The "Crow" of Hidden Mist Village

Late autumn, Konoha Year 48, Hidden Mist Village

The tension from the bloody coup a few days ago had yet to fully fade. The air still carried a faint trace of blood and a scorched smell. Thick fog shrouded the village as it always had, but there were few pedestrians on the streets, and all of them hurried along with lingering fear on their faces and confusion about the future in their eyes. On both sides of the streets, many buildings still bore the marks of battle—charred scars from Fire Release, as well as broken walls and ruins destroyed by powerful Water Release or Earth Release. The area near the former Mizukage Building, in particular, had almost been reduced to rubble. Cleanup was still proceeding slowly, and busy ninja figures wove through the ruins.

Amid this desolation and chaos, a figure walked at an unhurried pace along the road to the new temporary Mizukage office. He wore a fitted standard Hidden Mist ANBU uniform, with an ordinary animal mask covering his entire face. His dark short hair matched the mask just right, and the exposed skin of his neck had a healthy tone. Judging by his build, he was around fourteen or fifteen years old and nearly one meter sixty in height. Among the ANBU, he seemed slightly slender, but his steps were steady, and his presence was restrained exceptionally well, showing solid ninja discipline.

This was Uchiha Narong, who had taken the alias "Narong" and, relying on the false identity carefully arranged by Black Zetsu, had successfully infiltrated the Hidden Mist ANBU not long ago.

Black Zetsu had operated for years, and his infiltration of Hidden Mist had long since reached every corner. Forging the identity of a talented civilian ninja, then, during the purge of the Third Mizukage's forces a few days ago, when the ANBU were being reorganized and urgently needed manpower, cleverly replacing the identity of a fallen ninja who bore a forty- to fifty-percent resemblance to Narong and inserting him into the newly formed ANBU directly under the Fourth Mizukage was not difficult. Now, he was the ANBU newcomer "Narong." On record, he was a young ninja who had lost his family in a previous border conflict, somewhat withdrawn but decently talented, selected for the new ANBU because his background was clean and his strength met the standard.

His destination was a reinforced building in a relatively intact area of the village—the temporary office of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi.

Chaos is the best cover. Beneath the mask, the corner of Narong's mouth curved upward. Yagura had only just taken power, his foundation was unstable, and the village was waiting to be rebuilt from the ashes. This was the best time to approach and control this newly appointed jinchūriki Mizukage. Once Yagura stabilized the internal situation and integrated the various factions, trying to make a move would be as hard as climbing to heaven.

He needed a reasonable excuse to approach Yagura, preferably one that could create an opportunity to be alone with him. On Black Zetsu's side, the first stepping stone had already been laid for him.

Undercurrents Outside the Mizukage Office

When he arrived outside the temporary Mizukage office, security was clearly several times stricter than usual. Several masked ANBU stood guard silently at key positions, their presences sharp. Narong could sense at least three chakra sensory barriers enveloping the building.

"Stop! Code name and mission." A ninja who seemed to be an ANBU captain stopped Narong. His voice came through the mask, carrying unquestionable authority.

"ANBU trainee, code name 'Crow.'" Narong halted and answered in a deliberately altered, slightly hoarse teenage voice. At the same time, he presented his identity token and mission scroll. "Under orders to report to Lord Mizukage regarding abnormal activity on patrol in the southern waters." This was the excuse he had prepared long ago—a report about suspicious ships approaching, neither too important nor too trivial, just enough to warrant meeting the Mizukage.

The ANBU captain carefully checked the token and scroll, then used some sort of sensory technique to examine Narong for a moment. Only after confirming there was no issue did he step aside. "Go in. Lord Mizukage is handling official business. Keep it brief."

"Yes." Narong lowered his head in response, secretly pleased. The first step, entering the core area, was complete.

He walked into the office. The furnishings inside were relatively simple, but all necessary functions were present. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, sat behind the desk, reviewing documents. His petite figure looked somewhat out of place in the broad chair, but the composure and decisiveness revealed in those turquoise eyes made him impossible to underestimate. Genji sat in a chair to the side, resting with his eyes closed, but Narong could feel that the old man's perception had never stopped covering the entire room.

"Lord Mizukage, Advisor Genji." Narong dropped to one knee and saluted respectfully, then presented the mission scroll. "The southern patrol squad discovered traces of a suspicious ship, suspected... suspected to be related to the rogue ninja Utakata." He deliberately put extra emphasis on the last few words and carefully released a faint, perfectly measured nervousness.

As expected, when he heard the name "Utakata," Yagura's hand paused slightly as he reviewed the documents, and he raised his head. Even Genji, who had been resting with his eyes closed to the side, slowly opened his eyes and looked sharply at Narong.

"Utakata?" Yagura's voice remained calm, but a trace of gravity appeared in his eyes. "Details."

"Yes." Narong took a deep breath and began weaving the report according to the information Black Zetsu had provided, combined with his own reconnaissance. "Three days ago, a patrol squad discovered a small unmarked sailboat roughly fifty nautical miles from the coastline. There was only one person aboard, and his features closely matched the rogue ninja Utakata—dark blue long hair, green clothing, and he used bubble-type ninjutsu to propel the boat. The squad did not dare alert him and only monitored him from a distance. They discovered that the ship's direction of travel seemed... to point straight toward the village. But early this morning, the ship disappeared."

These words were half true and half false. Utakata had indeed returned under Black Zetsu's "guidance," but his whereabouts had been cleverly concealed and embellished by Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. Narong's mission was to reasonably pass this "intelligence" to Yagura and guide him into making a decision.

"He's back..." Yagura murmured, fingers tapping lightly on the desk. Utakata, the previous Six-Tails jinchūriki, had deserted after accidentally killing his teacher Harusame because he could not control the Tailed Beast's rampage. He was an S-rank rogue ninja of the village, and also a complicated knot in Yagura's heart. More importantly, the Six-Tails Saiken was sealed within Utakata! His return at this sensitive time meant an enormous variable.

"Lord Mizukage," Genji slowly said, his voice low, "Utakata's return at this time is no coincidence. I fear... someone wants to use him to disrupt the village's situation." His gaze swept meaningfully toward the window, hinting at the possible existence of other forces.

Yagura nodded and looked at Narong. "This information is very important. 'Crow,' you did well. Continue monitoring the sea. If you discover anything, report directly to me at once."

"Yes!" Narong answered respectfully, but he did not leave immediately. Instead, he spoke with slight hesitation. "Lord Mizukage... there is one more matter. While monitoring, this subordinate vaguely sensed... an extremely obscure yet malicious chakra, as if it were... guiding Senior Utakata's direction. That chakra was very unfamiliar, but... very strong." This was another hook he had planted, directing suspicion toward an unknown force and emphasizing that Utakata might be controlled or lured, increasing both the urgency and reasonableness of Yagura taking action personally.

Yagura and Genji exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.

"I understand. You may withdraw for now." Yagura waved his hand.

Narong saluted again and withdrew from the office. The first step of the plan had successfully planted in the hearts of Yagura and Genji the information that Utakata had returned with unclear intentions, as well as the hint that an outside force might be interfering.