The First Clash at the Main Gate of the Bloody Mist Village

On the land of the Land of Water, shrouded in dense fog year-round, sunlight was a rare sight. It was the light of noon the following day, piercing through the heavy clouds.

Before the main gate of the Hidden Mist Village stood two enormous stone statues, overlooking the suspension bridge leading to the outside world.

The twenty-meter-tall steel gates were shut tight. Under the sunlight, the defensive inscriptions carved across the walls on either side glimmered with a dark sheen.

Twenty fully armed Anbu ninja were stationed across the watchtowers and walls, vigilantly searching the perimeter for any movement.

As one of the Five Great Nations' military strongholds, the Hidden Mist Village's frontal defenses were layered and formidable. Ordinary ninja could not approach at all.

At the end of the muddy main road, a five-man group gradually came into view, walking toward the village gates against the sea breeze.

Ye walked at the front, his black trench coat billowing in the wind, its hem rustling.

He had not concealed his tracks in the slightest. His steps were unhurried as he openly placed the heavily guarded great ninja village in his sights.

"Stop... stop right there!"

The Anbu captain's warning rang out from atop the wall. Ten black-clad figures wearing animal masks leaped down in succession, landing before the suspension bridge and completely blocking the five people's path.

The foremost Anbu gripped his kunai tightly, its cold blade angled toward the ground.

"This is a vital area of the Hidden Mist Village. State... state your identities!"

"Unauthorized persons, retreat immediately!"

Faced with the warning, Zabuza carried the Executioner's Blade on his shoulder and threw back his head with a wild laugh.

"Hah? I haven't even been gone that long, and you already don't recognize me?"

The Anbu captain narrowed his eyes. When his gaze fell upon the uniquely shaped Executioner's Blade, the hand gripping his kunai immediately tightened.

"Zabuza Momochi... you traitorous ninja, you actually dare come back!"

He immediately raised an arm and shouted sharply at those around him.

"All units, remain on alert! Prepare for battle!"

As his words fell, the guards on the walls drew their bows and nocked arrows, while dozens of ninja formed hand seals at once.

Dense Water Release chakra rapidly gathered above the village gates. The damp, frigid air churned, and a large-scale ninjutsu could descend at any moment.

Ye stopped walking as the system's mechanical synthesized voice rang in his mind on cue.

Ding. It has been detected that the host is being intercepted by the Hidden Mist Village's gate guards. Please make a choice.

Option One: Pretend to surrender, express willingness to undergo inspection, and seek an opportunity to infiltrate the village. Reward: [Ten standard-issue Konoha kunai].

Option Two: Lead your subordinates in using the Body Flicker Technique, bypass the main gate's defenses, and break in from the side. Reward: [C-rank Water Release: Water Wild Wave].

Option Three: Refuse all nonsense and directly smash apart the main gate. Announce your arrival in the most domineering manner, completely shatter the enemy's psychological defenses. Reward: [Advanced Chakra Sensory Concealment Barrier Array].

Ye did not waste time on the first two options. His gaze passed over the battle-ready Anbu and settled on the towering steel gates.

This was exactly the grand entrance he needed. He wanted the entire Land of Water to see with their own eyes that a new order would begin the instant those gates fell.

I choose option three.

Ye made his choice internally. When the Anbu captain received no response for a long while, he pointed his kunai forward.

"Drop your weapons and surrender immediately! Otherwise... otherwise, you will be executed on the spot!"

Without forming hand seals or assuming the opening stance of any ninjutsu, Ye raised his right arm and slowly curled his five fingers into a fist.

"Lord Ye..."

Standing behind him, Kabuto Yakushi swallowed, his heartbeat accelerating. With his sensory abilities, he could clearly detect the terrifying energy dormant within the man ahead beginning to awaken.

Ye took half a step forward. The instant his foot landed, the hard stone slab shattered, and fine cracks rapidly crawled outward.

The primordial power of the Perfect Sage Body was completely unleashed. Tangible chakra stirred up a vortex, spiraling at high speed around his entire arm.

The surrounding air compressed and exploded in rapid succession, while the muddy water on the ground was blasted outward.

Ye twisted his waist and tensed his back to gather strength. His gaze passed over the Anbu blocking his path and locked onto the twenty-meter-tall reinforced steel gates.

There were no dazzling flashes or complex ninjutsu transformations—only physical strength pushed to its peak. The next instant, he threw a punch through the air.

A violent blast of air erupted from before his fist, forming a visible transparent shockwave that shot straight down the suspension bridge.

The stone slabs along its path were ripped up layer by layer. Dirt and shattered rocks were hurled into the air, merging into a massive wave of earth that surged toward the main gate.

The ten Anbu at the front had not even finished forming their seals when the oncoming pressure slammed into them. Before their screams could escape, all ten were hurled into the sky at once. Their kunai scattered from their hands as their bodies tumbled into the forest dozens of meters away.

The transparent shockwave did not weaken in the slightest as it struck the heavy steel gates head-on. A thunderous boom shot into the clouds, and the entire Hidden Mist Village shook violently. Roof tiles from nearby houses slid down in sheets.

The defensive inscriptions on the walls lit up one after another, yet they could not hold for even a moment before all shattering beneath that tyrannical power.

The heavy metal gates, said to be capable of withstanding a direct Tailed Beast Bomb, caved inward. A massive, clearly defined fist print appeared at their center. Then, an ear-piercing screech of tearing metal rang through the gate as the enormous doors split down the middle and toppled inward amid a spray of iron fragments.

The stone walls on either side could not withstand the transmitted force. Cracks spread rapidly, and huge sections collapsed. Dust surged into the sky, obscuring half the heavens, while countless stones flew into the village, smashing through rooftops and crushing several rows of nearby houses.

The frontal defense line the Hidden Mist Village had painstakingly maintained for years was utterly destroyed by a single punch.

On a distant watchtower, a blue-haired man clutched a telescope, frozen in place as cold sweat quickly covered his forehead.

As a sensory elite jonin possessing the Byakugan, he was Ao. Not a single movement of that chakra had escaped his Byakugan just now.

The other party had not relied on any ninjutsu or used any special secret technique. He had caused such devastation through physical strength alone. Ao searched through his memories and had only seen this level of brute force in records concerning the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

"W-Where did this monster come from?"

Ao breathed heavily and casually tossed aside the telescope in his hand. He spun around and roared at his subordinates behind him.

"Highest-level red alert!"

"Immediately... immediately notify Lady Terumi Mei! An irregular-level enemy has invaded! Activate every defensive system in the village at once!"

The churning dust near the gates was gradually dispersed by the sea breeze, revealing the broken walls and twisted gate panels once more.

Ye withdrew his fist. The hem of his trench coat slowly settled as well. He stepped onto the broken, warped steel gate and walked over the rubble toward the interior of the Hidden Mist Village.

His four subordinates followed close behind. No one spoke, and there were no unnecessary pre-battle declarations. The five of them simply crossed the collapsed main gate and stepped directly into the core territory of the Bloody Mist Village.

Ye's gaze fell upon Haku beside him, and he slightly turned his head.

"This village owes your people a blood debt. From this moment on, we'll settle it... debt by debt."

Haku raised his head, his eyes sweeping over the collapsed ruins around them and the Hidden Mist guards clutching their weapons as they continually retreated. His hands swiftly crossed, forming a complex seal as a vast chill surged from beneath his feet and rapidly spread across the fractured ground.