The Art of Mist Concealment

"Hyuga Kagami... you go too far!"

Just then, Uchiha Lengfeng slowly regained consciousness, and the moment he woke up, he heard Hyuga Kagami's insulting words!

"What do you mean by 'the time it takes to beat someone up'?"

His face was full of grief and indignation: "I, Uchiha Lengfeng, am a genius of the Uchiha Clan, not some unit of measurement! You detestable guy!"

A unit of measurement?

How incredibly humiliating!

"There's no difference; if you challenge me again next time, you might not even qualify as a unit of measurement."

Hyuga Kagami waved his hand dismissively.

Just kidding.

Is a unit of measurement something just anyone can be?

One must know that the recognized unit of measurement in the Hokage world is Hatake Kakashi, an absolute elite jonin!

Being treated as a unit of measurement is a kind of honor, alright!

Hatake Kakashi: "..."

For some reason, he felt that Hyuga Kagami's gaze was somewhat offensive!

"Pfft! Hyuga Kagami... you are so vicious!"

Uchiha Lengfeng spat out blood, his heart seized with rage, and he fainted once more. This was just too bullying!

Uchiha Itachi: "..."

It seemed... there was no need for him to intervene.

"Alright."

Hatake Kakashi waved his hand. His pair of black eyes were bright and spirited, not yet having devolved into dead fish eyes; he was actually quite handsome.

"Our mission is arduous. I will explain the specific details to you on the way."

The three of them departed quickly.

Uchiha Lengfeng's life or death remained unknown.

On the road, Hatake Kakashi said, "Both of you are clan ninjas, so you already have some understanding of the Anbu. There is no need for me to introduce too much, but you need to choose codenames for yourselves."

"This is to prevent the exposure of personal information!"

"For example, my codename is Inu-shi!"

Inu-shi?

Hyuga Kagami's eyes shifted. Inu-shi carried the meaning of a wolf, which had a similar connotation to the White Fang of Konoha.

In other words... Hatake Kakashi now understood his father's choice to abandon the mission to save his comrades, and he was commemorating him in this way.

"Then I shall be called Night Crow."

Uchiha Itachi thought for a moment before speaking.

He raised crows, and his summoning beasts were also crows.

Crows could be considered his signature.

Hyuga Kagami rubbed his chin: "Then call me Azure Dragon."

Possessing the Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit Azure Dragon Model, calling himself Azure Dragon was the most fitting codename possible.

"Night Crow and Azure Dragon, is it?"

Hatake Kakashi was lost in thought: "Those are both good names. I hope you can both survive in the end and become powerful ninjas!"

"As your squad leader, I will also do my utmost to protect you. So, as members of the same squad, please trust completely and believe in one another!"

The three of them marched rapidly!

The Mist Village was not close to Konoha.

It would take at least half a month, so they could not afford to waste any time!

Cloud Village.

Unlike the fertile lands of Konoha, the Cloud Village was mountainous and experienced frequent thunderstorms!

Boom!

Thunder roared across the sky!

The rain was not particularly heavy, but the thunder seemed to detonate right beside one's ears, sending a chill down the spine.

"What is going on?"

The lightning illuminated the Fourth Raikage's grim face. "A month has already passed. Why haven't the ninjas sent to Konoha returned yet?"

"Not only was the Byakugan not brought back, but even the ninjas sent to forge the alliance have not returned. Could it be... that they were all killed by Konoha!"

His voice was thunderous, deep, and resonant.

His dark skin, along with his sharp, intimidating eyes, carried such an overbearing aura that one felt as if they were standing before the God of Thunder.

"Reporting to the Raikage, we have received the message sent ahead by Aoba Raimei!"

Mabui's pretty face remained calm, her beautiful eyes flashing with the light of intelligence.

"According to the report, they should have arrived at the village three days ago, yet there is still no news. Perhaps... they have truly met with misfortune."

Although the ninjas of the Cloud Village were reckless, they were absolutely reliable when it came to completing missions.

The Cloud Village, unified by the Raikage's personal charisma, possessed a cohesion that other ninja villages lacked.

A situation like this should never have happened!

"Damn it! Bastard Konoha!"

The Raikage slammed his palm onto the table in front of him, his entire body surging with violent lightning!

He looked like the God of Thunder come to life!

"To dare to kill my subordinates—I will never let you off!"

The Raikage's eyes were cold and fierce. "Send a pre-war notification to Konoha. I want to know exactly what has happened to Aoba Raimei and the others! If Aoba Raimei and his team are dead, then Konoha shall be buried along with them!"

He let out a sinister laugh. "The Cloud Village now has me in my prime."

"We also have Killer Bee, who can control the Eight-Tails, and Yugito, who controls the Two-Tails!"

"It is time to let Konoha taste... what it feels like to be attacked by a ninja village at the height of its power!"

Back then, he was twenty-two and not yet in his prime, but Konoha had been at its absolute peak.

With Namikaze Minato's platinum generation, even when multiple ninja villages attacked Konoha, they could not gain the upper hand.

But things were different now.

Today... Konoha had weakened!

And the Cloud Village... had entered its golden age!

Boom!

Lightning struck!

It illuminated the entire Cloud Village before the world plunged back into darkness once more!

Half a month flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Hyuga Kagami and his group arrived at the riverbank pier. Once they crossed the river, they would reach the Mist Village, which was their true destination.

"The Mist Village has closed its borders; any outsiders will be subject to interrogation!"

Hatake Kakashi's voice was cold and focused. "Therefore, what we must do is board a supply ship to reach the Mist Village. This is the only way to evade their inspections!"

The Mist Village was an island nation.

It could close its borders, but it could not survive without supplies!

Suddenly, Hyuga Kagami raised an eyebrow, glancing inadvertently toward the distant forest. Within the woods... there were three cold, hostile gazes fixed upon them!

"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Just then, a soft shout rang out!

Thick mist appeared in the air. Because they were close to the sea, the fog spread with incredible speed. In just two or three seconds, it filled the entire sky, rendering one unable to see their own hand in front of their face!

"Not good! It's the ninjas of the Mist Village; they've discovered us!"

Hatake Kakashi's expression shifted!

"The Mist Village ninjas must have anticipated this. Since cargo ships are the only way to enter the village, they have been treating them as their primary targets for inspection all along!"

"Damn it, I didn't expect the Mist Village to be this vigilant!"

The Mist Village excelled in assassination and intelligence.

They were the polar opposite of the Cloud Village, which favored brute force.

"Hehehe!"

From within the mist came a cold, sharp voice: "To think you would actually attempt to invade our Mist Village? How laughable! Our Mist Village is the most formidable hidden village when it comes to assassination and infiltration!"

"So, let's see... eight spots."

"The throat, the spine, the lungs, the liver, the carotid artery, the subclavian artery, the kidneys, the heart..."

"Now then, which vital point should I choose?"

The voice within the mist was bone-chilling.

It felt as though several viper-like gazes were fixed upon every inch of their bodies!

In the next instant, they would meet a violent end!