Kirigakure, Land of Water.
The sea breeze dispersed the night's thick fog, leaving beads of dew on the leaves.
Even the most elite ANBU could not keep their clothes from getting damp, bringing a faint chill to the ninja squad.
Crouched on a treetop by the sea, Kakashi gazed at distant Kirigakure with his lone eye.
As an Anbu Squad Leader, he had been sent by the Third to infiltrate Kirigakure and carry out an investigation. His target was none other than the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.
He knew very little about this Fourth Mizukage.
All he knew was that Yagura was the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, Samehada, and one of the shinobi world's rare perfect jinchuriki. Yet he had issued all sorts of baffling decrees, persecuting Kirigakure's kekkei genkai families and even driving the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to defect one after another.
In a sense, the Fourth Mizukage had fulfilled a wish the other shinobi villages could only dream of, weakening Kirigakure's military strength when it already ranked near the bottom.
Had it not been so difficult to reach the Land of Water, Kirigakure would probably have been invaded long ago.
Even now, missing-nin ran rampant throughout the desolate Land of Water, with countless spies and informants mingling amid the chaos.
Kakashi would not let that make him complacent, however. He remained vigilant as he carried out his mission.
Not long ago, the ANBU Commander and Deputy Commander had suffered defeat in Kirigakure, and the man responsible was Madara Uchiha, who had caused the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
And whenever he thought of his two squad members, Kakashi could not help rubbing his forehead, a headache coming on.
Yamato and Might Guy were trustworthy comrades he could entrust his back to, but their personalities were ill-suited to ANBU