Chapter 43: The Lights in the Mist
"I think it would be better to send someone with proper reconnaissance skills to infiltrate."
Under the cover of night, the team huddled together to finalize their plan.
Orochimaru, with his ability to dissolve into snakes, was an obvious choice for stealth. Tsunade's talents lay in raw power and healing, ill-suited for subtle infiltration. And Yuhi Makoto, from what Tsunade implied, was likely more specialized in direct combat ninjutsu like Fire Release.
"The current location of the Three-Tails is still unknown, and Kirigakure is under lockdown," Liumu continued, his voice low. "They're all on high alert. Trying to sneak in through simple disguise seems nearly impossible now."
Tsunade watched the six-year-old lay out his thoughts with a measure of surprise, waiting for his conclusion.
"Our primary objective is to locate Isobu. Formulating a capture plan comes after. After all, even a Three-Tails is still a tailed beast."
Minato nodded, retrieving one of his unique three-pronged kunai from his pouch and placing it in the center of their circle. "Whoever goes in should take this. If there's any trouble, I can provide support or extraction immediately."
"Then I will go," Orochimaru stated, his vertical pupils fixed on Liumu. "You are far more level-headed than that lazy toad."
"No, no," Liumu chuckled, a touch of mischief in his eyes. "Jiraiya-sensei is what you call 'flamboyant.' I prefer to think of myself as... prudent." He then offered, "I can go as well. An extra pair of eyes means one less point of failure."
As for the identity of the black-cloaked ninja, Liumu was ninety percent certain it was Madara. To secure Isobu before Madara could, they had to act with urgency, fighting for every second.
Of course, if they happened to run into Madara himself… well, that was another matter. The old Uchiha had already given his Rinnegan to Nagato. In his twilight years, even with the Kizaru template, Liumu felt confident he could end him.
"You?" Tsunade turned, her expression full of doubt. "You have reconnaissance skills?"
Liumu merely smiled in response. He slowly opened his palm before the group. In the dim light, they watched as his hand began to dissolve into countless, shimmering particles of golden light.
"This is…" Minato's eyes widened in shock.
"That's right," Liumu confirmed, letting the light particles coalesce back into his solid hand. "As you can see, I happen to possess a Kekkei Genkai."
"This ability!" Minato exclaimed, a mix of awe and confusion on his face. "Why didn't Jiraiya-sensei ever mention you had a bloodline limit?"
"Ah… about that…" Liumu chuckled lightly, launching into a smooth, fabricated explanation. "The truth is, my Kekkei Genkai only manifested recently. By the time it happened, Jiraiya-sensei had already departed for Mount Myōboku. I haven't had the chance to inform him yet."
The timing of a Kekkei Genkai's awakening was often tied to a ninja's innate talent. While some bloodline limits had specific triggers, Liumu's story held a plausible enough logic.
"Where that lazy toad keeps finding disciples like this," Orochimaru mused, a thin, reptilian smile playing on his pale lips. His scarlet tongue flicked out briefly, and his eyes seemed to gleam with renewed interest. "First Minato, and now a hidden genius like you."
The temporary operation was decided. Tsunade would lead Minato and Yuhi Makoto, guarding the perimeter and serving as the external support team.
Liumu and Orochimaru would infiltrate the village to locate Isobu.
As his student, Minato pressed his special kunai into Liumu's hand. "Be careful," he urged. "Don't take unnecessary risks."
Liumu nodded. He and Orochimaru then left the cover of the snowdrift and approached a shadowed corner of Kirigakure's outer wall.
"Regardless of what you find, rendezvous back here in two hours," Orochimaru hissed.
His body then seemed to lose all solidity, melting into a swarm of small, white snakes that slipped silently through cracks in the village's formidable fence.
"Even if it's not the first time seeing it, that technique is still disgusting," Liumu muttered under his breath. His own form dissolved into a stream of brilliant light particles, flowing effortlessly over the wall and into the village below.
Kirigakure, under the rule of the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, had modeled much of its administrative structure after Konoha, establishing its own ANBU and Ninja Academy. The most famous of its ANBU units was the previous generation's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
The name carried a certain infamy across the shinobi world, but the process of selecting bearers for the legendary swords was shrouded in shadow and brutality. This, Liumu knew, was one of the foundational reasons Kirigakure would later earn its grim moniker: the "Village of the Bloody Mist."
Once inside, Liumu focused his initial search on the less populated outskirts. If Isobu wanted to evade capture, it would need to suppress its colossal chakra signature. Furthermore, as an aquatic creature, the Three-Tails would be restricted to bodies of water—the larger, the better for concealment.
The Land of Water was surrounded by ocean, but within the village itself, there were limited large water sources that could accommodate a creature of Isobu's size. Liumu's first task was to identify and mentally map all potential watery hideouts for systematic investigation in the coming days.
"Stop! Give me back my child! Give me back my baby!"
"Waaah! Waaah!"
The desperate cries and an infant's wail pierced the cold silence. The sounds came from a small, dilapidated mud hut perched on a mound less than three hundred meters from Liumu's position, near the edge of a frozen lake in northern Kiri.
At the doorway, an elderly woman was on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Her frail hands clutched desperately at the leg of a stern-faced Kirigakure shinobi who held a swaddled infant.
"Let go!" the Kiri-nin barked. With a brutal kick, he sent the woman sprawling into the snow.
"If there is no death, how can there be new life?" the shinobi declared, looking down at her with cold detachment. "The blood flowing in this child is strong. It will become a powerful arm for Kirigakure in the future. You should be grateful."
"No! No!" the woman sobbed, tears carving tracks through the dirt on her cheeks. "His father is gone. He's all I have left! Taking him is no different from killing me!"
A mother being torn from her child… Liumu observed the scene from his perch in a dead tree, his expression unreadable.
Seeing the woman's persistent resistance, the Kirigakure shinobi's face twisted into a sinister, cryptic smile. "Perhaps… you're right. Your existence is this child's only weakness."
The woman's eyes widened in confusion and dawning horror. "Wha—?"
Before she could finish, the shinobi's hands flew through seals.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
A sphere of water erupted from the ground, encasing the woman completely. In the sub-zero winter air, the water prison began to freeze solid within seconds, trapping her in a tomb of ice.
The shinobi adjusted the wailing infant in his arms, his voice cold. "This child may lead Kirigakure into a new era. As his mother… you can rest in peace now."
A glint of cold steel appeared in his other hand.
But before the blade could fall, a streak of golden light, faster than thought, lanced down from the dead tree.
The ice prison didn't shatter—it simply evaporated in an instant, the frozen water turning to steam that was whipped away by the bitter wind.
The Kirigakure shinobi stumbled back, blinking in shock, the infant still clutched tightly to his chest. Standing between him and the gasping, terrified woman was a figure wreathed in fading golden light.
Liumu cracked his knuckles, the sound sharp in the sudden silence. His bald head reflected the pale moonlight. "You know," he said, his voice deceptively calm, "I really hate bullies."
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