Kidomaru's Bloody Summoning and the Cold Smile Before the Water Mirror

Hokage's Office.

Premium incense burned quietly in a bronze burner in the corner, wisps of blue smoke curling upward and releasing an elegant, calming woody fragrance.

Yet the tranquility was utterly shredded by the bloodshed and devastation reflected in the Water Mirror.

Baishi lounged lazily in the broad Hokage's throne, propping his chin up with one hand while holding a still-warm cup of tea in the other. His calm gaze rested on the mirror formed from Water Release before him.

Within the mirror was a secluded alley in Konoha, piled high with construction debris.

In the alley, Kidomaru held the nearly unconscious Sakon in his arms. For the first time, his six scarlet eyes were completely filled with an emotion called fear.

The face that always wore a mocking, cruel smile was now pale as paper. Beads of cold sweat rolled continuously down his temples, soaking his sideburns.

"We... were lured in!"

"That so-called breach in the defensive line... was deliberately left for me!"

"What happened to Sakon and Ukon... was meant for me to see!"

As Kidomaru trembled and pieced together those horrifying deductions in a dry, hoarse voice, a faint, icy curve finally lifted at the corner of Baishi's mouth.

As though he were enjoying a carefully staged drama in which the protagonist had finally realized his tragic fate.

"Not completely stupid."

Baishi made the cold assessment in his heart and took a sip of warm tea.

The tea was crisp and fragrant, with a sweet aftertaste.

It stood in the sharpest possible contrast to the dense, inescapable stench of blood in the Water Mirror.

The Hyuga Branch Family elite kneeling beside him, responsible for maintaining the Water Mirror Technique and sharing his Byakugan vision, was trembling uncontrollably.

He did not dare raise his head to look at