investigated Kirigakure, that seemingly perfect plan fell apart in an instant. He even began to consider choosing a different location.

The most important factor was Kirigakure's astonishing poverty.

Compared with Konoha, which was prosperous and powerful, Kirigakure was worlds apart.

Even Sunagakure, built in the vast desert, was far wealthier than Kirigakure was at the time.

Faced with such a massive disparity, Madara had no choice but to reconsider whether his initial decision had been a wise one.

Another problem that gave Madara a tremendous headache was the many long-established shinobi clans in Kirigakure.

These clans had passed down their traditions for hundreds, even thousands, of years, and each had its own secret techniques or kekkei genkai.

Although the First Mizukage, Byakuren, had successfully persuaded them to set aside their differences and unite to establish Kirigakure, thanks to his eloquence and considerable strength, fierce rivalries between the clans remained unavoidable. Some even still regarded one another as mortal enemies, utterly incompatible.

This made it exceedingly difficult for Byakuren to implement any policy within Kirigakure.

The clans' behavior was even more astonishing. Whenever there was something to be gained, they scrambled to seize it, never willing to let it slip away. But as soon as a mission came along, they all avoided it, none willing to take responsibility.

This was Kirigakure's true state of affairs.

In Madara Uchiha's eyes, the root of the problem was ultimately that Byakuren simply wasn't powerful enough to keep all the clans in check.

On the surface, it seemed that Byakuren had relied on his own charisma to convince the clans to come together and establish Kirigakure.

But the deeper reason was that the other nations had all established their own hidden villages.

For the clans living in the Land of Water, if they couldn't unite and rely on one another to survive, their only fate would be to be swallowed up by another country.

That was why Kirigakure had come into being.

Otherwise, even if Byakuren had possessed the eloquence and charisma to pluck the moon from the sky, those clans would never have agreed to establish Kirigakure.

At the thought, Madara felt a little bored. He shook his head helplessly, then strode openly and boldly toward Kirigakure.

He had come to see for himself what the various clans in Kirigakure were like and find out whether any of them had the foresight to understand how things would unfold.

If they were all hopeless, like rotten wood that couldn't be carved, he wouldn't hesitate to look elsewhere for a base.

A Kirigakure guard was keeping a wary eye on his surroundings. The moment he caught sight of Madara, he shouted, "Who's there? Stop..."

But before he could finish speaking, a red gleam flashed in Madara's eyes.

The guard froze where he stood. A moment later, he scratched his head in confusion and muttered, "Huh? Did I imagine that? I could've sworn I just saw someone."

Madara stood in the middle of Kirigakure's streets and slowly came to a halt.

He looked around. Although it was already the middle of the night, the thick fog blanketing the area made it nearly impossible to see.

The fog was like a heavy curtain, shrouding everything so thoroughly that Madara almost felt as if he were alone in the entire world.

"So it really is a village hidden in the 'mist.' This fog is so thick it's downright depressing and irritating!" Madara muttered.

This foggy weather only made his already poor mood worse.

He had planned to wander around the village a little longer and take a good look, but the miserable fog instantly killed his interest.

As Madara searched, a sprawling clan compound gradually came into view. Above its imposing gates, two bold characters were written: Hozuki.

"The Hozuki Clan?" Madara raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful look on his face.

He knew a fair bit about the Hozuki Clan.

For instance, their secret technique that let them transform their bodies into liquid at will...

In some ways, the Hozuki Clan had a natural advantage against the Uchiha Clan.

The main reason was that most members of the Uchiha Clan had either fire or lightning chakra natures...

With little patience left, Madara strode straight through the open gate.

The moment he stepped into Hozuki Clan territory, something astonishing happened. The puddle of water behind him rose as if alive, and the upper body of a person slowly emerged from it.

Just as the man was about to punish the intruder who had brazenly trespassed on clan grounds, Madara stopped and abruptly turned around. He fixed the man with a sharp gaze and said coldly, "Bring your clan head to see me!"

The Hozuki clan member, who had just taken shape from the water, looked indignant at the rude demand. "Who do you think you are, ordering a meeting with our clan head?" he snapped, charging at Madara with his sword raised.

But just as he reached Madara, he caught sight of the clan crest on his clothes...

He knew nothing about the stranger before him. But when he saw the distinctive clan crest on Madara's clothes and the way Madara stood his ground against the attack, he immediately pulled back, then retreated two steps and watched him warily.

"Go get your clan head," Madara said again, watching the man's every little movement.

This time, the man didn't hesitate or waste time. He replied respectfully, "Please wait here, guest. I'll go inform our clan head right away!" With that, he turned and hurried off, vanishing in the blink of an eye.